whiskey

I'm having those silly thoughts of buying a bottle of Sazerac 18 year old or George T Stagg again.

The thoughts are only silly because they're £100 each here. The desire keeps plaguing me though.

<3 stagg

did you get the gentleman's jack? i've heard it's nice but i've never tried it.

I did, but I haven't cracked it yet as I'm still totally in love with my Knob Creek, which I think is utterly wonderful.

sainsburys have 20% of a lot of spirits inc lagavulin, talisker, laphroaig, balvenie, glenlivet, balvenie :D

last one was sposed to be dalwhinnie

eagle rare treating me well atm.

also got to try the new maker's 46. i liked it a lot more than standard MM, which i'm not a big fan of. smoother but with much more of a finish, and more cinnamon than vanilla. worth a sip

aberlour 10 year. not super into anything peaty but it's got a bit of a sherry whiff to the nose and a sweetness to it.

it's a happy day when you see a legit single-malt for less

On the fucking money.

This is how I've proceeded in educating myself re Malt whisky. From memory, I have tried Bowmore 10yo, Laphroaig 10yo, Glenfiddich 12yo, Macallan 10yo, Bruichladdich (10yo?), Bladnoch (18yo?), AnCnoc, Jura (awful, don't buy it), Bunnahabhain, Glenmorangie and Talisker.

In terms of alcoholic drinks generally, I'm happy to drink almost anything - and appreciate it!

All the malt whiskys I've tried, I've enjoyed (oops - Jura the exception, bit bland) - all different.

I should say that the 2nd bottle of whisky I ever bought (the second whisky I ever tried!) was Laphroaig. Took me some time, but I LOVE it now.

I tried Highland Park a while ago, it was good.

xp wish i had tried that many scotches!

back on the bourbon front, i have a new bottling of four roses single barrel. it's intensely dry and spicy--a tough drink but i can appreciate its qualities.

the bottle of jura i had a while back was bottled mid 90s iirc and was nice

I like Jura & always keep a bottle of the 10yo on the go. Don't anyone write it off necessarily.

talisker is nice, its usp is sposed to be its ~peppery~ aftertaste, which is completely accurate

got a bottle of lagavulin too, neither of which i've had before afaik

with these distinctive single malts i find the first time i try them i only taste the eccentric elements, then the next time it actually seems like....whisky

sainsburys do an 8yr irish single malt which is sposed to rly good and excellent value but they were out of stock

whiskey shopping tonight! i will report.

do any of yall buy whiskies at cask strength? caol ila works out cheaper at abv buying ~£40 cask strength vs ~£30 12yr

you can dilute it too, obv

haha whiskey.xls

i had a rye from NY a couple weeks ago that was kind of like drinking bread. can't remember the name

do any of yall buy whiskies at cask strength?

I always buy uncut/unfiltered if it's an option, as a local bar owner told me, "you can always add water, but you can't take it away."

All the most extraordinary bourbons and ryes I've tasted have been in the range of 120-140 proof.

what do we think of Pritchard's bourbon?

coz i feel like ive been cheated

quick investigation indicates that prichard's is one of those outfits that buys bourbon from one of the kentucky distillers and relabels and bottles it. i guess they're putting it back in barrels for a bit too? not really worth wasting your time with from the sounds of it.

I picked up some beam black and it is very good

I just finished my bottle of that Beam Black 8yo, which is proof positive that I enjoyed it.

Woodford Reserve is finally on offer at Tesco (my waiting was well judged), so I bought a bottle and I'm really quite unsure. It has a great nose, but there's something about the taste that I'm not convinced on. I've only had a couple of glasses and do have a cold at the moment, so I'll reserve (boom boom!) judgement properly for now, hoping that I'll get to grips with it gradually... Anyone else had this?

beam black is what the original ILX bourbon bobbing was done with (diluted a bit)

i know a lot of people love woodford but i've never been a huge fan either, for the price. evan williams and early times are still my faves

It's a bit early here now, but tonight I'll compare it to my Knob Creek to make sure that it isn't just malfunctioning tastebuds on my part due to the cold - I'm not getting what any of the tasting notes online say of it, so this may well be the case. I know I <3 Knob Creek, so if that doesn't taste right then that will explain it.

early times is good? it's half the price of beam black here so maybe I'll pick up a bottle

the early times that they export is a real bourbon and is quite possibly decent. u.s. early times is not quite a straight bourbon and would be low on my list of things to try.

hey, if you've got the money i've got the time

Anybody ever try Hirsch's? It's really good.

re: pritchard's

I have an iphone. I should probably use it for research when making purchases...

i don't want to hate that much because their rums are apparently well-regarded and they actually distill those themselves.

the whiskey sold by one of those re-bottlers could well be good or excellent stuff depending on what they bought and from who. or it could be mass-produced average stuff. in any event, part of what you're paying for is a name and a marketing story. as i said, prichard's is putting in a little more work by re-barreling, but i'm pretty unclear on what this actually accomplishes.

here's a couple of posts from a guy who knows what he's talking about on this subject:

http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2010/02/potemkin-craft-distilleries.html

http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2010/10/wh-harrison-indiana-bourbon-honors-war.html

in conclusion, if the bottle is not from kentucky, have yr guard up.

