Ardbeg 10 is a quintessential Islay whisky. Not as iodine-y as Laphroaig’s 10, but smokier and smoother, I find. The Committee offerings that silenus, SingleMalt (Thank you very much for the notes, BTW! I don’t recall being as wowed by Auriverdes as you, but I need to revisit it.) and I are talking about are special bottlings they make every once in awhile, and are usually well worth your time and money. But then I’m a big Ardbeg fan. Another one of theirs if you like smoke is their Supernova bottling.
What I’d recommend is to find a bar with a decent Scotch selection and try a few different ones before plunging into buying $100 plus bottles that you may not even like. The days where you could get 3 shots of Lagavulin 16 for 20 bucks with tip are over (My favorite drink deal when I was in grad school.), but it’s still much cheaper than buying a whole bottle. The liquor store chain Sigel’s in Dallas has an annual Scotch tasting that is an amazing learning opportunity if you’re in town to take part. It’s where I managed to taste things like the Glenfarclas 21 (they were also pouring the 17, 19, 25 and younger whiskies too); something I wouldn’t have had the chance to try otherwise.
Someone upthread mentioned Springbank’s 15 year. They also sell some of the separate components that make up Springbank; specifically, Longrow and Hazelburn. Longrow is the peatier one of the two and is quite interesting by itself.
I generally agree with you, but I’d take Johnnie Walker Green over almost any single malt at its price point (generally, around $60 a fifth.) Also, older is not always better (depends on your tastes), and there are solid 10 year single malts out there, like the Talisker 10 and Glenmorangie 10.
“Blends” are not something that can be treated as a homogeneous group.
For just two examples: I’ve tried Johnnie Walker Black and thought it tasted like it was worth more than its price would indicate.
And I’ve tried Johnnie Walker Red and it tasted quite unpleasant, to the extent that cheap Canadian stuff was much nicer. The Red tastes to me something like the smell of wet cardboard, and I tried it again more than a year later to confirm I didn’t just have a bad bottle the first time. Same wet-cardboard flavour dominated.
You may be right, but don’t even think about trying the abomination that is Laphroaig 10 year old - god what swill when the 12 gives a decent intro to the “iron fist” side of scotch whiskey.
I’ll give you Johnny Walker Blue is pretty good, but at $200+ per bottle, I think you can find dozens of single malts that will tickle your fancy at a better price and taste. No?
Or get a guitar at Walmart & use the savings for a good bottle; I mean music’s music, right? :rolleyes:
Where you wanna go? I’ve got a gettin’-low bottle of Lagavulin 16 that I could bring & let you take home. (Don’t worry, I’ve got a another bottle already).
The Blue is way overpriced, IMHO. That’s pretty much why I picked the Green. In terms of bang-for-buck, I think it’s a very good whiskey. It’s also not just a blended whiskey, but a “blended/vatted malt,” difference being a “vatted malt” is a blend of single malts, and a “blended whiskey” can be blended with whiskeys not made with 100% malted barley. Off the top of my head, I can only think of a couple of vatted malts: the JW Green and the Famous Grouse 10 and 18.
(That said, for a cheap everyday type of tipple, I’m cool with the regular Famous Grouse blended whiskey. If I’m going to drink a cheaper, blended whiskey, that’s my guy.)
I dunno man, people who are into guitars seldom have just one.
I got a VIP backstage pass / tour at a U2 show (no, we didn’t get to meet them) a couple years back and the number of guitars Edge carries around on a tour is well, excessive to me, but what do I know?
I’d second this. Find what you like and get that. Or some distillery groups sell a collection of sampler bottles or various varieties of single malts. There is such a spectrum of whiskies to choose from, you have to try a few.
Price is generally driven by the availability. First-fill barrels are harder to come by than older barrels, so there is less of that whisky produced than the Doublewood, and the production batches are much smaller than the Doublewood’s.
Without the sherry cask finish, the First-Fill is a different beast than the Doublewood, with less fruitcake character and more summer fruits - peaches, apricots and vanilla. I am a big fan of the Doublewood, but the First-Fill makes a nice contrast.
I’m no connoisseur but the when I tried 21 year old Balvenie portwood I found it a transcendent experience. Wonderful stuff. When I bought my first bottle it was £55 in duty free but now I see, some 15 years later, it goes for about £130. Still…you only live once.
Also, I have it on good authority that 25 year old Talisker is worth a punt. A pilot friend of mine doesn’t drink himself but manages to acquire a bottle every year and looks to offload it for quick cash.
My advice is, go back and re-read digs’s post #14.
Find something you like and buy that. Do NOT let anybody tell you that there are hard-and-fast rules regarding age, regions, blends, etc. If you like it, it’s good, and if you don’t, it’s not.
I could tell you what I like, but I’ve had Laphroig, and I hate it. It tastes like a burning tire to me. But you said you’ve tried it and liked it, so obviously my tastes aren’t your tastes. Nothing wrong with that. Get out and try, learn, and ENJOY!!
I work nearby and have had quite the opportunity to visit TIME. Their scotch(/whisky) selection is superb.
(Just do yourself a favor and don’t go on a night where the upstairs is liable to be crowded with a bunch of college students partying it up way too much. Unless that’s your thing. Just stay down in the bar area.)
I am also fond of the smokier scotches. I am personally partial to Laguvulin 16 year. Its my go-to.
Although my cousin recently got me a Bunnahabhain (another Islay) that was finished off in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks that was simply divine. Alas, no luck finding that anymore, appears to have been a limited release.
Those charts are indeed very handy. That particular one is based on the standard tasting chart, but recently, an alternate chart has been proposed. Most of my friends have found this version more approachable. I have both hanging on my wall.
