Scotch and Whiskey

[WelshJ]

Originally Posted by ihaskrayon

I got Buchanan's De Luxe blended scotch whisky aged 12 years as a gift. What do you guys think of it? Should I wait for a special night to share with some close buddies or is it just meh and drink it casually on my own?

For scotch give Famous Grouse 18 a try. It is a blend of 3 single malts.
For American whiskey give Wild Turkey Rare Breed a try.
For a bargain James Peppers 1776 bourbon is hard to beat.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by ihaskrayon

I got Buchanan's De Luxe blended scotch whisky aged 12 years as a gift. What do you guys think of it? Should I wait for a special night to share with some close buddies or is it just meh and drink it casually on my own?

Some dude on Whisky mag website had this to say:

Name: Buchanan's 12yo Deluxe Blended Scotch Whisky 40% abv

Region: Scotland

Color: Light gold

Nose: Sharp grain at first, then stone fruits, cedar wood, ginger, a hint of distant smoke

Palate: Sweet spice up front, very grassy middle, the wood and smoke appear slightly at the back giving a nice afterthought

Body: Firm, but glossy

Finish: A nut shell dryness pulls away from the sweet spice

Notes: The weirdest contraption on the screw top bottle made me have to bust into it. A vented two piece plastic liner with a ball inside. I never did figure out how it worked. This freshly open bottle is impressive enough to enjoy. Nothing too outstanding, but worthy of the exploration. The smoke is very subtle, so don't expect to notice it at first. With a splash of water: Green tea and fresh pear aromas; taste is the tea sweetened with sugar and lemon. A good blend, but I wish someone would tell me the proper way to open it, I threw away the box, not sure if it explained anything. It may have been defective, yea, that's it.

Quote: Next time read the instructions

Score: 82


I say just drink it.

[synchromesh]

Chivas 12 had a pretty disappointing money clip promo last month. Good initial taste but better to buy the big bottle to save several dollars!

[f0rge]

Some good entry levels are the Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12 and Glenmorangie 10.

The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich can be had in a 375ml bottle for around $25-30 (in Canada dollars) which is great if you're not sure what you like you yet and want to pick up a couple of samplers before you commit to a $60-100 purchase.

Personally I recommend the Glenlivet, one taste and I was hooked.

I've never been keen Johnny Walker in any colour, seems you can do much much better with a real single malt scotch/whiskey from a smaller and less "name brand" distillery for less money.

[f0rge]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I usually just buy the big bottle of jack and sip it with ice. I'm no connoisseur...

We all have to start somewhere. About a year ago that was me and Crown Royal Black.

It's a slippery slope.

[f0rge]

Originally Posted by ihaskrayon

I got Buchanan's De Luxe blended scotch whisky aged 12 years as a gift. What do you guys think of it? Should I wait for a special night to share with some close buddies or is it just meh and drink it casually on my own?

I say drink it. A 12 is usually fairly entry level for a "good" scotch, if you were talking 18-30 year I'd say never share it with anyone.

[asdf]

Originally Posted by Monogram

My motto has been to try them all.

[Hippophobia]

My cheap stuff is just Crown Royal. Blended Canadian. They make some delicious more expensive versions also, ala Crown Royal XR.

I recently went to Scotland and got to tour Glengoyne and got a bottle of their Teapot Dram. It was amazing. I hate a ton of peat of which they use none. I also have a Balvenie Doublewood 12 year. Have yet to crack it open.

[Fluxx]

I like Highland Park 18, I always have a hard time finding it, but it is MUCH better than their 15.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by Fluxx

I like Highland Park 18, I always have a hard time finding it, but it is MUCH better than their 15.

I haven't tried the 15, just the 12 and 18. I've had good luck with both of those though...

[f0rge]

Bought myself and early birthday present, my local liquor store was lacking choice, it was either this or a Highland Park 12.

[f0rge]

Wife got me this for my birthday. Sooooooooo good.

[robwbright]

Originally Posted by vertex

any suggestions on decently priced single malts?

That depends on what you mean by decently priced... LOL. I prefer Scotch and Irish. I'm not a Bourbon or Rye fan, so I won't review any of those.

Here are the "lower end" single malts I prefer:

Old Pulteney 12 is good and runs about $32 around here. Probably the least expensive single malt that's worth buying (at least of what I've been able to try).

