The Balvenie and MOW-WOW!

TheDuckofDeath

Went to my local spirits store to find a "new" scotch. I enjoy Glenfiddich and Laphroaig , but I usually went with more of a med D.R or Conniie and the smokyness worked well. I'm now a M.O.W. addict and not getting as much pleasure out of my Scotch. The Scotch guru at the store just happens to be a serious BOTL, but he was not familier with MOW, and he was a DR person. Gave him 2 MOW torpedos, came back 2 days later. First off he has fallen in love with the MOW-Second he sold me a bottle of Balvenie Doublewood with strict instructions of 2 fingers and three cubes of ice-no water, and let the ice melt at least half way before drinking. The last couple of evenings might of been my most enjoyable cigar scotch experiences I've ever had. The first sip of scotch coats your mouth and throat with a sweet nector/honey flavor while the MOW smokes mixes into a million pleasure dots in your mouth(trust me on this one). This is why I do all of my "adult beverage" purchases at this store, and all my cigar purchases at c.com-customer service is much more important to me than a dollar. The Beard talked me into MOW, and my local B&M talked me into Balvenie-what a winning combination!

rossdavey2

Sounds good. Need to try that.

Ken Light

I love both of these things individually. I actually put in a special request with my reception venue to serve Balvenie Doublewood at the reception (and they did at no extra cost! epic win!). I never thought of combining these two things...this will happen very very soon. I like that your guy told you no water, very good advice. I've tried Whiskey stones, rocks you can put in the freezer that don't melt, with that stuff and it was great, just enough to chill slightly but not water it down at all.

I've always been afraid to combine two things I love like this, for fear they'll expose bad sides of each other. Chocolate covered pizza, for instance, was not nearly as awesome as it sounded in my head...

On another note, have you ever tried Lagavuliin scotch? I just tried it a week or two ago at a bar and it had a real peaty-barnyard-leathery flavor that I thought would pair amazingly with the right cigar. Haven't tried it yet though, need to get myself a bottle first. Maybe ask your guy if he has any opinions.

bigharpoon

That sounds like a good scotch, I'll have to try it! I also like mine with ice, no water, let the ice melt some instead before drinking.

MOWs reputation preceeds it. Completely incredible.

beatnic

Laphroig is the cheap man's version of Lagavulin.
If you want to go really high end for islay scotches, go with the 17 yr old Ardbeg. Nector of the Gods!

Rob1110

I'm personally a fan of some water and scotch served at room temp. Lowering the temp too much mutes the flavors for me, while the addition of water "opens up" the scotch and allows the bouquet to breathe a bit more. Just like wine, let it sit for 20 minutes or so and it will mellow on the nose and not be such a frontal attack on the senses. Everyone's got their preference.

To Ken: I've got a few friends who absolutely love Islay scotches (peat, sea water and iodine) such as Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Talisker, Caol Isla - and they tend to agree that pairing very earthy, leathery cigars like the Padron Anniversary series tend to work wonders with those scotches.