PD,

Maker's rocks is my standard bar drink. Those are all solid choices, I'm especially fond of Blanton's. Read through the thread, you'll like most bourbons and ryes recommended in it.

Blanton's is so under appreciated....I hope it stays that way.

try angels envy, not as common as MM at bars, but i have been seeing it a lot lately.

Angel's Envy and Blantons are both ****ing good. Similar prices too iirc

Picking this up today:



http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1172353

MSchu18, thoughts on Taketsuru 17? Still haven't bought a bottle of Japanese whisky yet, I've been meaning to for a while now

+1

Speaking of Bourbon, I think Basil Hayden is in the same boat as Blantons.

i had it twice and it was a oak&pepperbomb for me.
for sure not a light&mellow whisky.

I have one of those tasting matrix graphs with maybe twice as many whiskys on it, I got it from a distiller of a local brand in Australia. If anyone is keen I will scan and upload it.

I'd like to see it, please.

+1 to this. I don't have a refined palate when it comes to whiskies, although through a friends dad's extensive collection I've tried several extremely expensive whiskies in the 12-24yo range. And I can honestly say with a straight face that the base nikka whisky (which you can buy for 1000 jpy = ~$10 for 26 oz) is personally my favorite tasting whisky of any I've had* (*with the more expensive nikka whiskies tasting better I guess but with a huge amount of diminishing returns kicking in). Much better for my taste than Johnnie Walker Gold, Green and Swing which I had a lot of in Thailand (and blue which I had once though on a plane). Definitely using my full duty free allowance on this every time I travel there from now on.

This is strongly influenced by my preference for light floral flavors, and dislike for rich peaty flavors. But I'm sure Japan has the latter covered in their other brands. Not suprised their mastery of everything to do with food extends to whisky making.

manndl,

Sounds good to me! Unless I'm way off, your description has me thinking of Laph QC notes, which I love

Hey guys, what do you think of Lahphroaig 18yr?

Not a whiskey expert, but I thought I'd like to buy something really good (a little more expensive) for a very special day, and I've liked some of the other (cheaper) Laphroaigs.

Fold: I have a bottle of Nikka Miyagikyo 12. It's about $100 here. I think it's a nice balance of sweet/fruit and a little smokiness, though I'd prob prefer a touch less fruitiness. Very smooth and easy drinking. Nice whiskey, but maybe a little overpriced.

SD: 18 is like a smoother, less in-your-face peaty version of regular Laphroaig. If you like other laphroaigs, you'll probably like this.

Value shoppers: Rittenhouse 100 proof rye 23.99 and eagle rare 10 29.99 at k&l are imo two of the best values around right now. I don't like the Rittenhouse neat, but I love it in cocktails. The eagle rare I like either way.

Wife got me a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 for my birthday. She is obviously a keeper.

Been drinking Pappy before it was a big deal. Local ABC does a lottery a few times a year and it's a realistic way to get some at RETAIL prices. I remember going to liquor stores when it was ALWAYS available.

Best bourbons IMHO are Angels Envy and Noah's Mill. Angels for aging in port barrels and Noah's because it's a damn good wheated bourbon.

Savid, see my review below from some time ago on the Laphroaig 18. reading those notes I can say that the Laphroaig stood the test of time better than the PC7 for me. Also, it's funny how how the PC7 is like $200+ while I got a second bottle of the Laphroaig 18 for $80 last summer.

ET: damn, $200+ now? I have like half a bottle of pc7 left, gotta make it last! I still really love it, has a "richness" to it I really love.

Sync: Noah's mill is great.

El D, yeah, $200+ if you can find it: http://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/433...-charlotte-pc7

I looked it up yesterday because I saw K&L had the PC6... for $400!

I haven't drank the PC7 in a while, and since tonight I'm having Indian food it may be the perfect time to break out the heavy Scotch.

My current favorite. Had to search all over the city to find it for NYE. The guy at the liquor store I bought it from told me that BT was ending production. I bought a few bottles and looked it up when I got home. Seems as though BT plans to ramp up production, so we are good here.

scanner is playing up so I iphone'd it..



prob the most interesting is the selection of peaty/smoky types varying from rich to light, useful if you're just trying to get into them or testing your limits.

What is the difference between light and rich? The way I defined it, I would have Ardbeg 10 and Lag 16 switched

Tens,

Before I look at the chart, I'll say I'd put Lagavulin as the rich one. When I describe a whisky as rich like I did the pc7, I'm talking about sort of oily viscosity in the mouthfeel. Like how bacon is rich vs chicken breast being lean.

yeah I would've said the weight of the mouthfeel (some are quite 'pillowy' and others quite thin and uneventful), how much it lingers on the palate. The peat factor might override some of that, if you compare something like Balvenie Double Wood to Auchentoshan that might give you a clearer indication of the difference.

I guess the only way to relate to what you guys are saying is to buy Ardbeg 10 today. I finished my fifth a few months ago. Alternately, I've had my Lag 16 for over a year but kept it stored away for some reason

Nvm, bought Blanton's. The only time I've had it was in an old fashioned

risk,

next time you are going to be in sydney drop me a PM and we can go to the baxter inn