What Bourbon/Scotch are you drinking?

My recent shopping trip:

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JK

 

Where do you shop????


Thanks,
PappyDewBoston

 

That was a small store. Apparently they don’t get too many people interested in that sort of thing. I added one more today.



JK

 

Jealous!

For a special occasion?

My friends still to this day all dog me for drinking WT.

 

No special occasion, I just love Wild Turkey. Rare Breed and Kentucky Spirit are fantastic, but there’s nothing wrong with the old standby, 101. Just remind your friends that WT is always a top pick amongst people in the trade.

I used to work in the liquor business when all of the rare stuff was just laying around. We used to have cases of all the Van Winkles, all the time and they were a TOUGH sell. People just weren’t interested in them or Hirsch.

Their disappearance just pissed me off so much that I said to hell with it and just bought Wild Turkey or Old Grand Dad 100 for years.

During the restaurant-pocalypse I’ve added quite a few good picks.

JK

 

That's exactly what I tell them, but they all respond with barf emojis lol.

My grandfather drank 101 and so my dad bought it amongst a bunch of other alcohol when I turned 21. Loved it and drank quite a bit of it in college. Stopped drinking beer late last year and realized whisky doesn't hurt me like beer and its pretty much my go to. Although I've found i like the flavor of 80 a bit better I think.

My initials are coincidentally JK as well.

 

Happy to have found this subforum. This is been a largely lonely hobby for me especially during the covid era( honestly probably wouldn't be much different if we weren't in civid cris but anyways I digress.)

so it's nice to find those with similar interest and appreciation.

I'm pretty new to whisk(e)ys but have recently developed an appreciation for the balanced interesting Smokey islay scotches.

Picked these up for my birthday.

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Well, I'm drinking a dram of whisky or whiskey each day, and have not fallen ill. That's about all the proof I need to consider it a therapeutic remedy and to deduct the medical expense on my taxes...Good choices in your photo, too. Highland Park is a good substitute if you don't want to take out a second mortgage to buy a Macallan 18, and the Lagavulin 16 is the one I recommend most often for people who want to try a smoky, oily, peaty Scotch. If you like it, you can progress down the avid scotch drinker rabbit hole to Laphroaig and Ardbeg...

 

Glad the secret to health is whisky!
I do love my ardbeg 10yr, with its price point it's very enjoyable, laphroaig is on my list, any recs?

 

For Laphroaig, the 10 is their basic bottle, very heavy and representative of their original style. I always keep some around for rainy nights. I like the Triple Wood a lot, and it's pretty inexpensive ($65/bottle or so). Ex-bourbon barrels for the first maturation, then on to quarter casks, and finished in Oloroso Sherry casks. Still distinctively Laphroaig, but with some smoothness and sherry notes. The Cairdeas is similarly casked, but is presented at cask strength (59.5%). They change up the specifics of the barrels and blends used each year for Cairdeas. In 2019, they used the same three barrels as the Triple Wood. For 2020, they are going to release a batch with ex-bourbon barrels and second-refill ruby port for the primary aging, and then those two are blended into ex-red wine casks for the finish. I loved the 2019, and am looking forward to the 2020 (just being released now, probably around $95/bottle). Cairdeas used to be a special for Friends of Laphroaig, released at the Feis Ile each year. It's a lot more commonly available nowadays.

 

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I picked this up at my local Pantry.


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This is Four Roses Super Premium (silver colored roses on the front). I get a bottle whenever I go to Osaka (can only get it from Japan - made in the USA for Japan). They run me around $55 depending on the exchange rate. I like the taste. Nice on the rocks.


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Good morning Dr. Cavallo,
Thank you for reaching out to us! You have a fantastic collection of Pappy bottles. You did some good digging and are very close to the age range!

The labels on your unopened 23 years state that they are bottled in Frankfort, KY. This transition occurred in 2003 on the second release of the Pappy Van Winkle 23 year. In 2005, Pappy 23 year was released with a wax top and an “A” before the number. Prior to this, the Pappy 23 years contained only numerical digits.

This would place your Bottle #267 from 2003 and your Bottle #A319/#A624 from 2005.

I hope that this is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers!
Madison Sevilla

Archives Assistant

Buffalo Trace Distillery

 

So I finally got around to opening my bottle of WistlePig 18.

