For the past few years, my friend and I have chosen a sporting event on which to wager a bottle of whiskey of the winner’s choice, to be consumed together during our annual Baseball Trip. He always chooses a bourbon and usually goes with something familiar, while I go more for Scotch and like to try new ones. Our price point is around the $40 range, though it’s not chiseled in stone.
This year, thanks to the 49ers’ win over the Packers in the NFC Championship game, I have won the bet! I’m starting to think about what bottle I will choose.
My tastes tend toward the right two-thirds of this chart. Don’t much care for peaty or smoky; Highland is usually right in my wheelhouse, and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed anything from Islay. I’ve also been trying and appreciating Irish whiskeys of late, so I’m putting those on the table as well.
I see now there’s a very similar thread going already (asking for Scotches under $100), with some good advice therein.
However, I’m looking for a bit lower price point, so even though there may be some overlap, I’m hoping to get some unique responses here. Thanks!
I strongly recommend Highland Park 12 – if I could have only one single malt for the rest of my days, that’d be the one. It hits all the right notes for me, and well.
For Irish, I can get Redbreast 12 yr for $43.99, and Green Spot for $49.99.
Green Spot is the preferred. We did a tasting at the Jameson distillery and Green Spot won hands down even among those in our group who are not aficionados of spirits.
But if you are really price driven, then Bushmills, or Teeling Small Batch, would do the trick.
Not sure what the prices are in America, but for the price range you cite, give Johnnie Walker Double Black a try. It’s not single malt, but in a blind taste test you’d probably think it was.
I’m all for trying new things, but I already know I don’t like heavy peat and smoke. Laphroaig is very highly regarded and I can’t stand the stuff.
How does Bunnahabhain differ?
Great suggestions so far; I’m sure whatever random liquor store we wander into will offer at least a few of these options. And I’m definitely putting some on my personal shopping list as well. Keep 'em coming!
Glenmorangie is about $42 at my local store. A very good bang for the buck, IMHO. Bushmills Malt 10 year is the first whiskey I got into and is quite nice. Its unpeated. Jameson Black Barrel was, to me, surprisingly smooth.
The Monkey Shoulder mentioned in that thread is an example of a very nice blend. I, personally, would prefer a Bunnahabhain 12, but that one is closer to $50 where I’m at. A Monkey Shoulder is $30 and a surprisingly pleasant mix of Speyside malts. Not very peaty. Supposedly, one of the three malts it’s blended with is peated, but it’s very light on the peat. I barely notice it (so much so that I would swear it was not peated–though they do have a peated blend called Smokey Monkey)-- it’s more sweet, vanilla, floral type flavors I get from it.
