What Booze are you drinking now?

Wow even Nikka made it.

I fondly remember with Orson Well's schlepping it back in the 70s.

I will try a few Japanese Whiskey. I am somewhat leery because just like the Haig Club, they spent a fortune on celebrity marketing over the years to bring up the brand image and credibility in Japan.

I am not a connoisseur but I always enjoyed  Johnnie Walker Blue.

Macallan 18.

Yummy.  I have to thank Linn for the introduction - I took part in a week and half of training at the factory and one of the nights was invested in a single-malt tasting. 

I was in Washington DC last week and was fortunate enough to be invited to dinner at the Jack Rose Dining Saloon (Google for URL).  Fascinating story to the creation of this place; at last count there were 2,687 bottles of Scotch on the menu plus a huge number of Bourbons.  Mr. Rose regularly visits tables and talk to the patrons but does not imbibe as his liver is shot. One drawback of a lifetime of collecting I suspect.

Who's Jack Rose?

Another Jim Beam brand Bourbon: Basil Hayden's.

Compared to Booker's smooth and sweeter goes down much easier but not as complex or interesting.

Incidentally, I was not aware Jim Beam has been bought by Suntory.

Booker Noe, grandson of the legendary Jim Beam, created The Small Batch Collection and in doing so is credited with establishing the category of super-premium bourbons. Booker took great care in crafting his bourbon, and the Booker’s Bourbon bottle even features a label written in Booker Noe’s own handwriting. If you look closely, you will actually notice a small error.

Kuma, you should try Woodford Reserve.    When they sing about Whiskey River, this is what they mean.

I found Balvenie Doublewood on sale today.   Pretty good stuff, but costs double what Woodford costs in the US.

Interesting news today that the UK's best-selling whisky is no longer a Scottish one - it's from Tennessee. Jack Daniel's has overtake The Famous Grouse as the nation's favourite whisky. As it's so hot, I thought I'd have one with lots of ice and a bit of Coke. Keef would be proud.

Bob Edwards posted:

Macallan 18.

Yummy.  I have to thank Linn for the introduction - I took part in a week and half of training at the factory and one of the nights was invested in a single-malt tasting. 

It is my fave but I am currently out of it.

kuma posted:

User reviews are priceless.

• It smells and tastes like cheap aftershave!
• Has an aroma that reminds me of a chemistry set I had as a kid.
• It appears they spent more time on the bottle design than quality testing the final product!
• I'd rather lick a cats armpit
• I thought I might have mixed it up with my rubbing alcohol bottle. But alas I didn't.
• Absolutely horrible, intended for the young posh look at my bloody red trousers types who have no idea what they're doing, seriously, most Welsh whiskey is better than this!
• taste overwhelmingly like fish at first. And not in a good way.
• Save yourself £30 easily. Buy a bottle of bottom shelf supermarket vodka, add a slug of Canadian Maple Syrup and a few drops of yellow food colouring.

 

Erich, thanks for the laugh. I have never read a booze review and these are more entertaining than hifi reviews.

It was thr first time I read a liquor review, sometimes I read wine reviews but drinking them I never detect all the flavours the reviewer describes.  I'm taste disabled or reviewers write many stupidities. I'm of the idea that the best wines are the ones you like. Easy.

Regards.  Erich

Skip posted:

Kuma, you should try Woodford Reserve.    When they sing about Whiskey River, this is what they mean.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes. Skip, consume it in a massive quantity. ( that's my 1.75 liter bottle )

It's time for a refill soon.

Over the weekend, I was invited to friend's house and he offered me Glenmorangie single malt Scotch whisky.

Perfect as a hot summer pool side drink followed with ice water. It was sweet and smooth more like a dessert *port* wine.

Kevin-W posted:

Interesting news today that the UK's best-selling whisky is no longer a Scottish one - it's from Tennessee. Jack Daniel's has overtake The Famous Grouse as the nation's favourite whisky. As it's so hot, I thought I'd have one with lots of ice and a bit of Coke. Keef would be proud.

Kevin,

I haven't thought about mixing it with Coke. I might try it. It makes sense tho, it's pretty vile straight up. :/

kuma posted:

Bob Edwards posted:

Macallan 18.

Yummy.  I have to thank Linn for the introduction - I took part in a week and half of training at the factory and one of the nights was invested in a single-malt tasting. 

It is my fave but I am currently out of it.

My favourite too and still 3 bottles left from the Christmas case. 

Stevee_S posted:

kuma posted:

Bob Edwards posted:

Macallan 18.

Yummy.  I have to thank Linn for the introduction - I took part in a week and half of training at the factory and one of the nights was invested in a single-malt tasting. 

It is my fave but I am currently out of it.

My favourite too and still 3 bottles left from the Christmas case. 

Here, Macallan 18 is $200.  Macallan 12 is $44.  Macallan 25 is $999.

I enjoy aged whisky almost as much as anyone, but the prices of Macallan have gotten out of hand.  The last bottle of Macallan I bought is the 12 yr old.   

