The Scotch Thread

[Andybird]

$45 for regular 10 year.

BRB paying $80 a bottle in Australia. Jelly.

[TimWhalen]

My friends sorry I have been absent. Been busy with school, work and moving. The malt collection hasn't stopped, oh no it hasn't indeed. I believe the last bottle I purchased and shared with you was my July bottle of Ardbeg Airgh Nam Beist. Combine the hectic schedule and lack of funds in the summer, I'm here with a 3 spot.

First off I will report back with my last meeting at the Scotch Social. I got thrust into the headlining position and brought out a bottle I have been sitting on since July. I proudly featured my Ardbeg Airgh Nam Beist



The Laphroiag is courtesy of my friends who just came back some Scotland. He went to the distillery himself and loved every minute and drop of it. Personally not a huge fan. The Beist is another story. A nice delicate but peaty malt.

The boys picked up a few Ardbeg bottles, we decided to make a group photo

Scary thing is, we are missing my two Ardbeg 10 year old duty free bottlings as well as a bottle of Corryvreckan. We are becoming a force.

Final picture from the meeting is all of these miniatures brought back from a few shops overseas

The Glenfarclas was my gift so I look forward to checking that one out in due time.

"August" bottle - Bought this on September 10th - Glenfarclas 21 year old. Now that I write this I'm thinking I have already shared this but oh well it's in the picture.

My September bottle is one that came highly recommended by Ralfy, Edradour Bourbon Cask. Got my friends to pick it up from the whisky exchange in London. Fantastic looking bottle, as usual I'm not sure when I'll crack it open but when I do I will share that with you.

Bonus bottle! As a gift for puppy sitting for a few weekends my buddy brought me back a duty free Highland Park 1998 (12 year old). Not sure how it stacks up to the basic 12 year old. Perhaps a side by side comparison will be in order when the time comes?



Here is the presentation of the scotch collection amongst other things in the new apartment. Thanks for hanging through this long post.

[Seven6Two]

Ardbeg Alligator

Was it worth $200? I think just barely.

Where on Earth did you buy it? They had it for $90 at my local liquor store.

[moosecakes4all]

Recommend me $50 worth of scotch for my 21st birthday.
I live in California.
Glennfiddich and JW black are $20 each for 750ml locally

Enjoyed greatly JW black and Jameson (the black moreso)

[Seven6Two]

Recommend me $50 worth of scotch for my 21st birthday.
I live in California.
Glennfiddich and JW black are $20 each for 750ml locally

Enjoyed greatly JW black and Jameson (the black moreso)

What mix of flavors do you prefer? You like your drink to be dominated by flavors of smoke and earth or do you prefer more sherry, heather, honey, vanilla..etc things like that? Maybe a good mix between the two?

[moosecakes4all]

What mix of flavors do you prefer? You like your drink to be dominated by flavors of smoke and earth or do you prefer more sherry, heather, honey, vanilla..etc things like that? Maybe a good mix between the two?

I have yet to develop those tastes, so perhaps one of each kind?

So far, I can tell you one flavor I REALLY enjoy is a smokiness.

I can get two from this list based on my local shop prices: glennlivit 12, glennfiddich 12, laphroaig 10. Those have been recommended a lot in this thread...

http://www.missionliquor.com/Store/Qstore/Qstore.cgi

[Seven6Two]

I have yet to develop those tastes, so perhaps one of each kind?

So far, I can tell you one flavor I REALLY enjoy is a smokiness.

I can get two from this list based on my local shop prices: glennlivit 12, glennfiddich 12, laphroaig 10. Those have been recommended a lot in this thread...

http://www.missionliquor.com/Store/Qstore/Qstore.cgi

Laphroaig is definitely going to have the most smoke BY FAR out of the three you listed. In fact, The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich honestly don't really have much, if any peat to them. Laphroaig is a very heavily peated scotch. However, it does have a "damp" nature to it which turns some people off. Typically, people who don't like the nature of Laphroaig, but still enjoy a heavily peated scotch will flock towards Arbeg. If you're able to raise your $50 price range by $5 - $10, you can add Ardbeg to your list of options.

The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich are both Speysides so they won't have peat like the Islays. Lots of cinnamon and a bit of apple is what you'll taste in The Glenlivet; there are more flavors to it, but judging from your last post, you probably won't be able to pick them up. Primary flavors of Glenfiddich are honey, vanilla, and a bit of oak. There is a sweetness to this scotch that you won't find in The Glenlivet and certainly won't find it in or anywhere near Laphroaig.

Both The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich are excellent choices for introducing a newcomer to the world of single malts, however, if you love smokiness as much as you say, feel free to give one of the Islays a shot first. There really isn't a wrong way to go about it. The key is to just keep trying different scotchs. The more you try, the more your palate will develop. I know that it's your 21st, so you'll probably be tempted to get sh!t faced, lol... but try to make an honest effort to "taste" the scotch (put the shot glasses away); you'll benefit a lot more if you do.





