So, I was forced to sleep on a bench in the train station. Anyway, one morning after waking up early I walked down to a far bench in order to catch the next train out, and while sitting there, I noticed a box sitting under the bench.

I looked around, and I was the only person in sight, and it was before the regular lines began running, so I just assumed someone had left something behind the night before. Well, I opened it, and it was a bottle of scotch. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it, but I’ll say it was one of the best tasting drinks I’ve ever had. When I got back to London, I shared it with all of my classmates, and the bottle was long gone.

The only thing I remember about it was that it was in a green bottle and had a cork top, and I think the label was tan in color. But who knows, that was a long time ago.

While I still enjoy a fine Scotch, I actually prefer the pot still whiskeys of Ireland. Redbreast 12 year would be my casual drink of choice if it wasn’t so hard to find. But I usually have to settle for Jameson’s or Bushmills while on a budget.

Why not a tasting of lower-priced whiskey, you know, to find that best bang-for-buck bottle? Most $60+ bottles of whiskey taste great, but what’s the best $20 scotch? There are some great blended Scotch brands.

I like Isle of Jura single-malts, which are on the smokey side.

Tastes may vary!

Here’s an interesting fact for everyone who’s become a Scotch fan: A major component of the flavor of Scotch is tied to the shape of the still that it’s processed through. Our tour guide at GlenKinchie told us a story of a distillery that had a challenging still replacement. At original installation, the first still was damaged badly on one side (e.g. it was caved in). The distillery installed the still anyway, because they didn’t have funds for a new one at the time. Years later, when they had to replace the original still, they had to have the new one custom manufactured to retain the caved-in defect to match the original, for fear that a change in shape would alter their distinct flavor in future bottles.

Great post, Jim.

Favorites: Lagavulin (16 year), Macallan 18

Which is a more expensive hobby — Scotch tasting or wine tasting?

One thing my friends and I have found is that prices vary widely because liquor stores are unsure how to price them. They probably sit on shelves for a while and they start dropping the price on an otherwise very fine Scotch.

Macallan 25 y.o. (pricey but good….don’t have it very often)
Balvenie 21 y.o. port wood (finished off in casks or pipes that have held port wine)
Glenmorangie Qunita Ruban it’s a 12 y.o. that has been finished off in port casks or pipes.

My “usual” is the Glenmorangie. I say usual b/c I don’t drink it that often (a bottle usually lasts a year). On special occasions I have the Balvenie, and on really special occasions I have the Macallan (so rare I haven’t bought a bottle yet, just a glass at a time)

Wikipedia says: “With so many whiskies, there are few similarities across the region, though some of the whiskies which are considered to be the most refined and elegant are in Speyside The two best-selling single malt whiskies in the world, The Glenlivet & Glenfiddich, come from Speyside. Strathspey has the greatest number of distilleries of any of the whisky producing areas of Scotland.

So, I’m thinking your list of “6 classic malts” should include Glenlivet & Glenfiddich, and probably not Cragganmore which is somewhat difficult to find over here in the states by comparison. The “Glen’s” are common at bars, but then they probably just have good marketing techniques (or at least pay off the distributors).

Laphroig (Islay)
Macallan 12 y.o.