Opinions please: Good Scotch/Irish Whiskey under $20?
Bar Inquisitor
it similar to vodka disputes (Smirnoff vs. a little cheaper)? I'm not
into Scotch, but I tried a cheap one (embarrassingly admitting to
assuming it might be good because it said "imported from Scotland")
named Clan Macgregor and it smelled a little like floor cleaner once
stored in a barrel. Please post two or three recommendations < $20 each
representing examples of decent Irish/Scotch and explain why each is
worth drinking.
cruzlee
buying. You could do like I did at first, when I thought 40 euro was a
lot of money for a bottle of liquid and tell yourself this:
"That is twice the money I wanted to spend, but if I make sure I enjoy
it twice as much, nothing is lost..."
By the way, with this new budget there's a wonderful world of happines
opening up for you.... ;) My first was a Highland Park 12YO and I can
surely recommend it.
Greetings,
Paul
jimbo
a very good Irish whiskey. It is a blen but has the classic Irish pot
still character. And Irish is very different from Scotch. I can't
think of a decent scotch for less than $20. You could try one of the
blends, maybe Johnnie Walker Red, maybe White Horse. But if you want a
real taste of scotch you should try a single malt. Glen Garioch is a
mild, mellow highland and Bowmore Legend is a robust Islay. They both
will be priced in the mid $20s.
jimbo
chuck
The McLelland's Islay ain't bad for under $20.
chuck
Steffen Bräuner
Black bottle 10y
Or
Johhny Walker Black
I don't know their exactly dollar price
Good cheap single malts are
Balvenie
Glenfiddich
Glenlivet
They are probably a bit more than 20$
Steffen
"Bar Inquisitor" <c...@c.com> wrote in message
news:10heahg...@corp.supernews.com...
J Derby
> representing examples of decent Irish/Scotch and explain why each is
> worth drinking.
Not to be insulting, but if you're looking for 'good' alcohol of any
variety under $20, you probably have less discrete taste than most of
the posters in this forum. That's not to say that cheap booze can't be
enjoyed...by some. However, scotch is a drink to be savored, and
there's not much savoring to be had in cheap blends, like JW red.
Also, your about remark cleaner suggests to me that you might want to
try something straightforward, rather than the really good peaty stuff
from Islay. You also asked for a detailed rationale of each. So...
1) Teacher's Highland Cream (blended scotch). Cheap, straightforward,
not mindblowing, but drinkable neat. Fits into your price range (~$20
USD). But before you buy it, read on:
2) Highland Park 12yr (the real stuff-single malt scotch). Look, you
*could* buy a "mountain bike" at Wal-Mart for a hundred bucks, but if
you wanted to actually experience the sport of mountain biking, the
piece of junk that you get won't take you there. Highland Park 12yr is
a reasonably cheap legitimate single malt scotch...I've seen it for
$36 USD, but I'd pay $45 for it if it cost that...and it won't offend
you with its aroma or taste. If you don't like this whisky, there
isn't a whisky in the world that you will like. You really, really,
should buy a bottle of this, and save the rest of your money. I'd take
one bottle of HP12 over three bottles of JW red that I would dump down
the sink, or use to strip furniture. Go for the Highland.
3) Bowmore Legend - while I cannot personally recommend this, because
I've never had it, many will. I don't know if it will be to your
liking, though, and I understand it's a bit unrefined. Does the sound
of drinking something that smells like iodine sound curiously
appealing? Yum! I bet you don't want that, though. The iodine smell of
Islay region scotch is from seaweed (peat)used in the malting process,
and many of us absolutely love it!
In conclusion, get the Highland Park.
Cheers!
John
cruzlee
taste for the price. It was just below 20 euro, so should also be
available across the sea for 20 bucks, and it was called "Té Bheag"
(pronounce: Chey Veck)
http://whisky.vangeest.nl/bottle.php?id=67&selection=blend&sorting=az
dopey
"J Derby" <NoSPAAMd...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cea4087b.04080...@posting.google.com...
[good stuff snipped]
> In conclusion, get the Highland Park.
>
> Cheers!
> John
The Highland Park is one I have not tried but due
to the good "press" on this group I'll try it soon.
Would you recommend it over Macallan 12
which is available locally for me around $ 37 ? I love
the Macallan in this price range and just wondering
how the Highland Park compares.
Thanks
Paul
jimbo
Aberlour is "toxic skank water", you might want to forget scotch and
try something else.
jimbo
dopey
"jimbo" <ji...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:10hl0mn...@corp.supernews.com...
