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A ten year old dry soch tastes much the same as a fresh old sock.

Case in point, i just gave away a 25 year old scotch because i hate it.

What does that have to do with rye? That's like saying that you won't try broiled mahi-mahi because you don't like sushi.

I enjoy a nice Rye and I am a big scotch fan. We killed a bottle of Balvenie 17 DoubleWood at work Saturday morning (going away gift for my last day). I rarely drink but I will get a Manhattan if I am going to have a cocktail.

I tend to go for the smokier, brinier scotches - my fave is Laphraoig 10 or Lore - from Islay but I have become a fan of the smoothness of Macallan's and of the incredible flavors in Bulleit 10 rye.

As you're well aware I'm a huge fan of The Macallan 18 year old sherry oak, but that's currently sitting at the £220/70cl bottle range. Super smooth and lots of flavour.

On the cheaper end of the market I like the spicy Talisker 10 year old, but I don't like their new smoky range. Equally, Jack Daniels No. 7 is fine for the odd tipple.

On the smoother, but cheaper, side is Jameson Irish whiskey. Bowmore, Balvenie and Aberlour all do sherry variants that are very nice.

Gin and tonic, almost all occasions.

Hot chocolate.

Teaos wrote:Gin and tonic, almost all occasions.

You may as well have Aftershave and Tonic.

Be fair, just like anything else there's gin, and then there's gin. A good classic gin like Tanqueray or Bombay bears little relationship to plastic-bottle well stuff... though personally tend to prefer not to ruin it with tonic water. I haven't yet delved into the resurgent trend of Dutch-style "young" or "new" gins (I forget the Dutch term) though I am led to believe they are analogous to bourbon compared to "regular" gin's scotch - fuller, sweeter, and more fruit/less juniper in the nose. Except for the very occasional bone-dry martini, though, for me gin is strictly a summertime drink.

IanKennedy wrote:As you're well aware I'm a huge fan of The Macallan 18 year old sherry oak, but that's currently sitting at the £220/70cl bottle range. Super smooth and lots of flavour.

On the cheaper end of the market I like the spicy Talisker 10 year old, but I don't like their new smoky range. Equally, Jack Daniels No. 7 is fine for the odd tipple.

On the smoother, but cheaper, side is Jameson Irish whiskey. Bowmore, Balvenie and Aberlour all do sherry variants that are very nice.

I tend to love Sherry casked scotches. Macallan 18 sherry oak is unrivalled, but for about 60% the price, Balvenie 15 sherry may be my favoeite dollar for dollar out there.

I'm with Striker on this. Every time I so much as pick up a bottle or can of anything alcoholic, I regret it the day after. Just not for me I think

It's funny I always detested red wine. But the other day I was served a glass a drunk it to be polite, I was half way through before I realised I wasn't internally cringing and was very much enjoying it.

Tastes do change. Tuesday night I was drinking a bone-dry martini - which used to be my go-to - and I found myself wishing I had ordered a complex whiskey or aged tequila instead. BTW has anyone tried Kavanagh Irish single grain?

Mikey wrote:Tastes do change. Tuesday night I was drinking a bone-dry martini - which used to be my go-to - and I found myself wishing I had ordered a complex whiskey or aged tequila instead. BTW has anyone tried Kavanagh Irish single grain?

I keep hearing about it. Any good? Prefer blended to singles for normal drinking, tbh.

Nothing like a simple Irish creme on ice to finish the night.