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Stultus Maximus posted:Anybody have experience with Speyburn? I saw it at the store around the same price point as Glenlivet. For that money I think Glenlivet has the edge. e: The speyburn is like the $5 handle of vodka of the single malts. It's like THE cheapest SM I think.
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Feb 1, 2012 22:41
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So, I finally got around to buying something that isn't Glenlivet (and I've only had that ~3-4 times). I picked up a Highland Park 12. The aroma is absolutely astonishing. It's a gigantic clover honeybomb. It's honestly just about the only thing I can smell. Even the honey sweetness comes across in the aroma. I think I'm in love 
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Feb 1, 2012 23:37
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Hypnolobster posted:
I'm drinking one right now. 
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Feb 1, 2012 23:38
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Halloween Jack posted:What's so bad about Wild Turkey 80, anyway? I've never had it; does the dilution create a very different flavour profile? All things equal, higher proof is usually better. It's certainly better when using it for mixing, since it gets less dilute, and since lower proof just means more water was added prior to bottling there's more flavor in higher proof whiskey.
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Feb 2, 2012 00:54
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Chiming in to say that I like scotch! My primary staples are the Laphroaig 10yr and the Aberlour 12yr, both of which are so highly celebrated on this thread that anything else I could add would probably be superfluous. I just picked up a bottle of Ledaig 16 yr and am liking it a lot. Apologies if it was mentioned in the old thread, but I did want to plug a rye whiskey that hasn't been mentioned yet - Templeton Rye from Iowa. It's notoriously hard to find (even in Iowa) because 1. it's so drat good and 2. they always assume that the demand for their product is insubstantial, and then they blow a ton of cash hyping their product and are honestly surprised when 5,000 bottles are sold within a week and everybody in Iowa is angry. Even their website boasts, "Just like in the Prohibition era, Templeton Rye is very difficult to find." Anyway, irregardless of the hype that surrounds it, it's actually very good and worth buying if you ever notice it in a Midwest liquor store. Very strong, both in alcoholic content and general spiciness, with overtones of sweet fruit.
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Feb 2, 2012 02:03
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Kenning posted:All things equal, higher proof is usually better. It's certainly better when using it for mixing, since it gets less dilute, and since lower proof just means more water was added prior to bottling there's more flavor in higher proof whiskey. I've had whiskey that was too strong to really get much flavor outside of the alcohol burn before, but all the same you can always dilute that down to taste, while you can't just go the other way. Barring unreasonable prices, I'll always buy a higher proof version of the same product over a lower proof for that reason.
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Feb 3, 2012 02:10
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pork never goes bad posted:Insipid and utterly monodimensional. The sweetness is disgusting and off putting, and the raw, young, harshness is predominant. Avoid if at all possible, especially if new to Scotch. Roger that. I am not at all new to scotch, I'm just low on booze money.
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Feb 3, 2012 02:14
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Had some Knob Creek for the first time yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised! You know how you can see a bottle of something at the liquor store and say, "wow, that bottle looks awesome and I really want to try that, I bet it's good!". Well I have always felt the opposite about the knob creek, I'm glad I finally tried it. Liquor store by me has it on sale for like $24.50 too, so I might pick one up.
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Feb 3, 2012 05:31
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Does anyone know what the story is on what happened to the Van Winkle company? I used to be able to get their 15yr and 10yr (107 proof) bourbon anytime I wanted from the nicer liquor store chain around here, now they haven't been able to get any of their products in decent quantity for the better part of a year and the prices for their stuff online have gone through the roof. I wish I had picked up one of their bottles of rye while I had the chance.  Now that I can't even get their 107 proof 10yr I have to find a new bottle of $30 go-to sipping bourbon. The bottle of Russel's Reserve I'm working on currently is good but it sure isn't like the same-priced Van Winkle...
