Just bought these 2 experimental bottles from buffalo trace, have yet to try them but was told they are very good, specifically the 19 yr which the guy had tried but he had not tried the other one. The only downside is that they are 375ml half bottles.

Going to have a blind tasting this week or next with a group of friends that really don't drink much straight. Any guesses as to which ones a group of amateurs would rank the above? I think Evan Williams might actually be rated pretty highly.

Where did you come across these? My state (PA) sucks with stocking whisky and we aren't allowed to get it shipped in.

Would love some feedback on them once you get a chance to taste.

I just picked up a bottle of Battlehill Laphroaig 13 yr old. I hadn't been familiar with Battlehill but evidently they are an independent bottler that buys casks from distilleries and releases their own bottlings. Sort of interesting.

Here's a link to where I got it:
http://www.totalwine.com/eng/product...3-yr/117655750

My initial tastes line up pretty much with their review. The expected peat with an unusual (to Laphroaig) sweetness. Unique from my experiences with Laphroaig and overall very enjoyable.

Here's a link with more information on Battlehill for those interested:
http://www.duncantaylor.com/products/battlehill.htm

Total Wine had some other bottlings (Islay in particular) that I am looking forward to trying.

Particularly this:
http://www.totalwine.com/eng/product...8-yr/117661750

and this:
http://www.totalwine.com/eng/product...8-yr/118579750

Found them at a local liquor store in the Boston area (Kappys). They had about 8 bottles of the 9.5 year (the one on the right) and only 1 bottle of the 19 year and they were somehow the same price.

The 19 year is very very nice and although I don't really have a very sophisticated pallet for bourbon yet I can really taste the oak. I can also taste some heavy carmel and butterscotch flavors but this one is very smooth front to back.

the 9.5 year on the right is more of your standard bourbon (rice,corn, and malt sour mash) and while its still very good I dont think you can really even compare the two. It isnt nearly as smooth and you dont get the complexity as the 19 year, you probably cant tell from the picture but it is also way lighter in color as you may expect. Overall though I am pleased with both of them. I paid about $58 for each which may seem steep but if your going to buy a nicer full bottle you may pay ~120 anyways. If you can find the 19 year I would jump on it as it is very very good.

Thanks for the input. I'll keep an eye out for the 19 and not spend the money on the 9.5. 50 bucks buys a quite nice bottle of Ardbeg 10 or Bookers.

Edit- Looks like I'm **** out of luck unless I find it on an out-of-state journey. PA LCB online catalog has a few from their Single Oak Project but I can't find anything on the experimentals. ****.

Although it looks like I may be able to stumble across some in some NYC stores. That's only about 2 hrs. Hmm. Maybe if I stumble onto some cash a trip is in order.

I just found out there is also a 23 year french oak experimental but it didnt get as good of reviews as apparently it tasted "over cooked" whatever that means....The 19 is definitely worth the drive though!

My company just moved to Medford, guess I'm going to kappys on the way home!

I Kappys

Grabbed these from Total Wine based off of the info in this thread. Got the green label because I read that they're discontinuing it.

Will report after I've tried them.

Highland Park is pretty good. Oban 14 is also good but I liked the HP a little bit better. Ron Zacara has an amazing mouthfeel. Thought I tasted a hint of vermouth.

Just bought a fifth of Balvenie Doublewood. Bout to crack it open.

Cool NYT article American Single Malt Whisky Distilleries
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/di...anted=all&_r=0

All: OK, time for a lot of belated responses...

bd: Very good article. I've had all of those except for the Triple Smoke. IMO American Single Malts are way overrated.

Zimmer: DID YOU DRINK IT ALL?

toss: solid choices

redsox/nomad: I've tasted all of the Single Oak Project bottlings from buffalo trace, and overall, they suck. I think that's a horrible money-grubbing gimmick, and I wouldn't buy any of their Experimental or other BS. I'm glad that 19yo was great, but I think you prob just lucked out. Stay away IMO.

nomad: There are a few bottlers like that who put out some amazing bottles. Murray McDavid is prob my favorite, everything I've had by them has been excellent. Gordon & Macphail is also really good. Some of my favorites are peaty scotches like Laphroaig finished in dessert wine casks.

bearz: My guess is that Knob Creek and Woodford would rate highly, and maybe Maker's as well. In general I think ones that lean towards a little sweeter and little smoother taste will rate highest.

blame: I've been on the fence for a while re: pulling the trigger on a Galileo vs some other bottles at that price point I really love. How would you compare it to other Ardbegs you've had?

