The other day I spent a little too much time on this website:

www.connosr.com

It's a whiskey review site, essentially, and a good one at that, so obviously a fine place to do some research before you make these expensive purchases.

Speaking of which, I recently got fairly burned on a couple bottles of bad scotch, and I can't say it's put me in the best mood. Trying to buy some quality stuff on the cheaper end ($50 range), I talked with the manager of a local liquor shop and came away with bottles of Singleton of Glendullan and Wemyss Spice King blend. Now the Singleton isn't atrocious, but it's gotta be one of the tamest whiskeys I've ever tasted, with a fruity/malty palate that would probably be delicious if the flavors weren't all hiding under one another, and a disappointing drop-off finish that leaves you nothing to savor, no interesting parting notes whatsoever. The Wemyss blend is onto something interesting, being based on Talisker as its main ingredient, but the flavors are really poorly mixed, coming out blurred and clashing instead of intriguing... top that off with a shitty finish and a relatively unpleasant aftertaste and you've really got yourself a winner I can help but be upset with these disappointing choices... these are expensive mistakes to make. I suppose this is a great endorsement for trying scotches by the glass at the bar before going full retard on bottles. Though I blind-bought my last bottle of anCnoc 12 yr and that turned out beautifully, so it's not a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

Anyway, for my next round, I've got my sights set on a few different choices: Caol Ila, Ardmore, Dalmore, and Aberlour 10 yr/a'bunadh. Anyone have any impressions of these?

Stopping in at a new liquor shop this evening to clear my palate of the latest underwhelming choices, I decided to pick up a bottle of Bruichladdich Rocks. At the same price point or less, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Fruity but hot and assertive, some medicinal notes, with a warm, medium-length finish and peaty aftertaste. Not much smoke going on, but a bit. Pretty damn good for just a little over $40, I'd have to say.

On the same trip I also came across Ledaig, which, judging by reviews I'm reading, sounds like a really interesting and memorable choice for the budget-minded. Will have to pick that up soon!

I'd say that Bruichladdich was a very good purchase for that price. Also, I have never tasted Ledaig, so do share your experiences.

Will do! The Rocks is the only Bruichladdich I've yet tried, but based on this I'd like to explore more of their catalogue. Since opening the bottle, a few scents/flavors have come to the fore, namely a sort of rubber/glue on the nose and a sort of rock candy-like sweetness on the palate. Really interesting mixture of things going on. I'd read of the rubberiness in other whiskies but hadn't really consciously encountered it before now. It's certainly a distinctive characteristic...not necessarily one I'd seek out, particularly, but an intriguing element to the experience.

Last night I was out at dinner, so I did a bit of field research Had myself a glass of Springbank 10 yr, and I can say I'll definitely be picking up a bottle of this in the near future. Really lovely scotch right there. Strong golden color; nose was very nice with both earthy and bright notes; palate was just wonderful and much like the nose promised, with plenty of sweet layers, good warmth, the earthy elements evoking moss and other damp green tones, but without much in the way of smoke; finish was warm, satisfying, and a bit on the drier side. Great stuff! Looking forward to being able to concentrate on it more fully at home.

I think I'm going to have to look into a Bruichladdich. I did see a bottle at the state store but didn't get it because I recall it saying "Unpeated"... I've been on a peated whisky kick, especially since Laphroaig and Ardbeg are among my favorite whiskies ever. Heck, since Tuesday the bottle of Laphroaig I got is now a little over half full.

But I see Ralfy has given Bruichladdich 10yo a glowing review, to the point where he named it the Whisky Of The Year of 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg-M341eBPI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdelFC4Kdqw


For the record, he rated Laphroaig 10yo an 89/100, the only reason it wasn't given a 90 or higher is because his bottle was bottled at 40% and contained E150 (caramel color).

