Anyone out there a whiskey affectionado? I need to buy a nice bottle of whiskey for a gift (future father in-law) and I would like to keep it under $120 (US). I had some Jameson Red Brest the other day and some Crown Special Reserve, both of which I liked, but I am not a big whiskey drinker. Someone told me Johnny Walker Green Label, but it is really expensive and they hadn't actually tried it. Any suggestions? Thanks

http://www.woodfordreserve.com/

Pretty damn good sipping whisky.

Basil Haydon bourbon. Top notch and won't break the bank at about $40.00 per bottle. It's my favorite.

Pendelton....All I drink, on the rocks..SMOOTH!!!

McCallan 18. Best Whisky ever to cross my lips.

Double post

"Midleton Very Rare"........

I have two recommendations at that price point or below.

Balvenie 21 year old Port Wood Finished for a very smooth single malt.

If you want to get him something REALLY interesting look for Glenlivet's Nadurra. It is a 16 year old cask strength whisky (my bottle is 118.4 proof!) that has a somewhat lemony note and it feels like it effervesces on my tongue.

I just turned a lifelong Lagavulin man onto it, and he put it at the top of his 'must buy' list.

George

Thanks for the good leads gentleman. I am going to go take a look for some bottles this afternoon. George...great Cape

Hope I'm not too late!

I think the best advice I can give you about good whiskey is to drink plenty of it!!!!!!!!!!

More seriously, do you mean whiskey as in Irish whiskey, whiskey as in bourbon whiskey or whisky as in scotch whisky or malt whisky?

There's an awful lot of choice out there and a whisky or whiskey afficianado will REALLY notice the differences.

If you can clear up the above question, I'd be delighted to make some good suggestions for you.

Adding to my previous post.....

If he likes bourbon whiskey: Woodford Reserve is a good option.

If he likes malt whisky, they vary dramatically depending on area and you might like to visit wwwscotchwhisky.com to fnd out more.

Irish whiskey can be equally complicated and a web search might be the best way to discover the differences.

I think that he is more of a burbon guy. One of his son's got him a bottle of crown not too long ago, and he said, "Oh it's fairly good." Hope that helps...

On another note.. I have been dinking some of the nicer whiskeys I have been able to find and I seem to be developing a taste for them...I didn't realize that good whiskey was soooo much better than the crap we used to buy in college! Damn! Just what I need. Another hobby/interest to occupy my time and $$$

Ahhh.. finally a post that I know something about...
Pappy Van Winkle is about the best bourbon going in my opinion. It is available, or was at one time, in 15, 20, and 23 year old. I have never had the 23 year old (it's about $250 a fifth), but have had both the 15 and 20. Both are fantastic, the 20 being the better choice as expected.

A.H. Hirsch is another great one, but it is no longer being produced. The distilery closed some time ago, but you can still find the odd bottle here and there. If memory serves, there was a 16 and a 20 year old, though I have only had the 16. Good stuff. I've been nursing a bottle of 16 for about 2 years now. If you do stumble across someone who has a good supply, buy all they have and let me know

Some of the more common small batch bourbons that rank high on my list are: Black Maple Hill, Rowan's Creek, Noah's Mill, Blanton's and Conecuh Ridge.

Look into the Pappy 20year. Last time I bought it was about $100 a fifth. Be sure your future father in law lets you have a taste though.

I bid on a key bottle at a Calif Deer Association Banquet ended up with Jack Daniels Single Barrel.Took it to our sportsmans club supper and shared it with our members,they all liked it.

Makers Mark still tops my list. The Woodford reserve is nice, but I still prefer the Makers Mark.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed is well within your budget and some mighty fine sipping.

If your prospective FFIL is a Bourbon drinker then just go buy him a bottle of Maker's Mark.

It is a classic whiskey and your gift will most certainly be appreciated. At Maker's Mark prices you could buy him a case!

