OT: Scotch thread | Page 14 | The Boneyard

OT: Scotch thread

Drumguy said:
I was inspired to pick up a bottle of Bozal cenizo, single maguey from the NH state store on our way home. Clay bottle, simple cork. I'll give it a try this week!
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Let us know what you think.
 
Fishy said:
I’ve done it. Your new bible.

Scotch:

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 - Port cask; quite good. Will Replace.
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12 - Sampler, replaced by the 14.
Glenmorangie The Original - Unremarkable.
Glenmorangie Lasanta - Good, but not buying again.
Glenmorangie Nector Dor - Same.
Glendronach Revival 15 - Very good, but no longer my taste.
Glendronach Original 12 - Nothing special.
Lagavulin 16 - Enjoyed it, but am over the peated scotches. Not replacing.
Laphroaig Triple Wood - Same. Tastes like a sweet complex ashtray.
Balvenie Caribbean Cask - Loved the first bottle, hated the second.
Balvenie Double Wood 12 - Oak. Nuff said.
Bunnahabhain 12 - Not offensive but the bottle is being swapped.
Aberlour 12 - Really disappointing. Also being swapped.
Aberlour A’Bunadh - Spend more and buy this over the 12. Very nice.
Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve - Deck scotch.
Johnny Walker Black Label - Fine.
Monkey Shoulder - Buy this instead of the last two. Quite a bargain.
Macallan 12 - Amazed anyone likes this. Just beyond dull.
Glenfiddich Fire and Cane - Blech.

Japan:

Nikka Coffey Malt - Very good. If it’s $30 more, buy the Grain instead.
Nikka Coffey Grain - Great. Cheap.
Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt - Think you guys would like this.
Nikka from the Barrel - Good, but not likely buying again.


Ireland:

Green Spot - Honestly, nearly perfect.
Red Spot - Actually, perfect.
Blue Spot - Actually, better than perfect.
Redbreast 15 - Disappointing.
Redbreast 12 - Disappointing.
Redbreast Lustau - Somehow, wonderful.
Jameson - Bargain, but stretch for the Green Spot.
Jameson Caskmates Stout - Another bargain.
Connemara 12 Year - A peated Irish. Not my taste.
Writers Tears - Unremarkable. Buy Jameson instead and save $5.
Bushmills - Deck whiskey.


India:

Amrut Single Malt - I would use it to kill ants.


America:

Slaughter House American Whiskey - It’s actually bourbon, I think. Yuck.
Breckenridge Port Cask - Interesting. Rye comes out more here. Recommended.
Breckenridge Rum Cask - Love it.
Westland Sherry Wood - Definitely buy again.
Balconies Texas Single Malt - High-proof, would buy again.
Balcones Lineage - Lower proof. Not remarkable.
Virginia Distillery Courage and Conviction - Excellent. Total Wine has 50ml samples.
Virginia Distillery Cider Cask - $15 less than C and C. Like C and C a lot more.
Westward Single Malt - Excellent. Will buy it if I can find it.
Stranahan’s Diamond Peak - Maybe stick with the regular Stranahans.
Van Brunt Stillhouse Single Malt - Awful.


Bourbon:

Buffalo Trace - Bad
Eagle Rare - Bad
Wilderness Trail Bourbon - Really bad
Gentleman Jack - Slightly less bad. But still bad.

Rye:

Copper Fox Rye Whiskey - Eh....coming around on this one.
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First of all.. An impressive and exhaustive list.. Not sure I could have survived this challenge.

Serious question and not meant to sound elitist by virtue of price point.. And because your spirits palette is more advanced than mine.. How do you like Johnny W Blue?

Will probably try your deck scotch.. Especially heading into summer months.

Thanks for putting in the time to share your journey.
 
Inspired by @Fishy

I just went back to an old journal and found my Scotch list from 2009. I look at this list now and at today's prices and I wouldn't be able to afford most of them! My cabinet is much more modest today than it was then, but I still have some of those Scotches from the list. As you can see, Islay dominates, and although some of the non-Islay bottles were gifts, I did buy and enjoy some of the other regions' Scotches.

