Quote:
Originally Posted by chubeyr1
Guys this is all great stuff!
I am a beer drinker. I have a $150 credit at a liquor store willing to add to the pot for a couple of bottles of good whiskey for my buddies.
I need more input!
Thanks all for those that have replied! I appreciate it!
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You may want to spend the time to figure out what your buddies likes, what they drink in general and/or figure out even a single bottle of what they've enjoyed before. Because the problem with the term "whiskey" is that it's a category so wide that you're probably looking at something like 4-5 completely different types of categories of flavours.
1. Bourbon (Essentially American whiskey)
2. Whisky/Whiskey (Essentially whiskey from elsewhere other than Scotland)
3. Scotch (From Scotland)
The thing is, as whiskey drinkers, they won't necessarily like all of the above.
The way I'll put it is like this:
If you choose Scotches or whiskey that is known to be heavy peat or heavy smoke (ie: Islay Scotches: Talisker, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Kilchoman), those are often very difficult whiskey to drink over an evening. Even those that love it might get through 2-3 oz at best before their taste buds are completely done. It is a decent category of whiskey to do cigars with though.
Lighter on the smoke and peat, but not devoid of that flavour though, I think options like Nikka from the Barrel, Highland Park, Oban, Auchantoshan, Iwai, Tamdhu, Balvenie are worth looking into. Arguably, Crown Royal and a few other Canadian Whiskey is somewhat in this range.
If you want something that's lighter but not spicy, you're probably looking in the Glenfiddich, Macallan, Irish whiskey range. Same as above, but barely any smoke and peat in comparison to many other bottles. Some Japanese whiskeys also are in here as well, but are often in the next category. I believe Alberta Premium is in this range of flavour profile and I think some feel that this is the lightest and on rare occasion, I run into people who think that this range is bland but these people are rare. These are probably closer to regular drinks, rather than something special to sip over an evening, but it's also technically something that is fun to "sip till empty" over an evening".
Something that lighter and has more spice (often characteristic of sherry) are things like Glemorangie, Glenfarclass, Kirkland 12, AD Rattray and Hibiki Harmony. The last one I don't know if you can find for less than $100. These are decent sippers, but not everyone likes the spiciness of the sherry.
Many Bourbons I find are somewhat smokey/sweet. Bullet and Woodford are my go to, but I'm afraid I'm not well versed in Bourbons. For those that are less sweet, I find they're closer to the category of Nikka, Highland Park and Oban. That being said, it's closer, but still characteristic of Bourbon.
Stay away from anything Oak whether it's American or French or whatever. I hate this flavour and it's a bit chemically. No idea why it was a trend.
The above are comments based on general bottles in the $40-100 range. Above that range sometimes the flavours change categories. I may have over generalized a few things, so hopefully no one kills me for listing something they think should be in a different category. I do think that your price range is reasonable and will price out a ton of things already. If you're able to narrow the flavour profile further, it would help a ton. Chatting with a bunch of the liquor store workers is often times helpful as well.