Preferred drink of choice has been a good gin and tonic and the occasional beer. Do enjoy a good rum and coke on occasion too.

Looking to foray in the world of scotch. Looking for some good recommendations? Have had Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal with the old man, so looking beyond those.

Speysides. Get some 12 yo Aberlour. Start at the top.

I had a battle with a bottle of Dewars White Label when I was 16...to this day the "aroma" of Scotch makes me turn green. Obviously I lost the battle of the bottle.

I'm a big fan of all the Islay scotches. laphroaig 10 year is my favorite.

YankeeTarheel wrote:I had a battle with a bottle of Dewars White Label when I was 16...to this day the "aroma" of Scotch makes me turn green. Obviously I lost the battle of the bottle.

Coincidentally that is the drink of choice tonight. Wife won't touch it. Says she'd rather drink turpentine.

Need a better Scotch.

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Ardbeg if you like to chew on peat.

drink bourbon instead

Hiker wrote:drink bourbon instead

Makers Mark? Got a bottle of that too.

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The world of Scotch Whisky - there are the blends and there are the single malts.

Blends are cheaper and are mostly grain whisky made in column stills like Bourbon whiskey and include a smaller mix of single malts from different distilleries. Single malts are made in pot stills and are used in blends or bottled as single malt whisky. There are also blended malt whiskies, they are 100% single malt whiskies, no grain whisky. If there is an age on the bottle such as 12 yrs old, that is the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle.

I'm a fan of Grant's whiskies (Speyside), the largest family owned distillery in Scotland (also 3rd largest scotch producer in the world). They make Glenfiddich which is the largest selling single malt whisky in the world along with Balvenie, Kininvie and Ailsa Bay single malts. They make a great blended malt whisky (all single malts) that contains Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie called "Monkey Shoulder". Their most popular blended scotch used to be called "Family Reserve" now rebranded as "Triple Wood", it's a blend of their own grain whisky and their single malts. I buy it at Rite Aid, it's cheaper than BevMo and Total Wines.

The peated single malt scotches from the Islands (Islay, Jura, Skye) have gotten very popular and very expensive (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bruichladdich etc). I have two bottles of the old Black Bottle (actually a green bottle) which is a blend of peated scotches which is terrific. I also like Strathbeag and Islay Mist, two peated blends. I have single malts for different occasions but everyday I usually drink a blended whisky.

I used to think Scotch tasted like a bad medicine and I could nurse a scotch all evening, that's how I started and slowly acquired a taste for it. Dewar's is ok, not a fan of the basic White Label but the 12 yr old is good. I used to drink only Johnny Walker Black but I lost my taste for it, I'll drink Talisker which is the peated single malt whisky in JW Black and Red, but I don't care for the blends. A unique blend I like is Hankey Bannister, strange name but great taste. Teacher's is a good blended scotch, they advertise that it contains 45% Ardmore single malt. Monarch of the Glen 12 yr is very good, not their 3,8 or 15 yr old: Bank Note is also a good blend. Glenlivet is a great single malt, smooth.

Whisky - Scotland & Canada
Whiskey - Ireland and US

Irish whiskey is also good, it's triple distilled.

Disclaimer, I'm a much more of a Bourbon/Irish Whiskey drinker, but have been known to drink Scotch if offered*

Johnnie Walker Red was Churchill's favorite. I prefer JW Blue, but either gets the job done on any given day. JW Red and a nice cigar on a cold Winter night is transcendent. Extra points if they are in a bunker during a blitz.

For just regular sippin' Scotch that you can drink without breaking the bank, Glenmorangie 10 is my go-to. It's definitely on the side of American bourbons without the peaty-Band-Aid tastes the likes of Lagavulin and Balvenie.

Dewar's is eh...Glenlivet is in the same boat. Scotch is very subjective and I don't know anyone who likes the same brand I do.

*I'd never turn down a good Scotch.

Scotch is very much personal taste. Highland scotch, which I prefer, doesn't have the peaty/briny/smoky flavors. McCallen is an excellent example of this. For those that really like the smokier/peaty flavors, Lagavulin and Laphroig are both fine examples of this style.