Ardbeg 10 YO
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist
Balvenie 15 YO Single Barrel
Benromach 22 YO Port Pipe Finish
Caol Ila 18 YO
Chivas Regal - A Century of Malts
Chivas Regal 18
Compass Box Oak Cross
Cragganmore 12
Dalmore Cigar Malt
Glenfiddich 15 YO - Solera
Glenlivet 16 YO - Nadurra
Glenlivet 18 YO
Glenmorangie 12 YO - Portwood Finish
Highland Park 18 YO
Johnnie Walker Black 12 YO
Johnnie Walker Blue
Johnnie Walker Gold 18 YO
Johnnie Walker Green - 15 YO
Lagavulin 16 YO
Laphroaig 10 YO
Laphroaig 10 YO Cask Strength
Laphroaig 15 YO
Laphroaig 30 YO
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Macallan 10 YO Fine Oak Finish
Murray McDavid Laphroaig 1987 "Leapfrog"
Scapa 14 YO
Scott's Bottling - Bruichladdie 1986
Signatory Bottling - Caol Ila 1990
Talisker 18 YO
 
I'm not posting a full list. I just checked and I have 129 reviews of Scotches on r/Scotch on Reddit. Stopped about a year ago. I record them in OneNote. Many of those are ordinary Original Bottlings, but quite a few are Independent Bottlings. Some were blind. Many of my favorites have been one off bottles I can't really buy again. If you go to Edinburgh, I'd suggest stopping at Cadenhead's (there are other locations). It's a shop on the bottom of the royal mile, and they are both a huge independent bottler and owner of some very good distilleries, especially Springbank. They have "living casks" available, basically an infinity cask concept, by region. Highland, Islay, Campbelltown, etc. The Campbelltown living cask they bottled for me was astonishing, and at a very fair price.
  • Talisker 10 - pretty much my house Scotch. Always replace it. Peppery, sea spray, just a kiss of peat.
  • Lagavulin 8 and Ardbeg Wee Beastie - budget heavily peated offerings I like
  • Oban Little Bay, Compass Box Great King Street Artists, Glen Grant 12 - budget non peated choices
  • Benromach 10, Tobermory 12 - mid priced unique profiles but I like both
  • Kilkerran 12 - mid priced, slightly peated, very good
  • Laphroaig Cairdeas and Ardbeg Uigeadail - peated choices around $75
  • Glendronach 12 - Solid sherry cask mid price
  • Edradour Sherry Cask - my favorite as we approach $100. The peated version, Ballechin is also superb. Ultimate Whiskey Company bottling best value.
  • Tamdhu Cask Strenth - the top OB sherry bomb around $90-100. Better than Ardbeg A'bunadh, cheaper than Glendronach 18.
  • Bunnahabhain 18, Talisker 18 - terrific and usually available if expensive.
  • Longrow Red - these vary but is my top choice around $125. Often higher now.
Beyond that you're in special territory really. I think I have this as my only 10/10. Bruichladdich HB 90 / 27 years – Bruichladdich Distillery If you love peat, maybe the Octomores. I've had some Black Arts, those are good, not worth the price. There are lots of good IBs. The Springbank single casks from wine/port casks can be amazing. I'm probably going to grab a Springbank 15 from a local shop soon.
 
Umami Zen said:
First of all.. An impressive and exhaustive list.. Not sure I could have survived this challenge.

Serious question and not meant to sound elitist by virtue of price point.. And because your spirits palette is more advanced than mine.. How do you like Johnny W Blue?

Will probably try your deck scotch.. Especially heading into summer months.

Thanks for putting in the time to share your journey.
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First, I have the palette of a three-year old. I have Cheerios for dinner twice a week. Pretty sure that simplicity carries over into Scotch, beer and everything else.

Honestly, I have never tried Johnny Walker Blue. No particular reason why, I just haven’t.
 
.-.
Fishy said:
First, I have the palette of a three-year old. I have Cheerios for dinner twice a week. Pretty sure that simplicity carries over into Scotch, beer and everything else.

