Finest Whisky on a budget

[USSWisconsin]

For a reasonably priced 4 glass "tour" I recommend- Laphroig 10 yr (Islay), Auchentoshan 10 yr (Lowland), Glenlivit 12 yr (Highland), Scapa 12yr (Orknay "Island") - IMO any more in one sitting is probably a waste. One malt that I didn't appreciate as much was Jura - not in the same league as most of the other single malts - cheaper and harsher (IMO)

[bigross86]

Whisky Catalog: because geeks like fine spirits, too.

Who doesn't enjoy a nice, full-bodied whisky? [whiskey? -Ed] Clearly at least some geeky types do, like Yanishevskyy Alexander. He's the chap behind Whisky Catalog -- a nice, little app which lets you document your single malt adventures.

Like any other good database app, Whisky Catalog makes adding entries a snap. Flag a whisky as owned or just tasted, bookmark your favorites, and put 'em on a wish list. You can even export your data to CSV -- in case you wanted to whip up some fancy presentation charts in Excel, for example. Hey, if you're going to geek out with your whisky, why not go all the way?

Whiskey Catalog

[USSWisconsin]

^ cool app
Here are a couple bargins in the American Whiskey area
Rittenhouse Rye is a great deal at under 20$ and it is smooth and historic (sweeter than bourbon) - modelled after the barrel whiskeys that settlers took west during the early days of America

Elijah Craig is just smooth and flavorful - at a great price

[USSWisconsin]

the barrel

Bourbon requires a new oak barrel for each batch (with the inside charred), Scotch reuses these barrels-there are bourbon barrels and wine barrels (wine barrels can often start out as bourbon barrels -giving both flavors) used to age Scotch-some distillers use smaller "quarter" barrels to impart more wood flavor to the whisky (or whiskey), and some varieties use more than one barrel to finish the spirit. The possibilities are endless, the time spent in the cask, location of the aging (in the hills or by the sea--cave or open air warehouse --even the weather during aging), month and year of the batch, barrel type(s), distillery, yeast, water, the malting process -- including drying (some malt is dried with peat fires), and recipe can all change the result.

[USSWisconsin]

grains

Barley, rye and corn are the most common - but wheat is also used occasionally.

Old fitzgerald was an early example - distilled with a small addition of wheat in the mash for steamship and rail lines as a special signature drink in the late 19th century (it is now available and affordable <20$, it is very good). They now make a wheat whiskey. I haven't tried the Wheat whiskey - but it sounds good and comes from a proven distillery who makes very fine whiskeys.

Barley is the predominant Scotch grain and it is normally malted. Malting is a slight sprouting of the grain which increases its sugar content. There are traditional floor maltings and more effecient bin maltings (malt is more expensive than regular grain, since it needs the extra steps). Mashing with unmalted grain typically involves a small amount of malt to provide enzymes for the sugar conversion - which is acheived by raising the temperature of the mash slightly and holding it.

I did some price research at Discount Liquer (Milwaukee WI) this weekend and found that 10yr Ardbeg is just under 50$ - it is exquisitely Islay. I looked for the Cellar 13 Glenmoraigne but couldn't find any. Unfortuantly many of the scotch whiskys mentioned so far are quite expensive. Scapa is too expensive (~65$)- Highland Park is a better deal for Orkany Island whisky (very good but not very similar in flavor). There are still many good deals in Scotch - Tomatin is a bargin -15 yr old for under 40$, and Aberlour, Auchentoshan and Speyburn are still good deals. Bunnahabbain is still affordable for an Islay <40$ (but keep in mind it isn't smoky - it is more like a highland - Laphroig 10 yr is still the best deal in the top shelf Islay smoky whisky range - though there is a bargin brand called McCallans - but it is an independant and the distillery it come from is unspecified -I bought it often when I was in school - it is mercifully inexpensive and not bad -I saw it for 30$ this weekend-750ml).


I also broke my whisky abstenance - but this bottle of 10yr Ardbeg will last me a long time since I will enjoy it a sip at a time).

[2DREZQ]

Egad! I've created a Monster!
This is great stuff!