Best Whiskey you've ever had

[Suzanne Bazemore]

I like this one. I'm not a whiskey expert, though. I am going to watch this thread and try to find one of the ones y'all suggest for next time I visit my brother.

 

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[Rabby]

Any of the Islay malts would suit you then. Bowmore seems very smoky/peaty to me.

Yes, Islay single malts are my go-to. I wonder sometimes if it's genetic taste I keep smoother scotch around for the poor souls who would otherwise drink smoke and fire out of politeness.

 

[Suzanne Bazemore]

I keep smoother scotch around for the poor souls who would otherwise drink smoke and fire out of politeness.

Yeah, I don't care for the smokey ones.

 

[JAJT]

I also saw people inserting charred sticks in their glass bottles, but the reviews claimed they didn't work.

I don't see why they wouldn't - the beer community (which I was huge into a few years back) loves the things.

Check out - French + Oak Infusion Spirals | Wine Making

While I've never used them, I've heard good things. They make spirals of wood at various char levels. The spiral shape maximizes surface area which reduces the time required to be in contact with the liquid. They make them in various sizes from bottle sized to barrel sized.

I've never used them myself though simply because I'm not the biggest fan of the whole beer-whiskey-wine crossover thing going on these days. Whiskey/wine flavored beer and beer/hop flavored whiskey just tastes damn weird to me.

The only exception is the super high-octane russian imperial stouts that get brewed with whiskey barrels. It makes for a good combo but I was never in the habit of making 5-10 gallons of 12% beer, no matter how good it was

 

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[rogue synthetic]

The only exception is the super high-octane russian imperial stouts that get brewed with whiskey barrels. It makes for a good combo but I was never in the habit of making 5-10 gallons of 12% beer, no matter how good it was

The thing I hate about making any big-boy high-ABV beers is that they take forever to ferment and condition. I've got a tiny rig that can handle up to ~20 liters, and the one and only time I tried to brew a big imperial it took almost 6 months to get drinkable. This was after almost two months between the primary and the secondary, plus age time in the bottles.

 

[Jonathan Hoch]

I'm sensing a common theme here between entrepreneurs, poker, cigars, and whiskey.

They all require a skillset.

For my birthday last year, my wife actually picked me up something AWESOME! A globe decanter. I filled it with 1920 Old Forester Prohibition style. And, it was gone in 4 days.

I then filled it with Glenfiddich 15 - Solera Reserve. It lasted 5 months. I'm most definitely a bourbon man. The Scotch was not the buttery smooth that was promised.

And to make it worse, I've recently learned the 1920 is limited production. Go figure. So I'm sipping some Old Forester Swill, and it's also delicious.

Oh, here's the decanter. (Wife has an awesome ebay setup for pics that I took advantage of)

 

[antonn]

Bowmore Dusk is sweet and very, very good.

 

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[JAJT]

The thing I hate about making any big-boy high-ABV beers is that they take forever to ferment and condition. I've got a tiny rig that can handle up to ~20 liters, and the one and only time I tried to brew a big imperial it took almost 6 months to get drinkable. This was after almost two months between the primary and the secondary, plus age time in the bottles.

A second fermenter would run you like $30. Well worth it if you plan to age anything (and yeah, boozy beers require age to smooth out that "hot alcohol" flavor).

Also - while I somewhat see the value of having a secondary fermenter for aged beers, I'd suggest you consider dropping it entirely from your process. The downsides almost always outweigh the upsides (oxidation from primary to secondary transfer will ruin a beer far quicker and more reliably than autolysis).

If/when you do choose to use a secondary, I'd generally suggest you make the switch mid-fermentation where the yeast are still scavenging oxygen - this helps get most of the trub out of the equation without risking oxygen intake.

Also hit me up if you ever want to talk beer making - I brewed 200 gallons the year I quit and have won a few medals for my beer. A truly fantastic hobby that I got a lot of pride from being great at.

 

[MitchC]

I bought this Glendronach and it was so good I wanted to share it somewhere and I remembered this thread. I notice the first post of of the dalmore cigar malt so I would say OP would like the Glendronach.

the mortlach is another favourite of mine unfortunately it was a duty free exclusive and I cannot find any more of anywhere, although the standard mortlach has a similar taste.

the 12 year aberlour is another favourite of mine and is much cheaper, I don’t have any at the moment but I’ll have to get some more as the way I am going through this Glendronach it is going to get expensive.

Me and my girlfriend have been watching mad men so I have been having a glass every night while watching that.

 

[BizyDad]

the 12 year aberlour is another favourite of mine and is much cheaper,

The first time I tasted the 12-year, I thought to myself, this is my favorite ever. Then with my next glass I tried the 18. That one still is my favorite.

A Deanston 30 is probably the best I've ever drank.

 

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[MitchC]

The first time I tasted the 12-year, I thought to myself, this is my favorite ever. Then with my next glass I tried the 18. That one still is my favorite.

A Deanston 30 is probably the best I've ever drank.

I will have to try the 18 if I see it somewhere, I don’t think I’ve seen it before, I did buy this cask strength bottle but I haven’t tried it yet as it has a cool wax seal which I couldn’t bring myself to break.

I bought another bottle of the 12 today and it’s as good as I remember, especially for the price , although the price has definitely gone up since the last bottle I bought. $65 and now it’s $90.

Deanston 30 sounds impressive, the oldest bottle I have is 21, if I see it somewhere I’ll be sure to try it!

 

[BizyDad]

Here's a pic I took from that night. I also tried Hibiki for the first time.



I don't consider my palette all that sophisticated. The Deanston is the priciest for sure, so I assumed that means "best", but I enjoyed the other two much more. I honestly wouldn't recommend buying a bottle of Deanston, but if you ever see it out and about maybe try a glass.

Aberlour has a 16 as well and it is quite good as you'd imagine.

 

[ljean]

My sister sent me a bottle of Macallan for my 40th, I think it was "rare cask". It tasted so good I wanted to eat my glass when it was empty.

 

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[Ing]

Redbrest 1989

 

[eliquid]

The best...

Not sure I can say. With me living in Kentucky, it's always going to be a Bourbon... lol

The best for everyday drinking though? This double oaked has been my fav so far:

 

[Deleted85763]

Almost had @amp0193 thread hijacked by @JAJT @Greg Rutkowski and @G-Man. We already know who the cigar aficionados are, but where are my whiskey and Scotch lovers?

Here's my favorite bottle. A Dalmore Cigar Malt. Pairs beautifully with a cigar.
View attachment 16205

What's the best you've ever had?

Whiskey was the last drink I ever had many years ago. The Whiskey was from Scotland and I got it on sale at a small Alpine store in Switzerland. I drank it and made a fool of myself that night. I woke up with a bad hangover so late the next day that I missed my chance to have a beautiful hike high up into the Alps. That was the day I stopped drinking and it has made all the difference in my life!

 

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