What's The Last Whisky/Whiskey You Bought?

Brothers of Briar

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Finished off a bottle of Redbreast single pot still irish whiskey I got for christmas from my brother. Amazing stuff, really. Needs to be appreciated neat in something like a Glencairn glass as it's aromas get lost in a bucket glass.

I'm on the wagon for a while now, for a couple of different reasons. Went for my biannual DOT physical and my blood pressure was a bit high, and I've put on a few pounds over the holidays. In addition, lately I've been having a drink every night out of habit (just some cheap scotch) and noticed that I'm not really enjoying it so much and the drinks are getting larger and I'm not sleeping well at night. So, back to the routine I was doing before where I hit the gym at least 4 times a week, eat less, eat healthier, and stop drinking. Actually my old pattern was to allow myself 2 drinks a week and there was no noticeable ill effect, but I need to get back into a better state of fitness first so it's abstinence for a while.

But my youngest daughter is getting married the last week of June and we are headed out of state for a week to attend. We will be sharing a vacation rental with my brothers family and my mother, so a very good bottle of single malt will make the journey with me and I then jump down off the wagon. Now I just have to keep watching the shelves when I go in to pick up my wifes weekly vino allotment. I'm sure something will jump off the shelf at me.
 
after finishing off a Deanston 12 yo. I decided on a whim to try their
Virgin Oak. major fail! very bland & devoid of character.
I'm now mixing it W 15 yo. Tobermory or Benriach Horizon's
to give it some flavor.
Next trip will pick up one or two of the 12 & chalk it up to
lesson's learned.
 
old_salt":ag2cldib said:
I decided on a whim to try their
Virgin Oak. major fail! very bland & devoid of character.
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I hate when that happens, and I suspect merketing ploys to upsell an experiment that turned out to be rather uninspiring.

"Well, what are we going to do with this stuff now?"

Make up a story, put it in some fancy boxes and raise the price."

I remember a few years back reading reviews about Oban 14 on some of those whiskey sites where the guys are getting so much traffic and going through so much high dollar hooch that the distributors must have been giving it to them to encourage interest in the products. I succumbed and bought a bottle, and it wasn't cheap at all, and it was a huge disappointment.
 
The 10-year Froyg (Laphroaig). I dunno why it took me so long to get a round tuit, but after falling in lust with the 16-year Lagavulin, the 10-year Froygie was inevitable. Smoke in a bottle.

Took a sip neat, and deemed it an utter waste; it burns all the way down, and you can't taste anything with your esophagus. With a splash of water the flavor explodes. It's a sensory festival. Truly wondrous stuff.

Now I'm sorry my 16-year Lagavulin is all gone, because I'd really love to do an A-B comparison.

Ah, well...now I have no choice; I'll have to glom onto another bottle of the Lag 16...purely for research purposes, you understand. Sacrifices must be made... :twisted:

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Puff Daddy":hbf4xhhn said:
...I'm on the wagon for a while now, for a couple of different reasons...
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Yeah...I have to completely stop every once in a while too, PD. I'm a Pinot Noir freak, and that really packs on the pounds...and not sleeping well into the bargain. So I've been on the wagon for approximately the last 3+ months.

But I'm nearing the ending of my annual forced unpaid accounting for the Infernal Revenoo pigs, so I'm temporarily falling off the wagon to celebrate the end of that ordeal. (I'm certainly not celebrating the boning those bastidges serve up...or the fact that so many idiots...er, I mean fellow humanoids seem to think that the more productive you are, the more you should be punished.)

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Vito, If you like the heavier stuff. Pick up a bottle of
Ardbeg Uigeadail it's really Good Stuff!!
 
old_salt":uowuf0ll said:
Vito, If you like the heavier stuff. Pick up a bottle of
Ardbeg Uigeadail  it's really Good Stuff!!
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Thanks, old_salt! I'll check it out. :mrgreen:

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1) Angel's Envy Finished Rye

2) Slaughterhouse American Whiskey

You'll thank me later!!!
(Drops the mike)
 
Vito":sca0vnu0 said:
The 10-year Froyg (Laphroaig). I dunno why it took me so long to get a round tuit,... with a splash of water the flavor explodes. It's a sensory festival. Truly wondrous stuff.
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Ah, you finally did it. Tis unusual stuff, eh? There are layers upon layers of medicinal, mineral, peaty earthy herbal thangs goin on in that little glass. It ain't for everyone, but I love it and find a glass of it a journey rather than just something nice to relax with. It's probably the most unusual malt I've ever had.
 
Vito":y4sgwhjw said:
Now I'm sorry my 16-year Lagavulin is all gone, because I'd really love to do an A-B comparison.
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Hey Vito,

To me the Lagavulin is a more subtle version of the Laphroaig and a more complex taste experience.  The distillery is right on the coast and I'm convinced I can taste / smell the sea air in amongst its complexities.

Lagavulin.  Surely the king of single malts?!
 
