Whisky and Scotch Recommendations

I'm fighting my way through a seriously prolonged state of whisky noobitude. For the past 9 years I've always had at least one bottle of whisky in the house, but on average it's taken me 3 years to finish one. I rarely have more than one finger at a time, rarely more than twice a month.

I've always had Scotch from the isles in the cupboard, ie. Talisker, Laphroaig and Bowmore. Today I decided to uncork a bog-standard bottle of Jameson, to get some perspective on how "demanding" my Scotch has been compared to something more "neutral". Frankly, I can't see myself using the rest of that Jameson for anything but Irish coffee. I'm going back to my Bowmore 15 for my next shot -- which probably won't be until some time in mid-March.

MothBeHe wrote:

Today I decided to uncork a bog-standard bottle of Jameson, to get some perspective on how "demanding" my Scotch has been compared to something more "neutral". Frankly, I can't see myself using the rest of that Jameson for anything but Irish coffee.

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree. It's like drinking sawdust and sandpaper. Terrible.

Fredrik_S wrote:

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree.

Probably because it's not scotch, it's Irish whiskey.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree.

Probably because it's not scotch, it's Irish whiskey. :mrgreen:

It's a terrible drink.

My mother in law, who lives in the house my husband lived in before I married him, cleaned out the liquor cabinet and brought down what she found. The big find: a half bottle of Glenmorangie! How did I forget it was there?

Fredrik_S wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree.

Probably because it's not scotch, it's Irish whiskey. :mrgreen:

It's a terrible drink.

I'm just hoping it's not terrible enough to ruin an Irish coffee. Maybe Jameson is only good for Irish Car Bombs.

MothBeHe wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree.

Probably because it's not scotch, it's Irish whiskey. :mrgreen:

It's a terrible drink.

I'm just hoping it's not terrible enough to ruin an Irish coffee. Maybe Jameson is only good for Irish Car Bombs.

IMO it's OK for Irish coffee, but then again I don't really drink Irish coffee. I haven't had any Bushmills for a while, but I remember liking it better.

concentric wrote:
MothBeHe wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree.

Probably because it's not scotch, it's Irish whiskey. :mrgreen:

It's a terrible drink.

I'm just hoping it's not terrible enough to ruin an Irish coffee. Maybe Jameson is only good for Irish Car Bombs.

IMO it's OK for Irish coffee, but then again I don't really drink Irish coffee. I haven't had any Bushmills for a while, but I remember liking it better.

Bushmills > Jamesons, yes.

Drinking Glenlivet 15 year tonight.

Yeah, boring, but comfortable.

MikeSands wrote:
concentric wrote:
MothBeHe wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Fredrik_S wrote:

Jameson is a terrible scotch, I agree.

Probably because it's not scotch, it's Irish whiskey. :mrgreen:

It's a terrible drink.

I'm just hoping it's not terrible enough to ruin an Irish coffee. Maybe Jameson is only good for Irish Car Bombs.

IMO it's OK for Irish coffee, but then again I don't really drink Irish coffee. I haven't had any Bushmills for a while, but I remember liking it better.

Bushmills > Jamesons, yes.

I'll take a Jamesons 18 over any Bushmills. But I do love me some Bushmills.

HedgeWizard wrote:

I'll take a Jamesons 18 over any Bushmills. But I do love me some Bushmills.

I am prepared to believe that Jameson's 18 year old is good, but so far my only experience is with the not-especially-old version.

Broke into the Woodford Reserve tonight. Yum.

Last night I went to a favorite local watering hole and got their Bourbon flight and walked out with new favorites. The Angel's Envy was amazing and light and the Diabolique seemed like a totally goofy gimick but ended up being much better as it went on. The Basil Hayden's was as good as always and the Eagle Rare was new to me, but a solid drink. Got to get me some Angel's Envy though...

I'm a single malt drinker and my buddy prefers fine bourbons/whiskeys. I actually can't drink whiskey as it seems to unsettle my stomach the moment it gets there.

So I had bought a bottle of Aberlour a'bunadh as it was a very highly rated single malt scotch. For a little while now, I hadn't been feeling well every time I had a glass. I figured that my body was just not in an alcohol mood. Now I think that this single malt is more like whiskey.

So I gave it to my buddy who has put it in the rotation as one of his "go-to" drinks. He loves it. Fortunately for me, he gave me a bottle of Laphroaig in trade. I can handle that with no problems at all.

gravity wrote:

Last night I went to a favorite local watering hole and got their Bourbon flight and walked out with new favorites. The Angel's Envy was amazing and light and the Diabolique seemed like a totally goofy gimick but ended up being much better as it went on. The Basil Hayden's was as good as always and the Eagle Rare was new to me, but a solid drink. Got to get me some Angel's Envy though...

I'm a huge fan of Eagle Rare. So smooth. I've been through 3 bottles in the last year...

I think it's been mentioned before, but Eagle Rare hails from the same distillery as the much lauded Buffalo Trace. It's a few dollars more expensive, but depending on your tastes, well worth it. I try to have a bottle of both in my house at all times, as well as Benchmark (a cheap bourbon also from the same distillery)

They also make Blanton's, which I find to be overpriced, and a rare 17 year old Eagle Rare that I've yet to get my hands on, despite Minarchist's pressure.