Honestly, I have never tried Johnny Walker Blue. No particular reason why, I just haven’t.
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Don’t bother, unless it’s free. It’s fine, but not remotely worth the price tag. The Red is undrinkable. I did get to try really old JW Red from the early 80s and it was much better than the current stuff side by side. But still worse than Black. Agree with you that Monkey Shoulder is the right choice for a cheap blend.
 
Fishy said:
First, I have the palette of a three-year old. I have Cheerios for dinner twice a week. Pretty sure that simplicity carries over into Scotch, beer and everything else.

Honestly, I have never tried Johnny Walker Blue. No particular reason why, I just haven’t.
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I like to say that I have the palette of a billy-goat. I like what I like, and I do pay attention to my own tasting notes, but I rarely taste the odd things that experts taste.

That said, I was given a bottle of Johnnie Blue by my brother-in-law when I turned 50, and to me, it's average and not worth the price. I'm a fan of JW Black and a huge fan of Johnnie Walker Green. They both have hints of the Island whiskys in them. The Gold and the Blue just don't do it for me. The Double Black was OK, but seemed to be peated for the sake of being peaty, and wasn't balanced. I felt the same way about Compass Box Peat Monster. You can say you make the peatiest whisky on the planet, but if it tastes like a burnt rope, it doesn't appeal to me.

I rarely buy blends, but with the price of singlemalts skyrocketing, I may have to try this Monkey Shoulder.
 
AreBee1969 said:
I like to say that I have the palette of a billy-goat. I like what I like, and I do pay attention to my own tasting notes, but I rarely taste the odd things that experts taste.

That said, I was given a bottle of Johnnie Blue by my brother-in-law when I turned 50, and to me, it's average and not worth the price. I'm a fan of JW Black and a huge fan of Johnnie Walker Green. They both have hints of the Island whiskys in them. The Gold and the Blue just don't do it for me. The Double Black was OK, but seemed to be peated for the sake of being peaty, and wasn't balanced. I felt the same way about Compass Box Peat Monster. You can say you make the peatiest whisky on the planet, but if it tastes like a burnt rope, it doesn't appeal to me.

I rarely buy blends, but with the price of singlemalts skyrocketing, I may have to try this Monkey Shoulder.
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You nailed it. Blue is boring as hell. This may help for anyone who wants to understand the differences in JW. Why Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Rap - Eater Green is really the only one I'd consider buying, and then only on sale.

Compass Box Great King Street -Artists blend is another good cheap blend like Monkey Shoulder, and the "Marrying Casks" if you find one, are quite solid. Unpeated Compass Box is almost always going to be Clynelish heavy, so if you like those, Clynelish 14 might be worth trying. I love that CB tells you exactly what is in everything.
 
HuskyHawk said:
The Red is undrinkable. I did get to try really old JW Red from the early 80s and it was much better than the current stuff side by side. But still worse than Black. Agree with you that Monkey Shoulder is the right choice for a cheap blend.
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Interesting, because I used to think JW Red was decent and in the 80s and 90s it was my blend of choice (I far preferred it to Dewar's, which I thought was thin and boring). But now I don't like it, and I like the JW Black much better (I have a client who drinks it, and I usually join him when we are dining together). But like @storrsroars , my house blend for the past couple decades has been Famous Grouse. I guess I should check out Monkey Shoulder and see how it compares.
 
HuskyHawk said:
You nailed it. Blue is boring as hell. This may help for anyone who wants to understand the differences in JW. Why Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Rap - Eater Green is really the only one I'd consider buying, and then only on sale.

Compass Box Great King Street -Artists blend is another good cheap blend like Monkey Shoulder, and the "Marrying Casks" if you find one, are quite solid. Unpeated Compass Box is almost always going to be Clynelish heavy, so if you like those, Clynelish 14 might be worth trying. I love that CB tells you exactly what is in everything.
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That's a great article. One of the things I always appreciated about the Green was that it was a vatted malt. Not a lot of these out there. I saw it for $49 in Bristol yesterday and was tempted.

