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Carillon posted:No bitters? I don't make it with bitters no. Also that should've read lemon juice not lime juice, my bad.
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Jul 18, 2020 16:47
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Up today is the cask strength peat bombs I stuck to bottles I have open already, tried to find a variety and didn't want my heavy wine finish stuff like my Signatory Ledaig or Cairdeas 2016 to be in the mix. I also had my wife pour the glasses this time rather than just shuffle them so I wasn't able to tell based on color. Ardbeg Corryvreckan, Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1, Laphroaig Cairdeas 2017 (Quarter Cask), Big Peat Christmas Edition (2015) Small detail that may have affected the results: the Octomore has been open for at least 3 years and is probably a bit too oxidized, the downside to Bruichladdich's black bottles is not knowing how much is left, and with my expensive bottles I end up savoring them as long as possible. I have another unopened 6.1 bottle that I'll have to compare to it to confirm. I did guess them all correctly, but the Octomore and Big Peat were a tough call. Ranking: Cairdeas QC, Octomore, Corryvreckan, Big Peat The Cairdeas quarter cask is the boldest of this bunch, and is just a bolder version of the quarter cask. It's a shame this was a limited release because it's so drat good. Oak, chocolate, smoke, vanilla, with a long spicy finish. The Octomore lacked the peaty punch I remember, so the oxidation or just years of being open may have killed it's punch, or the others just overshadowed it just too much. It is still surprisingly drinkable at 59.5% and has a nice smoky menthol nose and finish, and pleasant Bruichladdich vanilla brine. Ardbeg Corryvreckan was definitely the only whisky in the group with sherry/wine casks in the blend. Also the most different from the others, probably the most "sophisticated" tasting (and again, quite easy drinking at 57.1%). This was also the darkest whisky here, probably from whatever sherry or wine casks were used. This Big Peat Xmas edition is mostly Ardbeg and Caol Ila, but I think being a blend hurts it, as it lacks anything to distinguish it from the single malts, each with their own strong "gimmick" so to speak. It's still very good, and if you're looking for a nice cask strength peat bomb you can find these from various years hiding on the shelf in those stores that have big IB selections for under $70. It has all of the basic highlights but none of the flair. It's also the lightest colored of the group. All being said I guess I love my Laphroaig and I'm just going to have to pick up that 2019 Cairdeas triple wood bottle before they're gone Edit: was just looking at prices for Laphroaig and drat the tariffs really hit their prices hard. I can't find regular quarter cask for under $60 and I distinctly remember it being $45-50 less than a year ago Deceptive Thinker fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Jul 19, 2020 |
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Jul 19, 2020 21:04
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Deceptive Thinker posted:
drat I just paid like 32€ for a bottle. By the way, I heard it‘s pretty drat impossible / illegal to ship liquor from Europe to the US, the reason being that shipping it is generally forbidden, is that right? Or is it one of your weird states!!! things?
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Jul 19, 2020 21:36
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Neco posted:drat I just paid like 32€ for a bottle. It's illegal but possible, just risky You can't ship it through the mail or ups/fedex but if you call it glassware and hope for the best it works 95% of the time
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Jul 19, 2020 21:51
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Toebone posted:I've got a half a bottle of Chivas Regal I don't really care for straight. Any good scotch-based cocktails out there aside from penicillin and sours?
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Jul 21, 2020 00:49
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I'm more a wine and cocktails guy but reading this thread has made me go for some scotch. A bit sacrilegious: Been doing 3:1 Famous Grouse: Laphroaig 10. Delicious and pretty cost effective for scotch. You still get the smoke at that ratio.
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Jul 24, 2020 21:54
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Add a little lemon and ginger and you've got yourself a penicillin
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Jul 24, 2020 22:28
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Comb Your Beard posted:I'm more a wine and cocktails guy but reading this thread has made me go for some scotch. A bit sacrilegious: Been doing 3:1 Famous Grouse: Laphroaig 10. Delicious and pretty cost effective for scotch. You still get the smoke at that ratio. You are pretty much making this: https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/scotch/blended-scotch/famous-grouse-black-grouse/p/109330750
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Jul 26, 2020 04:42
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Finally found another bottle of Yamazaki 18 for a relatively reasonable price. My tastes have changed since I last had it a couple years ago, leaning more towards heavily peated islays now, so I thought maybe I wouldn't like it as much. Turns out I enjoy it a lot more now that I've developed more of a palate and if there weren't a shortage I'd just funnel this bottle into my face hole.
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Jul 26, 2020 05:30
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CleverHans posted:You are pretty much making this: I had that years ago, for some reason I like this more. But yea it is similar. I got on the Grouse bc of how popular it was in Scotland.
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Jul 29, 2020 19:24
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Anyone had any of the Uncle Nearest? In normal times I'd find a bottle at a bar to try before buying, but whelp that's not happening right now.
