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there's a fair bit of that sort of thing in the production spirits industry.

even $40 is not cheap, though not unreasonable for good booze.

bloke wrote:At $250, it's a bit pricey.

From an *EXTREMELY* reliable source, I've discovered that John Barr Blue ($40) is the same exact whisky from the same exact barrels.

Time for a taste test! John Barr Blue claims to be 17 years old. Johnnie Walker Blue apparently doesn't come with an age on the bottle, but the bottler has everyone convinced it's 25 years and more (over a dozen whiskies in there.) This has the ring of an urban myth with some basis in fact - maybe, for example, some of the same exact barrels, but not the same whisky.

But for anyone who would buy it because it's the same stuff for cheaper, the point is whether it effectively tastes the same, which should be easy enough to verify. You don't need to be a millionaire to be able to buy a $250 whisky ($212 Washington State), it will last a while and impress friends and neighbors for months. The hard part may be finding the more obscure John Barr Blue.

I'm not the man to judge scotches, myself, due to limited experience. Rye for me, and evidently not me alone. I went by the state liquor store last week and found half a dozen ryes on the shelf, where a year ago many of these spirits were unobtainable, so the distilleries must be back in the rye business now that practically everyone is dead who would remember it from before Prohibition. All under $40, and the most sought after is $15 (but sold out.)

I favor single malt scotch myself.

And even though it's pricey, it's still MUCH cheaper that the Johnnie Walker blend.

12-year-old Glendronach, which is about as good as it gets, is still around $50

Don' know that price matters that much. Ya don't slam the stuff like a wino with a flattie of T-bird... (although $250 is pretty high for a jug o' juice.)

I just can't wrap my taste buds around scotch. Bourbon, yes...Maker's Mark is my new favorite.

Give me some Laphroaig or Talisker anyday, but i've been on a big gin kick lately...

Such a shame drinking on the air is frowned upon

bloke wrote:Wild Turkey, for how "rough" it is, is mighty pricey.

For about the same (perhaps less), you can avail yourself of one of the world's finest whiskys. (Be sure it is the "white" label, as pictured below.)



bloke "who views Wild Turkey is high-priced bust-haid."

Wild Turkey is a Bourbon, whilst Dickel is a Tennessee Whiskey. They are different animals, hence the very different effects on the palette. The more intensive charcoal mellowing on the Tennessees makes them a lot smoother, IMHO.

It's also interesting that Whisky is spelled without the "e" in this case. American and Irish whiskey includes the "e" while Scotches and Canadians spell it "Whisky." Perhaps the Dickel traces its heritage to the techniques used to make a good Scotch, which could only serve to improve most American whiskeys, heh heh...

Back to Scotches, I prefer this for warmer weather days, as it is a lighter tasting single:

I also recommend Oban for those new to the single-malt thing, as it's pretty palatable for newbies.

For cold days, I prefer the very robust Lagavulin:

It's very peaty/smoky.

For a good do-it-all malt, I like the various offerings from The Macallan:

The 12-yo is quite good for the money, and the 25-yo is FANTASTIC if you have the scratch. They also offer a cask-strength (like the aforementioned Wild Turkey) that will burn the hair out of your nose, but tastes surprisingly good if you're into real firewater.

Josh Calkin, who's finally revealing the topic about which he gets snobby.

bloke wrote:

JCalkin wrote:Wild Turkey is a Bourbon, whilst Dickel is a Tennessee Whisk[e]y. They are different animals, hence the very different effects on the palette. The more intensive charcoal mellowing on the Tennessees makes them a lot smoother, IMHO.

I view Jack Daniels Black Label (and "Gentleman Jack", for that matter) as "tourist" whisky...for those unschooled masses who wish to try a "Tennessee whisky"...

...much in the same way that tourists to Memphis automatically go to a place called Corky's [sucks a rat's @ss] to experience "Memphis barbecue".

Dickel white is *THE* Tennessee whisky (for Tennesseans)...no nasty-@ss (J.D.-ish) charcoal flavor, even though charcoal was part of the process.

True. I don't consider JD a truly good Tennessee whiskey in much the same way I don't consider Budweiser a good American beer.

It's funny though, I used to tend bar at a ski resort in N'ampshah (New Hampshire) while I was working on my undergrad, and we had a few South Africans on staff there as well. At the (not infrequent) parties we used to have after hours the South Africans would inevitably be carrying around a 5th of JD each, and that was all they would drink. Apparently, JD is (or was at that time) THE premium liquor in S. Africa, and they were amazed that such "great top shelf" stuff could be had over here so cheaply.