Glenmorangie Lasanta

@A.J. I think that that bitter finish that you have been tasting is sulphur, not rye. And rye is spicy, but it is not bitter.

@A.J., your review was as thorough as your tasting ... thanks for sharing your sip by sip episode. But I hope the two of you didn't really taste the ENTIRE bottle in one night !

Lasanta is one of my favorites, but I don't notice any unpleasant bitterness at the end, but then I am probably not devoting as much attention as you. Lasanta is in my sherried, unpeated, lower ABV and relatively affordable category. Other bottles you may enjoy in this category are Macallan 12 (100% Sherry Matured), not the Fine Oak, Bunnahabhain 12 (I like the pre-2011 40%), Glenfarclas 12, and Auchentoshan 3-wood. Also try nosing just the bottle of the Lasanta before a pour, and see how many notes of cakes, fudge, deserts, fruits and pastries you can find ! :-)

Hi @Victor ... when you refer to "spicy", you don't mean "hot" as well, do you ?

@AboutChoice, by spicy I do not specifically mean hot, except that in most cases, especially when rye grain is involved in rye whiskey or bourbon, black pepper is a taste which is included. Is black pepper "hot"? I am sure that different people think about it differently. As for myself, I don't think of black pepper as "hot". In the case of full blooded rye spices flavours, for me, "spicy" approximately equals "black pepper + cloves + cinnamon + (sometimes) ginger".

I agree with @Victor that there is some useful distinction between "spicy" and "hot." I attribute the latter nearly always to the alcohol, which in and of itself is effectively tasteless, whereas the former has a variety of flavours that are indeed reminiscent of cooking spices.

A useful analogy for me is comparing two different Tabasco sauces: I find red Tabasco hot but nearly flavourless ("hot" in my whisky lingo) whereas green Tabasco is less hot and more flavourful ("spicy" in my whisky lingo). Perhaps hot sauce isn't the best analogy, as "hot" and "spicy" are typically used interchangeably when talking about sauce, but hopefully the point is still clear.

@Victor I wouldn't describe sulphur as bitter. More eggy no?

Sulphur purely tasted might give the classic "rotten egg" taste and smell. In context it might be muddled into the flavours and just seem acrid and bitter.

Fair point @Victor, I see what you're saying, to be honest though I just can't imagine Glenmorangie allowing a sulphured whisky the be bottled.

We surely could use a treatise on whisky scents and flavors, and perhaps even a sampler kit. Regarding qualitative analysis, I was beginning to assume that, in whisky, a rubber or burnt-rubber scent indicated sulphur. I'm not sure what "bitter" means, and I have been wondering what sour indicates, and finally the grapefruit flavor in some finishes. Maybe one of those popular whisky books may offer this education.

Ok, I am now feeling the need to jump in here and clarify. Firstly, @Victor, I think that given my background in chemistry and biochemistry (nowhere near the Dr. Lumsden level) I feel pretty safe in saying that sulfur is not bitter. Sulfur, gets that "eggy" reputation from hydrogen sulfide gas....nasty stuff. Sulfur itself is normally classified as acrid, rather than bitter. I hope that clears that one up.

Now the other issue seems to be whether the rye that AJ was tasting was the rye grain, Canadian whiskey (or Rye as we canucks call it), or what i know to be the truth as....rye bread. Since i was sitting there the whole time, he kept trying to explain this "rye" thing to me, and so i just asked Oh? you mean like rye bread? He emphatically answered yes. So, what he may be referring to as being bitter could be the Caraway Seeds that they put into Winnipeg Rye Bread.

I really do think his review was spot on. But somehow I got stuck writing the review for Quinta Ruben that night. Don't worry....I should be posting it in the next few days.

and by the way: AboutChoice......uh yeah we did most certainly kill most of that bottle in our first night (i brought home about 3 or 4 ounces just to do a proper reiew. But we also annihilated the Quinta Ruben the next night. Um, keep in mind that when AJ and I get together, its with the express purpose of trying new scotch. Unlike most humans, we are both nocturnal creatures. So, if we start at say 8:00pm, we normally don't quit till at least 6:00am next day. Then we sleep all day and start all over.

Luckily we don't get together all that often!!!!! Be still my quivering liver!