If he is a scotch drinker, then look for a good Single Malt Highland Whisky.

an oaky smokey 17 year old Glengoyne

Always a good choice is Glenlivet. This 21 year old bottling is very good.

Lots of good whisky and whiskeys out there. So little time.

Second vote for Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve bourbon. The 20 yr old is about $99 a bottle here in Houston.

The cascade of flavors during and after a sip have to be experienced to belive. Nothing else like it.

If, OTOH the idea is to maximize the buzz, Booker's is a good choice at 126 proof. It is about $45.00 a bottle and flavorful but hard to drink neat or over ice. It needs a touch of water or like a good habenero pepper, the first taste is the last for a while.

I really enjoy good whisky - but as we don't get many of the good bourbons out here, I don't really know much about them. - With the malt whiskies, you only really get the full benefit of the flavours and aromas by 'releasing the dragon' which is just to add good water to the good malt...... it really works and if you add ice, you lose all the subtleties........... Sooo, do you bourbon fans do the same, or do you add ice? - And if you do add ice, do you get the full benefit of flavour and aroma?

The best bourbons are drunk neat or with a little water, too. I suppose ice is a personal preference. If the proof is too high the alcohol masks some of the subtlties so water is in order. Around 80-90 proof I like it with about 10% water up to neat, depending on the character of the whiskey. If I'm drinking standard whiskies like Jim Beam its usually on the rocks with 50% water or more, just to make the drink last a while.

So goes it for Tequila too; the best ones are drunk neat at room temp. The standard grades go into mixers and over ice. The worst ones are reserved for college kids doing shots or "poppers".

A favorite we had in NYS was Willshires Black Bull Scotch Whiskey 100 proof now out of business.I took a bottle of Jack Daniels Single Barrel to our Sportsmans Assoc monthly dinner last week it was well accepted.

Shakari,
On the better bourbons, I generally add an ice cube or two to most, but no water. Never manage to let them stay around long enough for the ice to melt and dilute the flavor. The Pappy Van that Tiggertate and I are so fond of needs niether ice nor water so long as it is room temp. or cooler. The well brands (Jim Beam, Evan Williams, etc.) need all the help they can get IMHO, so ice and water or 7-Up is in order.
Funny you should mention that ice ruins the subtleties of Scotch. Back when I was a younger man and did not appreciate good scotch whiskey, I about got a butt whoopin by an 80 year old man for "insultin' his whiskey" by adding ice to it.

Interesting that most Americans (or at least, from my experience) seem to drink their whisky or whatever kind with ice. - Like your 80 year old buddy, I prefer mine with good water and feel by adding ice, you lose all the subtlies of the whisky....... but as I've gotten older, I now believe everyone should enjoy their booze the way they want it - although it does still break my heart to see some bloody philistine adding something like coke to a good malt!!!!

yeah, I guess the same is true for tea as well. Took me a lot of years to realize the best beers are served cool, not cold too. All that time I thought it was the crappy Lucas refrigerators in Great Britain!

Woodford Reserve or Gentleman Jack. Wiser's for a Canadian blend. All are well below your budget.

Couple of smooth sippin' ones: #1 Wiser's Rye, and #2 Wild Turkey Rye.

Well, there's been some good suggestions and a few worse suggestions, but, unbelievably, everyone has overlooked the classic whisky which is cognac.

For your budget, you have a couple of ways to go, get him a bottle of Courvoisier, Hennessy, or Remy Martin XO....these all are slightly over your budget or drop down to Napoleon and these would all be under it. Personally I tend to prefer Remy Martin, but that's just my taste buds.

Personally, I'd suggest a selection of good drinking whiskies, get him a liter of Jack Daniels Black, a liter of Jim Beam Rye, and a Liter of Remy Martin VSOP. You can do this for less than your budget total, and you and he or he and some of his buddies can have fun sitting around taste testing them or just getting snockered, take your pick.

