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No_talent posted:drat. That's amazing. Cheapest I've ever seen is was $79. Where I am it sits at a respectable $140. My provincial liquor system marks up all scotch and hype liquor to insane levels, but leaves everything else more reasonable. They know exactly who to screw when it comes to maintaining revenue. I do love scotch, but have since began exploring Canadian and other whiskies extremely agressively. For the price of one good scotch I can get a few different bottles. I'll second this. I've really grown to enjoy our domestic whisky selection. I'm actually surprised how much I enjoy the Canadian Club 100% Rye over a number of other whiskies. It's got a richness and spiciness that I just love. And it's a decent mixer, too.
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Mar 22, 2017 16:06
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No_talent posted:Basically any Alberta Premium whiskey and any Canadian Club is realllly good value. I like that you can get a sherry cask, a 12 year, a legit rye, a sherried rye for under $28. I never feel bad when someone uses it in a cocktail, because hey, it's "the bottom shelf stuff". Look out for Canadian Club 20yr. It's listed at the LCBO for a solid $60, according to a pal of mine it's "WILDLY underpriced and underrated." I'm grabbing a bottle in AB next week to see how it fares against Canadian rockies 21, which is another insane $66 whiskey that really totes my goats. Lot 40 amd Forty Creek are also great value. Oh I forgot about CC's sherry cask. I can't seem to find it anywhere, though. I remember it being delicious. Yeah, and Forty Creek Copper Pot is great, too. Really reminds me of chocolate.
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Mar 23, 2017 15:04
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biglads posted:So the industry says it's nothing of the sort! Apparently it's "..a move from age based expressions to flavour based expressions." That explains why I can never find Macallan 12 (not that I'm looking for it specifically), and keep finding Gold and Amber and whatever else they got. No_talent posted:I have't tried it yet. It's on the list of things to pick up. Looking for it in the liquor stores here in Western Canada so far has been futile. Not sure if it's an Eastern/Export bottle, but the LCBO has it listed. I've got a big backlog of unopened bottles that I need to go through anyways. Have you been able to find the CC Sherry Cask? I'd like to reevaluate it, but the LCBO's website gives nothing for it, and I can never find a bottle anyway. GIS tells me they're using the same label and bottle as their 12 year old, but I got nothing else to go on.
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Mar 25, 2017 03:08
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No_talent posted:The laughably loose regs have led to alot or people generally making GBS threads on canadian whiskey in general. But a number of producers don't cut their aged whiskey with garbage. It's a minefield, especially since they usually don't list what's been blended (coloring, grain spirit...). Yeah, I've been pleasantly surprised by a number of non-bottom shelf whiskies. Even Wiser's is good once you hit Small Batch. I like bourbon too, but I've become accustomed to the spice and richness of ryes so I always prefer them now. Edit: No_talent posted:Sherry cask and 12yr is all over the place out here. They all use a similar label, the "CC Reserve" one. Even the SAQ has it listed. At a glance I can't find it anywhere in Ont either. Maybe it's an export only? I'll trade you a sherry cask for a 9 yr. I knew there was a reason I need to roadtrip out to Quebec! mojo1701a fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 17:21
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Or just mix it with coke or ginger ale, which is the true Canadian way.
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Mar 29, 2017 18:51
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Finally found and picked up a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green Label at the LCBO last night! I know it's not the best, but I actually surprisingly enjoyed it before.kidsafe posted:Glengoyne and Glendronach. Also Auchenstoshan Three Wood tastes like nail polish. Is Glengoyne available in the US? I really enjoyed the distillery tour last year, but it's not here in Ontario (not sure about the rest of Canada).
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Apr 6, 2017 21:15
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spankmeister posted:Green label is a quality whisky, good value and the best in the JW range. Oh I agree. Bought a 200mL 4-pack at Heathrow in November for £88 (Black, Gold, Platinum, and Blue). Haven't tried the Blue yet, but I found the Gold actually better than Platinum. Tried the Green much later, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Still making my way through the Macallan Select Oak my mom got me when she went overseas. She was shocked to discover that I could've bought it myself on my Air Canada flight for $60 instead of the €60 she spent.
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Apr 6, 2017 23:46
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I had a glass or two of the Macallan Select Oak last night and I decided to mix the few remaining drops in the glass with some 7up. Jeez, that mixture tasted like chocolate.
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Apr 7, 2017 15:12
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ehnus posted:I've been avoiding Canadian whiskey for ever because I've had some not-great experiences with Canadian Club and Crown Royal. That is basically my experience with anything past bottom-shelf Canadian whisky: it may not be the best, but it definitely hits the spot without breaking the bank. I'm actually starting to enjoy them more than the bourbons I've tried because I prefer the spice and richness to the vanilla smoothness.