I'm going to go ahead and make a radical prediction: in 10 years, Michigan whiskey will be right behind Kentucky in terms of quality and popularity. Hell it might even be neck-and-neck in a decade.

In addition to Michigan recently changing the business laws to encourage small batch distilleries, our water source (Great Lakes glacial water) is arguably better than the delicious, mineral rich water filtered through Kentucky's limestone shelf. Michigan also offers some truly fantastic climates for corn, rye, wheat, and other grains needed for great bourbon and whiskey distillation.

Currently the market is bare -- Journeyman is the current heavy hitter with four (young) whiskeys, including a two year old bourbon. The Featherbone bourbon is good, but needs at least two more years in the barrel to mature -- which is why I am very much looking forward to their upcoming release of 4 year old bourbon. The Grand Traverse Distillery has plans for rye whiskey, and New Holland already has a few available, including a slightly incestuous Beer Barrel Bourbon. (They take spent bourbon barrels, age their fantastic Dragon's Milk in those, then take those spent beer barrels and age their whiskey in them).

None of these existed four years ago, and I'm expecting that they'll be able to ride the wave of craft beer successfully.

(someone link to this to rub my nose in it in 2023 if none of this comes to be. :))

There is a lot of FDA and USDA post prohibition hoo-hah that needs to go away first Seth.

KingGorilla wrote:

There is a lot of FDA and USDA post prohibition hoo-hah that needs to go away first Seth.

I thought Granholm paved the way for that -- at least on a state level. If I recall, small batch distilleries don't even need to adhere to the three tiered system. They have similar exemptions as we gave to the wine industry. Is there something I'm missing, perhaps on a federal level?

Well you are talking about distribution to really get spirits in one state compared with another, which is a whole new matter-crossing state and regional lines with your spirits.

McIrishJihad wrote:
gravity wrote:

Last night I went to a favorite local watering hole and got their Bourbon flight and walked out with new favorites. The Angel's Envy was amazing and light and the Diabolique seemed like a totally goofy gimick but ended up being much better as it went on. The Basil Hayden's was as good as always and the Eagle Rare was new to me, but a solid drink. Got to get me some Angel's Envy though...

I'm a huge fan of Eagle Rare. So smooth. I've been through 3 bottles in the last year...

Just swung by the store and lo and behold, they had a few bottles of Eagle Rare... for just a few bucks more than Buffalo Trace!

I've had a bit of a day also, so I'm going to unwind with a glass later this evening.

I tried one called Greenore (a single grain Irish Whiskey) that was pretty good.

Anyone ever try Maccallan 18 year? Just sold some stock from work and was tempted.

If you'd like to treat yourself, Dalmore Scotch is pretty good.

Went back only a few pages and did not see it mentioned.

/hope it helps
ESA

obirano wrote:

Anyone ever try Maccallan 18 year? Just sold some stock from work and was tempted.

It is fantastic. I'd love to hear from other scotch drinkers about their opinions. I also like Glenmorangie. Frankly, bourbon tends to sit better with me most of the time.

obirano wrote:

Anyone ever try Maccallan 18 year? Just sold some stock from work and was tempted.

The Mac 18 is generally considered the gold standard for single malts. It's expensive, but it's excellent.
In my opinion there are many choices which offer better bang for the buck, but it's probably worth the indulgence just this once.

I fear I may not be man enough for Laphroaig.

It's clearly well made and tastes amazing, very smooth, but the smell....

I can hang with it but my wife dislikes it. A lot. I think it might sit on the shelf until it gets warm again and then I can drink it outside. That sounds like the right environment for it anyway.

Then I read the bottle. Peat fires, eh? Why is everything that comes from Scotland done on a dare?

Heh, yep, that's why I mentioned on Twitter that Laphroaig, as much as I love it, ain't a scotch for newcomers.

You often hear about how something has a smoky flavor, or whatnot. Not Laphroaig. It's not just a flavor reminiscent of smoke. You pop that cork and it's like there's a peat fire inside the dang bottle.

oilypenguin wrote:

Why is everything that comes from Scotland done on a dare?

Oh, and this part? Because us Scottish are awesome

oilypenguin wrote:

I fear I may not be man enough for Laphroaig.

It's clearly well made and tastes amazing, very smooth, but the smell....

I can hang with it but my wife dislikes it. A lot. I think it might sit on the shelf until it gets warm again and then I can drink it outside. That sounds like the right environment for it anyway.

Then I read the bottle. Peat fires, eh? Why is everything that comes from Scotland done on a dare?

It is such smokey goodness.

Definitely Laphroaig is an opinionated taste. It's not "subtle hints of clove with a tease of honey blah blah", but more "WELCOME TO MY WORLD! MY TOWN!!". Having said that I flat out love it, and I'm currently working through a bottle of the Triple Wood. Comparatively speaking, it's got more notes and is a tad more subtle (without being subtle) than the 10 year. If you get a chance to try the 18 year though, that dram is amazing. Easier on the palate, but drawing on so many different flavors, it is my favorite scotch.

I'm trying to think of a good starting point for an Islay scotch. Right now I can't really think of one.