BlackHive

Well it has been nearly a year... has anyone tried this? What is it like? How is it compared to Kahlua? Less sweet, I hope...

Agreeing with the above post: Old Crow. Cheap and not bad at all. I'd expect it to be perfect for mixing where you don't want to waste a lot of good spirit OR money.

Based on your suggestions, I picked up a bottle of 10yr Laphroaig tonight. Thanks everyone! It's a cracking good substitute for the more expensive Lagavulin.

But I thought if alcohol breaks down into those calories, it's impossible to make 'carb free' vodka. ??? no?

So am I right in assuming that "3 Vodka" is completely out of line with their "no carb vodka" marketing scheme? I always stated that it was bologna because alcohol is alcohol and it doesn't matter if it's from fermented and distilled barley, potatoes or soybeans. Yes?

Ah I see.. so it's mainly the bite and heat that causes the "peppery" remarks. Makes sense. Probably somewhat the same way Knob Creek is "peppery" in that it's fairly hot going down. As of right now, Lagavulin is my favorite single malt. Love the peat. Love the powerful, long aftertaste. I know it's quite a stretch but how would you say both Talisker and Laphroaig compare to Lagavulin?

I always hear that Talisker is "peppery". What does this mean? Even more important, how in the world can it taste like pepper at all? Do they actually use some type of pepper in making it somehow? So what type of "peppery" is it? Black table pepper? Habanero? Bell peppers? What? It sounds interesting since people say it's warming but I think if I sip a drink that tastes like black table pepper, I just may vomit. I'm also interested in Laphroaig 10yr but I get a bit confused about how it can taste medicinal. Rubbing alcohol? Cough syrup? What? I'm just confused, nowhere around here serves either for me to try and I don't want to drop $40+ on a bottle of something I may not like.

I don't know if anyone here saw this yet: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/f...81400000e2511c8

Oh shoot!! I had emailed Green Spot's Irish distributor about a month ago asking if any had even been sent to North America and they let me know one had just gone out to Ontario and gave me the email of some alcohol board to contact about shipping some to the USA but I never heard back from them. I would pay quite a bit for a bottle so if you happen to see it again, let me know.

Right now, I have Macallan 12yr, Balvenie 12yr Doublewood and Lagavulin on hand. There's still something special about the Balvenie Doublewood. It's just... what's the word I'm looking for here... "luxurious"? The Macallan 12yr is aged 100% in sherry casks and The Balvenie Doublewood is only finished in sherry casks but the Balvenie offering seems more complex and refined somehow. That isn't to say the Macallan is less than impressive! One thing I highly enjoy about the Macallan 12yr is that it seems to have a more "woody" taste to it. Then there's Lagavulin. I can't say whether Balvenie Doublewood or Lagavulin is my favorite since they're incredibly different.. but Lagavulin puts up a great fight. A small sip of it is like a train pushing down your throat. It's huge and powerful.. smoky and salty. It's soothing, warming and rejuvinating. The finish lasts for miles and seems to hang around for hours. I admit I did not like it the first time I tasted it but liked it the second time and loved it by the third. Since you already have a Macallan scotch, I wouldn't suggest the Macallan 12yr or Balvenie since you have your sherry-casked scotch. I WOULD highly suggest trying an Islay malt like Lagavulin, though. Once you grow a taste for it, it's unbeatable. It'll give you a nice change of pace from the lighter Highland Park (but everything seems lighter compared to drinks like Lagavulin and Laphroaig).

So after reading more and more of this whiskey lately, I decided to do a hard search and see if I could find anyone anywhere in the USA who had the stuff. I searched and searched for a LONG time and came up with many shops and sites in the UK that sell it but not a single one in the USA. I even emailed Mitchell and Son (Green Spot's distributor) to see if they knew of a place here selling it. I haven't heard back yet. I'm left with a few options 1. Just buy a couple/few bottles from the UK and pay the outrageous shipping fees (usually something like $50-$80 for just shipping for two bottles) and hope I like the stuff 2. Set up a group buy where a case is purchased, the shipping split, and the bottles split up and shipped out whenever the person receiving them receives the case. This could cut the shipping down to a reasonable amount for each person. 3. Search more and hope I find some podunk store in the USA that carries it. 4. Ask people here if they've ever seen it in the USA. So has anyone here ever seen it here? Thanks.

Last night, my girlfriend and I watched a rented DVD of the thriller/zombie movie "28 Days Later". Halfway through the movie, there's a section where some people are gathering food at an abandoned grocery store and one of the men grabs a bottle and another walks up and says something like "Don't just grab any old stuff", cuts back to a few scenes of the women grabbing food, and then cuts back to the men in the alcohol section where he says "here's what you want" and picks up a familiar green box containing Lagavulin. He continues on saying something like "Single malt... 16 year...." and reads the quote on the box saying time "takes out the fire but leaves in the warmth". He then grabs about 6 boxes of it and walks off. There's also a scene later on where it makes an appearance as someone else pours a glass of it. My girlfriend found it amusing when I paused the movie and exclaimed "that's my scotch!" and ran to the kitchen to get my bottle's box and show her (and then drink an ounce since the movie tempted me).

I vote for Woodford Reserve myself. It's the first bottle I reach for when grabbing bourbon in the cupboard. Sometimes, I go for Makers Mark as that is right behind Woodford Reserve as a favorite... very close. I still prefer a few sips of Lagavulin 16yr or Balvenie 12yr Doublewood over anything else, though.