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Jul 29, 2020 20:45
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Comb Your Beard posted:I had that years ago, for some reason I like this more. But yea it is similar. I got on the Grouse bc of how popular it was in Scotland. Famous / Black Grouse is good. Black Bull is good.
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Aug 1, 2020 10:38
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Comb Your Beard posted:I had that years ago, for some reason I like this more. But yea it is similar. I got on the Grouse bc of how popular it was in Scotland. Makes sense: when you cook up your own blend you can tweak just how smoky/fruity/peaty the final product is until it is just to your liking. Also, Black Bull is good. It's got that flinty/sulfurous note that can be quite divisive but I do enjoy.
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Aug 1, 2020 16:18
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Picked up Jameson Black Barrel on sale. Something weird about it. It's very good, good flavor. But it's almost...too smooth? I've never encountered this with whiskey before. It feels like I'm drinking something much lower proof, despite being 80 proof. The flavors are also much more muted than something like a Red Breast or even an old Jameson product. Honestly it tastes like watered down whiskey almost. Has anyone ever encountered something like this before? It's weird.
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Aug 5, 2020 03:15
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Black barrel is aged in double charred barrels whatever the hell that means. I don't know if they take used barrels and char them again, I never really looked into it. Playing around with different char levels seems to be the big whiskey fad right now.
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Aug 5, 2020 17:44
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I had some glenmorangie 18 last night and you know what? It’s a very solid dram. It is sweet but not overly so(I’ve felt their Lasanta is almost syrupy at times) a lot of honey and floral qualities, and the mouthfeel is actually okay(not great, but not thin). I got this at Costco awhile back for like $90 or something, and given the current state of the scotch market, I’d say it’s a great value at that price. It fits into the ‘perfectly enjoyable and well put together, albeit not super deep or complex’ bucket, but sometimes that hits the spot!
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Aug 5, 2020 18:41
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Can someone please explain Cragganmore 12 to me? It's honestly the only whisky I've had so far that I just think "No, this is a horrible drink either way". Every other dram I find there's a certain quality in it that can fit a mood, etc. Cragganmore on the other hand is just eeeehhhhh.
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Aug 10, 2020 11:23
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I tried four roses small batch this weekend and really liked it. Extremely drinkable. I’d say this is my go to when I can’t find Buffalo Trace. Too bad it costs $10-15 more here and I can never find Buffalo Trace.
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Aug 10, 2020 11:26
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nwin posted:I tried four roses small batch this weekend and really liked it. Extremely drinkable. I’d say this is my go to when I can’t find Buffalo Trace. Too bad it costs $10-15 more here and I can never find Buffalo Trace. Now try the Single Barrel.
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Aug 10, 2020 11:39
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TobinHatesYou posted:Now try the Single Barrel. I actually like the small batch better than the single barrel. Maybe more variability?
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Aug 10, 2020 12:21
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Lowness 72 posted:I actually like the small batch better than the single barrel. Maybe more variability? If you're up for the $60 price tag, try the small batch select
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Aug 10, 2020 12:54
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Carillon posted:Anyone had any of the Uncle Nearest? In normal times I'd find a bottle at a bar to try before buying, but whelp that's not happening right now. If you like Jack and the other very smooth Tennessee whiskeys I would really recommend it. Its almost Japanese in its character
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Aug 10, 2020 16:56
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We’re people having trouble finding the new Ardbeg Wee Beastie earlier in this thread? I was just at my local total wine and they had a ton of it. $39.99 I believe.
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Aug 12, 2020 01:46
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DoctaFun posted:We’re people having trouble finding the new Ardbeg Wee Beastie earlier in this thread? I was just at my local total wine and they had a ton of it. $39.99 I believe. The US market is flush, the EU market is a patchwork. UK seems to have gotten the short end of the stick, NL and Germany are fine from what I've seen, dunno about other countries.
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Aug 12, 2020 17:47
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Most of my whisky drinking has been on the heavy peat end of things but recently I had the chance to try some Hibiki Harmony and was surprised by how much I loved the sweet almost fruity character. I'd like to explore more but drat Japanese whisky is expensive.
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Aug 13, 2020 22:32
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Made an Old Fashioned with Old Overholt Rye, angostura bitters and homemade grapefruit bitters, sugar of course, and it is fantastic.
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Aug 16, 2020 02:34
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Virtue posted:Most of my whisky drinking has been on the heavy peat end of things but recently I had the chance to try some Hibiki Harmony and was surprised by how much I loved the sweet almost fruity character. I'd like to explore more but drat Japanese whisky is expensive. Harmony is fine but it's a pretty straightforward dram once you get past the beautiful bottle. The consensus is that it's a pale reflection of the original Hibiki 12, and I tend to agree, the 12 (which was also wildly overpriced for what you got) had a lot of floral, subtly fruity complexity that I do not get with Harmony. If you have the patience to try a few bottles of $20-$40 blended Scotch you can probably find something roughly equivalent to Harmony for a fraction of the price. Decent quality blends that include grain whisky tend to be sweet, fruity, and drinkable.
