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Single Malt Scotch!

#323
Fender32 said:
I was nosing around Aldwych (in London) this weekend, when I found a specialist whisky shop.

They had a 50 year old + bottle of whisky from the "Springbank" distillery for sale ... at 15,500 Pounds :eek: .

Is this normal and just how good can any food or drink be, that would make anyone (aside from poseurs and those who are trying to avoid taxation ;) ) want to drop that kind of money on it? :rollno:

Wouldn't you rather have a lifetime supply of fine 18 year olds (whisky, not girls ;) ), than that one bottle the really old stuff?

Pointless question, I suppose, but I just wanted to share that observation with you.

:smug:
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People don't tend to buy bottles like that to drink. Think of them more as an investment, just as with vintage wines, you can use them as a form of investment as they will always be gaining value.
 
#326
i_got_a_mohawk said:
People don't tend to buy bottles like that to drink. Think of them more as an investment, just as with vintage wines, you can use them as a form of investment as they will always be gaining value.
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You can only take that so far though. Scotch doesn't age or improve once its in the bottle. Vintage wine does. Theoretically it shouldn't appreciate much in value as opposed to wine.
 
#328
sensible68 said:
My favourites are Talisker, Laphroaig and Ardbeg.
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I also like Laphroaig, but found I like Lagavulin better, because it seems to have all that nice smokey peaty flavor, but also be much smoother at the same time. The Islay stuff is not my favorite overall, but of those, the Lagavulin is my fave, so when I'm in the mood for that, it's definitely the one. I do have a bottle of Laphroaig as well, but don't hit that one as often. It's a bit more aggressive than I like most of the time.

I know it's Irish, but Jamesons will do in a pinch ;)
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Try Bushmill's MALT sometime. No, not the usual black label... it's marked "Malt" on the label. Jameson's is ok, but Bushmill's Malt is my fave Irish Whiskey (tho I'm no connoisseur of IW).

edit: all taken wi' a drop of water
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+1!!! (assuming you mean "NEAT wi' a drop of water" anyway, which I figger you do. :) IMHO, the ONLY way to drink fine scotch. :)
 
#329
BartmanPDX said:
You can only take that so far though. Scotch doesn't age or improve once its in the bottle. Vintage wine does. Theoretically it shouldn't appreciate much in value as opposed to wine.
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Depends. True, it doesn't appreciate in the sense that it doesn't change as much over time in the bottle as wine does, BUT, it does appreciate from rarity and desirability, and there definitely are good investments to be made, and in some ways similar to wine, there definitely are better "vintages" of a given scotch.
 
#330
i_got_a_mohawk said:
It isnt to do with the quality, as, just with vintage wines, they are seldom consumed. It is all about rarity.
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HAH! You beat me to the punch. Well, I'll leave my comment anyway. :)

I will add one thing, however... I actually appreciate the fact that scotch doesn't change that much over time once it's bottled.

I'm a low maintenance kinda' guy... I just don't wanna' have to worry about or manage a cellar. I like the fact that I can select a great (tho modest in my case) collection of scotches, and they'll always be great, even if it takes me years to finish a bottle (which has happened).
 
#332
Just returned from Scotland with my first single malt Scotch, a bottle of Tamdhu.

I bought it because it's not something you find in every supermarket and because I couldn't find anything from the north-west coast (Kyle of Lochalsh-Ullapool) except Oban.

Anyway, I'm gonna taste it right away, with a wee bit of water ;)

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Looking at this link I don't think I made a bad choice as a beginner :)

I actually picked up the taste for whisky in a bothy in the Highlands, where someone had left behind a bottle. I've you've ever been to the Highlands you can really taste the country in your mouth (it's the peat, I know, I was up above my knees in it at one time, never trust a puddle in the highlands...).
 
#334
I can't believe that this thread has been running since 2005 and I've never seen it :eek: ..... guess I need to peek into the OT a bit more frequently ......

Some excellent choices here (and some VERY expensive ones, as well ;)). My personal at-home favorite everyday choice is the Lagavulin 16 yr, and I do enjoy Macallan 18 but at more than 2x the Lagavulin in price it's a tad expensive for everyday, so that's my "good for me" reward when something goes well.

BTW, I also have no objection to a blend and find the Dewars 12 yr a perfectly acceptable sip at gigs without spending all of my gig income ...... :cool:
 
#335
:) Have you had some yet? The 10 year is inexpensive here in the states, just $22...wouldn't mind hearing your impressions.

I am going to buy an inexpensive bottle or two shortly (one of which will probably be Highland Park, in part based on this thread), so interested in hearing about it.

M
 
#336
Yeah, I'm glad this thread got resurrected too. It had escaped my notice so far.

It's cool to see so many Lagavulin fans here. It's about time for me to get another bottle of that. It's probably doubled in price since the last time I bought it...

I also go for the Balvenie Doublewood when I'm in the mood for something less smokey, which has been the case for a while -- but I seem to be getting back into the peaty stuff recently. A couple weeks ago I got a bottle of an Islay malt I'd never heard of, called Ledaig. It definitely has the peaty, smokey Islay character, but it is much, much lighter than Lagavulin, both in color and in body. I would definitely buy it again, although it's not at the top of my list.
 
#337
my single malt shelf always has a bottle of Oban on it - the perfect SM for special occasions with fellow project management

others that rotate thru include:

GLENLIVET NADURRA SM 16 YEAR
GLENFIDDICH SOLERA RES 15 YR SM
GLENLIVET SGL MALT 18 YR
GLENMORANGIE QUINTA RUBAN
GLENMORANGIE BURGUNDY WOOD

I definitely need to get out more, and reading this thread caused me to consider adding something new to the selection

R
 
#338
I'm still into my Macs, Lagavulin, etc, but I have to say, the one that's rockin' my world the most these days is my Glendronach '68 25yr. I got a bottle when they were still selling for under $200 each, and I'm still kickin' myself for not getting a second one for back stock. They're currently selling for $410-480 each... when you can find them. :(

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#340
BartmanPDX said:
Yeah, scotch has really gone up.

Back when I worked at Beltramos in the '90s, we were selling Macallan 12yr. for $30 a bottle, Lagavulin 16 was $40, and Highland Park was around $23. What I wouldn't give for the prices of days gone by . . . :(
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Highland Park is only $34 currently...That's gone up less than gasoline. ;)

M
 

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