Isle of Skye and Petersons Sherlock Holmes!

• Interesting things about the distillery:
  • Go to their website! Really fun way of showing the distillery off
  • Has Speyside, Highland, and peated Islay in it
  • Said to be a family recipe of the Macleod family 
• Our Bottle:
• Pipe Pairings: Peterson Sherlock Holmes 
• Cocktails:
• Research Sources
  • https://www.ianmacleod.com/company-history 
  • https://www.isleofskyewhisky.com/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:09

Welcome to the Whiskey Chasers, where we talk about our passion for whiskey and its history, either amongst ourselves or while interviewing distilleries. All while enjoying a glass. I'm Steve. I'm Nick, and I'm Chris. Please enjoy responsibly while enjoying this week's episode of The Whiskey Chasers.

SPEAKER_04 0:27

So while you guys are pouring, I'll tell you the story.

SPEAKER_05 0:29

It's IOLS.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

It is a good court cop.

SPEAKER_05 0:33

IOLS Guy 25 year.

SPEAKER_04 0:34

25 year. Um so Bob from the new chapter of the club and I went down to Kentucky to go buy bottles for them for the year. And we went to Total Wine and More, which, if you know anything about Total Wine and More, they kind of have their own line of stuff that they do. That they they kind of buy up bottle like brands and have their own brand kind of deal. Like this is ours. This is one that I is not their brand, but is a company that a brand that they bought into essentially decided to bring in that's not very common within the US. I mean, in fact, this is a 700-liter. I don't think it's a 750. Correct, it's a 700 liter. Not not the extra 50. Right. So this guy's given out free tastings, which is something they love to do. And they had a barrel pick for Scotch. And I was like, I love Scotch. Like, could I try that? I he was like, Well, what's your go-to scotch? I was like, the smokier the better. I love Logovin. Lafroy is good. Like, I love PD. I love smoky. I love I love that. And he said, Okay, uh, full disclosure, you're not gonna try our barrel pick. It sucks. He said they did suck. Yeah. And he goes, uh, we're gonna go over to this counter, I'm gonna give you something else to try. And they had three offerings from Isle of Sky, but he offered us two without telling us what it was to begin with. So the first one was 18. So there's 12, 18, 25 is what they had. So he poured the 18, didn't show us what it was. We tried it, and I was like, it's good. This is this is this is pretty good. He said, Okay, well, would you would you buy? I was like, Yeah, I mean, I I I I would say this is better than Johnny Walker Double Black. Like this has some smoke, some of that nice flavor that I'm looking for. I said, Okay, okay, here's here's the next one. Pulls this out and poured it. And I was like, I don't this is like Johnny Walker blue to me. Like, I don't know what else to compare this to. It is, it's got some smoke, it's got some girth to it, it's got some oomph to it. This is pretty good. And he said, Well, would you say it's single or blended? And I stood there and I go, Well, based off of what I'm tasting right now, I would say probably like a uh a single malt, but like space side, like very light, watery, very easy single malt. And he goes, I thought the same thing, it's blended. Okay, all right, had to buy a bottle of this. Thankfully, we got it on uh sale because this is uh a 200 plus bottle. Yeah, 200 plus bottle for this. I got it on the I got a few bucks off on sale.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Yes. So I missed the first part about Bob.

SPEAKER_04 2:56

What how do we part of the new chapter? And so I was like, hey, you want to go down to Kentucky, we're getting bottles for the new chapter. Got it. Okay, I missed that part. Yeah, so he tried the same thing I did. He ended up buying himself a bottle of this too. Oh, really? Oh, he did, yeah. Because he was like, I after trying it, he's like, I yes.

SPEAKER_06 3:13

Again, why why it's so important for liquor stores to allow taste tests. Yes, a thousand percent. You're a liquor store and you're not doing that, you're missing out.

SPEAKER_04 3:21

Because Bob likes smoky, he likes the pipes, he likes that kind of earthy, full punch in the face flavor. And so he hasn't really gotten in this scotch, but he tried this, he's like, Oh, a thousand percent. Like, I I will buy this. Like, this is very, very friendly for for a scotch, especially if I like that smoky flavor.

SPEAKER_06 3:39

And we said we said the name of it, Island Sky, right?

SPEAKER_04 3:41

Yep, and the the irony of this was I don't I don't normally talk about the podcast or talk about the club to most workers at like liquor stores. I don't know why, it just feels weird. You should work on that, yeah. Well, because Bob Bob was like, Oh, yeah, we're actually here for a club, and like he has a podcast too. That's normally what happens, is whoever I'm with is like, Oh yeah, he does this too. And they're like, Oh, really? So we said this, and the guy goes, Okay, so I want you to to to talk about this and see if anyone wants this after trying it, because I guarantee they'll want to come and and find this. Turns out, uh Total Wine and Moore, they have like staff picks that they do. This was his staff pick. So there was a bit of like, hey, I think I'm pretty good at this. So uh I I try to tell everyone to buy this bottle kind of thing. But yeah, that's the the fun story behind that guy. I know nothing about this brand.

