What is your favourite "Regular" Sipping Liquor - (Neat No Mixers Except Perhaps Ice)

[captain3d]

We also had a Christmas line up with friends

Middle was best but they did not like the price when I told them it was now $800

 

[Luvtoride]

I’m sure your family and friends were happy to try it knowing you BTD on the $800 bottle [emoji1787][emoji2359]

 

[disneysteve]

Did those of you who did tastings do them blinded? It’s always best if the tasters don’t know what they’re drinking until after they’ve given their opinions and ratings. People are often surprised when the “better” product isn’t the winner.

 

[NW-Bound]

Did those of you who did tastings do them blinded? It’s always best if the tasters don’t know what they’re drinking until after they’ve given their opinions and ratings. People are often surprised when the “better” product isn’t the winner.

Not this time, but we did it a few years ago in a battle of the XO Cognacs, with 4 different XO bottles. My son and son-in-law consistently ranked the more expensive bottles higher.

Their top choice was consistently the Remy Martin Centaure which I brought back from Remy Martin cellar in Cognac as a souvenir, because this blend was not exported to the US. The Centaure was not the most expensive.

Again, I could not distinguish the difference between my top choices. My palate is not that good.

My experience with wine tasting is different. I usually could tell the difference between two wines, but could not decide which one to call the better one. With Cognac, two bottles could be so much alike. At least to me.

 

[captain3d]

Did those of you who did tastings do them blinded? It’s always best if the tasters don’t know what they’re drinking until after they’ve given their opinions and ratings. People are often surprised when the “better” product isn’t the winner.

The friends did not know anything about the whiskies so in that sense it was blind. I poured them the first three and they tried them while chatting and playing a board game.

In this case the most expensive was the best but the two next most expensive (4,5) were not liked as they have more challenging taste profiles that interest whisky nerds but not someone looking for ‘pleasent’

 

[disneysteve]

The friends did not know anything about the whiskies so in that sense it was blind. I poured them the first three and they tried them while chatting and playing a board game.

In this case the most expensive was the best but the two next most expensive (4,5) were not liked as they have more challenging taste profiles that interest whisky nerds but not someone looking for ‘pleasent’

That's a great point too. What someone will like "best" will vary based on the audience. We have bourbons in our collection ranging from $15-20/bottle to $200/bottle. If a serious bourbon drinker comes by, I'll let him/her sample the high end stuff, but a casual drinker most likely wouldn't appreciate it, which is fine.


I mentioned earlier that when drinking straight, we favor the higher proof options which are typically more expensive as well, but if you're not accustomed to drinking 130+ proof stuff, you probably wouldn't like it if that's what I handed you.

 

[captain3d]

For beer wine drinkers 40% is VERY strong.

I can drink above 50% but only because the alcohol numbs your tongue after a few sips which kind of defeats the purpose. The ABV is a ratchet. Once you go up you can not try anything weaker to compare.

This can be fun with friends. I start them with 40% which the think is strong. Then give them a range of small samples 43% 46% 48% 50%. Then ask them to try the first one again. They are shocked at how weak it tastes. Their tongues were numbed.

 

[disneysteve]

For beer wine drinkers 40% is VERY strong.

I can drink above 50% but only because the alcohol numbs your tongue after a few sips which kind of defeats the purpose. The ABV is a ratchet. Once you go up you can not try anything weaker to compare.

This can be fun with friends. I start them with 40% which the think is strong. Then give them a range of small samples 43% 46% 48% 50%. Then ask them to try the first one again. They are shocked at how weak it tastes. Their tongues were numbed.

Sampling’s should always go lowest to highest proof for just that reason. Most whiskey aficionados I know won’t touch anything under 100 proof. It’s just too watered down and lacks flavor or complexity. My wife and I aren’t that rigid but we do enjoy the higher proof stuff a lot more.

 

[NW-Bound]

We also had a Christmas line up with friendsView attachment 41284

Middle was best but they did not like the price when I told them it was now $800

Total Wine has that Highland Park 25 Years for $900. The Highland Park 18 Years is $168. The Highland Park 12 Years is $58.

Not a whisky drinker, but I would want to compare the above bottles to see the difference.

 

[MichaelB]

Total Wine has that Highland Park 25 Years for $900. The Highland Park 18 Years is $168. The Highland Park 12 Years is $58.

Not a whisky drinker, but I would want to compare the above bottles to see the difference.

You can look at the bottles, I’d rather compare the whisky.

 

[Winemaker]

Total Wine has that Highland Park 25 Years for $900. The Highland Park 18 Years is $168. The Highland Park 12 Years is $58.

Not a whisky drinker, but I would want to compare the above bottles to see the difference.

When's the party? I'm in!

 

[NW-Bound]

A comparison between bottles of different ages from the same maker is best. It shows you the effect of aging, if you can tell the difference, and if the difference is worth the money.

As mentioned earlier, my brothers and I did just that one year with 3 bottles of Cognac from the same maker. And the consensus was that the XO was of course the best, but the VSOP was close, and we might not notice if not doing an A/B test.

When comparing different makers, the individual different tastes come in, and this is more subjective.

 

[NW-Bound]

When's the party? I'm in!

I would need to take a collection to buy that $900 bottle. I can fund the lesser bottles myself.

