I attained pairing Nirvana

[GavLew79]

Smoking an absolute stonker of a La Fuerza last night from 2014. Red sticker for HQ(?), remember those?

Anyway, it was absolutely bloody divine. Full of chocolate, molasses, funk, fruit. Mouthwatering. 

I've recently being slowly introducing myself to peated whisky after a shaky start some years ago. I'd recently finished a bottle of Bowmore 15 and loved it, so when I saw a bottle of the 12 for £27 on Amazon I had to give it a shot. Anyway, as it transpired the whisky was shite. Really bad. Green apple shittiness that reminded me of the awful Penderyn whisky (and I'm Welsh! Just can't abide it). It just didn't work. 

Anyway, I digress. The cigar was so sweet and rich I did search for some rum, but to no avail. The cupboards were bare. 

Then I remembered...I had a bottle of this squirrelled away...

Anyone not familiar with the Deanston distillery should correct that at the earliest opportunity (in my humble opinion, of course! ?). The 12 is fantastic, the 18 sublime, and this Bordeaux cask 10 year old, magnificent. Chock-full of chocolate, mild spice and vestiges of fruit. Just like the cigar. 

What a pairing. The two married so well, the chocolate sweetness of the cigar with the dark chocolate in the malt, its viscous sweetness a perfect balance for the thick sweet smoke. It was so good I drank far too many drams, in the end giggling to myself at just how f@#£ing life-affirmingly good it all was. 

I'd just like to thank my younger self for picking up this box and ageing them, and my recent self for finding this gem of a malt. 

Next to try with it; some Party Maduros. Or if you have some Petit Eddies or other chocolate sticks, to coign a Rob phrase or two; hoe-in my friends. Hoe-in. Gorge on them! ?

Cheers me dears. 

[Meklown]

I would recommend you to try out the 18yo Bowmore as well - even stronger sherry influence and hence goes very well with chocolates. If you are exploring peaters, I personally always have a bottle of Lagavulin 16 open in my shelf. 

[GavLew79]

6 hours ago, Meklown said:

I would recommend you to try out the 18yo Bowmore as well - even stronger sherry influence and hence goes very well with chocolates. If you are exploring peaters, I personally always have a bottle of Lagavulin 16 open in my shelf. 

Thanks for the suggestion I'll give it a shot. Tried the Lag 16 a while ago, but found it a bit too "hospital" peat. I don't mind the "campfire" peat, but the mouthful of iodine/TCP/hospital taste that something like, say, the Ardbeg 10 has, I'm not keen on. 

Might give it another go though, because I think I'm warming to peat. I'm just at the sherried peat stage for now, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, etc. but with Highland Park and Caol Isla making an appearance too. 

[Meklown]

52 minutes ago, GavLew79 said:

Tried the Lag 16 a while ago, but found it a bit too "hospital" peat. I don't mind the "campfire" peat, but the mouthful of iodine/TCP/hospital taste that something like, say, the Ardbeg 10 has, I'm not keen on.

Totally understand what you mean by hospital vs meaty peat. On the hospital side I would put Ardbegs and young Laphroaigs. On the meaty side I would put older Laphroaigs, port charlotte, bowmore. Laga for me is somewhere in the middle actually. If you are feeling brave you can jump straight in to try some octomores. In the UK I guess there may be more availability but prices are usually steep anywhere you find them. 

Funny thing about peat, once they age in the barrel for a longer time, it becomes less smoky and much sweeter. If you can get some 30+ year old Caol Ilas, a lot of them become some sort of golden syrup-ish dram. Not cheap at all but I like buying little samples to try and for special occasions. 

But I guess like cigars, you really have to try by yourself to figure out your own palate and preferences. It's different for everyone! 

[99call]

Great review,  Love anything Deanston, just a fabulous distillery. 

I've really not rated anything that I've had from Bowmore, just don't see the quality.  I'm not really a massive fan of peat, but I'd say even a Benromach 10 puts most young Bowmore's to shame. 

[GavLew79]

6 hours ago, 99call said:

Great review,  Love anything Deanston, just a fabulous distillery. 

I've really not rated anything that I've had from Bowmore, just don't see the quality.  I'm not really a massive fan of peat, but I'd say even a Benromach 10 puts most young Bowmore's to shame. 

Big fan of Ben Romach. 

The Deanston 18 has a lovely wisp of campfire, not found in the other bottlings. Looking forward to purchase the Olorosso cask and other specials. 

[Fabrice]

Deanston... quality whiskies at a well contained price... no fuss no marketing etc but bang on in terms of meeting expecttaions (like Glenfarclas and Kilkerran...)

[RDB]

I much enjoyed a Deanston 10yo Bordeaux cask recently. Punchy but pure and dangerously drinkable.