I tried Old Overholt finally. Approved!

The thing about Hirsch is that if you bring it up among whiskey afficionados, they'll probably assume you're talking about either the 16 year old or the 20 year old expressions that came from the now defunct Michter's distillery and that runs about $300 - $400 a bottle these days. But in the last couple of years, I believe someone bought the brand and is putting something out under the Hirsch name at a more reasonable $35 - $40 a bottle. I've sampled the cheaper one and did think it was quite good at that price. Never had the original now-scarce one.

I havent had the 16 or the 20, just the regular Hirsch they sell at my local Bottle King. It's 25 bucks a bottle. I really recommend it.

liking a bottle of michter's rye right now. i remember the bourbon being on the sweet side, but this has a nice balance that comes out over the course of a sip. think they were both "us-1" labels.

I had a bartender giving me half-shots of whiskey and making me guess what they were last weekend. Had a scotch that comes in a sort of barrel-lookin' bottle, can't remember the name of it. Also some Evan Williams Single Barrel, which was surprisingly good and evidently quite cheap in the store, worth investigating.

yes! evan williams single barrel is in my store for just over 30 and i really want to try it. i think i've heard it described as being whatever the distillery thinks is its best stuff at the time, bottled up and shipped out.

Yup, EW Single Barrel is done by the year, and it's supposedly somewhat different every time. I guess people hoard bottles from good years.

two countries separated by a common beverage

here's the NY rye i had: http://www.drinkspirits.com/whiskey/mckenzie-rye-whiskey-review/

had it again tonight and the rye bread taste didn't hit me quite like i remembered, but still def more prominent than any in any other whiskey i've had. really unique if you ever get a chance to try it

that sounds excellent

auchentoshan, anyone?

mostly been drinking Elijah Craig lately

bourbon tasting blowout at my house last night:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/5171732265_783b97abfe.jpg

l-r four roses single barrel; knob creek single barrel; evan williams black label; elmer t. lee single barrel; old grand dad bottled in bond; maker's 46; bulleit; some johnnie walker black that someone snuck in; and this year's comedy bottle, canadian kappy's royal.

some brief tasting notes 4 u:

evan williams black: plain, functional. would not drink straight but a fine mixer/budget bottle.
old grand dad bib: bready. lots of alcohol. great mixer.
evan williams single barrel (not pictured): retains some of the lightness of the e.w. black with a much more developed flavor. nice.
knob creek single barrel: the richest of all of these, huge rounded flavor with sweetness and depth.
bulleit: start of the sip is weird and boxy--i'm not a fan. the finish is better. too rough.
elmer t. lee sb: whoa, major sweetness to be had here. no idea if a like it or not. made me crave some vanilla ice cream. need to taste again in isolation.
four roses sb: muted sweetness with a huge, spicy finish. nuanced. a winner.
maker's 46: was dying with curiosity about this one. big upfront flavor with wood and vanilla and the typical maker's clean finish. i like it. need to a/b with some regular maker's because i've never been a fan, but if this is maker's plus (which is kind of how it's being positioned), sign me up.

bonus round:
johnnie walker black: had never actually tried this! it walks the other blended scotches i've had with a logical balance of smoke and malt. pleasant.
candian kappy's royal: (nb kappy's is a local liquor chain so this is a store brand. 12 bucks/liter and it's overpriced). smells like a magic marker. tastes like a lemon candy dipped in formaldehyde. avoid at all costs.

nice! i still haven't had four roses. had similar impression of maker's 46, though i remember it having more lingering finish than orig maker's. definitely worth drinking straight.

thinkin about picking up something relatively cheap for manhattans soon...

walker black is nice and does in a pinch but has a weird aftertaste

got a 100% rye... catoctin creek. as rye-y as the NY one i linked upthread. nose is like some kinda old candy, i dunno yet

glenmorangie, glenlivet and laphroaig sittin on my sideboard, will be first time tryin ach iirc. love trips to the north.

nice