N99, does your wife has a single sister? Those are pretty great Christmas presents.

I got to open the Glendronach 15 and Talisker 18 tonight. The Glendronach is a sherry bomb, a lot of complex flavors that I'll probably still be discovering for a while. The Talisker is as good as I remembered, great balance of peat, seaside, and fruit flavors. And smooth as a baby seal fur coat. Went just magnificent with tonight's steak dinner.

Bought Glendronach 15 a few months ago, haven't found the right occasion to open it up yet though

See my review of Ron Burgundy earlier.

I had some Highland Park 12 I got as a gift, not anything too special but for sure a tasty scotch, pretty smoky and otherwise kinda noncharacteristic, will drink the rest for sure.

The Nikka is a top notch whisky. I've had a few bottles of more expensive Japanese whisky but I constantly come back to the Nikka, superb value for money imo.



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Thanks, checked it out. Good to hear it isn't vomit-inducing — pretty damn fine endorsement.

Also found this — good to know it's a good scotch for mixing, kinda expands it from a versatility perspective. Hope it works well with Coke:



I'm thinking that when it is time to crack open a bottle I'm going to start with the Nikka. It's definitely got my curiousity going.

Newb whisky drinker. Received a Laphroaig quarter cask for xmas and am v happy with it although I still enjoy the 10 (the first whisky I enjoyed). Surprised at the difference however.

Keen on Talisker, and tried a Glenfiddich 15 solera reserve this week which I considered slightly too sweet.

Any thoughts on the next purchase? Tempted by a Lagavulin or Ardberg. Cheers.

Can't go wrong with lagavulin or ardbeg for your next purchase. However, if you want to venture into something without as much peat (but still some), and with other interesting flavors I'd recommend Highland Park or Oban.

Cheers ET.

Thoughts on Dalwhinnie? A few supermarkets here currently have good discounts on seemingly entry level malts eg:

http://www.waitrose.com/shop/HeaderS...h=RE&search=#_

Click the Groceries tab to load the whisky...

I've only tried the dalwhinnie 12 once and I wasn't a big fan, but I must say that I was trying some other fine Scotches that day so that may have had an influence.

Went to the page, the HP12 has a very good price, even cheaper than the glenmorangie 10. Talisker, balvenie, and aberlour also have good prices, can't go wrong with those.

Great, thanks for the guidance. Will report back!

Got the Aberlour A'Bunadh for Christmas and I'm a big fan. Just tried it for the second time and love the flavour. I drink the first half neat, feel the burn, then add a little water to uncover some different flavours. Would buy again. I really am a fan of any scotch aged in a wine barrel, Ardbeg Uigeadail is still my fave.

Also got the Dalwhinnie 15 and my first thought was good, but meh. Nothing really stands out or sets it apart.

Unfortunately got a second bottle of Glenfiddich 18 which I am not a fan of at all. Totally unremarkable.

Kinda pissed but everything ended up cool at the end.

Ate at a Hawaiian fusion restaurant today that is maybe $$$ by Yelp standards. My waitress told me that the only bourbon they had was Makers so I ordered that with my steak and it turned out to be a meh meal (she failed to mention any Islays as well, so I opted for bourbon instead of Speyside). After the meal, I walked to the bar b/c I was sure the waitress was FOS but I didn't wanna be a dick at the moment, and it turned out they had a really good selection of bourbon. So I ordered a Woodford Reserve and for the first time, a random person at the bar said they'll have a glass of what I was having as well. I'm probably just really sh*tty at perceiving things, but I think it's cool for a random person to +1 whatever you're having

Went for Talisker 10 for £26 in the end - fairly smokey stuff and one that I started off with in a pub alongside Laphroaig. I enjoy this immensely but will be looking for something more rounded and easy going next up - potentially the Highland Park.

The Doris liked the look (lols) of the Glenrothes bottle for £25. Tasting notes appear to be reasonably sweet. Any thoughts?

Swalker,

I am not a big fan of the Glenrothes Select Reserve, but I love pretty much everything they do with a year on it. All are smooth with a touch of sweetness, but the flavor profiles vary from year to year. Highly recommend it.

Cracked open the Nikka From the Barrel, 51.4%, last night.



This was my first Japanese whisky and I was pretty impressed with it.

Lots of toffee and caramel on the nose with a smooth nuttiness and warm finish. Very drinkable as is. However, for all its good points — and there are many — for me it lacked peatiness and a certain degree of complexity, which is my personal preference.

Rye lovers,

Had some whistlepig boss hog this weekend. http://www.whistlepigwhiskey.com/the-boss-hog-2/

Cask strength limited production 12yo rye finished in bourbon barrels.

