Scotch

[Guest Iain C]

Teachers - definitely the best 'value' whisky for every day boozing

 

My parents - fairly heavy drinkers - have got through at least a couple of bottles of Teachers a week ever since I can remember and probably longer than I've been alive...

 

I always hated the smell of the stuff, and I pretty much blame it for my not even bothering with scotch until a year or so ago. But having developed my whisky palate a bit, I can appreciate that it's actually very decent for a blend... great with soda and a ton of ice for a classy, old-style highball.

 

My folks drink it with equal or greater parts room-temperature water. I think that's madness. I make an effort to get my dad good single malts for birthdays/christmas now.

[Guest hobo d]

ARDBEG or LAPHROAIG

[kaini]

ARDBEG or LAPHROAIG

 

or LAGAVULIN.

 

but islay is where it's at, no doubt.

[baph]

Islay say it is!

 

 

I... I apologize for that.

[J3FF3R00]

I think this 12-year thread has aged to perfection and is ready to enjoy. 

(FYI, there was another/more-recent scotch thread but I posted in this one because it had more replies... plus I didn’t want to start a 3rd scotch thread) 
 

I’ve recently caught the Scotch bug. A friend of mine got me a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black for my birthday over a year ago and I wasn’t drinking, at the time. After a move and the whole covid thing, I felt it was time to bust in. I’m happy I did. I’m sure I had tried Scotch before, but I couldn’t tell you what/where/when. All I know is that I really enjoyed the JWB. So much so that I now have a taste and curiosity for more exploration. 
 

My wife and I watched this documentary soon after ...

... and I found it highly entertaining/informative. From it, I learned about peat, barreling, etc. 

What I liked about the JWB was it’s smoothness, a very subtle and non-overpowering sweetness, and a pleasantly smoky aftertaste. After some research, I recently decided to pick up a bottle of this stuff for my next level of exploration...

I haven’t opened it yet but it was less than $20 at Trader Joe’s and I read it apparently has a smooth, pleated, smoky flavor with notes of vanilla. My hope is to get a firmer recognition of the peat flavor to see what that’s all about and to maybe help identify it in future explorations... without breaking the bank. 
Once my JWB is out, which will be very soon, I’ll crack it open and have a go. 
 

Any suggestions on a 3rd, reasonably priced step after this bottle?

[t yst r]

4 hours ago, J3FF3R00 said:

 

I haven't had a drink of JWB before, but it's supposed to be a pretty solid blend. The Double Black even more so. My main issue with blended whiskies -as far as I've tasted any- is that they're a little too balanced and rounded. That makes it super tasty the first few sips, but soon becomes pretty boring.

Finlaggan is probably the best cheap malt scotch you can get. And it's good! Supposedly, it's either a Laphroaig or a Lagavulin.

My favourite Islay whiskies are the ones from Bruichladdich. If you want to go all the way peaty, get a Port Charlotte and an Octomore. Not cheap, but worth every penny. The Octomore is mindblowing...

A really nice blended malt from Islay is Big Peat. Not very cheap either, but also worth the price.

Another cheap Islay malt is the Ileach. Comparable to Finlaggan, although I prefer the latter.

For cheap(ish) non-peated scotch, get a bottle of Glenfarclas 105. Heavy sherry cask influence and cask strength too

The only single malt that I didn't like so far is the Cardhu 12 yo. Very plain, no aftertaste. Simply dull.