Whisky love

[julianREE]

im drinking Glenmorangie 12 year over ice. very good and very strong.

works wonders after drinking straight shots before.

[Tiro]

I like Auchentoshan, Laphroag, Lagavulin and Dahlwinnie

Johnny Walker blue label is also quite nice

[Charlie Delta]

Am I a n00b for enjoying Jack Daniels straight? Is it like the regular 501stf of whisky's?

Entry level stuff so to speak...

No one mentions it so must be something fishy...

Will keep my eyes on this thread.

[Niggalodeon]

Bulliet is a great bourbon for the price; two rocks, no water.

I've never been a Jack fan, but I must admit my appreciation for both Gentleman Jack and Single Barrel. I plan on picking up a barrel of Single Barrel in fact; 270 bottles on tap all year round.

[readytoignite]

Am I a n00b for enjoying Jack Daniels straight? Is it like the regular 501stf of whisky's?

Entry level stuff so to speak...

No one mentions it so must be something fishy...

Will keep my eyes on this thread.

no, that's pretty hardcore/old school. nobody would fault you for that unless you were drinking jack straight from a hip flask at a will oldham show - in which case you would like you were trying too hard.

single malts on the rocks, however - totally noobdom

haven't ever had johnny blue, at that price you can get such great whiskey i just can't imagine it's worth the opportunity cost...

[bobby alto]

Never really got into Scotch but I love the bourbon. I usually keep a bottle of Maker's on hand - that is my fall back that I can always count on. I recently bought a bottle of Blanton's and that shit blows my mind. I am also a big fan of Booker's.

[ExileOnMainSt]

I didnt know there was a threak for whiskey!

Worth while whiskey to try:

Wisers De Luxe: no joke, the absolutely smoothest whiskey I've ever tried. Unbelievable for boozing, sorta bland if your looking for more of a whiskey taste

Crown Royal Special Reserve: not badly priced, around $50.00 at LCBOs and it is wonderful. No mix, no ice. Neat is the way to go with this stuff

Crown Royal Casket No. 16 - aged in Cognac barrels, VERY NICE. spicy on the way down, I'm not sure if this is a limited run but check it out, very interesting.

John Walker Gold Label - I always thought that it was a single malt but someone recently told me all John Walker is blended? Regardless, shit is nice makes black label taste like red.

Glenlivet aged 12 years - not too pricey, I'd compare it to black label. I prefer it to black label though, has a cleaner taste, single malt.

Oban - only tried it once on Christmas Eve and it was superb. Pricey though, 26er runs around $100.00 - i'd compare it to Dalwhinnie 15 years.

Bourbon is disgusting, when I was younger I use to steal my dad's Jim Beam and I don't understand how people can stomach that shit.

[bobby alto]

Bourbon is disgusting, when I was younger I use to steal my dad's Jim Beam and I don't understand how people can stomach that shit.

That's because you are drinking shitty bourbon. You can't base your opinion of bourbon off Jim Beam

[jyoni]

In single-malts I like the young Glenmorangie 10-year and Macallan 12-year. Scapa used to have an awesomely tasty 12 year old but they changed their standard barreling to 14 years, which is a completely different whisky imo.

My favorite blends are J&B and The Famous Grouse.

Tomatin is owned by a Japanese firm. I believe Japan still has a 10-year Tomatin on the market, unavailable anywhere else. The only bottle available here is a 12-year. I would love to taste the younger one.

[jimmyc]

Irish

Bourbon

Scotch

These are what I drink most of the time. I never drink cheap bourbons or

blended scotch because I'm not an alcoholic (yet) and if I'm going to drink

and have the money I would rather drink the best.

You guys all mention some great whiskeys in all your post but I hope your

kidding about mixing, drinking over ice or taking shots with a great bourbon

or a 12-18 year old scotch. That is what the cheap stuff is for.

Keep posting suggestions. I've tried a lot of whiskeys and I am always looking

for new suggestions.

[jyoni]

I actually failed to mention the best tasting scotch I've tried so far. It's only a 12-year, but it's a Glenmorangie 10 aged for another 2 years in golden rum casks. Think it's on the UK market only.

[theetruscan]

Hmmm.

For Bourbon, I've found a few I truly love, but Black Maple Hill and Pappy Van Winkle seem to be the fallbacks. I always enjoy Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve, but the Pappy Van Winkle and Black Maple Hill can both be had for < $50 and are worlds better.

For Irish Whiskey, I've mostly found it not to my taste, though Connemara (peated), and Bushmills 16 are quite nice, nothing to go out of your way for though.

For Scotch . . . oh, for scotch, I would sell a kidney.