Highland Park 12 is probably the most balanced relatively inexpensive single malt. Between $40 and $50.

Yamazaki 12 is around $50 around here and is excellent. On the light and not smoky end of single malts (it's not scotch).

Deanston 12 is similar to the Yamazaki and around the same price.

Laphroaig and Ardbeg 10s are sort of similar (medicinal/iodine/peaty), excellent examples of Islay and run around $50.

Glenmorangie 10 between $40 and $50. I describe it as "Chardonnay at 80 proof".

MacAllan 12 around $50. Nicely done.

Those are the "lower end" single malts I'd recommend.

-------------------------------

I know it's not the question, but I'll go on to cover my blended and more expensive favorites... and then the ones I don't recommend.

-------------------------------

Blended (order from decent to VG):

Concannon Irish - $20

Feckin Irish - $20

Forty Creek Canadian - $25

Dewar's 12

Johnny Walker Black (stay away from Red - it's not worth the savings) - $40

Chivas Regal 18. Had a shot. Excellent blend, but I'd likely never buy it because it's as expensive as better single malts.

Dimple Pinch - It was pretty good at the $23 I bought it for, but I wouldn't pay more (and it usually is more).

-----------------------------

Higher priced and highly recommended (I haven't gone above $80 because, well the stuff between $50 and $80 is awfully good and I have trouble justifying dropping a whole benjamin on a bottle of liquor):

Ardbeg Uigeadail - $80 - Ardbeg on steroids. 54.2%

Lagavulin 16 - Usually $90+ but there's a website selling it for $70 (with free shipping if you order over $100). The best whisky I've tried by a small margin (it was a large margin, but then I've run into a couple others recently that made the margin smaller). Peaty without the medicinal quality of Laphroaig.

Tullamore Dew Phoenix. $60-$70. Wow. This is a really nice Irish. Really Nice. Recent purchase that I find myself reaching for more often than not.

Laphroaig 18 and Quarter Cask (55%, I believe). Found them last year for $65 and $55 in Philly, but around here it's $105 and $65. If you can find Quarter Cask that much cheaper, than 18, then buy the Quarter. If they're around the same price, I'd probably have trouble picking between the two. The Quarter is stronger in taste and proof, the 18 smoother.

Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 finished in Rum casks. Around $70. Mmmmm. Nice. Sweet for scotch.

Glenmorangie Quinta Rubin between $50 and $60. Glenmorangie 10 finished in Port Casks. A touch of sweetness. The port gives it a hint of red wine - which is why it's the only scotch I can get my wife to drink.

Red Breast Irish 12. $60-$70. Very nice and smooth. But if forced to choose, I'd buy the TD Phoenix instead.

Isle of Jura Prophecy. Dunno the price - a buddy let me try it, but I think it's $100 or so. Really good but I'd still buy Lagavulin instead.

Bunnahabhain 25. Same deal as Prophecy, same friend let me try it. I'd buy it if I could find it under $80 (not likely). Quite good, but I don't think it's as good as Lagavulin.

Aberlour A'bunadh. Around $70. Holy crap. 60%, but still tastes really good. Between having that and Laphroaig Quarter Cask (55%) at the same bachelor party, I got REALLY drunk unintentionally.

Caol lla 12. Around $50-$60. Nicely done Islay that's not as peaty as most Islays. I'd probably buy something else for the money, but it's worth the money.

-----------------------------

Not Recommended.

Glenlivet 12 (had a metallic tasting finish in the bottle I bought - and even if the finish was off, the rest of the experience wasn't that great, either, to my palate. That might have been a bad bottle, but I'm not buying again because there's a lot of really good stuff at the same price.

Johnny Walker Red. Ugh. Just ok. Buy Dewar's 12 or Forty Creek instead.

Teacher's Highland Cream. Ugh. Terrible.

Ballantines. Ugh. Terrible.

"It was decent/ok, but there are better choices for the money." Applies to all of the below:

Bowmore 12, Cardhu 12, Clynelish 14, Oban 14, Talisker 10, Johnny Walker Green.

However, I need to try the Talisker again because it was the first Islay I tried years ago and I don't think I was ready for it.

[robwbright]

BTW, here's the Lagavulin 16 for $70.

http://www.finewinesunlimited.com/index.cfm?method=products.ProductDrilldown&product id=e36b13fd-1cc4-fbb6-237f-84f66aaec861