Review one whiskey

[dcasper70]

Went to dinner at the in-laws tonight. When I mentioned my increased desire for scotch, mom-in-law fetched from the garage an unopened bottle of Ballentine 12yo that she had been given BACK IN 1984!!!! If only it had spent that extra 23 years in a cask...

Not a bad drink. A honey/amber color, sweet smelling (caramel, vanilla). Mild to the tounge and a nice creamy feel in the mouth. A fine honey oak finish.
Compared to my last 3 reviews, I definitely prefer peatier, but I would happily drink this again.

[milesdyson]

Eagle Rare 10yr Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

I drank about 1oz of it neat tonight. It is probably the smoothest I've ever had. Sweet and slightly "oaky." Not quite as sweet as JD single barrel but close if I recall correctly.

Price is about $30-$40 or so - very good bourbon.

[JoseRijo]

Isle of Jura - Single Malt Scotch
A few years ago, my dad traveled regularly to Scotland on business. He brought back a ton of different scotches, and this one is my favorite. I'd describe it as the anti-Laphroaig: it has a sweet taste with hints of orange and butterscotch. But this is a real scotch with a smooth but discernable scotch (oak?) finish.

I'd recommend Isle of Jura to novice Scotch drinkers because of its smoothness, and to regular Scotch drinkers because of its complexitity and originality.

[Los Feliz Slim]

Bowmore 25 year



Sweet caramel-honey aroma, very drinkable and a great recommendation for a high-end Scotch that a relative novice might appreciate. A lot of "older" Scotches are pretty challenging and pungent, this one is quite drinkable. Not very peaty; not much iodine, rather quite smoky. Very, very, solid, and a great Scotch to offer someone as a celebratory drink.

[Spellmen]

Went to the liquor store today to pick up a Scotch on some recommendations here. My aim was the Oban 14 year, but when I spotted it the pricetag was $60. I'm a real scotch noob, so I really didn't want to jump into anything above $40 quite yet. We kept looking and my friend called his father for some recommendations. I spotted the Bellvanie 12 yr for $41, but his father recommended we start out with McClelland's highland scotch, which was only $24. He basically said any highland would be best for a beginner, so we grabbed the McClellands and some other junk and checked out.

It had a pretty mild aroma from what I can tell (I haven't smelled many other scotches and have tasted even fewer). I poured myself a bit and added some ice. Nothing really spectacular jumped out at me upon tasting and I'm still not really picking anything up. It is pretty mild, so I don't mind drinking it, but other all it is very bleh.

For $24 I guess it's ok, but nothing I would recommend. Not offensive, but not really great. My roomate is a bit more experienced and says it has a nice smokey aftertaste.

Anyone have any recommendations for me? Should I have definitely gone with the Belvanie? I am mainly looking for something that is pretty smooth (at least to start with)but still has some nice flavor

[Grasshopp3r]

Clontarf Reserve Irish Whiskey
$24 at my local liquor store

This Irish is shockingly good for the price. Very smooth and malty. This one was reviewed in Money magazine and I tried it on a lark.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/...mag/index.html

I also like George T Staggs bourbon, which is cask strength like Bookers. It is $65 or so. It has lots of flavor and is smooth.

[Aloysius]

[ QUOTE ]
There is also The Caol Ila (18 year old is what I have, but they are all fairly good)

[/ QUOTE ]

I just had this at my friend's place, and enjoyed it quite a bit (I am relatively new to Scotch, so please take what I say with a grain of salt). Trying this inspired me to pick up a bottle of the Caol Ila (pronounced "cull-eela" I believe) 12.

Doing some research on the Internets, it appears that Caol Ila is one of the lesser known Islay distilleries (relative to Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin), but well regarded. I am not sure if this impacts pricing, I paid $55 for this at my local liquor store, Cap 'N' Cork.



Nose: Very smoky, pleasantly so. Some citrus undercurrents, and peaty.
Taste: Smoky and malty, fairly smooth drinking with some bite, rich and deep overall, also peaty. No noticeable citrus taste to me.
Overall: 8/10 I enjoyed this very much. The 18 was a notch better though.

-Al

[dcasper70]

I immediately liked the mild vanilla/honey scent that was mixed in with the good wooden aroma. When I asked my wifes opinion on the smell, she thought it had a hint of ceder also.
A creamy mellow long lasting sweet oak flavor. Very pleasing. So far, my favorite scotch.

Bevmo - $60
For $16, I got a 3 pack of nips which included the 12yo Doublewood (100% agree with ElD's OP review), and the 21yo Portwood (tonight's choice).

[dcasper70]

Wow, just wow!
This had a fruity nose, kinda raisiny with something like a pipe tobacco undertone.
It started with a mild sweet flavor that just kept building in the mouth, honey, woody, and a little nutty. This flavor stayed with me for quite a while.
I savored this one. I took almost 2 hours to drink just a nip bottle.

I just wish it wasn't $129 a bottle (bevmo). Oh, who am I kidding, I'll buy it anyways... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Erik W]

Blue Label.
It is about 200-250$ for 70cl.
Blended but only 25 year+ and mostly(95%) single malt.

This is my favourite whiskey though it is not single malt.
It has a very rich flavor and it tastes a little like black label and gold label if u tried them but is much more refined.

Not smoky at all(I love smoky whiskies otherwise).
It is easy to drink and even a beginner would like it.

Whisky is personal.
There are none that is best for anyone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Walker

From Wikipedia
"Johnnie Walker Blue Label — Johnnie Walker's ultimate blend. Every bottle is serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Although no age is declared, it is believed many of the whiskies blended are aged for 50 to 60 years."