Whiskey: The Awesome Thread

[rtw]

Attended a Burns Supper where of course there was whiskey

Glenfarclas 21 Years - Pleasant, added a wee drop of water and it became even better
The Arran Malt 14 Years - Never heard of this distillery, turned out to be very nice first encounter
Lagavullin 16 Years - This has got to be one of my favourite whiskeys together with the Ardbeg

Being slightly curious about the Nikka, YOICHI 15 Year I splashed out on a bottle here in the ice and cold.

Interesting experience, seems complex, feels a bit strong even though it's only 45%, next time I'll try a drop of water with it.

[GaijinPunch]

Attended a Burns Supper where of course there was whiskey

Glenfarclas 21 Years - Pleasant, added a wee drop of water and it became even better
The Arran Malt 14 Years - Never heard of this distillery, turned out to be very nice first encounter
Lagavullin 16 Years - This has got to be one of my favourite whiskeys together with the Ardbeg

Being slightly curious about the Nikka, YOICHI 15 Year I splashed out on a bottle here in the ice and cold.

Interesting experience, seems complex, feels a bit strong even though it's only 45%, next time I'll try a drop of water with it.

Makes me want to go to Norway and cuddle up to some PCBs and whiskey at your house.
Lagavullin is excellent, but really pricey here. I can get the Ardberg much cheaper.

[rtw]

Makes me want to go to Norway and cuddle up to some PCBs and whiskey at your house.
Lagavullin is excellent, but really pricey here. I can get the Ardberg much cheaper.

You're always welcome GP, today I can tempt you with a roaring fireplace and Gunnail in the cab

[GaijinPunch]

Sounds great to me. Would be make up for not being in Tokyo when you finally made it! Ironically I now live in weather similar to yours -- looking out my window, I can see snow moving sideways and upwards. Almost none of it is going down. O_o

[rtw]

Ironically I now live in weather similar to yours -- looking out my window, I can see snow moving sideways and upwards. Almost none of it is going down. O_o

Same weather here, the old Vikings believed that hell was cold I guess we are in hell but with whiskey

[Randorama]

So, Irish whiskey is nice, but I really would have liked to write down the names of the ones I drank.
Besides, the place had small tasting samples at 2.5 euros (like, 2 cc of whiskey), which means that with 15 euros I sampled six whiskeys.
Anyone who has an idea of what I might have tried out? It is in the province of "we only drink it here in Ireland and sell the shit abroad".
None of the whiskeys I tried was particularly strong (below 45%), and all had fairly complex flavours (yes, I know, very vague but still...).


My older brother-in-law will bring TWO BOTTLES of Yoichi soon, anyway.

[pestro87]

Generally I prefer Glenlivet, Bowmore and Balvenie (to name a few) but I suddenly got the urge for some Glenfiddich so I went out and bought a 12y one. What are you other gentlemen enjoying on this fine Friday evening?

[mastercello]

I had a Balvenie triple cask 12yrs yesterday with some dark swiss chocolate - yummi!

[pestro87]

Got this for my birthday. Never had it before so really looking forward to it!

[Blinge]

[pestro87]

Perhaps you guys already knew that this existed but I had no idea so I just had to buy it when I saw it in the store as I really enjoy Bowmore

[GaijinPunch]

Sign me up for that.

[Blinge]

What? no one fell for my bait? Damnit..

[rtw]

What? no one fell for my bait? Damnit..

Too obvious, go back to your Jack & Black and leave us with the Uisce beatha

[Blinge]

I should've known not to underestimate whiskey drinkers! It is actually my chosen tipple, however I can barely taste the difference between them and am rather a noob.
At least this way it's more affordable..

[GaijinPunch]

I should've known not to underestimate whiskey drinkers!

This isn't the movies thread.

[GaijinPunch]

Suntory & Nikka discontinuing their aged single malts kind of lit a fire under my ass. Hakushu 12 I can get locally, so have grabbed a few bottles. Yamazaki is still available on the east coast (for unfortunately quite a premium), so I've got a few of those stashed at a friends. Ironically in both cases they're a tad cheaper than the current cost in Japan.

Other than that, been gathering some smokey Islay stuff. Grabbed some Lagavulin 16, but also the 8 year and Distiller's Edition.
Since Illinois sucks massive cock, I have found I can order 6 bottles of Talisker 10 from England, have it delivered to my door, and save $25 a bottle over picking it up at my local. Stupit. Needless to say, that's incoming.

What are you guys drinking?

[opt2not]

[Stevens]

I had the good fortune of enjoying that Yamazaki 12 at a poker game recently. I'm not telling anyone here anything they don't know, but it was really good. Complimented wonderfully by the expertly rolled "cigarettes" we also had.

I tend to gravitate towards bourbon more often than not. There is always a bottle of Basil Haydens on my liquor tray, but sometimes there is something extra nice (read: Not something I would normally splurge on). The Mrs. bought me a bottle of the double oaked Woodford for my anniversary of surviving another year. I am looking forward to opening it as I've been wanting to try it for some time.

Ill also drink Bullet if it's available, but I've been enjoying the basil more than anything else lately.

I've also tried Blantons a couple of times and while it's good, it's not $100 a bottle good. I'd rather have two bottles of something else.

The problem with liquor, like food, is that it's a one way street in my experience.

[GaijinPunch]

Yamazaki 12 is pretty hard to beat, bang for buck (at least back when it was retailing for $60). Some would argue it's not worth the $90-$100 it demands now, but when you realize it is out of production, it makes it a lot easier to grab a few bottles to keep you occupied over the next (hopefully) couple of years). I wouldn't mind having 6 on hand. I was going to do a similar purchase of Yoichi 15. It retailed well over $100, but for some reason it was available for 5500 yen duty free in Narita Terminal 2. Was gonna just buy 6 and take it up the ass in customs. Of course, it ran out before then and now it's $300+ a bottle.

