Whisk(e)y

inv0ke-epipen

New member
Any whisky drinkers out there? Recently getting into Whisky, largely caught up in the Japanese Whisky hype train after paying a visit to the Yamazaki distillery.

Looking for recommendations on scotches, or Whisky bars around the are to try new ones out. .

So far our favorite whiskies are:
  • Angels Envy Bourbon
  • Yamazaki 12
  • Hibiki Harmony
  • Nikka Taketsuru
 
Whiskey is definitely very trendy these days, I started my journey with Macallan 12 scotch and it is still one of my favorites.  I have several Kavalan Solist cask strength whiskies, and highly recommend the sherry and vinho barrique if you like rich and full bodied sipping whiskies.  As for the Yamazaki, if you like the 12, you will love the 18, if you can find it.  The difference is night and day between the two.  Currently I'm into bourbons, due to friends' influence, so I'm hunting for some more popular ones like Stagg Jr. and Weller 12.  But some of my current favorites are Booker's and Knob Creek single barrel reserve (120 proof), if you can find a store pick that would be great. 

There are many whiskey review websites, but reddit has lots of good info (reviews and recommendations):
https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/https://www.reddit.com/r/whisky/

As for scotch recommendations, based on what you like now you'll probably something that is easy to enjoy - fruity and easy to drink.  So I think you might like the Macallan 12 and Glendronach 12, because they are sherried scotches and are very easy to enjoy for beginners. 

As for Japanese whiskey, yea they are incredibly hyped up and popular right now, so the good ones are near impossible to find and are getting crazy expensive.  So now there are more smaller distilleries that are trying to cash in on the boom.  Your best bet now is to stock up on the Nikka Taketsuru and Hibiki Harmony whenever you see it at Costco, because the ones with an age statement (12, 17, and 21 year) are unicorns because the distilleries have run out of stock due to the unforseen surge in demand.

Hope this helps.  Enjoy in good health and with good company!
 
Cool topic.

Hi Time Wine in Costa Mesa is an excellent whisky shop. I picked up a bottle of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (as seen in Whiskey Advocate's Top 20) there, and it's one of my current favorites.

I have maybe 50-60 bottles, including many Japanese ones (e.g. Yamazaki 12, Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve, Hakushu 12, Hibiki Japanese Harmony NAS, Nikka Taketsuru NAS, Nikka Coffey Grain/Malt, Kaiyo Mizunara Oak, Kaiyo other one, Mars Iwai Tradition, Nikka Miyagikyo NAS, Kikori, Fukano 2017, Fukano Single Cask). I think Scotches (and Irish) generally provide more value per dollar these days.

A cheaper bottle that I'm enjoying these days is a $25 bourbon, Evan Williams Single Barrel. Picked it up at Total Wine in Tustin, which is not bad locally either.

The center bar at Trade has a decent list as well and $2 off on whiskey Wednesdays.
 
Haven't stopped by Hi Time yet, definitely on my to do list.  Agree on the ECBP being a very good bourbon, I have the A118 batch, which one do you have?  It tends to be a tougher one to find at retail price, ever since it (the B517 batch) won the award for best whiskey last year.  I can get it (latest releases) at a couple of smaller local liquor stores in Tustin, but I'd have to pay at least $20 more than retail.  I picked up a couple of Nikka From the Barrel when I was in Taiwan because the price was right ($30 each for 500mL bottle) and I had read a lot of good reviews about it.  That store also had the Yamazaki Sherry and several Karuizawas, which I was really pleasantly surprised to actually see them on the shelf, but they were just way too expensive.  So I just picked up a Glendronach 21 for about $100, which is my deal of the year, considering it would cost at least $200 here, if you can find it.
It's a fun hobby if you can share it with good friends who can also appreciate it, but it can get expensive.
 