I couldn't believe that I saw an ad where JW advocated putting the Gold in the freezer. If you pay $60+ for a Scotch why would you deaden the flavor by freezing it? If you pay $60+ for a Scotch you shouldn't need to deaden the flavor! A local packie has White Walker for $15.99 a bottle so I scooped up a couple. Now THAT, I throw in the freezer!
 
8893 said:
Interesting, because I used to think JW Red was decent and in the 80s and 90s it was my blend of choice (I far preferred it to Dewar's, which I thought was thin and boring). But now I don't like it, and I like the JW Black much better (I have a client who drinks it, and I usually join him when we are dining together). But like @storrsroars , my house blend for the past couple decades has been Famous Grouse. I guess I should check out Monkey Shoulder and see how it compares.
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It's a blend of malts, no single grain. "The three malt components that form Monkey Shoulder’s smooth, malty and fruity character were once derived from William Grant’s three Speyside distilleries: Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie. Nowadays the recipe is a closely guarded secret, featuring an undisclosed combination of ‘different’ Speyside single malts." Famous Grouse is reportedly about 65% grain, but I've not had it.
 
.-.
I had a chance to meet Richard Paterson at a tasting in New Haven some years back. He's the master blender for Whyte and Mackay and a hell of a character!
Here's his take on how to taste whisky.



Paterson was charged by Whyte and Mackay with recreating the Scotch that was left on Antarctica in the 1900s by Ernest Shackleton.
 
8893 said:
But like @storrsroars , my house blend for the past couple decades has been Famous Grouse. I guess I should check out Monkey Shoulder and see how it compares.
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I've read and heard good things about Monkey Shoulder, and what we have in PA is 86 proof vs FG 80. The MS is $8 more for a 750ml (and oddly $24 more for a handle). I'll probably give it a go next trip.

Have you ever tried Naked Grouse, the 86 proof version? It's $30 here, but not at all stores (including mine).
 
storrsroars said:
I've read and heard good things about Monkey Shoulder, and what we have in PA is 86 proof vs FG 80. The MS is $8 more for a 750ml (and oddly $24 more for a handle). I'll probably give it a go next trip.

Have you ever tried Naked Grouse, the 86 proof version? It's $30 here, but not at all stores (including mine).
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Have not tried the Naked Grouse. Will look for it.
 
Fishy said:
First, I have the palette of a three-year old. I have Cheerios for dinner twice a week. Pretty sure that simplicity carries over into Scotch, beer and everything else.

Honestly, I have never tried Johnny Walker Blue. No particular reason why, I just haven’t.
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Think you're hard on yourself re: palette. Let me put it another way.. You're certainly an adventurous imbiber. Meant as a compliment.
 
Umami Zen said:
Think you're hard on yourself re: palette. Let me put it another way.. You're certainly an adventurous imbiber. Meant as a compliment.
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Pure pandemic boredom.

storrsroars said:
I've read and heard good things about Monkey Shoulder, and what we have in PA is 86 proof vs FG 80. The MS is $8 more for a 750ml (and oddly $24 more for a handle). I'll probably give it a go next trip.

Have you ever tried Naked Grouse, the 86 proof version? It's $30 here, but not at all stores (including mine).
Expand ...

Monkey Shoulder is just good. There’s certainly nothing wrong with JW Black and even JW Red is fine for what it is, but I just found Monkey Shoulder to be better than both. For the money, no reason not to have it around.
 
Anyone tried any of the Dewars Double Double series yet? Heard good things about the 32 yr old DD.. Dewars that is
 
.-.
Fishy said:
First, I have the palette of a three-year old. I have Cheerios for dinner twice a week. Pretty sure that simplicity carries over into Scotch, beer and everything else.

Honestly, I have never tried Johnny Walker Blue. No particular reason why, I just haven’t.
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I got to taste Blue at Stews whiskey tasting and I was very unimpressed, I wouldn’t pay to drink it.
 
