Whiskey which one?

[Monica Bhide]

HI all. I am headed home soon and I would like to surprise my father with a gift of whiskey. he loves to drink it. Since I dont drink it, I feel as though I dont even know what to look for. Can someone advise me. i have a fair budget but not a huge one

[Monica Bhide]

I read this thread -- http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=88&t=29339& and just realized that I dont even know what I dont know.. please help me with a suggestion

[Cusina]

Alright, I'm NOT an expert, but I like whiskey. My favorite, without breaking the bank or going to a specialty store, is Crown Royal. Smooth enough to drink straight, makes a good manhattan, and it comes nicely packaged for a gift.

If I'm going to drink scotch I like Glenlivet.

I'll be interested to hear what others have to say on this subject.

[slkinsey]

Let me see if I understand... home is presumably overseas, right?

If so, I think it makes the most sense to get him some American whiskey which, for all intents and purposes, means Bourbon. Personally, I think Booker's whiskey is one of the best and most interesting whiskeys money can buy. It's aged extra-long and is bottled at cask strength right out of the barrel without filtering.

[Monica Bhide]

Let me see if I understand... home is presumably overseas, right?

Yes it is. American bourbon.. hmm... Just as another data point my hubby reminded me that Dad loves Royal Salute.. (I assume you all know what it is even if I dont )

[slkinsey]

Let me see if I understand... home is presumably overseas, right?

Yes it is. American bourbon.. hmm... Just as another data point my hubby reminded me that Dad loves Royal Salute.. (I assume you all know what it is even if I dont )

Royal Salute is a special, super-expensive kind of Crown Royal aged 50 years (although one can't really say how long a blended has been aged, since the neutral spirits in the blend are not aged at all -- presumably this means that some of the malts in the blend were aged 50 years). $250 or so a bottle, which strikes me as obscenely expensive for blended scotch considering that you could get 25 year old Springbank single malt for less than that.

Booker's, on the other hand, is <$60 a bottle.

[Sinbad]

Monica,

Royal Salute is a blended whiskey (scotch) that will set you back about $250. In my view the money is better spent on a high-quality single malt like Macallans 25 year or Spingbanks 25 year old for the same amount of money. The Macallan 25 year is a personal favorite of mine, very smooth and easy to drink. The Macallan 18 year and 12 are not as good, but still very good and significantly cheaper.

The best value whiskey you can buy is in my opinion Lagavulin 16 year old that you should be able to get for around $50. One of the worlds truly great whiskeys, and a bargain at that price. It is very smokey though, and some do not like it. Lagavulin also produces an 18 year old double matured that has been matured twice in a barrel, incredible smokey, love it. If your father likes more smoky whiskeys it would be a nice buy.

If you don't mind spending the money and is unsure as to what your father likes, I would recommend the Macallan 25 since it would appeal to most whiskey connoisseurs (you need to be very picky not to like it in my view). The Lagavulin 16 year old is in my view the best buy at around $50 and the Lagavulin 18 year (I've seen it for around $80) if you want to give him something very unique at not too bad a price.

[Monica Bhide]

Thank you all for taking the time. i will let you know what we buy based on your recommendations. THANK YOU!!!

[Alberto]

Let me see if I understand... home is presumably overseas, right?

Yes it is. American bourbon.. hmm... Just as another data point my hubby reminded me that Dad loves Royal Salute.. (I assume you all know what it is even if I dont )

Royal Salute is a special, super-expensive kind of Crown Royal aged 50 years (although one can't really say how long a blended has been aged, since the neutral spirits in the blend are not aged at all -- presumably this means that some of the malts in the blend were aged 50 years). $250 or so a bottle, which strikes me as obscenely expensive for blended scotch considering that you could get 25 year old Springbank single malt for less than that.

Booker's, on the other hand, is <$60 a bottle.

No...wait a minute...

Royal Salute 50 y.o. is a commemorative and extremely espensive edition of the Royal Salute blend from Chivas Brothers (normally at 21 years of age); in Scotland the age statement imply all the whiskies in a bottle, grain whiskies included of course.

Crown Royal is a blended canadian whisky made by Seagram; there's also a premium verison called CR Special Reserve. Anyways, to be called "canadian whisky" even the blending base (you said the "neutral spirit"), distilled usually from corn, must be aged at least 3 years in wood according to canadian laws.

Is in american blended whiskies that the neutral spirit can account up to the 80% of the total and do not require a compulsive aging.

BTW, Booker is not aged for very long, about 8 years I think. Try also Knob Creek 9 y.o. 100 proof also from Jim Beam small batch bourbon range. Maker's Mark is a good starting point bourbon whiskey too.