The funny thing is, the Laphroaig 10yo I've always gotten is at 43%. I've never given much thought to the possibility of caramel coloring added, it's possible though. There seems to be no way to find that out though. The best way is to compare my glass of Laphroaig with the glass of Bruichladdich. That gives me a reason to pour a dram of Laphroaig tonight! Matured in the same casks for the same amount of time on the same island of Islay, it would likely be a similar color if my Laphroaig has no caramel in it. No idea why caramel coloring is needed for Scotch, since Laphroaig is always bottled in green bottles to hide the color so people don't judge the whisky on the color alone. It's a richly flavored Scotch (like they love to advertise on the bottle).

Apparently in Europe, that bottle is at 40%, but here in the states its 43%.


To keep some discussion going, what is the oldest spirit you've drank?

For me, the oldest is an approximately 30 year old bit of brandy. However, the bottle was 30 years old, the brandy was probably aged for a whole lot less time. It was at the parents' house of a fellow fraternity brother and some of this brandy was given out. It was smooth and delicate, but didn't taste all that terribly different from a VSOP Cognac I've had.

The oldest whisky I ever got for my own consumption was Laphroaig 18 year. For my 25th birthday I wanted a 25yo Scotch, didn't care want kind it was. I didn't get it, I got Booker's bourbon instead though. A 30 year old whisky is not out of the question, but that one will be significantly pricier and I doubt I'll actually get one. After that milestone, whisky gets so much pricier that I don't see it being worth it. I might have better luck trying to find a bottle of 25yo whisky online that was bottled in 2012, the year in which I was 25 years old. From what I hear about Laphroaig 25yo or 27yo, that might turn out to be a disappointment for me because there is a certain age where peated whiskies lose the peatiness almost entirely. Even with the 18yo Laphroaig the peatiness is definitely tamed down. It could still be quite a good whisky.

I have had a Talisker 25 a few times, from a bottle that sat in a basement for ten or twelve years before being opened. This was last year. Bottle says "distilled in 1975" on it. After that, the next oldest Scotch I have had is Glenlivet 18, no idea how old the bottle was. I'm pretty sure that an opened bottle of whiskey will last decades without changing, as long as it's sealed properly. If it's left truly open eventually everything will evaporate, of course.


On another topic, on three occasions I have had beer that was over ten years old. Two were awesome beers, barleywine to be specific, and J.W. Lees Harvest Ale to be exact. The third was a 1997 Sam Adams Triple Bock after about 14 or fifteen years on it, and boy was that miserable.

Today I picked up a bottle of Caol Ila 12 because I needed something smoky to balance out the sweeter scotches I've acquired recently, and also because I'd been curious about it for quite a while. I have to say I like it a lot on the first dram and will probably love it by the end of this first bottle. It's got a heft of smoke and peat, like other Islays, but it's very well-tempered, not aggressively flavored like Laphroaig. It's more of a smoldering, restrained smokiness, powerful but fairly elegant. I wouldn't say it's particularly complex...it doesn't offer an explosive bouquet of separate notes the way Talisker does, rather more of a unified, fused body comprising several different flavors...peat, tobacco smoke, and rich sweetness all kind of blend into this one, really thoroughly mixed, single entity. Flavor is really deep but finishes rather dry, with a very lingering smoky afteraste that's almost like sweet cigarettes. Very interesting stuff. Would be keen to try this in a comparison tasting to other Islays in one sitting. Recommended!

I'm underage, so it's hard for me to get decent liquor, the best I've had in terms of whiskey is probably Makers Mark, but that's bourbon. I'm gonna save up for a decent bottle, does anyone have any recs for a decent scotch in the 30-60$ price range which would be possible to find at a liquor store?

Depends on how substantial the scotch selection is at said liquor store, but I can say Glenlivet would treat you pretty well. It's on the cheaper side for a single malt, pretty high quality, and a nice introduction to what scotch offers as opposed to bourbon. You can usually find it at most any liquor store. If you're willing to go as high as $60, though, my advice would be to seek out a store that has a good selection, so you'll be able to spend wisely.