Happy early B'day!

[moosecakes4all]

Thanks for the awesome post! Will rep tomorrow.
I think I will go with the laphroaig and Glenfiddich, oak and vanilla sound great to me. Perhaps I will grab an Arbeg if the price is right. I need to refine my palette, though as an avid cigar enthusiast I am pretty quick to pick up.

And don't worry, I have absolutely no intention of drunking more than 40-60 mL of scotch at a time. I actually don't enjoy being "drunk" so just a small glass will do for me.

[Seven6Two]

Thanks for the awesome post! Will rep tomorrow.
I think I will go with the laphroaig and Glenfiddich, oak and vanilla sound great to me. Perhaps I will grab an Arbeg if the price is right. I need to refine my palette, though as an avid cigar enthusiast I am pretty quick to pick up.

And don't worry, I have absolutely no intention of drunking more than 40-60 mL of scotch at a time. I actually don't enjoy being "drunk" so just a small glass will do for me.

Glad I was able to help. Whatever you decide on, enjoy it. All three are great scotches and you honestly can't go wrong with either (imo anyways).

[Auser]

Where on Earth did you buy it? They had it for $90 at my local liquor store.

Location: Australia -__-

country sucks for whisky.

[nickyyoo]

Hmm might get into this Whiskey thing. Seems really pretentious so it'll suit me just fine. Always preferred vodka spirit-wise. This week I will begin with Jameson.

[wolfpilp]

I have not tasted all of them but Balblair i liked a lot.

[wolfpilp]

From islay,i used to drink Lagavulin and liked it.
Some weeks back i tried Bowmore and i think its up there too...

[Auser]

Hmm might get into this Whiskey thing. Seems really pretentious so it'll suit me just fine. Always preferred vodka spirit-wise. This week I will begin with Jameson.

It can be pretentious but you will generally find the most down to earth, no nonsense people love whisky. Not like the extreme snobbery in the wine community Check out Ralfy a fun loving but knowledgeable reviewer


http://www.youtube.com/user/ralfystuff






I opened Bruichladdich octomore two days ago.

Will try and review soon.

[Seven6Two]

Location: Australia -__-

country sucks for whisky.

Ahhh, ya, my fault for not checking your location. That sucks man that your prices are that high.

[Keevo]

I think I'm narrowing down what scotches I like. Bought a Dalmore 12yr last week, wasn't too bad, a little light for my likings. I like highland park and talisker a lot, and doing some research found out they both have somewhere around 20 ppm phenols, so maybe I'll start buying scotches around that area, definately like the Island scotches though... I think Bowmore might be next in line since it has around 30ppm - slightly higher..

It can be pretentious but you will generally find the most down to earth, no nonsense people love whisky. Not like the extreme snobbery in the wine community Check out Ralfy a fun loving but knowledgeable reviewer


http://www.youtube.com/user/ralfystuff






I opened Bruichladdich octomore two days ago.

Will try and review soon.

I've been to a couple wine tastings and a couple scotch tastings.. I'd rather drink with the whisky guys than wine people anyday. They seem to enjoy themselves a lot more. Isn't the Octomore supposed to have like the highest amount of ppm of peat in it? Good luck with that lol. Probably not my cup of tea, but I'm interested to see how it'll turn out!

[khuong1994]

Suggest me a good 12-20 yr old single malt brahs. preferably not over 200 bucks, need a gift for the old man and he likes his scotch.

[JimmyVee]

Suggest me a good 12-20 yr old single malt brahs. preferably not over 200 bucks, need a gift for the old man and he likes his scotch.

You have an awful lot to choose from unless you give us a little more to go on. Glenfiddich 15 Solera and Highland Park 18 would be a couple good choices and should be less than $200 (don't know much about Aussie prices).

[Shane-0-Mac]

You have an awful lot to choose from unless you give us a little more to go on. Glenfiddich 15 Solera and Highland Park 18 would be a couple good choices and should be less than $200 (don't know much about Aussie prices).

glenfiddich 15 goes for about $90-95 here if thats any help

[vz1985]

Drinking a blended scotch tonight. Monkey shoulder. Fairly cheap scotch. But a friend bought it around. Not to bad. Didn't drink it straight. Try it scotch brags of you feel like a blend.

[khuong1994]

glenfiddich 15 goes for about $90-95 here if thats any help

Yeah I might get him the glenfiddich 15 and order a glencairn glass as well, so the old bastard can enjoy himself.

Have a throat infection all week and I cant wait to enjoy a glass FUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[WarWithWeakness]

My knowledge of scotch still well within it's infancy, I have expanded my collection somewhat.

Started with a bottle of Hart Brothers (Linkwood distilery), about which I can say very little beyond that I liked it.

Purchased JW Red Label, and wasn't impressed. Can't drink it, to be honest. I'd had it before, but with food that overwhelmed my palate between each sip, and that's the only time I've been able to stomach it.

