NFT: Scotch news and views--An Cnoc and JW Platinum

I think the problem with the JW Platinum is while it's good, very good, the gold is better and cheaper.

I like a good single malt and will drink one often, but for my taste Johnny Walker Gold is about as good as it gets.

my distinction was that the JW is a blend (as you stated)

Dalmore 15. Love this scotch, with a real spicey finish. Also tried a Bowmore 18, which is a Speyside scotch, but it's not as heavily peaty and smokey as some. Very smokey on the nose, but a nice clean finish.

It's very good for the price. They put out a 12 for each region if I am not mistaken. I would say it's a little better than other highlands in the same price range (like Glennfidich (sp?)). It's a good scotch to get for a party.

scotch season at a friends tomorrow night, combination wrap up meeting for our local Babe Ruth season and christening my friends new patio and outdoor fire pit. Stopping by Nat Sherman's on the way home tonight for some cigars to make it a complete party. Lord knows I can't wait for the Giants to score in order to have one :-).

Will probably start with old reliable JW Black. I loved the Platinum, and $60 is a great price, thanks for the heads up manh george.

Lately my favorite single malt has been Balvenie Caribbean cask.Got into that last year. Lagavulin hs been my traditional fave, but I've been getting away from the heavier peat a little bit.

Must have fallen off the truck.

...it's not 18yo and it is marketed, according to Diago for "high energy celebrations that may not have been traditionally looked at as a Scotch whisky occasion." Think bottle service at night clubs. It's light, fruity and sweet. Even the bottles are different. The reserve is an opaque, gold colored bottle. They're really going for the urban chic, IMO.

I am thinking JW Blue...Any help is appreciated (not to miller the thread)

In comment 11855483 Section331 said:

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Dalmore 15. Love this scotch, with a real spicey finish. Also tried a Bowmore 18, which is a Speyside scotch, but it's not as heavily peaty and smokey as some. Very smokey on the nose, but a nice clean finish.

love the Dalmore. That and the Balvenie are my two favorite single malts.

Never have gotten into Scotch, just not my cup of tea. Dad was a big Scotch lover and I have tried a few times with the good stuff but still remain a Tanqueray and Tonic, craft Beer guy.

In comment 11855792 drkenneth said:

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I am thinking JW Blue...Any help is appreciated (not to miller the thread)

Blue is prestigious and would be a nice gesture, if that's what you're going for, but it's not my favorite scotch. Fine gift though.

...go with Macallan 18. About the same price as blue and better tasting.

It's very good, but far from worth what it costs. Depending on his taste for Scotch, your best man would probably appreciate it a great deal more if you give him a thoughtfully researched, easy to drink Single Malt--nothing too smokey or Peaty, but great tasting and rich.

I could name many, but will list a couple.

The Old Pultney 21 won best scotch in the world in 2012. I had it at Whiskyfest two years ago and it earned its plaudits. $120 a bottle or so. (Link)

Glenfiddich 21 year is about the same price as the Blue, and is way more fun--deep, rich, complex, long finish, intriguing, etc.

You could even give him two $100 or less bottles for the price, such as the ARDBEG SCOTCH CORREYVECKEN SINGLE MALT and Glenmorangie Nectar D'or. Nectar D'Or is a dessert scotch (one of only a couple in the world) finish-aged in Sauternes casks--great fun for anyone who has never tried one.


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I love the Balvanie Doublewood, which if I'm not mistaken is also a 12 year. That is my favorite Scotch single malt. I have not been a fan of blends.

Right now, I am on a bottle of Bushmills Irish Whiskey and I am really enjoying it.

for someone at this point, particularly a non-Scotch connoisseur, it's like a said before, a gesture, because of its reputation.

It's like buying something that is believed to be good and as a gift it would probably have more meaning than two less expensive value scotches that tasted better.

and to be clear it is good, just even within the JW family the gold is better IMO and a fraction of the price.

but giving someone as a gift two 60 bottles of scotch that are excellent, isn't the same as giving them one bottle of blue, for better or worse.

just my opinion.

in quite a while, but I thought a Macallan 18 would be MUCH less than JW Blue. JW Blue is a nice whiskey, but Macallan 18 is far better, imo.

the two I picked as an example were a $120 bottle as good (at least) as the Blue, not a $60 bottle. The second, Nectar D'Or I have given as a gift a couple of times. People are absolutely fascinated by it, because it is so unusual and so much fun. For a non-connoisseur, it is especially nice because you don't need to understand the complexities of top-notch scotch to enjoy it.

