Single Malt Scotch! Part Two!

[tombowlus]

Enjoying a little Springbank 15. Very nice...

[groooooove]

my god.

so a friend and i were driving home and we popped into a liquor store to have a look. i see these on the shelf, and they're marked $22. they look to me like independent bottling, and at that price even if it ends up being mixed with soda by a friend who cares.

i took home the islay, thinking that it'll at least be peaty, so if its poorly made the peat can make up for that. after one sniff it reminds me of bowmore. after a little research, it is in fact 5 year old bowmore for $22! i actually like this more than the bowmore legend, and its half the price.

i'm annoyed i dont remember where that store was, because if i did i'd go back tomorrow and buy one of each of the other bottles!

highly recommended. if you get a chance to buy a bottle or have a taste, go for it. especially at this price.

[bassvirtuoso]

I know a bar owner here who will drink the McClellands Highland only. He says it tastes good enough that he doesn't feel like spending the money on anything else.

I have yet to try it myself....

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by groooooove

my god.

so a friend and i were driving home and we popped into a liquor store to have a look. i see these on the shelf, and they're marked $22. they look to me like independent bottling, and at that price even if it ends up being mixed with soda by a friend who cares.

i took home the islay, thinking that it'll at least be peaty, so if its poorly made the peat can make up for that. after one sniff it reminds me of bowmore. after a little research, it is in fact 5 year old bowmore for $22! i actually like this more than the bowmore legend, and its half the price.

i'm annoyed i dont remember where that store was, because if i did i'd go back tomorrow and buy one of each of the other bottles!

highly recommended. if you get a chance to buy a bottle or have a taste, go for it. especially at this price.

Along the same line, but probably less common in the US, most stores have their "own brand" single malts, basically they have thier own indy bottlings.

Sainsbury's Islay Single Malt - 12 yo


Asda's Islay Single Malt - 12 yo


(both chains also have Speyside and Highland malts in the same range)

I'm not sure of the distilleries of origin, though I wonder if they use the same company as thier bottler (they look quite similar).

[Akami]

Originally Posted by SoVeryTired

I think your summary of the 12 would apply to the Legend as well. It's good, but if you like the real strong, peaty, medicinal Islays it's not quite top tier.

I'll still think about trying some since I did like the Bowmore - just not as much as the Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin.

Originally Posted by Vic

To me, the Legend is a milder form of the 12... again, a bit less complex, but just darn tasty as an everyday kind of "clean/simple" drinker candidate, both for it's mild mannered nature as well as low price. As such, it's also a great starter scotch for someone dipping their toes in the single malt waters for the first time. I'd personally always have some on-hand. Sometimes a nice smooth clean fundamental drink just hits the spot. Great for sharing at parties too. Good quality but not anything you'd have to be too careful about who you share it with.

I need some stuff that's a bit less expensive too, but after trying McClellands, I'm also realizing that some cheaper stuff with a finish that last all of ten seconds can be more expensive than something a little bit more that last for five minutes.
Your point about being a good safe one to have around should someone be not yet ready for the stronger flavors makes more than a little sense too.

Originally Posted by burk48237

Along with the Bowmore Legend as a great "budget single malt", I'd also like to suggest Glengoyne 10. I don't see this one or their 17 around much but both are excellent drinks. The 10 is a bit more complex than Bowmore Legend but still smooth and while not a true peaty-smokey blend it has enough of that going on not to descend into the sweet end of the spectrum like Mac 12 which I find a bit boring. The 17 is a great mid priced scotch and really has a lot going on. Again not quite as smokey as the Taliskers or Laphroigs but I find it's a great poor mans Mac 18 for a lot less money (around $55)

The Bowmore I tried was good, but the MacCallan 12 was not at all to my liking, and a little to my disappointment. With the lists of accolades I'd thought it a slam dunk that I'd like it too, but not for me, yet anyway...

Originally Posted by conebeckham

Try to get some "Arran" malt if you like Island malts......I got a bottle of Cask Strength Sherry cask, and it's delightful. Still got a bit of the 1994 Glenrothes vintage left, as well.

Arran is one I've not heard much about, but I'll definitely keep my eye out for it.

[nickbass79]

Has anyone tried any Japanese single malts? I hear they are very close to scotch because they are modeled after the same distillation methods as Scotland malts.

[smperry]

Originally Posted by groooooove

my god.

so a friend and i were driving home and we popped into a liquor store to have a look. i see these on the shelf, and they're marked $22. they look to me like independent bottling, and at that price even if it ends up being mixed with soda by a friend who cares.

i took home the islay, thinking that it'll at least be peaty, so if its poorly made the peat can make up for that. after one sniff it reminds me of bowmore. after a little research, it is in fact 5 year old bowmore for $22! i actually like this more than the bowmore legend, and its half the price.

i'm annoyed i dont remember where that store was, because if i did i'd go back tomorrow and buy one of each of the other bottles!

highly recommended. if you get a chance to buy a bottle or have a taste, go for it. especially at this price.

