scotch suggestion

Thanks for the suggestion of Quinta Ruban as an affordable alternative to Signet. I bought it months ago (shortly after you recommended it). I wasn't that impressed with it when I first opened the bottle for some reason, so it had been sitting for months until I tried it again this past weekend. I was very, very impressed with it. Not as good as Signet obviously, but very good. I don't like any sweetness in liquor typically, but it has just a hint of sweetness that works. This puts QR to the top of my affordable scotch list. Fairway supermarket (which is sort of like a Whole Foods) had it for something like $38 (I don't remember the exact price, but it was much less than I expected). I will give Lasanta a try next. Thanks again for your excellent suggestion.

 

Lagavulin 16 for $50 is a screaming deal. Getting it for under $100 here (WA state/OR) is difficult.

 

Boy, did I miss something!

Never seen this thread before.
Big whiskey fan, so I have a lot of catching up and reading to do here.

My favorite (until now) is Connemara, an Irish whiskey.

According to their site:

Inspired by Ireland’s ancient distilling traditions, Connemara’s smooth sweet malt taste and complex peat flavours makes it a truly unique Irish whiskey. Connemara is the most decorated Irish whiskey with a huge collection of Gold Medals and has been honoured as the “Worlds Best Irish Single Malt”. Connemara allows you to unearth the Peated Pleasures of Ireland.
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Never heard of it, will keep my eyes open. Welcome

 

Ya 120 Canadian here, Lagavulin 16 Years Old Malt Scotch Whisky | LCBO

At 50 I'd be adding at least 5 to my cabinet

 

As a "standard malt" I like Talisker 10 years.

 

Me too but I prefer Talisker Storm...lucky for me it's been on sale at the local store for just $51!

 

Oban 14 is my daily go-to, has been for years, and Costco regularly has it on sale.

 

As is our custom, my wife searches for interesting bottles of whisky, and I look forward to what she'll get for me every year. This year, two excellent choices:

A Nikka Taketsuru 17 blended whisky. This was the 2015 World Blended Whisky of the Year (same for 2012), a nice intro to Japanese whiskies for someone looking for a less-expensive alternative to Johnnie Walker Blue (about half the price of Blue). Toasty, smoke and spices, with vanilla & chocolate on the tongue. Very smooth, like many of its Japanese cousins, and well worth it for the whisky purist looking to expand their horizons.

And, a Highland Park 18 - this is a reliably great, smooth alternative to Macallan or others usually costing much more. The HP18 received a 96/100 composite rating from the SMART reviews in 2015. Light peated whisky (it is the premier Orcadian distillery, although the Scapa 16 is also very good). The nose is lavender, peaches and tea (and a little tart); on the tongue, it is blackberry/strawberry, and then softening into soft oak and nutmeg notes. The finish is peaty (but not harsh) and cinnamon & oak tastes.

May everyone have a safe and joyous holiday season with family and friends, and may your 2016 bring surprises, successes and challenges in equal measure (remembering that you can find great whisky to be useful for all three categories of experience...).

Bob H
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My wife does the same...my collection does not suffer. Merry xmas

 

we should rename this thread; 'whisky suggestion' since that is more accurate than scotch.

anyway, as i said in my kininvie thread, i picked up an interesting Arran yesterday that is finished in amarone casks - delightful taste and finish - cherries and chocolate. if you can find it - which is pretty tough, its a good one to try.

i also just bought 2 interesting bottles on the way back through london:

Aberfeldy 12 year old that tastes like a 20 year old. very nice honeyed smooth finish. no harshness.

Dalwhinie 'winter's gold'. have not tried it yet. small bottle. heather and honey tones.

as you can tell, i am not a peat guy, so i wont be reviewing any of those.

 

Just opened an Oban 14 a few days ago. Really nice whisky for €45.

 

Bob,

Thanks for the reviews/suggestions!

Ed,

45 Euro is about $50, correct? Where did you find Oban at that price?

Regards,

Art S.

 

Art,

Actually I bought it for €48/$52 at the local liquorstore. And I mean a store with owners who know what they are talking about and not a wholesale store.
So this adds a bit to the price, we can buy this on the internet for €7 less. But with shipping it comes to the same amount.

The next bottle will be a Coal Ila Moch, also for around €45/$50

What do you guys pay in the US?

 

Ed,

I stopped buying it when it went over $50 years ago. Last I checked, it was between $70 and $80 in NJ. I'll look again, maybe the price came back down.

Regards,

Art S.

 

In California, I can get it from K&L Wines for $59 plus tax and shipping; checked New Jersey, and it is a bit higher ($70 or so). You could buy and ship, but the total cost would be similar to just paying more and getting it local. I don't shop Costco, but others say they can get great bargains if the one you want is in stock. In the past couple years, though, Costco is pushing their Kirkland house brand (relabeled whiskies, some very good, but check what's actually in the bottle if it matters to you), so their stocks of the better-known brands seems to be diminishing from what I've heard.

