Cost is no object: Scotch or Bourbon?

[greenblood]

Funny enough, I started my life preferring scotch. Drank a lot of red/black label. It wasn't until I was getting to globe trot with an open booze tab that I started discovering better bourbons that I enjoy. I still can't drink anything like Jack bc it's just too sweet for me but I do enjoy Bulleit quite a bit. If I could drink Macallan everday though I would.

Macallan is very good, and you can pretty much find it anywhere.

 

[greenblood]

I don't know what it is about Bourbon and Scotch, but you just feel fucking smarter while drinking it.

 

[YellowSnow]

It depends on the scotch.

I'd take Bourbon over the best Lowland Scotch, but the best Highland scotches have no rival.

Islay Scotches are great too, but you kind of have to be in the mood. The peat can be a bit overpowering, which a drop of water usually fixes.

When my wife was last pregnant, she couldn't even be in the same room with me and the Laphroaig.

Laphroaig and Ardbeg can be quite pungent to sensitive noses, but for a non-sensitive palate they are great.

Oban 14 and Glendronach 18 and 21 are my favorite. Which happen to be Highland. I've always gravitated to Highland Scotches because I find them more balanced. They aren't mild like the Lowland Scotches but also don't quite have the same punch as a Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Which gives them a really balanced and smooth finish.

Can't say I've ever had a Lowland single malt. Everything's always been Speyside, Highland or Islay. But because of being a pour, I'm usually only buying 10- 12 year bottlings.

I've sampled them and I don't like them. They are really mild and fell kind of empty. Everyone I tried made me think they were missing something.

Your local liquor store might sell a Glendronach 12, which goes for around $60. You'll love it

For a Highland that is way north and right on the coast, I can't speak highly enough of Old Pultney and it's usually under $50.00.

 

[UW_Doog_Bot]

Funny enough, I started my life preferring scotch. Drank a lot of red/black label. It wasn't until I was getting to globe trot with an open booze tab that I started discovering better bourbons that I enjoy. I still can't drink anything like Jack bc it's just too sweet for me but I do enjoy Bulleit quite a bit. If I could drink Macallan everday though I would.

Macallan is very good, and you can pretty much find it anywhere.

I bought my mother some 18yr rare cask while I was in England. Probably in my all time top 10 booze I've had to drink. Mom was quite pleased.

 

[greenblood]

It depends on the scotch.

I'd take Bourbon over the best Lowland Scotch, but the best Highland scotches have no rival.

Islay Scotches are great too, but you kind of have to be in the mood. The peat can be a bit overpowering, which a drop of water usually fixes.

When my wife was last pregnant, she couldn't even be in the same room with me and the Laphroaig.

Laphroaig and Ardbeg can be quite pungent to sensitive noses, but for a non-sensitive palate they are great.

Oban 14 and Glendronach 18 and 21 are my favorite. Which happen to be Highland. I've always gravitated to Highland Scotches because I find them more balanced. They aren't mild like the Lowland Scotches but also don't quite have the same punch as a Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Which gives them a really balanced and smooth finish.

Can't say I've ever had a Lowland single malt. Everything's always been Speyside, Highland or Islay. But because of being a pour, I'm usually only buying 10- 12 year bottlings.

I've sampled them and I don't like them. They are really mild and fell kind of empty. Everyone I tried made me think they were missing something.

Your local liquor store might sell a Glendronach 12, which goes for around $60. You'll love it

For a Highland that is way north and right on the coast, I can't speak highly enough of Old Pultney and it's usually under $50.00.

I'll try it...I'm intrigued

 

[Mad_Son]

My favorite in my price range.

 

[LebamDawg]

I am not a good booze drinker - keep me on the cheap shit.

But this thread got me thinking about when I did drink, Mrs Lebam 3 was in Scotland for work and brought me back a bottle of Glenfiddich Limited Edition Millennium Reserve. I dusted that puppy off and looked on line - damn it is worth some good money. $238 was the best I saw one sold for and one place is asking $900.

Makes me wanna take a sip

 

[YellowSnow]

It depends on the scotch.

I'd take Bourbon over the best Lowland Scotch, but the best Highland scotches have no rival.

