Whiskey Clique

2-feign-reluctance said:

I received my first wedge glass over the holiday - what a cool concept! Popped open a bottle of Four Roses and had a nice drink New Years Eve! 

I can't drink cold whiskey...  Tastes too different to me.

tempo_n_groove said:

RS151862 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Cliffy6745 said:

What’s the deal with that one? All the whiskey memberships I’ve done I’ve felt to be a bit underwhelming, but I’d definitely be interested in a scotch one 

You are better off going to your local and talking to them and buy your own.  I do that with Bourbons.

Locals don’t get anything near what SMWS has to offer. 

So I just looked into this.  These are barrel picks?  That is what I am seeing.

Yeah, kinda.  They select barrels from pretty much every distiller in Scotland.  A lot of the barrels they select are the off-profile ones that don't fit the norm of their common releases, or an experiment that was tried 20 years ago that is now a beautiful thing but the distiller can't do anything with it because of the limited quantity.  They are all single barrel and cask strength.  Not impossible to find but most Scotches you find at the liquor store are not cask strength and many that will put you back $200 are sitting at 80 proof.  I purchased a 19 year old, single barrel, CS, Laphroaig from the SMWS a couple of months ago.  Easily the best Islay scotch i've ever had and it's not even something you could get from Laphroaig if you wanted to.  I've had some of the best bourbon you can find...not necessarily owned, but have had....and none of those even come close to some of the Scotches I've gotten from SMWS.  I'm not even joking.  I have a 33 year old Glen Moray that I consider to be the best whiskey I've ever had.
Now, it is expensive.  $100/year membership and the low end bottles will cost you about $100, but it's amazing.  

For those interested in Redbreast be aware there is a national shortage. It's out there but few and far between. 
This our Redbreast section...

mca47 said:

mcgruff10 said:

@mca47 would you suggest ardbeg 10? Looking to get my second islay.  I absolutely loved lap 10. Thanks bud.  

Absolutely!  Ardbeg 10 is a great bottle.  After that, take a look at Port Charlotte 10 Heavily Peated from Bruichladdich.
Then circle back to Ardbeg but purchase Ardbeg Uigeadail.  A little more money, higher ABV, I believe it's finished in Sherry barrels which adds more depth and complexity...soooo good!

Awesome info, thank you.  I figure I'd get a bottle of lap 10 and ardbeg 10 the next time I hit a store.  What about bowmore 12 or caol ila? 

It's technically not an islay since it is the next island over but I really enjoyed the jura 12.  

dankind said:

mcgruff10 said:

mca47 said:

mcgruff10 said:

@mca47 would you suggest ardbeg 10? Looking to get my second islay.  I absolutely loved lap 10. Thanks bud.  

Absolutely!  Ardbeg 10 is a great bottle.  After that, take a look at Port Charlotte 10 Heavily Peated from Bruichladdich.
Then circle back to Ardbeg but purchase Ardbeg Uigeadail.  A little more money, higher ABV, I believe it's finished in Sherry barrels which adds more depth and complexity...soooo good!

Awesome info, thank you.  I figure I'd get a bottle of lap 10 and ardbeg 10 the next time I hit a store.  What about bowmore 12 or caol ila? 

It's technically not an islay since it is the next island over but I really enjoyed the jura 12.  

Did somebody call my name?

Mmmmm!

dankind said:

mcgruff10 said:

mca47 said:

mcgruff10 said:

@mca47 would you suggest ardbeg 10? Looking to get my second islay.  I absolutely loved lap 10. Thanks bud.  

Absolutely!  Ardbeg 10 is a great bottle.  After that, take a look at Port Charlotte 10 Heavily Peated from Bruichladdich.
Then circle back to Ardbeg but purchase Ardbeg Uigeadail.  A little more money, higher ABV, I believe it's finished in Sherry barrels which adds more depth and complexity...soooo good!

Awesome info, thank you.  I figure I'd get a bottle of lap 10 and ardbeg 10 the next time I hit a store.  What about bowmore 12 or caol ila? 

It's technically not an islay since it is the next island over but I really enjoyed the jura 12.  

Did somebody call my name?

Nice!  @dankind do you like lap or ardbeg better?

dankind said:

That's like asking me to choose a favorite kid, Scruffy.

Come on man, we secretly all have our favorites. 

I have Caol Ila right now. Haven’t had Ardbeg or lap in a little while but I remember them being more peaty. Caol Ila is used in JW green so that’s probably why I like it. 

mcgruff10 said:

@SVRDhand13 what s your top five under $100?

Scotch I’m not knowledgeable enough to answer yet. But bourbon/rye I’ll go:

Old Forester 1920
Makers Wood Finishing Series (currently FAE-02) 
Barrell Dovetail (blended whiskey that’s sweeter) 
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
New Riff Rye (Malted or Balboa if you can find them but small batch and single barrel are also great) 

I’m realizing one of these is 100 proof and the rest are 110 and up lol.