What are you drinking tonight?

[gearhead]

Think I'll try some Woodford Reserve malt whiskey tonight. It was either that or the double oaked.


Will that be very smokey / peaty like I would expect of whiskys from Islay?

Are you a fan of Lagavulin?

 

[P7M13]

Are you a fan of Lagavulin?

never heard of it.

 

[gearhead]

never heard of it.

A little smoky, very peaty, and distilled in Islay. It was my old man's favorite, definitely in my top 3. For the record, nothing like Woodford, but both are delicious IMHO.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

A little smoky, very peaty, and distilled in Islay.

A little?

 

[Mono1]

A little smoky, very peaty, and distilled in Islay. It was my old man's favorite, definitely in my top 3. For the record, nothing like Woodford, but both are delicious IMHO.

Is WoodFord the Best? Just asking.

Looking for a Christmas Present for the BIL for this Year.

 

[P7M13]

A little smoky, very peaty, and distilled in Islay. It was my old man's favorite, definitely in my top 3. For the record, nothing like Woodford, but both are delicious IMHO.

My first experience with smoky whisky was Highland Park, but a friend turned me on to Laphroaig. I cannot do the smoky/peaty any more since it gives me migraines.
I have another friend who has made several pilgrimages to Islay for distillery tours, every time his job has taken him over to Europe. He's the only guy I know who's had a 30 year old Scotch, and the one who recommended Woodford to me. He recommended the double-oaked, but I bought the malt whiskey. It does not disappoint.

Is WoodFord the Best? Just asking.

I found it to be very smooth. [ETA] Is it a Johnny Walker Blue or Macallan's 18? Hell no, but no where did I feel it to be rough. [/ETA]
I drink neat, like a red wine -- take a draught and hold it in your mouth. It exploded into my sinuses -- which I've never had happen before with whiskey, and I found it invigorating. There's an extremely delicate taste of smoke in the beginning, followed by a solid malt flavor. I swear I tasted a hint of anise after about 40 seconds, and now that good, warm feeling follows a good drink of whisky.
For ~$35, I think it's an excellent value.
Another edit -- I like that the bottle is corked, and damn, there is something very satisfying hearing the cork release from the bottle, and it smells good when you pull it to pour.

 

[nammac]

Is WoodFord the Best? Just asking.

Looking for a Christmas Present for the BIL for this Year.

Woodford is a safe bet for a present. Both their bourbons and ryes are quite nice. Their double oaked bourbon is very Smokey, great sipping bourbon.

 

[Mono1]

I'm not really a Whiskey guy so seeking some advice here:

Blanton's, Woodford, Buffalo Trace....where do they rank?

And is there any other, way better than these, and then others to definitely avoid?

Appreciate the info and please pardon my ignorance... you guys are great!

 

[P7M13]

I'm not really a Whiskey guy so seeking some advice here:

Blanton's, Woodford, Buffalo Trace....where do they rank?

And is there any other, way better than these, and then others to definitely avoid?

Appreciate the info and please pardon my ignorance... you guys are great!

I was in the same boat as you, looking for a gift for a friend. I asked my scotch loving friend and this was his reply:

Choosing greatly depends on personal taste. I prefer smokey scotch so I'd be headed for a Lagavulin, Ardbeg, or Laphroaig. Many people like bourbon and the easiest recommendation for that is Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve is a step up, or even Wild Turkey 101 gets lots of solid reviews as a bang for the buck choice. Rye is not something I prefer but Bulleit is a sold representation of the category or Whistle Pig. Japanese is the friendliest and I've had Hibiki Harmony that also happens to be in an epic bottle. Canada hords all their good stuff for themselves so don't bother. Irish has the typical go to like Jameson, Powers, Tullemore Dew etc.

So, in short, I'd personally do something from Islay Scotland but it's very dependent on your tastes

So I bought my friend some Buffalo Trace and a bottle of Woodford for myself. Buffalo Trace tends to sell out quickly. My friend was very pleased, and I am too with the Woodford.