SPEAKER_05 4:30

Okay, there isn't really a lot about the brand, but uh other than a super cool box and a super cool website, yeah, and a really cool website, they're great advertising, yeah. Mel Gibson. I know, right? I don't like like yes, you should always go to the website, and so there's usually good information on there, but this one's an experience. I mean, and go on with your volume on and watch and and and get on there because it's like a movie intro, it's really cool.

SPEAKER_06 4:55

Yeah, you're not gonna appreciate it if you're uh if your sound's off.

SPEAKER_05 4:58

Yeah. Sorry, what are you guys smoking right now? So uh we are gonna be smoking Peterson's Sherlock Holmes.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

Okay, it smells like like toast. Like I you just pulled bread out of the toaster. This is I was okay.

SPEAKER_05 5:10

I think yeah, 100%. Yes, I think this is the first tin I ever purchased.

SPEAKER_06 5:15

It's the first tin a lot of people purchase, and that's not always a good thing because it this can this blend can turn people off of pipe tobacco.

SPEAKER_04 5:23

I'm expecting some eggs and bacon. Like, we guys not gonna cook breakfast for us now. Right.

SPEAKER_06 5:28

This is um one that I I will dip into every now and then. The problem with it is it comes a little wet and it really benefits with a little bit of drying time. This we did not dry it tonight. So, but what it is is Sherlock Holmes Peterson Sherlock Holmes blend. It's kind of reminiscent of like what is spoken spoken about in Sherlock Holmes stories, so it's not like the actual blend because he also smokes black shag and whatever else. But what it really, really is, is it's a blend that was smoked at that time period by a lot of people, and it's I'm trying to remember it's Burley's and Virginia's, but the types of them is hold on one second, which is kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_04 6:12

If you say it was smoked around that time, I think of like gas lanterns in like homes and like gaslit lantern streets, and this fits with that. Like, I think of like a pub during that time, and that fits with like totally within that pub feel.

SPEAKER_06 6:26

Like a pub in the UK, yes, yes, yes, like underground kind of, yeah. It says it's a blend of orange and red smoking leaf, but basically it's Brazilian burly and it's a Virginia from my my sore, it's an Indian Virginia. Okay, so that's where you get the red and orange. Now, along with that, so it's it's basically a vapor, but along with that, they will they put a little citrus topping in there. Not sure what that is, but there is a little bit of citrus, kind of orange zesty kind of thing going on, but it is something that I really do enjoy from time to time. It's not quite an aromatic, but it's not not an aromatic, right?

SPEAKER_05 7:00

And with the aging thing, I said I think this may have been one of the first tobaccos I ever bought. And simply because I now have a pipe, it's called Sherlock Holmes. I should buy that. I mean, that's that's kind of just the way it and so I know anything about tobacco or anything. Um, and you're right, it burns, it's it's a little wet, and so it it's kind of hard to keep lit, especially at the start. So I had it for a long time. I mean, I had it for probably a couple of years, and after you open it, it doesn't the aging thing that we talked about with cellaring kind of goes away when you open these tins in particular, they're not airtight anymore, but they do dry out. So usually you can bring back tobacco after it's dried out. Uh, you can usually like still smoke it, you it needs a little bit of care, but you can usually do it. But for this one, it made it better because it dried out and it burned a lot easier. And yeah, I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_04 7:55

Is it more wet because they finish it in something?

SPEAKER_05 7:59

Or I don't know if it's the the topping that they put on it.

SPEAKER_06 8:02

It's maybe most tobaccos. So, what they do is they will add uh uh propylene glyglycol or or a humicant agent to any tobacco. When it goes into the tin, and also a topping or whatever, some certain ones have toppings, but the what they do is they put that into the tin with the with the anticipation that it's gonna be aged. That this basically once that tin is sealed, it will last forever because once it if it ever pops, maybe it would go bad, but for the most part it wouldn't, you know, unless a lot of air got to it.

SPEAKER_05 8:33

Also, like then it just dries out basically in 30, 40, 50.

SPEAKER_06 8:37

I mean, there's guys that smoke like hundred-year-old tobaccos, kid you not, and this stuff is still like kind of moist when they open it because it's been preserved. Now it will dry out eventually, but and once it's opened, there's a shelf life, right? But in the tin, as long as no air is touching it with that humicant, it will kind of retain its freshness. The way that you put peaches and juice in a can, right? If you just put peaches in a can with no juice, you know, will that really keep? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. But suspended in water, suspended in juice. This is kind of suspended in a humicant, whether that's a topping or not. Then also the topping itself adds a little bit of moisture, but eventually that will dry out. Some people like to keep it moist because then it'll last longer on their shelf. Some people open up and let the tin react to the natural air and then it'll dry. That's kind of how I do it. Some people directly dry it where they'll pull out bits of it or the whole thing and they'll just let the air expose to it. So a lot of times things will benefit from a bit of a drying time. If you open up, like, say, that full Virginia flake and you really want to have a good smoking experience. I just opened up a tin. I might pull a flake out and let it sit on a paper towel or something for 20 minutes. And then I'm gonna, you know, rub it out or whatever, and I'll smoke it and it'll be way drier. It'll be a better experience. But you want to keep it wet because it will last longer, if that makes sense. You don't want to dry it out unless you're gonna smoke it. Kind of. You can smoke it right out of the tin, like what me and Steve are doing, it kind of raw dogging it, but you're gonna have a little bit of uh yeah. If you're uh I I need you like that one, Micah. Uh if uh not really sure about it. You're gonna have you could have you might not have a great time. You know what I mean? Like it's uh it it could be a little bit more, but if you're a seasoned pipe smoker, you can get around it, right? But some people might think this is bitey or whatever, they might not have a good, I can't keep it lit, they might have a hard time.