Lagavulin 16 year is just to die for. It never seems to get topped. Their 10 year cask strength is a beautiful drink as well, though it isn't necessarily worth the effort it seems to take to find.

Tomintoul 16 year is another good one. It's got some nice smoke, some nice peat, but a lot more sweetness than the lagavulin and kicks your ass a little less.

Caol Ila (older is better on this one, big time) is just the Scotchiest scotch ever. Not sure how else to say this, but it tastes like the epitome of scotch. It's not the best, but it has all the characteristics you usually associate with scotch in abundance.

Glen Rothes occasionally puts out something brilliant, deliious, and heavenly, though their younger scotches aren't great, and even their older ones I've picked up lately haven't been too exciting. I'm not sure if my tastes changed, or they had a change in distiller, or just a few bad years, but if you can find some of their very old ones, or are willing to take a risk, they can be heavenly.

[bobby alto]

Irish

Bourbon

Scotch

These are what I drink most of the time. I never drink cheap bourbons or

blended scotch because I'm not an alcoholic (yet) and if I'm going to drink

and have the money I would rather drink the best.

You guys all mention some great whiskeys in all your post but I hope your

kidding about mixing, drinking over ice or taking shots with a great bourbon

or a 12-18 year old scotch. That is what the cheap stuff is for.

Keep posting suggestions. I've tried a lot of whiskeys and I am always looking

for new suggestions.

Great choices. I agree with you for the most part about the ice/shots/mixing things. However, some of the barrel strength bottles need a tiny bit of water or ice so the taste is not overpowered by the alcohol.

[theetruscan]

You guys all mention some great whiskeys in all your post but I hope your

kidding about mixing, drinking over ice or taking shots with a great bourbon

or a 12-18 year old scotch. That is what the cheap stuff is for.

I think you're really doing yourself a disservice here.

Some great cocktails (traditional or neotraditional, not Fern Bar bullshit) require great whiskey to really express themselves. For instance, try a Manhattan made with Pappy Van Winkle 15 year. Tell me it's not better than a cheap-whiskey manhattan.

Ice can be fine for whiskey, but you have to be particular about this. You can't use standard restaurant ice. You need giant ice cubes so they cool but don't dilute the whiskey. Some fancy western bars do this, but the Japanese have it down. They'll take an ice cube the size of your glass, cut it down to barely fit in, and fill your glass with whiskey. I'm not a fan, but my brother usually drinks whiskey with ice if he can, and this is the only way it's acceptable.

Shots . . . yeah, shots of decent alcohol are criminal.

[ExileOnMainSt]

Depends what kind of mood im in, but if im at a bar and im drinking scotch i like to go with a nice scotch thats not too expensive (Chivas Regal, Black Label), with some San Pelligrino or Perrier and a lime on top

If im with some hardcore scotch drinking veterans, they usually look down upon that kind of thing, so I'll just take it neat and chilled

Good looks on the Macallan Jimmy, thats good booze, you should check out Crown Royal Casket No. 16, its pretty special.

And yes Im from Canada so we don't really get down on bourbon up here but I'd love to get a taste of something half decent that's name doesn't start with Jack or Jim.

[jimmyc]

I

Some great cocktails (traditional or neotraditional, not Fern Bar bullshit) require great whiskey to really express themselves. For instance, try a Manhattan made with Pappy Van Winkle 15 year. Tell me it's not better than a cheap-whiskey manhattan.

I'm not real big on mixed drinks, but I see your point.

Ice can be fine for whiskey, but you have to be particular about this. You can't use standard restaurant ice. You need giant ice cubes so they cool but don't dilute the whiskey. Some fancy western bars do this, but the Japanese have it down. They'll take an ice cube the size of your glass, cut it down to barely fit in, and fill your glass with whiskey.

OK, your right there.

Shots . . . yeah, shots of decent alcohol are criminal.

quoted for TRUTH!

[bobby alto]

Have any of you tried any of the Anchor Brewing whiskey lines?

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/oldpotrero.htm

[MindxMatters]

This is what we've been sipping on for a bit here. Almost time for a new bottle, any recommendations?

[jimmyc]

Have any of you tried any of the Anchor Brewing whiskey lines?

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/oldpotrero.htm

Didn't realize they were making whiskey but would love to give it a try,

[jyoni]

A friend of mine sent me what he calls a "ball rock" to cool whisky. It's a smooth round stone. I don't really ever use it, but it's a curious item. It's packed away right now...might have an old pic.

I tried googling but could not find anything but this. Didn't really dig too far though. Same idea, different thing.