> If you didn't like Aberlour, skip the Macallan. In fact, if you think
> Aberlour is "toxic skank water", you might want to forget scotch and
> try something else.
>
> jimbo
Hey Jimbo
fuck you.
Paul
cruzlee
I think you should try Absinth. Oh wait, *that* is toxic skank water...
J Derby
> The Highland Park is one I have not tried but due
> to the good "press" on this group I'll try it soon.
>
> Would you recommend it over Macallan 12
> which is available locally for me around $ 37 ?
Not having tried the Macallan 12, I cannot make that recommendation,
but I can at least recommend it in *addition* to whatever you have! To
put it another way, it's one of a handful of bottles that I constantly
have in my rotation, along with Laphroig, Talisker, and Aberlour
A'bunadh (which is decidedly better than the 10).
That, and with those prices you keep listing, I think I'm going to
move to Denver. Can I still root for the Wings?!
John
dopey
> "dopey" <do...@nhl.com> wrote
> > The Highland Park is one I have not tried but due
> > to the good "press" on this group I'll try it soon.
> >
> > Would you recommend it over Macallan 12
> > which is available locally for me around $ 37 ?
>
> Not having tried the Macallan 12, I cannot make that recommendation,
> but I can at least recommend it in *addition* to whatever you have! To
> put it another way, it's one of a handful of bottles that I constantly
> have in my rotation, along with Laphroig, Talisker, and Aberlour
> A'bunadh (which is decidedly better than the 10).
My thoughts on the Aberlour 10 are well known by now :-)
but the A'bunadh sounds intriguing and the Talisker is one
I haven't tried but sounds like I need to. I'm kind of jumping
around trying this and that ... so far only the Macallan 12 is
on the "permanently available" list. I love Lagavulin but is
a little pricey to keep around since that is the one I always
reach for if it's there.
>
> That, and with those prices you keep listing, I think I'm going to
> move to Denver. Can I still root for the Wings?!
>
> John
There are a bunch of Wings fans in Denver. You'd
be right at home. And yes, Applejack liquors has
a half dozen single malts on sale every week and they
change ... Macallan 12 $ 31.99, Lagavulin 3 weeks
ago for $59.99 ... the sale prices make it easier to
try something new.
Thanks for the good info.
Paul
dopey
"cruzlee" <none....@sorry.fy> wrote in message
news:t3xSc.896$bv2...@fe39.usenetserver.com...
> I think you should try Absinth. Oh wait, *that* is toxic skank water...
Yes, but with Absinth you take the bad with the good and
you at least know what you're getting into ahead of time :-)
Paul
cruzlee
you think van Gogh knew he was going to cut of his left ear before he
started drinking Absinth?
dopey
"cruzlee" <none....@sorry.fy> wrote in message
No, just like Bruce Cockburn didn't know he was going
to write one of his best songs after drinking Absinth.
But they both knew, I can imagine, that they were venturing to a new
place .. which was my original point.
Paul
cruzlee
> "cruzlee" <none....@sorry.fy> wrote in message
> news:gkNSc.1060$bv2...@fe39.usenetserver.com...
>
>>dopey wrote:
>>
>>>"cruzlee" <none....@sorry.fy> wrote in message
>>>news:t3xSc.896$bv2...@fe39.usenetserver.com...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I think you should try Absinth. Oh wait, *that* is toxic skank water...
>>>
>>>
>>>Yes, but with Absinth you take the bad with the good and
>>>you at least know what you're getting into ahead of time :-)
>>>
>>>Paul
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>you think van Gogh knew he was going to cut of his left ear before he
>>started drinking Absinth?
>
>
> No, just like Bruce Cockburn didn't know he was going
> to write one of his best songs after drinking Absinth.
>
> But they both knew, I can imagine, that they were venturing to a new
> place .. which was my original point.
>
>
>
> Paul
>
>
Just out of curiosity ... Which song is that?
By the way, Bon Jovi also wrote his best song
after a bottle of Absinth ...
It still sucked. ;)
dopey
"cruzlee" <none....@sorry.fy> wrote in message
Well, regarding Bon Jovi ... we have found common ground.
The Cockburn song is "Night Train" ... very cool song. Here is
a link to the interview where he talks about it ...
http://cockburnproject.net/news/20030604bbcinterview.html
and here are the lyrics ....
NIGHT TRAIN
bruce cockburn
Not a knife throw from here you can hear the night train passing
That's the sound somebody makes when they're getting away
Leaving next week's hanging jury far behind them
Prisoner only of the choices they have made
Night Train...
