My bad- instead of my gentle explanation above, I should have just said "Hey, you there! Yes, you, the one with the glass of Scotch in your hand. Look for the thread with almost 500 posts right below this & put your wisdom there (please)..."
Thanks for doing it, and for posting the explanation. People would just assume I was drunk posting with the ones on this page without understanding they were on the short-lived alternate page.
Bob, I'm glad it got merged. Thanks Wayne! I still don't understand why you didn't simply post in the thread, which would have bumped it to the top of the section. It doesn't really matter anyway as i'm on a Bourbon kick at the moment (Noah's Mill). While waiting for Oban 14 to come down in price to the ~$40 price range that I used to buy it at. By the way, does Oban 14 still have a similar flavor to what it did 15 years ago? Regards, Art S.
How is it that a suggestion as to which scotch to purchase and what someone is currently drinking is the same?.
It's not, of course. It just caught on in this thread and became the place Scotch folks started going. Culture always beats policies, so the culture seems to have swayed to this thread a year or so ago, and has stayed since.
Oban has remained pretty consistent with the taste of the 14, which I find to be quite clean, astringent / medicinal forward, with the seaweed and tar flavors mixing with what I taste as a touch of sweetness and citrus. I tend to drink Caol Ila 12 as an alternative, although that one doesn't have the medicinal taste that is distinct to Oban. One of my colleagues drinks Oban 14 religiously, and he swears it tastes the same now as years prior. The only bad news for you is that Oban, like almost all Scotch whisky, has increased in cost in the past decade. Even BevMo sells it for $72 US, although I've seen prices as low as $65-66 online (plus shipping, etc.). Diageo is now their parent company, and markets it as one of their "Classic Malts" so I'm not sure you'll get a lower price unless you buy it at the distillery, or in duty-free in your travels.
The same way a BBQ recommendation thread became the thread for discussing anything and everything BBQ. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/drink-smoke-fine-dining/321055-charcoal-grill-smoker-recommendations.html It's just what happens. Mark
Thanks Bob. Oban was my drink of choice for years, actually since I visited the place. I thought it was a great drink for around ~$40. I don't like spending $70 or more on stuff I drink so I don't buy it anymore. My recent Scotch of choice was Mcallan Cask Strength. Regards, Art S.
It's getting tough for the naturally frugal to purchase great whisky anymore. The prices are now set at a worldwide consumption rate, which means they keep going up. Macallan is also one that also sees a rise in prices like Ferrari because of the intense demand and name recognition. If you can find one on the shelf with the "10" in bold on the bottle, buy it if the price isn't too high. They have stopped production of the age-dated one, and now it has the same horizontal red stripe, but no age statement on the box or bottle. It is still 58%, but so smooth it doesn't really need water to cut the punch of the alcohol. It is one of my all-time favorites, too, so great minds obviously think alike...
Glenfarclas 15yo is excellent for the money, and as a still privately-owned distillery it doesn't need to fix prices to suit its 'range' Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Macallan indicated their stocks are dwindling and as a result no longer use age statements allowing them to "blend a range of ages " with the result , in my opinion, that there is a lot of bottle variation . The result is that sometimes the lower priced Macallan tastes better than the higher priced.
i have the 17 and think its very good, although for the same money i think the glenlivet 18 is better.
At the LCBO ( ontario government monopoly) they have a 40 year old Mcallan for 2200.00. Has any one ever tasted this?
No, but if you buy it, I'd be glad to share it with you... In all seriousness, I buy Macallan 18 & replenish the supply when I run low because I like it so much. I can taste the difference between the 18 and the 25, but the price bump doesn't justify the better taste (a little more silky, a little smoother, as is the case with almost all whiskies as they age). My wife bought me a dram of the 30 on vacation, and it was great, but not that much better, etc. I'm too cheap to buy something meant to be consumed, especially since there are so many choices out there to try. The industry is moving away from age statements in general, not only to be able to "brand" new bottlings (like Macallan's 1824 travel series that is expensive and also not age dated), but to allow them to blend differing years to produce a better bottle more consistently. Ardbeg may be doing the best with that approach right now, along with Glenmorangie, which has really upped its game in the past five years. The fun part is discovering new brands and flavor profiles. As I've posted in the past, I have begun to enjoy Hibiki 12, which is aged in plum wine casks. If you want to spend more, the Yamazaki 18 holds it own against all competitors. Both bottles were pleasant surprises to me, and are good options for the upper shelf.
That or the 17 are some of my favorites; different from the Balvenie that's a regular fall back Oban is another favorite, but the price isn't as pleasant. An older Ancnoc would be good too I bet. Yamikazi is pleasantly good too
Bob, Thanks for the heads up on cask strength. When I tried the various ages of Macallan I found the older ones were almost too smooth. I actually enjoyed the younger ones. Or, it could be a few too many samples that day Regards, Art S.
HIGHLAND PARK 40 YEARS OLD ORKNEY ISLANDS SINGLE MALT VINTAGES 92288 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 2200.00 Made in: Scotland, United Kingdom By: Highland Distillers Ltd. Release Date: N/A Spirits, Whisky/Whiskey, Single Malt Scotch 48.3% Alcohol/Vol. I would be happy to pick the bottle up for you.
Thanks. I see this one, but thought you were referring to Macallan 40. That would be an amazing price for Macallan 40.
I may be a heretic for saying this, but I don't love Lagavulin. It's VERY popular in this thread and tons of people have recommended it to me, but it's just too smokey for my taste. I bought the 16 a while ago and it's still 7/8th's full -- or I guess my view would be that it's 1/8th empty . I'll have revisit it again since it appears I am in a very tiny minority with this opinion.
It's good to know what you like, and not drink something because other people enjoy it. If you like light smoke, Caol Ila 12 might work well for you. If you like a lighter peat, but still an Islay malt, Bunnahabhain 12 also works. Both are less than $60 US. Of course, you can expand out to the other regions; I'm drinking Orkney's Scapa 16 I received for Xmas- no smoke, light, honey/toffee nose with heather/oak/cloves on the tongue. It is about $80, and works well as either a drink before dinner or with after-dinner fruit & cheese. If Lagavulin is heavy, you also want to steer clear of most of the Laphroaig and Ardbeg bottles. Bowmore also has peat present, although they are more sherry-heavy to balance the flavors. Laphroaig 18, though is exceptionally smooth and the peat/smoke seems to be subsumed under the fruit and spice note. It has that peat nose, but is absolutely pleasant to taste and drink. It is a lot pricier, though, but one of the truly great whiskies in the world IMHO.