BT: Remy bought Bruichladdich last year, and nobody really knows what is going to happen now. But the management you are referring to that bought it 10 years ago definitely did all kinds of crazy ****. Check out their huge array of offerings: http://www.bruichladdich.com/whisky-shop/whisky (I like a lot of these bottles, but my fave is prob Black Art)

druid: Alas, I couldn't convince anyone to go with me and didn't feel like doing it alone. I'm going to go to that bar next weekend, though, and they have a bunch of those bottles on the shelf now. So I'll get a chance to taste the ones I really want to check out.

ET: That Willett Rye is IMO the best cocktail rye out there anywhere close to this price range (it's $35-40 here). I like Templeton a lot too, but I like the extra pop the Willett brings to a cocktail.

Suigin, cobra: Yamazaki is quite good, but I def don't think the 18 is worth the extra money. However, for just a couple bucks more than the Yamazaki you can get the Hakushu, which I think is quite a bit better.

SHARK: Highland Park is great. Ardbeg is WAY peatier than the Highland Park and quite a bit peatier than the Bruchladdich Peat I've had (this can change based on bottlings, though).

All: Finally, some pictures.

My current status - whiskey has started its attack on the lower shelf too:


I have a decent collection, but here's a friend's main cabinet (he's involved in the industry):


Here's his first backup storage area:

Very interesting. Has anyone ITT tried any of these?

I've had Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, which calls itself "malt whiskey" and "Rocky Mountain Straight Whiskey," but not "single malt," though I think it should technically qualify as such. It's really, really good and not quite like anything else I've tried.

This thread is so elite, thanks for all the recommendations and knowledge.

Diablo, your friend's stash is damn sexy.

A bit of an unrelated question for you: How do you like the Gran Classico? I'm running low on my bottle of Amaro Nonino and I'm debating which new amaro to get. I'm between Cynar (which I've tried and liked) and the Gran Classico or the Averna Amaro (both of which I haven't tried). You can answer in the cocktail thread if you don't want to derail.

Not sure if you still care about this but the reason there is no sign posts for the speed limits is because the national speed limit is 60 mph (70 on dual carriageway/motorway) unless otherwise stated.

Also I was wondering how much people would suggest on paying for a bottle of whisky? For my 21st my Mum got me 21 year old Glen Grant and for christmas she got me a bottle of glenfiddich 12 year old. The Glen Grant is the first really old "expensive" bottle I have ever had and I can hardly drink the glenfiddich anymore. It just tastes so much smoother and a lot more enjoyable.

So I was wondering how much people would suggest to be the optimal amount to spend on a bottle of whisky?

Andrew,

I am not sure if you are trolling or just really ****ing stupid.

I have for example checked the tastings in the Whisky Magazine. Appears not to be a very clear price-quality correlation, and the two people who are tasting there may come to quite different conclusions. I have decided that I will not significantly go into bottles above about 100 bucks. You get a lot of quality also below that. For miniatures, which is my specialty now, I'd like not to go much above about 10 bucks.

Saw the balvenie 17 doublewood last night and have been meaning to try this. I picked up a good amount of vanilla, so that was kind of nice. Overall, I thought it was pretty good and imo, would be one notch lower than the 17 peated cask or21 portwood.

El Diablo,

I was not trolling and not sure why its a stupid question? For example I'd say the best amount of money to spend on a bottle of wine would be £10. So you spend a decent amount on the actual wine less tax, bottling shipping etc. but north of £10 the quality to the amount you spend reduces I think. So there is a huge jump in the quality of wine between £6/7 bottle of wine and a £10 bottle of wine. This jump is not replicated between £10 and £15 bottle of wine. I was wondering if whisky would be the same. If its worth spending £40-50 compared to £20-30 on a bottle of whisky but more than that the jump of quality is not as much. No idea how this can be seen as "trolling"? But you have 40k posts on an internet forum. I am sure you know much more about these things than I do.

Sorry if my question was not up to your usual standard though. Next time I think about posting something I will consult you.

Thank you for your reply,
Andrew

in that case, quit drinking whisky and stick with 10 dollar wines.

andrew: It is a stupid question because it depends on how much money you have and how much you know about wine/whiskey/etc. For a poor college student just beginning to drink wine, plenty of stuff under $10 is a great choice for them. For a rich person with a lot of wine experience, plenty of stuff costing hundreds of dollars is a great choice for them. The same goes for whiskey and pretty much everything else too. That is why "what is the optimal amount to spend on a bottle of whiskey?" is a stupid question.

Suigin: Tried that a little while back. It's a really nice scotch. I don't have a bottle of that (it was a present for a friend), but I'm also almost out of Peated 17. Which one to get? I think I'm gonna have to go for Peated 17 while it's still available (apparently they're done making that one, at least for a while).