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Hats and Drinks - A Match Made in Heaven

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17,603
I’ll spare you the details of my story involving a Red Man twist and a school bus many years ago…
I think I was 11 or 12 when I bought my first pouch. I still buy one or a Beechnut from time to time when it happens to be on the end cap while I wait in the checkout line.

HH was spent with a few KC Bier Co German Dunkels while under my Tatton Baird.

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Then home & a hat change to a 3X OR & a double Tequila, with some Mac Barens HH Kentucky Old Dark Fired Flake on the veranda.

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House rules:

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Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,621
Location
Minnesota, USA
Tonight I opened a Firestone Walker Mind Haze IPA. This California beer had some real plus reviews within my local beer group.

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I disagree. The tropical flavor, mostly orange and grapefruit had, to my taste, a coconut finishing flavor. I am not a coconut fan and I found this off-putting. It finishes with a dank flavor, as I sipped a bit more the dank flavor I interpreted as a grainy sweet melon flavor morphed into a coconut flavor. All in all I sipped a 1/3 of the beer and poured the balance down the drain. I opened a Founders All Day IPA and found a delicious baseline again. All beer taste buds are back to normal now. The above pic is me walking about and enjoying the Founders IPA.

Cheers, Eric -
 
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The Shoe

One Too Many
Messages
1,827
Location
Wakayama, Japan
Great pic with good composition, Joe.

@The Shoe
I found a small stash of Glen Moray 18 Elgin Heritage, the #10 of the Top Twenty Whiskies for 2017. Glen Moray is hard to find locally for me & when I do find any it's always the 12 yr old. Retailer is rationing sales.

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I’ve never seen Glen Moray in Japan, ever, though it is available online. I did buy a bottle years ago as I was just starting to get into whisky. Given my (albeit distant) family connections, I really should give it another try. I can get what I guess is their cheapest bottle (doesn’t say the years on it) on Amazon here. They also have the 12 year, the Sherry Cask and the Port Cask. I also haven’t had a Speyside for years, either as I’ve mainly stuck to Talisker, Lagavulin (when I can afford it) and Ardbeg. Which of the Glen Morays would you recommend?
 

The Shoe

One Too Many
Messages
1,827
Location
Wakayama, Japan
Great pic with good composition, Joe.

@The Shoe
I found a small stash of Glen Moray 18 Elgin Heritage, the #10 of the Top Twenty Whiskies for 2017. Glen Moray is hard to find locally for me & when I do find any it's always the 12 yr old. Retailer is rationing sales.

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I did find some (I assume rarer bottles or top-of-the-line bottles on another Japanese site, but I’m not up for paying several hundred dollars for them).
 

Mm25

One Too Many
Messages
1,004
Great pic with good composition, Joe.

@The Shoe
I found a small stash of Glen Moray 18 Elgin Heritage, the #10 of the Top Twenty Whiskies for 2017. Glen Moray is hard to find locally for me & when I do find any it's always the 12 yr old. Retailer is rationing sales.

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It seems I see it regularly, not necessarily the 18, but the others in the lineup. I’ve had several, usually at a very reasonable price. I’ll look for the 18 now. Thanks, Jack.
 

Mm25

One Too Many
Messages
1,004
A quick check shows 3 bottles of the 18 available about an hour away. The 15, I can get after work on the way home.
Did you break the seal? And have any thoughts to share, Jack?
 
Messages
17,603
Which of the Glen Morays would you recommend?
Distribution network seems to be the problem especially since the distillery sat idol starting back when Glenmorangie still owned it. The new owners La Martiniquaise got the distillery reopened & got some Whisky laid down, but apparently lack in either production volume or a distribution network. I've been trying to get a bottle of the 18 since it made the top 20 in 2017. I have no personal experience with the others other than I know the 12'doesnt score too high, & I think it is used in some blends. I'm not a wine person but as I recall you & your wife enjoy wine, so I would think you might want to try the Port Cask finished.

I'll open the 18 soon enough & form an opinion. I might want to back it up with another bottle while I can. I've been trying to build an inventory of 18 yr olds & this will add to it.

It seems I see it regularly, not necessarily the 18, but the others in the lineup. I’ve had several, usually at a very reasonable price. I’ll look for the 18 now. Thanks, Jack.
I think availability boils down to the distributors in a given area perhaps. Not sure what Glen Moray's annual volume might be.
 

The Shoe

One Too Many
Messages
1,827
Location
Wakayama, Japan
I’ve only had the Hibiki 17. It was given to me by a friend, who got it as a gift, but who rarely drinks, and never drinks whisky. I looked it up at the time and I think it was about 25-30 thousand yen $250-$300 (or close enough). It costs about three times that now. We drank it very carefully, making sure to savour every drop.
I haven’t tried any other good Japanese whiskies, so I can’t help you.
I have had some nasty ones, though!
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,621
Location
Minnesota, USA
@The Shoe, @Short Balding Guy,

Wanted to ask you guys about Yamazaki 12, Hibiki 12, & the NAS Hibiki Harmony. I remember Eric had a bottle of Yamazaki 12 & maybe a bottle of Hibiki but I don't remember which. I've been looking for Hibiki 12 (cheaper than Yamazaki 12) but what I'm finding is the Harmony. Any comparisons, comments?

Jack I have a half bottle remaining of the Hibiki Suntory and (after finishing one) I have a barely opened bottle of Yamazaki 12. Both are great whiskey drams, IMO.

For fun I sampled both back to back. Check out the below pics of the two whiskeys side by side.

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I do not have, or have tasted Hibiki 12. I chose my Japanese selections based upon the Whiskey Vault vids.

The Hibiki Suntory Harmony is just a clean blended whiskey. A ton of flavors, but on my notes remind me of a champagne upfront with a sweet white wine finishing with a ginger (sweet and heat) finish. This Hibiki is floral, sweet and complex. I found that this whiskey is enjoyable to analyze the flavors as they do not diminish or morph. My take is that it is a delicate and light whiskey that allows the whiskey connoisseur to enjoy sipping and experiencing the many flavors. Smooth but not cough medicine smooth. I find that when I have new whiskey drinkers visit our house this whiskey is a terrific gateway to other whiskeys.

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Now the Yami 12, being a single malt, has darker flavors on the nose and taste. The chared oak comes through on this whiskey. A bright, but smooth whiskey has been my experience. I like this whiskey a lot. Smooth and has lots of taste. The alcohol brings a heat, but is not unpleasant. The price, in my experience, has varied quite a bit. I have found it at the $80 and as high as $240.

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BTW: I am curious to try the Hakushu 12. I have read and listened to reviews that have it tasting more peaty. My impression that this may be a smooth (in the Japanese style whiskey industry) peated whiskey. I believe that might be right up my flavor preference.

Tonight I sampled a second dram of Suntory Harmony. This smooth whiskey was my deliberate choice as I was waiting for homemade macaroni and cheese to finish in the oven.

Not to seem like a lush, I did roam about earlier (10:30 pm -ish )sipping a local breweries crowler, Omni Brewing, Hopefull IPA. It is a great example of combining Cascade and Centennial hops. Overall a good beer.


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Cheers tonight, Eric -
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,621
Location
Minnesota, USA
Thanks Eric for your thoughts & review. I'm going to hold out & continue to search for either the Yamazaki 12 or the Hibiki 12.

I figured you would do so. I still see Japanese whiskey prices fluctuating in my neighborhood. I have not shopped them at Ace Spirits, just at my neighborhood liquor store. On my "To Do List" for an Ace Spirit visit is to ask about feedback or sample taste of the Hakushu 12. I will add today the Hibiki 12.

Eric -
 

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