Tasting suggestions

Absorber · November 11 2015 at 8:18PM

I know there are already tons of topics here related to asking an advice regarding which whisky to choose and I'm sorry for not breaking this sad trend of creating new ones over and over :smile:

But I do really need an advice.

I've been exploring the world of whisky for 2 years now and I must admit that I've come to a dead end of some kind. I've tasted ~70-80 different whiskys and I can easily name my favourites (and least favourite ones as well) but from some point I haven't tasted anything I'd love for a long time now. It takes me too many tries to find something I would call "worth trying once again", most of recent experiences were a disappointment. I stop recognizing advantages of the whisky I taste and I have to take a break, have a bottle of one of my favourites over a week and then I can continue searching after "remembering" what I really like.

But the thing is I really want to find something NEW that I would like. So to make it easier for you to help, I'll provide a list of what I enjoyed most and least. I really really hope you'll be able to help. Oh, and by the way, I would appreciate it if you would suggest ones which are not more expensive than ~80-100eur. Thank you.

My favourites:

Single Malt:
The Glenlivet 15YO French Oak
Scapa 16YO
Lagavulin 16YO
Aberlour 16YO Double Cask (with water)

Blended:
Jameson Rarest Vintage
Chivas Regal 18YO
Jameson Gold Reserve
Passport Scotch (yes, it's very cheap but it's my favourite in its price niche)

The ones I did not enjoy at all:
Single Malt:
Glenfiddich 12YO and that's all. Most single malts just don't attract my attention but I can't say they had a terrible taste.

Blended:
Nearly everything, I'll name the ones which I call rubbish without any remorse (please don't be offended if you like them):
Dewars 12YO
Johnny Walker Black Label
Ballantine's 12YO
White Horse
William Lawson's

In the end I'll add what I like most in the single malts I named as my favourites:
They all have a very rewarding dry warm sweet finish and most of them are complex in nosing which makes me nose them for a long time before I take a sip. I respect that a lot. So in fact, the taste itself doesn't mean that much to me if the aromas and the finish are satisfying.

Sorry for this wall of text. You are my only hope, I'm tired of spending money on drinks I don't enjoy but I still believe I can discover something new.

horst_s_2 · November 12 2015 at 8:35AM

Thank you for the question. It is quite difficult to find similarities in these whiskies. But there are some.
You like fresh European oak. The Glenlivet and the Jameson Gold show that.
And you are not really fond of Sherry Casks. You dilute the Aberlour Double Cask.

What I would suggest from these rough thoughts, that you should try Deanston Virgin Oak and Glen Garioch Virgin Oak (it is a little pricey). Because you also like hefty smoke (Lagavulin) you might try Tomatin Cù Bòcan Virgin Oak as well.

For the light sherry casks you might look at other bottles from Aberlour like the 12yo Double Cask or one of my favorites the Aberlour 15yo Cask Reserve. And there is one of my hidden favorites the Balvenie 12yo Double Wood.

Hope this helps.

Absorber · November 12 2015 at 9:17AM

Thanks a lot for your reply! It's double the pleasure to receive it from you :smile:

As I usually try to have a sip of the full range a distillery provides when I liked one of its expressions, so I've already tried Aberlour 12YO and I didn't like it as much as 16YO. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to come across 15YO, I think it was discontinued by the distillery some time ago.

However, I will surely try out the rest of your recommended ones, and I will post there again afterwards :smile: