Scotch Connoisseurs - Anything here with buying?

[Ethernut]

Have these available in my local B&M. Thought I’d draw on your experience in the spirit of brotherhood. I was gravitating toward the Lore. Keep in mind, my B&M wants a premium for them, are there any “must buys”/“must experience” bottles in here?

 

Cheers mates and thanks in advance!

E

[Hypersomniac]

I definitely don't qualify as a scotch connoisseur, but the Dalmore Cigar Malt and the Glenmorangie Signet are two bottles that I have had. They are both fantastic. The Cigar Malt is what I have currently. $265 is definitely on the high side for the Signet, and I can't see a price on the cigar malt there; I think mine ran about $150. 

[Ethernut]

4 minutes ago, Hypersomniac said:

I definitely don't qualify as a scotch connoisseur, but the Dalmore Cigar Malt and the Glenmorangie Signet are two bottles that I have had. They are both fantastic. The Cigar Malt is what I have currently. $265 is definitely on the high side for the Signet, and I can't see a price on the cigar malt there; I think mine ran about $150. 

Thank you sir!

[WhiteMamba]

Depends on what you like. I try to keep my max for a bottle under 100 just because I cant seem to justify spending so much when some of my favorite bottles are in the 70-80 range. Higher end (longer aged) stuff is certainly more smooth but to me it doesn't justify the huge price difference. Just my 2 cents. for what its worth my favorite scotch is Caol Ila 12.

[Ethernut]

58 minutes ago, WhiteMamba said:

Depends on what you like. I try to keep my max for a bottle under 100 just because I cant seem to justify spending so much when some of my favorite bottles are in the 70-80 range. Higher end (longer aged) stuff is certainly more smooth but to me it doesn't justify the huge price difference. Just my 2 cents. for what its worth my favorite scotch is Caol Ila 12.

I’m a huge Caol Ila fan! I feel similarly to you about the over $100 bottles. Which is why I worded the post the way I did. Your 2 cents are worth more than 2 cents! ?

[Ethernut]

What say ye @ChanceSchmerr? Make it to Havana this year?

[stinkhead]

Lore is excellent, and a one time bottling I believe. It is much different then the rest of the laphroaig line. Assuming you are at the $100-$120 price point on it I would not hesitate if you were interested. 

[ChanceSchmerr]

15 minutes ago, Ethernut said:

What say ye @ChanceSchmerr? Make it to Havana this year?

Hey mate! I couldn't this year - wife's pregnancy and recent deployments overseas kinda prevented it this year.  we'll see about next year....

As to your glass case here - some great malts on here, no doubt.  The Laphy Lore was kinda "meh" if you ask me - yet another "No Age Statement, Incredible Marketing-driven Story About Careful Cask Selection Blah blah blah Whisky" that doesn't deliver much more than the classic Laphy 10.

From what's there, I'd say any self-respectable scotch shelf should have:
- Springbank 18 yr.  A fantastic Classic. I've always got a bottle on my shelf.
- Any Redbreast whisky - If you need an Irish whisky, you won't find a better, more consistent product than Redbreast.  Well, Jameson's is consistent.......but not better.
- Highland Park 18 yr - Probably the best HP whisky that's not in the stratosphere for price. A peated whisky of a different cut - the heather-based peat that they use for HP Whisky is on full display for this dram.
- Octomore - We've talked about Octomore before but I'd still recommend the 6.3 or 7.3 bottling (white can) if you can - that one looks like the 6.1. Still, the 6.1 is a great whisky and Octomore is legendary for sweet, creamy peated whiskies.  It's not as overwhelming as you might think.
 

But I would agree with others - paying a premium is too easy these days, prices have skyrocketed all around. 

Must haves?  Springbank 18 (only if $125 US or lower), HP18 ($125 or lower), or Octomore (100 USD or lower).

[ChanceSchmerr]

1 minute ago, stinkhead said:

Lore is excellent, and a one time bottling I believe. It is much different then the rest of the laphroaig line. Assuming you are at the $100-$120 price point on it I would not hesitate if you were interested. 

You're not the only one who's disagreed with me on this, and that's fair - everyone's palate is different! - best advice I could give you, @Ethernut - see if you can try at a local bar before buying the bottle. That's what I did with Lore and a host of other recent bottlings.

 

[stinkhead]

1 hour ago, ChanceSchmerr said:

You're not the only one who's disagreed with me on this, and that's fair - everyone's palate is different! - best advice I could give you, @Ethernut - see if you can try at a local bar before buying the bottle. That's what I did with Lore and a host of other recent bottlings.

 

That is excellent advice. Only reason I even tried it initially was at a tasting.  I don’t think I would have even considered it otherwise since you mention those NAS whisky’s feel like a money grab.

 

Interestingly enough I have heard from several reps that the major producers are trying to move away from age statements. I don’t know how true this is though, could see pros and cons to either way. 

[Lotusguy]

Hey mate! I couldn't this year - wife's pregnancy and recent deployments overseas kinda prevented it this year.  we'll see about next year....
As to your glass case here - some great malts on here, no doubt.  The Laphy Lore was kinda "meh" if you ask me - yet another "No Age Statement, Incredible Marketing-driven Story About Careful Cask Selection Blah blah blah Whisky" that doesn't deliver much more than the classic Laphy 10.

From what's there, I'd say any self-respectable scotch shelf should have:
- Springbank 18 yr.  A fantastic Classic. I've always got a bottle on my shelf.
- Any Redbreast whisky - If you need an Irish whisky, you won't find a better, more consistent product than Redbreast.  Well, Jameson's is consistent.......but not better.
- Highland Park 18 yr - Probably the best HP whisky that's not in the stratosphere for price. A peated whisky of a different cut - the heather-based peat that they use for HP Whisky is on full display for this dram.
- Octomore - We've talked about Octomore before but I'd still recommend the 6.3 or 7.3 bottling (white can) if you can - that one looks like the 6.1. Still, the 6.1 is a great whisky and Octomore is legendary for sweet, creamy peated whiskies.  It's not as overwhelming as you might think.
 
But I would agree with others - paying a premium is too easy these days, prices have skyrocketed all around. 

Must haves?  Springbank 18 (only if $125 US or lower), HP18 ($125 or lower), or Octomore (100 USD or lower).

The days of Springbank 18 for under $125 are loooooong over - the lowest price on special I saw this year was $189.

[Darkenskies]

3 hours ago, WhiteMamba said:

Depends on what you like. I try to keep my max for a bottle under 100 just because I cant seem to justify spending so much when some of my favorite bottles are in the 70-80 range. Higher end (longer aged) stuff is certainly more smooth but to me it doesn't justify the huge price difference. Just my 2 cents. for what its worth my favorite scotch is Caol Ila 12.

The Caol Ila 12 is my current islay right now as well.  Delicious stuff .  Actually,  haven' had an Islay I didn' like

[WhiteMamba]

Yeah it seems to be hard to find. I got some at the beginning of the year from total wine and then when I went back at the beginning of this month they didn’t have it and acted like it was impossible to find.

[ChanceSchmerr]

38 minutes ago, stinkhead said:

Interestingly enough I have heard from several reps that the major producers are trying to move away from age statements. I don’t know how true this is though, could see pros and cons to either way. 

Yup - they are going that way because they think they can convince consumers that that after several decades of "age matters - older whisky is much better", the real truth is "age doesn't matter if we pick the barrel better, and use a super sherry/port/red wine cask for maturing our spirit for a short time that we feel embarrassed to tell you because it's a single digit number". Oh, and "if you want old stuff, well yeah that's not much better but just in case we'll charge you $100's more per bottle".  Greed.

It has to be said that the only reason Older whisky was available in great numbers until recently is that production left over from the 70's/80's and early 90s when whisky was not in vogue had given distilleries a great stock from which to draw upon.  With those "whisky lochs" now depleted, they simply can't keep pace with demand and there is only two ways to go - limit release volume (which a few do) or release immature product to ensure they capture more of the current market and create fanciful reasons for why "age doesn't matter" to the consumer regarding the quality of this younger stock.  I'd much rather producers not cheap out by peddling marketing crap instead of properly matured whisky, but aside from the select few (like Springbank, Glenfarclas, others), they take the easy way out.   

Nope, I'm not offended at all that they fail to acknowledge the duplicity of their messaging.

23 minutes ago, Lotusguy said:

The days of Springbank 18 for under $125 are loooooong over - the lowest price on special I saw this year was $189.

That sucks - my last bottle of SP18 that I bought 6 months ago here in Canada was about $125 USD.  TBH it's worth much more than that if you ask me, but I'm assuming purchases on a budget  

[shlomo]

Springbank 18 varies year to year and batch to batch. To major degrees. They are most certainly not all created equal.

The Glenmo Signet is a glorious whisky. But that price is insane.

Glenmo Tusail is starting to get a bit harder to find and is a nice easygoing drink.

HP 18 is always a winner

Talisker 18 is delightful if you're in the mood for salty smoothness. An excellent choice if you are in the mood for that unique profile.

and the most overlooked of the bunch and possibly my favorite....Bunnahabhain 18. YUUUUMMMM Sweet peat beauty. One of a kind deliciousness.

I like the Lore, a lot. Yes it has all that marketing nonsense and story hoopla behind it, but the juice is lovely.

[shlomo]

Looking again, I personally would jump on the Nikka 17, Longrow or the Cadenhead Mortlach, but I have never tried any  of those particular bottlings.

[fabes]

54 minutes ago, shlomo said:

Looking again, I personally would jump on the Nikka 17, Longrow or the Cadenhead Mortlach, but I have never tried any  of those particular bottlings.

Glad someone mentioned the Nikka Pure Malt 17. I’ve got half a bottle left and it’s lovely. I find it a bit more woody/oaky than the 12, but doubly complex. 

[garbandz]

Cadenhead does excellent work, one cask, one label, cask proof. and Longrow is a very rare bottle indeed. I put it in my top 15.

Made by Springbank with peat dried malt, the best of two worlds in one bottle.

cannot see the details, but I would nail both of the above in a New York Minute.

The Springbank 18 is astonishing.

I will look thru the rest and get back..........

 

AND THE HAZELBURN, another screamingly rare bottle, also from Springbank.

the Mortlach is silent now,I have not seen a bottle in a over decade . I am sure it is not cheap. I would snag this for rarity. and I love the dram.

The Balvenie Portwood 21 is a gift from above, and carries a Heavenly cost, I put this one in my top 10 EVER.

Glen Moray 25.....an affordable quarter century dram,and I wish I could see more of the Laphroaig label, it could be notable.

I know people who would walk there for the Octomore.

You are lucky to have so many treats so close to hand.I would just have my paychecks direct deposited there and stop by for gas money.......

 

[garbandz]

just read the rest, the Lore looks a treat, but I would buy the Longrow and Hazelburn before it.

and yes,I love the Laphroaig,but I have moved away from so many south shore Islay drams, to rediscover the drams I learned on..... 

Look at the Cadenhead,each one should be different age, proof, and cask.........

By Jupiter,one of those Cadenheads' is a Mortlach !!!!!!   That's the one...........

[shlomo]

1 hour ago, garbandz said:

 

the Mortlach is silent now,I have not seen a bottle in a over decade . I am sure it is not cheap. I would snag this for rarity. and I love the dram.

Mortlach is silent? Since when????

[ayepatz]

I’d grab the Macallan age statements bottles, as they are becoming rarer to find and more expensive accordingly.

Also the Glenmorangie 18 is a glorious drop - I was drinking just last night - but it is widely available in UK airport duty free shops at the moment, if you happen to be flying through the UK anytime soon.

[SirVantes]

5 hours ago, garbandz said:

Look at the Cadenhead,each one should be different age, proof, and cask.........

Cadenhead's is a top-notch independent bottler.  Their Small Batch series you have there are not single-casks, but vattings of casks - having said that, some enthusiasts feel that Small Batch is their best work.

5 hours ago, garbandz said:

ust read the rest, the Lore looks a treat, but I would buy the Longrow and Hazelburn before it.

Just a heads-up on that Longrow - that one is finished in a Burgundy cask, with a heavy wine influence.  If you want to try the unalloyed Longrow clean peat experience, you may better served looking for their standard bottling.

[treberty]

If you have access to Cadenhead whiskies I would go for those, given their very limited production (I don’t know how much they would cost in the US though)...

Shoot them a quick email to let them know what you like and they will give you really good pointers!

regular production single malts will/should always be around. A good Cadenhead really is special, IMO.

enjoy!

 

 

[MIKA27]

Glenmorangie Signet is Brilliant!

[MIKA27]

On 29/11/2017 at 7:47 AM, Hypersomniac said:

I definitely don't qualify as a scotch connoisseur, but the Dalmore Cigar Malt and the Glenmorangie Signet are two bottles that I have had. They are both fantastic. The Cigar Malt is what I have currently. $265 is definitely on the high side for the Signet, and I can't see a price on the cigar malt there; I think mine ran about $150. 

I second the Signet!