EDIT: Currently convinced that I have to try Lagavulin 16 yr soon. So that makes Springbank 10, Talisker 10, and Lagavulin 16 my next purchases. Also on the short list are Ledaig and hopefully Hibiki and Hakushu. Going to have to try Ardbeg and Laphroaig expressions by the glass before committing to any bottles.

The liquor store that my older buddy lives near is just a run of the mill store, pretty big selection of bottles behind the counter though, so I'll ask if they have Glenlivit next time I'm down there. Thanks, man.

Yeah, I'd like to check out what they have down at Total Wine or something, but said buddy doesn't drive and is lazy, so for now I'll have to try out different kinds from the liquor store selection. I assume many decent scotches don't come in those 350ml bottles? Would make for easier sampling.

Any love here for Bushmills? While my cousin was going to school at Trinity in Dublin she got me some and I've been hooked ever since. For my graduation, she got me Bushmills Black, which has this dark chocolate flavor. I took a shot every time something special happened in my life. I ran out about six months ago, I need to buy another.

Grabbed a couple more bottles for my small (but growing!) collection during a snowy afternoon yesterday: Springbank 10 and Ledaig 10. I was very curious about the Ledaig and was expecting something rather unusual, but it didn't end up being anything that odd. Just more sweet/rubbery island goodness, sort of like a more interesting and smokier version of the Bruichladdich Rocks. Solid stuff! The Springbank I already knew I enjoyed, and so far I'd say it's one of the more unique whiskies I've tasted... it's got these bright salty/sweet flavors mingling with an underlying oak/moss foundation...earthy but without much in the way of smoke. A really interesting balance that sticks in the mind and draws you back. I think this will be one of my faves for a while, though I am definitely seeing the advantages of smoke in a scotch.

I also noticed last night that, after sampling three different scotches, by the third my palate had gotten really oversaturated and I couldn't pick up on the beautiful subtleties and smoky richness in the Caol Ila I was drinking, and if that had been my introduction to it I wouldn't rate it highly at all. Goes to show you really need a clear palate to properly enjoy these things.

Canadian Club, eh!

I ordered a Glenlivet 12 year at an Applebees just this past Tuesday.

I wish I knew exactly what the fuck they put in there, but I can tell you from all the years of tasting both single malt and blended Scotch whisky that what I had in that glass did not come from Scotland.

It tasted like Canadian whiskey with the subtle notes of rubbing alcohol.

Gah! Fucking hell, man... maybe they're making that shit in China now or something. Sorry to hear that. Gross...

Had my first glass of Ardbeg tonight at Valentine's Day dinner. It was pretty intense, and more or less exactly what I expected. Really nothing but a powerful and balanced blend of peat, smoke, and seaside. Only the bare minimum of sweetness going on. Not sure if it's the sort of thing of which I'd buy an entire bottle for the home bar, but great for certain occasions. Very mood-specific stuff. Can't wait to try Lagavulin 16 to see how it compares here. Caol Ila is certainly higher in relative sweetness and lower in relative peatiness. Also makes me want to revisit Bruichladdich's PC7, another heavily tarry/smoky distillation, to get a fresh perspective. That was really the very first heavily peated whisky I had, and that was years back now.

Haven't had much in the way of fine whiskey lately but I remember enjoying Smokehead a decent bit last time I had some. It's young at 8 years and definitely shows but there's some great lemon citrusy business going on behind the burn up front. It took my a few sips to get past the heat though. Any fans of the lighter side of scotch? My usual go to is Auchentoshan's 12 year (which I'm continuously reminded is the "Green Apple Smirnoff" of scotches by a few of my more tactless friends.) Bright carmelly gold throughout. I'd love to try the more aged variants but rarely see them at the bars I frequent.

