2/28/2014 2:59:08 PM

in case yall didn't know, the Players Retreat has the largest single malt scotch selection in NC, and there is a scotch club where you can taste them all

2/28/2014 4:49:05 PM

Been drinking more scotch lately, specifically Glenmorangie 10y, and then recently I picked up a bottle of Balvenie Single Barrel 15y that I like a lot. My tastebuds previously didn't agree with the heavy peat quality of some of the richer, more organic, earthy tasting scotches out there, but I'm finding that the lighter ones that still have a bit of the smokiness to them are much more to my liking.

3/3/2014 11:01:48 AM

i've been wanting to try islay mist for a while now, but they don't sell it in NC...picked it up while i was out of town last week, though

at $21, i would keep this in my liquor cabinet at all times if they sold it locally...it's like laphroaig lite



[Edited on September 30, 2014 at 8:52 AM. Reason : image]

9/30/2014 8:52:36 AM

monkey shoulder (which i didn't realize they sold in NC) is only $30 this month...thinking about picking up a bottle

it's a speyside blend of glenfiddich, balvenie, and kininvie

3/2/2015 10:01:50 AM

Need to try that Islay Mist if it's available in VA... It'd be nice to have a sub-$40 "everyday" option.

3/3/2015 1:33:15 PM

bought a couple airplane bottles of glenlivet 15 year today, and i don't know if i'm missing something, but it seems very underwhelming. very smooth which is nice, but the flavor profile just seems....lacking. i'd like to get more into scotch, but this isn't very persuasive

3/5/2015 5:52:58 PM

i don't (generally) care for speysides...they tend to be the lightest and sweetest

that's coming from an islay lover, though, so...

if you think you'd like smoke, seaweed, peat, and iodine/medicinal...try an islay, but before you give up on scotch altogether try some highlands

you don't even need to get a single malt...heck, even a budget blend like famous grouse or teacher's is a good place to start

3/5/2015 7:45:12 PM

Oh I'll definitely try some others, I just got this one because it's a "name" so I figured it had to be good

3/5/2015 8:05:20 PM

Balvenie doublewood is one of my favorite speysides. It's a good intro to scotch.

3/5/2015 8:10:20 PM

any thoughts on Ardmore single malt ?? friend is moving and just dropped this at my house. know nothing about it

4/18/2015 12:41:42 PM

Quote :

"bought a couple airplane bottles of glenlivet 15 year today, and i don't know if i'm missing something, but it seems very underwhelming. very smooth which is nice, but the flavor profile just seems....lacking. i'd like to get more into scotch, but this isn't very persuasive"

Haven't had the 15, but of the 12 year varieties, I vastly prefer glenfiddich to glenlivet. The flavor profile seems cleaner to me. I also like islays (keep Laphroaig on hand at all times) but the glenfiddich works for me as a counterpoint.

Balvenie Doublewood is also quite good, even better actually, though it's more expensive (here in VA, $65/bottle for the Balvenie, $40/bottle for the Glenfiddich.)

4/19/2015 1:33:16 PM

also, what should I be looking for in the glenleivit, glenfiddich, lagavuln areas ?? alcohol is ridiculously inexpensive here... so lemme know what I should be looking for .

4/19/2015 5:51:09 PM

As I've mentioned, personally, I prefer glenfiddich 12 to glenlivet 12. Cleaner flavor profile, more pleasant. Distinctive pear flavors too. It's a solid lower-price single malt. Runs about $45/750ml here, so it should be accordingly less expensive where you are. For other speysides, I really like Balvenie Doublewood ($65/750ml here), and The Macallan Fine Oak 15 ($90/750ml). Probably my favorite that I've ever tried would be The Macallan 18 year, which here runs $220/750ml.

As far as Islays go, I've never tried Lagavulin personally, have been meaning to but it's pricey (around $100/bottle). I'm a big fan of Laphroaig, which is pretty intensely smoky and more reasonable ($55/750ml.)

[Edited on April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM. Reason : g]

4/19/2015 7:59:04 PM

Out of curiosity, what do people think about chill-filtered vs. not? I can sort of tell the difference, but not to the point where it really changes anything for me, yet. Still rather new to drinking straight.

I still haven't made up my mind whether non-chill filtered people are looking to be a little snob-ish or whether chill-filtering is just a dumb move by companies to be better marketable to casuals who get weirded out by the slightest blemish in their drink.

1/15/2016 2:52:50 PM

I know dick about Scotch, but like Oban 14. What else should I try? Not really into to the ones so smokey it's like blowing a pit master.

12/13/2020 12:02:52 AM

Probably anything Speyside or Highland based on your description. Speyside will be lighter, Highland will be a bit richer. You could also try any American whiskey's labeled single malt (personal favorite of mine is Stranahan's) or Japanese whiskey's (harder to find).

12/17/2020 10:40:32 AM

When I went to Japan in 2009 I brought my dad back a Yamazaki 18 year I bought for $50. He hates scotch.

When I was at his place last year the bottle still was 80% full.

12/19/2020 12:29:31 AM