Favorite Whiskey?

I’m going to do a set of glasses with Van Halen lyrics.

 

He may be struggling to get vertical today.

 

He texted me after midnight. Last known well being check

 

Lots of comments on the glasses. I may have some business to send your way shortly.

Hmmm... Captain dickbutt just compared my favorite whiskey to Fireball. I might have to rethink this friendship.

I get where you're coming from. That Kentucky Chew is a nice batch. Love seeing another Booker's fan run through those bottles!

$110 is a good price for Yamazaki 12 anymore. Usually $120 if I see it on a shelf around here.

I'm REALLY happy with how these turned out. That it isn't obvious which songs the lyrics came from is a nice touch. It lead to a little extra conversation around them.

Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, bvbull200 is back in the saddle and ready for another round!

We had a HELL of a time last night. The four whiskies we tried were quite an adventure. No 'bad' ones, though there was a standout.

The whiskies were from Scotland, the US, Taiwan, and Japan. I made a playlist that had the Shazam #1 song from each of those countries and played them for each of the whiskies. All of the songs were so bad.

In reverse order of preference:

#4 - Shinobu Pure Malt Mizunara Oak Finish - I think I might be able to come around on this one, but there is a weird funk to it. It reminded me of eating dry-aged beef. If you haven't had it before, the aging leaves a really distinct flavor on the beef that can be a little unsettling at first. This honestly had a similar initial note. It has to do with the Mizunara oak casks. It is a really porous wood that is hard to work with, but leaves a distinct impression on the whisky. I have another sample and will definitely revisit at a point.

#3 - Kavalan Distillery Select - Kavalan slots in with Amrut and Paul John as having a fairly unique niche in the single malt category. I feel like you can usually tell if a whisky is from Japan and I feel like you can usually pick out a whisky that is from India or Taiwan. The Kavalan is no different. The nose is really, really good, but the palate didn't quite support it. Short finish, too. Sweet and a bit earthy, just not a ton there.

#2 - Glenlivet 12 First Fill - This one uses first fill American oak casks, which is pretty unique for a scotch. Because of it, this whisky pulls a lot of color and flavor from the barrels compared to a barrel that has given a lot of its character to a bourbon prior to the scotch taking a turn in it. Nice, big, bright fruit flavors, like green apple along with a little ginger root. Pretty well balanced. I don't buy whisky to smell it, but I do kind of wish the nose didn't burn quite as much as this. Of course, that lowered the expectations prior to the first sip, so maybe that worked in its favor .

#1 - Westland Garryana 3-1 - This was by FAR the best of the bunch. The nose on this stuff is absolutely incredible. I hesitated to call it floral because that is usually reserved for stuff that is a little lighter on the nose. The nose on this is very robust and rich, but still floral. Think fresh red roses. I didn't pick up even a hint of peat on the nose, but damn if it isn't there on the palate. The peat is light, but noticeable. I think peat fans will appreciate it and folks just getting acclimated to peat will find it unoffensive. It otherwise has rich black cherry notes along with baking spices. It is a very layered whisky with a standout flavor profile. One of the best whiskies I've had in the past couple of years. It's about $150 and not altogether easy to find, but if you're in the mood for a really well made single malt, it is definitely worth picking up.

After that, we had some 'bonus' pours out of the cabinet. Hard to pin down everything that everyone tried, but I did open my High West Light Whiskey. I'll revisit that for a little better review, but it was a rather unique whiskey.

 

Came home from vacation and the neighbor just brought over the mail. WTF is here. Glasses are great and will be christened tonight. Not sure what I will use. BTW the box looked like it never traveled at all. Guess they get it right sometimes.

 

Send it our way we are always happy for more business.

Glad you all had a good time drinking some good whiskey. Hopefully no one is any worse off for it.

It’s funny I was looking at my bottle of BT last night sitting next to my bottle of tequila one is about 3/4 gone and the other not quite half. Now mind you unless I’m out with friends and stuff I don’t drink a lot so this is a good sign for both of them. I like the BT a lot more since I’ve been mixing it with coke. May have to try it in some Dew this weekend.

 

They can’t Kill ‘Em All.

 

Yeah it’s crazy! I’ve paid a premium on bottles before but that is straight robbery. I live in a playground for the rich though, so some jag will come along and pay it. I’m pretty sure the 12 that sold was going for $200+.

 

I’m running out of space in my cabinet. May be time to take over another space.

 

Some delicious options in there!

 

You ever see knob Creek cask strength rye around by chance?

 

not a bad problem to have!

 

I have! I haven't looked for it recently, but I can pay a little more attention again. I'm guessing you're wanting a bottle?

 

Found some

 

Yessir. Heard it is baby booker rye...

Ooh ooh ooh! Nice! Think you are a far drive from here though...

 

I'll put the word out and see if I can't get my hands on it.

I've had some. It is good!

 

Soooo my parents gave me this...well aged haha

 

Neat. What's the date on the tax strip??

 

So many different ways to drink the good stuff. The one I tend to grab the most is 3rd from the left. How about y’all? What’s your most used drinking glass? Now, during hunting season in the winter, I tend to use my flask A LOT since I’m out in the woods all the time. Love that thing.

 

Excellent question!

Here are mine in order of preference, left to right. The Drink Tank in the back is my preferred Whiskey Sour vessel.