I know this a vague, but I need a little bit of help. My girlfriend's dad is a big scotch drinker. Problem is, I have not been to their house yet, so I dont know what he really likes. I have seen him drink Dewars white label and Cuttyshark. Both I understand to be solid everyday drinks. Anyway, my brother-in-law used to be a huge scotch drinker but switched to Vodka. My sister wanted to get rid of his scotch, so I have about 10 unopened bottles at my house, of varying brands/ages. I am going on vacation with them this weekend and am going to get other things (since this we be "regifted") but wanted to bring some scotch because I don't drink scotch and I figure it'll be a nice additional to the gift. My question is, are those two scotchs I have seen him drink similar to each other? If so, what are some other brands that are similar? I will try to take a picture of the bottles I have if that will help. Off the top of my head, I think I've got a couple Glenlivet bottles, a few Balvenie bottles, maybe a Laphroaig Edit: I know I need to give more information on the bottles I have in terms of casking and age
If he drinks Dewars and Cutty Sark, I would not be too concerned about what single malt you take. Almost anything will be superior to the two of those unless he drinks Cutty Sark Storm and/or Dewar's Ancestor. Depending on the Balvenie, it would be my choice.
What you have is all gonna be "nicer" than Dewars and Cuttyshark I would bet. And that is coming from someone who's everyday scotch is dewars.
Been on a little kick lately. Tried macallan 12, macallan double cask, Glenfiddich 12, glenmorangie 10, and Glenlivet 12 recently. I wish they sold more mini bottles. I hate buying a whole bottle when I just want to try a bunch.
Sounds like you're just getting into it. Give balvenie a shot. I like their 14 year Caribbean cask a lot-that's pretty much my daily drink
I went to a different liquor store and went on a mini bottle spree: balvenie doublewood 12 balvenie doublewood 17 balvenie caribbean cask 14 ledaig 10 tobermory 10 glenmorangie lasanta 12 bunnahabhain 12 and a whisky ball
I might’ve already wrote this in this thread but aberfeldy 12 is a solid scotch, very easy to drink. Smooth
The doublewood 12 is the smoothest that I've ever had. Much more than the macallan 12, which may be swill to this group
LOL. I used to watch them. I always thought he looked like a middle aged never do well living in the basement of his Mom’s house on the Isle of Man. His recommendations are actually pretty good. I loved it when he went on his rants about boycotting all brands that stopped putting age statements on the label.
The balvenie 12 was so smooth. Think I'm going to pick up the Laphroaig 10 tomorrow. Ralfy convinced me.
Got the Laphroaig. It's not bad, but I think ledaig is my jam. I recommend trying it for anyone that likes the campfire taste.
That bottle is 130$ around these parts, sounds like you are doing well. My next bottle will be the balvenie doublewood or laphroaig 10
Really? That's around 65 or 70 in dallas. Prices seem to vary quite a bit. The doublewood is great...my favorite unpeated so far. About to run out and grab a glencairn and a highland park 12 for my next test.
I’m up in Canada, just for another example The doublewood is 90$. Our system is different, we are taxed a lot on booze. So you add that and the coke that you mix it in and it’s a pricy drink
Forgot to post this earlier. Got this sampler for Christmas. The sherry cask is awesome, port cask is reeeeally strong, and the nector one is pretty smooth.
Restaurant last night was out of lagavulin 16, so I got an ardbeg 10. It was pretty good...better than laphroaig 10, imo
I'm really into Islays right now and just finished my bottle of Laphroaig 10. I've never even tried Ardberg or Bowmore. Recently bought Lagavulin 16 and Talisker Storm (not an Islay but pretty similar) so I may need to finish up one of those before my next purchase.
Thoughts on the Laphroaig vs the lagavulin? I like the smoke of peaty scotches, but the bandaid taste on the Laphroaig is a bit intense.
I loved talisker storm. I was surprised cuz the standard talisker tasted like kerosene Bowmore 15-yr Darkest Sherry is my favorite Bowmore.
Bandaid was how I first described Laphroaig 10 too. The first few times I had it I hated it, but then a friend who loves Scotch brought a bottle over to the house and it just clicked. I've since had Laphroaig 18 - which is excellent, but I'd take Lagavulin 16 over that. I've never tried the Lagavulin 8 so not sure how it compares to Laphgroaig 10. I recently bought Lagavulin 16 for $95 - I remembered it being about $70 a bottle not too long ago so I asked a friend who works for distributor if that was a good price. He said it was about average for our area, but recommended Storm for something cheaper. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good single malt under $50. It's got a good peaty hint, but not overbearing, and it's also pretty cool that it's the only distillery on Skye.
Lagavulin 8 is pretty meh. While I am not a big fan of Laph 18, I don't think Lagavulin 16 holds up that well to any of the Laphs. A few of drops of water & the Laphroaigs open up nicely. While the 10 year is real solid, IMO Laphroaig Quarter Cask is one of my go-to peated whiskies. On that note, I finished the bottle of Amrut Fusion & I may pick up a bottle of their Intermediate Sherry expression.
I like that it tastes good enough to drink on its own but it’s a fairly cheap blend so I don’t feel guilty if I use it as a mixer
Any try caol ila 12? I was reading that may have a little less iodine than the laph and laga of the world.
It's going to be a laga 16 to glenmorangie type of night. I love going from peat to sweet. It's like dessert.
I would say the wine thread. Although fortified, it’s still a wine. BTW, that’s a very nice drink you enjoyed.