Zeno-25 fucked around with this message at 07:20 on Feb 3, 2012 |
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Feb 3, 2012 07:16
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DoctaFun posted:Had some Knob Creek for the first time yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised! You know how you can see a bottle of something at the liquor store and say, "wow, that bottle looks awesome and I really want to try that, I bet it's good!". Well I have always felt the opposite about the knob creek, I'm glad I finally tried it. Liquor store by me has it on sale for like $24.50 too, so I might pick one up. For the price, it's pretty great. Flavor is definitely a step up from Maker's Mark, and is on almost on par with Buffalo Trace (plus the bar by me sells it for $4.00 a glass).
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Feb 3, 2012 07:25
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Zeno-25 posted:Does anyone know what the story is on what happened to the Van Winkle company? I used to be able to get their 15yr and 10yr (107 proof) bourbon anytime I wanted from the nicer liquor store chain around here, now they haven't been able to get any of their products in decent quantity for the better part of a year and the prices for their stuff online have gone through the roof. Also the Van Winkles don't own a distillery anymore. They take their recipe to Buffalo Trace to distill in smaller quantities...then you have to figure in the fact that fewer barrels make the cut at 15, 20 and 23 years. Stuff that doesn't make the cut is probably sold to smaller boutiques and blenders. NightConqueror posted:For the price, it's pretty great. Flavor is definitely a step up from Maker's Mark, and is on almost on par with Buffalo Trace (plus the bar by me sells it for $4.00 a glass). TobinHatesYou fucked around with this message at 10:20 on Feb 3, 2012 |
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Feb 3, 2012 10:13
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NightConqueror posted:For the price, it's pretty great. Flavor is definitely a step up from Maker's Mark, and is on almost on par with Buffalo Trace (plus the bar by me sells it for $4.00 a glass). Call me crazy but I actually liked it a lot more than Buffalo Trace, for some reason the BT just didn't do it for me.
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Feb 3, 2012 17:19
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Beginner recs up in the OP.
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Feb 3, 2012 20:51
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wormil posted:Beginner recs up in the OP. Aberlour 12 is a little less than the Oban, and definitely a very good scotch for a new scotch drinker. It's a similar price to the Higland Park 12, less smokey, more Speyside honey. ETA - it's more representative of a style of scotch than the Highland Park is. Highland Park is (probably) a better malt, but Aberlour is more "correct." Aberlour is my second favourite whisky, right behind Highland Park, so while HP is a great recommendation, I tend to point people at Aberlour if they are bourbon drinkers looking to try scotch for the first time. pork never goes bad fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Feb 3, 2012 |
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Feb 3, 2012 21:40
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I am not a very experienced scotch drinker, but coming from drinking mostly bourbon and canadian blends I found The Balvennie Doublewood to be a pretty good beginner's bottle. A lot of flavor, with quite a bit of sweetness from the sherry casks, pretty easy drinking. A lot less jarring of a transition than say to a strong peaty islay scotch.
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Feb 3, 2012 23:20
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DoctaFun posted:Call me crazy but I actually liked it a lot more than Buffalo Trace, for some reason the BT just didn't do it for me. 
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Feb 3, 2012 23:51
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wormil posted:Beginner recs up in the OP. From left field: Old Pulteney 12 might be a little less interesting than Oban 14 as West Highlands go, but at $35 from a place like BevMo, I think it warrants a recommendation.
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Feb 4, 2012 09:49
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Zeno-25 posted:Does anyone know what the story is on what happened to the Van Winkle company? I used to be able to get their 15yr and 10yr (107 proof) bourbon anytime I wanted from the nicer liquor store chain around here, now they haven't been able to get any of their products in decent quantity for the better part of a year and the prices for their stuff online have gone through the roof. No idea, but as kidsafe said it's probably super demand to limited supply. I had to get on a secret list to get a call about some Van Winkle 10 year from my local store, they kept it in back and only brought it out if you asked for it by name. They sold out of all they had in an afternoon. A little silly to go through, I think.