Recently a friend and I split the price on two bottles of Scotch - one for sipping and one for when we want to get drunk. We got Mcclelland's for sipping and a huge bottle of St. Leger for when we want to get wasted. I enjoy the Mcclellands, very smooth. St. Leger is pretty average but does the trick when we're drinking.

Regarding some of the earlier posts in the thread, I think Canadian Club is massively overrated and is actually some of my least favourite hard liquors. I do enjoy Jameson, though.

I remeber myself linking Cardhu some time ago...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardhu_distillery



So, I tried some Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15yr:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenfiddich_distillery



Not good. At ALL!

Just curious if anyone has been lucky enough to get a sip/bottle of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. It's become a bit of a phenomenon lately, especially the 20 year bottle, which is pretty much universally acclaimed. It's hard to come by here in the States, with the few restaurants that carry it being out of stock for as long as a year (not sure what the stock is like overseas).

I have - My friend bought some last March and offered it to two other friends and me toward the end of a get-together in June. That was actually something of a bold move on his end as we were all so drunk at the time we just choked it down as a shot (and I had to fight back the urge to puke); probably would have been better to take it when we were sober enough to savor it, but it was his money.

That said, I don't recall exactly how aged it was but I believe the bottle cost him $300.

There's a bottle of scotch at the local small-town liquor store that's $5,000. I can't imagine who would buy that, or why they stock it. I'd love to try it though.

Anyway, the last bottle of scotch I had was The Singleton, and it was... ok. I bought it because it was relatively inexpensive, and I got what I paid for. It was drinkable, and that's as much as I can say. I'm afraid that Laphroaig spoiled me, and nothing else will satisfy me now.

I feel like I'm going in that direction now even though Laphroiag is one of the very few scotches I've ever bought by the bottle. I'm looking forward to trying more Islay scotches now if they all have that super-smoky flavor; probably going to go with Ardbeg next.

They're not all as smoky (phenolic!) as Laphroaig (Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain being two examples), but most generally lean very much in that direction. If you'd like to try to find something incredibly smoky but out of the company of the usual Islay suspects, I came across this intriguing customer at the liquor shop today:

http://www.lostspirits.net/#!__leviathan-i
http://www.drinkupny.com/SearchResults. ... Submit.y=0

Leviathan editions from California distillery Lost Spirits. Apparently the most heavily peated whisky outside of Islay. Intelestinngg... though I'm not quite sure if ultra-peated stuff is quite my thing at this point. Intense smoke offers a really interesting experience but for me it's more of a mood-specific thing, not nearly something to be enjoyed on an everyday basis.

I've also read good things about a younger offering, Smokehead.

http://www.ianmacleod.com/brands/?id=23

In any case, you should definitely look into investing in a bottle of Talisker. It's a very impressive whisky and should satisfy you on all pertinent levels, phenophilic and otherwise.

It's good certainly but hard to justify the price point (about 50 bucks out here.) My only real gripe with it is that it's young. It's got a serious kick to it that kind of overshadows all the bright citrusy goodness it brings to the table. It took a few sips to get past the heat but it's worth it if you can track it down in a whiskey bar or something

Fuck yes! Bushmills is my all around go-to whiskey. Black Bush is pretty great for special occasions, expensive but the taste far surpasses the $42 for a bottle. And Irish Honey is amazing. Makes JD Tennesee honey seem like cheap hobo hootch in comparison.

As far as scotch...my paycheck doesn't really allow me to splurge on high end single malt very often. Chivas Regal is my usual but I also regularly buy Johnnie Walker Black label, Cutty Sark (pretty good mellow sipping whiskey) and Glenlivet. I do really like Macallan when I have the money.

So I went out and got some new whiskies - I'm slowly cracking each open to try them. It might take a while though, since I like to enjoy the whisky to the fullest!

