Scotch

[Sal De Ban]

i bought a bottle of the lower-end laphroaig a few years ago. drinking it was like being punched in the face. definitely the most peaty/smoky scotch i've tried - and worth it just to see other people's reactions to it (if you're into sharing!).

 

[coleridge]

Laphroaig smells and tastes like a tire fire according to my GF. hahaha

You can smell it a good 30 feet away.

At the other end of the peat spectrum .. this is the best scotch I've had all year:

 

[octo]

my boss insists that he has a family connection to that distillery.

i lolled. hard. he's from uzbekistan or tajikistant. one of the stans.

i've been resisting my urges to get into scotch. i like it. a lot. and i fear that it would become an expensive proposition. i've basically replaced my Forty Creek rye drinking with Chivas. i feel like i'm about to slip down the slope.

 

[djfear]

my boss insists that he has a family connection to that distillery.

i lolled. hard. he's from uzbekistan or tajikistant. one of the stans.

i've been resisting my urges to get into scotch. i like it. a lot. and i fear that it would become an expensive proposition. i've basically replaced my Forty Creek rye drinking with Chivas. i feel like i'm about to slip down the slope.

A good whisky... and I mean a really good one, is so smooth and tasty that you drink it warm with no water or anything it's just the nectar of the gods. Personally I've been ruined and love my Yoichi, but in 2014 I'm gonna branch out and try more stuff.

 

[WestsideWax]

At the other end of the peat spectrum .. this is the best scotch I've had all year:

That good, huh? I haven't purchased a port cask finish in a few years...goes great with winter, it does!

 

[the_fornicator]

So with Christmas coming I figure I might as well ask my wife for a bottle of scotch. The question is what should I move onto now? I have drank and enjoyed all of the following.

Glenfiddch 12
Glenmorangie Org 10
Glenmorangie Nectar D'or
Glenkinchie 12
Dalwhinnie 15

Any thoughts? Also I live in Calgary now so prices are a little cheaper here which brings some of those bottles down in price.

You like highland scotches much like myself.

Those are all chill filtered so the alcohol content is less and the scotch doesn't turn murky when it gets too cold. I'd actually suggest an Octave 10-12. It's a bit pricier (I think it's $80'ish) despite being a 12 but it's from an independent distiller so they're not forced to bottle by a certain time to meet orders, but rather when they want to.

Octave also isn't chill filtered so it still has all the oils from the cask and a bunch more flavour. As a result of not being chill-filtered, the alcohol content is also about 63% but the magical part is that it doesn't taste like what you would think a 63% scotch would taste like.

All non-chill-filtered scotches are 55%+ alcohol.

 

[SyKicK]

Wicked thanks the_fornicator I'll keep my eye open for that one and see if I can pick a bottle up.

 

[Vise]

All non-chill-filtered scotches are 55%+ alcohol.

You're sure about that? The Springbank 10 I mentioned above is non-chill filtered and it is 46%. I know I've had a couple others as well that aren't at 55% either. From a quick search looks like 46% is the minimum abv.

 

[Vise]

I'm also going to check out The Arran mentioned above, I'm a sucker for anything finished in a port/sherry cask.

 

[coleridge]

I'm also going to check out The Arran mentioned above, I'm a sucker for anything finished in a port/sherry cask.

I might also be a sucker for pretty packaging. hahaha

 

[Vise]

I might also be a sucker for pretty packaging. hahaha

Same here, would explain why I have these two in my cabinet. I'm sure they are great but I haven't opened either yet.

 

[the_fornicator]

You're sure about that? The Springbank 10 I mentioned above is non-chill filtered and it is 46%. I know I've had a couple others as well that aren't at 55% either. From a quick search looks like 46% is the minimum abv.

Crazy. I wrote that pretty fast and was speaking based on limited experience. I've never personally seen a non-chill filtered scotch that was less than 55%. I think that would have been more accurate to say.

I've bought a few non-chill filtered scotches at they're all 58%+. The octave being the highest at 63.

You learn something every day.

 

[Vise]

Cool man, no worries. I must say the Springbank is quite nice, especially for the price. I don't mind at all that it turns cloudy after adding a couple drops of water either.

I did also grab a couple of bottles at The Whisky Shop in San Fran on my last trip but I can't recall at the moment what they were. I purposely went hunting for random stuff I'd never find at the LCBO and pretty sure I succeeded. My wife put them away in the cabinet so will dig them out and figure out what I got.