Scapa is my fave.

No scotch for me, thanks. I'll have a bourbon with Hiker.

featureless wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:43 am No scotch for me, thanks. I'll have a bourbon with Hiker.

Me three( I have a split personality)

eelj wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:46 am

featureless wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:43 am No scotch for me, thanks. I'll have a bourbon with Hiker.

Me three( I have a split personality)

These days I prefer makers to scotch. But every once in awhile I get a hankering.

I agree, it's very subjective based on our biology and genetics and our tastes can change over time. Bourbon has influenced scotch - many of those old bourbon barrels get shipped to Scotland and influence the taste of some scotch whiskies. So do old sherry wine barrels from Spain, McCallan single malt uses sherry barrels as do some others. And new American oak has a huge influence. I'll drink bourbon, single barrel/small batch ones.

JaxTeller, I'd suggest buying some of the scotch whisky miniatures Total Wines has them maybe BevMo and your locals, see if you like the taste before buying larger size bottles.

Tried scotch a few times, including one that was deemed to be excellent. If you have to learn to like it, it wasn't good in the first place.

JaxTeller wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:45 pm

Hiker wrote:drink bourbon instead

Makers Mark? Got a bottle of that too.

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FYI, I am not a drinker, but from what I have heard from others that like to sip a shot of good whiskey, sitting in front of the evening fire, they have switched from Makers Mark to Woodford Reserve.

offensivename wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:34 pm I'm a big fan of all the Islay scotches. laphroaig 10 year is my favorite.

*BaM!* Laphroaig is my poison....two finger and a splash of filtered water. Yum....very smokey, very peaty, tastes like a bandaid for all the iodine. But the ride is sooooo nice.

Oban ain't half bad either.

For me the blended/cheap Scotch is a total waste of time. I'd rather have a good Irish Whisky or Rye than cheezy Scotch. Single malt for me and the more peat smoke and iodine the better. It is definitely an acquired taste. My first taste of good Scotch I almost couldn't swallow it. Now I can't not swallow it...

VooDoo

Scotch? I recommend drinking it.

I got my taste for it when I was but a lad. When I was teething, my mom would rub it on my gums. Might explain my own son's preference for single malts...

CDFingers

I like that from the land of my lineage, clan MacKay up North:

https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styl ... st-whisky/

A cold night, a warming fire, and...

SR

SubRosa wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:47 am I like that from the land of my lineage, clan MacKay up North:

https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styl ... st-whisky/

A cold night, a warming fire, and...

SR

Highland Park is a great single malt. The grain, the peating, the water and even the air some would say imparts its taste along with the wood or woods. Single malts are all one distillery but they can be different ages - 3, 8, 10, 15 ....30 yrs old....and different pot stills at the distillery. The blender (as with bourbon) is the key person, the artist that gives consistency year after year. Blends can be even more complex - grain whisky base and 20, 30, 40 ... single malts ordered from distilleries they don't even own and the blender puts it all together. I don't have the palate for it.

A popular blend is Whyte & Mackay.

If one finds themselves (good trick, eh?) in the Phoenix metro, make sure to stop by the Scotch Library in Scottsdale:

http://kierlandresort.com/fine-dining-a ... h-library/

The calmest sensory overload you'll ever experience...

SR

ps...PM me if so, what better meetup?

SubRosa wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 1:09 pm
The calmest sensory overload you'll ever experience...

Aye, that it would be. Not surprised it's at a Westin Resort and with ambassadors from different distillers. I do occasionally get to Phoenix this time of year and will definitely pm you, a whisky experience without traveling to Scotland which is really cold this time of year. Thanks!

JaxTeller wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:45 pm

Hiker wrote:drink bourbon instead

Makers Mark? Got a bottle of that too.

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I do. Got Makers 46, Buffalo Trace, and Coopers Mark.

I've never tasted turpentine but I have tasted gasoline (when you are starting a siphon and can't get your mouth away quick enough! ), and of the two, it's ONE case where I refuse to choose the lesser of two evils! (Hint--It ain't the Scotch! )