Yeah, the Quinta Ruban is one of my very favorites. I get an almost "dark chocolate and orange" flavor from it, especially on the finish. Glad you're enjoying it!Originally Posted by Klonk
Yeah, the Quinta Ruban is one of my very favorites. I get an almost "dark chocolate and orange" flavor from it, especially on the finish. Glad you're enjoying it!
I'm a fan, too. Got a bottle as a three pack a couple months back. Quite different, IMO.
"And this is the chorus.....or perhaps it's a bridge...."
I'm new to scotch and I've been drinking John Walker Red. Don't care much for the Black as I think it has an odd taste. Hoping it was just a tainted sample. Anyway, what's the next step up from the JW Black? Thanks.
The older I get, the better I was.
ANYTHING is a step up from JW RED! You need to explore single malt scotches. You can start with mild, inexpensive ones like Glenfiddich and work your way up. If you like them more sweet and mild, explore Speysides, if you like them peaty explore Islays...
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
I'm not really a fan of Jonnie Walker Black (or Red). The Blue is good, but overpriced for what you get IMHO.
Like Yves said, starting with an inexpensive single malt is a good next step -- Glenfiddich, Macallan, Glenlivet, and Glenmorangie all have relatively low-priced entry level whiskies.
I'll echo what was already said. I don't want to sound snooty, but JW Red is not meant for drinking straight but as a mixer. It's not a good representation of scotch. JW Black is a classic blended scotch and has a smokey quality to it (partially because of the single malts used to blend it like Talisker).
And a little more 101, blended scotches come from a variety of distilleries. In fact, JW black is not all blended scotch but includes grain whiskies as well. Single Malts are just a fancy way of saying that the scotch came from 1 single distillery.
Anyway, if you found the JW Black taste "odd", I would suggest the Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12, Macallan 12, Balvenie DoubleWood, or Glenmorangie 10 for starters. I'd lean towards the Glenmorangie 10 from that list. If you like it, they make other whiskies based off that formula, except they "double mature" them for two more years in other casks. The Quinta Ruban that Klonkers is trying was finished in port wine casks. Lasanta is finished in sherry casks. Nectar D'or is finished in Sauternes casks.
Enjoy the journey!
WANTED: Sig-worthy quote.
Gentlemen, I don't know much about whiskey other than what I like. The other night I had a glass of glenmorangie 25 in a fine Indian restaurant along with some wonderful spicy food. It was by far the favorite whiskey I ever tasted. I'm not sure if it was a protocol violation that I enjoyed it in that context or not…
Any opinions on the top end glenmorangie 25 or better or others in that league? Just curious what I should splurge on next time I have such an opportunity.
Well, I'm not sure that single malts are your type, if you liked the JW Black less than the JW Red.
JW Blue is way overpriced (as is the JW Gold), but JW Green is interesting, as it is a blend of six different distilleries, though four of them are from the western isle, if memory serves.
You're right of course... But there are a few blended that are a few step down from JW Red... Ballantine is worst crap I've tasted
Indeed, an entry level and fairly MOR Malt like Oban
BTW, I don't know what are the marketing strategies across the pond, but in the old world, Morangie and Macallan are not the cheapest-priced, far from it... Beit on their basic 10 or 12 YO or in their older more mature expressions.
Morangie is one of my top three, along with its near-neighbour (and more expensive) Dalmore. Indeed the wood finish series is absolutely marvellous, though I'd say that the more expensive Nectar D'Or (Sauternes finish) is maybe a bit disappointing. Rounding off my top 3 is Aberlour, which has the great advantage to be among the cheaper one in the French-speaking Europe (It's owned by either Pernod or Ricard). You can get a 16YO for the price of most 12 YO and the 18 YO for the price of a 15 YO elsewhere.
That's really the way to go, IMHO...
The ones you name are indeed good entry level single malts
BTW, if you'd like to go for a smokier or peatier malt (there is a difference between the two), I've seen 50 ml bottles or Ardbeg and other Isles malts.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Congrats on finding such a nectar, in an Indian restaurant no less. I wouldn’t call that a protocol violation, but it would be hard to judge what you tasted if you had the whisky after all the spicy food lol.
My strong opinion is that there is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to high end and rare scotch. The price paid for those premiums which generally start at $200 and go into the thousands is that it’s not *that much better* if even better at all than what can be bought under $100. To be fair, I haven’t sampled a large variety of high end delicacies, but when I have I am usually left underwhelmed of thankful I didn’t buy the bottle.
That said, Macallan 18 is wonderful as is Highland Park 18 and Balvenie Portwood 21.
