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Favorite Whisky
- Thread starter scotty96LSC
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Sorry I totally missed the notification! (I blame the alcohol)
I don't really do that Whisky rating approach - it seems my taste buds aren't developed well enough to handle all that - but what makes the Japanese ones I named my favourites is how they mix smokey flavour with fruits and spices. They balance between these so nicely that I now prefer smoke over plain old sweet whisky.
When I was still exclusively sampling Scottish whiskies, smoke was always something I had to prepare myself for (Kilchoman seemed like cigarette buds dissolved in alcohol to me). And it's not that I didn't like it but that it was so intense that it dominated the entire drink. Not so here, they seem really good at using it to spice things up a little, then surprise you with something sweet again.
Recently gotten frustrated at how difficult it seems to get more of that Suntory 'Ao' from my usual sources. Is the worldwide supply of this stuff running out by any chance?
Bah, average standard whiskies...
Anyway.
My father liked bourbon and Glenfiddich, both of which I always found a bit boring when I tried them back then. (I'm fine now - although I'm a fan of Bulleit when it comes to bourbon, which is really tasty at the right time). I started enjoying whisky by accident, so to speak, in 2013, when a distant acquaintance generously poured a bottle of Yamazaki 18 year old - still very affordable at the time, under €100, as far as I remember - at a conference. Since then, things have been going steadily downhill.
I like going to whisky fairs (I'm travelling to the Whisky Show in London next October especially for this) to get to know new impressions, but I've changed my taste a little over the past almost 12 years. In the beginning I liked the Bushmills 16 year old (with 40% ABV too thin for me today) and the Dalmore 12 very much, then slowly fruity whiskies and beautiful deep sherry casks (the Glengoyne 25 is a real gem!) were added.
Salty whiskies put me off for a long time because I don't like Laphroaig and Talisker too much, and I find the heather flavour, which I really liked in Scapa, rather out of place in Highland Park. A few years ago, however, I came across (the floral) Linkwood via Springbank and Longrow and from there to (the savoury) Ardmore, which got me hooked. Nowadays, when I see a Linkwood or Ardmore that I don't know yet at trade fairs or in (better) pubs, I unfortunately have to try it. How annoying!
(This is how I came across the truly marvellous 22-year-old Ardmore from James Eadie in Berlin. Old and dusty with red fruits, some leather, mahogany wood, strawberries. What a fantastic combination!)I've lost a bit of interest in sherry cask whiskies, Oloroso aside (I almost always like Oloroso cask whiskies in some way). However, my almost secret favourite for every day is - nevertheless - the Balvenie 15 Single Barrel from sherry casks. It smells exactly like grandma's old oak cupboard in my childhood and is pleasingly easy to drink and doesn't even cost too much. Ahhh, memories.
Although the cost is subjective again. My first whiskies cost "no more than €50". Today, I hardly ever have a bottle under €100 at home.
edit: I keep notes and ratings of some of the whiskies I tried at Whiskybase, but I usually stop taking notes after the second or third different dram of the evening. For reasons.
Some of those notes were transferred from reddit where I had started writing them down, so don't consider the "tasting date" when skimming through them.edit 2: Missed a ")".
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Bah, average standard whiskies...
Anyway.
My father liked bourbon and Glenfiddich, both of which I always found a bit boring when I tried them back then. (I'm fine now - although I'm a fan of Bulleit when it comes to bourbon, which is really tasty at the right time). I started enjoying whisky by accident, so to speak, in 2013, when a distant acquaintance generously poured a bottle of Yamazaki 18 year old - still very affordable at the time, under €100, as far as I remember - at a conference. Since then, things have been going steadily downhill.
I like going to whisky fairs (I'm travelling to the Whisky Show in London next October especially for this) to get to know new impressions, but I've changed my taste a little over the past almost 12 years. In the beginning I liked the Bushmills 16 year old (with 40% ABV too thin for me today) and the Dalmore 12 very much, then slowly fruity whiskies and beautiful deep sherry casks (the Glengoyne 25 is a real gem!) were added.