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Feb 5, 2012 06:31
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Well, I guess my days of drinking Van Winkle are long over, then. I've got just a bit of the 20yr left saved for a very special occasion. I almost finished it off when Osama got offed. Anyway, it sounds like I better get my hands on some W. L. Weller if I want to get something close to the Van Winkle. Maker's and BT are fine and good to me but hardly the same bang for the buck as far as flavor goes. Are there any other wheated bourbons out there?DoctaFun posted:I am not a very experienced scotch drinker, but coming from drinking mostly bourbon and canadian blends I found The Balvennie Doublewood to be a pretty good beginner's bottle. A lot of flavor, with quite a bit of sweetness from the sherry casks, pretty easy drinking. A lot less jarring of a transition than say to a strong peaty islay scotch. I'm also mostly a bourbon drinker. Since I really enjoy barrel-proof bourbon, I figured I would pick up some cask-strength Laphroaig a while back. While I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who was unsure of how much they liked very strong smokey peat, it gave me a whole new appreciation for scotch after I had already sorta started to like scotch whisky. I still need to try a bottle of their Quarter Cask, though.
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Feb 5, 2012 08:45
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spankmeister posted:For that money I think Glenlivet has the edge. I'm also pretty sure I've seen single malts from 'secret distilleries' like Ileach and Finlaggan for less...as well as some other independents. TobinHatesYou fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Feb 5, 2012 |
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Feb 5, 2012 13:11
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Anyone ever tried Willet's bourbon? http://www.kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com/willett_pot_still_reserve.php The bottle is awesome looking and they have it at a local shop. Don't know if I really need to buy another bottle for awhile though, but it's the first time I've seen it. Anyone have any opinion on it?
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Feb 5, 2012 20:55
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kidsafe posted:*shrug* I have a bottle of Speyburn 10yr in my cabinet. It's cheap, it's accessible...it should never be compared to a $5 handle of vodka. I'd directly compare it to AnCnoc 12yr if anything. Different distilleries, same owners, very similar profiles. For a non-whisk(e)y drinker, I'd definitely pour them Speyburn instead of Glenlivet, but that's me. The things you are saying about it are bad things, though. It barely tastes like a scotch, let alone a single malt, definitely doesn't have 12 years of barrel character no matter how long it actually spent in barrel. It's lack of whisky character may make it more accessible for a non whisky drinker, but why not just pour that person a bourbon and coke, or gin and tonic, or just vodka?
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Feb 5, 2012 21:51
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Well, I, at least, have a moral commitment to never serving vodka.
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Feb 5, 2012 23:10
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pork never goes bad posted:The things you are saying about it are bad things, though. It barely tastes like a scotch, let alone a single malt, definitely doesn't have 12 years of barrel character no matter how long it actually spent in barrel. It's lack of whisky character may make it more accessible for a non whisky drinker, but why not just pour that person a bourbon and coke, or gin and tonic, or just vodka?
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Feb 6, 2012 01:57
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Zeno-25 posted:I'm also mostly a bourbon drinker. Since I really enjoy barrel-proof bourbon, I figured I would pick up some cask-strength Laphroaig a while back. While I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who was unsure of how much they liked very strong smokey peat, it gave me a whole new appreciation for scotch after I had already sorta started to like scotch whisky. I still need to try a bottle of their Quarter Cask, though. I'm a huge fan of the regular Laphroaig 10. Is the flavor significantly different at cask strength, or does it just have more burn to it? Sort of tossing up the idea of getting that or an Ardbeg to fill out my smoky Islay addiction. vvvv That helps a lot, thanks! NightConqueror fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Feb 6, 2012 |
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Feb 6, 2012 06:21
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NightConqueror posted:I'm a huge fan of the regular Laphroaig 10. Is the flavor significantly different at cask strength, or does it just have more burn to it? Sort of tossing up the idea of getting that or an Ardbeg to fill out my smoky Islay addiction. If you like the 10, get the quarter cask. My cabinet has 10 yr, Quarter Cask, Triple Wood, and 18 yr (and the Ardbeg 10). It's interesting to see the differences between the line, but Quarter Cask is by far my favorite. It has a more intense flavor than the 10, with more of a rounded mature intensity to the same base flavors. The 18 is more mellow and muted, almost bring out more grain and honey notes in the peat party. I like the more warming bright flavors of the Quarter Cask. Quarter compared to Ardbeg 10, still would favor the Quarter. The Ardbeg has more medicine notes to it, and comes across as more peat heavy to me; get the Ardbeg if you want to explore the style more.
