quote:

Originally posted by Dtech:
So by extrapolation this would mean holding on to a really good bottle of Scotch for 72 years (or a barrel of it as it were) is a good investment. But can anyone really resist the temptation of having it around for that long?

I bet whoever gets one of those bottles could probably drink the scotch and recoup a large portion of their buy in by auctioning off just the empty decanter.

It won't be worth much being in a bottle. The cachet is it being in the barrel for 72 years properly maintained.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:

I like Macallan's 18 yo, really good scotch. Lagavulin and the rest of the peat stuff I could never really enjoy. And I've tried.

I like Macallan's 18 year old myself. I've had a couple of bottles over the years. The first time, I was relating the story to a friend over a couples' dinner, my wife and i and he and his wife. The wives were having their own talk over the dinner table; we were having our own conversation.

I said, "By the way, I went to Costco and picked up an eighteen year old..." By then I was eerily aware the both women stopped talking and were staring at me. I continued finishing my sentence by pure momentum, "bottle of Macallan." And that's when the wives started buzzing again. I think I had a close brush with death then.

In any case, I recently looked and the 18 year old is over $300 now a days. When I bought it, it was just over $100.

quote:

Originally posted by Dtech:
So by extrapolation this would mean holding on to a really good bottle of Scotch for 72 years (or a barrel of it as it were) is a good investment. But can anyone really resist the temptation of having it around for that long?

I bet whoever gets one of those bottles could probably drink the scotch and recoup a large portion of their buy in by auctioning off just the empty decanter.

Whisky doesn't change much in a bottle. It would just get old. It ages in a barrel. As someone said, it isn't automatic that it gets better as it ages. It could pick up off flavors.

Agreed on the barrel vs. bottle and the length of time it is aged (and properly cared for). I was just being a bit facetious.

I've tried some 12 and younger single malts that I truly enjoyed whereas something of a significantly older vintage I was given at a party to try (don't recall the name but allegedly aged 30+ years?) tasted more like 100 octane fuel soaked peat than an enjoyable Scotch!

I just came back from our local Total Wine & More and was originally looking for the Macallan Double Cask to give it a try but they were out even though they were showing they had 3 bottles left in their inventory. One of the guys that works there that I see and talk to from time to time pointed out an independent bottler with a selection of Scotch single malts and I got to try a 23yr single malt that was quite simply the best I have ever tried! A bold statement I know, and there are many I haven't tried, but I suspect it would appeal to the vast majority of Scotch drinkers that appreciate a polished, very smooth, moderately oaky Scotch with a little bit of sweetness to it (43%). This one hit all the right notes for me and the bottler's name is Alexander Murray & Co. with the distillery being Allt-A-Bhainne. However, the $130 a bottle price tag was a little hard to swallow even though the Scotch clearly was not. It was absolutely fantastic. I did not want it to be an impulse buy at that price though so I decided to wait and try the same bottler's $38 dollar 750ml bottle Highland distillery (40%) which I bought and I have to say that while the more expensive bottle was better, I was REALLY happy with the more cost effective alternative. Relatively speaking, if the $130 bottle was a 10/10 the cheaper bottle was a solid 8.5/10.

I will likely go back for another bottle of the less expensive variety to have on hand soon, but I will also likely pick up one of the $130 bottles to have for "special occasions". I don't go through it that quick so it will last me a while anyway. I would have never considered a bottle in that price range, even for special occasions (diminishing returns are a factor in my purchase decisions) unless I had tried it first. I’m glad the kind gentleman allowed me the opportunity but I have a feeling it won’t do my wallet contents any good in the long run. Even so, red wines are also part of my periodic medicinal application of adult beverages so I alternate and don't drink them every day either.

Not on the waiting list. I’m not really a fan of anything Macallan.

I have trouble spending $80 - $90 on a bottle of scotch!

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
I have trouble spending $80 - $90 on a bottle of scotch!

I do too which is why the Macallan I was looking to try was the $65 variety Double Cask since I haven't tried any of the Macallan varieties yet. Fortunately I found a much less expensive alternative I ended up really liking since the Macallan was sold out as mentioned in the post above.

I love Macallan, but I cant afford it...the 12 is $70/750ml.

Doing the math (cuz ya'll know I like to do the math). Given a bottle is 750 ml at $65,000 each, that's $86.67 per ml. A standard shot of whiskey is about 1.5 oz, which is 44.36 ml. So a shot of this stuff is worth $3,844.71.

Not that many of these bottles sold will ever get opened, but I wouldn't make it an automatic that this would be off the charts crazy good. I've found, personally, that many can get over oaked and pass their sweet spot.

I did a blind taste test of the 12 yr Sherry Cask against the 18 yr sherry Cask. I was surprised to find that by a pretty good margin I preferred the 12 year. At $40/750ml vs $225-$250, my wallet was very happy.

I am a lover of all things McCallan, some more than others. In general, I prefer Speyside Scotch over Highland and Islays (love the Ardbeg 10), but still enjoy quality varieties from both.

Good grief people. Mix it with Tab, Mexican Coke, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer - what philistines!

I learned the last night of Basic Training in 1968, when the mess Sargent bought us bottles of scotch in town (and an extra of each bottle for him) that white guys should learn what every black man knew: scotch was very smooth if mixed with milk!

Well, my fifth of scotch went down so smooth that I was still feeling good at graduation the next day and it lasted until the bus hit Ft. Sill the following morning. It took about 15 years before I could bring myself to have a scotch.

PS: It was mess-hall milk which he provided for free. I would suggest a nice fresh whole milk mixer.

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