Best Value Spirits

[MrWookie]

Taste Off: Knob Creek Vs. W. L. Weller's Old Weller Original 107 Brand

Curiously, the WLW is even stronger than the Knob Creek: 53.5% ABV compared to 50% for the KC. The WLW has a screw top rather than the more balla cork, and is aged 7 years to KC's 9. It's really difficult to smell because the alcohol is quite overpowering. While the KC is a fairly harsh bourbon, the WLW is surprisingly smooth. It'll take another sip or two to tell you if I like this more than KC, but this is markedly better than the Dickel for the same price. It'll get you drunker, too. Yeah, I think I would say this is markedly better than the KC. It's got nice flavors of the wood, apple, and maple, and it doesn't have as much harshness getting in the way. This bourbon is on a par with the Van Winkle 12 year for a fraction of the price (I may have to go try a swig of the VW to see exactly how they stack up). It's not as good as Blanton's, but it's not like that's a real criticism of a $18 bourbon. This whiskey is a true steal at this price. I don't think there could be a better value to be found out there.

OK, I did go and take a sip of the VW 12 for comparison. Wow, I might even say it's better than that bourbon, too. The VW 12 is a little milder and a little smoother, but I think the WLW is richer in flavor, and frequently when I choose bourbon, I like a little bit of the edginess that the KC and WLW have. Quite frankly, I'm floored that I like an $18 bourbon this much. Good job, WLW, and anyone who likes bourbon should run, not walk, to the nearest good liquor store and get a bottle of this.

[MrMon]

Glad to see you ran a Rain vs. Fris test. I know you've been a big pusher of Fris, so good to see Rain stacks up. I'll be giving it a go against some lesser competition later over the holidays.

Not a bourbon drinker, but I like your review of the Weller. This list looks like it's standing up.

Okay, my contribution for the night - Caol Ila. Without getting to descriptive, which I can't really do, let's just say this one is right up the as one of my favorites right from the first sip. Think Lagavulin light - which is not a criticism of either whisky. Definite smoke that keeps rolling along, but light, and oh so smooth. Considering it's half the price of Lagavulin at $40 vs. $85, I would have a hard time justifying 1 bottle of Lag vs. two bottle of Caol. I'm going to have to put it up against Laphroaig, since they're the same price, but something tells me the Caol Ila is going to win. Excellent choice when you want smoke, but not too much smoke. At $40, a real steal.

[MrWookie]

Taste Off: Lagavulin 16 year Vs. Bowmore Darkest Sherry Cask

I figured this would be the best comparison since they're both Islays. My bottle of Balvanie 12 year is it's closest price peer that I have (at least by this liquor store), but Islays are so different from other Scotches that I think I'll go for the Lagavulin. In contrast to the Lagavulin's heavy peat, salt, and smoke flavors, the Bowmore tastes like a completely different Scotch. It smells somewhat grassy, like the plants that came before the long dead and decaying peat. The flavor is deliciously complex, subtle, and balanced. It has so much to detect. There's a little bit of peat, smoke, and salt, sure, but it's more subdued than the Lagavulin. I taste the plants I smelled that aren't quite as long dead as Lagavulin's peat. I can definitely taste the sherry casking in the finish, too. It finishes lighter than the Lagavulin, with a little more tingling. There's even some apple and pear in there. I taste a lot of the same flavors as the Lagavulin, just toned down a hair, which allows for more to come through. At the price I paid, just $44, I'm going to have to recommend this as another truly remarkable value pick. It's a more complex Scotch than the Balvanie, too, although the Balvanie still has it's place as a superior introductory Scotch for people who aren't peat-heads yet. I think that the Bowmore has greater complexity than the Lagavulin, but if you just can't get enough peat, you might prefer the Lagavulin. Would a peat-heat prefer it enough to pay another $25? I doubt it. If you had to pay $65, this would still be a good value compared to the Lagavulin for most Scotch drinkers, IMHO, but it wouldn't be quite as remarkable compared to the Balvanie 12 year, which is an appealing Scotch to novice and veteran alike.

I'm anxiously awaiting MrMon's review of the Cigar Malt, but all in all, I think Wine Enthusiast identified some pretty great values here. I'll never shoot a six roper over any vodka I don't think, but Rain may just be worth the money over Fris, and from me, that's saying something. W. L. Weller is a ridiculous bourbon for the price. It meets or exceeds the quality of offerings that cost double. And the folks at Bowmore toned the peat down just a bit and made a helluva Scotch for a great price. I'd recommend it to any Scotch lover, and especially to a Scotch drinker who's been interested in trying out an Islay, but who's been afraid of wasting a bunch of money on something he or she didn't like.

I did just now go and try a sip of the Highland Park 18 for comparison against the Bowmore, and I do like the HP a little better. I'm not the biggest peat-head in the world, it's true, so that might have something to do with it, but really, there's no denying that the HP 18 is a great Scotch, too. However, for $44, the Bowmore is indeed an outstanding value, costing less than the HP 18.

