Re: Scotch Q&A
 

I picked up a bottle of Jura yesterday. I haven't tried it yet...maybe later tonight.

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I like Dalwhinnie, Lagavulin 16, Glenrothes, Macallan 12...

Do you think I'd like Balvenie 12?

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Hey Mean D.

I'm not overly familiar with the Glenrothes, but if you like the Macallan 12, I think you will enjoy the Balvienie 12. Certainly not identical but I thought they had some similarities in taste profile.

:tu

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Thanks Ian, you have not steered me wrong yet. :)

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The wife surprised me this morning for our 12 year anny with a bottle of Grey Goose vodka (my favorite) and a bottle of Sheep Dip. It is a a blend of 14 dif scotches...having a glass now...very nice...however a little overpowering over the Hoyo churchill I am smoking...I should have had a Tat.

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That Glenlivet 15 yr is good!!!! :dance:

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I just picked a bottle of the Doublewood Balvenie 12 yr. I will try some tonight.

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Balvenie 17yr Sherry Cask
Talisker 175th Anniversary
Laphroaig Malt 86 10yr

Gary Vaynerchuk does a review on these sms. He's a wine guy but I thought the video was interesting.

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/07/25...e-episode-509/

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Kayaker, Great thread!

Just dove into the Single Malt world with two bottles Macallan 12yr and Glenfiddich 12yr. I defiantly preferred the Macallan, the Glenfiddich I thought had too much burn or bite. I did like the flavors of the Macallan, I had them both neat with a small splash of spring water.

What are some suggestions to try next? I have tasted the Lagavulin 18 yr?? Mithstrike and Extremeblzr gave me some...not so sure I am a big fan of that one REALLY Smokey, maybe too much so for my beginner palate.

Extremeblzr also gave me a bottle of some Colorado Whiskey, Shanahans...VERY good! Hints of cinnamon.

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Hey Kirk,

Glad you could make it to a new slope. :tu

If you want an nice comparison, pick up a small bottle of Glenlivet. Around here it is always price pointed the same as the Glenfiddich but I like it more.

If the Lagavulin is too much peat and smoke for you, try one of the Islay Malts that have fewer PPMs. Bowmore is a nice balance of smokey along with the richness and sweetness from the Sherry casks. Bruichladdich would also be nice.

If you want to try something that is quite smooth and tasty, try Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, or Scapa. If you want something bolder with a hint of peat, try Highkand Park.

Let us know if you pick up something else and what your impressions were.

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18 year Glenlivet is my ABSOLUTE favorite scotch. :dr

Sarge

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i dont have a lot of whisky experience. I have tried an Irish Single Malt cooley 4yrs, a 7 year old Highland Scotch (dont know which) , Springbank 10 + 15. Didnt enjoy the highland as much as the other stuff.
i think about getting a couple of 5cl samples or going to a tasting at a cadenhead's store that is almost right across my street.
can you give me a recommendation for each region (in the sub 50$ range)

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Going to a tasting would be a great option to try some different whiskies and learn about Scotch in general.

There is a line of single malts called McClellands named for the 4 main regions (Islay, Highland, Speyside, Lowland). Each is a young sample from a distillery in each region. I can't remember what distilleries were used. I think you can even get sampler sized bottles.

I haven't had these, so I don't know what they taste like.

My choices would be Bowmore for Islay, Auchentoshan for Lowland, Highland Park for Highland (though it may test your price limit), and maybe Glenlivet for Speyside. That would be a nice tasting. There maybe nice Speysiders that would fit your budget, but I mostly prefer Islay malts.

Hope this helps and happy dramming.:tu

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I picked up my first ever bottle of scotch last night - Highland Park 12. I tried a bit last night with a splash of water.

For someone not used to drinking strong alcohol, it definitely will take some getting used to. I could immediately pick out a lot of the flavors described in the thread, though.

I shall soldier on with another glass right now :tu

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Single malt scotch is the only hard liquor I'll drink regularly.
Bowmore is too light for me
Laphroaig 10 is very peaty but very aromatic
There is a Laphroaig quarter cask that is available and is excellent also
Glen Morangie is excellent but I prefer the Sherry casked version best
Highland Park is great and the wife likes it as much as I do
Macallan is great also.
If you like cask strength scotch rather than "blended" single malts (as some of the single malts are) try joining the Scoth Single Malt Society.
http://www.smwsa.com/
They aren't cheap. Bottles start at $100. I had one that was 32 years old and 132 proof, casked in sherry oak which was outstanding. It set me back $210. They buy the full barrels from the distillery, bottle it and sell them to the members. Once they're all sold that all there is.