Cheers,

Alberto

[GordonCooks]

Monica,

Royal Salute is a blended whiskey (scotch) that will set you back about $250. In my view the money is better spent on a high-quality single malt like Macallans 25 year or Spingbanks 25 year old for the same amount of money. The Macallan 25 year is a personal favorite of mine, very smooth and easy to drink. The Macallan 18 year and 12 are not as good, but still very good and significantly cheaper.

The best value whiskey you can buy is in my opinion Lagavulin 16 year old that you should be able to get for around $50. One of the worlds truly great whiskeys, and a bargain at that price. It is very smokey though, and some do not like it.  Lagavulin also produces an 18 year old double matured that has been matured twice in a barrel, incredible smokey, love it. If your father likes more smoky whiskeys it would be a nice buy.

If you don't mind spending the money and is unsure as to what your father likes, I would recommend the Macallan 25 since it would appeal to most whiskey connoisseurs (you need to be very picky not to like it in my view).  The Lagavulin 16 year old is in my view the best buy at around $50 and the Lagavulin 18 year (I've seen it for around $80) if you want to give him something very unique at not too bad a price.

I'm a Lagavulin fan, but the peaty taste may put off the someone who prefers a lighter style whiskey. I would suggest a Cragganmore or Talisker.

[slkinsey]

No...wait a minute...

Royal Salute 50 y.o. is a commemorative and extremely espensive edition of the Royal Salute blend from Chivas Brothers (normally at 21 years of age); in Scotland the age statement imply all the whiskies in a bottle, grain whiskies included of course.

Crown Royal is a blended canadian whisky made by Seagram; there's also a premium verison called CR Special Reserve. Anyways, to be called "canadian whisky" even the blending base (you said the "neutral spirit"), distilled usually from corn, must be aged at least 3 years in wood according to canadian laws.

D'oh! You're right, of course about Chivas Regal rather than Crown Royal. My eye saw one thing and my fingers typed the other.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say that the "age statement imply all the whiskies in a bottle, grain whiskies included." If by "grain whiskies" you mean neutral spirits (which is to say ethanol of more than 190 proof, often used in blended alcoholic beverages and commonly produced in a continuous still) I think you are mistaken if you think these are also aged 50 years. The whole point of using neutral spirits in blended scotch is that they are relatively flavorless and smooth out the flavor of the whisky by diluting the strong flavored single malts. What would be the point of aging them? I was recently at a tasting and presentation of Johnnie Walker Black in which the entire blending process was discussed at some length, and they never said anything about aging the neutral spirits.

Neutral spirits are a part of every single blended scotch whisky. Blends comprised exclusively of malt whiskys are called "vatted" rather than "blended." According to what I have read about blended scotch, they typically contain 20% to 50% malt whisky with the rest being neutral spirits. Canadian whisky is, of course, another matter entirely and has its own laws and regulations.

BTW, Booker is not aged for very long, about 8 years I think. Try also Knob Creek 9 y.o. 100 proof also from Jim Beam small batch bourbon range. Maker's Mark is a good starting point bourbon whiskey too.

You're correct that Booker's is aged around 8 years. This is a long time for bourbon, as the charring of the barrels imparts much more wood aging flavor in a short period of time (Jim Beam is normally aged 4 years, and only 2 are required by law). Booker's is Jim Beam's small batch flagship brand. These are the barrels that the master distiller reserves in the best part of the warehouse and determines to be the cream of the crop. Personally, I think it has the strongest flavor and fullest mouthfeel... but any one of the Jim Beam small batch bourbons (which are all made from the exact same whisky coming out of the still, simply aged and treated differently) should be very good: Baker's, Booker's, Basil Hayden and Knob Creek. Maker's Mark, IMO, is a great mixing bourbon (the house bourbon chez moi) but isn't really so special that I'd carry a bottle across the water for someone.

[Schielke]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Woodford Reserve Bourbon

Fantastic and roughly $30/bottle

[MatthewB]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Woodford Reserve Bourbon

Fantastic and roughly $30/bottle

Word.

That's great bourbon at a very fair price.

[Alberto]

Hello slkinsey.

Grain Whiskies are distilled through a continuous system similar to bourbon making process; they come out the still at high proof so they've got light body and character, but they're not neutral alchool. There are about a dozen of grain distilleries in Scotland, all about one located in the Lowlands, some closed by a long time, although but their output is still used today.

