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As far as new distilleries go from Scotland, I've been enjoying Lochlea and Raasay.
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Aug 31, 2023 20:20
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Nuurd posted:I bought some Lochlea and enjoyed it in the 2-3 pours I’ve had. I’ve seen Raasay but not tried. Seems like they have several different styles in the store. Do you have a recommended one? If you like Lochlea you'll like Raasay I think. They're quite different, one being lowland the other island whisky, but they're both quite similar in being high quality spirit with lots of viscosity and flavor aged in "modern" oak casks. Raasay is lightly peated though so be aware of that. quote:Recently I’ve been doing more buying than drinking. I’ve been specifically trying to branch into some of the less traditional countries like Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and most recently the Faroe Islands. Mostly just bottles in a pile though, but nice options to break out if I have a guest. Indri Single malt from India has been making waves online lately and having tried it it's not undeserved. Very nice stuff. Very very fruity. And as a Dutchman I have to shill for Millstone a bit. It's from a traditional Jenever (genever/gin) distillery in the south of The Netherlands very close to the Belgian border, they started making whisky i wanna say 15 years or so ago and imo they have some fantastic sherried style whisky and peated also. Millstone 12 Oloroso is as good as any old-style sherry matured scotch. The peated PX is great as well. (you miiight have heard of the town it's the one that has crazy borders going though houses and has enclaves inside exclaves inside enclaves etc.)
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Aug 31, 2023 21:39
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Deceptive Thinker posted:That doesn't excuse black art going from 250 to 800 in only a few years I don't follow anything to do with regular Bruichladdich at all. Never liked the style. Port Charlotte really is where it's at. Might as well be a completely different distillery.
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Sep 1, 2023 08:49
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Nuurd posted:Cool thanks for the hints. Didn’t have Millstone on my radar. Oh and speaking of new scotch distilleries let's not forget about Ardnamurchan, their cask strength is an absolute stunner. They're almost 10 years going now so not quite as new as Lochlea or Raasay but it also means their stocks are deeper and they can come out with some fantastic releases.
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Sep 1, 2023 08:54
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bloody ghost titty posted:I’m shocked we’ve done so much Islay chat and no one is standing for Bowmore. The 17 was a brilliant dram. Bowmore is one of the worst Islays. They have a few great releases here and there (I'll take your word for the 17 as I haven't tried it but the Vault Edition releases come to mind) but the vast majority of their range is weak, colored and filtered to death, overpriced and stupidly marketed (Aston Martin editions anyone?) It's sad because they have some of the most beautiful whisky (if you manage to get an unadulterated sample from their warehouse tastings for example, oh my) but the way they process and market their whisky just kills it. Such a shame.
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Sep 2, 2023 00:58
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Sorry I don't mean to knock anyone's favorites or be old man who yells at cloud but large corporations ruining whisky really pisses me off. Diageo, Beam Suntory, Edrington, loving Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. These companies won't just let the whisky be, it has to be "premiumized".
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Sep 2, 2023 01:04
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Never had the rye version but the bourbon is solid.
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Sep 13, 2023 18:14
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'd still prefer not to break the law. It's okay if the law is stupid
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Nov 15, 2023 19:46
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zmcnulty posted:Might wanna check your math, that should yield a 3,830 year matured whiskey. How many have you had, mcnutty?
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Dec 31, 2023 10:06
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Since this thread is very US-centric and I'm not from there, I have no knowledge of pricing in your area so you'll have to forgive me if some of my suggestions are not within your budget. Bushmills black bush is a step up from the regular white label, could give that a go. You might want to stick to Jameson though since it's from the same distillery as Redbreast. Jameson, and budget Irish whiskey in general comprises mostly of column distilled grain whiskey instead of the pure pot still of redbreast. However, Jameson Crested is one that has more pot still and sherry cask influence, making it more like redbreast. So it would be my first suggestion. Then the Jameson caskmates Stout edition is also still a good step up from the standard, but cheaper than the crested. Jameson Black Barrel might be good although I haven't tried. I'm also partial to a whiskey called Writer's Tears. It has a similar profile to Redbreast, but again no idea about pricing for you. Another to try might be the Power's, depending on price I'd give the Three Swallows a try, it's a Midleton whiskey like redbreast and jameson and has a bit more pot still ik the mix also.
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Jan 3, 2024 10:20
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Hakarne posted:People seem to like the Stout, but I much preferred the Jameson IPA edition caskmates neat or on the rocks. It's very light and refreshing. Either is good and probably comes down to personal preference. I went stout edition because OP indicated liking pot still whiskey, which is more on the malty, bready, buttery, yeasty, spicy side and less on the bright citrus side.
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Jan 4, 2024 21:46
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Jean-Paul Shartre posted:single pot stool 
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Jan 5, 2024 22:14
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Klungar posted:My wife has expressed interest in smoky whiskeys after having a smoked old fashioned last night. What’s the best bang-for-your-buck in the peaty scotches? Laphroaig 10? Something else? Ledaig 10 is at the absolute sweet spot right now.