Master of Malt (UK) has it for $55 & The Whisky Exchange (UK) has it for $57, but then you'd have international shipping. Shipping of scotch from the UK to the USA adds about $40-45 to any purchase (and you'll have Customs issues if your purchase is more than a couple hundred $$).

As you can, find a colleague who travels and doesn't drink (much); let them buy it duty-free in the EU or UK & it is usually 10% or so less (and you get to feel like a drug lord having people mule your fix to you...).

 

The cdn dollar is making it useless for me to pick up my booze at duty free. Before I brought a bottle every week I was in the states.

Has anybody tried the crown royal that was making headlines? I have 4 bottles and it turns out I may be allergic to it. Lovely right?

 

Which Crown Royal is that? I find 3 different ones on the internet. Never tried it though.

 

It is their Northern Harvest Rye. I have a couple bottles of theirs for mixed drinks. I also picked up their Regal Apple Whisky, which we put in a shaker with crushed ice, mix and drink as an evening shot. I'm sure I'll drop by my local BevMo and get the newly-named best bottle - it's inexpensive enough to buy out of curiosity...at least Murray's booked picked a whisky we can actually buy. My son lives in Japan, and the winner from last year isn't available here or there.

Bob H
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This is a contradiction, but is there a cheap Scotch you guys like in a pinch?

I haven't been sleeping well, lost my job Friday and just want a glass to wind me down. It seems like a glass always helps me get a good nights sleep.

 

Glenmorangie "The Original" 10 is under $40 US and pretty drinkable. If you like Sherry notes, try a Macallan 10 for the same price. One that comes out of left field is Monkey Shoulder (mentioned a few weeks ago in this thread) at a similar cost.

If you like something a little more astringent & peatier, Talisker 10 is $40, and Laphroaig 10 is great for about 5 bucks more, especially if it is cold outside or you really want to sleep.

There are some decent blends, including Johnnie Walker Black, for about the same price, but it is always fun to buy a bottle from a smaller distiller with a distinct bias toward the notes and taste of what they sell instead of a mass market brand IMHO.

Good scotch thins the blood, calms you down, and I've found it is always the perfect answer to almost any problem I encounter... It may little comfort to one when going through tough times, but we all hit those skids on our journey; good luck as you work your way to whatever awaits.

 

Thanks Bob. I appreciate it.

I'll take a look tomorrow. I've actually cut way back on my drinking so even a small glass should do the trick, especially after a good workout.

 

If you want to take it down another step - $20-$25 per bottle for ones that are fairly good, unless you are really used to the top shelf types would be Glen Moray 12yr or even their base bottle of Classic are quite good. They are a little lighter. Also, Dewar's 12yr (blended) tastes a lot like a decent single malt, I drink it the same as the Glen Moray in my Glencairn glass with a just a tiny bit of water. Another good one for under $25 is Speyburn 10. In the last 3 or so years this one has come around a bit and is consistent. For some reason I need to add a teaspoon of water (a little more than the others) to really smooth it out. Those are my 4 go too inexpensive bottles that are quite decent. Sorry to hear about your job, that's too bad. Though you don't see it now, ten dollars says in a year from now you'll look back and say I'm better off than I was at my last job. It's funny how that will probably work out for you. Good luck.
Jim

 

Question: Does scotch take a little while to "open up" after the bottle has been opened?

My thought has always been "no" - that all the aging is done in the cask and nothing happens once it's in the bottle. That said, I've had 2 scotches that I thought were not good when I first opened them, so I put them away after the first sip and then when I tried them again much later, they tasted better. The first was Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban -- not impressed with first sip, but it is now one of my favorites at that price point. The second was Lagavulin 16 -- hated it after the first sip (heresy I know), but starting to warm up to it after trying it again a year later.

 

It doesn't age once bottled, but can have its taste altered through exposure to the environment. Just opening and re-stopping the bottle allows some new air to come in (which isn't a bad thing), although that effect is minimal.

Once you pour it (into the appropriate whisky glass - side note, glass shape and size really does affect the taste of whisky and other spirits), if you allow it to rest for a minute, it helps it settle in taste. Functionally, when you "nose" the whisky, the interaction of air and whisky allows your senses to begin to enjoy the dram (and is integral to the drinking IMHO); the whisky also benefits during this time by that mixing. Even with that, though, it doesn't change too much, but perhaps yours has softened enough to take the edge off. Lagavulin is a moderate to heavy peat drink, so it takes some getting used to in any case.

One suggestion is for a Scotch you may want to change in taste is to add cool branch water (not tap water). I use bottled water to avoid impurities. For heavier peated whisky, the water interacts with the oiliness in the alcohol & opens some pretty great notes. If your whisky is above 42% alcohol, feel free to also add water to bring its shock down a little (and open new tastes).

For purists, never add ice & store the bottle upright in a cool dark place. For the rest of us, drink what you like, and also expand out to try some of the different tastes