I'm grabbing The Arran Port Cask next based on the comments from coleridge. It better be good.

 

[the_fornicator]

I remember trying the Springbank 18 at a scotch tasting. Then, I found it at a liquor store and saw that it was $160 for the bottle lol maybe later Slowly developing a taste for the non-chill filtered -the ones that I've tried anyway. My friend's dad added a HEAP of ice to his octave that I bought and it looked turned super murkey and he didn't know why lol

Already halfway through my glenfarclas 40 Dunno if I'd ever replace that once it's gone. Just not worth $500, IMO. It's a delicious scotch (nothing but notes of smooth honey and caramel) but for the money I can replace a lot of other scotches that are running low.

 

[defazman]

Picked this up on the weekend, Glenmorangie 18 Year Rare. It's enjoyable and in line with their products, but a bit more burn to it then I'd expect for an 18 year. It's nice, but I'd rather have another bottle of their Jack Daniel's barrel aged scotch.

 

[Vise]

Picked this up on the weekend, Glenmorangie 18 Year Rare.

I have this as well, got it from duty free last year along with the Glenmorangie Signet. Have yet to try it though, its in the back of the cabinet for special occasions. Was surprised to see the Signet at Vintages on the weekend too, even moreso at the $310 price point... I think I paid around $150 at duty free.

At the other end of the peat spectrum .. this is the best scotch I've had all year:

Finally grabbed a bottle of this just now, ended up having to hit 3 LCBOs before I found it in stock... their website inventory is clearly bullshit. I was tempted to grab 2 bottles since it is close to being out of stock across the board. We`ll see when I crack it tonight to replace a bottle of Macallan 12 I killed the other day.

 

[the_fornicator]

I have this as well, got it from duty free last year along with the Glenmorangie Signet. Have yet to try it though, its in the back of the cabinet for special occasions. Was surprised to see the Signet at Vintages on the weekend too, even moreso at the $310 price point... I think I paid around $150 at duty free.

That's bonkers.

Every booze store in Edmonton has that bottle for around $150.

 

[Vise]

That's bonkers.

Every booze store in Edmonton has that bottle for around $150.

Yeah but the downside is you need to live in Edmonton.

I kid, I kid...

 

[Vise]

Seriously though, the Signet is $150 there? That seems extremely reasonable given it was around the same or more at duty free... this bottle/box right?

 

[djfear]

Cognac

My gf loves cognac and I want to grab her a bottle for christmas but I'm not too knowledgeable on the stuff. Anyone know of something spectacular for $80-150? She spoils me so I want to spoil her.

 

[the_fornicator]

Yeah but the downside is you need to live in Edmonton.

I kid, I kid...

haha no kiddings necessary, though. We're the murder capital of Canada for several years running now so, there's that just have to drink the pain away.

Ah, I was on crack, sorta. The glenmorangie extra rare is $150 and the signet is $180. Still, a far cry from $310 which is bonkers.

My friend just gifted me a glenlivet 21. Not my fave, but heck, I'll take a $130 bottle of scotch for free any day.

 

[Vise]

My gf loves cognac and I want to grab her a bottle for christmas but I'm not too knowledgeable on the stuff. Anyone know of something spectacular for $80-150? She spoils me so I want to spoil her.

You won't get anything crazy awesome in that price range but you can get close. XO is the top of the heap in Cognac but most are in the $200 or more range. That said there are a couple nice looking bottles around $150 at the LCBO... Hine Homage Grand Cru and Hardy XO in particular. The Hine looks pretty special and reviews seem very positive too.

I don't personally drink much Cognac but my good friend does... being a nice guy I've bought him a number of bottles over the years.

 

[WestsideWax]

On my second bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask - it's fast become a favourite, and at such a reasonable price point.

 

[rudebwoy]

My gf loves cognac and I want to grab her a bottle for christmas but I'm not too knowledgeable on the stuff. Anyone know of something spectacular for $80-150? She spoils me so I want to spoil her.

you can get some fantastic Armagnac in that price range (the "mezcal" to Cognac's "tequila", if you'll excuse the analogy), little different flavour profile and distillation techniques, but sometimes a little more interesting as well.

c.

 

[SyKicK]

Got spoiled today by my wife. While we were out doing our xmas food shopping I grabbed a bottle of the Lagavulin 16. Then at another store they had the Glenlivet 12 on for 35 bucks so I grabbed a bottle of that too. Having a glass of the Glenlivet right now, it's not bad.