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/12/18/sippin-on-the-rocks.html

[bobby alto]

Didn't realize they were making whiskey but would love to give it a try,

I have a few bottles at home. They are usually.....different. They usually try to make their spirits following old recipes and methods so they taste completely different than what you are expecting. It is interesting to taste something and think to yourself...wow this is what people were drinking back in the day. They make Gin too and you can find them at BevMo usually....at least here in Cali

[bobby alto]

A friend of mine sent me what he calls a "ball rock" to cool whisky. It's a smooth round stone. I don't really ever use it, but it's a curious item. It's packed away right now...might have an old pic.

I tried googling but could not find anything but this. Didn't really dig too far though. Same idea, different thing.

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/12/18/sippin-on-the-rocks.html

Interesting...how does it work? Do you have to keep the stone in the freezer or something?

Edit....just read the article.

[jyoni]

Interesting...how does it work? Do you have to keep the stone in the freezer or something?

Edit....just read the article.

the one he sent is about the size of a racquetball, pure black granite.

[jimmyc]

I wanted to mention that I really love Japanese Single Malt Whiskeys. I'm sure everyone has had Suntory Yamazaki (10,12 and 18 year old) but I think the whole line of Nikka Whiskeys are amazing. If you haven't tried them you should if you can get your hands on a bottle. I used to pick up bottles in London when traveling back from Europe and have bought a few bottles online from here.

Some of the stuff produced by Nikka rival any of the famous Scotch Whiskeys. Bold statement I know but give this stuff a try if you can and let me know what you think.

[bobby alto]

In terms of Japanese whisky, all I have had is the Suntory but I am very interested in trying more. I might pick a bottle next paycheck, thanks for the recommendation. Any others you suggest? Somewhere in the $50-$75 range?

[jimmyc]

This is more of a question than a suggestion. Have any of you ever had Four Roses Bourbon? No one in Texas sells it and when ever I travel I always look for it because I know it is made in Kentucky but I heard they don't sell or market it in the states.

I've had it before. It's all over Europe and is supposed to be loved in Japan but I just found it weird that you can't get it in the US. My ex-wife is Romanian and when ever we went back there it was very popular for those that could afford it. It's average at best so I'm not looking for opinions about it i just want to know if it's available anywhere.

any one ever seen it any where?

[bobby alto]

WTF - Suntory Ad

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMx8VH2jPaI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMx8VH2jPaI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[theetruscan]

I wanted to mention that I really love Japanese Single Malt Whiskeys. I'm sure everyone has had Suntory Yamazaki (10,12 and 18 year old) but I think the whole line of Nikka Whiskeys are amazing. If you haven't tried them you should if you can get your hands on a bottle. I used to pick up bottles in London when traveling back from Europe and have bought a few bottles online from here.

Some of the stuff produced by Nikka rival any of the famous Scotch Whiskeys. Bold statement I know but give this stuff a try if you can and let me know what you think.

I think of Japanese whiskey a lot like I think of many japanese cuisines. It can be wonderful, it can be awesome, but it's different. I've done a 17/18 year Japanese whisky tasting of the 5 biggest distilleries (can't recall the names) and, across the board, they were very nice, but they are kind of muted. None of them have the really bold, big peat/smoke/whatever of some great scotch or irish whiskeys, or the bold honey/molasses/whatever of great bourbons. It's like the same range of themes, but contained in a teacup. They were quite nice, but not really my thing.

This is more of a question than a suggestion. Have any of you ever had Four Roses Bourbon? No one in Texas sells it and when ever I travel I always look for it because I know it is made in Kentucky but I heard they don't sell or market it in the states.

I've had it before. It's all over Europe and is supposed to be loved in Japan but I just found it weird that you can't get it in the US. My ex-wife is Romanian and when ever we went back there it was very popular for those that could afford it. It's average at best so I'm not looking for opinions about it i just want to know if it's available anywhere.

any one ever seen it any where?

I'm pretty sure I've seen it in Tennessee. The guys at the liquor stores who know anything at all steer you away from it though. I expect it's largely not distributed in the US because it couldn't compete here. I'm not saying we're more sophisticated in our tastes, but there aren't many bourbons available abroad, so people wanting american whiskey that doesn't taste like JD don't have too many options. It's fucking everywhere in Japan, but they kind of deify americana.

[jimmyc]

I've done a 17/18 year Japanese whisky tasting of the 5 biggest distilleries (can't recall the names)

Suntory, Nikka, Ginkyo, Hanyu, & Karuizawa

[lovethrust]

I'm not an aficionado or anything, but I saw this and want to know if its pure pretentiousness. It seems to make sense to me:

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/08/seamless-icespheres.html