The Whisk(e)y Thread

With Van Winkle's latest 'unicorn,' bourbon may have jumped the shark
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/food-dining/2017/07/10/with-van-winkle-latest-unicorn-bourbon-may-have-jumped-shark/NBYL3A7UBpQ2pqQM0c2CoN/story.html

sweetcell wrote:

Yada wrote:
I don't think we have a scotch thread

are you aware that scotch is whisky?

my apologies.

Yada wrote:
I don't think we have a scotch thread, so this seems like the next best place to put this…

I had a glass of this last night, holy shit was it delicious.

That's a nice bottle. If I'm dropping 200-250 on a scotch, that's not what I'd pick but I had that at a local restaurant's "whisky school" and its quite nice.

I went into a bar the other night and asked for a regular macallan. bartender said, why don't you try this rare cask? Ok! I said, figuring it would be a premium and cost maybe $20. I will say, it was excellent, really nice with a lot of character. Then I got the bill and it was $60. Oh well, still a good drink, but I'm not doing that again. This is why I drink at home.

Relaxer wrote:
I went into a bar the other night and asked for a regular macallan. bartender said, why don't you try this rare cask? Ok! I said, figuring it would be a premium and cost maybe $20. I will say, it was excellent, really nice with a lot of character. Then I got the bill and it was $60. Oh well, still a good drink, but I'm not doing that again. This is why I drink at home.

That's why I drink those kind of drinks on the company dime. ;)

Someone upselling you to a 4-5x price point without any indication that what he's giving you is not in the price range of what you actually requested seems sleazy.

I totally agree, it was a dick move. I went from a drink that would have cost $12 to one that cost $60. Before I received the bill and saw what it cost, I said I wanted to order another but was afraid of what the bill would be and he didn't say anything. I almost did order another, thinking "Ok so my final tab will be like fifty bucks, which is a lot but this is good stuff." I would've been pissed if I'd had to cough up $120 for two ounces of whiskey.

And yeah, he measured that shit out, it wasn't like he gave me a nice heavy pour.

Relaxer wrote:
I totally agree, it was a dick move. I went from a drink that would have cost $12 to one that cost $60. Before I received the bill and saw what it cost, I said I wanted to order another but was afraid of what the bill would be and he didn't say anything. I almost did order another, thinking "Ok so my final tab will be like fifty bucks, which is a lot but this is good stuff." I would've been pissed if I'd had to cough up $120 for two ounces of whiskey.

And yeah, he measured that shit out, it wasn't like he gave me a nice heavy pour.

Wow. Drink elsewhere, dude.

The Mrs and I were drinking at the Fairmont in Newport Beach back in March.  I asked for a glass of the Macallan 18 ($45), noticed the bottle of Rare Cask, and inquired about it.  The barkeep poured me a sniffer and we shared.  I asked how much, and she said $60.  I said "If I'm going to spend that much, I'd rather have the 21" which they didn't have.  So she poured me a glass of the Rare Cask, charged me for the 18 and I laid down $60.  That's a good barkeep. 

vansmack wrote:
The Mrs and I were drinking at the Fairmont in Newport Beach back in March.  I asked for a glass of the Macallan 18 ($45), noticed the bottle of Rare Cask, and inquired about it.  The barkeep poured me a sniffer and we shared.  I asked how much, and she said $60.  I said "If I'm going to spend that much, I'd rather have the 21" which they didn't have.  So she poured me a glass of the Rare Cask, charged me for the 18 and I laid down $60.  That's a good barkeep.

Yes, keep drinking there, dude.

Of the scotchs of that style/region, I still prefer Balvenie's line to Macallan just 1 to 1. I think their 21 beats Macallan's 21 and I think their 14 is better than Macallan's 15.

Yes, wrote:
Of the scotchs of that style/region, I still prefer Balvenie's line to Macallan just 1 to 1. I think their 21 beats Macallan's 21 and I think their 14 is better than Macallan's 15.

I prefer Highlands to Speyside, but I'm not kicking either out of bed.  It's just easier to find Macallan….

The Mrs did pick up a Charity Glenlivet tasting which is intriguing.  It's not my preferred choice, but if I can get into the 21+'s I'll be pretty happy as I would never drop the cash for it.

https://youtu.be/dsPHahCvuMw?t=2m2s

i'll see myself out now.

I went to Scotland last week, and drank Scotch.

challenged wrote:
I went to Scotland last week, and drank Scotch.

That's cool. I'd be interested in hearing what you tried and what stood out.

One of my huge regrets is that more than a decade ago I took a solo roadtrip through Scotland for 4 days and didn't even consider visiting any distilleries because I wasn't into whiskey then. Jesus Fuck, that could have been a great few days followed almost certainly by my death.

Relaxer wrote:

challenged wrote:
I went to Scotland last week, and drank Scotch.

That's cool. I'd be interested in hearing what you tried and what stood out.

One of my huge regrets is that more than a decade ago I took a solo roadtrip through Scotland for 4 days and didn't even consider visiting any distilleries because I wasn't into whiskey then. Jesus Fuck, that could have been a great few days followed almost certainly by my death.

Did not visit distilleries. Didn't have time. Was busy at castles and cathedrals. Lovely country, aye.
Drank Famous Grouse, and Glenfidditch, which were both fine, and some local stouts as well.
My serious drinking days are way behind me.

Pretty much all I drink now is Famous Grouse because it's cheap and it's good. Would love to see if there's any difference between the Grouse in Scotland and that which is here.

Anyone been out to Louisville/Lexington? Going there for a week soon. Buffalo Trace, Jefferson's Reserve, and Woodford Reserve are definitely on the list, but wondering about some smaller distilleries that may not be on our radar. We're driving so we can bring back bottles.

make sure you grab, all the blantons you can, at buffalo trace.

K8teebug wrote:
Anyone been out to Louisville/Lexington? Going there for a week soon.

Yes I have. Are you going for Breeder's Cup?