Islay Scotches are great too, but you kind of have to be in the mood. The peat can be a bit overpowering, which a drop of water usually fixes.

When my wife was last pregnant, she couldn't even be in the same room with me and the Laphroaig.

Laphroaig and Ardbeg can be quite pungent to sensitive noses, but for a non-sensitive palate they are great.

Oban 14 and Glendronach 18 and 21 are my favorite. Which happen to be Highland. I've always gravitated to Highland Scotches because I find them more balanced. They aren't mild like the Lowland Scotches but also don't quite have the same punch as a Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Which gives them a really balanced and smooth finish.

Can't say I've ever had a Lowland single malt. Everything's always been Speyside, Highland or Islay. But because of being a pour, I'm usually only buying 10- 12 year bottlings.

I've sampled them and I don't like them. They are really mild and fell kind of empty. Everyone I tried made me think they were missing something.

Your local liquor store might sell a Glendronach 12, which goes for around $60. You'll love it

For a Highland that is way north and right on the coast, I can't speak highly enough of Old Pultney and it's usually under $50.00.

I'll try it...I'm intrigued

You can taste the salty brine in it. No joke.

 

[minion_doog]

I can't drink Bourbon anymore, Scotch has ruined it for me. Too sweet and I taste the charcoal, the bottles I'd collected are pretty much decoration now. I rarely get into the Islay and when I go it's always after a few Highlands. Voolin (ILTCIT) and Talisker are my favorites. Ralfydotcom is great, he's a character, lots of good info. If you're interested in chasing cigars, Cigar Obsession has a couple thousand reviews and gave me a lot of good tips on finding what I like

This Highland is a great $50 bottle. Aged in Bourbon casks, noticeably more smooth than a 12, rich, and I fucking love it. It seems to have picked up only the things I liked about Bourbon in the aging. And then finished in charred oak barrels from Kentucky or some shit

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If you're looking for a bottle from $150 and up, you can save a bunch ordering online

 

[Doog_de_Jour]

 

[greenblood]

Let’s get this out of the way now. Please tell me you guys drink it neat. I can’t stand fuckers that ruin it by drinking it on the rocks.

 

[Pitchfork51]

The ONLY reason not to choose scotch is the insane price. If that barrier gets removed, I’m going to pound town.

Think about it this way: "cheap" single malts are aged 10- 12 years. For cheap bourbon it's 4- 6 typically some some like Eagle Rare being 10 year statements. Elijah Craig used to be 12 year old but they've since back off that (running out of stock of spirit that has been aged that long). You just don't see many bourbons that are more than 12 years old.

That's the wrong way to think about it.

Due to the climate and the fact that bourbon is in New casks vs scotch being in used ones the aging process is totally different.

A 12 year scotch is more comparable to like a 6 year bourbon

They don't make many +12 years because most would be gross.

 

[YellowSnow]

The ONLY reason not to choose scotch is the insane price. If that barrier gets removed, I’m going to pound town.

Think about it this way: "cheap" single malts are aged 10- 12 years. For cheap bourbon it's 4- 6 typically some some like Eagle Rare being 10 year statements. Elijah Craig used to be 12 year old but they've since back off that (running out of stock of spirit that has been aged that long). You just don't see many bourbons that are more than 12 years old.

That's the wrong way to think about it.

Due to the climate and the fact that bourbon is in New casks vs scotch being in used ones the aging process is totally different.

A 12 year scotch is more comparable to like a 6 year bourbon

They don't make many +12 years because most would be gross.

I fully grasp the difference in the physics/chemistry of how bourbon ages differently in a barrel house in KY vs Scotch being in a cooler climate. But I'd be curious to hear what the loss pet year due to evaporation is at a typical Scotch distillery as opposed to Bourbon. Also the above doesn't explain why the most sought after bourbon in the world- i.e. Pappy - is aged for 15 to 20 years. Wouldn't it taste like overly oaked crap because of this and yet it does not?

 

[greenblood]

The ONLY reason not to choose scotch is the insane price. If that barrier gets removed, I’m going to pound town.

