What did you buy at the liquor store today? (2016 - )

[Okanagancook]

Lagavulin anything.....one of my favs.  Your friend is very clever and to be trusted.

[rotuts]

Ive tried the Lagavulin 16

 

first of all , Im not much of a distilled drink person these day 

 

I will say this is an astonishing drink.

 

I mixed a ' dram ' of the whisky with a little bit of cold water

 

Ive been told that's what you do.

 

at about 1 unit of whisky and 1/2 unit of water , the alcohol burn receded 

 

and very fine whisky flavor remained 

 

it was a very enjoyable drink

 

no medicinal character at all.

 

that vein said , the ' finish ' remained for some time

 

I not sure when one should drink this.   clearly during the colder months

 

and probably not before a delicate filet of sole dinner.

 

very nice drink

[ananth]

This is a great whisky indeed. 

Also, it pairs well with a dark chocolate dessert 😉

[damaaster]

Today I finally splurged a bit - and decided to buy this bottle that I've heard so many good things about but have never actually tried. Hope it was worth it:)

Photo's of my Bar & Recipe Ideas

[Kerry Beal]

48 minutes ago, damaaster said:

Today I finally splurged a bit - and decided to buy this bottle that I've heard so many good things about but have never actually tried. Hope it was worth it:)

Photo's of my Bar & Recipe Ideas

Lovely stuff IMHO

[damaaster]

A bit of background. I am Canadian - and more specifically from Manitoba - which means all our liquor sales are governed by the province. This means our selection is pretty limited. That said, every now and then, they do special releases, (limited quantities). Over the weekend I went to my first ever limited release, and was really hoping to score a bottle of Weller 12. I've heard great things, and have also heard how hard they are to find (even in the USA).

I brought 2 friends of mine with me, because I assumed it would be a limit of 1 bottle per customer (which it was). Anyways, long story short, I was able to walk away with THREE bottles of Weller 12. I also snagged 2 Stagg Jrs (which i don't THINK are as rare...however we never get them up here so I am not sure). I also grabbed 2 bottles of E.H Single Barrel (again - we never get any E.H up here).

This may not be a huge deal for some of the American's on here - but I'm pretty excited...I think I'm going to have to make some trips down to the USA to try and find a few other good bottles we can't get up here.

I haven't opened any of them yet - as I am just getting over a cold, and want to be 100% when I crack em. What should I try first?

[scubadoo97]

Nice score!

 

edited to add Antica is our favorite vermouth 

Edited December 20, 2018 by scubadoo97 (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I had a delightful surprise at the spirits monger this afternoon.  Look who's back!

 

 

 

Previous bottle on the left.

 

 

[lindag]

I have some of that in my liquor cabinet but don't know what to do with it.

How do you use it?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, lindag said:

I have some of that in my liquor cabinet but don't know what to do with it.

How do you use it?

 

The Laird's Straight Apple Brandy?  Mostly for Autumn in Jersey.  Also for Jack Rose.  @Splificator's IMBIBE! has suggestions.  Tonight the plan is Autumn in Jersey.  Have to hurry because it's almost winter. 

 

The bonded is aged longer and is smoother.  It has not been available for a few years.

 

[rotuts]

Im not a big fan of distilled spirits.

 

but some time ago , I made a fews Negroni's ,

 

to get them off my mind.  seemed every other post back then was Negroni this , Negroni that.

 

I did have 1/2 bottle of Bombay Blue Sapphire left over .   I knew it would speak to me in time.

 

thanks to @Quadriga , I realize that Ice is part of a ' mixed '  drink.

 

there is a show from ITV , GB,  called Endeavour.   it is a fine show and Ive enjoyed it

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2701582/

 

Morse is the younger Inspector Morse.  late in Season 5 , Morse

 

 

goes  over to Chief Superintendent Bright's house.  He is invited in and CSB makes him a drink :  Gin , Ice , and freshly squeezed lime.

 

" its the fresh squeezed lime that makes the drink '    says CSB

 

I tried it and liked it.  I like tart

 

so today , I restocked :

 

 

or better

 

 

they were sampling bourbon and malt whiskey.  couldn't say no.   I dislike bourbon.  seems sweet to me.

 

the Lagavulin was 10 bucks cheaper than before , as they bought a very large lot at a discount.

 

anyway , the little juicer on the L came from Crate and Barrel .

 

and I had to try the Blue Sapphire East  for my Gin and Lime.

 

https://www.bombaysapphire.com/products/bombay-sapphire-east/

 

guess they saw me coming.

Edited February 12, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

a quick P.S.:

 

I got the Shieldaig as it was offered at the ' tasting '

 

they had 6 bourbons , and one whisky.  the person offering the tasting knew a lot about B and W.

 

the Shieldaig is not smoky , but Id say full aged flavor.