I think the WLW is going to be my pick for the best overall value of the spirits I tried tonight. The manner in which it outshines some exceptional bourbon is remarkable. The Bowmore is still a great value, though. I think I'll still recommend the Balvanie as the best Scotch for first-time single malt drinkers since it's a little more broadly appealing, but the Bowmore is more complex for about the same price (for me, at least). Quite honestly, I went into these tastings expecting the more expensive liquors to prevail, but it looks like the value picks were largely good values (hard to tell w/ the Rain, though). I'm very sad that good brandy/cognac/armagnac is very difficult to find in liquor stores in Rochester. Wine Enthusiast did a great job recommending these spirits I reviewed, and with as much as I've come to love good brandy, I'd like to try the ones I couldn't find. I'll have to see what I can do over the internet. I will endorse this list, and I'd like to get more opinions on the liquors on this list I can't get my hands on.

[MrWookie]

[ QUOTE ]
Glad to see you ran a Rain vs. Fris test. I know you've been a big pusher of Fris, so good to see Rain stacks up. I'll be giving it a go against some lesser competition later over the holidays.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have been, but for me at least, the Rain is $4 for a liter than the Fris. Since I don't really blow my wad over vodka, I can't say I'm as enthusiastic for the Rain over Fris as I am for WLW over anything or for Bowmore over anything. For me, once vodka stops tasting like ass, it doesn't get a whole lot better. I think the Rain is indeed $4 better than the Fris, but it's not as much of a stand out value as the WLW or the Bowmore.

[MrMon]

There are a couple of things I find interesting about Rain vodka. First off, I'm not a big vodka drinker, but I love the stories behind all of this stuff. As we have seen documented here, a lot of what is behind vodka is marketing, quite simply, vodka is supposed to be tasteless, so MrWookie's rule about it "not tasting like ass" is a pretty good one. Once you get to that point, there is really no reason to pay more. Oh, there are tiny differences between them, but we've already seen that there are now several recommended cheap vodkas that fit that bill. And this is even more true if you are mixing the stuff, for then paying big bucks is just wasting money.

In the case of Rain, it's one of the few Vodkas actually made and marketed by a distillery, not a marketing arm of some company. Most vodkas are made on order through contract to an industrial firm like ADM. All the effort goes into the marketing and packaging, the producers are just producing raw spirit. (Legend has it that in all those big grain deals with the Russians in the 1970s that the Russians found it too expensive to ship the grain to Russia, so they had ADM in Peoria turn it into alcohol, shipped it to Russia via barge, bottled it, and sold it back to us as Stoly.)

So who makes Rain? It's made by Buffalo Trace, the guys who make a pretty fine bourbon. (As a side note, Buffalo Trace used to be known as Ancient Age, which is still made but pretty rot gut.) And it's made with 100% certified organic corn from some place in Illinois, so that accounts for the sweetness. And since you've likely never heard of it outside of this thread, but all the liquor stores guys seem to know of it, that says something.

Now, when you get to flavored vodkas, that's a whole other ballgame, where what flavorings and methods you use can make a real difference, but when you're dealing with vodka, just remember the Wookie Rule - The cheapest stuff that doesn't taste like ass.

[grando]

I pretty much lurk the lounge, but do appreciate the comparisons and trip reports you guys post here - keep em coming

[MrWookie]

MrMon,

Reviews of the Cigar Malt and the Honkers Ale? That's what I'm interested in [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. Add a review of the Weller and you can turn it into a George Thorogood evening.

[MrMon]

I've got a cold, so I've not been feeling I could give give it a fair review. This weekend though. Did have a Honkers Ale with dinner last night. I really took a liking to this while at Ed Debevec's last weekend and asked for something not from St. Louis and Goose Island Honkers Ale was what I got. I'm normally a Pale Ale drinker - Schlafley, Boulevard, or Sierra Nevada are my usual choices, but Bass will work as well, so I'm comparing it to those. I'd say the Honker's has a stronger hop taste than the pales, but is nothing like Bass, which has a more roasted malt taste. It definitely doesn't venture into that fruity taste that something like Blue Moon has, Honker's is just a straight out full-bodied brew. Some of the reviews at RateBeer claim it's watery, but either they have a more sophisticated palate or they don't know what they're talking about. Kind of like those music fans who think that any band that's sold more than 5,000 albums has "sold out". I'd definitely like to try more of their stuff, but unfortunately they don't sell in Missouri. A quick trip across the river might be rewarding if they ship to Southern Illinois, however.

As for the Weller, I don't normally drink bourbon, but I could give it a try and if I don't like it, it'll make a heck of a hard sauce for the Christmas bread pudding. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Moneyline]

My father asked for a northern highland scotch for Christmas, so after consulting this thread I picked up a bottle of Dalmore Cigar Malt. All I can say is "wow." This is certainly the best scotch either of us have ever tasted, and only Basil Hayden's bourbon would give it competition for the best hard alcohol I've ever had.

What makes the cigar malt special is how smooth it is. There is absolutely no bite or aftertaste. It rolls right off your tongue leaving you only with the pleasant tingle of having had alcohol in your mouth. My father is a bit of a cigar buff, so we smoked some diamond crown robustos while sampling the whiskey. The Dalmore tasted fine with or without the tobacco, but I found that it really brought out the finer qualities of the cigar. Usually I find cigars to be somewhat disgusting, but something about the cigar malt made it a pleasurable experience. I'm definitely going to pick up a bottle of this for myself, and I highly recommend it to other loungers.

Thanks for copying that list here, MrMon. I owe you for that.

[MrWookie]

What was your previous favorite Scotch?