lagavulin tasting

[orangerful]

So, we are fans of the television show Parks and Recreation (even though Leslie Knope and librarians don't get along)



But if you have watched the show, you will know that Ron Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) LOVES a very specific kind of whisky/scotch called Lagavulin.



Nick Offerman actually loves Lagavulin and this was written into the character of Ron Swanson so, yeah Swanson/Offerman - who is the character? I don't even know!!!

We decided we wanted to try it. So we split the cost with friends (it's $80/bottle, so we decided we'd go halvsies as two couples).

It was very oak-y. It spent 16 years in a barrel so that makes sense. It tastes like the barrel, like, you could taste the fire roasted wood chips. It wasn't my favorite scotch that I've ever had. I think I prefer Jameson.

Very cool experience to try it though! I did get a little bit too tipsy and drop a glass so OOPS! I switched to a plastic cup after that (though I also switched to water for about an hour too). Between the four of us, the entire bottle was gone in a matter of hours.

Comments

[doomcookie99.livejournal.com]

LOL Sam... it was that good. If I drink liquor (or booze or w/e) I like Jack and Coke. Delicious! :-)

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

I also enjoy Jameson. I've also been enjoying a bottle of woodford reserve for a while.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yes, we have a nice bottle of Woodford too. At least I know what I like now and how to describe it! :)

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

I love Leslie's library shenanigans lol.

Did it at least taste better with every sip? :P I love when people try foods/drinks that are character favs.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

LOL yes, I didn't mind so much after a few sips! And even though it was a very strong flavor, the drink itself had no burn or anything so it was pretty easy to just keep sipping.

[gillo]

Isn't Jameson Irish, not Scotch?

I suspect the strong flavour you could detect is what the Scots call peatiness, rather than oak. The whisky is matured in old sherry barrels, which is where they pick up the colour and some of the flavour notes. Personally I like Laphroaig, which has even more peat than Lagavulin.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

oooh yay, now I have vocabulary to describe what I like! :D I could definitely taste the barrel LOL. I think we watched "how it's made" kind of show on Whisky and they showed the barrels and how they would char the inside for certain flavorings etc.

So, yeah, I guess I prefer Whisky to Scotch, and would prefer little to no peatiness.

[gillo]

Whiskey is Irish, Whisky is Scotch!

If you're not a fan of peatiness you'd probably enjoy some of the Strathspey malts more. Island malts tend on the whole to be peatier (Isla, Jura, Laphroiag...)

Back when we were newly-weds our nearest town of any interest was Lincoln, which had a fantastic shop devoted almost entirely to whisky. They offered tastings, and we learned fast.

[angrboda]

I don't think I'll tell Husband about this, whisky lover that he is. I think he might faint. He'll have a bottle like that for a year, to be sipped and savoured rather than quaffed. :)

(Also, Jameson is Irish.)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

It *should* have been something kept for a year but as this was an experiment, that did not happen LOL. Our bottle of Woodford Reserve and Jameson should last awhile, we knew we liked those and bought nice big bottles for ourselves as presents awhile ago.

I'm new to all the booze terms and tend to interchange the "Scotch" and "Whisky" (and "Whiskey" as I've seen it both ways). I guess I just think of "Scotch" the liquor as a homophone to "Scotch" as in, from Scotland. LOL. My faux pas!

[gillo]

Whiskey is Irish, whisky is Scotch. On the whole, things and people from Scotland are Scots or Scottish - Scotch is a term that tends to be reserved for the drink and certain foods (Scotch eggs, scotch pies etc.)

[angrboda]

I don't even like it myself at all. But with a father and a husband who's keen, you wind up absorbing a surprising amount of knowledge. :p Husband tried to make me taste a bit of one of his once. It was a very unpleasant experience. I do like sniffing it, though, when he's having a glass. For years I've spent a lot of time around Steepster.com, which is a site for tea enthusiasts. Whether you're trying to analyse notes in tea or in booze, it's really the same thing you're doing. I don't really use Steepster anymore though, as I found the compulsive need to analyse and write a post was killing my enjoyment of just a good cup of tea.

I think wether it's spelled with an e in it or not depends on where it's from. Husband spells it without so I tend to follow his lead. And also that scotch = the drink, but from Scotland in general, it would be Scottish. These are the sorts of things you pick up unwillingly when living with an enthusiast, LOL!

[fragbert.livejournal.com]

I love Parks & Rec, I love Ron, but I hate scotch. If Ron drank Jack Daniel's instead, he and I would have a bromance of epic proportions.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Jack burns too much for me! That is what my Dad would buy when I was a kid so my first taste of whisky was that stuff and it BUUUURNS! Now that I've had some fancy stuff, I can drink it. But, yeah, I'm not into Scotch (though somehow the flavor fits for Ron/Nick...the burnt wood...) I prefer Whiskey but it's gotta be something good like Woodford Reserve.

[xfirefly9x.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a fun way to spend an evening. :D
(Though I'm not a scotch drinker, so would probably just... go with Cougar Town and drink lots of wine instead.)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

LOL oh "lots of wine" is just a normal weekend hehe <3

[manoah.livejournal.com]

Mercy!

I'm not a fan of Scotch or Whisky in general. I prefer rums, vodkas, tequilas.

Sounds like a fun evening though! ;)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

It depends on my mood. Though I've never really done straight vodka or tequila, always mixed with something (though I've never bothered to pay for the good stuff, like Grey Goose, which I heard was delicious with a bit of lemon)

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

That sounds like fun :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

It was! :D

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

That is amazing!

[katmarajade.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a really fun way to try an expensive new drink! Good idea. Also, that way you don't feel as bad if it ends up being gross. I'll have to keep that in mind!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was fun! And we all went home happy (and a little tipsy...except for Greg because he was driving, he is a good designated driver and stopped drinking way before the rest of us LOL, THIS IS HOW I ADULT!)

[night-owl-9.livejournal.com]

Intriguing!

[c-hrista.livejournal.com]

What a fun experience!! I miss Parks and Rec.

[mimoiikit143.livejournal.com]

Your post made me want to rewatch that library episode and Nick Offerman's whisky song. Yikes! Oak-y sounds like a horrid taste but charging it to experience then :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Now I can say I have tried it and I learned a lot about whisky just from discussing it on here with all you lovelies!

And to top it all off, we found out Nick and Megan are touring and coming to Washington DC, about 30 minutes from us! YEAH WE ARE GOING!!!!!

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Hee!! Sounds like Jameson is preferred, but a good time was still had by all!

*HUGS*

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

OMG I didn't even recognize the name when you sent me the snap! *headdesk* Ron is ashamed of me, I just know it!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

LOL it's okay, Tim didn't realize the significance until I explained it to him. He had forgotten about that episode. But, then again, I tend to obsess over stuff and memorize it far more than he does.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

We were talking about getting a bottle for one of the girls at the shop for her birthday, but it was too expensive for us at the time.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I adore Parks and Rec!

I don't care for scotch though.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Turns out I don't either LOL. I miss P&R so much though. I need another show that "gets" me the way that show did.