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Apr 8, 2017 16:22
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Vox Nihili posted:Can't go wrong with Four Roses Single Barrel and Eagle Rare, though, as several folks have mentioned. Finally found Four Roses Single Barrel a few months ago, and it was pretty drat good. I like the richness compared to most other bourbons. mekilljoydammit posted:Hm, so I'm hearing that I need to try 4 Roses and the single barrel offerings. Sigh, how terrible, more bourbon to drink. At least even the worst bourbon and rye whiskies mix decently with pop. That's the excuse I give myself to buy new bottles.
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Apr 13, 2017 14:54
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MalleusDei posted:Years ago I had a Single Barrel that was not good (At a bottle share I do with a few friends occasionally). Maybe it was just a bad batch or something, but it turned me off Four Roses. I think someone here mentioned that there's probably more variance in bottling because of the single barrel. Like I said, worse comes to worst you just paid a bit more than usual for mixing whisky.
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Apr 13, 2017 20:32
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wormil posted:
Really? Rye and coke-- hell, actual rye whisky and ginger ale is really nice.
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Apr 13, 2017 21:33
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Don't feel bad about hating Jim Beam and Jack Daniels either. They both give whiskey a bad name thanks to being the two biggest names and being below average even at their price range. Yeah, either one is only really good when splashed in some coke. Then again I have a sweet tooth and love mixed drinks.
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May 29, 2017 01:35
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cryme posted:The crown royal rye is actually fairly good and very easy drinking as ryes go. Pretty cheap too. Yeah I don't care for most Crown Royal (as anything beyond your basic mixing whisky), but the Northern Harvest is decent. CC 100% rye is nice, too.
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Jun 13, 2017 16:29
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Vox Nihili posted:Northern Harvest is really solid, if straightforward. I wanted to hate it after the Jim Murray bullshit but I just couldn't. Yeah, the only real problem I had with it was the bandwagoning after it was released, and I couldn't find a bottle of it at all at any LCBO for 6 months. I instead drowned my sorrows with some of Wiser's upper-tier stuff. They're not full rye whiskies, but they're usually rich enough. I prefer them to most bourbons I try since I like a fuller, richer flavour over the delicateness of bourbon.
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Jun 16, 2017 15:58
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Picked up some Redbreast at the LCBO for $70 (with $10 off!). So if anyone in Ontario's looking to get some, now's the time. I rarely see discounts like that.
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Jul 15, 2017 21:57
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I finally cracked open my Balvenie Triple Cask 16 that I bought last year from my trip to London. Oh man is it ever good. So glad I'm going on vacation again next month to get more duty-free whisky. On a similar note, someone mentioned to me that there's a growing whisky community in France -- specifically, Alsace. Has anyone heard anything about it? I'm going to Strasbourg for a few days at the very beginning of September, and I'd love to know more about it.
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Jul 17, 2017 00:42
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404notfound posted:
Had the same thing happen to me once worth a bottle of Bulleit. Realized I was uncorking it at an angle too much for that satisfying pop.
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Sep 4, 2017 12:52
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Josh Lyman posted:Yamazaki 18 is still my favorite whiskey. I got a chance to try both a glass of Yamazaki and Hakushu in a sushi restaurant in Paris earlier this week, but both of the bottles had no age statement. There were no special markings on the bottles denoting age or cask type. Does anyone know more? They weren't bad.
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Sep 9, 2017 00:51
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spankmeister posted:A problem for whisky producers is that you have to produce at least 10-15 years ahead because you need to age the whisky before selling it. By law whisky has to have aged for at least 3 years in oak casks. Also, the age on the label is the minimum age of the whisky in the bottle. Not an average or any kind of shenanigans. Yeah, that makes sense. I had to specifically add "no age statement" when I googled them, otherwise I got nothing but the 12 and 18 (etc.). I ended up doing some reading on it because the duty-free store had a surprisingly decent 15-year-old blended Dewar's that I sampled. Instead, this was my haul:  The two French whiskies I specifically bought in Paris. I don't think I did too bad.
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Sep 9, 2017 18:26
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Vox Nihili posted:Have you tried bourbon or rye? You can try some pretty solid bottles of American whiskey without breaking your budget. Eagle Rare, Four Roses Small Batch, Henry McKenna, Wild Turkey 101, Rittenhouse Rye, etc. Should all be available under $30. This is the exact same reason why I started drinking Canadian whisky. I can find some pretty decent local stuff at the LCBO for way less than a comparable bottle of single malt scotch.
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Oct 4, 2017 16:54
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I finally cracked open the last of my Johnnie Walker collection I bought duty-free last year: 4x200mL black, gold, platinum, and (last night) blue for £88. It's decent, but I'd never, ever pay full price here, $300 for 750mL.