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Feb 6, 2012 06:33
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kidsafe posted:Since when are being cheap and accessible bad qualities on their own? And I said nothing of Speyburn not tasting like Scotch. What is that supposed to mean anyway? Caol Ila doesn't taste like Springbank doesn't taste like Glenrothes...what is Scotch *supposed* to taste like? Sorry - I didn't mean to imply that those were things you said. I still think that they are true statements about the Scotch. Speyburn is loving rank. It is absolutely the $5 Vodka handle of single malts. For clarification - cheap and accessible are not necessarily bad qualities, only when they are to the detriment of other things (like tasting good, or at least ok) that we might want in our Scotch. Other whiskys at that price point do the cheap and accessible thing much better. pork never goes bad fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Feb 6, 2012 |
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Feb 6, 2012 06:44
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NightConqueror posted:I'm a huge fan of the regular Laphroaig 10. Is the flavor significantly different at cask strength, or does it just have more burn to it? Sort of tossing up the idea of getting that or an Ardbeg to fill out my smoky Islay addiction. It's been a while since I had a bottle of Laphroaig 10, but it couldn't be too different since as far as I know it's the same stuff just not diluted down to 80 proof. Because of that the flavor in general is more concentrated and powerful. I would say besides just the smoke/peat being stronger, the flavor of the sea comes through very nicely, as well as there being more medicinal notes. Since we're talking about barrel-proof, this is also some amazing (and powerful) stuff: 
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Feb 6, 2012 07:02
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pork never goes bad posted:Sorry - I didn't mean to imply that those were things you said. I still think that they are true statements about the Scotch. Speyburn is loving rank. It is absolutely the $5 Vodka handle of single malts. The experts don't seem to hate it either...at least Martine Nouet, Broom and the late Michael Jackson. I'd personally describe Speyburn as the following: Young/clean, light and syrupy (honey), slightly heathery but not perfumy.
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Feb 6, 2012 07:29
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Oh man I've heard nothing but good about George T. Stagg. Is it amazing? I hear it's amazing. I would *love* a bottle, but it's drat hard to find and I couldn't afford it right now anyway.
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Feb 6, 2012 07:30
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Zeno-25 posted:It's been a while since I had a bottle of Laphroaig 10, but it couldn't be too different since as far as I know it's the same stuff just not diluted down to 80 proof. Because of that the flavor in general is more concentrated and powerful. I would say besides just the smoke/peat being stronger, the flavor of the sea comes through very nicely, as well as there being more medicinal notes. Laphroiag Cask Strength is not chill-filtered, whereas the regular 10 is. I don't know if that affects the taste much as I have never had the Cask Strength one!
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Feb 6, 2012 07:35
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Kenning posted:Oh man I've heard nothing but good about George T. Stagg. Is it amazing? I hear it's amazing. I would *love* a bottle, but it's drat hard to find and I couldn't afford it right now anyway. It's really good stuff, although I definitely only break it out every now and then. I've just about finished a bottle from 2009. Their batches of Stagg change a bit from year to year from what I've read (more than just the abv%). It's also small batch, not single barrel. It tastes wonderfully of molasses, cinnamon spice, caramel, and even a hint of chocolate. You do have to water it down a bit though or the only thing you'll be tasting is your tongue going numb. But hey, that just means more drinks from the same-sized bottle.