 

I told them about the wonderful bottle of Lagavulin I had had

 

then she pulled out 3 more Whisky  anther the display.   we had an interesting discussion about the many W's they had at Total Wine

 

I got the bottle of S as it contrasted w the Lagavulin.

 

also why not ?  I liked it in its way 

 

and I sure the ' presenters ' get some sort of credit for a sale.

 

I really can see how  one might have an ' interesting journey ' 

 

probably not in a straight line

 

looking into the Real Deal Whisky's from Scotland.

 

I do recall and article , about a Massive Conglomerate , that had bought up lots and lots of Brands of This and That

 

including Whisky

 

and they wanted to cure Scotch  Whisky 

 

in Tequila barrels.

 

they must be the Conglomerate that cornered the Tequila Trade

 

and had a bazillion barrels to do something with.

 

So it goes.

[kayb]

Is Lagavulin one of the really smoky Scotches? I can't remember what Scotch I had that was so smoky I couldn't drink it. Maybe Laphroaig? 

 

I'm a Highlands malt gal, myself. I've never met a single-malt that started with "Glen" that I didn't like. Also very fond of Oban and Balvenie.

 

@rotuts, I agree with you; bourbon seems too sweet. I keep it on hand for friends and to cook with (a little bourbon does wonderful things for French onion soup....). I need to pick up some rye; I've got an urge for Manhattans.

 

[Kerry Beal]

Both Lagavulin and Laphroig are peaty and smoky. 

[blue_dolphin]

29 minutes ago, kayb said:

Is Lagavulin one of the really smoky Scotches? I can't remember what Scotch I had that was so smoky I couldn't drink it. Maybe Laphroaig? 

 

Here's a graphic that distributes a number of Scotch whiskys on a smokiness scale.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am in the camp that finds bourbon too much on the sweet side, though I have not sampled it in decades.  Rye is so much better.*

 

 

*except of course for Rittenhouse.

 

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

very nice graphic , thank you.

 

Im no expert , but Id say 

 

 Lagavulin  is peaty and smoky , but in a very refined way.   its so much better than 

 

Laphroig , which I haven't had for a long time , and is very peary annd smokily , almost medicinal.

 

if you ever get a chance to try the Lagavulin 16 , you might change your mind about peaty.   its very refined .

 

add just a splash of cold water .  it cuts the alcohol burn a bit , opens up the flavors on the tongue 

[kayb]

16 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Here's a graphic that distributes a number of Scotch whiskys on a smokiness scale.

Thanks for that. Useful.

 

[Paul Bacino]

Bought Japanese Whiskey   I bought the Kaiyo products/  didn't get the Peated though

 

 

[eugenep]

I got pisco (Peruvian/Chilean grappa) and American Fruit - Pear brandy liquor recently. 

 

The pisco was really interesting and seems more local to the Americas than European grappa or other grape brandies (cognac) and not as pricey. 

 

The American Fruit pear brandy from upstate NY was very high in fruit and the sweetness was balanced (not too sweet) - smooth enough to have on the rocks or with seltzer and ice. 

 

I just thought local things are higher in quality and better in price so I got these things. 

[eugenep]

6 hours ago, Paul Bacino said:

Bought Japanese Whiskey   I bought the Kaiyo products/  didn't get the Peated though

 

 

 

I liked the yamazaki 12 year a lot but since the Japanese ran low on aged whiskey and started putting stuff out blends for the same price, I didn't feel I was getting my money's worth (for blends with no age statement). 

 

I'm glad to see an age statement of 10 years on at least on bottle. I hope the blends were up to scratch and worth the dollar. 

[rustwood]

I don't drink it very often, but I love the smell of the Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky.  I spend more time swirling it around and sniffing it than I do sipping it.

[Tri2Cook]

On 2/13/2019 at 8:14 AM, rotuts said:

Laphroig , which I haven't had for a long time , and is very peary annd smokily , almost medicinal.

The "almost" makes that the understatement of the month.  That stuff tastes like somebody filled a doctor's office with a 50/50 mix of iodine and booze, let it extract what it could for a few days and bottled it. 

[rotuts]

@Tri2Cook

 

from time to time I try ti be polite.

 

not often of course ....

 

its interesting , in terms of marketing , Laphroiag  have so many more varieties 

 

thank they used to.

 

perhaps they have be purchased by a Massive Conglomerate  that is trying to extract every last drop

 

of money from them ?

 

different barrel types etc 

 

 

 

[EvergreenDan]

More than a few years ago, Laphroaig offered a Laphroaig 15 expression (which I see you can now by for $1200). It was completely different from the 10. The extra age or some other production difference made it much closer to (from memory) Lagavulin 16 than Laphroaig 10. I know there are a number of Laphroig expressions, but I haven't experimented. I think the 10 works very well in cocktails, where the extra "disinfectiousness" is a benefit.

Edited February 24, 2019 by EvergreenDan (log)