Favorite Scotch under 70$USD

[SubmarinerLV]

True Lagavulin is awesome you'd have to go far to beat it here's 2 that do IMHO but they are shooting for the moon as far as prices go...

http://www.thegreenwellystop.co.uk/w...ign=whiskybase Ignore the daft name of the site this stuff (and most other to come out the legendary Linlithgow distillery is) is tremendous never had a bottle mind, but the three drams I have tried have been staggeringly good (all the better since I was't paying ) I won't try and pretend I can accurately give the tasting notes but it gave lashings of apricots initially progressing on to a slightly watery smoky liquorice on the nose. Taste well gives a strange but not unpleasant oily texture on the tongue however the initial taste is sweet and almost fudgy maybe toffee? Progressing to be sweet and spicy then a long malty finish finally giving way to a mild but noticable amount of peat. Note to B&B I'm not a professional whisky taster far from it if you've tried it ya'll may well disagree completely your palate is probably better than mine!

next up on the list of Lagavulin beaters IMHO is this http://www.specialistwhisky.com/Bror..._campaign=base Ohhhh Bugger it's good but a bit of history first the distillery was first known as Clynelish but in 1968 when Clynelish was opened the name was changed to brora! Lots of folks who are into whisky are wary (and rightly so) of brora simply because the amount of peat in it oscillates (or seems to) wildly from a fairly light to Islay rivaling bucket loads! The one I tried struck for me an intricate balance which with a splash of water balanced a slightly delicate seeming incense smokiness with a dried aged fruit (think currants and christmas pudding) perhaps a flowery whiff too... Giving a very clean mouth feel not at all one for sticking around like an Islay malt however there is an intriguing herbaceous quality to the taste that certainly makes it worthwhile in some strange way it seems like an Islay that went on an anger management course! It no longer has the desire to establish a permanent colony on the palate.


Ok that's enough thread high jacking and about as much ruminating on whiskies I tasted a while ago as I can reasonably expect to be taken seriously in.


Here's a good few punts that should fit the bill for the OP Kilchoman! Get IT!!!!! Newest distillery on Islay I believe? Only just old enough to be called whisky! Non-chill filtered no caramel added! Great if you want a flavorful tour of an age of whisky you'll never get out of a big brand! http://www.drinkfinder.co.uk/index.p...ummer-46-75cl/

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-12827.aspx Bunnahabhain Scotland's most impronouncable whisky perhaps? An oxymoronic thing a mild Islay!

Here's another!!! No Peat WTF??? http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-15629.aspx heed the advice and baby it with the water! If you do that you'll get a quality after dinner whisky!

Well I'll round my spiel by saying this is a sensational thread! With excellent posts all round! Well done OP and B&B!!!!
Any questions just shoot I'll try and answer.


Regards Grant

[joshua1970]

True Lagavulin is awesome you'd have to go far to beat it here's 2 that do IMHO but they are shooting for the moon as far as prices go...

http://www.thegreenwellystop.co.uk/w...ign=whiskybase Ignore the daft name of the site this stuff (and most other to come out the legendary Linlithgow distillery is) is tremendous never had a bottle mind, but the three drams I have tried have been staggeringly good (all the better since I was't paying ) I won't try and pretend I can accurately give the tasting notes but it gave lashings of apricots initially progressing on to a slightly watery smoky liquorice on the nose. Taste well gives a strange but not unpleasant oily texture on the tongue however the initial taste is sweet and almost fudgy maybe toffee? Progressing to be sweet and spicy then a long malty finish finally giving way to a mild but noticable amount of peat. Note to B&B I'm not a professional whisky taster far from it if you've tried it ya'll may well disagree completely your palate is probably better than mine!

next up on the list of Lagavulin beaters IMHO is this http://www.specialistwhisky.com/Bror..._campaign=base Ohhhh Bugger it's good but a bit of history first the distillery was first known as Clynelish but in 1968 when Clynelish was opened the name was changed to brora! Lots of folks who are into whisky are wary (and rightly so) of brora simply because the amount of peat in it oscillates (or seems to) wildly from a fairly light to Islay rivaling bucket loads! The one I tried struck for me an intricate balance which with a splash of water balanced a slightly delicate seeming incense smokiness with a dried aged fruit (think currants and christmas pudding) perhaps a flowery whiff too... Giving a very clean mouth feel not at all one for sticking around like an Islay malt however there is an intriguing herbaceous quality to the taste that certainly makes it worthwhile in some strange way it seems like an Islay that went on an anger management course! It no longer has the desire to establish a permanent colony on the palate.


Ok that's enough thread high jacking and about as much ruminating on whiskies I tasted a while ago as I can reasonably expect to be taken seriously in.