BTW, as someone mentioned, Wiser's Oldest, which used to be sold as 17 years old, is also a great sipping whiskey but hard to find in the South. I can't say much for scotch, I had a very bad experience with 2 bottles of JW Black at a 24 daytona race about 40 years ago. I have only JUST gotten to where I can taste it without throwing up. The Irish Black Bush is reasonably priced and pretty smooth.

If you weren't so far away, I'd give you a quart jar of Sugar Hill's Finest which is moonshine still made in the time honored old fashioned way in North East Texas. Now that's a real conversation piece, honestly, I can't say as much for its palatability.

actually refering to bourbon as a specific type of whisky is incorrect. bourbon county kentucky has the hold on the word bourbon. to call a whiskey bourbon it must come from that county in kentucky. Now having been there on more than one occassion i can vouch for both the quality and quantity available in that location

Interesting that they spell it like the Irish, Whiskey and not whisky...... ah, hang on a minute........... it's America where they can't even spell colour or calibre correctly...... to say nothing about driving on the correct side of the road, instead of the right side!



Sorry guys, just taking the piss..... you know what Winston Churchill said about the UK & USA - 'two nations divided by a common language'



I just pray that no-one mentions tea!!!!!!

quote:

the classic whisky which is cognac

Say What?? Uh? Cognac is Brandy - made from FRUIT! Whiskey (Whisky) is made from grain. Brandy is not whiskey there Bubba....

Maker's Mark.....The best Kentucky Whiskey!

maker's mark ... nearly as good as my mead...
buffalo trace, if you can't handle MM

neither are kentucky whiskeys, as they are both bourbons, which has specific legal requirements, none of which have anything to do with location, rather the procressing and aging and the specific requirements around barrels, aging, and oak ..new barrels, charred, at least 2 years to be called bourbon, barrels can't be reused.

makers mark is the only maker that, after 2 years, blends for taste, without age requirement, after minimum .. thats why there's no AGE on the bottle... trust me, go look at your bottle, it don't say 6 or 7 or 9 years old, and thats on the history of MM on their website
whiskey is grain, barley is NOT a requirement
bourbon is grain, that has spent at least 2 years in a NEW charred oak barrel
tennesee whiskey, goes through charred wood (not exactly charcoal) before going into an american white oak barrel for at least 6 month

cognac and amarmonac are from GRAPE, well, distilled wines, the first distilled booze, by the monks at chartreus (sp) then aged in oak

brandy is a fermented fruit (not grape), then distilled, and aged however...

liquor is, in terms of sugar, whatever the sugar level was in products over 20%/40 proof
liquorre(sp) is sweetened AFTER distillation

cask strengh means blended but not watered
single barrel means ONE 55-60 (varies) barrel, which makes between 100 and 110 750ml 12 bottle cases

single malt means all from the same brewing and distill,,, so whatever it ages in, can be blended together, or can be made in a tun, hogshead, ot larger barrel, and sold as a manufactoring BATCH .. think single batch, not anything to do with the actual "malt" as all whiskeys are made from a blend of variously treated malts

scotch is whiskey, made with peated malts, of various strenghs... peated malts are a SMALL part of the grain bill, that has been smoked over a peat fire, and added for flavor.. american "scotch" bubbles peat smoke through the vat.. a decidedly icky way to do it

irish whiskey is nearly the same blend as scotch, but no peat... none at all

the scots and the irish use a different still, that pulls off a slightly different temp steam, with slighly different fusil alcohols

"smooth as tennesee whisky" doesn't mean it doesn't have a BITE .. that is from the grain bill and the alcohol content, however, the taste is VERY smooth as lots of aromatics and other nasties were stripped off by soaking and runing the batch through the charred wood first. This can take up to 2 weeks

Warm as a glass of brandy is due, largely to the fusil alcohol and malic acid remainders, that are then concentrated into the distillates ... cognac is WORSE for fusils, as it is a very very high starting gravity wine, nearly twice the normal levels, and it brew HOT then distilled, with about double the fusils as the same wine BEFORE distallation, and about 6x afterwards, though some are stripped off in the barrel. brandy follows the same process ... both can be made with cooked down and consendsed fruit syrups