Salty whiskies put me off for a long time because I don't like Laphroaig and Talisker too much, and I find the heather flavour, which I really liked in Scapa, rather out of place in Highland Park. A few years ago, however, I came across (the floral) Linkwood via Springbank and Longrow and from there to (the savoury) Ardmore, which got me hooked. Nowadays, when I see a Linkwood or Ardmore that I don't know yet at trade fairs or in (better) pubs, I unfortunately have to try it. How annoying!
I've lost a bit of interest in sherry cask whiskies, Oloroso aside (I almost always like Oloroso cask whiskies in some way). However, my almost secret favourite for every day is - nevertheless - the Balvenie 15 Single Barrel from sherry casks. It smells exactly like grandma's old oak cupboard in my childhood and is pleasingly easy to drink and doesn't even cost too much. Ahhh, memories.
Although the cost is subjective again. My first whiskies cost "no more than €50". Today, I hardly ever have a bottle under €100 at home.
edit: I keep notes and ratings of some of the whiskies I tried at Whiskybase, but I usually stop taking notes after the second or third different dram of the evening. For reasons.
Ha... Might be... but there are still a lot of bottles!
Bah, average standard whiskies...
Yeah, probably. Hey I'm on a budget here for getting hammered. Asking three digits for a bottle of extra fancy paint thinner is so not cool.
Speaking of which, just found a fresh importer for Suntory Ao at reasonable prices after my usual dealer seems to have given up on it for good. Phew, I'm saved! I'll pour one out for my liver.
Asking three digits for a bottle of extra fancy paint thinner is so not cool.
Paint thinner is usually a sign of too much maturation. Try less fancy casks.
Anybody else having an issue with some bottle cap/cork designs aging really quickly after removal of the seal? Those caps sit so loose you can have them fall out if you turn the bottles around.
If I hadn't developed this neat technique or rather regrettable habit to safely deposit the contents elsewhere in a timely fashion - that good stuff may have evaporated!
I discovered that on several Bunnahabhain bottles specifically, the newest one barely a month old. Knockando samples also affected but a bit less so.
If I hadn't developed this neat technique or rather regrettable habit to safely deposit the contents elsewhere in a timely fashion - that good stuff may have evaporated!
I discovered that on several Bunnahabhain bottles specifically, the newest one barely a month old. Knockando samples also affected but a bit less so.
Ardbeg Corry or Ugi for me; followed by the standard 10YO - the Scorch I've got is very nice too
Or anything from Kilchoman or Caol Ila
Also big fan of Edradour; Aberfleldy / House of Dewar, Auchentoshen
I've got a few weird and wonderful bottles too...
Alas; I can't drink currently and haven't touched a drop since 6th Feb 2024 due to some health issues I'm battling, my system just cannot cope with any alcohol... It's all gathering a nice layer of dust haha 😂
Or anything from Kilchoman or Caol Ila
Also big fan of Edradour; Aberfleldy / House of Dewar, Auchentoshen
I've got a few weird and wonderful bottles too...
Alas; I can't drink currently and haven't touched a drop since 6th Feb 2024 due to some health issues I'm battling, my system just cannot cope with any alcohol... It's all gathering a nice layer of dust haha 😂
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That aged 22 year old "Auchentoshan 1999" intrigues me; I would imagine that this would be an exceedingly smooth, and quite a wonderful whiskey to sip, savour and enjoy.
