My Washington sister (Macallan 12 year, Glenmorangie 10 year, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban )

So, I had been racking my brain for weeks to come up with the perfect combination of whiskies for my first review.  At the same time, I was getting ready to attend one of my Washington sister’s wedding. I flew to Tacoma, Washington for the wedding, and unknown to me, my other Washington sister, Tif, had one of the most touching surprises ready for me.  Once I arrived in Tacoma, Tif dragged me to the basement and pulled out every bottle of whiskey I bought for her. Each of these bottles contained just enough whiskey for each of us to have one last pour.  Tif began to explain the reasoning behind saving this last golden sip. She told me she would drink the whiskies whenever she was missing me or when she couldn’t get a hold of me. She referred to drinking these whiskies as “having a pour with Leslie”, since these whiskies reminded her of the unbreakable bond we share despite the fact that we now live on opposite sides of the country. She purposely saved the last pour of each of the bottles for us to have together.  So, I felt like this was a sign from God, the universe, Karma or just such a wonderful story that I had to share it and use these whiskies for my first whiskey of the week piece.

Tif loves scotch but hates heavy smoke flavors, just as much as I love them. She claims that the taste reminds her of chewing on firewood.  She prefers smooth sweet scotches with a drier finish and a touch of smoke. There are five different regions in Scotland that all have very distinctive flavors, Highland and Speyside scotches are made exactly how she likes them.  So naturally, I always those are the scotches I choose.  Speyside, Scotland use to be part of the Highland, the largest region of Scotland, taking up the northern mainland area of Scotland.

Why do you care?  This made it extremely hard for the English to control or tax.  This was unfortunate for the English, great for us because while the scotch industry was almost bankrupt in other regions, it was booming in the Highland area.  This allowed the region to continue to produce and refine the flavors in these delicious scotches.  Both regions currently produce sweet smooth scotches but Speyside is known for having particularly complex flavors with fruity nodes. Okay, okay time to talk about the tastings! I know you are all ready for a drink.

Macallan 12 year is a single malt scotch that has a medium dark color. Personally, I found that the scotch has nodes of caramel, moss, and a medical scent at the end.  This scotch displays the complexity of Speyside scotches with its sweet woody flavor from the sherry cast, leaving vanilla and toffee nodes in the flavor, exactly as the distiller described the flavor. I enjoyed the flavor transition to mossy, medical flavors in the finish, but I did not find the hints of dried fruit that is promised.  It is extremely smooth with slight flavor smoke and little to no burn.  It has been and will continue to be a scotch that I recommend to new scotch drinkers for its complex flavors and smooth, velvety qualities.

Glenmorangie 10 year it is the youngest of the Glenmorangie family and it has a beautiful golden color from maturing in white oak bourbon casks.  During my tasting, I got a spicy peaty scent unlike the sweet orange and peach flavors the distiller describes. The sweet wood spice that they describe comes though in the taste, with a slight hint of smoke and a heavy heat in the finish.  I got more of the vanilla wood flavors than the citrus peach flavors that the distiller describes, but I loved the complexity.  I always keep a bottle of this at the house for guests and I also recommend this to scotch beginners who enjoy spicy flavor but do not want too much smoke in their life.

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is a 12 year old scotch finished in port barrels with a dark brown color.  I have to give it to Glenmorangie; the dark label with gold writing it is a beautiful bottle.  In my tasting, I smelled an extremely sweet scent of nuts and butterscotch with a spicy ending.  Like its younger brother, this scotch is said to have hints of orange that I did not personally taste. The walnut and Turkish delight taste came through in the sip and gave the scotch a sweet, smooth flavor with that hint of smoke that the Highland scotches are known to contain.  I felt like the port from the barrel came through in the finish with smooth spicy flavors lingering in my mouth.  I recommend this for smooth scotch lovers who want a new experience brought by the port cask.

These are all perfect for scotch lovers on a budget.  Now go enjoy your favorite pour and let me know what you think when you try them.  I’m off to yoga. Cheers!

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