 

[captain3d]

Scottish whisky tends to (big generalization) use more of the cheaper Exbourbon barrel matured spirit in the younger bottles and more ex sherry in the older. So the taste profile is different.

All part of the fun

Like most things 70% of the experience can be achieved at 30% of the cost of the high end

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I would need to take a collection to buy that $900 bottle. I can fund the lesser bottles myself.

Maybe when I am on my deathbed, I could spring for such a prize. BUT ONLY so I could tell the guy with the horns that I did.

 

[disneysteve]

A comparison between bottles of different ages from the same maker is best.

That depends on what the goal of the tasting is.


You could want to compare different ages of the same product.
You could want to compare different iterations of the same product (cask strength, secondary finishes, etc.).
You could want to compare different products from the same distillery (same mashbill but different production or aging process).
You could want to compare similar products from different distilleries (wheated bourbons, bottled in bond bourbons, etc.).


It's all good. There's no wrong way to enjoy good whiskey.

 

[NW-Bound]

Maybe when I am on my deathbed, I could spring for such a prize. BUT ONLY so I could tell the guy with the horns that I did.

On the average, my option selling in a single trading day gets me more than enough to buy such a bottle. And the option selling is extracurricular to the gain I get from conventional buy-and-hold activity.

I am not bragging, because I am sure you and others can also easily buy this $900 bottle. But we do not allow ourselves this indulgence. Why?

I cannot explain it. Perhaps I don't care that much about an alcohol drink? Perhaps I am afraid that it will be a let down, that it is not that good? Then, I would ponder if it is really me who suffers from "pearl before swine"?

Somehow, spending that much for a bottle just does not feel right for me. If I had $100M, would I then buy one of each of the most expensive bottles from all makers, just to check them all out. Can a guy do that, to commit that much time to just sampling spirits? Will he have time left to do anything else in his life?

See how you cannot be greedy and try to check out every pleasure in this world. You just don't have the time, even if you have the money.

 

[NW-Bound]

That depends on what the goal of the tasting is.

You could want to compare different ages of the same product.
You could want to compare different iterations of the same product (cask strength, secondary finishes, etc.).
You could want to compare different products from the same distillery (same mashbill but different production or aging process).
You could want to compare similar products from different distilleries (wheated bourbons, bottled in bond bourbons, etc.).

It's all good. There's no wrong way to enjoy good whiskey.

One needs a finer palate than the one I have now.

Maybe mine was not defective at birth, but I have ruined it with spicy food.

 

[captain3d]

The trick to buying a $2500 whisky is to have a $2000 car [emoji3]

 

[disneysteve]

I am not bragging, because I am sure you and others can also easily buy this $900 bottle. But we do not allow ourselves this indulgence. Why?

I cannot explain it. Perhaps I don't care that much about an alcohol drink? Perhaps I am afraid that it will be a let down, that it is not that good? Then, I would ponder if it is really me who suffers from "pearl before swine"?

Somehow, spending that much for a bottle just does not feel right for me.

I agree with the bolded statement. Could we afford a $900 bottle? Sure if we chose to do so. Neither of us feel that's a reasonable amount to spend on a bottle. I can't believe I would think it was 9 times better than a $100 bottle. I'd rather have 9 of those.

 

[disneysteve]

One needs a finer palate than the one I have now.

Perhaps.


I've learned over time that I like wheated bourbons, so the challenge became to find which one I liked most and at a reasonable price for a readily available product.


Initially, I landed on Weller Antique 107. It was about $25/bottle, so reasonable. However not readily available, or at least not in NJ (but much more common in Ohio or Texas). After a few years, they hiked the price. MSRP is now $50 and good luck finding it for less than $70 if you can find it at all. I'd pay $50, but I won't pay $70 and definitely not more than that. It isn't worth that to me. So I've been exploring other wheaters to find another that I liked. I've done a few side by side blind tastings to narrow it down.

 

[captain3d]

Is a $90,000 car ten times better than a $9000 car? No. It doesn’t really work like that in any field.

There is a real cost to getting a whisky to that old age of course. But the experience is more like twice as good but also the only way to get the experience where age is concerned.

 

[captain3d]

Also we want to drink something really good but rarely. There is no benefit to drinking 10 bottles in the same time it takes to drink one expensive bottle - health.

Like any budget it can be spent many ways. Our health budget + $ budget = $300 bottle approx

 

[disneysteve]

Is a $90,000 car ten times better than a $9000 car? No. It doesn’t really work like that in any field.

There is a real cost to getting a whisky to that old age of course. But the experience is more like twice as good but also the only way to get the experience where age is concerned.

Fair point about the car, but I wouldn't buy a 90K car either. At a certain point, there's a diminishing return.


As for old age whiskey, that's not always a good thing. I don't mind a bit of oakiness but I don't like when it tastes heavily oaked, as very aged juice sometimes does. Don't get me wrong. I'd happily taste it, but I wouldn't blindly buy a bottle of it having never sampled it.

 

[CardsFan]

Is a $90,000 car ten times better than a $9000 car? No. It doesn’t really work like that in any field.

There is a real cost to getting a whisky to that old age of course. But the experience is more like twice as good but also the only way to get the experience where age is concerned.

But is a $25,000 car 10 times better than a $2,500 car? I would venture to say yes, for the most part. For one thing it is probably 10 years newer with much better safety features.

At some point, you do hit the point of diminishing returns, but on the low end things can be different.