I have a mixed view of WP. It's one of those distillers that doesn't pay attention to when their whiskey peaks and just keeps it in barrels according to their rigid aging. The 10 and 12 are always a decent pick when going out to dinner and the establishment has a limited selection but I never buy them for home consumption. The new PiggyBack is good for the price but there's better. HomeStock and FarmStock are like drinking water. The 15 is like drinking gasoline, just awful imo. Their Boss Hog releases are wildly inconsistent and way overpriced. They got one right with the Black Prince a couple of years ago and because people liked it it was selling over sticker, and since then they doubled the price and lowered the quality, so I won't even touch the Boss Hog releases any more.

However I had heard good things about the the 18 and thought I'd give it a try. TLDR, it is the best rye I have ever tasted and one of the best whiskeys of any kind I've ever had. Incredibly smooth and complex and just pure joy to drink, which is really hard to do do with old rye as it gets progressively more difficult to get it right the longer it sits. Just super impressive, and even though expensive, it is imo the best value in American whiskey out there right now, and it's not hard to get, so I'm going to stash a few bottles before everyone figures it out.

 

Bleh, bored to death on a covid/tropical storm day in Charleston so decided to do inventory to see what I gots left ...

From left to right …

Top row:

Heaven Hill 27yo
Bookers 30th Anniversary
BTAC Thomas handy
BTAC George T Stagg
BTAC William Larue Weller
BTAC Eagle Rare
BTAC Sazerac
PVW 13 Rye
PVW 10
PVW 12
PVW 15
PVW 20 x 2
PVW 23 x 2

Bottom row:

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2018
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2019
Hirsch 21yo Rye (1983 release)
Wild Turkey 12 ‘Cheesy Gold Foil’
Jefferson’s Presidential Select 25yo
Parker’s Heritage 24yo
Michter’s 20yo
Weller Full Proof
Four Roses Al Young 50th Anniversary
E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof
Kentucky Owl Bourbon Batch 8
Kentucky Owl Bourbon Batch 9
Four Roses 130th Anniversary
Four Roses LE Small Batch 2019
Elijah Craig 18yo
Michter’s 10yo
Old Fitzgerald 15yo

 

Glad to hear your review of the 18-year. I also have mixed feelings about WhistlePig as well for their price point.


Might take a gander when I'm shopping this week based on your review.

I still haven't gotten an occassion to try my highland park 18 yet.

And wow.... what a collection! What do you find yourself reaching for on most days?

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It varies. I have a little ocd issue going on where I generally need to finish something before opening something else and I can't have twenty bottles open at the same time and just choose what I feel like drinking at any given time, which would make so much more sense. So I usually have a 'daily' whiskey that I drink and have one nice bottle open if I want to treat myself or for guests.

These days my daily whiskeys are usually Heaven Hill 7, McKenna 10, Peerless Rye, Widow Jane 13, and I'll experiment with new stuff as well, between $50-$100 ... and then I'll open one of those nice bottles to have as my treat but those last me for a while.

 

Had this in Scotland last year... Horrible .... I like single malt light or no peat... this is so peaty you smell it from the bottle when its opened.... I'm more a Glenfiddich or Balveney guy.

 

Grabbed a small bottle of jim beam black cherry. Its pretty good. A bit too sweet but tastes good with ginger ale.

 

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Latest addition


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Yes, Octomore does require a dark and stormy night, preferably with a good cigar to cut the taste...Ardbeg is similarly peaty (not as insanely IMO), although it has a dedicated following worldwide. Octomore is a sub-brand of Bruidladdich, whose core offering is The Laddie, an unpeated Islay malt (which is pretty unusual for anything coming from Islay). They have their Port Charlotte Heavy Peat, which is similar to Ardbeg, and then Octomore, which is more for those who would otherwise go out to the bog and eat a spoonful of peat for fun...I did find that as I let my bottle rest after opening, the shocking effect of the nose went down considerably.

One offering from Bruidladdich that I think is worth a try is their Botanist 22 Islay Dry Gin. I've begun to expand my horizons into Gin, and really enjoy the lightness and complexity of The Botanist. Since getting it, I have also gathered bottles of Irish and Japanese Gin for different flavor profiles. The Botanist is great neat or with a couple ice cubes. Gin sales worldwide are rising pretty remarkably, probably due to the spikes in bourbon and scotch prices driving people to find something more affordable.

 

I'm partial to Angel's Envy for sipping straight-up, but I enjoy the hunt also. If you love Blanton's, try Clyde Mays for $15 less; uncanny similarity.
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Drinking some Four Roses single barrel. This barrel is very nice, has a very forward cinnamon flavor

 

I bought a pretty nice assortment of bourbon last week including 21 bottles of blanton's. 11 barrel proof. 5 from Japan and 5 from UK.