He could substitute in the $120 Old Pultney as part of the pair. It is way better than the Blue.

We differ, clearly.

I think I will go the 2 bottle route.

Sit down after a dinner with your friend with the Nectar D'Or and a small piece of fine dark chocolate, and watch his eyes light up.

Guaranteed.

!

from CNN
Whisky lovers making millions - ( New Window )

Changed my drinking life. Damm that is fine whiskey for about $60.

I think the point pjcas was trying to make wasn't simply give the $120 bottle instead of 2 $60 bottles just on price. The point is, for a non-connoisseur or someone that doesn't drink Scotch much, the 2 cheaper but tasty bottles could be lost on them. they won't know what they are drinking and may not care. However, the Blue label is likely a known commodity and will be appreciated more as a gift, even if it isn't any better.

Likewise, simply replacing the other bottles with a lesser known $120 bottle would still be less appreciated than the Blue.

My experience in the limited times I have used Scotch as a gist is that many people appreciate something a little more off the beaten path that the Blue, so long as the substitutes don't require real understanding of Scotch. And, it is so easy to beat the experience of 1 bottle of Blue. With a great $120 bottle and something else like the Glenmorangie "for fun."

Don't get me wrong, I like the medium-priced JW's. Getting the Platinum for $60 as I noted is amazing--you can get 3 for 1 bottle of Blue. 18-year-old Chivas, which is nothing like the 12-year dishwater, is arguably as good as the Blue, in my view, at no more than 40% of the cost. You can get the 1.75 liter bottle of the 18 Chivas for $140. A big bottle like that can make an eye-popping gift.

My bottom line is that I view the Blue like Bose speakers: a lot of the price is going into hype, not quality.

In comment 11856126 Matt M. said:

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I think the point pjcas was trying to make wasn't simply give the $120 bottle instead of 2 $60 bottles just on price. The point is, for a non-connoisseur or someone that doesn't drink Scotch much, the 2 cheaper but tasty bottles could be lost on them. they won't know what they are drinking and may not care. However, the Blue label is likely a known commodity and will be appreciated more as a gift, even if it isn't any better. Likewise, simply replacing the other bottles with a lesser known $120 bottle would still be less appreciated than the Blue.

Exactly, but not a huge deal.

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My bottom line is that I view the Blue like Bose speakers: a lot of the price is going into hype, not quality.

the gift giver knows the recipient far better than we do and sounds like he's decided accordingly, but my point was more if he didn't and the gift was simply a gesture. The bottle (or bottles) may sit on a shelf collecting dust for year and they might never know how much thought care and quality is in those bottles, but with the Blue, they'll recognize the name and prestige most likely.

it's like Gaylord Fokker giving his father-in-law the jerusalem tulip or whatever it was, if he gave him a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue it would have gone over better.

at 12 paces are clearly in order.

there are a couple Obans on my list to try. what do you have?

You were responding for someone who was going to happy to own it, I was responding for someone who would actually dirnk it and appreciate the experience.

Using another metaphor, Blue is the scotch the guy on Suits sends over to impress a potential client. My strategy is for the guy who knows his friend will actually go for the experience. I basically resent the Blue. I had it several times at Whiskyfest the last 3 years, and had so many others that were cheaper and better while I was there.

Btw, Whiskyfest has been moved to a Wednesday from Friday , so I may never go again. 3 years in a row is enough, I guess. I learned a lot.

Oban, surprisingly, isn't reviewing that well on my favorite site.
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I think he'd enjoy something different. I think he'd enjoy either. Great stuff, thanks.

...and a great holiday dessert scotch. Similar to the Nector D'Or, aged in dessert wine caskst, the Quninta Ruban is aged in port casks. You can easily find it for less than $50. Really delicious, I highly recommend it.

I always keep a bottle of Blue for special occasions.

Can some of you single malt guys recommend something that would make me want to give up my JWB??

In comment 11856236 The Natural said:

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I always keep a bottle of Blue for special occasions. Can some of you single malt guys recommend something that would make me want to give up my JWB??

don't give it up. I drink JW Black as my everyday "go to" scotch, but keep a Lagavulin and/or Balvenie for when I want something special

It's really hard to beat the value and taste packed into that bottle. Excellence.

I was actually thinking of getting an Oban next.