SPEAKER_03 10:27

One thing is I mean, I actually I liked the smell of the previous smoke that you guys were smoking. Yeah, yeah. I actually like the smell of the butane from your lighters more than this smoke right now. But I could see, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 10:44

This one's not for everybody, yeah. Yeah, it's got the it's got the burly, so it's gonna have a little bit more of that American tobacco. A lot of people would call that cigarette, cigaretti, yeah, but it's just American tobacco.

SPEAKER_04 10:57

So you said the scotch is spacide, so it's Florida, yeah. It's from I think the company's from Spayside. Okay, yes, understand.

SPEAKER_05 11:05

The company is from Space Idee, but this one on the front there, it says this is a blend of island and spaceside scotches. So there is a little bit of peat in this. There, I haven't I haven't tried any yet, but there is some island. I don't know if it talks more about it, too. There is also some highland and some spacide, so it's a kind of a combination of a bunch of different specs, but it's not like super peaty.

SPEAKER_03 11:27

No, no, it's gonna be just kind of in the mix there. I like this one better than the monkey shoulder.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Really? Okay, good. And it's a lot more than now.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

Now I'm questioning whether or not I'm not a Scotch person.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

I I am questioning that as well.

SPEAKER_06 11:42

Yes, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:42

I think I like questioning that with that statement, flav flavor, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 11:47

You like the flavor. Yeah, you're more of a scotch guy than you realize. I know. I didn't know you like heavy smoked, like heavily smoked barbecue.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

Yeah, actually, I I have not had one thing that you've made that I haven't liked.

SPEAKER_04 11:59

Okay, and I'm a heavy smoker for barbecue, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 12:02

But could it be that the monkey shoulder set the stage maybe and kind of led you along the path a little bit? I'm telling you, it it was a gateway.

SPEAKER_05 12:09

There, it's a gateway, gateway scotch with it only took like five minutes and we got there. It didn't take that long.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Sorry, but it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

Cleanse the palate the right way, your brain. This is your brain on scotch, yeah. Yeah, that was from from my own.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

I learned it from watching you, you all right. I learned if I'm watching you.

SPEAKER_04 12:28

As Chris likes to say, this is the canvas, the the monkey shoulder was the canvas to your your scotch. I could see that.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

Yeah, 100%. It just it was a nice base. So this is sidestepping slightly, but I noticed on the box it says blended scotch whiskey. And if you notice whiskey is spelled without an e, because in Scotland they do not spell whiskey with an E. And also if you call whiskey in Scotland Scotch, they will punch you in the face. Really?

SPEAKER_06 12:58

I bet really, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:59

Yes. And if you spell it with an E, they will punch you in the face. Oh no, joke. They're an aggressive people, right? They are, and and but rightly so, right?

SPEAKER_04 13:10

I feel like if you if you call Scott or whiskey out there scotch, they'll punch you in the face. I feel like if you spell it with an E, they'll punch you in the dick. Yeah, that's kind of where what I'm getting.

SPEAKER_06 13:20

Like they would it's kind of like going to Mexico and being like, can we go to a Mexican restaurant tonight?

SPEAKER_00 13:26

You have like all of the restaurants.

SPEAKER_06 13:27

Like, shut the hell up, dude. Like, we are in Mexico, you idiot.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Like, there's just food here. It's not Mexican, it's called food. But in America, like it's Mexican food. But here in America, we'd be like, hey, would I go to an American restaurant? Let's go to McDonald's.

SPEAKER_06 13:42

Yeah, everybody's like, we're not racist, but like, you want what do you want for dinner? Chinese? You want Chinese? Okay, well, check yourself, America.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Yeah, check food.

SPEAKER_06 13:50

I just want it.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

I just want a protein. I don't see food in a side. I don't see.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

But you need it.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

Irish whiskeys are spelled with an E.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

Yeah. Oh.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

And so apparently there is some sort of animosity from Scotch whiskey and Scottish whiskey and Irish whiskey and the E and the non-E.

SPEAKER_06 14:12

I love how they put the E on the end of Sky though, and they're cool with that. Right. But don't you put that on whiskey? Well, it's not Skye, though. Sky E it's just Skye.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

But maybe it's somebody else. Skye.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Yeah, I listened to another podcast, and the guy's name is Sky with an E. We use E on the end of Sky.

