Friday Night Whiskey Tasting

[Blackhorse]

Wife has gone through hell week. So putting on a Friday whiskey tasting event here for her. Snacks, etc.

In no particular order...

Wild Turkey 101
Jameson Irish Whiskey
Glen Moray 12 yr old single malt
Bull Run American Whiskey (local craft item...awesome)
Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch
Jim Beam Black

They otta do us, eh?

 

[Corncobcon]

Daaaayahmn! You'll be feelin' no pain tonight! :drunken:

 

[Blackhorse]

LOL.  Ended up setting the whole thing up and then it went like this:

1st round:  Monkey Shoulder

(Day-um, that’s some seriously good stuff honey...pour me another, will ya?)

2nd round:  Monkey Shoulder

(Ahhhh. Yeah, that’s really nice.  Soooo, maybe a taste of the Irish now?)

3rd round:  Jameson Irish Whiskey

(Soooo I’m really feelin’ these, babe.  
Maybe we shoulda had some kind of dinner before we started this.
YAWN!  You go ahead.  I’m just gonna rest my eyes for a sec here.  
No...I’m fine.  Just a wee bit tired.  I’m jus gon lie back here an...
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

 

[Puff Daddy]

Monkey shoulder is on my short list to try. It’s a malt blend, not a single malt but not cut with other cheaper grains. Sounds good, price is good. I’m presently working on a bottle of Naked Grouse which is also a blended malt that is finished in first fill sherry (casks? Vats? Not sure about that). It’s a sherry bomb, very fruity and lush, worth a try.

 

[user 2027]

Monkey Shoulder is good stuff! I find Glen Moray to be a great affordable scotch. Who could go wrong on Jameson? Been a long time since I had Jim Beam or Wild Turkey. I hear the 101 is good.

I went the bourbon route after 2007 economic crisis. Dollar was crap and instead of buying Scotch I went with buy American. Current pile is Jefferson, Woodford, Buffalo Trace, Michter's and one I haven't cracked yet that my buddy picked up. It's called Oola and made in Seattle and got really high marks. Might make that my Memorial Day bourbon.

 

[Blackhorse]

Yeah, re the trio blending of Monkey Shoulder. It’s a blend of three single malts, one being Glennfidich, plus two others that are owned by the owners of Glennfidich. (Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie) It is consistently proclaimed to be the best drinking Scotch that is “bargain level”...best bang for the buck...always have it on hand...yadda, yadda, yadda. I can see why. Very, very friendly. Like Jameson is friendly. Anyone could have one and feel good about it. Both Jameson and Monkey Shoulder are $29.95 regular price via the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

The others? My spin:; The Bull Run is finished in Pinot Noir barrels. It is a flavor nuke. A bourbon drinker’s Bourbon. The Wild Turkey, for me, is the mixer of the crowd. It makes a crazy awesome Manhattan. The highly touted (by their own advertising) Jim Beam Black is what I save for those that drop over and we end up sharing one. Both are very good whiskeys. The Glen Moray 12 y.o. Single Malt is a very light and bright offering. Good for summer...like a wheat beer is good for Summer.

Things I have on my short list (top 5) to try:

1. Elijah Craig,
2. Buffalo Trace,
3. Rare Eagle,
4. Glennfidich 12,
5. Highland Park 12,

That otta do me for a while.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Glenfiddich and Highland Park 12 are both fine malts but you’ll find them to be in the same range as the the other tame, widely available generic malts. They are unassuming, pleasant and down the middle, but rather one trick ponies. You might want to consider venturing into a peated Islay and a sherried Speyside like Aberlour 12. You’l get an amazingly greater amount of character from Aberlour that the Glenfiddich. As far as peated Islay malts go, they’re smokey, yes, but not all are smoke bombs. Bowmore and Bunnahabhain are very well behaved and have a lot going on besides smoke, especially Bunnahabhain 12, which is probably my favorite Islay. Beware of Laphroaig and Ardbeg unless you’re in an adventurous mood. I love them personally, but I’ve seen many a man wonder wtf he just put in his mouth :lol:

 

[Blackhorse]

Can’t find Bunnahabhain 12 on the OLCC list. So they don’t sell it in Oregon. Is the Aberlour you mention...ABERLOUR GLENLIVET 12 YEAR OLD SCOTCH? I assume it is. That’s for sale here. Both are in the $45-$50 range. The Bowmore is listed as BOWMORE 12Y (PREVIOUSLY 10 YEAR) and is $47. They are also both stocked at the closest OLCC store, which is one of the better stocked stores around. That’s one sherried Speyside and one somewhat Smokey Islay? Hmmmm. I could likely do Aberlour and Bowmore...when I get a hundred bucks ahead. Maybe Father’s Day.

