Hard Drinkers, Lets Drink Hard (Spirits, Liquors and Cocktails)
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trying to branch out and try some nicer bourbons. love me some noah's mill, was ~meh on the bookers, angels envy was OK. any suggestions?
Noah's mill is nice, but I actually love Booker's and Baker's. Might differ from Batch to Batch, but the Booker's I had was one of the finest Bourbons. If you can still get the Elijah Craig 18 YO, it's worth a try. Us Europeans don't have access to some of the nicer Bourbons, unfortunately.
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@Max Power tried the Ardebg 10 a couple of days ago. I could not tell if it had changed or not, seemed like the same drink to me. I must admit that I have a harder time detecting differences within a peated style release compared to a non-peated whisky. Personally I find subtleties of the drink are overpowered by the peat taste.
I see from one of your recent postings in this thread you have a signatory single cask bottling of Mortlach in your hands. Mortlach has been a very under rated distillery. Part of the Diageo family and mainly used for blending purposes. The odd single cask Mortlach release that you could find were always very nice.
This is all about to change. Looks like Diageo realised that Mortlach bottlings were proving very popular. They have released their own official bottlings recently. I tried the "Rare Old" release and really enjoyed it. If you get chance check them out. Slainte!
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Thank you! Luckily I still have a Mortlach of the Flora & Fauna Series before it went insanely expensive. I always loved the Distillery and Diageo seems to give it the credit it deserves (and push the Price even more).
The Thing with Ardbeg (and also Octomore / Bruichladdich) - they benefit from the Peat trend and it's easy to think they put more strength in Marketing and limited ageless bottlings, that sell for high Prices to collectors, instead of focussing on doing reasonably priced middle aged Standard bottlings. I'll give it a try, if a certain Transaction takes place today.
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Max, agree with you fully. I have benefitted from buying recent limited Ardbeg releases, Alligator, Galileo, Ardbog, Rollercoaster etc etc. I drink one bottle myself ( purely for scientific purposes of course! ), keep the remaining bottles for a couple of years before selling them on at a profit. Working like this helps subsidise the cost of the bottle I open and drink. Slainte!
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Trends of late are all about extremes. Extreme bitterness or sourness in beer, extreme peat in Scotch… I enjoy it but that kind of one dimensionality flattens out subtlety for sure.
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Fully agree. I haven't tasted an Octomore or Ardbeg Supernova yet, but as I prefer the 18 YO Laphroaig for its complexity over the young, heavily peated bottlings, I doubt I would like them.
I still haven't gone to collecting and reselling bottles, as I think they're meant to be drunk and not bought for the shelf or to be resold. Hoever, I missed some good bargains because of that (just look at how expensive the old Macallans have become, 18 YO Talisker, Highland Park etc.). I wonder wether we'll ever going to see the benefits of the increasing production of the last years or wether new markets absorb all of it. It just sucks to know what good whiskies are out there and not being able (or willing) to spent that much on those bottles.
End of rant, I think I'm gonna get my Ardbeg now
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Bulleit is good, not tried Woodford.
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Bulleit and all the other MGP made whiskeys gross me out. I really prefer something from an authentic operation. Doesn't have to be a 300 year old Kentucky distillery using on premise spring water but a factory distiller making stuff for a label chafes my sensibilities.
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Hands up who's surprised that Mac likes something a little more…..esoteric
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Yeh, I'm not necessarily disagreeing either, more a comment based on knowing that Mac is a man of very exacting tastes.
Bulleit is a fine drinking bourbon, but if you want something artisanal then it is outside of my knowledge or remit, I suggest asking @seawolf , I seem to recall that his knowledge in this field is extensive.
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I don't dislike Bulleit, if I'm being honest, its supply chain just puts me off from recommending it or ordering it if I see something more authentic. In terms of the recipes they use, they're legit, the product itself is solid.
I bet you could find Old Granddad (maybe even 114), since it's owned by Jim Beam and thus by Suntory. I really like high rye bourbons, and it may be a good gateway into ryes for you if you find the spicy character of rye in your mash appealing.
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I'm in need of a good bottle of bourbon… I'll go by whatever you recommend, jdl... And then I'll see whether I can find it... Bourbon sure isn't popular here...
My favorite bottles:
The best bang for your buck: Buffalo Trace
The best all around and reasonably priced high end bottle : Blanton's
The most interesting I've had lately: Angel's Envy
Honorable mention: Elmer T. Lee and Four Roses single barrelTell you what Eli, take a picture of your local selection, and I'll be happy to help you choose a bottle.
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Rare Breed is excellent and likely easy to find. I should note Old Grand Dad is very affordable for how good it is.
I think I've mentioned a distiller around the corner from me, when life settles down, if there's a safe, legal way to make an exchange (for beer) I would be open to that @Seul . I could of course send something from Kentucky instead or in addition to local craft spirits.
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I've seen buffalo trace in the UK and in Japan. Also, I've seen (and purchased) Blanton's in Japan so I know it's out there. You can't go wrong with either. Fwiw, Maker's Mark is pretty solid and widely available. I buy it because it's a basic, pretty good bourbon, and it's reasonably priced to keep on hand at all times. Great for mixing for sure. I wouldn't dare mix Blanton's in a cocktail. It's too good on its own.