I've been trying some bourbons, which I should as I'm kind of right next to bourbon cuntry (not to mention there is a local Chicago distillery, and Traverse City, where my ho is from) has their own as well. I might warm up to some of them but not only am I not super enthused about finding new stuff, I'm starting to shy away from even mildly sweet scotches. I kinda want it to taste like seaweed and bandaids.

[Stevens]

I would like to start buying local bourbons myself, but it's expensive.

[GaijinPunch]

I would like to start buying local bourbons myself, but it's expensive.

In NY state you've got a lot of options for mail order. At least for scotch. I would hope the same w/ locals (when things go on sale). Illinois booze tax is unbelievable.

[Stevens]

In NY state you've got a lot of options for mail order. At least for scotch. I would hope the same w/ locals (when things go on sale). Illinois booze tax is unbelievable.

Thanks for the suggestion. First bottle I looked at (Widow Jane) is $11 cheaper than in the liquor store. I would have never considered the option.

[rtw]

Thank you for bumping this thread

Currently enjoying a Lagavulin 16 !

Tell me do you gents take your malts with a few drops of water just enough to "cloud" it ?

[Sparky]

Interesting to see this thread bumped! I recently visited the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery in Kyoto and took a tour of the factory. We were allowed to sample a Yamazaki blend at different stages. It was an eye opener for me. I never had a spirit with such distinct and everlasting flavors. Truthfully, I was never much of a drinker but this left my appetite wanting more. Unfortunately, even in Japan, Yamazaki or some of the other popular Japanese whiskies were not as prominent in stores as some of the other blends. I ended up ordering a bottle of Yamazaki (NAS) when I returned home. It is sad to think the last time I went to Japan (2015) the 12 year and other aged releases were generally available. I guess I started a bit late in my discovery of whisky. I will be going through some of the recommendations in this thread to try what is available to me.

[GaijinPunch]

Thanks for the suggestion. First bottle I looked at (Widow Jane) is $11 cheaper than in the liquor store. I would have never considered the option.

Check out wine-searcher.com. I actually found a rather pricey bottle of something I've wanted to try for a while marked way the fuck down, so ordered 2!

Currently enjoying a Lagavulin 16 !

Lag16 is pretty amazing. To me it seems like the universal thing most scotch drinkers can agree on. It's very well known, but highly rated. I guess if you don't like smokey you won't like it, but if you do... Oh man... it is quite a nourishing teat from which I suckle.

Tell me do you gents take your malts with a few drops of water just enough to "cloud" it ?

Depends on my mood, but I usually only ever do straight, which I pretty much do at the bar to slow me down. At home, I take it with a round rock, as I'm usually just chilling by myself.

It is sad to think the last time I went to Japan (2015) the 12 year and other aged releases were generally available. I guess I started a bit late in my discovery of whisky. I will be going through some of the recommendations in this thread to try what is available to me.

That looks like quite a trip! I might do it one day, but am obviously quite upset w/ the Japanese lack of aged single malt, and the ensuing price rise both in Japan and the US. BTW, if you go to Japan again, you can get some very interesting whiskey from Yahoo Japan, but you'll need a connect there to have it mailed to.

If you like Yamazaki, then you should make a move and get as much 12 year as you can. You can get them for $95 or so mail order if you look. I know, that sucks, but I think they've always retailed for $80 in the states. It'll be gone soon, I'm sure.

I was able to pic up a bottle of Yamazaki Limited Edition 2017 abou 12,500 yen + shipping. Had it send to a friend and he lugged it over the pond on his Xmas trip. Of course part of the finders fee was a sip, so we opened it up and had a tickle. Very nice. Might try to keep an eye on these each year.

[pestro87]

Currently enjoying a Lagavulin 16 !

Lag16 is pretty amazing. To me it seems like the universal thing most scotch drinkers can agree on. It's very well known, but highly rated. I guess if you don't like smokey you won't like it, but if you do... Oh man... it is quite a nourishing teat from which I suckle.

I had a bunch of Lag16 tonight, its been a while since I drank it but man it's just as good as I remembered it to be!

Also, damn GP, nice GET on the LE Yamazaki! Didn't know about that one...

[GaijinPunch]

I had a bunch of Lag16 tonight, its been a while since I drank it but man it's just as good as I remembered it to be!

It's fantastic shit. Even my GF had some and made quite an agreeing face. Laphroaig kind of soured her on the smokey stuff until that.

Also, damn GP, nice GET on the LE Yamazaki! Didn't know about that one...

Thanks! They apparently do these once a year... I think like 1500 bottles and they retail for 10,000 yen (and are gone quite quickly). Some online shops have them but their prices are ass. Cheapest by far is $187 a bottle.... standard price seems to be about $225 - $260 through importers.

Yahoo Auction proxy is definitely cheaper but delivery is not really doable for an American. The other side of EMS is USPS and they will not carry booze. Private carriers do, but they cost a fortune. Not sure how it works in your fair country. (I just went to Toronto for New Years... great city. Lots of single malt selection in most bars).

[Randorama]

My local import shop is selling combos of wine and Scotch at reasonable prices (one bottle of whisky and a 6-bottles cask of wine).

I bought a 6-bottles cask of Montepulciano D'Abbruzzo ("new great wine from unknown region of Italy!") and a bottle of Yamazaki 12 years at 700 yuen (Yamazaki was 459 yuen, to be exact).

If only they would import non-shitty chocolate, it would be perfect (oh, and if only it would actually be winter...).

[GaijinPunch]

If only they would import non-shitty chocolate, it would be perfect (oh, and if only it would actually be winter...).

Come here and say that. Goes from 18 to -5 in one fucking night.