Tried Chivas Regal 12 and 18, 18 obviously blows 12 away for quality, but 12 is still very respectable and probably better value for money. imo, 18 isn't really good enough to drink neat (and, in my limited experience, I'd much prefer to reserve single malts for drinking neat or with ice or water, and use blends for mixing), and if you're going to mix it with anything (in my case, dry ginger) then the difference between the two isn't that big.

After being scarred by JW red label, I was skeptical of the black label, but based on it's reputation, I tried it, and was quite amazed. For a 12 year it's very rich and smokey, and just... well, nice. As was said in, I think, the OP, it's extremely good bang for your buck.

However, I then came across JW black label, double black, which I presume is also aged 12 years but in charred oak making the flavour much more intense... it's black label on steroids, for very little extra cost.

For a single malt, I went straight for the Laphroaig 10, based entirely on the description of it being intensely smokey but still very smooth. Smoothness, I suppose I can't comment on, since in order to fully appreciate the flavour I do need to add water. I drink it neat, on occasion, but, for the most part I'll enjoy it far more with just a little water.

I have now also purchased Glenlivet 12, and Glenfidich 12. Since that was about an hour ago, I haven't tried either yet, but eagerly look forward to it.

[Shinya-Aoki]

My knowledge of scotch still well within it's infancy, I have expanded my collection somewhat.

Started with a bottle of Hart Brothers (Linkwood distilery), about which I can say very little beyond that I liked it.

Purchased JW Red Label, and wasn't impressed. Can't drink it, to be honest. I'd had it before, but with food that overwhelmed my palate between each sip, and that's the only time I've been able to stomach it.

Tried Chivas Regal 12 and 18, 18 obviously blows 12 away for quality, but 12 is still very respectable and probably better value for money. imo, 18 isn't really good enough to drink neat (and, in my limited experience, I'd much prefer to reserve single malts for drinking neat or with ice or water, and use blends for mixing), and if you're going to mix it with anything (in my case, dry ginger) then the difference between the two isn't that big.

After being scarred by JW red label, I was skeptical of the black label, but based on it's reputation, I tried it, and was quite amazed. For a 12 year it's very rich and smokey, and just... well, nice. As was said in, I think, the OP, it's extremely good bang for your buck.

However, I then came across JW black label, double black, which I presume is also aged 12 years but in charred oak making the flavour much more intense... it's black label on steroids, for very little extra cost.

For a single malt, I went straight for the Laphroaig 10, based entirely on the description of it being intensely smokey but still very smooth. Smoothness, I suppose I can't comment on, since in order to fully appreciate the flavour I do need to add water. I drink it neat, on occasion, but, for the most part I'll enjoy it far more with just a little water.

I have now also purchased Glenlivet 12, and Glenfidich 12. Since that was about an hour ago, I haven't tried either yet, but eagerly look forward to it.

see im the opposite, i love red label for dirt cheap scotch, but i dont like the black, odd, different strokes for diff folks i guess

[vitriol]

Anyone had a chance to try the new Glenfiddich rich oak 14?

[icetrauma]

I have a question for you Scotch bro's. Have any of y'all tried Scapa and if so, what do you think of it?

[icetrauma]

subbed for responses

[Sebenza]

What's a good scotch to introduce a newbie to the drink? I like heavier and smokier stuff which my flat mate doesn't enjoy too much, so a good beginner one that isn't so rich and heavy would be ideal.

[TimWhalen]

Hey Malt Mates, came in here specifically to bump this lagging thread. We are getting into the colder months which means more need for winter warmers! I hope with the declining temperature this thread will experience a renaissance. I just bought a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail. It's perhaps the best scotch I have ever tried. This was back in April. It truly was a "wow" moment. A great blend of peat with some sweetness. I remember it being so bold. Looking forward to that special day I crack it open.

[TimWhalen]

What's a good scotch to introduce a newbie to the drink? I like heavier and smokier stuff which my flat mate doesn't enjoy too much, so a good beginner one that isn't so rich and heavy would be ideal.

There is a reason Glenfiddich 12 year old and Glenlivet 12 year old are so popular. They are great beginner malts and a name that rings a bell with people. Either one of those is a good beginner malt. If you wanted to do something "different" I would suggest Highland Park 12 year, Macallan 12 year (expensive), Auchentoshen.

[EdmundGTP]

There is a reason Glenfiddich 12 year old and Glenlivet 12 year old are so popular. They are great beginner malts and a name that rings a bell with people. Either one of those is a good beginner malt. If you wanted to do something "different" I would suggest Highland Park 12 year, Macallan 12 year (expensive), Auchentoshen.

Agree.. Glenfid, Glenliv, and Mac 12's are all great transition/beginner scotches, in the sense that they are very easy to enjoy if you're just starting to try getting into Scotch whiskies and or transitioning from bourbon/rye type whiskies into scotches. Can't go wrong with either of those three