24 replies to this topic

[F.Michael]

Anyone else out there enjoy a dram from time to time?

If so - what's your brand, and preference?

Me - I enjoy The Balvenie 12yr Signature, 12yr DBL Wood, and 14yr Caribbean Cask, as well as Dalwhinnie 15yr, and Oban 14yr...Of course all "neat" (no ice/water/soda).

[puckloo39]

I don't imbibe regularly, but have a very dear friend who adores a good single malt. I buy for him at Christmas and birthdays... Lagavulin single malt (16 yr), MacAllan (18 yr)and Laphroaig Triple Wood are the most recent purchases for Dave in Dallas.

Don't you wish you were on my gift list?

[haroldsnepsts]

I like Balvenie, both kinds. Though I got a little burned out on it. Now it tastes a little sweet to me, but still good. Stronachie is a favorite, but expensive. I recently bought another single malt I really liked but the name escapes me.

As for drinking it neat, I typically do, though I went to a scotch tasting and they said to add a bit of water to open up the flavors. Try smelling the scotch and taking a sip, then adding about a capful of water from a waterbottle. Swirl it around and smell it and taste it again. It actually makes a big difference.

For the cheaper blended stuff like Dewers i'll go ahead and add a couple ice cubes.

[F.Michael]

I don't imbibe regularly, but have a very dear friend who adores a good single malt. I buy for him at Christmas and birthdays... Lagavulin single malt (16 yr), MacAllan (18 yr)and Laphroaig Triple Wood are the most recent purchases for Dave in Dallas.

Don't you wish you were on my gift list?

Wow - Loo you're very generous; very nice single malts there!

Gotta pm you may home address; my B-Day, and Christmas aren't far off

I like Balvenie, both kinds. Though I got a little burned out on it. Now it tastes a little sweet to me, but still good. Stronachie is a favorite, but expensive. I recently bought another single malt I really liked but the name escapes me.

As for drinking it neat, I typically do, though I went to a scotch tasting and they said to add a bit of water to open up the flavors. Try smelling the scotch and taking a sip, then adding about a capful of water from a waterbottle. Swirl it around and smell it and taste it again. It actually makes a big difference.

For the cheaper blended stuff like Dewers i'll go ahead and add a couple ice cubes.

Several plus years ago I sampled the Talisker 10yr, and Laphroaig 10yr...Being a newbie to scotch then I'm surprised I have any taste buds left - holy peaty smoke Batman!

Anywho I've grown to like the "softer/sweeter/gentle" scotches from the Speyside region (namely Balvenie), and of course both Oban, and Dalwhinnie are Highland malts.

Being a bit of a traditionalist I consume neat - however I really need to expand my horizons, and try with a touch of water to "open" them up a bit.

For those who are interested in saving a few $$$ you can find really good pricing on scotch, spirits, and wine at wine seacher.com.

[haroldsnepsts]

Several plus years ago I sampled the Talisker 10yr, and Laphroaig 10yr...Being a newbie to scotch then I'm surprised I have any taste buds left - holy peaty smoke Batman!

Anywho I've grown to like the "softer/sweeter/gentle" scotches from the Speyside region (namely Balvenie), and of course both Oban, and Dalwhinnie are Highland malts.

Being a bit of a traditionalist I consume neat - however I really need to expand my horizons, and try with a touch of water to "open" them up a bit.

For those who are interested in saving a few $$$ you can find really good pricing on scotch, spirits, and wine at wine seacher.com.

At the scotch tasting we started with the highland stuff, which is what I generally prefer along with speyside, and moved to the peatier Islay kinds. The last sample it was like sticking your head in a smoker. I seriously couldn't taste anything for the rest of the night.

I can't remember if they have locations in Michigan, but Trader Joe's by me often carries Balvenie and at a good price. I think around 30 bucks.

Edited by haroldsnepsts, 10 August 2011 - 02:05 PM.

[F.Michael]

At the scotch tasting we started with the highland stuff, which is what I generally prefer along with speyside, and moved to the peatier Islay kinds. The last sample it was like sticking your head in a smoker. I seriously couldn't taste anything for the rest of the night.

I can't remember if they have locations in Michigan, but Trader Joe's by me often carries Balvenie and at a good price. I think around 30 bucks.

Those peaty Islays must be saved for last...Just think how any tasting would go if ya started out with 1 of those monsters; everything would taste completely different

Thanks for the heads-up on Trader Joe's.

[L3T5G0W1NG5]

Johnnie Walker Blue Label mixed with Mountain Dew FTWWWWWWWWW.

Edited by L3T5G0W1NG5, 10 August 2011 - 02:59 PM.

[F.Michael]

Harold - if you like the Balvenie line-up, but find it at times a tad too sweet I'd recommend the 14yr Caribbean Cask, or the 15yr Single Cask.

Both have a bit of spiciness while retaining some of the "honeyed" Balvenie character...I'm a huge fan of the Caribbean Cask.

[GMRwings1983]

I like Johnnie Walker red and Chivas Regal. Never had the "blue" label, though.

Used to drink scotch straight. Now I mix it with water. Drinking it straight damn near killed my stomach all these times.

[F.Michael]

I like Johnnie Walker red and Chivas Regal. Never had the "blue" label, though.

Used to drink scotch straight. Now I mix it with water. Drinking it straight damn near killed my stomach all these times.

I have no problem seeing some drink their scotch with an ice cube, or a dash of water, but can't figure out how some will drown it out with alot of ice/water/soda (then again if that's an individual likes it - all the more power to them)...I feel for those who get heartburn/upset stomach from certain food/drink (I love garlic, but it hates me).