Two of them are Scotch whiskies. I got Bruichladdich Rocks, which is an Islay malt. I originally sort of 'shunned' this one because it was unpeated, and I like my peaty whiskies. I decided to give it a try, since it wasn't a bad price at all.

The other Scotch I got is Lagavulin 16yo, another Islay malt. This is a good and smokey whisky, similar to the other peated Islay malts Laphroaig and Ardbeg. I'd say it's closer to Laphroaig in smokiness. This is the first of the new whiskies I tried - or rather am trying at the moment, since I still have a full glass right here on my desk.

The third whiskey isn't from Scotland, or any far off land. In fact, it's made right here in Pennsylvania. Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes. Back before prohibition, Pennsylvania was apparently known for its Rye Whiskey. Old Overholt used to be made here.

About to be finishing my bottle tonight. I really enjoyed it. The first half of the bottle was almost buttery. I'm hoping it wasn't a magic bottle. I'll be making it a regular thing for sure.

So I tried Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey. This stuff isn't bad at all! It's got a nice smooth taste and long sweet finish with notes of oak and fruit (especially apple cider).

Pennsylvania should be known for its Rye Whiskey again, especially with how good this stuff is!

Bruichladdich Rocks has the distinction of being the cheapest bottle of Scotch I bought for myself.

However, the taste is as exquisite as you can imagine - it's an Islay malt, but the version I have is "un-peated" - there is some peat in there but it's mild - especially compared to Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and even Talisker. I sort of passed over getting this previously because of it. However, this is wonderful stuff - Smooth when drunk neat, 46% abv, non-chill filtered and no caramel coloring added. There's a slight note of cognac or wine that I noticed right off the bat - it turns out that what exactly Bruichladdich Rocks is is a "vatted malt" - it's blended from various vintages, then finished in French red wine casks.

While this Scotch rocks my socks, the name supposedly comes from the geology surrounding Bruichladdich. The water they use is naturally filtered by 1.8 billion year old gneiss rocks. They claim it's the oldest rocks in the whisky world. The real claim to this title might actually belong to a small distillery in Denmark that uses water from the Greenland ice sheet - while the ice wasn't frozen for all of 1.8 billion years, some of the oldest rocks in the world are in Greenland.

I finished a bottle of Rocks not too long ago. It was alright, but nothing that exactly wowed me. The "glue"-type tone it had, which developed into something akin to a cream cheese frosting note (??), never really sat well with me. I'd definitely take Rocks over a good number of other whiskies, but as far as scotch goes, I've enjoyed almost every other bottle I've bought more. Like this glass of anCnoc 12 I'm enjoying at the mo Just as inexpensive and twice as tasty!

I've recently come to the realization that I don't really like Laphroaig 10. Not sure why it's so popular, because there are other whiskies out there in the same price range that do the same sort of thing better. Maybe it's got better marketing or something. More hype?

Ever tried Springbank or Ledaig, Goatfangs? If you're looking for a mighty flavorful, adventurous scotch in the Rocks price range, Ledaig would be an excellent choice. Kicks Rocks in the rocks. And Springbank 10 is just pure class. Wonderful balance of sweet, earthy, and green flavors in a refined package. Awesome stuff.

Here is a band that caught my eye because of its name.

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Islay/3540350799

Turns out all of the song titles are names of Scotch whiskies. I altered the lyrical themes to reflect this.

I've got to track down this CD though - Scotch death metal from Germany?

The fuck...? This has to be one of the worst concepts I've ever seen in metal.

Sad because almost all my single malts are almost gone at this point and I'm too strapped for cash to really invest in any more for the time being So many more yet to try.

Want my half bottle of Laphroaig 10, Goatfangs? I'll trade you...for... something.

I've worked at a liquor store for about five years now. So I've been able to try alot of great scotches. Hart Brothers is one of my favorite distilleries, but the price is upwards of a hundred dollars. Isle of Jura is a bit more affordable but with still a pretty great peat taste. McCallan 12 is probably one of my favorites..