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Aug 19, 2020 07:13
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Just bought a Glenlivet 12 as I'm trying to find a cheaper whisky that I really like in the lower price range. I had only tried their Nadurra bottling before but the 12 is also quite good. Perfect for a little dram after a day at work. For cheaper drams at this point I'm on Glenlivet 12 or Highland Park 12 (haven't tried the 10). I should probably try more blends in the price range as well, but often the ones I've tried have little character. I need to try some Monkey Shoulder though. Also joining a local whisky club which should be fun.
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Aug 19, 2020 08:32
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abske_fides posted:Just bought a Glenlivet 12 as I'm trying to find a cheaper whisky that I really like in the lower price range. I had only tried their Nadurra bottling before but the 12 is also quite good. Perfect for a little dram after a day at work. For cheaper drams at this point I'm on Glenlivet 12 or Highland Park 12 (haven't tried the 10). I should probably try more blends in the price range as well, but often the ones I've tried have little character. I need to try some Monkey Shoulder though. I’d recommend glenfiddich 12 for a lower priced single malt option. It’s very pleasant, I always get some pear notes on it, which I really enjoy when I’m looking for something lighter, fruity, etc. Their 15 year Solera is also quite good and still very reasonably priced. It’s my go to daily drinking single malt I think.
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Aug 19, 2020 14:40
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I never like the 12 by Glenfiddich actually. I always thought it tastes a bit too metallic. The solera 15 and the 18 are pretty good though but they're rarely in stock at the stores I have close by sadly.
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Aug 19, 2020 20:43
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Never got any metallic flavor in the fiddich 12, personally. It always tastes super clean and crisp to my palate (albeit pretty boring).
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Aug 19, 2020 22:06
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FYI 2020 Advent Calendars are up for preorder here. They're 10% off if you preorder before the end of this month. I did the scotch one last year and absolutely loved it.
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Aug 19, 2020 22:07
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Metallic might not be the best word to describe it, but it has an aftertaste which I really didn't like. It's too bad as well because the initial pear taste is quite lovely. I'm also thinking about getting a calendar if I can get it shipped to Norway without paying an insane price. Since everything in 2020 sucks, perhaps I'll have to splurge on one either way abske_fides fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Aug 19, 2020 |
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Aug 19, 2020 22:30
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BaronVonVaderham posted:FYI 2020 Advent Calendars are up for preorder here. They're 10% off if you preorder before the end of this month. Oh that looks fun! Were they mainly brands you knew of or smaller, more obscure companies?
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Aug 19, 2020 23:36
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I think it was a decent mix. There were only 2 I had tasted before, but then again my experience isn't that terribly broad yet.
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Aug 19, 2020 23:40
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Did the Japanese and Scotch Single Malt (entry one) advents. For Scotch I'd had 2/3rds of them, but for the Japanese I had only had 1. All in I would avoid the Japanese one unless you are a die hard Japanese Whiskey fanatic. I thought all but 3 were harsh and passable.
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Aug 20, 2020 03:00
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My uncle picked me up a bottle of jack Daniels single barrel barrel proof(what a mouthful), this was a store pick from a shop local to him. Comes in at 130.5 proof, and wow, what a fantastic bourbon! It’s got a lot of sweetness, I get just the slightest banana note, but it’s very pleasant, not like fake banana flavor. Great mouthfeel and finish. What a stunner. Between knob creek picks, WT rare breed/RR SiB store picks, JD barrel proof, and OF1920, I don’t know that I feel any desire or need to chase any other high proof bottles. EC barrel proof gets a lot of good reviews too, but for some reason their profile is always really dry/oaky for me, even more so than the old knob picks I’ve had. So I leave those on the shelf. All of those are generally less than $60 near me, and all provide such a great experience from start to finish, and value, that I just can’t be arsed to pay a premium for anything else. If maybe stretch higher and go for MM private selects, or a 4R store pick or something, but $80+ for bookers? Nah. $80+ Barrell stuff, nah. Any other boutique/craft stuff, nah. Secondary prices or huge time investments trying to get a bottle of stagg or stagg jr, other BTAC or unicorn bottles? Nah.
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Aug 20, 2020 03:10
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I’ll add woodford reserve double oaked store picks to the list too, everyone I’ve tried has had such a strong butterscotch flavor I just can’t get over it. Not an everyday dram for me, it’s like a dessert, but man is it good.
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Aug 20, 2020 03:23
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DoctaFun posted:My uncle picked me up a bottle of jack Daniels single barrel barrel proof(what a mouthful), this was a store pick from a shop local to him. You just lost your whiskey man card. No one needs to launch into a lecture about how JD is bourbon but not called bourbon, I know, just fun ribbing that's all.
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Aug 20, 2020 04:17
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wormil posted:You just lost your whiskey man card. Can we not, please. Are there any online retailers with 4R picks? It’s my favorite distillery, but i cant find picks near me.
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Aug 20, 2020 05:07
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