Whiskey Review and Recommendation Thread

[El Diablo]

Since it comes up so much, I've decided to put all my whiskey reviews/recommendations in one thread here on 2+2.

Anyone else, feel free to add your own reviews/recommendations to this thread. Also feel free to post links to other 2+2 scotch/whiskey threads.

I’ll also maybe write up a primer on the different types of whiskies by region, bottlings (regular v. finished v. cask strength), blends v. single malts v. single casks, distillery bottlings v independent bottlers, etc.

To get things started, I'll make a list of whiskies I've had that I can review (this is not a complete list, just looked at what I have in the house, grabbed stuff from a few 2+2 threads, and added stuff I can remember off the top of my head). A few of these have minor notes, but I’ll expand on the ones I really like and recommend.

Scotch:

Islay

ardbeg 10
bowmore 12
provenance bowmore 19yo - another new one. this was an unchillfiltered islay. REALLY nice. light peat flavor, very well-balanced.
Coal Ila 18
Lagavulin 16
laphroaig 10
laphroaig 10yo quarter cask - I love Laphroaig, but sometimes it's a little too peaty for what I want. This one was also unchillfiltered. This bottling does the latter part of aging in smaller bottles to get more oak contact, resulting in a less peaty taste overall. A phenomenal scotch, my favorite of the evening. Bottled between “regular” and “cask strength”
laphroaig 10yo cask strength
signatory laphroaig 12yo cask strength
laphroaig 15

Highland

balvenie 10yo founders reserve
Balvenie 12 Doublewood - another one of my regular favorites
balvenie 15yo single barrel
balvenie 21yo portwood - maybe my favorite scotch.
Dalwhinnie 15
edradour 10yo
glenfarclas 12
glenfiddich 12
Glenlivet 12
Glenmorangie 10
Glenmorangie 12 Sherry Wood
Glenmorangie 12 Port Wood
Glenmorangie 12 Madeira Wood
Glen Moray 12
Macallan 10 - classic, excellent basic scotch
Macallan 10 Fine Oak
Macallan 12
Macallan 13 (Trader Joe's bottling)
Macallan 15 Fine Oak
Macallan Cask Strength - my favorite cask strength scotch
Oban
Oban 14
tamdhu - this was a speyside I hadn't tried before. It was OK.

Other (lowland, isle of skye, isle of mull, isle of jura, campbelltown)

signatory bladnoch 14
Highland Park 12
Highland Park 18
Highland Park 25
Isle of Jura 10
Isle of Jura Superstition
Springbank 10 Cask Strength (100 Proof)
Springbank 15
Talisker 10
Talisker 18
Tobermory 10


Blends

Chivas 12
Chivas 18
Dewar’s White
Dewar’s 12
Johnnie Walker Red Label
Johnnie Walker Black Label
Johnnie Walker Green Label
Johnnie Walker Gold Label
Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Michael Couvreur 12yo


American


baker’s
basil hayden
blanton’s
booker’s
eagle rare 17 - wow, really great bourbon. very complex flavor with a nice kick. very smooth.
elijah craig 18 - best bourbon of the night by far. this bourbon was as smooth as a fine scotch and like the eagle rare, had a very complex flavor as well.
elmer t lee 10 - basic, solid bourbon. sort of at the maker's mark level. definitely can do it neat, but probably a good choice to have on the rocks.
gentleman jack
Jim Beam
jack daniel's
knob creek
maker's mark
Old Potrero 90 Proof Rye
Old Potrero 125 Proof Cask Strength Rye – nice flavor at initial taste, but incredibly strong and overpowering alcohol taste that burns so much it really overwhelms the flavor
woodford reserve - just a nice, smooth bourbon. very nice.

Irish

Black bush
bushmill's
bushmills 16yo single malt - hadn't seen this before. It was very smooth and quite sweet, almost chocolatey. A little too sweet for my taste, but still very nice.
murray mcdavid cooley 12
jamesons
jameson’s 1780 12yo
Knappogue Castle Irish single malt

[MrWookie]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[johnnycakes]

No Van Winkle???????

[gumpzilla]

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No Van Winkle???????

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If this is the stuff I'm thinking of, my girlfriend's brother in law got a bottle of this as a wedding present, complete with a label mentioning that this commemorated the wedding. He was super psyched.

I've yet to develop the taste. Mostly whiskey just hurts me.

[El Diablo]

johnny,

I've had various Van Winkle, Old Rip Van Winkle, and Pappy Van Winkle Bourbons/Ryes that have all been great. However, I don't have any at present and I can't recall exactly which ages/styles of each one that I've had.

So, for reviewing purposes, I'm going to have to go get some bottles and start fresh!

Oh, if there's anything specific on the list someone wants a review of, ask away. Otherwise, I'll just start with some of my favorites.

[amplify]

Booker's is the best whiskey I have ever tasted. George Dickel is amazing for the price.

[matt2500]

Maker's Mark : This is my baseline bourbon. It's a nice, standard bourbon, a little rough, with a pretty big kick going down. Sometimes I like that, sometimes not. I toured the distillery, by the way, while on one of many monthlong work assignments in Kentucky.

Knob Creek : This is the bourbon I drink most often nowadays. This is a very nice smooth-drinking whiskey. Great to drink with a strong cigar that would wipe out the subtler taste of a scotch.

[MrWookie]

Some things I'm interested in:

How Red Breast (Irish) stacks up against the other premium Irish whiskeys.

Your thoughts on how Blanton's compares to Eagle Rare 17, Elijah Craig 18, and Booker's.

Your thoughts on how the Highland Park Scotches compare with similarly priced/aged Highland Scotches.

Your favorite Scotch for $70 or less.

If you'd ever reach for a Canadian whiskey over an American one (which, and why).

[***]

I don't drink a lot of scotch and I'm sure these are all different enough, but based on me having liked each of these enough to drink a bottle at one point, can you suggest something for me to tuck into this holiday season?
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Dalwhinnie 15
Glenmorangie 12 Sherry Wood
Macallan 10 - classic, excellent basic scotch
Talisker 18

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[El Diablo]

amplify,

Booker's is great, and it's a testament to its great balanced flavor that it is so drinkable at 120+ proof. It is definitely one of my favorite bourbons, but I find it just a bit too strong and the alcohol just a touch too much for it to make it to the top of my lists. Having said all that, I want to reiterate that I think it's a great bourbon. I just think that as you drink more, you'll find some that you like even more.