Here's a good few punts that should fit the bill for the OP Kilchoman! Get IT!!!!! Newest distillery on Islay I believe? Only just old enough to be called whisky! Non-chill filtered no caramel added! Great if you want a flavorful tour of an age of whisky you'll never get out of a big brand! http://www.drinkfinder.co.uk/index.p...ummer-46-75cl/

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-12827.aspx Bunnahabhain Scotland's most impronouncable whisky perhaps? An oxymoronic thing a mild Islay!

Here's another!!! No Peat WTF??? http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-15629.aspx heed the advice and baby it with the water! If you do that you'll get a quality after dinner whisky!

Well I'll round my spiel by saying this is a sensational thread! With excellent posts all round! Well done OP and B&B!!!!
Any questions just shoot I'll try and answer.


Regards Grant

thanks for the info Grant!!!!!!!!! I HAVE had Bunnahabhain 12 & 18 and LOOOVED both!! One day will have the 25, and hopefully with a friend footing the bill LMAO but I digress, alas as I live in Pennsylvania which still has State controlled Liquor stores, I had to pick em up in NYC, I CAN have bottles/cases shipped into PA that they do not offer but they must legally be shipped to a state store and there is a fee AND state tax that makes it prohibitive - and as libertarian it just irks me to death. I'm quite capable of deciding what malts (among other things) to put inside my body without the state bureaucracy's help.

I will certainly check out your other recommendations next time I'm in NYC or elsewhere without the silly Blue Laws of Pennsylvania (our state stores are also closed on Sundays except for a limited few - and alas none are within an hour of me anyhow - I usually pick up some Bruichladdich when I'm there as it's unavailable here as well - and is another favorite!

Give me peat or give me death!!!!

[SliceOfLife]

Lag 16 is tasty as hell, but I believe it pushes close to $100 in our state.

My brother in law was gifted one from a coworker (I'm guessing his boss, I didn't ask for details) and doesn't drink scotch. It lasted a week or so once I got it home.

[SubmarinerLV]

Lag 16 is tasty as hell, but I believe it pushes close to $100 in our state.

My brother in law was gifted one from a coworker (I'm guessing his boss, I didn't ask for details) and doesn't drink scotch. It lasted a week or so once I got it home.

Whaaaaa? $100 that's a JOKE!!!!!!! It gets as low as £30 round here about $47 ATM that said I am in Scotland! A totally scandallous markup who's setting the prices Al Capone?

Regards Grant

[shavious]

I'll give a +1 to the Balvenie Doublewood. First scotch I ever tried and still enjoy it occasionally. If you're looking for something a little different, try out the Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 yr. After the aging process, its finished in rum casks which give it a little twist of flavor that I found to be very pleasant and quite smooth. Its a bit more expensive than the Doublewood ($40 for Doublewood, $57 for Caribbean Cask), but I think its very well worth it.

[joshua1970]

Lag 16 is tasty as hell, but I believe it pushes close to $100 in our state.

My brother in law was gifted one from a coworker (I'm guessing his boss, I didn't ask for details) and doesn't drink scotch. It lasted a week or so once I got it home.

last case I bought was about $79/bottle. think it's up to about $85 now - but still worth every penny.

about 4-5 years ago there was a huge drought and the price jumped so I grabbed all I could at about $65, sadly, long gone. wait, not sadly... wonderfully! :)

[joshua1970]

Whaaaaa? $100 that's a JOKE!!!!!!! It gets as low as £30 round here about $47 ATM that said I am in Scotland! A totally scandallous markup who's setting the prices Al Capone?

Regards Grant

worse than Al Capone, the PA State Liquor Control Board... a nefarious bureaucracy if ever there was one (hell jsut ry gettig a liquor license in teh state of PA - gotta grease alot of palms and still going to cost you 10K - 30k, unless you can get one grandfathered in or have a generous friend willing to part with his...

"Laissez Faire be damned" is their motto... or so it should be,

and don't rub it in LOL just eat some haggis and enjoy your plethora of available and affordable malts.

[rassage]

i like glenlivet 15 oak. i am said to have no taste :) i mean under a bill. otherwise macallan 1928. that is not exactly $70 though.

[delamain]

Joshua, the liquor boards in Canada are much worse! You guys in PA have it made. Believe me...

I'm staring at a bottle of Lagavulin 16 here now, I got it for $95. I am a big fan, but I think I'd go with the OP on this one.

Highland Park 12 (at $65) is my favourite for the price. In the words of the late beer and whisky critic Michael Jackson, it is "the greatest all-rounder in the world of malt whisky".

I am not an expert, but I have yet to find a malt that gives me the same level of satisfaction every time.