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This thread is too good to die...

Found this site that looks interesting for those interested in learning more about Scotch:
http://www.maltmadness.com

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True. There are so many good scotches out there. Brown liquors are definitely making a comeback. I do like several single malts aged in Sherry, Madera or port casks. I have seen a new wave of Tequilas being aged in sherry and other used barrels. However to me it is still Tequila. If you are new to scotch, either try it with several people with some experience or attend a tasting. Tasting done by a professional will at least teach you terminology and regions where it may be easy to narrow down your likes and dislikes of this noble spirit. Cheers.:2

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That is an interesting site - Thanks For Sharing.:tu

Malt will never die, fads (tequila, etc) come and go but Scotch is forever in the Man Cave.

Lagavulin Rules - enjoying some now.:ss

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Anyone have any opinions on the Macallan 18yr old?? I was able to try some over New Years, and it was awful :td The price is high and I'd be very disappointed if I had to pay for a whole bottle. The oaky taste was way too over powering and not very smooth for an 18 year old.

I'd much rather have Glenlivet 12 or 18 yr old, Dalwhinnie or Belvinie. Those are my favorites right now. Any other suggestions?

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I am not a Macallan fan myself. Here is a lesser known one that I recently tried and thought was very good for something in the lower Single Malt price range:

http://www.isleofjura.com/index2.cfm

Here is another better known excellent choice for a lower price range Single Malt:

http://www.laphroaig.com/

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See I like 12 year old Macallan a lot more. Not my favorite but I like it. So the 18 y/o really shocked me. I thought I would love it but not the case. My wallet is very happy with my taste buds :r

I'll have to give both your recommendations a shot. I've actually heard of Jura before, but didn't pay it any attention because I never heard of it.

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At first taste the Jura did not do much for me but as I further tasted it I found it pretty good.

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I agree actually. I had the chance to try the 18 year in an airport bar in a state where liquor was a lot cheaper than Michigan. It was about $12 for a shot of the stuff. I was really let down. I thought the 12 was much better. I'd never claim expertise in the field of scotch, but I drink a lot of single malt and know what I like. I wouldn't spend the extra $75 for a bottle of the 18. I'll take the 12. Now glenlivit 18 year is dramatically better than glenlivit 12 in my taste, and the 18 is at least affordable for a nice scotch around here.

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Love Johhnie Blue. My wallet unfortunetly doesn't :(

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I agree on the Glenlivet. For the extra money, you are getting a lot more in terms of taste in the 18 y/o.

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Balvenie doublewood is a great sipping scotch and not too crazy pricey....:ss

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That site and it's companion sites are great. I use them for reference and a good laugh all the time. :tu

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None of the Macs are cheap compared to scotches of similar age. Did you have the Fine Oak or the regular version of it? Regular version is aged only in Sherry casks, and the Fine Oak uses Sherry and Bourbon Casks. It's been a while since I've had the regular, but I remember it as being quite good. The Fine Oak 18 was very smooth, but a bit underwhelming for my tastes.

It could have been an off bottle, or you just may not like that style. Try one of the younger versions and see what that's like. You should be able to buy a dram at a decent bar.

I found the Balvenie somewhat similar in style to the Macallan. Glenkintchie, Glen Ord, Arran Island are also quite nice. Actually there are lots of great whiskies. The best part is getting to sample lots and lots to find out what you like.

If you find there's something you don't really like, try it again a year later to see if your tastes have changed. Mine have over the last few years. Your mood and what you've eaten recently can also affect the taste of your dram.

Hope this helps.:tu

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Had some good stuff with a buddy home on leave from Iraq last Friday. Scott's Selection, 1983, bottled in 2004. Haven't been able to find much info on it. It was GOOOD, and paired well with an Opus Petit Lancero. Anyone else tried it, or know anything about it?

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One of my favorite Scotchs. :) I always have a bottle behind the bar.

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Hi all, new member here looking to dive back into the world of SMSW. Now, the last bottle I purchased was Laphroaig 10 year old, it came in a white and green container.

And for me it was downright horrendous. I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on other scotches that would be similar to this one so I can avoid them, lol.

With that said what recommendations do you guys have for an affordable regular drink and also in the range of $90 USD for more of a special occasions drink. Thanks ahead for any input. :)

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Laphroaig is from Islay, whose Scotchs are very peaty. Some other Islay scotchs are Ardberg, Bowmore and Lagavulin.

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It was the Fine Oak. I'll give it a shot again in the future. It is good to know some of the stuff to look for as for me it's intimidating staring at all the bottles of scotch with some of the price tags.