Hottest day of the year here in Blighty, so time to enjoy the ultimate summer drink - Campari, tonic, lemon and lots of ice...

Stevee_S posted:

kuma posted:

Bob Edwards posted:

Macallan 18.

Yummy.  I have to thank Linn for the introduction - I took part in a week and half of training at the factory and one of the nights was invested in a single-malt tasting. 

It is my fave but I am currently out of it.

My favourite too and still 3 bottles left from the Christmas case. 

Suuuuure!

If you've got it, flaunt it!

Bart posted:

Here, Macallan 18 is $200.  Macallan 12 is $44.  Macallan 25 is $999. I enjoy aged whisky almost as much as anyone, but the prices of Macallan have gotten out of hand.  The last bottle of Macallan I bought is the 12 yr old.  

The last time I checked, Macallan 18 was over 250USD! /bottle. ( it's overvalued like current stock market! )

Retail prices for Scotch have gone up steadily during the past decade while, during the same period, prices from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society have risen only slightly, barely keeping pace with inflation. When you consider that the latter whiskies are cask strength – you get 50% more whisky for your money – they start to look like a positive bargain.

Granted, the annual membership is $229, but you get 3 100ml. bottles thrown in, and renewals are $70. If you buy a bottle of Scotch a year, and are a little adventurous – they only have “anonymised” bottles from single casks - it’s worth considering. The bottles make great business gifts, although the IRS won’t let me deduct them

kuma posted:

Stevee_S posted:

 

It is my fave but I am currently out of it.

My favourite too and still 3 bottles left from the Christmas case. 

Suuuuure!

If you've got it, flaunt it!

My apologies Kuma, I had no intention of flaunting. I should have put my comment in context. One of my oldest friends had a large windfall last year and extremely generously shared part of it amongst his friends at Christmas time with cases of fine wine, cognac and whiskies. Unfortunately there is no way I would be ordering a £2,500 case of my favourite single malt, I was just one of the lucky beneficiaries of a good friend's generosity.

Corry posted:

Retail prices for Scotch have gone up steadily during the past decade while, during the same period, prices from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society have risen only slightly, barely keeping pace with inflation. When you consider that the latter whiskies are cask strength – you get 50% more whisky for your money – they start to look like a positive bargain.

Granted, the annual membership is $229, but you get 3 100ml. bottles thrown in, and renewals are $70. If you buy a bottle of Scotch a year, and are a little adventurous – they only have “anonymised” bottles from single casks - it’s worth considering. The bottles make great business gifts, although the IRS won’t let me deduct them

Thanks for this -- the Scotch Malt Whisky Society looks interesting.  I don't buy / drink all that much whisky, and if I avoid Macallan there are always a variety of 17 or so yr old bottles available at 'more' reasonable prices.  And I'm not quite sure how I feel about the anonymised feature!

The anonymised feature (as I call it) is a quirk that arose because of the relationship between the various distilleries and the Society. As I understand it, the distilleries had concerns about their whiskies appearing under others’ labels, and so the solution was to require that all mention of the distillery be removed from the label, and replaced with a code number. So if you bought a bottle with the number 29.45, that would be a bottling from the 45^th cask supplied by distillery no. 29, which happens to be Laphroaig.

The anonymisation is very weak. Here’s a list of the distilleries:

http://www.whiskyportal.com/smws/ 

It can be fun to get the lists they send out, and try to guess the distillery from the tasting notes though after a while you start to memorise some of the numbers, especially as some distilleries (Glenfarclas, Caol Ila, etc.) seem to supply many more casks than others. Another plus is that the bottle designs are really cool:

Corry,

Thanks for the heads up on the Whisky Society.  It's interesting and I might give it a try after I gain broader experience with more variety albeit I am not sure about the cheezy title they put on each bottle. I see someone is having fun.

so were these memebership kit 100ml bottles any good?

The eccentric tasting notes are all part of the experience, e.g.

Water brings up the European wood character, which in this case might be summed up as the aroma of a vintage motor-car - old rubber, polished leather, a hint of exhaust fumes.

… this sample noses like an entire dinner - smoked fish to start, roast lamb or glazed ham providing the meat, followed by knickerbocker glory or butterscotch fudge sundae and an empty fag packet by the embers of a dying fire to round it off.

The taste remains consistent also, with a lively light saltiness on the tongue. One panel member described it as "like being trapped in a car after a wet walk with a dog".

Regarding the introductory bottles: Back when I joined (1996-ish, just after the US branch started up), you got a single 750ml. bottle, of their choosing, although they were happy to substitute any currently available bottle in the same price range. This suited me, as I had a fixation on the Craigellachie distillery, having been transported by a glass of the stuff a few years previously when I lived in England.

But I think the 3 x 100ml. bottles is a better idea overall, as it allows you to ease your way into the whole experience, reduces the risk of dissatisfaction, and will give you an eye-opening sense of the range of flavours available from the different regions. The three distilleries in the photo above are Bowmore (#3), Glen Grant (#9), and Isle of Arran (#121), i.e. Islay, Highland/Speyside, and Island respectively, which looks like a good selection.