SPEAKER_06 14:32

They're like, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 14:33

I had a I had a roommate named Sky. Sky. Oh, geez.

SPEAKER_06 14:37

And he was a guy on top of it. I don't know which one's worse. Being named Sky or being a guy named Sky? That's even worse than like he was an interesting character.

SPEAKER_05 14:47

He's the only person that I've ever lived with outside of college that I didn't know. So like I like I needed a roommate. I we connected and Steve's like, I did not choose him. Was this like through Craigslist? Yeah, it was. This is Craigslist days. So yeah, it was. And uh we didn't we we lived together for like six months or something. I I had the apartment and I went and and had the extra bedroom and stuff, so he needed a roommate.

SPEAKER_06 15:11

And you got it wrong along with them pretty well.

SPEAKER_05 15:13

I yeah, I got it wrong with him. All right. Uh how were they? He uh he uh was um somebody who was like perpetually high. He he he smoked a lot. You can't get named Sky and not be right. He also had like the worst case of ADD I've ever met in my life, and so the the pot was really his medicine uh to to help with that, but he was also just not very bright uh uh and just didn't there was times in his life that he just he's he's also one of those guys that's not very bright, does a lot of stupid things, but also always comes out smelling like roses, it comes out working for him every time. Uh and so it and he's still to this day, we're still friends on Facebook, so I see him every once in a while. He's a sales guy and he's killing it.

SPEAKER_06 16:03

It's like Matthew McConnell, hey, in that one movie, like Wolf of Wall Street.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Yeah, you got problems with those numbers. Wolf of Wall Street, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 16:12

That's it. Sounds like you're you're describing that guy all growing up.

SPEAKER_05 16:15

Exactly. It basically was, but uh, he got into a car accident. I found out later it was a hit and run perpetrated by him, but he got in this car accident and his hood would no longer stay shut and it busted his radiator. So he got stuck, it got stuck beside the road or whatever, and he found his way home. But I was gonna drive into his car for the tow truck, and time doesn't mean anything to this guy. So, because of that, meeting a tow truck driver on the side of the road, like you kind of got to be there. They're not gonna wait for you. It's a scheduled visit, exactly. Yeah, he didn't think so. So we were about 20 minutes late, and the tow truck driver long gone. So we were like, all right, well, uh, this is like 45 minutes from home. So we're gonna drive as far as we can, and then you can try again with somebody else because I'm not gonna drive you again.

SPEAKER_06 17:01

20 minutes late's like that's like 19 minutes too late.

SPEAKER_05 17:04

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, the tow drug, yeah. So we drive and we we make it a pretty decent way and before the radiator like kicks in, like, no more. So we stop and we're like, you know what? I bet we can make it home. Let's just wait here for a little bit, and I bet we can make it. So we pop the hood to let it air out, and he didn't tie the hood back down because it doesn't latch. So he didn't tie it. So he's driving down the road and his hood flies up, and he's in front of me. I'm behind because this uh we were gonna be driving with the tow truck, so I had a separate vehicle. So I'm behind and we're going down like 42, like we're on like kind of a main road, and the hood flies up, and I see it, and so I I started driving quite a bit farther back to wait for this to have the gas, yeah. Uh, but I got the privilege of watching all the drivers do the double take after they because he didn't stop, he kept driving, and so he was just looking out the little gap underneath the hood. And uh, kudos to him, decent driver, because he stopped at red lights. He you know, he stayed in his lane, did all the things, he made it home with the hood up. So yeah, kudos to him for that, but I got to watch all the drivers as they like.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Has anybody seen Tommy Boy? Right, that's a hundred percent Tommy Boy. Sounds very much like the hood, you know, selling waste of space. I swear to god, you're useless. Literally, that's exactly what I was thinking while you would tell that story. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

I just thought at what point in your brain are you like, I'm at a stoplight? I could probably put this down. Nope, nope. Yeah, now's my chance to rectify this situation.

SPEAKER_05 18:44

No, you stopped at a red light for like a good minute.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

And you must have seen zero cops on the way home. Oh, yeah, yeah. Luckily, okay. So I gotta ask, is this guy married? I don't know. I don't think so. I can't wait. I don't think he believes in uh he probably doesn't believe in the confines of a closed-ended relationship. He's probably more into like the open kind of at that time of his life, he was not very monogamous.

SPEAKER_05 19:07

Okay, love but he was like he was also younger than me, but it's still like like 23, 24 kind of age range, and uh yeah, very much into the free love of yeah, I I had a roommate similar in brain concept of this guy, Dave Flora.

SPEAKER_04 19:25

I was gonna say kind of Flora. Okay, I think uh Dave Skip. We called him Dave Sky.