Think about it this way: "cheap" single malts are aged 10- 12 years. For cheap bourbon it's 4- 6 typically some some like Eagle Rare being 10 year statements. Elijah Craig used to be 12 year old but they've since back off that (running out of stock of spirit that has been aged that long). You just don't see many bourbons that are more than 12 years old.

That's the wrong way to think about it.

Due to the climate and the fact that bourbon is in New casks vs scotch being in used ones the aging process is totally different.

A 12 year scotch is more comparable to like a 6 year bourbon

They don't make many +12 years because most would be gross.

I fully grasp the difference in the physics/chemistry of how bourbon ages differently in a barrel house in KY vs Scotch being in a cooler climate. But I'd be curious to hear what the loss pet year due to evaporation is at a typical Scotch distillery as opposed to Bourbon. Also the above doesn't explain why the most sought after bourbon in the world- i.e. Pappy - is aged for 15 to 20 years. Wouldn't it taste like overly oaked crap because of this and yet it does not?

I could be wrong but when I took a tour at Glendronach I was told, you lose about 2% per year as the scotch sits.

 

[UW_Doog_Bot]

Let’s get this out of the way now. Please tell me you guys drink it neat. I can’t stand fuckers that ruin it by drinking it on the rocks.

I'll put an ice ball in the cheap shit but at most a couple of drops in anything good/decent. If it's actually good, I'm just drinking it.

 

[greenblood]

Let’s get this out of the way now. Please tell me you guys drink it neat. I can’t stand fuckers that ruin it by drinking it on the rocks.

I'll put an ice ball in the cheap shit but at most a couple of drops in anything good/decent. If it's actually good, I'm just drinking it.

It's preference, but I feel an ice ball stills makes cheap scotch taste even worse.

 

[UW_Doog_Bot]

Also, I will say, Japanese whiskey significantly missing from this poll. I think at this point I would take that over bourbon but not over scotch. I can drink Suntory Toki like it's kool-aid and that's not even a very expensive bottle. Some of the other stuff I've been exploring is right up there with a great scotch.

 

[YellowSnow]

The ONLY reason not to choose scotch is the insane price. If that barrier gets removed, I’m going to pound town.

Think about it this way: "cheap" single malts are aged 10- 12 years. For cheap bourbon it's 4- 6 typically some some like Eagle Rare being 10 year statements. Elijah Craig used to be 12 year old but they've since back off that (running out of stock of spirit that has been aged that long). You just don't see many bourbons that are more than 12 years old.

That's the wrong way to think about it.

Due to the climate and the fact that bourbon is in New casks vs scotch being in used ones the aging process is totally different.

A 12 year scotch is more comparable to like a 6 year bourbon

They don't make many +12 years because most would be gross.

I fully grasp the difference in the physics/chemistry of how bourbon ages differently in a barrel house in KY vs Scotch being in a cooler climate. But I'd be curious to hear what the loss pet year due to evaporation is at a typical Scotch distillery as opposed to Bourbon. Also the above doesn't explain why the most sought after bourbon in the world- i.e. Pappy - is aged for 15 to 20 years. Wouldn't it taste like overly oaked crap because of this and yet it does not?

I could be wrong but when I took a tour at Glendronach I was told, you lose about 2% per year as the scotch sits.

Ok so that means they lose about 1.09 gallons per year for Scotch. Bourbon loss is around 3% or 1.59 gallons per year. So Scotch is down 12 gallons after 12 years and bourbon about 9.5 after 6 years. Maff is hard.

 

[YellowSnow]

Also, I will say, Japanese whiskey significantly missing from this poll. I think at this point I would take that over bourbon but not over scotch. I can drink Suntory Toki like it's kool-aid and that's not even a very expensive bottle. Some of the other stuff I've been exploring is right up there with a great scotch.

I count it as Scotch albeit most of it is blended. Toki is the shit for $30 Japanese whisky. For mor relaxing tims, make it Suntory tim.

 

[minion_doog]

Also, I will say, Japanese whiskey significantly missing from this poll. I think at this point I would take that over bourbon but not over scotch. I can drink Suntory Toki like it's kool-aid and that's not even a very expensive bottle. Some of the other stuff I've been exploring is right up there with a great scotch.

I have a bottle of Hibiki 12, I like it quite a bit