The only place near me so far that even had it at one time had it for 90, and the nearest Total Wine has it for 110. At this point, what's $20 when it comes to my dad?
Got to try the
Talisker Distillers Edition with my dad on Saturday. Unfortunately, we were both disappointed. The flavor palate seemed muddled and came across as very dark and bitter not in a good way, though it did have a familiar peaty note toward the end. I still want to try the
10 and/or the
Storm expressions, however.
The interesting part, though, is that I seemed to have re-awakened my father's interest in scotch. He was never much of a drinker while I was growing up, and my mother always had such strong negative feelings about alcohol in general that he never bothered. I guess that at 81, he decided that life is too short to worry about that any more. I was able to exchange the Talisker for 2 bottles he was more familiar with:
Macallan (got the
12 Yr Double Cask) and
Crown Royal, plus he wants to go with me the next time, which will be this coming Saturday, to make up the rest of the difference of what we spent on the Talisker. He should still be able to pick up a nice, smooth mid-range brand of some sort. For me, I'm enjoying having something new to bond with him, and maybe that's where he's coming from as well. It's also interesting to me as I sort of figured out what his preferences are and am attempting to use my still noob-level experience to help guide him to something he'll like. As of now, I know that even though he's had at least 2 bottles of
Laphroiag in the past (he still has the little property deed that came with them), he's not really into Islay, as he didn't really care much for the
Lagavulin I shared with him on my last birthday. I would say his two choices on Saturday are a pretty strong indication that he prefers his whisk(e)y on the smooth side. I even suggested he try Irish as well, as I find those pretty tame and not unlikable. Speaking of Irish, if anyone has any experience with
Jameson Black Barrel, I'd love to hear it.
Also forgot to mention I tried
Game of Thrones Johnny Walker Blue at a party recently. To me, it tasted too much like the Red and Black, and therefore I wasn't impressed.
I returned the Play-Doh flavored
Glen Ness 8 Year and swapped it for slightly more expensive brand,
Hamilton's Islay. Hamilton's has several different blends, including a Speyside, but I was still smarting from the disappointment of the Talisker, so I went with something more in my supposed wheelhouse. To me, it's a solid Islay, smoke and peat, but not much else going on, which I don't mean in a bad way, especially at its price, which takes me back to what I was driving at in my first post in this thread. While ~$20 is a tough threshold, I found a small but reliable group of brands close enough to that level that satisfy me and aren't ruined when compared to better/more expensive brands.