SPEAKER_06 19:32

He he would he he did this thing where he's like just a little bit, he's also like fair like definitely on the spectrum, like two feet over the line in a good way though, for that guy.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

He taught us to put ski on the end of every every word, last word he'd said, he'd always put ski on it. So we called him Dave Ski because of this. He never met a guy he did wasn't like friends with, yes. So he he came in one time just sick as a dog, and he walked in the door and he looks at us, goes, I just threw up. Just matter of fact, and I was like, like out outside, do we need to clean it? He goes, No, on the road. And I go, on the road, were you walking back from class? Like, what do you what do you mean on the road? And he goes, No, I was driving. Okay, this story gets even more confusing as you tell me these things.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Every added detail is more.

SPEAKER_04 20:24

And we're like, Dave, Dave, what do you what do you mean you threw up on the road while driving? Like out of your window? No, I had I just opened up my door and leaned out and threw up while while driving, not at a stop sign, yeah, but I was going slow. Cool. No, that's fine then. Okay, cool, cool, that's fine. And so that's the story of Dave's like that that is imprinted in my brain. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. So very interesting guy. We get a call. So Mary grew up in Toledo. We get a call from Dave Sky probably two, three years after we got married, still living in Indiana.

SPEAKER_06 20:58

And he goes, Oh wow, after college, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:00

And he goes, You guys would have still been a mommy at that time. And we get a call from him, and he goes, Hey, uh, hey Nick, is uh is is is Mary there there with you? Yeah, I I put you on speakerphone because that that'd be great. And so you put him on speakerphone. Hey Mary, do you know of anyone in Toledo that I could possibly live with? Oh, I do remember that. And we really told me that. What what's going on, buddy? He goes, I think I might have gotten myself in a really bad situation. Uh so I'm I'm rooming with who I think is a drug dealer downtown Toledo, and Mary's like, Yes, yes, get out of there. Like, please get out of there. He was like, Yeah, that's the way he described it. And then at the end of it, it was always like, but he's they're really nice people. Nope, nope, nope. You should you should probably find a different place to live. So then he takes off from Miami. Wait, Miami golf cart Florida or Miami of Florida Ohio. Florida. And he he's like close to downtown by the airport. So now he has his own golf cart service, like rental agency. You it's a karaoke golf cart, and he'll pick you up from the airport and take you like downtown, and you gotta like do this karaoke in a golf cart. And I was like, That's Dave, that is Dave's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 22:12

And he runs his bit, owns his business.

SPEAKER_04 22:14

Oh my god. He does like uh his own taxi cab kind of thing for the golf cart. I was like, That's amazing. He landed on his feet, yeah. Well, I mean, it fits his personality. I mean, I I imagine that same guy opening the door and throwing up while driving slowly. That's what that's what I imagine. That that fits, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:32

Everybody that gets into sales, I feel like there's a lot of people in the sales world that just kind of meet this criteria of not being incredibly smart, doing some dumb things, but always coming out ahead. Like it just works for them. And nice system people, yeah. It's not a it's uh yeah, it's not because everybody's rooting for guys like that.

SPEAKER_06 22:49

Yeah, that's why you're gonna buy something from a guy like that because you can relate to him a little bit. But this bottle, I don't think he'd buy it. Good segue.

SPEAKER_05 22:57

This looks uh a little bit fancier than maybe something he would like. Yeah, uh, it's a cool looking box. I think he could sell this bottle. Oh, yeah, he could sell.

SPEAKER_04 23:05

I think I think those guys could sell this bottle, yeah, but they wouldn't buy this bottle.

SPEAKER_06 23:09

Also, it's it says blended scotch, it does, does not say blended malt scotch.

SPEAKER_05 23:13

No, I I caught the same thing. But if it's a 25-year-old and they're adding natural grain spell spirits, I'm gonna be real pissed. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 23:23

So I I mean, I I based off the flavor, I can't say that yes, there's no way, there's just no way. It's just interesting now that you brought that up. It's always gonna be in my head as far as blended scotch goes. And maybe that's the reason why people are like one of the reasons why people are so into single malts because you don't have to worry about it, right? It's kind of like bottle and bond. Now all of a sudden we don't have to worry about it, it's what it is, right? So interesting to bring up, hopefully for the age, it's not that now.

SPEAKER_04 23:48

I know uh we we probably can all agree 300 bucks, uh 200 plus dollars is uh is a bit much for a bottle.

SPEAKER_06 23:57

That's steep for steep for any bottle for most people's budget, right?

SPEAKER_05 24:01

Is that the price take of this guy?

SPEAKER_06 24:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 24:04

So I can tell you right now, I can tell you here soon. Um I think it's over three, but uh so but my whole point with that is we we tend to look at pricing for bottles from a standpoint of bourbon, right? Right, so the idea that 25-year-old bourbons that's not the youngest thing that's going in it, that's probably the oldest thing.

SPEAKER_06 24:27

We've talked about this on the podcast before that to remind everybody that with bourbon, the age statement is the oldest thing that they put in a bottle. With Scotch, the old the age statement is actually like the youngest. So there could be well over 25-year-old stuff in this. So again, that changes things when you're talking about a price. So I got this for 140. That was on sale, it's 240. 240.