To me they are nothing alike. Lagavulin is refined. The underlying base flavor is slightly sweet and a little woody, there is a hint of brine, barely, and I get none of the herbal notes (myrtle, etc) from the peat. The smoke is like the last whiffs from a smoldering campfire, but it is quite clean tasting. Laphroaig is hugely medicinal and mineral, there are intense herbal/peat notes wafting through, the underlying base is brine rather than sweet, and the smoke is less dominant and less clean than Lagavulin. Lagavulin is a smokey gentle caress from a lady whereas Laphroaig is a slap across the face from a tart. Both enjoyable at the right moments :)
 
Stick and PD:

From what I can recall of the Lag 16, I would agree that it's more refined (PD) and more subtle (Stick) than the Froyg. Flavorwise, Lagavulin says, "Look sharp, lads. There's work to be done.", while Laphroaig says, "It's clobberin' time!"

Looking back (PD will remember this), Lagavulin was a bit of a shock to me. When I first tasted it, I thought, "This must be one of those things about which they say, 'It's an acquired taste.' " But I was so intrigued by it that, against all odds, I was back for more the next day. It grew on me pretty quickly. (That’s when PD pointed me toward Laphroaig.)

So I kind of knew what to expect with the Froyg...except that where Lag 16 is a rapier, Laphroaig is a blunderbuss...and now I'm a blunderbuss fan. Or perhaps a more apt comparison is with oolong teas: Lagavulin is to Laphroaig as Ali Shan is to Red Robe. Within their sameness, they're very different. I guess that makes Aberlour 16 an Oriental Beauty oolong.  ;)  

I dunno about which deserves kinghoodshipness. If no man deserves to be king, maybe no dram does either. "Favorites" are fleeting, after all. Where tastes are concerned, all is subjective. (In fact, all is subjective period, but I'll eschew the epistemological blatherings here.) Anyway, I couldn't say which is "better". It's more a matter of which better suits my mood at the time.

It's interesting how I landed here — from Johnnie Green Label to Lag 16 to Laphroaig. I just followed the smoke. I guess it's no surprise, considering that one of my favorite smokes is straight Latakia. :mrgreen:

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Puff Daddy":5xcyze0j said:
Lagavulin is a smokey gentle caress from a lady whereas Laphroaig is a slap across the face from a tart. Both enjoyable at the right moments :)
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I'll go with that PD :lol!:
 
It is fun to explore this stuff. My own journey has been rather stop and go based on available funds, and has been mostly just the standard bottlings as the limited editions and extra aged stuff is simply too pricey. Shoot, just a good standard bottling is expensive. That's why it's so nice to find a really, really interesting dram in a standard bottling, like a Laphroig or an Aberlour. I've had good luck with the Islay distillers and truly love the standard bottlings from Bunnahabhain, Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Lagavulin is near $70 a bottle for the standard 16 year bottling so I hesitate to put it in the same category.

I tried for some time to get ahold of a bottle of The Laddie Ten from Bruichladdich but the distributors simply didn't send any this way, according to the two big box booze stores I frequent. Now they've discontinued that offering and their bottlings are all over the place, with the Port Charlotte label and the various Bruichladdich varieties (same distiller, two brand names). I'm not even sure what you'd consider their standard bottling anymore. So, I've yet to try anything from that distillery. I've still not tried anything from Caol Ila either. Maybe it's time to finally try to hunt one of these down (for when I jump back down off the wagon last week of June).

 
That Tobermory sounds divine but way outta my price range (totalwine shows it at $139). Thinking about giving the Benromach 10 a go. Around $50 and gets some good reviews.
 
o_s: Like PD, the Tobermory 15 is out of my price range. In a search for the 10-year expression, my two primary sources (BevMo and TotalWine) don't have it, or won't ship it to California. The politicians in Hackramento are protecting me, you see.
  • Truth be told, I've never understood the mentality that believes I'm too stupid to make my own choices, yet somehow I'm presumed to be smart enough to elect some assclown who can make my choices for me...feh.
    :fpalm:
Anyhow, it looks like Tobermory's Ledaig 10 and BenRiach's Curiositas 10-year are both available, and both are within my budget...a significant constraint with two young lassies in college. So, I've added those peated offerings from Tobermory and BenRiach to my wish list.

Those two drams seem more up my alley right now. I tend to go where my tasticles lead me, and I currently seem to be following the smoke in my Scotchular voyages of discovery. My unpeated (translation: sweeter) Scotch whiskies are sitting on the shelf these daze, waiting for the inevitable change in preference that typifies the Vitonian proclivities.

Actually, the very next Scotch on my Must Try list is Laphroaig Triple Wood, It's out of stock everywhere I've looked, but the search continues. I'm intrigued by the idea of a peat bomb with the vanilla, raisins, and toffee notes of American oak, 19th century quarter casks, and Oloroso sherry casks. I found a store in Las Vegas that has it, but that's a bit more of a commute (from SoCal) than I'm willing to do for a bottle of booze.

Not that I wouldn't have done it when I was young, single, stupid, and playing rock 'n' roll, mind you. :mrgreen:

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o_s: Thanx! Most prices at The Whiskey Shop are outrageous, but K&L looks good. I signed up for their mailing list.

Actually, your referral to K&L got me thinking about Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, which was my go-to source when I worked nearby in Newport Beach. It's a longer drive now that I work at home, but they do ship, and their selection is awesome. They have Laphroaig Triple Wood in stock! Also Ledaig 10. Their price on Tobermory 15 is better than I've seen anywhere else (...although it's still not in my budget). Perhaps someday for a very special occasion...like a gathering of the brethren.  :mrgreen:

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