It's a stunning dram... It's one of the few Lowland malts I'll drink (Auchentoshan as a whole); it was my Granddad's favourite whisky (staunch Glaswegian) and the older he got; it suited him more as its generally very smooth being the only triple-distilled single malt made in Scotland
Granddad died in 2000 when I was 22; but he left my Dad, my brother & I a bottle of their 18 year old at that time and it was a superb dram; my brother still has his unopened as he'd inadvertently bought a bottle of it 2 weeks before Granddad passed; so it was used to toast his life
And a good toasting he got; Slàinte Mhath Anyhoo... I saw this bottle, bottled by Signatory back in Dec 2023, so bought it as part of my Christmas pressie to me, plus the 8YO Ben Nevis (which is stunning also, for an 8YO is amazingly flavoured and complex) and a few others too; spent about £1k with Master of Malt here in the UK; they delivered next day with a few freebies too 😂
The Auchy 22YO is very, very nice. It's VERY sherried; but it's not silly-sweet with it; it's quite dry with a good hint of ripe plum; rich dates and that all important Pedro Ximenez kick to it (I think it's Pedro). It has a sweet cinnamon taste to it as well; it's not long lasting or overpowering, so it's there and then it's gone. But it leaves a vanilla aftertaste with some pepper spice in there too; maybe pink peppercorns etc
It's a special bottle that gets aired once every so often; usually for my brother & Dad, and my father in law/brother in law when they're around also
I just sit there and watch them with envy haha
But I'd say the most interesting bottle is the Octomore 9.3 - one wee dram of that and you'll taste it after you've brushed your teeth the morning after
It's so oily; the phenols really carry and stay with you. It's not that much on the nose really; but a wee sip of it neat and then cut with a few drops of water; it's a dram that'll last you a long time...
My own itch with Signatory's more recent bottlings (especially from the Cask Strength series) is that they tend to over-mature everything in sherry casks, killing all the subtle nuances between the spirits underneath. The one nice exception in recent years was the Caol Ila 2012/2023 which ignited my curiousity about Caol Ila again. You might like it, it's rather spicy.
Have you tried the "before the renovation" Bladnochs? They are awesome.
Have you tried the "before the renovation" Bladnochs? They are awesome.
Wowzers... That sounds like one heck of a shopping trip!!!!
I haven't sorry. As I can't drink currently there's no point in me buying anything unfortunately
And Re Signatory, I get what you're saying but they have plenty of non sherried cask bottles out there too. Whisky Exchange and MoM tend to have a good selection
One of my weaknesses is my preference for things that sound disgusting. In any case, the second worst whisky in the world, Levant Black Peak, is surprisingly easy to get hold of here in Germany (via Italy) and is still on my wish list. With shipping about 70 euros - maybe in autumn when it gets colder again, when I don't necessarily need it light and summery.
Today, however, I finally crossed a long-standing TODO off my list and ordered the pickle whisky from the USA. Let's see how long it takes for it to get here.
Today, however, I finally crossed a long-standing TODO off my list and ordered the pickle whisky from the USA. Let's see how long it takes for it to get here.
Difficult to have a favourite when you live in Scotland, I can't go out for a day trip and not come back with something new.
My brother and I are just as bad... Every time we go to my folks property in Dunkeld we have to go into Dunkeld Whisky Box. Always come out with 2 or 3 bottles...
Every time I went to lift the Chieftain Stone at Castle.Menzies, Aberfeldy, I always popped into Dewars / Aberfeldy distillery and bought a bottle...
Used to do that at Edradour too until it closed to the public...
I have always enjoyed and seem to come back to Coal Ila. It was coal Ila scotch that made me take notice and savor the complexity & balance of what was going on. This was probably 15 years ago now and I still find myself coming back to their 12 or an indie bottle if I’m lucky enough to run into one.
It isn't bad... if you are going for a good straight whisky... then no, but they are good in mixers and the like. Not as bad as it sounds.
Now pickle backs... or shots of Jameson followed by a shot of pickle juice... that is rough.
Not a high end Whisky, but when we were in Scotland and Ireland we tried "Powers Irish Whiskey"... and it was actually pretty darn good!!!! We have since purchased it a few times back in the states. We have only been able to try the gold label... but looking for the other varieties to try.
I dont mind jameson+pickle back. My sister in Law is a recovering bartender (laf) and she turned me on to these a few years back. I thought they would be kinda gross but she is quite a talented mixologist, so I picked up a refill of a fav pickle and a smal bottle of Jameson, reserved the brine and to my surprise ... theyre not bad. Not bad at all. I dont think Id order one but the combination of the two is not exactly what I had expected and was interesting and yes, enjoyable.
I mean I do like pickles and pickling and whisky, so its not unsurprising that I enjoyed it.