 

[nammac]

Bourbons boil down to personal taste. I'd say that Woodford and Elijah Craig are good bourbons and safe gifts as they're softer, less alcohol bourbons. More like entry level offerings. For a more sophisticated bourbon drinker there's Whistle Pig and Heavens Door. Both with several different offerings.

Woodford makes a nice Mint Julep and their website has a recipe for a "Porch Swing", nice peach ice tea based drink, a personal summer favorite. Goes down nice and smooth on a warm summers day…

 

[WillametteWill]

Will that be very smokey / peaty like I would expect of whiskys from Islay?

Yes, it has a phenol level of 40 ppm, which is in line with the typical peat levels for Islay whisky. They are a new distillery that brought in Jim McEwan as a consultant after he retired from Bruichladdich, so he knows a wee bit about peat.

Are you a fan of Lagavulin?

A little?

On this trip, we stayed next to Lagavulin (about a five-minute walk) and had a dram of the 16-year-old on our way to the tour at Ardbeg, about a 15-minute walk down the road from there. Laphroaig is just down the path as well. Bruichladdich makes Octomore, which is super peaty at 106 ppm or higher for some releases. However, the classic Laddie is unpeated. I love talking peat!

 

[orygun]

It's a little early in the day for liquor, but last night I had a couple of small drinks of 1792 Full Proof Bourbon Whiskey. (125 proof)
Yummy!

 

[Camelfilter]

Nah, because diet coke tastes nothing like real coke.

Give coke zero a try, if you haven't already.

Not bad, for a low calorie soda anyways. IMO.

 

[gearhead]

waiting for the exchange to get a shipment in before I take a bottle home, so no picture yet. Tried it at a tasting yesterday and I have to say it's probably the smoothest whisky I've had. Pilothouse knocked it out of the park with this one.

 

[OrPackrat]

Sipping on some dead billionaire tonight/today.

With my wife's family in town, should I bring a pint of my fresh mixed 155proof apple pie or my 80 proof apple cider vodka.

I'm leaning towards the apple pie as I have mixings to make another half gallon and the apple cider vodka I only have a half gallon left till about September.

 

[Siglvr]

To those looking for a great liquer choice, the very best advice I can give it to examine the various "blind" taste testings and spirit competitions. Blind means that the Mfg is obscured, and experts have to go strictly on taste. Ad budget and price means nothing. It's not a quick thing, you have to dig in. I've found some treasures which I enjoy years after discovering them, hopefully others can do the same.

As an aside, there are producers who do not enter these competitons which may be as good or better than the winners, so keep an open mind. This, however, is a great place to start.

https://www.internationalbeveragecompetitions.com/

https://asiainternationalspiritscompetition.com/

https://nyispiritscompetition.com/winners/2024-winners/ Some of these might not be available,

Jim Beam Devil's Cut is available in Oregon and it's great stuff, but some other winners may not be available.

or go back in time and check previous years:

https://nyispiritscompetition.com/winners/2019-winners/

Good luck on your quest!

 

[Siglvr]

BTW, a while back, I bought American Barrels Whisky for my brothers son in law as he's a gun guy. Looks like a shortgun shell (sized up) but has the Gadsen Flag snake on the bottle. "Let Freedom Pour". It was very well recieved. Not sure where to get it these days, but good stuff which I payed $29 a bottle for and unique packaging tailored for gun folks.

https://www.americanbarrels.com/

 

[Benchrest]

Acetone, or something like that.

About half hour away from making really poor financial decisions

 

[tdemore1743x]

Not sure if any of you old-timers drink seltzys, but these are actually good. Just water, alcohol, cane sugar, citric acid and sodium citrate @ 8%abv.

 

[Yarome]

I'm typically not a fan of tequila, but every once in awhile is fine.
This was a gift that I was told was some of "the good stuff", but it sure didn't change my mind about tequila.

Among tequila lovers, how does it rate in the real world? "The good stuff".... fact or fiction?