Whisky love

[teome]

So, I love a good malt whisky and I'm sure there are many other people with good taste in poison, but no thread...

What whiskies do people like, any obscure brands/distillaries most wouldn't have heard of?

Two of my current favorites are the speyside single malts:

'cragganmore 12yo' and 'the balvenie doublewood 12 yo'.

I usually prefer oaky, toffe, full bodied tastes to the lighter, fruity, vanilla style.

Also, I'm looking to get a japanese bottle next but don't have any experience/knowledge of any of the distilleries over there. Any suggestions?

[thomparetta]

For good times, make it Suntory time

[terutt]

I don't drink whiskey, but my dad (Who likes JD on the rocks, no water) says the following.

"Most people start in either Scotland or Ireland. They appreciate the care and time, the smoothness of the whiskey. After 10-20 years, or perhaps never, some will migrate to Kentucky, searching for more flavour, more kick, something new and exciting, some even go to Canada, but they are fools. But, in my experience, eventually everyone winds up in Tennesee sooner or later."

[I<3Bacon]

Jameson. That's pretty much it... guess I never left Ireland.

[RFKorp]

I never really got into Scotch or Irish whiskey the way other peole seem to. Just give me a bottle of Woodford or Blanton's or any of the bourbons being churned out lately by the Tuthilltown gristmill in upstate NY and I'm a very happy man.

[ashimself]

You should try Wiser's Deluxe, if definitely has that bolder chard oak barrel and toffee flavor you are looking for. It's easy to find in Canada, i'm not sure about elsewere.

[drivel]

I always try to have a bottle of Knob Creek on my shelf. It's my favorite. I also like the bourbons I've tried from Rip Van Winkle.

[readytoignite]

caol ila, full stop - independent bottlings tend to be where it's at but 16 year is pretty solid. with a bit of lagavulin 12 for variety. most commercial irish tends to be insipid and sweet. bourbon/rye gives me massive headaches for some reason & never really cottoned onto the taste so an easy pass for me

[alexryb]

Templeton Rye.

Local legend. "Templeton Rye, in the days of prohibition, was called "the good stuff" by many and brought by the truckload into Chicago by none other than Al Capone. The whiskey was made (at great personal risk) by farmers in Templeton, Iowa in an effort to support their farms and families during the economically stressful times of the 1920s and 30s."

The rye whisky is thick tasting w/ a sweet and spicy undertone. It's, overall, pretty mellow.

Templeton is about twenty minutes from my hometown. The Ted Bauer mentioned in the Wikipedia article is my uncle, & my cousin did the logo for the brand. I've tried both the bootlegged stuff (it was still made that way up until five years ago or so), and it's much better than the retail.

[julianREE]

my friend loves wild turkey, so i drink it on occasion. very strong, very full bodied, and packs a fucking punch.

[RFKorp]

I always try to have a bottle of Knob Creek on my shelf. It's my favorite.

I don't know where I'd be if it hadn't been for Knob... that shit got me through college.

[wild_whiskey]

I'm more a fan of bourbon than scotch, personally. Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit is some of the best stuff you can get under $50, though I really like Johnnie Walker black as well. Knob Creek, as mentioned above, is pretty good.

I read a funny story about them in one of my design books, I can't remember the details but I believe Knob Creek was a generally unsuccessful brand (and were going under) until the re-design of their packaging. It was one of the most commercially successful re-brandings in years.

[FUCK]

[Guest larry]

For Irish, Bushmills is nice, the best to go for without paying silly money is the single malt 10 year distilled. Bushmills is the oldest licensed whiskey distiller, 1600 I think.

Jameson and Middleton are also very good.

[fatgecko]

For Irish, Bushmills is nice, the best to go for without paying silly money is the single malt 10 year distilled. Bushmills is the oldest licensed whiskey distiller, 1600 I think.

Jameson and Middleton are also very good.

Agree. Particularly single malted Black Bush Irish Whiskey by Old Bushmills.

[denimfan45]

For single malt, the BEST I have tried is the Glendronach 25yo. For a blend, I enjoy the Johnny Walker Blue.

[dismalfuture]

we are Catholic, so we can't really do Bushmills in the house...

