I love Scotch

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Planktonmd

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I don't think we ever discussed scotch on this forum so:
Who is a scotch drinker here?
What is your favorite scotch?
How do you drink it?
Let's hear it all.

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I don't think we ever discussed scotch on this forum so:
Who is a scotch drinker here?
What is your favorite scotch?
How do you drink it?
Let's hear it all.

The Macallan

Waiting to try my buddy's 25 year...of which I bought him for his 25th birthday.

Short, rock glass. Three cold ice cubes. Nothing else.
 
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I have a bottle of Oban at home that is just splendid. 10 year, me thinks. Awesome.

dc
 
Laphroaig, rocks

Among blends I prefer Chivas.

i drink these mostly on the rocks or in a chilled glass.

Laphroaig - I would STRONGLY recommend trying some before buying a whole bottle. not a big fan.

Glenlivet French Oak Reserve - Personal fav at the moment

Johnny Black - classic blend, can't go wrong. i've drank bottles of this stuff. skip the red, celebrate with blue if you're a pimp.

Crown - common staple scotch. can't go wrong

then there's macallan, glenfiddich, dalwhinnie, highland park, etc, etc. hhmm, yummy... where's my bottle??? :D
 
Macallan for sure. Others are good as well but this one is to close to family for me.

I drink it on the rocks (1-2 cubes) at night in the home.

When camping in the snow though, its straight. Gotta warm up.
 
Has anyone tried Lagavulin? I've heard good things but don't want to invest in a bottle without trying it, and I haven't found a place to try it.
 
Macallan for sure. Others are good as well but this one is to close to family for me.

I drink it on the rocks (1-2 cubes) at night in the home.

When camping in the snow though, its straight. Gotta warm up.

You know I've never tried that, I think I will though.
For the past 4-5 years my post call drink of choice :) has been Glenlivet 21 years single malt, a bit expensive but certainly worth it.
 
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Is anyone familiar with Johnny Walker Gold? I've read you should keep it in the freezer which allows for a slow release of its honey hint on your pallet.
 
Has anyone tried Lagavulin? I've heard good things but don't want to invest in a bottle without trying it, and I haven't found a place to try it.

you would probably have to go to a scotch bar to get it without buying a bottle at the liquor store. i'm not the biggest fan of the islay single malts (i like my scotch smooth, these have a pretty big smoky kick), but they are definitely worth trying, some people love them. very unique flavor. laphroaig is another good one (i think someone else mentioned it).

my standard is the glenlivet 12-year - inexpensive, flowery, and smooth. the 18-year is definitely better, and probably my favorite, but a little to pricey to drink on a regular basis (i save it for special occasions). the 15-year french oak is also tasty. i generally drink it neat, once in awhile with an ice cube. glenlivet also recently (like 1-2 years ago) released a cask strength scotch, called "nadurra". i've found that cutting it with a little water improves it significantly, more flavor.

my friend got me a 21-year glenfiddich for my wedding that i haven't opened yet. all this talk of scotch, i think i'm going to head to my bar and open it right now :)
 
Laphroaig and Lagavulin

Neat, two-three fingers. Heaven from the Earth. :thumbup:
 
You know I've never tried that, I think I will though.
For the past 4-5 years my post call drink of choice :) has been Glenlivet 21 years single malt, a bit expensive but certainly worth it.

i got this for my brother as a wedding favor just a few months ago - amazing stuff. however, we did a taste test with the 12, 18, and the 21... for some reason, we both still prefer the 18. i feel it's a little softer on the palate.
 
i'm pretty sure the glenlivet 12-year is about the same price, pick up a bottle, you won't go back to blended scotch.

I'll put that on my list, Currently the cheaper scotches i like are Red label and Dewars
 
No love for the blended scotches on here?
 
No love for the blended scotches on here?

I think that in general, blended scotches are not that good, not that interesting, or overpriced by a global advertising campaign.

When I'm in the mood for something less aggressive, I think Chivas is pretty good (perhaps not worth the price), and may actually be an improvement on the Strathisla single malt which is much of the blend.
 
