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Whisky

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Casual poll;

What's the absolute maximum you would pay for a standard size bottle of Scottish single malt?

Have spent £100 in the past. If I know I liked something from a tasting I would probably go higher, maybe £200 but my typical max is around £60/70 with a range from £20 upwards. Typical stock:

Jack Daniels
Johnny Walker Black
Johnny Walker Green
Woodford Reserve
Caol Ila 12
Deanston 12
Laphroig Quarter Cask
Lagavulin 16
Ardbeg 10
Ardbeg Corryvrecken
Port Charlotte MRC:01
Nikka Whisky from the Barrel
 
Allo, new forum user.

Finally a thread in which I can post somewhat authoritatively with regards to my experience of whisky, I’ll drop my top 3 at an acceptable price that I always try to have in the house.

All time # 1 would have to be Balvenie Caribbean Cask, very smooth and a big mouthful of flavour that reminds me of caramel and orange pancakes with vanilla ice cream - very easy to drink too much which only becomes apparent when you attempt to stand up, goes very well with a few medjool dates. If I’m trying to introduce a newbie into whisky this is where I’d start, a touch of decent water will open up the flavours nicely.

Running behind (but only just) at # 2 is Glenfarclas 15yr old, needs a touch of water as at 46% it can overpower on the first taste and blowout the tastebuds - there’s a true depth of flavour with this one. Sweet brown sugar in a glass with nutty aftertaste and slight citrus tangs, yet another one that goes well with medjool dates. Reminds me of my mums tea loaf which is a Scottish fruit cake made by soaked fruit in tea and brown sugar, similar in consistency to a Xmas cake(no icing) and unsurprisingly a chunk of tea loaf goes very well with the Glenfarclas. Another good introduction for newbies but does need tempered down with a splash of water.

Finally # 3 and it was a toss up between two but the Aberlour A’bunadh #63 edges into third place. Rather potent at 61% so needs a decent splash of water yet it will still cling to the sides of a glass like sh#t to a shovel, like a big chunk of dark chocolate covered chewy Xmas cake in the mouth, big flavours and leaves a very nice lingering burn, not one for newbies or the inexperienced as it’ll drop you on your arse faster than a kick to the nuts.

It’ll be interesting to read what others have chosen so I’ll pour myself a glass of something and head back to the start of the thread, slàinte


I have just ordered a bottle of the Caribbean Cask on the strength of this, sounds amazing and Masters of Malt liked it as well.

My "always in" list is posted above this but top 3 reasonable price are:

#1 Lagavulin 16 - To me the best, best value whisky ever, love the punch and length and all those medicinal tones.
#2 Ardbeg Correvrecken - used to be the regular 10 but the Corre is just another level and such great value at the moment
#3 Johnny Walker Black - I know, I know but it is always reliable, easy enjoyable drink, the best value for money blend to me. Can mix it without feeling like a heathen and drink it neat all night.
#3.5 Nearly got the nod over JWB but the Woodford Reserve is a lovely bourbon fantastic value and just a great everyday dram.
 
This is an old style cable thread before the reality set in. Me I just stick to Springbank because it reminds me of sailing the west coast. Or something cheap on offer.
 
I generally go for the special offers at under £30. I might go to 40-50 for a treat. As for JW black, it's £25, maybe a bit less. No way, not when Aldi black is very similar at under £15 and £25 gets you Ardmore, various Speyside singles or Jura routinely on special.
 
It’ll be interesting to read what others have chosen so I’ll pour myself a glass of something and head back to the start of the thread

I don't have a top three. I keep a range, typically between 15 to 20 bottles which are ones I like. My tendency is to favour peaty ones, without sweetness. In my opinion, multi cask production; rum, madeira, port and some sherries has edged the general flavour profile towards sweetness- which I don't like.


as for a max per bottle- probably close to £200.
 
Above a certain price point it becomes less about the intrinsic quality of the spirit and more about supply and demand. The trick is to get in there before everyone else drives the prices up.
As an American whiskey lover I've found the sweet spot for everyday sippin' whiskey to be £35-£50 by shopping around. I like to enjoy neat and avoid anything diluted to 40%. Barrel/cask strength is where the good stuff is, but harder to get good deals over here since they tend to keep the best stuff for themselves.
I'd pay up to £100 for a good barrel strength.
My current best value top three keeping me sane under lockdown are WT Rare Breed, Four Roses Single Barrel, and 1792.
 
