It’s wedding season, the time when amateurs upgrade their drink choices in the name of the father of the bride and the open bar. So as an adjunct to last week’s column on Scotch, here’s a brief description of the other usual suspects you’re likely to see decorating the back bar at your cousin’s wedding. (All prices are for 750mL bottles and included to let you know for just how much you’re soaking the inlaws.)
Glenfiddich Special Reserve 12-year-old (Speyside, $42) – One of the more elegant of the well-distributed (read: mass marketed) Scotch brands, you get a flowery fruit aroma that dominates, as opposed to smoke and peat. There is a nice waft of peat on the tail end. An old stand by, Scotch snots are always prone to poo-poo this brand when I suggest it, too pedestrian for them I guess, but it’s a well-balanced classic and a fine ambassador.
The Glenlivet 12-year-old (Speyside, $40) – Has a fairly sweet nose for a Scotch, but the flavor is nowhere near as vanilla rich or fruity as the aroma. I love this bottle for the extra long finish and great value. A more bourbonesque aroma than the Glenfiddich, Glenlivet’s flavor is suft all around, very dry, and toned way down in the smoke and peat department.
Lagavulin 16-year-old (Islay, $76) – Often part of a collection of bottles that stand so smartly when book-ended together as often is the case (Oban, Talisker), Lagavulin is a downshift from my funktastic Laphroaig, Smoky up front with a richness like the finest pedigreed of teas, these qualities keep the large peat influence in check and mingle nicely with the subtle saltiness throughout. Macho, yet daper.
Oban (Highland-west coast, $67) – The honey-sweet aroma temporarily outshines the smoky peat on this Scotch. Oban, to me, is like Scotch with training wheels. You can tick off all the major chords the beveridge should strike, including an ever so slight saltiness, but Oban never seems to commit to a personality. It’s like a perfectly polite party guest you spent a half hour talking to but still forgot his name instantly and couldn’t pick him out of a line-up if your life depended on it.
Talisker 10 year old (Isle of Skye, $57) – If you really want to know what people mean when they say they can smell the seea on a Scotch, this baby’s it. It’s got a fine balance between the peat and the sweetness from the malt, with a spicy flavor that takes over on the finish. A little higher degree of difficulty from the Glens, without being too overwhelming.