Spectacularly better than the Black, and only around 41 bucks.

Auchentoshan, mentioned above, has a 12-year-old for $48 bucks or so that is very rich-tasting. They have a non-vintage for about $38 bucks which isn't bad.

You have to be willing to give up ice, though. The Black is made for ice. Single malts aren't, although many of the best benefit from a few drops of water.

In comment 11856253 manh george said:

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Spectacularly better than the Black, and only around 41 bucks. Auchentoshan, mentioned above, has a 12-year-old for $48 bucks or so that is very rich-tasting. They have a non-vintage for about $38 bucks which isn't bad. You have to be willing to give up ice, though. The Black is made for ice. Single malts aren't, although many of the best benefit from a few drops of water.

That's interesting, because I always have ice and usually a splash with my Scotch.

In comment 11856236 The Natural said:

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I always keep a bottle of Blue for special occasions. Can some of you single malt guys recommend something that would make me want to give up my JWB??

Is there anything specific you like about JW Black that brings you back to it?

I haven't had Black in quite some time, but I do recall smoke being heavy on the nose/palate. I would say a Tallisker, Laphroaig or Lagavulin may be worth giving a go if you enjoy peat/smoke. I think the Black actually uses quite a bit of Tallisker, so it may be a natural progression (and cheaper option than a Lagavulin 16) if you want to make the leap to single malt.

If you are an Islay Smoky/Peaty guy, you owe it to yourself to try the Lagavulin 16 year after Laphroaig. I don't even like Islay, and I thought that was awesome.
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Try my An Cnoc suggestion with just a few drops of water, and experience the bouquet before sipping. You can get high just on that. No bouquet with ice.

I had the Lagavulin 16 first, then went for the Laphroaig.

Love them both.

At some point I wanna get my hands on macallan 18.

I'm also dying to get my hands on a bottle of jameson vintage reserve, I've heard nothing but excellent things and the jameson gold and 12 year are some of of my favorites. Jameson 18 year I have to say was nothing special at all.

but a full ice cube or simply on the rocks is just too much dilution so I went hybrid.

I have tons of crushed up cubes in my ice tray now. I drop a tiny cube, size dependent on the size of my pour. Provides a slight chill and opens up the flavor perfectly.

In comment 11856309 GMenLTS said:

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but a full ice cube or simply on the rocks is just too much dilution so I went hybrid. I have tons of crushed up cubes in my ice tray now. I drop a tiny cube, size dependent on the size of my pour. Provides a slight chill and opens up the flavor perfectly.

I do the same thing! 1/2 a cube or less depending on the pour

usually no bigger than the diameter of a dime. I figure it equates to a bit more than a few drops.

Sometimes a healthier pour is needed. Like this past Monday night for example. :-) At least 3 fingers!

An older Islay can be cut with a knife, so a bit of ice won't harm it. It will barely be noticed.

You don't want to do that to a honeyed, big-mouthed, complex Highland or Speyside. Just the drops of water to open it up. Especially Speyside.

that. I love my speysides warm, and one or two drops, sometimes no addition needed at all, goes down smooth as can be. I wasn't sure what to expect recently when I bought a cragganmore 12 year and the macallan 10 year fine oak but I gotta say I enjoyed both for what they were, 40 dollar bottles. They lacked the character of a stronger, peatier cask but they went down smooth and left a lighter but still tasty finish. And a nice buzz too.

One thing's for sure, I wish all my guy friends could acquire the taste for this stuff because damn it's so good and fun to try new ones. Sure as hell could make gift buying easy. Just can get a little pricey of course.

And yea Victor, I ended up pouring a lot more than expected Monday night. motherfuckers

Hakashu 12 yr...while obviously not scotch still very enjoyable.

Japanese single malts have been developing a fabulous reputation of late.

Bloomberg March 2014: "How Japanese Single malts surpassed Scotland's finest."
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Try Scotch again in a serious way. Love the thread. Am addicted to Bushmills 16 year-old, and do JW Black on the side, but am capable of reform.

i'm fairly new to scotch and was at a wedding on Saturday. After starting with JW Black we found they had Glenlivit 12 behind the bar. Ended up drinking that all night and I love it.

Do you guys buy online at all or your local liquor store? I'd like to get a bottle or two to try some new things.

so online may be in handy if there's any good sites.

If you are in the Westchester/Fairfield CT area I can recommend some places.