 

[Stick]

The best laid plans Mr BH! 2 out of 6!

+1 for the Bowmore; a fine intro to Islays. I think I suggested elsewhere that I'm rather fond of another Islay, Lagavulin. It's not as potent as the Laphroaig in terms of smokiness, but is more complex. The distillery is located on the water's edge and I swear I can taste the sea air. Down side is it's bloomin' expensive, even here in the UK.

 

[Blackhorse]

So...current list of most recent & future buys...amended today.

Budget Highly Rated

Mostly Bourbon. ($30 or less)

Buffalo Trace Bourbon. 90 proof. $25.95
* Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch Whiskey. 86 proof. $29.95
Bulleit Straight Bourbon. 90 proof. $24.95
Eagle Rare single barrel 10 y.o.  90 proof  $31.95
Elijah Craig small batch. 94 proof. $28.95

Not Quite So Budget  Irish & Scotch. ($45 - $75)

Red Breast Irish 80 proof $59.95
Green Spot Irish 80 proof $69.95
Connemara Irish. 80 proof. $47.95 (Single Pot Still)
Bowmore Scotch 12 y.o.  $47.  (Peated Smokey)
Aberlour Glenlivet 12 y.o.  86 proof  $44.95 (Sherried Speyside)

 

[Puff Daddy]

Aberlour and The Glenlivet are separate companies and separate distilleries but both are owned by parent company Pernod Ricard, so I’m guessing the Aberlour Glenlivet bottling you’re looking at is a special offering. A lot of independent companies will buy quantities of different malts from distilleries and release their own bottles of single malt or blends. I’d assume that is a blended malt of the two distilleries. The Aberlour I’m speaking of is Aberlour 12, their standard bottling ar 40% abv.

 

[Blackhorse]

These are the four items in stock, listed by the OLCC...

ABERLOUR 18 YEAR SINGLE MALT SCOTCH ($150)
ABERLOUR A'BUNDADH SINGLE MALT SCOTCH ($85)
ABERLOUR GLENLIVET 12 YEAR OLD SCOTCH ($45)
ABERLOUR GLENLIVET 16 YEAR OLD SCOTCH ($80)

I just assumed it was the 12 year noted here. Only way to know is to go see.

 

[Puff Daddy]

How does it work in Oregon? Is it one of those things where it’s state licensed stores only, and that’s the only way to get the stuff? I guess I’m lucky here (can’t say that very often, California sucks). The booze warehouse that is Total Wine and Spirits has probably 200 different bottles of scotch and bourbon down one aisle. I’ll stand there for 25 minutes just looking everything over.

 

[Blackhorse]

Yes, state run and state licensed stores. Oh...and state sets max price. Individual stores can do their own price reductions as well as state doing a reduced price thing. It’s all very glamorous and thrilling.

 

[glassjapan]

Abelour makes some really fine single malt scotch, if you prefer that style.

And as for the bourbons, if Buffalo Trace is actually available, load up. Probably the best low end bottle you can get....it's just really hard to find. For a little bit more, Four Roses Single Barrel is awesome

 

[Blackhorse]

Abelour makes some really fine single malt scotch, if you prefer that style.

And as for the bourbons, if Buffalo Trace is actually available, load up. Probably the best low end bottle you can get....it's just really hard to find. For a little bit more, Four Roses Single Barrel is awesome

Good suggestions.  The OLCC has an online search function.  Plug in your zip and what you’re looking for and then hit the correct product code and BINGO you get stock on hand in the various OLCC Stores within X miles.

Here’s a screenshot of the Buffalo Trace stock within 10 miles of my zip...no worries about the hard to find thing around here!

Pretty slick, eh?

 

[glassjapan]

Very nice system. And very fortunate to have that much Buffalo Trace around. It's a great inexpensive bourbon!

 

[arkansaspiper]

I personally have not tasted very many of those on the list but intend to

 

[Blackhorse]

Finally popped for a bottle of the Buffalo Trace.  Did my wife two huge favors this morning so I’m paying myself back.  

Did a shot in my flared snifter thing and to my nose, got the typical vanilla, honey followed by caramel, cinnamon & slight black pepper tasting notes.  Nice light spice.  Must be the light rye content. The mash is 85% corn...so it’s definitely sweet.  Very friendly.  Damn fine Bourbon for $25! Arguably the best $25 item on the shelf.


Next tester will maybe be Eagle Rare. It’s made by Buffalo Trace too, with the exact same mash recipe as Buffalo Trace...but aged 10 years instead of maybe about 6 on the BT (?). But the age on BTrace is a guess as it’s not age stamped.

 

[Zanaspus]

IMHO Highland Park 12 along with Talisker 10 are the finest single malts <100. I'd keep it on the list.