Sounds delicious to overwhelmed nurse! (Good thing I'm retired!)
Scotch, where to start?
- Thread starter HarleyDChevrolet
- Start date
ftfy
Brad on matters pertaining to Scotch you’re never late to the party! Thank you for sharing your insight! The Blue bottle you’re referring to is known as the classic Laddie.
Just last night I was treated to a dram of Lagavulin 16. It was superb!
Back in 1975, at the start of my freshman year of college and before I turned 18, the older statesman in my dorm made a liquor run. I wanted to try Scotch and he picked up a bottle of Clan MacGregor for me. It took more than 35 years for me to drink Scotch again. The progression started with Pinch, moved to Old Putney and finally settled on many of the great Islay Scotchs. Ardbeg Uigead is my current favorite.
I've had that stuff. It was first introduced by a friend of mine who was making "Chimney Sweeps" for the masses at an event.
A "Chimney Sweep" is a wonferdul thing, by the way. You start with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and then you top that off with about a teaspoon of instant espresso and a dram of whisky. You can get by with coffee grounds if you can't get the espresso powder. A good, smoky whisky is the best option, but if Clan MacGregor is all the budget will bear, then so be it.
Scotch is a wide-ranging spirit that is difficult to classify, even between years of the same distillery. As a Brit, I have been lucky enough to visit several of my favourite distilleries and have enjoyed tasting sessions at many. I have been continually surprised at the difference a few years make in the barrel.
I would compare whisky to bourbon in the same way that I would compare mescal to tequila. This is almost certainly demonstrating my lack of knowledge of bourbon, but the parallels between whisky and mescal ring true.
My preference is very much for Island and Islay whiskies, however my gateway was Highland whisky and I still keep a bottle of Glenmorangie in case of emergency! Favourites of mine - and my current whisky stash - include:
1. Glenmorangie 12yr old sherry cask
2. Talisker 10yr old
3. Highland Park 18yr old
4. Lagavulin 16yr old
5. Oban 12yr old
They are all delicious in their own way, and very different. I am convinced there is a whisky for everyone, it’s just about tracking it down.
My absolute favourite whisky is the Highland Park 18yr old. It’s not too peaty to put people off, but is complex enough to keep surprising you. It’s as close to magic as I’ve ever found in a glass.
I would compare whisky to bourbon in the same way that I would compare mescal to tequila. This is almost certainly demonstrating my lack of knowledge of bourbon, but the parallels between whisky and mescal ring true.
My preference is very much for Island and Islay whiskies, however my gateway was Highland whisky and I still keep a bottle of Glenmorangie in case of emergency! Favourites of mine - and my current whisky stash - include:
1. Glenmorangie 12yr old sherry cask
2. Talisker 10yr old
3. Highland Park 18yr old
4. Lagavulin 16yr old
5. Oban 12yr old
They are all delicious in their own way, and very different. I am convinced there is a whisky for everyone, it’s just about tracking it down.
My absolute favourite whisky is the Highland Park 18yr old. It’s not too peaty to put people off, but is complex enough to keep surprising you. It’s as close to magic as I’ve ever found in a glass.
Excellent post. Wow, Talisker seems to have gotten expensive!
Everything has become expensive including Bourbon on our side of the Pond. That whole NAS movement and funny cask finishes just show that there is an over demand and not enough properly aged juice. To be honest going for either premium blends or independent bottlers can be more worthwhile than to overpay on underaged official distillery offerings.
The hunt is half the fun!
What goes up must ... come down? Somehow I doubt it.
I don't know. I think I am going to personally start boycotting things that seem to be going way up in price for no apparent reason, implicitly using coming off of COVID and supply chain issues as an excuse. I do not need another bottle of Talisker right now. Maybe if it comes back down in price I will "need" more. I am a believer in supply and demand. Raise prices on me for no good reason and see my demand go down!
Scotch to me seems to operate as something of a cartel anyway that manages to keep prices unduly high. My guess is that somehow or another the Scotch producers agree among themselves on prices and there is not a lot of competition. Luckily for us, bourbon seems more price competitive! There are options to Scotch!