Drumguy said:
I got to taste Blue at Stews whiskey tasting and I was very unimpressed, I wouldn’t pay to drink it.
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For something that expensive, I would need a lot of convincing and nothing I’ve heard about it makes it seem that appealing.
 
Couple questions for the group:

  1. Got a bottle of Glenfiddich 21 Reservation Rum Cask Finish as a regift. I know it’s some what pricey, but good?
  2. Do you guys keep the fancy boxes when you get a fancy bottle? They take up so much room and my bottles aren’t exposed to light. I don’t see the purpose, but maybe I’m missing something? I toss them when I get the bottle home.
 
Chuck said:
Couple questions for the group:

  1. Got a bottle of Glenfiddich 21 Reservation Rum Cask Finish as a regift. I know it’s some what pricey, but good?
  2. Do you guys keep the fancy boxes when you get a fancy bottle? They take up so much room and my bottles aren’t exposed to light. I don’t see the purpose, but maybe I’m missing something? I toss them when I get the bottle home.
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1. Drink it and let us know.

2. No.
 
It may be cliche and/or overpriced, but damned if Lagavulin 16 isn’t the best expression of that style for my tastes. Caol Ila is fine but Lagavulin is just…better.

And no, @HuskyHawk , I still haven‘t tried Wee Beasty, but I think it needs to be the next Islay I buy when the Caol Ila kicks.

I don’t see myself souring on the Lagavulin though.
 
8893 said:
It may be cliche and/or overpriced, but damned if Lagavulin 16 isn’t the best expression of that style for my tastes. Caol Ila is fine but Lagavulin is just…better.

And no, @HuskyHawk , I still haven‘t tried Wee Beasty, but I think it needs to be the next Islay I buy when the Caol Ila kicks.

I don’t see myself souring on the Lagavulin though.
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I'll wager you'll like Wee Beastie more than the Ardbeg 10.
 
.-.
8893 said:
It may be cliche and/or overpriced, but damned if Lagavulin 16 isn’t the best expression of that style for my tastes. Caol Ila is fine but Lagavulin is just…better.

And no, @HuskyHawk , I still haven‘t tried Wee Beasty, but I think it needs to be the next Islay I buy when the Caol Ila kicks.

I don’t see myself souring on the Lagavulin though.
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storrsroars said:
I'll wager you'll like Wee Beastie more than the Ardbeg 10.
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Lagavulin 16 is nice. It's very "smooth", no real sharp edges and the age and low proof helps keep it that way. I liked the Lagavulin 12 better for sure, but it's way too expensive now. Nearly everything from Laphroaig is more of a kick in the teeth, too often with medicinal phenols, but I like most Cairdeas expressions that soften those. Wee Beastie is certainly more aggressive than the Lagavulin 16, younger, higher proof. But the sherry cask influence makes it more fun than the 10 in my opinion. Caol Ila is a sister distillery to Lagavulin, using the same malt, but distilling differently. The Lagavulin 8 will get closer to the Laga 16 than Caol Ila 12 does, and is much cheaper.

All of these are different. I get kind of a campfire smoke from Lagavulin. Laphroaig is less wood smoky, and more dried seaweed on fire with the medicinal and iodine phenols. Ardbeg has that BBQ smoked meat profile and a hint of burnt rubber or tar. Port Charlotte (and Octomore even more so), have heavy wood smoke, some rubber, but that over simplifies it. Hazelburn is lots of earthy fall leave fire smoke and also a funky umami profile. That just scratches the surface really, there is peated Scotch outside of the Islands and Campbelltown. The phenols from peat dried barley in Scotch are pretty interesting. Phenol fables: peat’s secrets uncovered | Scotch Whisky

Matthew Fergusson-Stewart | Peated Whisky and Phenols (matthewfergussonstewart.com)
 
8893 said:
1. Drink it and let us know.

2. No.
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It may be a while before I drink it! I have an annoying habit of saving the good stuff for the right occasion. I know that any time can be the right occasion, but more times than not I grab a more reasonable "house whiskey."