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Oct 6, 2017 00:21
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Inspector 34 posted:Yeah I got that same collection for Christmas a couple of years ago and I thought the packaging was a whole lot cooler than the actual product. I mean it was nice to be able to have a couple drams of Blue without paying a fuckton of money for it, but it wasn't life changing or anything. Can't imagine actually buying a bottle of any of those. I still prefer JW Green over all the rest, but it seems like it's been going up in price over the last few years. I heard something (maybe in this thread?) suggesting that it was going to duty free stores only or being discontinued or something recently. Yeah, Green is back at the LCBO and it's $80 or so. I'd still rather pay $90 for The Balvenie doublewood.
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Oct 8, 2017 21:49
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 Finished off this bottle last week after cracking it open for my birthday (along with two other bottles). I'm starting to like most Wiser's bottles that aren't either DeLuxe or Special Blend. There's a very rich sweetness that comes with it, and the standard spiciness from rye whisky. The nose isn't the best, but that's par for the course with Canadian whisky. Honestly, there's almost always a mild ethanol feel. It's definitely not smooth, but being that it's 43.4% abv, it can handle quite a bit of water to suit your taste. Edit: description of oiliness was the wrong whisky. My memory failed me on that one. mojo1701a fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Nov 4, 2017 |
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Nov 3, 2017 18:54
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Had a chance to sample this stuff while waiting for my plane a couple of months ago. At the time, I was told it was travel/distillery exclusive, so when I saw this at the LCBO on Friday, I had to pick it up. (Full disclosure, I was raised in the same hometown as Wayne Gretzky). They also had the regular red wine cask finished rye there, but it was disappointing when I tried it. For $60, it's not a bad purchase. Finished in ice wine casks* from the vineyard, you can definitely tell since it has a really nice, sweet texture that rivals the richness of just about any other Canadian whisky I've tried. Since it's nowhere close to 100% rye, it definitely has way less spice than most, but it's different enough that I don't regret this purchase one bit. That's the picture I swiped from the LCBO's website, but it's darker in real life. *I thought it might be the only whisky that uses ice wine cask, but Google tells me Breton Rare and Glenfiddich both have offerings that use them, and there might be more. This is probably the most inexpensive of them all. It's pricier than I'd like, but it's not a bad one-off purchase. Once I move out for good, I might start taking requests/suggestions for other Canadian whisky.
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Nov 13, 2017 23:48
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Planetarium posted:re: port chat, I picked up Angel's Envy for a song and I dunno if it's my natural bourbon bias, but while it's undeniably tasty it's certainly not a complicated drink and the port influence is only barely detectable. I know what you mean. I'm not huge in with bourbon, either. If it's going to be sweet, I prefer it to be richer, which lends nicely to Canadian and rye whisky.
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Dec 5, 2017 17:02
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Juaguocio posted:I never used to like whisky, but lately I've been really into Forty Creek. Forty Creek is really good and I really like their Copper Pot. Honestly, I'm really enjoying most Canadian whisky these days. I find I get a lot more bang for my buck whenever I pick some up at the LCBO versus others at the same price point (maybe because they're pushing local here in Ontario). They're not always the smoothest, but they always have a really rich flavour that I enjoy.
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Jan 5, 2018 19:09
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Beachcomber posted:(all this good stuff) drat, you're seriously making me consider Ireland for my next vacation. I've been wanting to correct the injustice of my one trip to Scotland being only 12 hours long, but this makes me want to put it on the back-burner.
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Feb 16, 2018 15:28
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Finally finished off one of my two French whiskies: (Googled pic) It's almost exactly like you'd imagine, if you imagine a lightly peated malt with the slight sweetness of red wine. I generally don't like the combo of smoke with sweetness, but neither of those flavours were strong, so it was a really nice blend. I also bought a bottle of Glenfiddich IPA cask last Thursday because I'm intensely curious wrt. gimmicks.
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Apr 3, 2018 18:58
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Demon_Corsair posted:Nah, thats Alberta Pure. Alberta Premium has been in glass bottles for a few years now. And its a little rough to drink straight but it makes a fantastic manhatten. Their dark horse is good straight up. Yeah, Alberta Premium is a mixin' rye. Good to know on Dark Horse, I've been meaning to check it out. I'll actually defend Canadian whisky insofar as you go for something higher than the base offerings (like Wiser's Small Batch and up). They usually don't wow me, but I always enjoy the rich sweetness with spice. Plus they're way cheaper at the LCBO than other whiskies.
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Apr 30, 2018 16:54
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spankmeister posted:It's a shame really because there's not many places making a 100% rye whisk(e)y. If Alberta did a properly aged version done in quality casks they might have gold. As it stands 90% of Canadian whisky is just awful. Shame. gwrtheyrn posted:The crown Royal northern harvest rye got a lot of attention Northern Harvest isn't bad, but I don't love it. Oddly enough, Canadian Club's 100% rye isn't bad for what it is. I don't know. Maybe I just don't love bourbon nearly that much because of its light flavour.