But if you want to explore, you can dent your pocketbook less if you stay in the $40-$90 range.
WANTED: Sig-worthy quote.
Yeah, I go up to about 18 year old , above that I find the price goes up more rapidly than how much I can tell the difference in taste. Nothing to add on the reco's above, all very sound stuff.
Hugues - You ever had Bells or Teachers? Those are the worst blended ones I've had.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Totally agree with you and Cozt that going over the 18 (max 21) YO mark and the sky-rocketing prices coming with them is probably not a good price/quality ratio.
To me it's more than suspicious that them prices are realistic, because blocking a barrel for 18 years or 25 shouldn't triple or quadruple the price of the bottle.... so it's a question of snobbery, speculation and prestige. I'll probably resist the temptation to one day pay more than 100.00 ($, £ or €) for a bottle
Nope, never heard of Bells and not tempted by Teacher's... However the last bottle of blended I drank was Monkey's Shoulder... It was rather good too.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
I have generally stayed away from blends, but do like JW Black, Green, and Gold. I have tasted Blue and found it waaay overrated.
One blend I didn't care for at all was Famous Grouse.
My favorite blend, especially in the discount range, is Dewar's White label. It's like a discount version of JW Black with a more balanced smokey profile.
WANTED: Sig-worthy quote.
I do like JW Black and JW Gold. Blue not at all. My son lives in Myanmar and says that business men give gifts of JW Blue in their dealings. It's considered the toppest of top shelf there.
Lou
Looking forward to my day in court.
I agree about the Dewar's White Label. I'm not sure I'd compare it with JW Black, though.
A friend recently gave me a bottle of JW double-black. It was quite nice, though I found it had an unpleasant finish.
My memory is vague - how would it compare with regular JW black?
Regards,
Duncan
Congrats on finding such a nectar, in an Indian restaurant no less. I wouldn’t call that a protocol violation, but it would be hard to judge what you tasted if you had the whisky after all the spicy food lol.
My strong opinion is that there is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to high end and rare scotch. The price paid for those premiums which generally start at $200 and go into the thousands is that it’s not *that much better* if even better at all than what can be bought under $100. To be fair, I haven’t sampled a large variety of high end delicacies, but when I have I am usually left underwhelmed of thankful I didn’t buy the bottle.
That said, Macallan 18 is wonderful as is Highland Park 18 and Balvenie Portwood 21.
But if you want to explore, you can dent your pocketbook less if you stay in the $40-$90 range.
Thanks for your perspective on that. I might splurge on the odd glass, but definitely not a connoisseur worthy of a multi-hundred dollar bottle :-). The scotch stood up very well to the spices, but probably reveals my abuse of the art. I can very well imagine there is a law of diminishing returns on the high-end. I'll follow-up on your recommendations as I haven't sampled any of them.
With all of these great suggestions I can bet my taste in scotch will improve over the next few days. So long JW Red
The older I get, the better I was.
Grouse is probably my favorite cheap whiskey.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Yeppers...I agree as well. Great stuff.
It is the poster child for what can be done with atypical cask aging.
Honestly, I prefer this over the much more expensive bottles I've tried such as Lagavulin. It's delicious! I still really enjoy my peaty go to which is Laphroig Quarter Cask though. As you can see, I prefer to stay in the $50-70 range.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
I do like Laphroig but have to be in the right mood to stick my head in the bog!
Just for fun - love the first comment. https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskie...ar-old-whisky/
Mine is McClelland's. You can get both Speyside and Islay for about $22/750-ml bottle.
When it comes to American whiskey, hands-down cheapo favorite is Early Times. Pure rotgut, but I love it. I used to get Christmas cards from the distillery.
Lou
Looking forward to my day in court.
BTW, Anyone ever try Whistlepig Rye? Highly acclaimed. I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away by any means. Probably my ignorance of the type. I have nothing to compare it with...
Hilarious! ("the wife/cousin...")
Speaking of blends, I really like the Compass Box "Spice Tree." That is a fine blend!! http://www.compassboxwhisky.com/whiskies/index.php?id=8
Compass Box is interesting for sure. I like the Spice Tree, and actually have a bottle of Hedonism -- quite nice.
My go-to recommendation for a great bottle to pop 'yer cherry after exploring some low-end shite is Balvenie Doublewood. I recommended this to my good buddy years ago (he was a complete virgin at the time), and now he has a collection of over 20-30 bottles from all areas of Scotland, peated and non-peated. You cannot go wrong with that dram and it can start a serious love affair. imo.
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
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