LISA XI Scotch BoF

The Potable Application of Scotch Committee (PASC) meeting was held in the Town and Country Hotel, San Diego, California, on October 29, 1997, chaired by Andrew Hume (andrew@usenix.org). The secretary (nick@usenix.org) moved to approve the previous minutes; seconded and passed with no objections. The agenda for this meeting was approved with the following content:

• Lagavulin 16 Still my favorite, wonderful and smoky. A unique flavour (nick@usenix.org). Peaty and long-lasting (Dan Ehrlich). Rich flavor, nice peat notes, very tasty (Dan Pritts). Straightforward and classical. No soul, very teutonic (ggr@usenix.org).
• Edradour 10 Oooh! There's a strange aftertaste! Very nice, but the aftertaste is of smoked sausage. It gets less -pleasant the more I drink (Celeste)
• Deanston 17 I like it so much I can't describe it (Dan Ehrlich). Delightful, slightly sweet, slightly smokey (Celeste). Sorta like whisky -- (ggr@usenix.org) Mellow but with a rough aftertaste. Drinkable (Jim R)
• Balvenie Doublewood 12 Nice and smooth (Dan Ehrlich). One of the best whiskies on the bar (Hal P) A floral nose, with a nice smooth taste, and a light finish (dvk@usenix.org). No real difference from regular Balvenie. A nice but rather bland malt. Jim R
• Dalmore 26 Very Complex and interesting Best of show. (Hal P). Very very gentle, with clean rich aftertaste. Easily one of the gentlest attacks of any single malt (Steve Simmons). Excellent. Lots of long lasting flavor (nick@usenix.org). Wonderful. Very smooth. The best one tonight. (Jim R) Wonderfully smooth, but not quite as nice as the Springbank (clearly I'm in the minority tonight) (Dan Pritts). [[This was the first bottle to be finished tonight; clearly a vote in favor by the unwashed masses -- Ed]]
• Glenmorangie 12 Madeira wood finish. Gentle attack, quick but not overpowering madeira aftertaste. Definitely a worthwhile addition to their wine-aged line, certainly an equal of the port and better than the sherry (Steve Simmons). My 2^nd choice of the Glenmorangies, has a slightly sharper taste than the port wood finish, but some very nice subtle undertones (dvk@usenix.org)
• Glenmorangie 12 Port wood finish. Interesting overtones of oak, complex esters. -- Greg. My favourite visitors' malt (Tom). Very clean and gentle initial taste with immediate port undertone. A great scotch for introducing people to scotches (Steve Simmons). To my mind, the nicest of the three Glenmorangies - has the smoothest, richest taste, with a very mellow finish (dvk@usenix.org) By far the smoothest. As a neophite single malter, this gave the most pleasure by not "biting" my palate as hard as the more highly touted varieties. (Jim Lane)
• Glenmorangie 18; less clear (Tom)
• Cardhu 12 A light Appetizing Nose, with a hint of smoke. An emphasis on malty sweetness with late hints of peat (Michael Jackson). A most pleasant finish and a good introduction to some of the finer scotches.(omichael@pobox.com). Not being an experience scotch drinker I found this to be a good introduction. It was much sweeter than the other scotch I tried but it definitely taught me to serve smaller glasses! (thoff@css.mot.com) A good midrange scotch, but not in the same league with the Dalmore or the Springbank (Steve Simmons).
• Springbank 21. I love you for bringing this (Lana). A particularly special tasteof Heaven. (George Weaver). Very smooth. Nice peat. The best so far, (Dan Ehrlich). Buttery nose. Not too sweet. Smokey but not too. Very, very nice. (William Annis). A buttery nose followed by a butter and heather flavor - not too aggressive and a very warm finish. Butter, heather and warmth. Perfect. (Tony Lyon) Smoothest I have had tonight; Tony's "buttery" comment is right on the nose. Reminiscent of the finest single barrel bourbons (Dan Pritts). Very gentle opening, lots of great aftertaste with a very pleasant linger (Steve Simmons)

A special additional item was added to the agenda by the hotel staff; a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Move to approve by acclamation. So approved. "A little non-descript"(Lana) Excellent for a blend, better than many single malts (Dan Pritts)

"Lana doesn't like blends - this one is perfectly smooth." (George Weaver). But it is a blend, and this is the 'Single Malt Scotch Bof' (ggr@usenix.org). Lagavulin is not one for the beginners. However, if one transitions to the Johnny Walker Blue Label, the Lagavulin becomes an instant and welcome target. (omichael@pobox.com)