This stuff was really good. Way smoother than you would imagine for this kind of proof, didn't even need any water. Maybe a little spicier than regular whistlepig but not sure. Def more bourbon sweetness, that's clear.

Overall, this was a really impressive and delicious rye. But I just checked the price, $150!?!!? Whoa, not something I'd buy at that price, but like I said, a really good rye.

I know this thread is mostly for the connoisseurs but I think its time for a bottom shelf review! I am currently sipping on some old crow reserve at 43% acl and 15.99 a handle I say great bang for your buck! sweet but not too sweet taste but still drinkable neat or on the rocks.

I've been primarily riding the craft brew craze the last ~10 years but I've recently shifted my focus. Mostly to Bourbon, as I'm trying to walk the line between quality and affordability. I've also always finished a bottle before buying another, so the idea of building a collection is new.

Recent bottles:
Bulleit Bourbon (2/$40)
John B. Stetson (~$25)
Kirkland Bourbon ($20 for 1L)
Glenlivet 12 (~$24)

This group all seems really good for the $.

On the shelf:

Basil Hayden (~$35) definitely more interesting than the Bourbons in the above group.
Highland Park 12 ($43?) and far more interesting than BH. This might be the bottle that makes me a collector.

I've also had a few Bookers twice recently and love it.

inb4 El Diablo recommends Eagle Rare 10 for great bang for the buck (on which he is absolutely correct imo)

if you're just getting your feet wet into whisky, I think the Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or (Sauternes-cask) is a very approachable option. I also think it's more drinkable (in a everyday sense) which is a good thing if you're only doing 1 bottle at a time (nothing wrong with that). Like it's not a specific profile (peaty Islay probably the best example) that you need to be in a certain mood for.

I'm gonna buy a bottle of Bulleit Rye (first rye for me). Been reading good things about it. Anyone have a view on it?
Also, it's a little difficult to find bottles of rye in stores over here (UK) so it looks as though I'm going to have to go down the online route.

I'm also trying to broaden my bar with some bourbon and rye. My whisky experience is limited to Scotch and Irish whiskeys mostly. Other stuff is not available here or outrageously overpriced, so I'm sourcing some stuff online.

A lot of this has already been discussed here, but I have few sites and bourbons lined up, so any comments on the following is appreciated. Best value of those? (price in euros)

Basil Hayden 8y 700ml, (33)
Bulleit 700ml, (18)
Eagle Rare 10y Single Barrel 700ml, (33)
Elijah Craig 12y 700ml, (25)
Four Roses Single Barrel 700ml, (27)
Knob Creek 9y Small Batch Straight Bourbon 700ml, (29)
Rowans Creek 100,1 Proof Small Batch 700ml, (35)
Wild Turkey 8y 101 Proof 1000ml, (28)
Woodford Reserve Distillers Select 700ml, (28)
Maker's Mark 1000ml, (26)

Rye selection is.. lacking..

Rittenhouse 100
Templeton Rye
Jim Beam Rye
Old Overholt

I'm probably gonna grap two bourbons and one rye..

Guys,

A while ago I posted about receiving some pretty interesting bourbon in exchange for a little side project I took on. Results:



The special old reserve is pre-prohibition - distilled 1917, bottled 1932.

The very old fitz is basically the bees knees of bourbon. SW from when van winkle was running it. 1950/1958.

The samples are various oddities that I plan on blind tasting tonight.

And a pretty interesting thread on the ams/special old reserve, and just prohibition whiskey in general, from sb:

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?5669-Some-help-on-AMS-Special-Reserve-1933

Happy new year!

My collection, out ready for NYE

[IMG][/IMG]

Husker and Jusbe, are you buying ryes and bourbons for drinking neat or for cocktailing?

from what I've gleaned (not available here) it seems to be recommended as good bang for the buck for mixing


again value is going to depend on how you will be drinking them. Stuff like Bulleit and Maker's are good value in cocktails and stuff like the Eagle 10 good value neat IMO. The Elijah Craig strikes me as a particularly good price.


I don't know the Templeton, but the other 3 to me are for mixing (IE rail ryes). Is the Sazerac (6-year straight) rye available where you are? I like that for cocktailing.

the ryes I've tried and enjoyed neat were the Masterson's 10-year and the High West Rendezvous. Not sure about EU pricing.

High west rondezvous is really good costs like$50 the double rye is sweeter and has a mint kind of thing going on it's around $30. I didn't care for the four roses prefer the knob creek or woodford reserve. I got a bottle of Rowan's creek but haven't opened it. Got my first bottle of lagavulin 16 and that's what I will drink tonight.