SPEAKER_04 24:50

Okay, I got about a hundred dollars off of it.

SPEAKER_06 24:51

Oh, actually, that's pretty good. That's better than I thought it was. And again, you tell me what bourbon you can get for 20. That's 25 years old for that much. You cannot. So when people think scotch is expensive, you gotta put it in a relative terms.

SPEAKER_04 25:02

And also, you got guys that uh for bourbon that will say after 18, so Elijah Craig 18 is perfect, or Elijah Craig 24 was perfect too for that idea of over 18 by 18 to 24 range is oak. All they're like, it's too oaky. It's just all right.

SPEAKER_06 25:22

I'll I think about my rhetoric 24. I won't get into it, but just don't take people's word for it.

SPEAKER_04 25:29

There's a uh a difference in what you go after flavor-wise when it comes to scotch, right? Scotch to bourbon. And I feel like that also plays a role in your idea of price tag for years. Because if a guy, a guy that drinks bourbon goes 24 years old and is too oaky, wouldn't spend more than 80 bucks on it because it's too much, they're gonna look at a 25-year-old bottle of even whiskey, scotch whiskey, and know it's not bourbon, and still go, that's it's not worth a price tag. That's too expensive because all you're gonna get is oak off of that, which I don't get that at all with this.

SPEAKER_06 26:04

It's like saying that caviar is too too fishy. Which if you like caviar, that's it's just uh most people don't, but if you do, like me, you're like, what are you talking about? It's fish.

SPEAKER_04 26:14

Like what cracks me up is like an app whatever someone's like, oh, this fish is too fishy. My response every time is it's fish.

SPEAKER_05 26:22

I think it should be fishy, but it's fish.

SPEAKER_06 26:24

Stuff is aged in a wood barrel and you don't want the wood flavor.

SPEAKER_04 26:28

Get out of here, right? Especially when we do new American oak and you go too oaky.

SPEAKER_06 26:33

Well, that's just like you're sucking on wood. Well, good. Maybe I want to suck on a little wood. Wait a minute. Strike that, reverse it. We're back to the deck. This beef taste too cowy. Yeah, no, your beef tastes fishy. That's too much jerk jerk in that beef stick.

SPEAKER_03 26:52

That's right. I don't like it to be that jerky. So we're talking about the box. The box I feel like could sell itself, though. I mean, it it like that. Is a great that's great packaging, right there. Like the guy doesn't need to sell it, right?

SPEAKER_04 27:05

It's it's beautiful, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:08

The 18-year version of this also has a similar box style. Anything younger than that, they they scrap the the fancy box, but um they all they now they have a 30-year-old also. So they do have one older than this that is now, or I think it's 31 year actually, but yeah, so they do have one more above this now, which is actually very reasonable on the price.

SPEAKER_06 27:30

Yeah, I mean you're talking about something aged this much, it's cheaper than Johnny Walker Blue. That's what I'm saying. It's and it's yeah, I mean, you're talking about something for what you got it for. MSR MSRP is a little bit higher, but again, going back to like giving this as a gift, which Scotch is giving as a gift to a lot of people, but I think that that is very affordable.

SPEAKER_05 27:48

240 for a 25-year-old is uh yeah, I mean, I can I can I can see where that price tag comes in. I can understand that a little bit.

SPEAKER_06 27:57

If you do the math on the years, it's it's it adds up, but it's good, it's got good flavor, yeah. Uh, and it's not too, I don't think it's too pungent.

SPEAKER_03 28:07

What do you think, Micah? No, I that's this is one of those that so I like this actually better than the monkey shoulder, and it's got more flavor, yeah, but it's not overbearing. No, not at all. And and that's what I was worried about, I think, because maybe I just had too many like smoky peaty uh scotch whiskies, and maybe that was what my brain remembered.

SPEAKER_04 28:31

And it's almost like the idea that scotch is the old man's drink, right? When we think of like old people, I think of like potpourri, I think of like pine needle, I think of gin, I think of like pungent, yes. I think pungent like told my dad this the other day. I think one of the reasons why I love smoking meat and intense smoke for meat is because my grandparents had a fireplace in their their house. They had a stove in their house, and that thing was running 24-7 at max capacity. It was 80, 90 degrees in the house and he was still cold. So like even outside in the summertime.

SPEAKER_03 29:05

You're talking about the black ones that have like the front has almost like and you open the wood.

SPEAKER_04 29:10

Yeah, it's called a wood wood burning stuff. Yeah, yeah. It opens my ground.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

Yeah, yeah. Really good memories, actually. And that smell.

SPEAKER_04 29:18

Oh, that smell is like intense wood smell. Like it is intense wood burning, intense smoke. And I love that smell, but I also pair that smell with old people, like the old man's drink is gonna be that, and it isn't always that, but that's the first thing I go to of like, ooh, this is gonna be pungent. This this is gonna be like intense. And if you don't like that, like if you don't share that same memory, you're probably not gonna look at that and go, Yay, let's let's have that.

