Whisky

[Soren]

I figure among my fellow beer geeks there must be some whisky geeks as well!? I going on a small overseas trip tomorrow and was thinking I might pick up a bottle of duty free Scotch, to supplement my "collection" whcih currently include a Singleton 12 year and a Laphroaig 10 year cask-strength. I am by no means an expert but the latter is much more appaeling to me.

What are good bottles to look out for? It doesnt need to be super smoky like the laphroaig but I am a fan of big flavours. I would like to explore the universe of whisky further so if there is something that is pungent on other notes than smoke that would be interesting. To keep the missus happy I want to keep the price low, no more than $100.

Unfortunately www.ratewhisky.com does not exist...:)

[kier]

If you like the Laphroaig then any Islay whisky will probably be right up your alley. Most aren't as peaty as the Laphroaig but just about all will have that distinctive peaty, salty, bacon flavour - along with many others :-)

If you are after a big hitting dram I do recommend the Laphroiag 'quarter cask' - it's basically a 10 year whisky but it's been aged in the oak barrels of traditional dimension (as opposed to modern wine barrel size) which means the wood:whisky contact is much higher - giving a real powerful flavour. It's also cask strength - 57% if I recall correctly.

[Soren]

yeah, I did look at the quarter cask when I got the laphroaig, looked very interesting. cant remember why I went for the other one, think i wanted to save the quarter till my palate was able to tell the differrence and it was probably more expensive as well... does any one else make something like that, or only laphroaig?

[HerrSchnapps]

Lol, just having a dram of this right now. It's 48%, and with just a tiny dash of water comes alive. I'm also partial to the Balvenie 12yo doublewood. You should buy from www.dutyfreestores.co.nz, sign up and you get 20% off the duty-free price. Just pre-order a few days before arriving, pick-up your bag and head off to customs

[JoKing]

I some Ardbeg 10yo that's pretty damn rich - it's an Islay malt so couldbe what you're looking for. I picked it up at LAX for US$50 so should be well within your budget.

[Reviled]

Anyone know where to get some decent Rye whiskey? Not the Jim beam one tho...

[Stu McKinlay]

I love Laphroaig and have three different bottles of it but get through it so slowly because almost nobody will drink it with me. Often I'll have one of these when I serve my bro The Macallan (a much loved whisky I'm not overly fond of).

A few of my favourite west coasters (all of which use peated malt, or peaty water, to some degree but don't have the big "gun oil" character of the more well known Islays... making them better for sharing, in my opinion):

Highland Park (Orkeny) - a classic rich and sweet malty west coaster, with a pretty subtle peat and floral character. Michael Jackson rates this very highly... as did an old whisky expert friend of mine who has passed away (the 12yo was his everyday sipper).

Scapa (Orkeny) - subtler malt and peaty water character than most West Coasters but it shows through more than something like Highland Park as it has a much drier and toastier malt character.

Bowmore (Islay) - I think these guys make the most balanced Islay... has a beautiful citrus note that I always pick in the beers made with the peated distilling malt that David Cryer sells.

Or if you really can't help but splash out, like I did on the way back from Australia last year, I can recommend the Balvenie 21yo Port Wood. Honey, floral, rich, port-y (funnily enough) slightly spicy and warming.

You can't go past a Gordon and McPhail if you want a good Speyside (The Glenlivet is their most famous brand - it's available everywhere but don't think that makes it "average"... every sip i have of this, my dad's favourite, is something special).

Not sure of your budget but I'd recommend getting a couple of 12yo's ahead of a big expensive one though. Try two from different parts of the country. get to know the producers and regions that you like before heading down the track of the premium priced bottles.

[Reviled]

"Or if you really can't help but splash out, like I did on the way back from Australia last year, I can recommend the Balvenie 21yo Port Wood. Honey, floral, rich, port-y (funnily enough) slightly spicy and warming."

Oh man that sounds so good! Port works well with whiskey I reckon, I had a bottle of that Jim Beam small batch blend, was so good it didnt last very long at all! lol

[Stu McKinlay]

Balvenie 21yo Port Wood
it is great but I think it cost me about $200

It was Father's Day the day I flew into NZ though! ha ha - i hate Father's/Mother's day like Valentines Day... well i hate the sales pitches that come with them.

[Reviled]

Ouch, and thats duty free eh? I allways used to look at the Johnny Walker Blue label bottles in duty free and baulked at the price, and allways thought it must be a killing price non duty free!

[Stu McKinlay]

blended whiskies are all well and good, and some of them are fantastic, but my life is too short to buy bottles of them...

in saying that I did drink a big load of JW Blue Label after my mate won the Johnnie Walker Classic last year... it was nice. He put on 5 bottles of the stuff at a welcome home party so what was i to do!? And i'm guessing he didn't pay retail price for them!


as for the Balvenie... there was really nothing else that took my fancy on the day, so the decision wasn't so hard. i know it'll last me several years.

[Reviled]

Ive only tried blended scotch once, Chivas regal and it steered me away from bourbon instantly! Allthough I thought that the blue label was single malt? and the black label was blended??

[Greig McGill]

Nah, all the JWs are blends afaik. Blue Label is very overpriced, but decent enough.