jayl23 said:
Haven't stopped by Hi Time yet, definitely on my to do list.  Agree on the ECBP being a very good bourbon, I have the A118 batch, which one do you have?  It tends to be a tougher one to find at retail price, ever since it (the B517 batch) won the award for best whiskey last year.  I can get it (latest releases) at a couple of smaller local liquor stores in Tustin, but I'd have to pay at least $20 more than retail.  I picked up a couple of Nikka From the Barrel when I was in Taiwan because the price was right ($30 each for 500mL bottle) and I had read a lot of good reviews about it.  That store also had the Yamazaki Sherry and several Karuizawas, which I was really pleasantly surprised to actually see them on the shelf, but they were just way too expensive.  So I just picked up a Glendronach 21 for about $100, which is my deal of the year, considering it would cost at least $200 here, if you can find it.
It's a fun hobby if you can share it with good friends who can also appreciate it, but it can get expensive.

I got the A118 at Hi Time, it cost $79.
K&L Wines got a stock of C118 for just $59 over the weekend. They ship (for a fee) or do free transfers to their Hollywood store.
 
Yeah I saw that, I have it on my K&L online waiting list.  But since I already have one (albeit a different batch), I didn't feel the need to get another one.  I waiting for my order of Stagg Jr. (managed to snag one just in time) and their store pick Russell's Reserve single barrel.  Good base price, so I'm happy to pay the shipping cost, which is very reasonable.
I drove to the Total Wine in Temecula to get my ECBP for about $65, probably won't do that again, unless maybe it's for a George T. Stagg or Willam Larue Weller, or a Pappy 15 at retail.  I'm not a big buyer at TW, so I probably won't get a chance.
 
o_O  How much whisky do you guys drink ??

I use like 1 tbsp of brandy per baked apple and have yet to empty the bottle after 5 years.  ^^
 
I drink maybe an ounce or two whenever I'm with drinking with friends, which averages maybe twice a month.  I'm much more of a collector than drinker.  Still have my first bottle of Macallan 12 from over 10 years ago.  But I'm down to maybe the last couple of inches of my first Kavalan Solist Sherry from about 4 years ago, probably will be my first bottle to empty.
 
I tried Lagavulin 16 and Macallan 12 over the weekend. Liked them at first sip but the finish killed both of them for me. Allergic to nuts, so the nutty flavor just gave me allergy PTSD. It was like an earthy, nutty aftertaste that tasted horrible to me. I'll try and give them a second chance sometime though.

Tried the Suntory Toki, and although super young, was super delicious especially for the low price. Strong taste of fresh apples.
 
Ouch, too bad about the nut allergy, I guess you will not like anything from Jim Beam, since most of their stuff has the 'Beam funk', which has been described as a peanut flavor.  Personally, I really like it, but I don't have nut allergies.  I don't care for the smoky peaty flavor, so I don't like peaty scotches like Lagavulin, Laphroig, and Ardbeg.  The peat flavor (phenols) just tastes like liquid smoke, iodine and band-aids to me, and I just don't feel like fighting through all that medicinal flavor to get to the fruity flavors underneath.  But I do have an Ardbeg Uigeadail just for guests who like smoke. 
Interesting that you found nutty flavors in a Mac 12, was it the Mac 12 sherry cask?  Because there are other versions of the Mac 12 (e.g. fine oak and double cask) that might have the nut flavors, since they were also aged in bourbon barrels.
 
jayl23 said:
I drink maybe an ounce or two whenever I'm with drinking with friends, which averages maybe twice a month.  I'm much more of a collector than drinker.  Still have my first bottle of Macallan 12 from over 10 years ago.  But I'm down to maybe the last couple of inches of my first Kavalan Solist Sherry from about 4 years ago, probably will be my first bottle to empty.

I have never finished a bottle of my non-well whiskies. I drink about half an oz at a time, gently sipping over a few hours. After my last purchases, though, I'm focusing more on reducing the size of my collection. I recently became aware of how my years-old bottles are faring taste-wise (not good) so I think enjoying my existing collection is likely to bring me more joy.
 
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