zitsky

Thanks, I will look for those. I do like Macallan.

OldVines

I saw this thread, started to read, and couldn't help drifting to the drinks cabinet for a small glass of Highland Park. Possibly a mistake with lots of work still to do today!

exerda

I second the Yellow Spot, particularly if you like the sherry cask-type stuff.

Dingle's Single Pot Still whiskey is very Speyside-esque IMHO, but probably a tough bottle to find (I got the bartender at a Dingle Distillery bar in Dublin to sell me one; none of the shops had any on hand). There's also some Bushmill's 16-year sherry cask I've had which would be a nice comparison, albeit again very hard.

zitsky

I hate being in NC where you have to go to the state store. They dont have a good selection. Couldn't even find Johnnie Walker black, just double black. Don't laugh, I like it.

iceblueshoes

I'm sure many will laugh, but I finally got to try Chivas tonight (Chivas 18) at a Scotch tasting and really enjoyed it!

Also tried the Nadurra which was incredibly complex but also VERY smooth. The alcohol feels much lower than it actually is.

EuropeanPete

I've recently spent about 10 weekends hanging out in Dublin's cocktail bars, but I can't remember ever having seen that!

zitsky

I did not know until recently that Chivas is from Speyside. I have tried it before. It's ok.

gfunkdave

It's a blend. Are you saying all its components are from Speyside? THat's interesting.

I like Chivas - it's my favorite cheap blended scotch.

zitsky

Yes it's a blend. From speyside according to google.

exerda

IIRC, the bartender said there were only a few hundred bottles produced from that release. Dingle Distillery is a pretty small operation; we toured it in late 2016 before they'd aged anything enough to legally release as Irish whiskey. I wish I'd been able to find a bottle of their cask strength single malt; I tried some in Dublin and loved it.


Funny that I should mention that one. Picked up a bottle at a VA ABC store yesterday ($99). It's definitely a solid dram if you like cask finishes (it's actually 3-wood, not just sherry; I was mistaken on that point. Sherry & bourbon for the primary aging, then finished in port casks I believe).

CMK10

Picked this up this week, my first time seeing it at the Durham ABC stores. It's not bad and a fun change of pace from my usual brands but nothing I think I'll buy again. Still, for $67, why the hell not?

mandolino

We're fortunate here ABZ town in that there are at least two bars that specialise in whisky and the bar staff are experts.
(Those two would be The Grill and CASC - IMO, YMMV)

That raises the "bar" for all the other places so you have a pretty good likelihood of someone at least moderately well-informed serving you in most pubs.
It's a great town for sampling whisky but unfortunately no cheaper than anywhere else because the price is mostly tax .

And Aberdeen drams are notoriously smaller than Glasgow drams, being traditionally 1/6 gill by the old measure whereas Glasgow were 1/5 or 1/4. Now pubs have generally moved to 25ml (Aberdeen and the North) and 35 ml (Glasgow and the South/Central)
Gills to mils

By the way, I live a short walk from the original Chivas Brothers premises in Aberdeen and not too long a drive from their current flagship at Strathisla , Keith.

From Keith, you can take a short Heritage Railway trip to Dufftown where it's a short walk to Glenfiddich visitor centre, and Balvenie and others.

Then you can walk along the River Fiddich to reach the Spey at Craigellachie and on to Aberlour if you wish. It's quite doable moderate hike - I've done it with kids and a small dog. A good Speyside whisky tour in very scenic country

Anyway, taking a visiting whisky-loving colleague on a tour of local bars, I discovered that I quite liked Ledaig, a bit sweet for a peaty island malt, made at Mull's only distillery Tobermory.
I also learned that it's pronounced Le-jig. Somehow it had slipped under my radar, although I've seen it around

CMK10

SJU Duty Free has a sale on Johnny Walker Blue today, two 750 ML bottles for $309. My local ABC stores in North Carolina sell them for $250 a bottle. Hell of a deal.

zitsky

Is Blue still blended scotch? I drink black never had blue.

EuropeanPete

I was at the Caresse Resort in Bodrum, Turkey yesterday and a 40ml serve Johnny Walker Black was about $18US. A serve of JW Gold was the same... as was a serve of JW Blue.

I do it enjoy it when people running a bar don't know how to calculate GP's properly and leave fun little sweet spots on the spirits menu.