They're all aged for a minimum of three years in small wooden casks just like malt whisky; few are bottles as single grains (I collect that kind of bottles), but the majority goes into blends, together with a percentage of malts usually between 20 and 50% as you said correctly. Since the age statement refers to the youngest whisky in the blend, if you've got, say, Johnnie Walker Black Label (a 12 y.o.), what you've got inside the bottle is a mixture of malt whiskies aged not less than 12 years and one or two grain whiskies (say, North British and Port Dundas) aged not less than 12 years as well. If you've got a 50 y.o. blend, the grain whisky inside is 50 years old! I know it might sound strange but it's true.

Same for canadian whisky, of course: all the whisky inside the bottle is aged for the stated period.

BTW, Chivas Royal Salute 50 y.o. goes for £5000 sterling.

For clarity.

Cheers,

Alberto

[slkinsey]

Thanks for the info, Alberto. Although I still think that grain whisky, as you call it, is what I would call "neutral spirits" when it comes out of the still, obviously it would not be so neutral after several years in a barrel. It seems strange to me that they would age a grain spirit for 50 years, but if you say it's true I acquiesce to your greater depth of knowledge. Thanks.

[Sinbad]

I'm a Lagavulin fan, but the peaty taste may put off the someone who prefers a lighter style whiskey. I would suggest a Cragganmore or Talisker.

I agree that Lagavulin is not for everyone. Talisker is another favorite of mine, although not at the same level as the Lagavulin.

If you haven't tried the Lagavulin 18 year old I'll recommend it. It's more difficult to find, but it has an even more peaty taste than the 16 year old. Definitely not for everyone.

[Lan4Dawg]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Woodford Reserve Bourbon

Fantastic and roughly $30/bottle

my gripe w/ Woodford Reserve--& granted it is a very good bourbon--is their marketing scheme. It is not yet made fr/ the Labrot & Graham distillery that their advertising, marketing, promotions, &c suggest. It is distilled elsewhere & bottled at L&G. We went to the distillery shortly after it opened & I, point blank, asked how they could be selling bourbon that required an aging process if they just opened. One of the tour guides rather sheepishily admitted that it came fr/ the other distilleries in the Brown-Foreman group. Last year I visited again to see if any fr/ the L&G distillery had been released & was told, rather bluntly I might add--as if I had just stepped on a family secret & they wished I would not ask such questions in front of so many tourists who would not know any better, that the first releases fr/ the L&G distillery in Woodford County would not be released until sometime this year but no one was certain as to when.

I find it a tad unusual that they promote the copper stills & the pure, clean water of Woodford County as part of the making of the whiskey when it is shipped fr/ elsewhere. Hopefully the finished product fr/ L&G will be all that is hyped.

(A side note: the distillery is absolutely beautiful & extremely picturesque. It has become a bit of a tourist destination however w/ tour busses pulling into the parking lot & much busier & more harried than the first time we visited)

[mickblueeyes]

Slkinsey, all spirits that come off a continuous still tend to be "neutral spirits". "Grain Neutral Spirits" has become an industry jargon term that has no real definition, but for all intents and purposes is highly purified grain distillate (95% EtOH). However, oak aging can completely change anything. "Grain Whisky" by law has to be aged three years and is not typically distilled to 95% abv, though it is the product of a column still process. You have to realize as well that most Irish whiskeys contain "grain whiskies" and that many "Single distillery grain whiskies" are fantastic when bottled alone.

In reference to the original question, you failed to define price range, but here are some suggestions:

inexpensive bourbon: Eagle Rare Single Barrel, George T. Stagg, W. L. Weller 12 yr, Eagle Rare 17 yr or Sazerac 18 yr Rye.

Expensive Bourbon: Black Maple Hill 14 yr, 16 yr, or 20 yr, Pappy Van Winkle 20 yr or 23 yr, Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece Port or Cognac Finish

Canadian: Forty Creek Barrel Select or Three Grain, Gooderham and Worts, Lot 40, or Pike's Creek--whatever you do, don't buy Crown Royal, it is swill.

Inexpensive Scotch: Aberlour A'bunadh, Bruichladdich 10 yr, Glenrothes 1989, Springbank 12 yr or Bowmore Dusk, Darkest or Dawn--Avoid inexpensive Macallan and Glenmorangie.

Expensive Scotch: Macallan 25 yr, Bruichladdich 1970 or 1966 Legacy, Ardbeg 1978, Laphroaig 30 yr, Glendronach 30 yr or any nice bottlings from the following Independent Bottlers: Old Malt Cask, Signatory, Gordon and MacPhail, Blackadder or Murray McDavid.

[ctgm]

Monica,

Royal Salute is a blended whiskey (scotch) that will set you back about $250.

I think that you might find that the release price (or rather the recommended sale price) of Royal Salute 50yo was $8,888 (ie in order to tap into the chinese market)