That said scotch is the only form of alcohol in which I never had a bad hangover; maybe feeling a little sluggish (probably more from a lack of sleep), but that's about it.

[number9]

ALL I DRINK IS SCOTCH......and beer from time to time. balvenie is my first choice, thou i typically cant afford to drink it all the time. i drink about 2 bottles of jameson a week at the moment...all i add is ice, thou i add ice to almost everything i drink, god bless automatic ice makers.

[F.Michael]

ALL I DRINK IS SCOTCH......and beer from time to time. balvenie is my first choice, thou i typically cant afford to drink it all the time. i drink about 2 bottles of jameson a week at the moment...all i add is ice, thou i add ice to almost everything i drink, god bless automatic ice makers.

As far as Irish whiskey I'm a fan of the Bushmills 16yr; when compared to scotch in general I find it to be quite smooth, and sweet.

[F.Michael]

Little bump here...Just picked up a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 yr scotch; hints of citrus/honey/vanilla with some spice, and a hint of peat on the finish.

For a 10 yr old scotch it is exceptional, and for $35-$40 it's pretty reasonable as well.

[kook_10]

I love me some Highland Park 18, Oban 14 yr, Aberlour A'bunadh cask strength (the bomb), the Glenmorangie port and madeira finishes are great too (been a while though). I used to love Lagavulin but I don't drink too much of the smoky Islays anymore. Dalwhinnie 15 is nice. When someone else is paying I love some Midleton Very Rare on the Irish side.

I go with filtered rocks from the fridge and let them melt down a little - no different than adding little water.

[GMRwings1983]

Little bump here...Just picked up a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 yr scotch; hints of citrus/honey/vanilla with some spice, and a hint of peat on the finish.

For a 10 yr old scotch it is exceptional, and for $35-$40 it's pretty reasonable as well.

I've never tried the Johnny Walker "Blue Label". It's freaking expensive!

Has anyone here had it before?

I was just reading about it the other day on the internet, and remembered that I've never had it.

Edited by GMRwings1983, 07 September 2011 - 09:23 PM.

[13GoWings40]

I've never tried the Johnny Walker "Blue Label". It's freaking expensive!

Has anyone here had it before?

I was just reading about it the other day on the internet, and remembered that I've never had it.

On vacation over New Year's I splurged and bought a shot. It was really smooth. However I didn't really notice too much of a difference between the Blue Label and the bottle of Gold Label I got for my birthday. For $80 vs. $220, I'd definitely suggest the Gold Label. Both are much smoother than Black Label, which is what I usually buy when I buy myself a good scotch. Most of the time I just buy a fifth of Jack Daniels. In case anyone was wondering, the Blue Label is definitely better than Jack

One last thing, to the guy who said he mixes Blue Label with Mountain Dew, if that wasn't sarcasm I think all of us are gonna come find you and confiscate it from you. The "high life" guy from the commercials is a great example of how I feel about that mixture lol.

[IILeiBlazeII]

Balvenie 12-year DoubleWood, Macallan 18-year and Yamazaki 12-year are my favorites. I always have a bottle of the Balvenie and Yamazaki around. I have a bottle of 12-year Glenfiddich for when I have guests. I've tried around 25 types of scotch, and aside from Islay, I enjoy (or at least appreciate) all of them.

I've tried 17-year old Laphroaig - I thought my face was going to melt off. More power to you if you like smokey, tobacco-y, soul-burning heat.

Bottles I want to try? Balvenie 15-year single cask, Balvenie 21-year and Yoichi 20-year.

My best advice? Try Japanese single malt Whisky. Clean, vibrant and full of flavor. Consider drinking it as the Japanese do - 1/2 whisky to 1/2 distilled water.

[13GoWings40]

I didn't know there was Japanese whiskey. I assume that's what the yamazaki is, any others you'd recommend?

Glenfiddich is awesome, by the way

[F.Michael]

I've never tried the Johnny Walker "Blue Label". It's freaking expensive!

Has anyone here had it before?

I was just reading about it the other day on the internet, and remembered that I've never had it.

Had to work the day shift Sunday, and afterwards my co-worker, and I had dinner/drinks at the nearby Potowatami Casino...Glenlivet 12 yr, Oban 14 yr, Johnny Red/Black/Blue were available...I went with the Glenlivet 12 yr since I've never had it before - pretty good stuff (although not as good as my assortment of Balvenie's or Glenmorangie 10 yr)...$35 for a single, and $50 for a double serving of Johnny Blue

Balvenie 12-year DoubleWood, Macallan 18-year and Yamazaki 12-year are my favorites. I always have a bottle of the Balvenie and Yamazaki around. I have a bottle of 12-year Glenfiddich for when I have guests. I've tried around 25 types of scotch, and aside from Islay, I enjoy (or at least appreciate) all of them.

I've tried 17-year old Laphroaig - I thought my face was going to melt off. More power to you if you like smokey, tobacco-y, soul-burning heat.

Bottles I want to try? Balvenie 15-year single cask, Balvenie 21-year and Yoichi 20-year.

My best advice? Try Japanese single malt Whisky. Clean, vibrant and full of flavor. Consider drinking it as the Japanese do - 1/2 whisky to 1/2 distilled water.

Why so much water with the whisky?

[F.Michael]

Bump.....


I'm always eager for trying something new, and as I'm sure many of you can agree - scotch isn't exactly an inexpensive beverage.

Found this on the net the other day: Classic Malt Collection 3/200ml.

3 smoky monsters 10 yr Talisker, 12 yr Caol Ila, and the 16 yr Lagavulin...Can't wait to try them out.