Has anyone tried Lagavulin? I've heard good things but don't want to invest in a bottle without trying it, and I haven't found a place to try it.

One of YOU guys turned me on to Laphroaig a while back. Lord-Jeebus, it was either you or possibly Vent.

Anyway, to answer your question, Lagavulin is more expensive, and while it is from the same island (Islay, as I'm sure you know), it's STILL not as peaty and smokey as Laphroaig. I much prefer Laphraig over Lagavulin, though it wasn't bad. Just SO hard to match the uniqueness of Laphroaig.

cf
 
I have tried many scotches but for some reason, I only like the real peaty, isley ones.

Lagavulin is a little smoother, less spicy and peaty than laphroig.

My favorite is laphroig followed by lagavulin.

I drink only neat. If i am drinking $60/bottle booze, I want no dilution of flavor!

Snow camping would be great with laphroig. Warm your cockles right up. dre'

Has anyone tried Lagavulin? I've heard good things but don't want to invest in a bottle without trying it, and I haven't found a place to try it.
 
Johnny Walker Blue straight no ice.

Once you do, You'll never go back.



Although I am partial to Centenario Reposado



foil
 
Balvenie Double Barrel - simply amazing, by far the best malt I've ever had. You can taste and smell the sherry from the second cask.
 
Among scotches I like Oban...
But I am more of a bourbon fan... mainly cause it's made in the USA (just kidding)... but I like Blanton's and Basil Haydens (but I feel girlie ordering it)

chris
 
I have tried many scotches but for some reason, I only like the real peaty, isley ones.

Lagavulin is a little smoother, less spicy and peaty than laphroig.

My favorite is laphroig followed by lagavulin.

I drink only neat. If i am drinking $60/bottle booze, I want no dilution of flavor!
Snow camping would be great with laphroig. Warm your cockles right up. dre'

Dude, I totally agree. I WILL, however, spash a dash of H2O on RARE occassion. Mostly, though, it's neat, which is my favorite.

I never use ice, but it's not a macho thing. First, I don't like it with ice, and second, it's all about what YOU prefer than any age old tradition, or what's "proper".
 
Among scotches I like Oban...
But I am more of a bourbon fan... mainly cause it's made in the USA (just kidding)... but I like Blanton's and Basil Haydens (but I feel girlie ordering it)

chris

Many will ream me for this, but sometimes I'll buy bourbon simply because it IS made in the USA. Just check out some youtube film on Makers Mark or Jim Beam. Note the manpower and machinery that goes into distilling this stuff. These are real jobs.
 
johnny walker baby...black. with a splash of coke OR with a few rocks.
 
Chivas is decent stuff.
Anyone here watch "Three Sheets"? Their show on scotland was good. You can watch it on hulu.com
 
I have tried many scotches but for some reason, I only like the real peaty, isley ones.

Lagavulin is a little smoother, less spicy and peaty than laphroig.

My favorite is laphroig followed by lagavulin.

I drink only neat. If i am drinking $60/bottle booze, I want no dilution of flavor!

Snow camping would be great with laphroig. Warm your cockles right up. dre'

Amen. I hated scotch until I tried Laphroaig, and it was a suggestion, like I said, from someone on this forum.

So far (haven't tried and Islay's aside from the two above), I only like those two, and in that order. Good stuff.

cf
 
Is anyone familiar with Johnny Walker Gold? I've read you should keep it in the freezer which allows for a slow release of its honey hint on your pallet.

I have a bottle of Gold label in my freezer that I dip into on occasion. It seems pretty good, but I am admittedly no expert on scotch. I bought it on a whim and mostly have it for when people who like scotch more than I do are visiting.
 
My wife and I have quite a collection, including the Macallan 25. We're both partial to the darker malts. I really don't care for the Speyside malts unless the are really old (like the Macallan 25) or have some special flavor (like those finished in sherry casks). As for my favorites, I too love the Islay malts. My favorite is Ardbeg which is one of the darkest you'll ever find. The 17 is much better than the 10 and worth the 30 extra dollars. I was lucky enough to find a bottle of 21 and it is unreal! My wife really likes Talisker (from the Isle of Skye) which I think is nice and fairly dark.