This is the reason brandy and cognacs give most people bad headaches the morning after...

scotch, with all the smoke in it, gives you a toxic front from the peat smoke

Irish whiskey is a bit better, but it takes a cooler steam than scotch, so it too can have alot of fusils..

american (and candian) whiskeys tend to have be the best distilled in regards to fusils.. i don't know why, other than we had "no" tradition on how to make stills after prohibition...

Why is white lightening bad for you? Sure, it's got a bunch of fusils, and it's pretty "hot" in terms of aromatics... but the reason it has a "blind, crazy, dead" reputation is due to the "Steam accumulators" that were used.. CAR RADIATORS ... which even today, are LEAD soldered together (with exceptions) .. but you take an acidic gas (must/wort/mash tends to finish about 3.0 or LESS pH.. about stomach acid) that's HOT (high reactive temp) and introduce it to any lead at all, it will strip the lead right out, and put it in the booze...

VERY bad, no real way to get it out...

Oh, yeah, and since it's not regulated, it could have wood alcohol (blind, crazy dead) to make it taste like, and have the effect of a higher proof booze...

in a purist sense, bourbon aint whiskey, due to processing afterwards... no more than than a ford motor in a jag makes it a pinto ... scotch is a first cousin, mother's side...

tennesse whiskey is the only true blue american "whiskey" ... and there only a couple of them. there are lots of canadian whiskeys, but i don't know what makes that process that...

anyway, enough for tonight

Well done Jeffe.....tom. night we'd like to hear about bitters.

One slight addition; bourbon has to be at least 51% corn in the mash.

Corn came to American whiskies late; during the colonial days rye was the grain of choice. G. Washington was the new country's largest whiskey maker by a large margin.

After the whiskey rebellion failed, the southern territories began smuggling liquor north. Corn was the crop of choice in the southern heat. And the whiskey was good enough to displace rye whiskey as the spirit of choice.

Scotch: Knockandu

Bourbon: duty free Jim Beam, best value out there. Bottled water costs more.

Here is how I solved my own dilemma: I bought myself a membership into the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Google it and see what you think. Keeps me pickled quite nicely thank you.

Dear Jeffeosso,
your statement and I quote

"brandy is a fermented fruit (not grape)"

is totally incorrect. Yes there are some brandies made from fruit but unless otherwise stated brandy in the generic sense refers specifically to the distillation of fermented GRAPE juice.

quote:

Originally posted by pichon1:
Dear Jeffeosso,
your statement and I quote

"brandy is a fermented fruit (not grape)"

is totally incorrect. Yes there are some brandies made from fruit but unless otherwise stated brandy in the generic sense refers specifically to the distillation of fermented GRAPE juice.

Thanks....

one of the interesting things is in the aging of whiskey. when being aged the temperature at which the barrel is at will add or subtract from the alcohol content. Thus the term "blended " often means that the barrels are moved around in the aging rooms. bourbon will reach very high alcohol content and is usually "cut" back to more tolerable levels. Many of the more expensive brands (mark is a good example) will have a higher alcohol content due to the position of the barrel during aging. Also a note on scotch - it is not necessarily filtered through peat. the island and lowlands have this abundance of peat, and do filter through peat, but the highlands distilleries do not have the access to the peat so use other filters (frequently charcoal) Now with this additional information at hand you must decide for yourselves whether to sip or gulp

In my short life span of 60 yrs, I have tried most of the whiskey's mentioned, The best Blended Whiskey, including Crown, Various Wild Turkey's, Old Crow, Old Squirrel (just wanted to hope around that night, not fly).
Then you said Bourbon.
There is only ONE BOURBON...Henry McKenna....Not expensive but is as smooth as any Blended Whiskey out there.