Thanks for the help. I'll keep checkin in here :tu

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Scott's Selection is an Independent Bottler. That means they buy casks of scotch from different distilleries and age and/or bottle the stuff a bit differently than the original distillery.

The distillery name should have been on the bottle somewhere which is the main vital info you need. With the distillery name you can then compare how the the IB presented the scotch versus the Original Bottling. I.e. did they use different casks to age or finish the whisky? Different age? Different ABV? Hopefully the bottle is still around to get that info.

Good luck.:tu

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I generally go for Islays, but decided to try a Speyside the other day, and picked up a cheapo bottle of Lismore Single Malt, which I did not care for. Anyone know if Lismore is on par or close to other Speysides? To my palate, it had an overpowering sherry flavor, almost like it'd been mixed with sherry.

To make up for the bad scotch, I picked up a bottle of Bowmore 12, one of my all time favorites.

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Bowmore is a big favourite of mine. Haven't had Lismore. How much do you want to spend on a Speyside malt?

Speyside has a LOT of distilleries so there can be very big differences in distillery characteristics. I'll see if I can recommend something tasty in your price range.

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I usually try to stay under $40 a bottle, but a little over is ok.

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I just sniffed (and sipped) a bottle of Tamdhu I had kicking around. based on your description above of what you didn't like, I would NOT get the Tamdhu (smells/tastes like sherry) :2

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Reviving thread....

What can anyone tell me about Murray McDavid? My local store has a wide selection, but I've shied away. Any general information or thoughts of their products?

Re: Scotch Q&A
 

This is the Independent Bottling division of Bruichladdich. They (like other IBs) buy casks of new make whisky from other distilleries and age it how they see fit.

Like their own house malt, the Murray McDavid offereings are non-chillfiltered and non-caramelized.

I've had a few of these bottlings and enjoyed them. Your best approach to these may to see if they have a bottling of something you already like.

Hope this helps.

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Interesting read. Your experiences may differ.

Scotch ratings

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Thanks for the reply. I think I may make a Murray McDavid bottle my next purchase. Has anyone had any that are on the peaty side? Otherwise I would just pick something from an Islay distillery that I know I like.

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very interesting....

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The whisky in the bottle will be from other distilleries, so you may find a M&M bottle of Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Bowmore, etc. In fact, I think I just had a 40yo Bowmore that was an M&M bottle... but it may have been Ducan Taylor... can't remember.

So any Islay distillery is fine - it will be their whisky in an M&M bottle.

HTH...

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Thanks for sharing... I've always been a fan of Michael Jackson's notes as opposed to Jim's. Did it say who the other two tasters were? I missed it.

Not sure I agree entirely with the list, well, not really at all. But that is part of the fun of whisky and notes.

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My first bottle of Scotch was Laphroaig 10 year. The initial taste reminded me of the stuff my dentist used to use to deaden an injection site. After a few more sips, the taste mostly went away and I kind of liked it. My father-in-law mentioned he liked Scotch so I gave the mostly full bottle to him.

Weeks later, I was talking to a friend who runs an art shop/cigar/pipe store here about Scotch and he invited me in on a Fri. afternoon to sample some of his collection. My favorite was Balvinie double wood. (Can't remember the other two. I have it written down someplace. I also had my wife drop me off and pick me up.) So, I bought the Balvinie and really enjoyed it. My wife just went to Nebraska and I sent the Balvinie along and had my wife tell my f-i-l if he liked it better to send the Laphroaig back with my wife. So, I've got the Laphroaig to sip on for awhile. He much preferred the Balvinie.

The shop is sponsoring a BBQ/smoker/Scotch tasting April 25th. It includes a BBQ supper, two cigars, a cutter and two drinks out of big selection of Scotch for $40.00. You bet I'm going to that!

WyoBob

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That sounds great.:dr

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Tried scotch for the first time last night-it was Singleton 12 year. Anyone really like/dislike this compared to other scotches? I thought it was pretty good for my first time.

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I bought my first bottle of scotch last night. Johnnie Walker Red Label. Before you get all "that stuff sucks" on me, I thought it was a good introduction to scotch blends. Pretty sweet and not much burn. Now I'm ready to move on to JW Black label and others. I thought it was a good intro to scotch. Drank it neat, and once again with a 1/4 tsp. of water. Better with the water.

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Ain't nothing wrong with Red Label. I actually prefer the red over the black :sh

I would skip the black and go with green. I haven't had gold, swing or blue yet though. Too pricey IMO.