Stuff I either received or purchased over the holidays....



From left to right:

2010 Handy Baby Saz Rye - haven't opened yet, but have loved the past two years, so have high hopes for this year.

High West Rendevous Rye - Blended Rye from High West. Just had a quick sip and it made a solid first impression: Smooth with a long finish. I've really liked the other High West stuff that I've had and recommend checking them out if you haven't already. Should have more detailed impressions after tonight.

Willet 12 year "Calypso" Bourbon - Haven't opened yet and know nothing about this specific Willett.

Willet 8 year "Suspension Bridge" Bourbon - Great bourbon at a reasonable price. Received a bottle as an xmas present, finished it with friends in two nights and then bought another. Straight from the barrel at 123 proof it does well with a touch of water or a few ice cubes. Strong Vanilla and Oak. Highly recommended.

I was lucky enough to have an uncle who likes scotch. We opened up a bunch of bottles he bought the other day to taste them all.

Highland Park 18 was definitely my favorite out of the bunch. It's a shame I can't buy any here.

Chivas 18, which for some reason I don't recall trying before, was one of the two blended scotches I tried. It's smokier than 12 and I liked it more. Lovely blended scotch.

Cragganmore Double Matured 1993 is a bottle my dad bought for him. Not sure why he bought it but I do recall liking this one. Any of you tried this before?



Also had Johnnie Walker BL King George V. Not a fan of Blue Label, let alone this edition. Maybe it's the fact that my knowledge of scotch is limited to the few brands I've tried (albeit if I could afford it, I'd try as many as I can), but I felt like the bottle's overpriced and overrated. I'd probably buy it for the sake of having one of these alone, not because I necessarily like it.

Glenlivet 12 is probably the one single malt I'd use to initiate someone into scotch. It's sweet, but not overly so. Taste great for the price.

Glenmorangie 10 Original. I have no idea where this bottle came from as I had never heard of it before. I wasn't a fan of it, too sweet for me.

Royal Salute 21 was the one bottle I didn't get a chance to try as I literally had no time for it. Maybe on my next trip.

The ones I really wanna try now are any Glenfiddich bottle and any Oban bottle, although the latter will be hard to find here. Kind of curious about the Balvenie too.

People in this country are used to blended scotches, particularly the more commercial ones, which is probably why I have a hard time finding single malts here. If anything, it's only the airport Duty Free stores that have them.

Meh. Drank a fair amount of this last night. My total douchebag review would read something like, "Infinitely drinkable, but ultimately unremarkable". Slightly less d-bag tasting notes are: Typical nice rye spice up front and finishes without much character, goes down smooth. If High West was aiming to put out a widely accepted, easy-sipping rye, they succeeded. Nothing wrong with this stuff, but nothing special either. Nice to sip, but not too earth shattering on the whole.

Had a little nip of this last night, but was too late in the evening to really have a strong opinion on. First impression is strong alcohol on the nose, but doesn't come through too much when drinking. Cinnamon for sure and...peaches? Is peach really something you can/should pick up in a bourbon? Anyhow, will have to try again when more sober.

Ended up gifting my second bottle of this stuff to another bourbon-drinking friend at a New Years Party last night. Received this text from him today, "The Willett was A W E S O M E. My favorite of them all so far, thanks for bringing!" Think the liquor store had one more bottle left, time for another trip I suppose.

Home equity line of credit?

I only wish I still had available room on it for this sort of thing. CC#3 with the introductory rate of 15% came through for me though. Even worse, I'm pretty sure I don't really like the Macallan 18. WTF.

Caught Modern Marvels: Whiskey on the History Channel last night. It was great. Def recommend checking it out.

That was pretty good Rich.

Having a friendly (ie not dumping tons of cash) Tennessee Whiskey vs. Kentucky Bourbon tasting tomorrow. Any recommendations for each side? My scotch enamored self doesn't go to these aisles very often....

Jack versus Jim Beam is probably the "fairest" matchup? If you want to step it up a notch you can go JD single barrel versus Makers maybe?

Does Tennessee even have a bunch of brands? I can only think of Jack and George Dickel.

They don't, primarily because prior to 2009, Tennessee state laws were pretty restrictive on what counties it could be produced in (I think only 3). It probably will be interesting to see if any micro-distilleries pop up and grow.

