Favorite Whiskey?

Anyone try this Wild Turkey Longbranch? Wild Turkey isn't something I'd normally buy but I got pulled in by the marketing.

 

havent had it yet, love me some rare breed though.

let us know how it is

 

I haven't, but that's a good idea. I have bought a Wild Turkey for each of the last three Thanksgivings for obvious reasons . I've done Kentucky Spirit (very good), Rare Breed (very bad), and good 'ol 101 (great value).

Haven't done Longbranch, though. Will be grabbing a bottle.

 

Man, I just couldn't get in to Rare Breed. I think I'm the exception, though. It reviews pretty high and nearly everyone in my whiskey club liked it or loved it.

Not the first time I've had the jacked up palate.

 

Here is a little something I just picked up for the Holidays.....

 

I typically am not a wild turkey fan, but i do really enjoy it. Price and proof wise its a damn good buy

 

I went again yesterday to the local liquor store. No Compass box or Glenfarclass. They did have Glenmorangie and it's on my list to try. I've tried the Macallan 12 and I have a bottle of the Balvenie 14 Caribbean casks.
There was one on my list and I did buy it. It was Arberlour 12. What I'm finding is that many of these taste very similar. This, the Balvenie, Macallan 12, Glenlivet and the Monkey Shoulder taste very much alike. Smooth and sweet with vanilla and honey. I think it's time to switch it up. Any suggestions for a more different taste without going too much over the top?

 

Westland is an American distillery that makes a peated single malt. Scotch profile with a very lightly peated flavor.

https://westlanddistillery.com/whiskey/peated-malt

It's a very solid whiskey.

I mentioned Talisker above. The Talisker 10 year and the Talisker Storm are peated, but I don't think it's too heavy.

Of the ones you mentioned you had, the Macallan 12 stands out slightly as being the only one aged/finished in Sherry casks. Those tend to have a unique flavor profile. Very much a floral/dried fruits sort of flavor is imparted from that process. Balvenie DoubleWood (12 and 17) have the Sherry influence. All of the Glenfarclas line is aged in Sherry casks as well. That ought to be a departure from the Balvenie Caribbean/Glenlivet/Monkey Shoulder you mentioned above.

Otherwise, turn up the hunt for Compass Box and get you a Great King St. - Glasgow Blend. $40, Sherry cask finish, and lightly peated .

 

Pardon the messy counter, but this was what I shared with a few buddies this weekend (one of them brought the Pinhook).



Damn, that Little Book Chapter 2 is interesting as hell and very tasty. All the good stuff from Canadian whiskey, with a great Kentucky straight rye finish. Loved it.

That Elijah Craig B518 is excellent, too. The B517 was the 2017 Whiskey of the Year. The B518 is very similar tasting, with a higher proof yet (133.4!).

Pinhook was kind of so-so, but it did come after the previous two I mentioned, so it was going to seem light and simple by comparison regardless.


@916carl , I got a Longbranch today to drink on Thanksgiving .

Wishing all you whiskey hounds a fantastic Thanksgiving tomorrow!

 

Awesome stuff there. Let me know how you like the Longbranch. It may be a a few weeks before I crack mine open.

I'm in Monterey area for thanksgiving and My BIL brought a bottle of rye called Ghost Owl, made in Oregon, to dinner tonight. It was actually pretty good. Not much info on it out there. I'm going to pick up a bottle on my way out of town on Friday.

 

If you want to stick to Scotland, then definitely talisker. Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban has a nice tobacco flavor that is different from the other things you've mentioned. There's definitely differences between what you tasted, but a bit subtler than maybe you can pick up on yet.

Glenmorangie has a taster set of their whole line up (minus the crazy expensive stuff). It might grow your pallet a bit into detecting some of the finer points. I love line up taster sets for that. I recommend that next or talisker 10.

If you don't mind leaving Scotland and scotch, definitely check out knoppogue castle 12 (Irish), Jefferson's (American) also has a wood experiment set that is super interesting. The first will give you big fruit (peaches, pears, banana) and the latter is another option to understand the effects of different woods on whiskey. Really interesting.

 

I just picked this up at a local liquor store for $20

 

I was surprised to see the Ghost Owl rye I had at Thanksgiving and liked is only 2 years old. It was actually pretty tasty. Little bit of sweet with a decent peppery hit on the back of the mouth, no acid reflux chest fire - fairly smooth.

The distillery doesn't have much of a presence on the web. It looks like they don't actually do the distilling- maybe buy and blend...

 

It could be that the 2yr old whiskey in it is only 10-20% and the rest of it is older, or they took whiskey that's older and married it together in their own barrels for two years as part of the blending process. Also, just guessing, but is it bottled @ 80 proof? More and more of what is getting drank nowadays is 90 proof or higher. When I drink something that is 80 it always seems super smooth now. But maybe that's just me.

Coincidentally, I just picked up a new release from bulleit...at second thought it says batch 5, but it's still new to me .

 

Think your right on most counts. It is "only" 90 proof, so while a bit higher strength than the standard 80 proof hooch, it's still less than a lot of the stuff I've been drinking lately.

Interested in your thoughts on that Bulleit when you crack it open.

 

Darn! I should have never stopped by and Read this Thread....... Now I got to go pour me one.... and it all your fault

 

Yeah me too! I'll definitely write my thoughts when I do. There's a bunch of goodies I'm opening in December when my buddies get here. I may end up buying the rest of the bulleit line, 10yr, and bourbon( I already have their rye) for comparison. I love their stuff. Great quality for the price.

 

Basil Hayden's for the win!!!!

Info:

Double Gold, 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

The eponymous Basil Hayden's Bourbon dates back to 1796, when Master Distiller Basil Hayden Sr. created a recipe unlike any other. He used a traditional corn base, but mixed in small grains in his mash to capture the spicy flavor of rye and complement the sweet smoothness of corn. More than 200 years later, Basil Hayden's is a singular bourbon that bridges the flavor of rye whiskies and small batch bourbons together.

"Aromas of peach chutney, pistachio nougat, and grainy raisin bread with a soft fruity-yet-dry medium body and a gentle nut butter, anise seed, and sweet mint tea accented finish. An attractive, feminine style." —Beverage Testing Institute

93 Points Wine Enthusiast - *Best Buy* Complex and balanced, this go-to Bourbon features vanilla aromatics with a touch of fresh apple. On the palate, it's light at first, showing vanilla and honey, and winds into deeper, rounded notes of cocoa and hazelnut. Splash in ginger ale for a highball and sip all night long.

 

I just finished a bottle of that bulleit .I enjoyed it but not sure I'd buy it. I got it as a gift from my VP.

 

My kind of Black Friday