Night Train...
Ice cube in a dark drink shines like starlight
The moon is floating somewhere out at sea
On an island in the blur of noise and color
Alcatraz, St. Alina, Patmos and the Chateau D'if
Night Train...
Night Train...
And everyone's an island edged with sand
A temporary refuge where somebody else can stand
Till the sea that binds us like the forced tie of a blood oath
Will wear it down, dissolve it, recombine it
Anyone can die here they do it every day
It doesn't take much effort though it goes against the grain
And the ultimate forgetfulness of violence
Sweeps the landscape like a headlight of a train
Night Train...
Ice cube in a dark drink shines like starlight
Starlight shines like glass shards in dark hair
And the mind's eye tumbles out along the steel track
Fixing every shadow with its stare
Night Train...
Night Train...
And in the absence of a vision there are nightmares
And in the absence of compassion there is cancer
Whose banner waves over palaces and mean streets
And the rhythm of the night train is a mantra
Paul
cruzlee
> Well, regarding Bon Jovi ... we have found common ground.
>
> The Cockburn song is "Night Train" ... very cool song. Here is
> a link to the interview where he talks about it ...
>
> http://cockburnproject.net/news/20030604bbcinterview.html
>
> and here are the lyrics ....
The song and the lyrics are beautiful and gorgeously melancholic.
"But I haven't tried it again since because the hangover was terrible."
How inconsiderate!
Rajmund M
> My thoughts on the Aberlour 10 are well known by now :-)
> but the A'bunadh sounds intriguing
A'bunadh is a perfect example why you should not discard a distillery even
if you don't like one expression of their whiskies. Try as many as you can.
I have had a few fantastic whiskies from otherwise uninteresting
distilleries, like Glenfiddich (18yo Excellence) or Tomintoul (1996 and 1967
from Adelphi, or the 14yo OB). On the other hand, you can be really
disappointed by some expressions from the otherwise renowned distilleries,
like Mortlach (most of the independent bottlings), Highland Park (most of
the indies again) or Macallan (25yo, 1964, 1958 OBs - stand out in my memory
as being truly undrinkable).
Cheers,
Rajmund
J Derby
> you think van Gogh knew he was going to cut of his left ear before he
> started drinking Absinth?
Your account of the cause of that incident differs significantly from
the collective historians' perspective.
John (art educator)
cruzlee
I know he suffered a mental breakdown, but I remember someone saying
there were considerate amounts of Absinthe involved also. I can't find
any statements on the internet on this however, so you are probably right...
Not Telling
instability cause the absinthe use, or did the absinthe use cause the
mental instability?
Many people with mental problems self medicate with alcohol or various
other substances.
Jim
On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 11:58:29 +0200, cruzlee <none....@sorry.fy>
wrote:
J Derby
> This a rather a "chicken and the Egg" situation. Did mental
> instability cause the absinthe use, or did the absinthe use cause the
> mental instability?
>
> Many people with mental problems self medicate with alcohol or various
> other substances.
>
> Jim
It's not a matter for the chicken or the egg. Rather, it's the
collective historic perspective versus a rumor, one which I've never
even heard to this point. Neither is proven, both are plausible.
However, I am inclined to accept the academic perspective over the
completely made up one, because one involves research and the other is
clearly invented. The evidence of Van Gogh's "problems" dates back to
his childhood, and I've never read or heard anything of a serious
absinthe problem with Van Gogh in particular...yes, it was popular
with many artists during the impressionism/post-impressionism periods,
and was commonly addressed as a subject, not necessarily because the
artists used the substance, but in some cases they did. Also, there is
no evidence that I know of to suggest that absinthe was a substance
used to alleviate mental illness at the time. One thing's for sure, a
chicken of a hundred years ago did not lay a third millennium egg.
Furthermore, it's unclear what type of illness Van Gogh had--some
believe it was schizophrenia, which even today is a psychological
mystery.
Still, the main point of all this is that no historian, to my
knowledge, which is at least moderate, believes that absinthe drove
Van Gogh to cut of his ear, to have his life dream of being an
evangelist denied by clergy, to become hospitalized, or to eventually
shoot himself in the stomach, which slowly killed him. I don't recall
any mention of the substance in any of his letters to his brother
Theo, or anything from Gaugin, or from his extended family, or from
the hospital, nor speculation of such from any historian or even a
casual author. If I am wrong on any of these points, I gladly welcome
correction (with citation of legitimate source, of course).
John
chuck
for fifteen and change a bottle. Not a bad deal.
Especially in an ABC state.
chuck