In reference to Johnnie Walker Blue mentioned above, I have two bottles. I got both as gifts. When I got the second bottle I noticed it was MUCH heavier than the first bottle (which is only half full, but it was a noticeable difference). They've totally stepped up their bottle game over the years. The old bottle was a regular JW bottle other than being blue. The new one is a much nicer and thicker glass.

Speaking of JW Blue, I find it inconsistent. I've definitely had some pours that are better than others. I always chalked it up to JB being a blend and pulling from more rare barrels. But that's an amateur's theory!
 
Chuck said:
Couple questions for the group:

  1. Got a bottle of Glenfiddich 21 Reservation Rum Cask Finish as a regift. I know it’s some what pricey, but good?
  2. Do you guys keep the fancy boxes when you get a fancy bottle? They take up so much room and my bottles aren’t exposed to light. I don’t see the purpose, but maybe I’m missing something? I toss them when I get the bottle home.
Expand ...

I’m here to argue against the ‘save for a special occasion’ gambit. It backfires - you’re setting it up for failure. The best time to try it is when you’re in the mood to try it. (It’s also not like an $600 bottle that you will never buy again. This one will last you ages and if you want another, $250 is not going to put you in the street.)

But no, I have never tried it.

I usually throw the tube or box away before I get the bottle into the house. No show ponies in the bunch - they are here to be consumed.
 
Fishy said:
I’m here to argue against the ‘save for a special occasion’ gambit. It backfires - you’re setting it up for failure. The best time to try it is when you’re in the mood to try it. (It’s also not like an $600 bottle that you will never buy again. This one will last you ages and if you want another, $250 is not going to put you in the street.)

But no, I have never tried it.

I usually throw the tube or box away before I get the bottle into the house. No show ponies in the bunch - they are here to be consumed.
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I got as a business gift a bottle of Macallan 21 which msrps at $1299, which is ridiculous. I agree, if you've got a great bottle, why save it. I have a sip whenever the mood strikes, definitely not saving it for a special occasion. I think the pandemic showed us to enjoy things when we can. I drank a bunch of older bottles (2004 - 2014) of wine I had cellared.
 
Fishy said:
I’m here to argue against the ‘save for a special occasion’ gambit. It backfires - you’re setting it up for failure. The best time to try it is when you’re in the mood to try it. (It’s also not like an $600 bottle that you will never buy again. This one will last you ages and if you want another, $250 is not going to put you in the street.)

But no, I have never tried it.

I usually throw the tube or box away before I get the bottle into the house. No show ponies in the bunch - they are here to be consumed.
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The only argument for keeping the tube is if your storage has exposure to a lot of light. Mine doesn't, so I toss them. Light is the enemy of whisky.

@Drumguy That's a bottle you could quite easily have sold on the secondary market. I realize not everyone knows it exists. I agree with both of you on not saving stuff (some wine may need age though), but I go through the expensive or hard to replace stuff more slowly than things I can rebuy anytime. But we only live once, enjoy while you can.

It looks like Springbank 15 is going to be my next bottle. Opened another Lagavulin 8 yesterday. Need to go rebuy a backup while it is still $40.

I am hoping the removal of tariffs might help prices, but with inflation exploding I doubt we see it.
 
HuskyHawk said:
The only argument for keeping the tube is if your storage has exposure to a lot of light. Mine doesn't, so I toss them. Light is the enemy of whisky.

@Drumguy That's a bottle you could quite easily have sold on the secondary market. I realize not everyone knows it exists. I agree with both of you on not saving stuff (some wine may need age though), but I go through the expensive or hard to replace stuff more slowly than things I can rebuy anytime. But we only live once, enjoy while you can.

It looks like Springbank 15 is going to be my next bottle. Opened another Lagavulin 8 yesterday. Need to go rebuy a backup while it is still $40.

I am hoping the removal of tariffs might help prices, but with inflation exploding I doubt we see it.
Expand ...
I thought about it, but I figured that I wouldn't spend that myself, but this fell into my lap. ... so I'm drinking it!
 
.-.
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