There are many great malts at sane prices. There are some even better (more complex) ones at £80+, though higher prices most certainly doesn't always mean better quality. Springbanks are malts I keep returning to. One aspect of higher price stuff is that often it's cask strength so this skews the value comparison a little.

I usually avoid anything bottled at 40%. 43% to 46% is ideal for myself. I can add a very little water or take it neat at 43% / 46%. 40% restricts my water option and often isn't quite the right strength balance for my preferences.
 
Above a certain price point it becomes less about the intrinsic quality of the spirit and more about supply and demand. The trick is to get in there before everyone else drives the prices up.

Very true, I am reminded of the best whisky I ever tasted, Ardbeg Lord of the Isles. When released it was around £80 but rapidly climbed to £2-300 and now is around £2k. I only ever had one dram in the middle of Sweden, me and my work colleague spent our joint dining allowance for a glass of it and have never forgotten the experience. If I could get it for £2-300 I would spend the money no question.
 
Typically £40-50, but always on the lookout for sub-£40 bargains (so I can be a bit spendier at the top end). I've spent £90, and that felt like an extravagance, but as I'm considering dipping a toe into the world of Octomore, that might have to be adjusted, mentally, upwards.

I tend to favour Islay malts, but that's because I don't know many other regions' offers that give the range of character I find in the Islay varieties. I also like peaty malts and dislike sweet ones. One non-Islay malt I do like very much, and it's a 'normal' priced one, too, is Edradour. I think it's probably classed as a Speyside. It's a bit darker and richer than many whiskies, and it has a cosiness to it that I really like, without being bland or 'safe'.
 
Casual poll;

What's the absolute maximum you would pay for a standard size bottle of Scottish single malt?

The most I've paid so far was £108 for a discounted bottle of JW Blue - I think that's the only time I've paid over £100 so far. This year my plans are to buy fewer but better bottles, but I still think I'm unlikely to spend more than say £150 on a single bottle.

I've got something like 30 bottles at the moment so am also considering going to a one in, one out, policy as space is becoming a problem.
 
Things might have changed since my reading of Andrew Jefford's Peat Smoke and Spirit but my money would be on Caol Ila.
I'd read similar but don't be confident it's exactly the same stuff. I once made the mistake of buying Bowmore No 1, it was bloody awful junk, overoaked and cheap. Clearly they had swept up as much cheap spirit as they had, thrown in a few feints and tailings probably, and chucked it in oak barrels to disguise its general poor quality. It was horrible. Any distillery will have the good stuff and the stuff they send for blending and or third party bottling. Some of this second string stuff can be good, but some very definitely isn't.
 
Casual poll;

What's the absolute maximum you would pay for a standard size bottle of Scottish single malt?

£250 for me, it'd have to be a very special bottle

Average spend is £50 to £100 though for bottles to enjoy

Unless it's an every day supping whisky then £20's generally my limit
 
Have spent £100 in the past. If I know I liked something from a tasting I would probably go higher, maybe £200 but my typical max is around £60/70 with a range from £20 upwards. Typical stock:

Jack Daniels
Johnny Walker Black
Johnny Walker Green
Woodford Reserve
Caol Ila 12
Deanston 12
Laphroig Quarter Cask
Lagavulin 16
Ardbeg 10
Ardbeg Corryvrecken
Port Charlotte MRC:01
Nikka Whisky from the Barrel

I am surprised to see Jack Daniels on that list only because my one taste of it saw me handing it back to my chum. Now the aforementioned chum is a serious heavy metal fan and is almost religious in his devotion to certain things Rock oriented including JD, ‘the drink of rock’ according to him. He only ever drinks it with coke and now I understand why, it really was not to my taste drunk neat which is how I like whiskey.

I like Jameson’s and their Black Barrel is very moreish. I also like the less smokey Scottish malts but my limited contact with Japanese whiskey has left me unimpressed, however I have only tried a few. I currently have a Cotswold Whiskey which is not bad, apparently their aged ones are pretty special. I live in Oxfordshire so it’s a Royston Vasey variety of whiskey - ‘local whiskey for local people’.

On the subject of how many bottles you have open at any one time, how long can you realistically expect an opened bottle of whiskey to be OK?
 
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