Goodnight, Oppo.

"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
11/25/2019 at 00:12 • Filed to: None

I’m having nightcap before heading off to bed. Pictured is the Scotch I wish were in the glass, and the Scotch that actually is in the glass. The Laphroaig 10(my favorite whisky) and cash is compensation for a friend who is going to give me a ride to the El Paso airport (45 miles away) at the butt crack of dawn on Thanksgiving morning. The Bowmore is my least favorite bottle in the house currently, so I thought I’d make a little progress on it.

A younger Bowmore (maybe 7?) was the first Islay I ever had, and I loved the raw smokiness that tasted like biting into a burning chunk of peat. It was the revelation that gave me my place in the whisky world. Smooth it wasn’t. Fast forward to a meeting of the library drinking club about a month ago and I picked up this Bowmore 12 to share. I was curious to see how it might mellow compared to the 7 of my memory, and to see how it stacked up to my current preferences in Islay Scotch. It was a disappointment. Smoother than the 7 (?) of old, but nothing special. It has some flavor notes (medicinal, maybe) that I just don’t like. It isn’t a bad Scotch, it just isn’t one I particularly like.

On a different note, tomorrow will be the start of my third week at the new job in a new career field. It is still government, but a local commission instead of an academic research library. I’ll write more about it another time, and the experience of leaving an institution I had worked at for a decade. In brief, I’m a really happy camper. The new job is awesome, a good group of people, and I’m thrilled to be learning and doing so many new things. They seem to be really happy with me, too. It is refreshing to be in a place with paths for career growth, and the resources to allow people to go forth and do things. I also get to play with toys and drive around in the desert when I’m not in the office. It was a great move, and I probably should’ve been looking to make a change a few years ago. There is a lot less time for Oppoing at work, though.

DISCUSSION (10)

CB > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
11/25/2019 at 00:35

Glad that you’re enjoying new work.

I had some Bowmore 15 tonight. What I’ve ruled is that I spent far too much for something I can’t taste the nuance of. But considering I never drink and it was for a special occasion, ehhhh I’m okay with it.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > CB
11/25/2019 at 00:38

There is a point of diminishing returns, especially if don’t have a big base of experience to go on. Laphroigh 10 is my favorite whisky. There are better out there, but there aren’t any I like better that I’ve ever had. That it isn’t too unreasonable at around $50/bottle is a bonus.

Svend > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
11/25/2019 at 02:19

good night mate.

Here’s mine. The Teeling Single grain isn’t expensive by any means at£37, however I feel like I’m wasting it if I’m just wanting something to chill out with and throw down my neck.

The Aucjentoshan however is a Scottish triple distilled that retails at £32 for the American Oak, and from time to time it goes down to £20. It’s a very enjoyable whisky, but It’s not like the Teeling and don’t feel like I’m wasting a great whisk’e’y.

Kinja'd!!!

What I found out last night was interesting, to me, anyway.

I live in Carlisle, south of the Scottish (and English, for that matter) border. Auchentoshan is made by Morrison Bowmore Distillers, makers of Bowmore and Glen Garioch. Based on Carlisle Street, Glasgow.

https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2606/morrison-bowmore-distillers/

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Morrison Bowmore Distillers operates three Scotch malt whisky distilleries and offers four brands. It has offices in central Glasgow and bonding and bottling facilities in the Springburn area of the city. In total, the company employs 200 people.

The firm’s three distilleries are the Lowland Auchentoshan, close to Glasgow, the Highland Glen Garioch in Aberdeenshire, and Bowmore on the Isle of Islay. Each of the three has well-regarded visitor facilities.

As well as marketing a range of single malts from these distilleries, Morrison Bowmore also uses the McClelland’s name for unspecified single malt bottling from the Lowland, Highland, Islay and Speyside whisky-producing regions.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The company has its origins in the firm of Stanley P. Morrison, a whisky broking company set up in 1951 by Stanley Morrison and James Howat. A decade later the partners became involved in the blending business in association with the fledgling Invergordon Distillers, and two years later added distilling to their repertoire when they acquired Bowmore distillery for £117,000, forming Morrison Bowmore Distillers.

Glen Garioch distillery was added to the portfolio in 1970, followed by Auchentoshan in 1984, and the focus of the business changed from bulk to cased sales. In 1985 Springburn Bond was established on a 14-acre site in the north of Glasgow to consolidate the firm’s maturation and bottling functions. In 1994 the Japanese distilling giant Suntory acquired Morrison Bowmore, and in 2014 it became part of the spirits’ subsidiary Beam Suntory.

The firm of T&A McClelland was formerly a whisky blending and exporting enterprise, with origins in 1818, and it became part of Morrison Bowmore during the late 1960s.

Grindintosecond > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
11/25/2019 at 02:25

I can’t taste anything you describe, and I’ve tried some apparently seriously good 20yr stuff. But, I understand what you mean as I’ve tried Cheddar cheeses and find after 7 years I can't distinguish from anything older. My palate is maxxed.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
11/25/2019 at 05:35

The first scotch i ever tried was a Bowmore 7. It took me years to try scotch again after that. I still have (not fond) memories of drinking what tasted like liquid charcoal

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Grindintosecond
11/25/2019 at 08:04

Try diluting it a bit and see if knocking down the alcohol a bit lets you taste all the flavor that's there. This is especially true for something at cask strength.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
11/25/2019 at 08:13

That isn’t the worst introduction to Islay Scotches if maximum peat is your thing, but that would be a bold introduction to Scotch in general. I was already a budding Scotch guy when I came it across it, I just hadn’t ventured into the really peaty stuff yet.

I've got some Connemara peated Irish Whisky that is amazingly smooth and about half the peat level of an Islay Scotch. No $40 bottle has a right to be that smooth, and there is just a hint of smoke there. That's where I would start someone today that had never had Scotch before.

Grindintosecond > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
11/25/2019 at 09:00

I did. Tried straight, ice, soda, etc....just wasn't for me. I really tried too.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Grindintosecond
11/25/2019 at 10:01

That's unfortunate.

Goggles Pizzano > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
11/25/2019 at 11:58

I couldn’t agree more about the Bowmore. It was last year this time I had a conv ersation with CB about it .

It isn’t a bad Scotch, it just isn’t one I particularly like.

I said the same thing. I’ve tried the 12 on several occasions and really tried to like it but couldn’t. It’s like the arrival of the flavo rs come in a strange order or something, l ike it turns. Thinking more about it now I don’t remember getting much spice either. More might have helped my op inion of it. M aybe it was too round also. I don’t see myself buying another bottle anytime soon, there’s just too many other options to try. I get the impression amo ng Islay fans Bowmore is usually at the bottom of their list or close to it.

For the last 6 months or so I’ve been keeping an eye peeled for the Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength. Still no luck, but I’m sure we’ll get it sooner or later.

Glad to hear your new job is working out. Going through some work things now too . The job I should have ended a while ago has been ended for me. A month ago we rec ei ved notice the branch will be closing Dec. 31st and since then it’s been a bit of a scramble to find new work as close to January 1st as possible. Before Jan 1st and I lose my severance package and every pay period after will eat into my 2019 /2020 S everance P ac kage W hisky S hopping S pree. :-)x