As for blended whisky, I wouln't give that to my dog. I'd rather drink burboun.

Ed
 
Any suggestion? Around Lincoln Park or Lakeview?
 
My favorites are the Islay single malt scotches. (Pronounced ee-la)
The two best I can get around here are Caol Illa 12+ (pronounced cull-eela) and Laphroig 12+ (pronounced la-froyg).

Youre supposed to drink em straight and if you have to put something in it your supposed to use the same water the respective distillery uses.

Most people don't like the Islay scotches because they have a strong mineral quality with alot of smokiness. The taste of single malt scotch depends mostly on the water used by the distillery. For instance, lowland scotch is made with water from peat bogs. This gives it it's distinct earthy essence. Highland scotch is made with water running from the clear mountain springs therefore it has more of a mineral quality. Islay scotch is made on the islands, therefore the water has more of an organic and salty flavor (smokiness and bite).

Anyone else out there a single malt fan? Any recs for an old lech?
 
For a lesson on scotch, go Three Sheets to Scotland:

http://www.mojohd.com/mojoseries/threesheets/episodes/view/scotland



Personally, I only like the lowland and Islay scotch. I am actually going to make a Scotch Ale tonight and I am hoping to capture some smoke and peat flavor of the few brands of lowland scotch I've had the pleasure to try.


When I get done with AA school, I plan on stocking my bar with the best Scotland has to offer [within reason].
 
I got a bottle of Black Label. Going to crack it open and have a drink later. When you guys say you drink it neat, do you guys drink it chilled? Like freezer chilled? Or room temp? I've always had it on the rocks but will have it neat tonight.
 
Just bought a 15 yr LAphroig to celebrate almost 1/3 of the way through CA-2!

I would drink at room temperature. I think that cold temps would decrease taste. Ice cream is sposed to be eaten slightly warmed...
 
I'll put that on my list, Currently the cheaper scotches i like are Red label and Dewars

White label isn't terrible (neither is black or red), but blended scotches are what I use to get drunk.

If I'm savoring, right now I've got a Fiddich 15 year, a Morangie Port finish, some Te Bheag, and my favorite, which is Blackadder Smoking Islay.
The last two you can only get in Scotland, unfortunately. Also some Poit Dhubh that some friends are getting, because they asked for Johnnie Walker blue or green or gold or some **** like that simply because it was duty free.

I fully recommend Islay malts, as the peatiness mixed with the extra salt and smokiness makes them wonderful. Plus, you can get them unchilfiltered, which makes them nice. The blackadder is cask strength (59.6% for this cask), and raw cask, so there are pieces of charred wood floating in it for extra character.

As far as ice, drink whatever you like, but I only put a small capful of water in to make it aromatic. The warmer it is, the better you can taste the flavors. At the Fiddich distillery, I had the opportunity to have a dram of their 30 year, which was wonderful. The 40 year was 75 pounds sterling for a dram, and even I don't think $140 is worth 20mL of scotch (at least not until I'm making some more money).

Oh, and I fully recommend the tour.
distillery3uc5.jpg

distillery21zr5.jpg

distillery33lo8.jpg
 
I didn't realize there was a school for alcoholics anonymous. :eek:

Well, once I graduate I will be fully capable of knowing how to stock a bar.



It's a win-win.
 
I got a bottle of Black Label. Going to crack it open and have a drink later. When you guys say you drink it neat, do you guys drink it chilled? Like freezer chilled? Or room temp? I've always had it on the rocks but will have it neat tonight.

My recipe is simple: 1 piece of ice.
 
I'm a big fan of Macallan cigar malt. It's only about $35 a bottle. I drink scotch with about a teaspoon of water, which I find really opens it up. Try a before and after and you'll see what I mean. I don't like ice because I feel like it masks the flavor as it melts.
 
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