Spirits, what you drinking...

[A Surfer]

The Corry always tastes a bit sharper to me. I think Oogg has more balance to my taste with some sherry influence and sweetness. But they are both damn great scotch. You will very much enjoy your purchase I’m sure. I suspect tariffs here in the states will send both these expressions well above $120. Currently I can buy Oogg for about $90 USD with tax. I’ve had a dram or three of aged whisky that costs much more. But I’m not sure my Scottish ancestry will allow me to ever buy a $1k bottle for my cabinet.

I can only imagine the diminishing returns for fine spirits is similar to audio. If you spend 10 times more money you are certainly not getting anything that much better.

I'm fairly certain in blind testing a significant number of people might prefer less expensive offerings. I must be miserly but just thinking about spending $1000 on something that will be a waste product seems insane.

 

[Laserjock]

SINAD doesn't seem to matter at the moment. View attachment 447717

Gin? Not very dirty…

 

[Gary_G]

Gin? Not very dirty…

3oz Grey Goose vodka, .5oz dry vermouth. 1oz +/- olive juice . Preserved lemon peel stuffed olives and jalapeño stuffed onions.
Shaken hard like it cold!

 

[Laserjock]

3oz Grey Goose vodka, .5oz dry vermouth. 1oz +/- olive juice . Preserved lemon peel stuffed olives and jalapeño stuffed onions.
Shaken hard like it cold!

I can make them, the wife likes them.

Will give it a try. (She likes Belvedere but wonder if she’d know the difference)

 

[Sal1950]

An ole family favorite, a having a couple small glasses of,
Carlo Rossi - Paisano

 

[Ilkless]

A Tamdhu 1966 27yo independently bottled by a fine wine store in Edinburgh (Raeburn) that is known among whisky nerds for having one of the best track records for bottling Scotch ever known -- mainly because this was never a main product line for them so they chose to select only extremely exceptional barrels of whisky on an erratic schedule that would be commercially infeasible for any whisky-centric business.

Always nice to open a vintage bottle that delivers the goods on taste.

Beeswax, passionfruits, nectarines, pears, ice cream come to mind when tasting this.

 

[rdenney]

I can only imagine the diminishing returns for fine spirits is similar to audio. If you spend 10 times more money you are certainly not getting anything that much better.

I'm fairly certain in blind testing a significant number of people might prefer less expensive offerings. I must be miserly but just thinking about spending $1000 on something that will be a waste product seems insane.

We did a blind test while up on the mountain for a radio contest a few years ago. All of us independently preferred the (cheapest) Laphroaig Select over either the regular 10-year or the 16-year. That preference held up at both the beginning and end of the testing period, by which time several of us had added redundancy to the blindness of the procedure.

I still prefer my 12-year Bowmore, though I notice the ABC store (state-owned liquor stores in Virginia) now has 18-year at a substantially higher price. I don’t want to taste that in case I really like it.

Rick “may have to go to the cheapest Laphroaig—or back to Elijah Craig bourbon—with tariffs” Denney

 

[A Surfer]

We did a blind test while up on the mountain for a radio contest a few years ago. All of us independently preferred the (cheapest) Laphroaig Select over either the regular 10-year or the 16-year. That preference held up at both the beginning and end of the testing period, by which time several of us had added redundancy to the blindness of the procedure.

I still prefer my 12-year Bowmore, though I notice the ABC store (state-owned liquor stores in Virginia) now has 18-year at a substantially higher price. I don’t want to taste that in case I really like it.

Rick “may have to go to the cheapest Laphroaig—or back to Elijah Craig bourbon—with tariffs” Denney

Really interesting results, and not surprising. Recently a friend of mine who is quite a fan of Scotch and frequently indulges in more expensive examples participated in a blind test.

Another Scotch loving friend and her went through some pretty nice examples blind and my friend also selected the less expensive variety on offer.

 

[Sal1950]

Mostly I'll take a bottle of A&W Root Beer.

 

[DMill]

We did a blind test while up on the mountain for a radio contest a few years ago. All of us independently preferred the (cheapest) Laphroaig Select over either the regular 10-year or the 16-year. That preference held up at both the beginning and end of the testing period, by which time several of us had added redundancy to the blindness of the procedure.

I still prefer my 12-year Bowmore, though I notice the ABC store (state-owned liquor stores in Virginia) now has 18-year at a substantially higher price. I don’t want to taste that in case I really like it.

Rick “may have to go to the cheapest Laphroaig—or back to Elijah Craig bourbon—with tariffs” Denney

Elijah Craig bourbon may be one of the best bargains in spirits out there. If I’m making a manhattan I can even get away with something like Old Overholt if I have Luxardo cherries and a decent vermouth

 

[A Surfer]

Elijah Craig bourbon may be one of the best bargains in spirits out there. If I’m making a manhattan I can even get away with something like Old Overholt if I have Luxardo cherries and a decent vermouth

Back when I could tolerate the sweetness of bourbon, Elijah Craig was one of my favorites. Thankfully for my sweetness sensitivity, I discovered Jamieson's and Bushmills.

 

[hex168]

We did a blind test while up on the mountain for a radio contest a few years ago. All of us independently preferred the (cheapest) Laphroaig Select over either the regular 10-year or the 16-year. That preference held up at both the beginning and end of the testing period, by which time several of us had added redundancy to the blindness of the procedure.

I still prefer my 12-year Bowmore, though I notice the ABC store (state-owned liquor stores in Virginia) now has 18-year at a substantially higher price. I don’t want to taste that in case I really like it.

Rick “may have to go to the cheapest Laphroaig—or back to Elijah Craig bourbon—with tariffs” Denney

Been awhile since I've had Laphroaig, but I have Ardbeg frequently. That was my preferred peated when I tasted a few. I mentioned here in post #445 that it works well for DIY blending, too. Maybe I need a bottle of Laphroaig to experiment with, as well.

 

[rdenney]

Been awhile since I've had Laphroaig, but I have Ardbeg frequently. That was my preferred peated when I tasted a few. I mentioned here in post #445 that it works well for DIY blending, too. Maybe I need a bottle of Laphroaig to experiment with, as well.

Ardbeg is good, indeed. The ABC stores lack a real selection of Islay scotches, though, and only have maybe four of the nine or ten Islay or Jura distilleries represented. Bowmore has been my favorite because it isn't quite as in-your-face peaty as Laphroaig. I don't really mind that level of peatiness, but when I open a bottle of Laphroaig, the Redhead makes me open a window to air out the place. I can drink my Bowmore in peace

I seem to recall that the Laphroaig distillery produced a whisky called the Peat Monster. I'd be required to drink that out on the porch.

I think peatiness sort-of filled the same beginner niche as hoppiness in microbrews. Lots of scotch beginners compete on their tolerance for peat. I generally dislike hoppy beer, which is most of what American brew-pubs produce (in the form of IPA's and double IPA's), and greatly prefer German-style smooth lagers and pilseners. But I do like my peaty scotch, even though I'm somewhat past the beginner stage.

I've gone through bottles of many of the famous highland/Speyside scotches--Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Tamdhu (lovely stuff), and so on--but I find myself back to Bowmore soon after.

Rick "who doesn't drink nearly as much as this post seems to imply" Denney

 

[Flaesh]

about $22

 

[Gyosa1]

The best there is for Mojitos….the real deal

About $10

Bk