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Feb 6, 2012 19:07
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I didn't notice much in the OP, so can someone give me a quick introduction to learning more about rye whiskey? I tend to prefer peaty, Islay Scotch, and on that note someone gave me some Pigwhistle a couple nights ago. It was a very happy find for me, and also a realization that I don't know much about rye whiskey at all. I'll probably end up with a bottle of Pigwhistle sometime soon, but I'd like to learn more about rye whiskey in general (and hopefully find some less expensive bottles to buy as well). Any advice is greatly appreciated. Edit: on an unrelated note, what do people think about whiskey stones? A friend bought some for me, but so far I've only used them with tequila. I'm not super hung up on "drinking the proper way" and I'll throw in an ice cube or two when I feel like it, but do the stones have any detrimental affects I'm probably completely unaware of? Voodoofly fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Feb 7, 2012 |
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Feb 7, 2012 01:38
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Voodoofly posted:I didn't notice much in the OP, so can someone give me a quick introduction to learning more about rye whiskey? Straight rye whiskey is exactly straight bourbon, but with the >50% corn requirement in the mashbill replaced with rye. Other than that, the process is identical. It was also the commonly preferred American whiskey up until prohibition, after which bourbon massively took over in popularity. I haven't tried Whistlepig so I can't tell you how the flavor compares, but the following are what I recommend in each price bracket: Good cheaper ryes: Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Wild Turkey Rye Bulleit Rye Mid-priced ryes: Russel's Reserve Rye Sazerac Rye Expensive ryes that are actually worth the money: Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye Sazerac Rye 18yo
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Feb 7, 2012 02:10
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There are so many incredibly expensive craft ryes that I just can't believe are worth the price tag.
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Feb 7, 2012 02:30
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Part of the reason for high-priced craft whiskey is the fact that it requires so much investment in advance, often years before they'll have anything they can sell. Even then, it's a risk if the whiskey will be any good, and batch to batch might differ while they tweak their recipes. It's a lot different than distilling vodka or gin and selling right away. Certainly not a business venture I'd make. On the other hand, I think in a few years we'll start seeing some very good craft whiskeys at more reasonable prices. Right now we're paying for their investment and for high demand of usually short-supply whiskeys (that's you, Templeton Rye).
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Feb 7, 2012 03:28
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Kenning posted:There are so many incredibly expensive craft ryes that I just can't believe are worth the price tag. Totally agreed. That's why the two "expensive" ryes I listed are ones that shouldn't top out over $60... assuming you can find them. That said, VWFRR is worth every penny I paid, and probably then some, since it's literally the best thing I have ever put in my mouth in my entire life.
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Feb 7, 2012 03:53
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I was in Park City, UT a few weeks ago and picked up two local Ryes, both by High West. The first bottle is: High West Double Rye, 46%, $35 Whiskey Advocate Blog posted:A blend of two straight whiskeys: a very young 2 year old high rye content whiskey and a 16 year old rye whiskey with a lower rye content. Perhaps the spiciest American whiskey I have ever tasted, yet at the same time, quite tame and mellow. Complex notes of mint, clove, cinnamon, licorice root, pine nuts, and dark chocolate, with a surprising dose of gin botanicals throughout. A soft underbelly of caramel, sweet corn, and soothing vanilla provides an interesting counterpoint. Very easy-drinking, too (hard to believe it’s 46%). Intriguing, and a must-try for rye whiskey aficionados — even if only to satisfy your curiosity. The second bottle is: Son of Bourye, 46%, $41 [url posted:www.drinkupny.com[/url]] I would recommend these for a try in a bar, but maybe not springing for a bottle right away as they are both pretty aggressive and will not be for everyone.
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Feb 7, 2012 04:49
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Voodoofly posted:I didn't notice much in the OP, so can someone give me a quick introduction to learning more about rye whiskey? I updated the OP but there isn't much to it. Like Voodoofly said, it's basically bourbon with rye as the main grain.
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Feb 7, 2012 06:34
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bunnielab posted:I was in Park City, UT a few weeks ago and picked up two local Ryes, both by High West. Keep in mind these are "local" only as far as the name on the label. High West doesn't actually have an aged whiskey that they've distilled. They ship in their whiskey, blend it, and then bottle it under their name. A lot of the craft distilleries are having to do this in order to start right away. That's also why a lot of them are starting out with vodkas/gins as well as white dog.
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Feb 7, 2012 07:35
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