[Night_Lamp]

I, being Canadian, love rye; but not that Canadian Club or Crown Royal
crap- try any of the three brands with 'Alberta' in the name. That's the real stuff.

 

[fnzeee]

Try Dalmore 12...a very palatable highland malt.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif If my current favourite scotch is Glenfidditch, and I'm looking for something new to try, what would you all recommend me? I'm thinking something smooth, slightly smoky/peaty, but not too powerful.

 

[Abstraction]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised to hear this. To me Basil Hayden is smoother and more refined tasting than Maker's Mark. What didn't you like about it? I recently signed up on their website to become a Maker's Mark Ambassador for fun. Included in the pack is a booklet which loosely talks about some of their competitors - interesting read. I have not yet tried Woodford Reserve - thanks for the tip!

I have been doing audio since tubes were the only way, but just resently started to consider cans as a serious way of listening to music. A couple of Head-fi-ers recommended your amp to me, and it looked good. Now that I learn you are a serious bourbon drinker, that may be close to sealing the deal.
Best, Don (also)

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif For slightly more than beam but less than the other two, try old foresters.

I was able to pick up some Old Foresters recently, it was a great recommendation. It certainly has a more sophisticated flavor than the Jim Beam for only a couple bucks more.

I've been cutting back a bit recently as I have little spare cash these days. I picked up a handle of Evan Williams Sour Mash that wasn't bad, but it is a little sweet for my liking. The owner of the local liquor store recommended Early Times as the cheapest handle of bourbon that still tastes decent, so I may pick that up the next time I'm there and report back if there's anyone else here on a tight budget besides me

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fnzeee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try Dalmore 12...a very palatable highland malt.

Don't think I've seen that one around, but I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[pedalhead]

Not sure if you guys are aware of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society..? They release exclusive single malts every month based on individual casks from various breweries. I've been a member for a while & whilst it can be a little expensive to dabble in too many of their releases, it's a great way to get something a bit different now & again. In fact, I'll be bringing a bottle or two of their stuff along to the UK Headfi meet next month

. As for off-the-shelf bottles, my favourites would have to be Ardbeg and Caol Ila, as I'm an Islay kind of guy

.

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night_Lamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif I, being Canadian, love rye; but not that Canadian Club or Crown Royal crap- try any of the three brands with 'Alberta' in the name. That's the real stuff.

Always been more of a Wiser's guy myself; the 18 year isn't bad at all, quite reasonably priced and is quite noticeably better than the Special Blend or Deluxe.

Not much into expensive scotch, but for cheap stuff, Cutty Sark does the trick and almost has a rye like taste with much more of a kick to it than a smooth flavor like one would expect. Always wanted to try the older stuff, but apparently the 18 year is where it's at for Cutty and the Ontario liquor stores don't seem to carry it.

Usually around winter time I pick up a bottle of Black Label as it's an on going tradition for me. On the extra cold nights, I prepare with a bottle of cheap bourbon.

Aside from all that, I try to find new whiskey from time to time, but my nearby store is selection is limited. But hey, if anyone has a good recommendation that can be found on www.lcbo.ca , let me know!

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiGHFLYiN9 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The owner of the local liquor store recommended Early Times as the cheapest handle of bourbon that still tastes decent, so I may pick that up the next time I'm there and report back if there's anyone else here on a tight budget besides me

Picked up the Early Times, it's better than I expected it to be, but it's pretty sweet on the aftertaste which isn't to my liking. If you're on a very tight budget, it's a winner at ~$15 a handle, but I still think Jim Beam and Old Forester are worth the extra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Night_Lamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif I, being Canadian, love rye; but not that Canadian Club...

Not much of a fan myself.

 

[ear8dmg]

Just been to Wee Dram Fest. I'll just post a quick roundup before my taste buds wore out. Bear in mind - 80 whiskies (no I didn't try all of them) to sample in less than 5 hours. Treat these as abbreviated...

Wee Dram Lowland 17 yo NB - this is an independent Rosebank bottling.
n. toffee apple 20
t smokey but not peaty 23
f dry fire embers 22
b pretty good. Surprisingly smoky without being peaty 23
Overall 88

Auchentoshan 12 yo
n Floral 19
t Malty and floral with a hint of pepper. 20
f Peppery and surprisingly long. 20
b (no note) 19
Overall 78

Scapa 17 yo
n Heathery 20
T Smoky Heather 21
F Warm. Slight Peatiness 20
B Pretty good 21
Overall 82.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan
n peat and smoke. Wood bonfire 24
t hot peat smoke 24
f warm and peppery 23
B kind of like lagavulin 16yo without the sherry 23
Overall 94 (note - scores added later. I was so busy enjoying it I forgot to score at the time)

Springbank 100° proof
n delicate and fruity 21
t. vanilla, toffee, salty, pepper with alcoholic kick 23
F. warm and peppery Wood resin 21
B (no notes) 22
Overall 87

After this most things started to tast of apple. My taste buds and nose were clearly broken. I re-read my notes and don't really trust anything after this point.

Later highlights include Talisker 18 yo and Highland park 18 yo & 23 YO. I bought a bottle of the first whisky I tasted. It was nice, but admittedly this was because it's from a dead distillery and Rosebank whisky might not be around much longer before it gets stupidly expensive.

Edit: I was disciplined until the last hour. I was spitting between samples and carefully waiting for each whisky to finish. Last hour - forget it All you can drink for a £15 with a £5 glass to take home? I wasn't driving. Made the most of it. Head's still a bit fuzzy a few hours later.

 

[pedalhead]

Nice one, sounds like you had a lot of fun . Ardbeg is one of my favourites off the shelf, though I haven't tried many of their more limited bottlings.

 

[ear8dmg]

One reason for head fuzz may be drinking some of this later on: BRUICHLADDICH X4 +3 SINGLE MALT WHISKY - buy online at Arkwrights - Single Malt Whisky, Fine Wines a..

At 63.5%, I think that's the strongest whisky I've ever had.

 

[dunski]

I'm a big fan of the Glenlivet 12yr. I just picked up a Talisker 10 yr last night and I'm going to try it tonight. I've only heard great things about the Talisker.

 

[macshooter]

I think lagavulin gets better with a little water. To me it's the best whiskey on earth. Some say laphroig is just as good or better, but that's got a bite to it (10 vs 16yr I guess) Ardbeg is #2 Talisker behind that, but I've kind of lost my taste for it. Talisker was really just the gateway into the Islay malts for me.

I wish I had never bought a bottle of islay scotch. I just picked up a new bottle of lagavulin for the holidays last night. $88 Ouch! At least I'm not a sucker for $200 bottles of wine...

 

[CrazyRay]

Here's my little collection.

 

[tyrion]

Have you considered drinking any of it?