Not sure what's a "fair" cross comparison, so that's kind of what I'm looking for if there are any suggestions. Unfamiliar with really anything other than basic Jack D in the TN Whiskey category.

Got a hold of some Laphroaig Quarter-Cask over the holidays at the duty-free. Have to say, it is definitely the most intense tasting whisky I've tried..almost offensive. Surprisingly enough, I really like it. I suppose you can only have it in small doses though, which I will continue to do.

Also managed to find the Ron Zacapa XO rum. Heaven in a bottle.

<3 Ron Zacapa

Bought a second bottle of Glenrothes 1985 as I hadnt seen it in stores for awhile and it is apparently discontinued. <3 that stuff.

After not drinking any for probably 2 months, I finished off my bottle of lagavulin 16 tonight.....almost forgot how great this stuff is....CANNOT be beat at its price point!!

still have not had the XO, but have gone through an absurd amount of the regular bottling over the last couple months. A lot of my friends don't really enjoy whiskey, so it's become my house drink when I have company. I was drinking with the owner of my favorite local bar, who teaches a mixology course at a local university, and he was explaining that the only reason it only costs $40 per bottle is that they grow all their own sugar cane, and since they age all their rum at such high altitude there is no evaporation during the aging process. There probably isn't a better bottle of rum under $100.

Cracked it open last night. Mmmmmmmm much smoother/tastier than the 15. Really enjoying it.

FWIW, I think this is the best of the Van Winkle line. I know people here are all enamored by the 23 yr, but I personally don't think it's worth the money (that said, still bought two bottles when I found the 23 yr "cheap"). Anyhow, for less than half the price I find the 20 year to be much more well balanced whiskey - I've always through the 23 is too woody and not worth $200+ per bottle. Even at the same price, I'd take the 20 year over the 23.

Enjoy your bottle

I really like this guys whiskey reviews.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ralfystuff

So I hit Cask with a buddy yesterday and picked up a couple bottles, the most relevant one being a Highland Park 12. I like it, however it's a bit smokier than I usually like. I think it'll grow on me, however it's probably not what I would choose in a blind taste test.

I also picked up a bottle of Diplomatico which is a pretty fantastic rum. I can't say I've ever bought a bottle of rum before (well - Malibu for a girl back in HS but that don't count), but I was quite pleased when a bartender gave some friends and I a taster and decided to pick up a bottle.

The third and final bottle I picked up was a bottle of Ransom, which is a very interesting Gin. http://www.ransomspirits.com/spirits.php

Overall I was quite pleased with the bottles, prices, and incredibly in depth knowledge of the girls at Cask. Definitely a place to check out if you're in the city.

<3 Cask. It is MUCH more expensive than K&L for normal stuff you can get in most liquor stores, but they have some stuff you wont find in 99.9% of liquor stores as well. Still think Healthy Spirits is slightly better, but its close.

The question then becomes - will I want to do the sex to any of the girls who work in these other stores?

I'm down to check out Healthy one of these days soon. Also - did you know Cask delivers? They charge a fee, but have a bike courier service that will bring you top shelf booze. Ahhhhh SF.

Green Cross Delivery>Cask Delivery tho

Also yes I want to bang 3/3 girls I've talked to at Cask. Good ratio.

Moved today, got kinda lazy with moving all the alcohol. SHOCKED i didnt break any bottles.

^ Seems like a pro move considering how much all thats worth


How bad is it that I can never find this Willett stuff in any of the liquor stores I go to?

note to self stop uploading stuff in 4000x3000

re: willett, not that bad at all. There are 3 stores in SF that carry it and I have never seen it anywhere else I have been.

oh okay. I haven't checked up here in WA yet, but it was no where to be seen in Oregon. Maybe I'll have to order it or keep an eye out for it at a bar. I really want to try it since you guys keep on raving about it.

Just out of curiosity, how much is it?

Depends. I have a bottle of Willett 2 year old rye that was 29.99 and I have a bottle of willett 16 that was like 120. Bevmo has a couple bottles of 28 for like 299 or something.

Since you mentioned value, I decided to make a spreadsheet of current cabinet: