The KOTQ

I had the wisdom to order 3 oz of Springbank 1965, 39 year and share it with 5 other people at our last meeting. For those who weren’t able to make it this is one time where I wouldn’t be able to describe the experience. I might be able to say that the 39 supplements the wonderfully oily palate of its kid brother, the 21, with a vibrant lemon zest. I might try to describe the romance inside the glass. However, it would all be to no avail. This experience transcended the ability of the woefully limited English language to convey.

Very often very aged expressions bear no resemblance to their heritage and don’t match the hype. At least in this case you can believe the hype and the price tag.

At our 13Q2 meeting last night at Delilah’s in Chicago Brother B Funk designed a terrific Speyside themed lineup. We started with the classic: Glen Grant 16. The star of the show, Glendronach 15 “Revival” was next. Benromach Peat Smoke was a big favorite as well. The fourth malt was Strathisla 12 which was followed by the surprise of the evening which was a private bottling by the very bar we were in: Delilah’s.

Delilah’s 14 was the celebration of Delilah’s 14 anniversary in operation. Mike, the proprietor, creates a private whiskey bottling for the bar’s customers to enjoy. 2006 was the 14th year and Mike chose single malt for that year’s private bottle expression. The identity of the source malt is a closely kept secret but the malt had strong Speyside characteristics and likely came from either Macallan, Glenfarclas, or Aberlour or similar. Mike is of Scottish descent and the bottle label features his family’s tartan.

While B – Funk, Hoopie and I anxiously awaited the arrival of our brethren at last night’s fantastic tasting, I perused the impressive whisky menu at Delilah’s.  To my shock and awe, there it was on the page, Springbank 21.  I immediately thought of my bachelor party back in 2002 when we last had Springbank 21 due to a major production gap.

Despite the $30.00 per dram price point, I didn’t hesitate and dialed one up while B-Funk and Hoopie respectably ordered the new Ardbog from Ardbeg.

My dram of Springbank 21 was worth every bit of the $30.00, albeit I was a bit nostalgic as I dialed it up.  The night only got better from there as the lineup was terrific and our new initiates brought strong presentations to the group.

There was a good debate later in the night though between me and one of our esteemed guests on the relative price to value ratio of some of these spirits.  This is one of those classic discussions we’ve had as a group over the last 13 years, and to which I believe led Brother Bop to come up with Bop’s Select list.  Last night’s debate was Springbank 21 @ $30 per dram vs. Highland Park 18 @ $18 per dram.  Is Springbank 21 really 66% better than HP 18?  Of course this all assumes that price is a measure of quality when it comes to scotch…..

Thoughts?