The Official Malties Thread
 

Fellow Malty Mates,

We've have small threads discussing malts before, but this is intended to cover the entire subject of malts, reviews, tasting notes, tasting clubs, tasting events, distilleries. Please post you discoveries here.

We all have our personal favorites and this thread is here to share your passions and findings.

I'm personally going to use Ralfy videos to introduce some of my favorites. How you wish to do this is up to you.

I'll start
Islay whiskies are my favorites

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I tried Glenmorangie at a whisky tasting event not too long ago. This was my big discovery. It is fairly inexpensive and quite memorable.

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I like a really good malted, but it is hard to find an ice cream shop that actually knows what malt is, let alone has any.

Try the single malt shop AKA liquor store. They're more up on the malt scene.

This is still my favorite, Laphroaig quarter cask.

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I was once caught up in the whole "single malt" thing, and the ones you name are very very good.

However I have found a wealth of small American distillers making small batch whiskey's.

Woodford reseve is not the best but a good go-to whiskey for me.

Islay is my favorite location by far, though every now and then I enjoy something else.
Laiphorag is my favorite but yet to try the quarter cask. Love the rick peat and touch of sweetness. I like that whisky stones or a small bit of ice expands the flavours too.
Bruichladdich classic 01 is another good one.
Haven't had a bad Glenmorangie yet, and I think I have only one common one left to try. Nice variety of flavours.
Talisker is great, as is Dalwinnie, though the Dal is very light in both colour, aroma and flavour.
Can't warm to Ardberg. Tastes like burnt rubber to me.
Jura took some getting used to, but by the end of my first glass I enjoyed it a lot. Cracking it with ice or water will ruin this one though. Makes it go soapy.
New Zealand Selections 21yo was a very pleasant surprise. Full bodied, smooth and with a pleasant aftertaste. Just enough peat toi know it's there, but nothing like Laiphoraig, Talisker or Bruichladdich.
I didn't enjoy Yamazaki at all. Tasted like it had rice starch in it.
Glenfiddich 12 year is nice, but is even nicer when cold or with whisky stones. Ice or water wrecks it, and I didn't enjoy it at room temperature as much as I did when it was chilled.

"Uncle" here on PP does a scotch tasting night every 6 months and it's a great chance to try a variety of otherwise expensive bottles.

What??? No Soft Porn?

Doug's slipping, or his wife's monitoring his Pelican activities. :D

Philistines!

I want to see a "Philistines with Fish" thread.


Ummmm, wait a minute...

Are you even a malt lover? Why are you here?

Mother's milk

Lagavulin 12

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Please post your collections here as well.

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I love chocolate malts! I also enjoy on the rare occasion a Macallan straight. I don't have a collection and generally don't enjoy Malts that are on the peetier (is this a word?) side like I find Lagavulin to be. I do have a Glenfiddich 12 in the cupboard which I take with a splash.

Why am I here? I clicked on the thread expecting soft porn like the other thread you started.

Nice sweater!

I do not collect whiskey... I drink it!

Chocolate? CHOCOLATE! Chocolate covers the taste of the malt, Vanilla is the only way to go!

Now whiskey and eggnog... that is a different story.

Not the way this place does it!

Custard Cup - Danville, IL

Sorry to disappoint you Michael. This one is not a parody on another thread, it is about whisky and what you've found. Given your tasting preferences, you might enjoy a Dalmore highland.

Thanks, It was a Christmas gift I received in the mail last year from the distillery.

Who is Even Kulsveen and why should we care?

Even G. Kulsveen, a native of Norway and son-in-law of Thompson Willett, purchased the Willett property in 1984. He formed Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd., and began restoring the distillery to its original glory.

This small, independent, family-owned distillery resumed production in January of 2012. Its picturesque grounds features eight traditional rickhouses, a gift shop and tasting bar, a lake fed by a real limestone spring and the beginnings of an elegant bed and breakfast at the water’s edge. The property has been rechristened Willett Distillery and is fully owned and operated by Kulsveen, his son Drew, who runs the distillery, Drew’s wife Janelle, who runs the gift shop and tasting room, Even’s daughter Britt Chavanne, who handles the day-to-day operations and her husband, Hunter Chavanne, who does sales and marketing.


PERCHED ON A HILLTOP just outside of Bardstown, Kentucky, sit the cold remains of what was once the Willett Distillery, Willett Distilleryproud makers of Johnny Drum and Old Bardstown bourbons. Cold, but not abandoned, however. For this is the home of some of the world's finest bourbon whiskey -- and most of it is totally unknown in the United States. It's also the domain of one of bourbon's most hidden and reclusive masters, Even Kulsveen.

The Willett distillery was built shortly after the repeal of Prohibition by brothers Thompson and Johnny Willett, and it became the family distillery, with several Willetts involved off and on, for over thirty years. Their signature brands were Old Bardstown, which is now produced by Heaven Hill, and Johnny Drum, which they now bottle for overseas sales only. They were pretty much a local distillery, selling mostly in Kentucky, and during the gasoline crisis in the 1970's they converted the distillery to produce alcohol for gasohol fuel and stopped making bourbon entirely. America's success at overcoming that situation was unfortunate for the Willetts, however, and the distillery closed down, never to produce beverage alcohol again. The bourbon-distilling equipment and machinery have been torn out and salvaged, and most of the buildings have been razed. All that remains is what was used for the fuel alcohol distillery. And the bottling line from which some really fine bottles of whiskey originate.

Even Kulsveen entered the story as a result of marrying Thompson Willett's daughter, Martha. In the mid-to-late eighties he appears to have tried bringing the family distillery back to life. This was a time when the foreign market for American bourbon was beginning to boom, especially the Japanese market due to their sudden rush of financial fortune. Even began bottling the old remaining Willett stock in classic and prestigious-looking packages, with labels reminiscent of hand-written wine labels, and selling the products in Japan and Europe. This was not the best time for establishing new brands in the American market, and he didn't attempt to do so. Only a few years later, single-barrel and small batch bourbons would become the rage here as well, but Even has never had much of an interest in developing an American market.

We've enjoyed Even's bourbon almost as long as we've been drinking bourbon, and his products have always sat in the top row of our favorites list. But nowhere can any information be found about him, save for a snippet here, a rumor there, a trademark license application, a chance meeting. Even doesn't participate in the Kentucky Bourbon Festival events, doesn't do tastings, doesn't answer mail. A few weeks ago, John managed to catch him by finding the telephone number of the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers office and phoning him directly. John explained that we're bourbon enthusiasts, that we love his products and want to learn more about the man behind the label. Even said that's nice. John asked if there were a time we could visit with him for awhile and talk. Even asked when we were coming. He seemed to be relieved that John was talking of a future date, and suggested we call next time we're in town and maybe he'll be available. In all fairness to Even, this unsolicited phone call from a total stranger was all he knew about us. Unfortunately, it still is.

American Spirits: Willett - The "Secret" Home of Kentucky Bourbon Distillers

I highly recommend this American bourbon, it will surprise you and the price is right. It is easily overlooked and the last bottle I bought I found hidden among some white wines. The bottle is every bit a wine bottle look.

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