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Jan 14, 2024 21:31
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If you've tried a couple of peaty scotches, Laphroaig 10 becomes just a bit weak. Sure it has the big medicinal quality to it, but being bottled at 40/43% depending on your market and chill-filtered it really underdelivers in terms of viscosity, mouthfeel, richness of flavor. It's just a hit of briny iodine and not much more, it falls flat. Ardbeg is much better in this regard being bottled at 46% non-chill filtered. Less iodine but more smoked fish, campfire, creosote. But also way more richness of flavor and better mouthfeel. I'm having trouble recommending Ardbeg these days however because tbh, since LVMH* took over Ardbeg prices have gone way up and the quality has become inconsistent. Port Charlotte 10 is the best Islay nowadays I think, it's slightly expensive but not overpriced, and it's got a fantastic Islay experience. Better than Ardbeg nowadays imo. And it's bottled at 50% so good value. Then Ledaig 10, which is from Tobermory distillery on the isle of Mull, so not an Islay is the best budget choice. It has all the Islay characteristics but better quality than Laphroaig and Ardbeg for the aforementioned reasons, cheaper than Arbdbeg and about the same as Laphroaig. *Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy, yeah a super premium company that runs on marketing amd ultra-premiumization more than anything else owns it now. Guess what that does to a brand... The numerous special releases Ardbeg did over the past few years which were way too young and way too expensive have shown. Cherry on top being some absolutely ridiculous NFT debacle.
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Jan 15, 2024 07:01
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Klungar posted:Looks like local prices/availability are: Port Charlotte for sure. it's nice to see that it hasn't crept up in price much yet, unlike in Europe. spankmeister fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Jan 15, 2024 |
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Jan 15, 2024 18:16
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Lowness 72 posted:Oh also I tried Jameson Stout edition and it's not quite my jam. It tastes....thin? Like they tried to emulate a good pot still flavor but without the real thing (I could be talking out my rear end. Don't recall how Jameson is distilled). Yes unfortunately $30 is going to get you mostly grain whiskey, with some pot still whiskey in there to round it out. Have you looked at Jameson Crested? (You may have posted about it already, i forget)
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Feb 21, 2024 07:39
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Oban is great. Nicely balanced between the salty spray coastal note and the fruity orange marmalade notes. Normally I don't bother with the Diageo annual special releases (those are separate from the distiller's editions) because they're ridiculously expensive for what they are but I managed to snag a 2021 special edition for a
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Apr 7, 2024 09:54
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Thats the point of those type of blends. To be "smooth" and inoffensive. Blue Label is the same.
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Apr 7, 2024 12:36
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People like what they like and that's fine. If you like a super premium high end blend, more power to you. Invariably though when I see people drinking those types of blends, it's either someone who doesn't drink scotch all that often, and isn't super informed and they want to treat themselves, or it's a person who doesn't know the first thing about quality spirits, and is just being pretentious. I can count the number of people I've met that both know about whisky and are not utterly disappointed by the likes of Blue Label on one hand. I do want to stress that blended scotch is not by definition inferior to single malt. There are some excellent blends out there. Compass Box makes some fantastic stuff. More recently companies like Turntable and Thompson Brothers came on the scene and their blends are excellent as well.
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Apr 8, 2024 17:24
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the yellow dart posted:Moved to Germany this year and given what is available, looking to get into scotch a little more. Any recommendations on scotch for someone who likes the vanilla/oak of bourbon, a little heat, but isn't really into any more than a real hint of peat? Dr. Lunchables posted:Try a Macallan and report back. Because OP mentioned liking bourbon, oaky/spicy big flavors and even a little heat I would recommend against Macallan. Macallan has a great aroma (smell) but on the palate it always underdelivers. It's thin and lacking in flavor. As an introductory Scotch this wouldn't be so bad were it not for the price. Macallan is extremely overpriced. I think a bourbon drinker will be disappointed by the lack of flavor and body. By all means try a sample but I recommend against buying a full bottle. Something I would suggest trying is Kilkerran 12, it's got the big oaky flavors, and is generally well regarded by experienced drinkers and newcomers alike. Does have a wisp of smoke but nothing to worry about I think. Production and thus availability is somewhat limited but recently that settled down a bit I think. You'll be hunting a little or paying a bit over MSRP but that's nothing new for bourbon drinkers right? Another good option is Arran 10. It has a bit more character from the distillate than from the casks, so it tends a bit more fruity than oaky, but it's well balanced and rich in flavor. Also one that's liked by new and experienced drinkers alike. This one is readily available and very affordable. Cheap even. If you like oaky flavors the Loch Lomond 18 is one of the best value 18 year olds on the market. It's got fruity notes without leaning too much into sherry and it's got oak for days. For a more sherry-forward whisky, one that's got that european oak spice but is well balanced the Speyburn 15 is an excellent choice that's still a bit under the radar. Doesn't have a lot of the bourbon vanilla's but goes more towards the baking spices, walnuts, dried fruit, etc. The 18 is good too and leans a bit more into the oak spice and I really like it too but it's hard for me to say that it's actually better than the 15. Okay that's enough for now I think. Hope this helps! It's nice to make recommendations for someone in Europe finally, since I know pricing and availability a lot better. One last piece of advice is that I would recommend finding a local specialist shop that knows their business, and have a chat with them. Go to some tastings. Find out what you like!
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Apr 29, 2024 08:20
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The Chad Jihad posted:is chivas regal supposed to taste like... liquid smoke? Nor really no, you're probably just sensitive to smoke, some people have that.
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Apr 30, 2024 05:55
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the yellow dart posted:Appreciate all the info, thanks! Was planning on hitting a specialty shop up weekend after next, I'll have to keep the Arran /Speyburn/Loch Lomond front of mind (I have drunk plenty of McCallan and Glenmoragie) No worries. Just know that these are but a few suggestions. There's so much good stuff out there. Good luck on your journey!
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Apr 30, 2024 19:11
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