whiskey

Laphroaig Triple Wood is what I currently have at home. I don't hate it, but it suffers a bit from an identity crisis, the different flavors don't seem to know how to exist with each other, with the sweet sherry overtones butting heads with the smokey base. I miss the light medicinal tang of the 10 year.

i've never had a japanese whiskey! what should i start with?

yesterday i bought a standard 10-y-o laphroaig opened it up and was like "ahhhh my old friend"

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 23 November 2017 21:45 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Japanese All whiskey is going through a boom right now. Not sure where you are now but there must be a bar you could go and try a few. It seems to be becoming very common in Melbourne at least.

I can heartily recommend the Akashi White Oak as a good starting point, the tikka from the barrel mentioned above is good too.

One of our local bottle shops does 250ml splits from fancy bottles of whiskeys from around the world which is both delicious and dangerous.

My Sydneysider brother in law is constantly gifted Scotch, but bourbon seems to be gradually catching on.

Re jp whiskies


Had a few really good whiskies when in japan but hibiki is probably the second most sought after (17yr maybe first?) after yamazaki

Anything 12+, if you can actually manage to get a hold of one

Only thing is prices in the west are super inflated

Suntory Yamazaki is good but it’s climbed from the low 30s to mid 50s.

rising

Top tip is to go to the liquor store in Tokyo station where you can taste nips of all kinds of rare stuff for 50-150yen a go.

Monkey Shoulder has been a hit every time I bring a bottle somewhere. Fairly cheap Scotch blend, not challenging but not super sweet or anything.

CAD, rye cocktails are far less common than gin, rum, etc.

Rittenhouse here is less than $30, though price has been going up.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, November 23, 2017 3:11 PM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm sorry, you can count "traditional/classic" cocktails in any number of ways but i just don't really agree with this! rye (and bourbon), applejack, cognac, holland gin, and jamaican rum were basically on equal footing in the formative years of the cocktail.

I'm not arguing that. Just want you to name names!

Revisiting the laphroiag 10

Smokier than I remember it but i just opened the bottle so it’ll probably mellow out

Almost has a bacon note to it but i guess that’s the seaweed

Also what is going on with laphroiag giving “1 sq ft” of their island for free

I don’t like it enough to get my own plot but it sounds gimmicky

…the coffee of whiskeys?

I have not been drinking scotch every night of this werk

Week

Drinking scotch every night is fine. Just make sure to brush your teeth after. I used to buy scotch for people as holiday gifts, but then the next year would find the unopened bottle still there and I would then drink it all. It was like regifting to myself. Self regifting?

Yeah i agree

The laphroiag 10 especially — very unique

It's smokey yet light, very drinkable with a medicinal edge.

the last bottles of scotch I drank by myself were Oban 14 yr and Springbank (whatever the most common is).

Tried the Laphroaig Brodir (48%) last week. Completely agree with the description that it’s a reverse Laphroaig, sweetness first followed by a build of intense smokiness. Not sure I’d buy a bottle but pretty great for a nip.

Springbank is fucking amazing

Oban too

Highland Park has usually been my go-to but I can also get with Bunnahabin or however you spell it and Lagavulin

Also what is going on with laphroiag giving “1 sq ft” of their island for free

I don’t like it enough to get my own plot but it sounds gimmicky

I got my plot! Yes, it's basically gimmick but quite a nice one. If you go they used to lend you a pair of wellies so you could go and look at the peat bogs. I don't know if they still do.

I'll have to dig out the certificate. It was a while ago.

Ha damn bro

Good to kno

I really should get some whiskey to take back with me. I think at home I now only have Jameson and a bottle of mesquite smoked arizona bourbon that someone gave me.

When I got married my officemate gave me a bottle of Yamazaki as my present, I was like "you know me so well."

I treasured my yamazaki 18 for maybe 5 years before I decided it was time to finish it

Haven’t had j whiskies in a while

just opened a glenlivet founders reserve and it smells as christmassy as anything ive ever had but the taste is much thinner, smoother and higher than expected

very good tho

The Onion's video "Jim Beam Releases New Whiskey Specially Made For Knife, Gun Wounds" is still one of my favorite things ever and I think about it a lot more than I probably should.

irish version would be for toothache

bottle of redbreast 12 made its way back onto my shelf for first time in years lately and its better than i gave it credit for, a richer and sweeter green spot would be a fair guideline

treated myself to a bottle of yellow spot right before xmas but haven’t dug into it yet.

hmmm

ive always found it skippable tbh

for the money, green spot (i recall you are well acquainted with btw) is better, in particular the leo bartonville version is a nice twist

otoh, i treated meself to a bottle of red spot this winter just to see whether that would also disappoint, and imo its right up there with midleton, so....no knowing til you try

Plenty of offers all year so the shelf is in good shape. Polished off my midleton last night which hit me as a little higher and lighter than id remembered

Redbreast 15 is sweet, rich and a match for midleton in type and quality, its priced between that and green spot and is worth the extra on the latter

Glenmorangie quinta ruban is disappointing, fair bang of the oak barrels still in it which id describe as roughly blended rather than having character

Currach single malt is aged in seaweed casks and is very curious indeed. Would be rough enough without that but the salt comes in at the end and really makes it interesting. Im drinking it with ice to soften it which id never usually do but it works

Highland park valknut which is a pretty close runner to glenfiddich 12, maybe a richer, sweeter finish

Green spot, perennial good house whiskey

Jameson, xmas donation from in laws, perennial ok house whiskey (tho black bush preferred for that purpose)

i swear highland park used to be peatier

used to have a better bottle, too

Lol i was reading through the thread last night and every six months or so you pop in to type Highland Park

Very very very curious about the currach reading that writeup

That is intriguing indeed

Intrigue/curiosity would be about right i think, because i could easily see where someone wouldnt like it at all

If you saw it where you could get a shot without committing id think that the best approach

Goes really well with good chocolate, if that lessens anybody's risk factor

(This reminds me, I sent the aul fella a box of chocolates from the place you got yours at Easter and he was so happy, was like “where did you hear of this crowd”)

Does the Currach also have strong peat flavor? I could see seaweed/salt playing well with peat.

Was that skelligs or somewhere else, gyac- been a good year for ordering chocs tbh

xp nope not at all, the harshness is more of what id associate with american oak rather than anything smokey

Wilde irish, i remember now.

Just1ne discovery, that

Yep that’s the fellas! I think they deliver here but I’ll save that for a later point in the year when we’re on lockdown ten and in the pits of despair

once upon a time the customs and duty imposed on our expats was more figurative alas now youll be paying a nice packet on trve ngael chocs

As far as I can tell, Currach is not available in the US, so won't be testing it out too soon.

xp you forget of course I can get them delivered to the parents and collect them when I’m next over

Pick moodles up a bottle so willya

Solid plan

lol deems has my number

am currently drinking what i can only describe as “hipster whiskey”, some supposedly mysterious 10 year single malt from islay called “Seaweed&Aeons&Digging&Fire” and you know, it’s pretty good

next to it is an unopened bottle of what i’m tempted to call “tory whiskey” - a 12 year talisker