SPEAKER_06 29:44

Like that, that's exciting, you know? Right. Well, I think Micah, you bring up a good point, and something for us to think about is for a lot of non-scotch drinkers, I think too, especially what you're given as a non-scotch drinker is like, oh, this is amazing. You gotta try this. Oh, this almost a gimmicky scotch is because we've gotten to a point where like if you drink scotch a lot, you're kind of comfortable with it. So you kind of want to reach for like the crazy stuff, but it it's you forget that a lot of good scotch is actually just really good whiskey with some of the scotch component, like the the components we're talking about. That's what this is. This is actually just really good whiskey with some of the scotch-esque components. It's not gimmicky, it's not a gimmicky, overly peted, overly smoked, overly this, that, or the other. But what I do get on this is a really well done scotch, like whiskey with some scotch components. And I think that's something to remember when people like you said, you've had so much scotch lately that's kind of like gimmicky from the way you're explaining it. And that that does happen to people that you forget that there's a lot of good scotch out there that is just good whiskey without the E, right? Something to think about. What do you think, Steve? How's it doing with the pipe?

SPEAKER_05 30:58

It's going really well with the pipe, I think. I I wish I would have taken a drink before I lit up to see how much this is altering the glass for me. But I really enjoy the whiskey. It has it has the it's not as sweet as the monkey shoulder was. Uh it's but it still has some sweet components, it's still a little bit flowery or whatever, but with a little bit of depth. There's there's been a forest fire that has gone through beforehand. This is the flowers coming out of it. So, you know, there's a little bit of that still there. And this pipe tobacco is also a little bit a little bit more stout. It's a you can see it's a little bit more burly, so it's you mentioned like cigarette-y a little bit. Like nutty American kind of earthy. Yeah, so they're going together pretty well with that.

SPEAKER_06 31:43

Yeah. Because I think the scotch is a little bit more green, what I get. More new life green, right? And then the the burly, I've always considered burly to be like fresh, not green, but like that American kind of fresh earth, dirt, soy soil. Okay. And nuts. You know what I mean? Not new, but not old. Very much in the middle of its the prime of its life. And I think that kind of goes along with if anything, like even though it's 25 years old, it's almost like that burly component is giving the base, the uh, the age, the experience to this whiskey that's almost got a green aspect to it, even though it's matured, fully matured, more than matured, 25 years old. But I think they've kind of played well. And I think that that green aspect on the taste of the scotch actually goes along with kind of the name. It is kind of like, you know, grass and sky, outside, outdoors kind of a thing. Island sky. You know what I mean? I love sky or whatever. But yeah, I think it goes well. The only thing I would do to make this pairing better, that tobacco does need to dry it a little bit. It is a little bit wet. Yep. I'm having a hard time keeping it lit. But very much, yeah. Other than that, I think it's been it's been a good pairing.

SPEAKER_03 32:59

So one thing I um that's that caught me is the nose. Yeah, right. Yeah. So I'm like, smell it. And it's in and and if I had, I mean, I did smell it before I tasted it. But what what's catching me now for whatever reason is after I've tasted it, is the nose on it, I feel like is you know, a lot of burning wood, maybe even peat, like a lot of and smells like it's going to be real peaty. And then I I take a drink. That's not there anymore, which is very confusing. Yeah, right. I don't know. Yeah, you're all good. Exactly. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm like, the nose is, yeah. Probably not gonna like this. And then I uh then I had some. I was like, oh yeah, this is great, you know. So I would agree.

SPEAKER_05 33:50

That was weird. The nose is more scotchy than the flavor. Yeah, like in in terms of thinking about scotch as as smoke and peat, then yeah, the the nose is scotchier or the mose is is more Isla than it actually is in flavor.

SPEAKER_06 34:04

So the the bark is worse than its bite.

SPEAKER_04 34:06

Yeah, and it's interesting because you talk about the tobacco with it, right? The smell of that tobacco is that toast, right? That the like fresh out of the toaster kind of toast, kind of graham crackerish. Well, uh more like burnt, not in a bad way, but like burnt toast. Like that smell of like fresh burnt toast. This is like putting butter and cinnamon sugar on that toast. Like that smell with the flavor of this is almost like Steve. I know you said it wasn't sweet to you, and it's not sweet to me. It's more like buttery with a little bit of semi-sweet. Like we're kind of we're not full-on cinnamon sugar, but we got a little bit of butter kind of mixed in with that, and which is really nice. Like, yeah, the room note of the tobacco with this is like, man, this is really I do get that, but that but the sweet, buttery kind of yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:54

Yeah. So I'm I'm on the podcast and I listen to the podcast, and I'm in the club and stuff like this. But when you guys describe stuff like that, that's one of the things I enjoy most about the club is being able to like put words to what these flavors are.

SPEAKER_05 35:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:08

So you you say that I'm like, oh yeah. Does it make sense? Yeah, they do it. They do now. I don't have to try to figure it out and how to say this.

