Day 16... Friday!!!! Tonight, we're drinking Deer, Bear & Moose 2011, Caol Ila Aged 10 Year, Double Cask, distilled 2011, bottled 2021, 56% AVB, Flaviar Exclusive. This one was a bit of a hope and a prayer - no idea how good it was going to be, they wanted $95.00 for the bottle... I signed up and hoped for the best.
The nose... smokey, meaty, ashy, brine, touch of medicinal/band-aid/iodine. This is everything a peaty loving Scotch drinker is looking for. The first sip - the proof comes through, hard. the second sip... ok, now we're talking! Peaty, peppery, some malty sweetness, some heat (pepper?), quite tasty. The finish follows through and lingers with the smoke, the chard meat, some brine, pepper, and ash.
Adding water, on the nose I get more pepper and iodine.. more medicinal. This has flipped from a Lagavulin-ish Scotch to a Laphroaig-ish Scotch. Quite a transformation. The taste and finish is similar, where it's a lot more Laphroaig-ish ... in a good way.
This one is really good. I went ahead and poured a sample of the CS McCarthy's to see how it compares. The McCarthy's does have better flavor overall, but The Deer, Bear & Moose is better balanced and overall is a better "Scotch" to drink. If you have this and have not tired it with water - do so... it is better for me. I'm going to rate this one 4.5/5.0 ... it deserves it. Cheers!
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