Just fyi, that price is about what it should be. I haven't tasted it myself, so I'm not referring to value/quality, just market price.

[smperry]

Originally Posted by nickbass79

Has anyone tried any Japanese single malts? I hear they are very close to scotch because they are modeled after the same distillation methods as Scotland malts.

I had the Yamazaki 12 YO four years ago and thought it was good, but I can't say much more than that...it was some time ago and I was a newer scotch drinker. I preferred it to Highland Park 10 at the time, fwiw...but don't place too much stock in this.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by nickbass79

Has anyone tried any Japanese single malts? I hear they are very close to scotch because they are modeled after the same distillation methods as Scotland malts.

Quite a number of award winners out there, really want to try some but it's pretty expensive

[Akami]

Originally Posted by nickbass79

Has anyone tried any Japanese single malts? I hear they are very close to scotch because they are modeled after the same distillation methods as Scotland malts.

I went to a couple distilleries recently and have tried a good number of both blends and single malts, with my favorites being Yoichi 10, Hakushu 10, Yamazaki 12, Taketsuru 17 and Hibiki 12. There's quite a few others that I like but these are the ones I like best.

Originally Posted by smperry

I had the Yamazaki 12 YO four years ago and thought it was good, but I can't say much more than that...it was some time ago and I was a newer scotch drinker. I preferred it to Highland Park 10 at the time, fwiw...but don't place too much stock in this.

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Quite a number of award winners out there, really want to try some but it's pretty expensive

The Yamazaki 12 is available in this country for about $50, which is less than it costs over there, but everything else will be cheaper in Japan, including all of your Scottish favorites. I bought a bottle of Lagavulin 16 for about $40 a few weeks ago.

[nickbass79]

Mmmmm...21 yr old Glenlevit.....

[Ziltoid]

I'm going to be spending my evening with a Laphroaig QC I think, I still have to choose.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Akami

The Yamazaki 12 is available in this country for about $50, which is less than it costs over there, but everything else will be cheaper in Japan, including all of your Scottish favorites. I bought a bottle of Lagavulin 16 for about $40 a few weeks ago.

Not too surprising, a fairly hefty proportion of what we pay here is tax. :-(

[Vic]

This has already been mentioned here in this thread, but I just got an absolute GEM.

I picked up the 2013 "bible" and the Ardbeg 10 got a 97! It's only $50/bottle so I picked one up. It is wonderful!!

[arbitrary]

Anyone care to explain the difference between highland, speyside, islay, and lowland to me?

I know they are regional, but what are the taste and other differences?

thanks.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by arbitrary

Anyone care to explain the difference between highland, speyside, islay, and lowland to me?

I know they are regional, but what are the taste and other differences?

thanks.

Highlands are generally the sweeter/fruitier malts, often a little smokey. Speyside is a region within the Highlands that also tends to mainly be sweeter malts.

Island malts tend to have a salty edge, are often smokey or peated. Islay's are typically very peaty and strong tasting.

Lowland tends to be dryer finished than the Highland stereotype,also tends to be unpeated.


But it's all a bit stereotyped and these days distilleries will have a greater selection. So you'll see quite a number of distilleries doing peated and unpeated whisky. Not all island whiskies are hugely powerful, not all speysiders are sweet etc etc.

[Ziltoid]

Originally Posted by Vic

This has already been mentioned here in this thread, but I just got an absolute GEM.

I picked up the 2013 "bible" and the Ardbeg 10 got a 97! It's only $50/bottle so I picked one up. It is wonderful!!

More like 90+$ here, lucky you!

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Ziltoid

More like 90+$ here, lucky you!

Well, the "good news" is, with that kind of rating, it's probably still worth it.

[nickbass79]

What do you guys think of Glenfarclas malts? I have had a few(105, 12, 25, 30 & 40), but the 30 stands out as the best to me. In fact it's my all time favorite single malt. If I could only have one malt for the rest of my life, I would pick that.

What would be your pick?

[Ziltoid]

Originally Posted by Vic

Well, the "good news" is, with that kind of rating, it's probably still worth it.

It sure is. A friend introduced me to the Ardbeg 10 about 6 months ago. Actually a few friends crashed in my flat and they had that with them:


(Don't pay attention to the sneaky rum bottle)

On top of which we did a few pubs that happened to have a few good bottles, Langavulin, Glenmorangie, etc.

Not sure I actually really tasted anything after the first half of the evening but it was a blast.