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May 1, 2018 16:09
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wormil posted:$8/L whisky mixing water. Bwahahaha. I once read there are people who insist on their mixing water coming from the same source as the distillery's water. Still not as bad as audiophiles.
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May 14, 2018 14:44
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I've already posted this in the Europe travel megathread, but I'm planning on a two-week vacation to Ireland in late-August/September (dates still not confirmed since I have to square it with work) and was looking at visiting at least one distillery there. Are there any highly-recommended distillery tours there? My plan is to circle the island in a rented car from Dublin to Cork, Galway, Derry, Belfast, and then back to Dublin. Anything on that path would be ideal, but even if it's an extra hour's drive wouldn't put me off (I'm Canadian, we drive everywhere).
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Jun 4, 2018 15:01
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Weltlich posted:Thankfully most of the distilleries in Ireland are situated around the coastal ring, so you'll have a bunch to choose from. But if you can only do one, I'd recommend going inland to do the Kilbeggan tour, if only because their place is so historical and beautiful. The whiskey's good, too - but they've got a really cool distillery that's worth seeing. Ooh, they also have an option to bottle your own. I'm still open to other options, however. Unfortunately, I'm trying to figure out what would be the best way to fit this into my travel plans.
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Jun 4, 2018 17:47
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Has anyone else tried Dillon's Three Oak rye whisky? Being Canada Day, I thought I'd crack open the one Canadian whisky I had that wasn't Alberta Premium, and... well, it's different. It has a very light colour compared to even most bourbons. The flavour is very light and reminded me of bananas and honey with a nutty undertone, but for a rye whisky, I was expecting more body to the flavour. I guess that's what you get when 2/3 of the oaks in its name are new ones. The third being a first fill bourbon barrel.
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Jul 2, 2018 04:51
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Well, I spent my Labour Day long weekend, sitting at home studying for an auditing exam on Friday. To help lift my mood, I finally poured a glass of the Laphroaig PX cask I bought in Paris last year. I don't normally care for scotch that has both peat and sweetness to it, but I really liked this. I can't believe I waited so long to finally try this. Weltlich posted:There are some exceptions that improve and open up with a little air, but few spirits will ever get better after they get below a quarter full. I was at trivia (RIP trivia bar) night once, and in a really good mood so I ordered a glass of one of their single malts. It tasted... flat. I realized later than the bottle had probably been sitting there for a long time, and there was only a few ounces left anyway.
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Sep 4, 2018 18:50
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drat did I have a nice time in Dublin with anything whiskey related. The whiskey museum is especially nice, given that it has a more, shall we say "non-partisan" attitude towards the tastings. Our tour guide also asked us to give them a five-star rating and mention her name (and if we couldn't, just say "the one that looks like Maisie Williams") Teeling and Jameson weren't bad, either. I took the €60 tour at Jameson, and it was just a small tasting and mixing class which ended with drinking a glass pulled straight from the barrel. Not sure if I recommend it for the price, but I don't regret it.
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Sep 20, 2018 14:00
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I finally opened a bottle of Highland Park Einar last weekend, in celebration for finally paying off my student loan. I know there's been some talk about letting a whisky breathe, but I never experienced it until I had another glass this weekend. My God did the taste really come out. Compared to last night, my first sips were heavily muted. Mr. Glass posted:i'm in switzerland for work - any duty-free exclusive single malts i should look for on my way home? laphroaig is usually my go to, but it looks like their current duty free lineup has pretty meh reviews. I enjoyed Laphroaig PX cask when I cracked it open a while ago. The "like a candy store burning down in a peat bog" description on the lid was pretty apt. Peat and smoke, but definitely a heavy sherry body. I have a bottle of Four Oak, but I haven't opened it yet.
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Apr 8, 2019 21:55
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zmcnulty posted:Sat down with an Irish whiskey/spirits importer last night and had the below. To preface, I know basically nothing about Irish whiskey: I like the Túath glass, too. Got it for free from the Teeling rep at the duty free store in Dublin Airport for buying two bottles of Teeling last year. I also got a sampler pack of the Knappogue then, too. Haven't had a chance to try it, but I'm glad they're not too disappointing.
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Sep 4, 2019 18:50
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biglads posted:Most Knappogue is Bushmills. Certainly the standard 12 y/o is. Good to know. I don't really know much about it and picked it up since it was a variety pack. That, and when our tour guide at the Irish Whiskey Museum asked us to pronounce "Knappogue", she then told us that she's heard all sorts of weird pronunciations, including the phonetic "Ka-nap-oh-goo-ee."
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Sep 4, 2019 20:02
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