That Glenmorangie 18 is a nice drink, but a lot of coin for piss...

[FUCK]

agreed...price glenlivet is more reasonable and fairly similar in many aspects

[readytoignite]

glenlivet is for women. i'm not big on speyside but if i had a gun to my head i would rather go with glenrothes, balvenie or cragganmore.

oh yeah, don't forget about mccutcheon

[sell veg]

best i've had is a macallan 35 yr. reaaaally good. reaaaaally expensive. i like laphroig a lot. also glenfiddich 15 is nice. for bourbon i'm a fan of elmer lee and pretty much anything from buffalo trace distillery, ie. blantons, sazerac, buffalo trace, etc. pappy van winkles 23 year is a nice one too. also four roses is pretty good but it's hard to find.

[Guest spazzz]

walker black

[Slub]

Certainly agree on the Bushmills for a really decent Irish whiskey.

From Scotland i'm partial to a Lagavulin 12yr and a Benriach of which I was lucky enough to have a 36 year old.

Out of interest, anyone tried any Japanese whiskys? The Suntory Yamazaki 18yr looks very nice.

[sell veg]

i've been curious about some of the japanese whiskys as well.

i really don't get johnnie walker black. it is the same price or just a tiny bit cheaper than any number of great scotches, but it tastes like shit compared to most of them. i think it is a case of brand recognition and marketing.

[teome]

Don't drink a lot of Irish stuff at the moment but next time I'm over in Northern Ireland to see my relatives I'm going to the Bushmills distillery.

Ha, mccutcheon - why didn't they just use a real brand, guess it goes with the whole 'mystique'

Caol Ila sounds good, I think that's got to be my next buy. Been looking at some interesting independent bottlings

[teome]

Oh yeah, Yamazaki 10yo is the only Japanese whisky I've tried. Not bad, nothing great really and quite sweet. Don't know about any of the other years though.

Hanyu 1988 sounds good although it's not my usual style. Japanese tips?

[corporategrunt]

I am relatively new to drinking Scotch - I've been drinking for about a year but I really really enjoy getting drunk from Scotch. It is unlike getting drunk off anythingelse. I guess I am already an old man.

I can't buy anything really expensive (although I do receive occassional gifts). I try not to finish a bottle before purchasing a new one - that way i can compare tastes.

My recent bottles are:

Lagavullin (wrong spelling?) 16(?) year - liked it alot.

Glenfiddich Gran Reserva (Rum cask finish) 21 year - kinda novelty-ish, ok

Bowmore 12 year - ok

McCallan (oak cask finish) 15 year - thought it would be better because I think McCallan 12 year isn't the worst thing around.

if anyone has more recommendations, please help out by all means.

I usually get whatever is on a decent sale at Astor Place Wine - I was told on an internet Whiskey message board that they have good selection at the most reasonable price, at least in my 'hood.

I recently gave my friend two mini bottle set of Yamazaki and Hibiki(? i think it was a blend) - he was impressed with both.

[sell veg]

if you liked the laguvulin i would try some other islay whiskys like laphroaig and talisker (actually i think talisker is from the isle of skye but has an islay style flavor). they are pretty intense, but i really prefer that style of scotch.

[readytoignite]

I usually get whatever is on a decent sale at Astor Place Wine - I was told on an internet Whiskey message board that they have good selection at the most reasonable price, at least in my 'hood.

astor is ok for prices but tends more towards the commercial bottlings, not the off-the-beaten-path ones that make single malt tasting interesting.

lagavulin is almost a singularity in terms of complexity, if you're hooked on that try to find the less commercial 12 year. if you just like the peatiness then veg is right - sample some more islay... i would personally recommend the caol ila 18 which should be not too hard to find and pricewise around the lag 16.

[corporategrunt]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I will go with your recommendations for the next bottle.

I wish if i could go on a month long trip to Scotland and just travel, drink and learn, collect nice bottles, ship em to the states.

[denimfan45]

if you liked the laguvulin i would try some other islay whiskys like laphroaig and talisker (actually i think talisker is from the isle of skye but has an islay style flavor). they are pretty intense, but i really prefer that style of scotch.

laguvulin is about as peaty as you can get. Almost tastes like a mouthfull of peat.