I've drank several single malt scotches, but I found what I enjoy the most is Dewar's Blended Scotch 12 year. I love this stuff. In fact, I like their 12 year better than I like their 15 year. It just seems that Dewar's 12 year scotch hits the sweet spot for me. The price is very reasonable also.
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I think Single Malt Scotch prices are higher because there is less of it produced than say, Bourbon. The distilleries and industry as a whole remember what happened in the 80’s and into the 90’s. Clear alcohols came into fashion and the distilleries which had been turning out bottles as as fast as they could suddenly had a product they couldn’t sell or had to sell at greatly reduced prices. Around 30 distilleries closed in the 80’s and early 90’s because of this. I kind of wonder if the same will happen with Bourbon and American Whiskey when the next alcohol fad starts.
But what would it be Adam? The private boutique Tequila thing is done and dusted by now. Clear grain spirits for an absurd premium are here as well and - I hope - on the decline. Cognac and Armagnac as well as Port or Madeira will never come back into the mainstream. I believe we came full circle and are back to brown spirit goodness (grain or sugar cane).
Honestly, I don’t know. That’s why we all need to preach the virtues of clear alcohols. Maybe we can make them “cool” again and people will leave the brown liquids for us.
I forgot the Gin craze 500-700ml bottles of unaged flavored grain spirit for
One "reason" hear mentioned is the rising gas prices (as in gas for heating, not petrol/gasoline for cars). I hear all sorts of disturbing stories coming out of the UK about gas and electricity prices for commercial establishments rising dramatically. So prices for heating the stills in the distillery will be going up a lot ... this may not affect "peaty" scotch as much, but ...
Well, now, I don't say that the gas and electricity prices are not going up "for no apparent reason". Maybe the war is causing it, and maybe it's just a handy excuse; dunno. But I do know that the increase will be showing up on the bill sent to the distillery.
On the other hand ...
... some of these price increases are just (IMHO) a "supply and demand" sort of thing. I'd rather not pay that high a price, but I'd rather see that money (whoever pays it) go to the distillery rather than the scalpers.
That being said, if s&d means the price of a bottle of Talisker is $120 ... I'll give it a miss. I don't mind the distillery taking advantage of the demand to have the profits flow to them (rather than the scalpers) but I will be taking myself out of the "demand" side of the equation, and buying some decent $40 whisky instead.
Clear spirits are sold right after they are made. Down in the tropics, rums can get well-aged in a few years. But single malt scotch producers need to plan for what they will be able to sell in 15 years' time, so it's very hard to respond to the vagaries of market demand.
That's the stuff, all right. My second-favourite malt, by just a bit. Laphroaig 15 is my personal top.
O.H.
Fair enough, although for Talisker by definition the fuel cost would have been 10 years ago. I live in one of the few counties in the US that operates its owm liquor stores. Prices are usually good. I think I was paying north of $40 for 750 ml. Maybe north of $50. The other day it was $79.95. Seems like a huge increase to me.
Well, yes and no.
If they've been paying about the same for heating and lighting month in month out for years, and all of a sudden the bill doubles or triples, they're not going to wait a decade to recoup those costs.
Laphroig 15, Lagavulin 16 - I tend to gravitate to all the Islay offerings. Bowmore may be more approachable for someone new.
I personally like Laphroig 10 yr old, in part because no one ese does. I get “street cred” for liking a malt with a steep learning curve, plus nobody drinks my good stuff
Whenever I have 12 year old Macallan around, on the other hand, it always seems to disappear on me!
But in all honesty, The Macallan 12 is a great entry to single malts,
I personally like Laphroig 10 yr old, in part because no one ese does. I get “street cred” for liking a malt with a steep learning curve, plus nobody drinks my good stuff
Whenever I have 12 year old Macallan around, on the other hand, it always seems to disappear on me!But in all honesty, The Macallan 12 is a great entry to single malts,