SPEAKER_04 35:17

I was trying to figure out what it was, and then all of a sudden you're like, oh, it's not that sweet. And I wish I would have tried it before. And I was like, Oh, this is burnt toast. Oh, oh, this is like butter and like cinnamon, a little bit of cinnamon sugar on top, and it's like it's it's nice.

SPEAKER_05 35:29

Sometimes you just gotta twee it out. Yeah, so this can be it's made by a company called uh Ian McLeod. Ian McLeod, like Highlander, yeah, yeah. There we go. Circle back. Call them a code. There can only be one. Uh in terms of Scotch, it's relatively new. It's 1933.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

I love that you said it's relatively new for Scott. For Scotch practically in the start of the 1900s. I mean are they new for America? Like, it sounds weird to say that, but like, are there is it is America a newer market for them for the world?

SPEAKER_05 36:04

So they didn't. I I don't know when they came into the US in terms of that. They've uh like uh Scotch is hard to figure out a lot of history stuff for because one, they all like the distilling part doesn't matter as much, it's more the blending, so there's lots of stuff in here that may or may not be owned by the same company, maybe other people. People acquire barrels and whatnot, yeah. They they mix things up. That part of it doesn't matter as much, and so there it is, it's a different type of history for them. And even with this distillery, the original started in 1933, it then went away. A Russell family, not different than the Russell's that we know. Jimmy Russell, yeah, distant, distant relative, yeah, uh Scotch relative. They started a a bonding company or whatever where they they uh just bought and sold whiskeys, and then they bought the McLeod company in 19 in the 1960s, and so that's the name kind of came back or became got some prominence to it from that. But this brand, Isle of Sky, came out uh this version or whatever, this thing came out in 1963 at that same time, but it's Ian McLeod's family recipe, so it goes back to the 30s, and so it it's a little bit like what bourbons do, where they'll find some sort of a connection to something in the past and make this thing and call it a recipe, call it a whatever it may be. So there may be some of that going on with that in terms of the family history kind of thing. They don't like latch onto it, it's just kind of a thing that they mention that this is a family history, uh secret family recipe from Ian McLeod and his family in the 30s, but the bottle came out in the 60s. So 63 is where this kind of came out, and it's mainly out of this Russell family. So this family that just does a lot of buying and selling, and they kind of took it over and brought this back as a thank you to the Ian McLeods when they bought them.

SPEAKER_06 38:08

So anybody anybody looks down on blended scotch, I mean, it has its place, yes, it does.

SPEAKER_04 38:15

But so one of the reasons I ask when it came to the American market is it's not very typical to have a 700 milliliter bottle. Correct. Yeah, that's a weird size. That's fairly common going from American to Europe. Like they have to adjust bottle sizes, it's like the metric system and everything. It's different, right? They have to adjust the bottle size, they can't sell a fifth over in Europe, so like Beam can't sell fifths of their stuff over there, they have to change it to something else, and it's normally lower, which makes me wonder how new are they to the market, or do they just say, hey, we're just gonna do one bottling, doesn't matter the size. Everybody should be on the same system, it's it's all gonna be the same.

SPEAKER_06 38:55

They don't even know what a fifth is over there, you know.

SPEAKER_04 38:57

Yeah, yeah. I can explain if they need to.

SPEAKER_05 38:59

I'm looking back, they they've bought a lot of brands between like 2003 and 2016 or so. So I'm looking at that to see, like, oh, when did they buy a brand that is in the US? To say, oh, that's probably when it came to the US. And I'm I'm not really seeing anything until uh like maybe um 2016 or so. Uh sorry, rephrase that 2006. Uh that was when they bought Tamdu. Tamdu. I've I've the bottle looks a little bit familiar to me. Um, so maybe 2013. Okay. That would that would be yeah, but that's just a guess based on just seeing when they uh acquired different companies. So who knows when they may have brought it to the US? But also you said that this one was kind of a a specialty thing that that they brought in. Have you seen this on the shelves anywhere else? I've never seen this in so maybe it's not for sale in in the Americas normally. Yeah, the Americas, yeah, cool. Well, I think it's a winner, though, right? I think it is. I think so. I'm not disappointed with it. I'm a big fan of this bottle. Yeah, it's uh it's a good next step after space ice to like, oh, this is you have that, you still have that that green that you're talking about for the space sites and stuff, but it also has a little bit, a little bit more to it.

SPEAKER_06 40:30

It kind of has continued to grow, and so it's good to hear like somebody that's not super into scotch, like Micah, say, you know, this is better than I expected because it's scotch. Yeah, this is good whiskey and it's scotch, kind of a thing. So I think it's something to think about as we progress through this series. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 40:49

Next one should be very interesting because it's it's a single malt and finished, not blended. Yeah, it's it's resting something very different, which is very I'm I'm intrigued. I'm excited. I'm so excited for it.

SPEAKER_05 40:59

Perfect. All right, meet you next time.

SPEAKER_04 41:00

Next time.

SPEAKER_05 41:06

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you want more great content and other perks, be sure to support the show by clicking the link in the show notes. We can be reached on our website, whiskey tasterspumba.com, with any ideas for the show. Thanks again.