[newkie]

Balvenie 12y Double Wood
Laphroaig 10y Cask
Macallan 12y (great value)
Talisker 10y

If in Ireland check out Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey. A good value blended option is Hankey Banister. And of course the odd drop of Jameson is good for the soul.

[The Knize]

Just a minority opinion here in case anyone is considering running out and buying Balvenie Double Wood blind, based on the fact that it seems like it is universally well-liked! <g> I had had it often over the years, and it has just never clicked with me. It seems "mannered" for one thing. It is not that I am against Scotch coming in various expressions as a result of being aged in various kinds of barrels, although I may feel a little prejudiced in that respect. I like Glenmorangie port wood. Glenmorangie is probably underrated, by the way. Largest selling whisky in Scotland for a reason, I suspect, if it still is. Again, this is a distinctly minority opinion as far as I can tell.

And, yes, Talisker may be a little smokey, for the novice, although I have noticed that beginning Scotch drinkers often are drawn to the Islay's, which are fully flavored in every respect.

And I would think anyone exploring Scotch would want to explore Irish whiskeys, too. It is a much shorter explore, unfortunately. They are smooth. Redbreast is a good one, to my taste, but most are very drinkable. YMMV!

[acesn8s]

Here in PA HP 12 is $44 and Lagavulin 16 is $85.

[Most interesting man in the world]I don't always drink Lagavulin, but when I don't - I drink Highland Park[/Most interesting man in the world]

[ksb63]

15 yr old Glenfiddich solerra or cask strength. Tyrconnell single malt Irish

[SliceOfLife]

I'm gonna go price Laga real quick. I'm almost positive 85$ is DE price (I live on the border), and PA is ALWAYS 12-18% above that. If it's really $85, here that's $70ish DE... and I'll be bringing some home with me.

[zammboss]

Just picked up a bottle of Ardbeg 10. Excited to try it this weekend.

I was told the Lag was very strong and you gotta be a realy scotch lover to drink it.

[SliceOfLife]

$80 in DE, so $85 in PA is a pretty good price.

Grabbed a bottle of Oban 14 for $61.


HP 12 had a 50ml of HP 18 free with it. Almost got that. I wanna say it was $60... might have even been $55 or 50.


edit: Holy crap... Opened the Oban... Jesus I'd have got this sooner if it wasn't boxed. That color is something else.

Edit 2: Not as sold on the taste. A bit sweet and astringent based on my first sips. Not much character underneath

[delamain]

I'd sooner have the HP.

You got the Oban for a decent price, but it is not one of my favourites.

[joshua1970]

what can I say, I'm an Islay man- always have been - the peatier the better IMO, although I've enjoyed many a Highland, Lowland and Speyside :) Even a few Irish and a wonderful Japanese malt.

My dad ONLY drank single malts as i was growing up, and he rarely drank at all - so as a teenager when we would steal booze from our folks and meet in the woods to party etc I wound up showing up with a high end single malt (and he was none too pleased about my watering his bottles down lol) but I acquired a taste very young, and none of my friends ever seemed to want any, or even to be within smelling distance - heck i was able to keep a bottle or two at all times through college with little interest from my roommates (try that with vodka, bourbon or tequila!)

here is what I currently have on hand:


Lag 16 (I always have a bottle or 6, it's 'my go to scotch', all the nice restaurants I frequent just know to carry it as well lol)
Laphroaig 18
Aberlour a'bunadh (cask strength - this is some strong stuff - 130 proof??)

[joshua1970]

Joshua, the liquor boards in Canada are much worse! You guys in PA have it made. Believe me...

I'm staring at a bottle of Lagavulin 16 here now, I got it for $95. I am a big fan, but I think I'd go with the OP on this one.

Highland Park 12 (at $65) is my favourite for the price. In the words of the late beer and whisky critic Michael Jackson, it is "the greatest all-rounder in the world of malt whisky".

I am not an expert, but I have yet to find a malt that gives me the same level of satisfaction every time.

HP 12 is delicious, no doubt... i jsut grew up loving peat.

and i'm sorry that canada is so difficult for both liquor and tobacco.

I'm not trying to get into the verbotten politics, but as a Libertarian (especially a fiscal one), I so despise the greedy/corrupt politicians grabbing our hard earned money any way they can via taxes, fees, ad infinitum - regardless of where we live, and what they claim to spend it on.

nothin but a scam I tell ya LOL

[EckoVicto]

I'll take a good Port Charlotte for roughly $60

Holy crap... Opened the Oban... Jesus I'd have got this sooner if it wasn't boxed. That color is something else.

Don't get blown away by the color - they have added caramel E150 to adjust the color. Somehow people think that a whisky is better if it has a dark color (=sherry matured in most cases), that is why blue glasses are used in many blind tests so that one cannot judge a whisky in advance from the color alone.