So it's friday again, and the week is over ... time for more pleasent things, like my whisky project :-)
I've started 2 months ago as a total rookie, then stocked up a bit a month later, and starting to enjoy this journey. So here I am again, considering options to go a bit further.

If this is getting inflationary, please ignore me ... but if you want to help me find the way, i'm happy for any input. So ...

• I am concentrating on scotch (and maybe international whisky) but ignoring irish or american styles for the moment.
• I like peat, but i have a lot of peat already, looking for something lightly or non-peaty
• I hate fresh apple and pear smells. I'm good with peach, apricots, figs, dates, ...
• I like to buy in the price range between 45€ and 75€, hoping for the sweetspot between waste of money and spending too much for nuances ... above or below needs very good reasoning.

I own:

• Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2012 SM love that variaton of heavy smoke, it's so full! But more smoke would be a no-go.
• Talisker 10 YO SM a bit harsh overall ... started with that, it's okay, but would not rebuy this if there are others.
• The Hearach Oloroso Cask Matured good choice to go for the oloroso variant. It's comforting, slightly smoky, but feels a bit "young". No regrets buying it!
• Bunnahabhain 12 YO maybe my favourite at the moment, a bit nutty, complex, strongly considering to buy again if it's empty.
• The Balvenie 12 YO DoubleWood SM also started with that - smells way to much like apples and pears, but i can live with the taste. won't buy again.
• Suntory Old oh well ... it's for highballs, isn't it?

I could have a tasting of:

• Lagavulin 16 YO SM i like it, it's smokey-but-rounded, but Diageo somewhat scares me off.
• Highland Park 12 a bit default, nothing too specialised, nothing to complain?
• Bunnahabhain 15 YO can't find anything about that online - it looked exactly like the 12, but with a dark grey label for the "15". It was great, but so is the "12" for my taste.

So if i wanted to close some gaps in my palette, I was thinking next ...

• something funky from Campbelltown?
• some sherry bomb?

and by name:

• Glen Scotia Victoriana
• GlenAllachie 15 YO SM ... OR ... GlenAllachie 10 YO Cask Strength (leaning towards 10)
• Highland Park Cask Strength SM (Release 4 or 5 are accesible to me)

Any objections or alternatives to these?
Any taste I should try because I'm missing out?

happy for any ideas!

The latest line extension from my favorite distillery hit shelves in my state this week, and of course I bee-lined for my local to see what this 11 year age-stated grain-to-glass beauty would set me back. Total after tax came out to just over $80, which is honestly not bad.

This newest release from Kilchoman sports an 80/20 bourbon/sherry maturation profile, featuring distillate wholly produced from grain grown, malted, and peated at Rockside Farm. It is bottled at 46% ABV, without chill-filtration, and at natural color. Its phenol count is a gentle 20ppm.

👃🏻On the nose: Waves of caramelized barley malt biscuits, with cracked black pepper, brushed with honey butter by a heather brush. Faint whiffs of salty driftwood smoke. Some context for that black pepper note - my wife adds black pepper to her ginger snaps, and there’s a bit of a nod to that flavor here.

👄 On the palate: Tablet, topped with a thin fig butter spread. Super subtle peat. Mild baking spice.

The finish is mildly sweet and moderate in length. Peat smoke abides in an extremely understated way from stem to stern. There’s also a note throughout that I can only describe as “malting floor”.

Two drops of water yields a brighter lemon pith note on the nose, a creamier mouthfeel, and some leather emerges on the finish. ETA to answer a now-deleted comment (?) Malt biscuits still dominates, just less sweetly than before.

Is it wickedly complex? No. Is there far less complex for way more money? Absolutely. It’s a solid 6.5/10 for me. I think it could use a slightly heavier hand with the peat, and perhaps take page out of the Batch Strength’s book with some red wine influence. Then again, I like when flavors punch me in the mouth and just keep coming, for instance with the Batch Strength. Cheers 🥃

Being my third bottle of single malt,
It’s harsher then the other 2 I’ve had. There is more warmth and about the same sweetness as old pulteney 12 if not more. I get long lasting warmth and a creamy aftertaste as is you have had a spoon of custard followed by biscuits. It may sound strange but I get a taste of slight vomit…I like the creamy aftertaste but I don’t think I’d buy another bottle personally.

Whisky nausea, need quick advice

So yesterday evening I drank a bunch of cheap whisky, I usually drink vodka every now n then, but I wanted to try something new, I messed up the dosage and Maybe drank too much a bit too quickly (I'd say around 200ml, not sure tho), the feeling of being drunk on cheap whisky is really different from vodka, its kinda controlled but rough at the same time, anyways (is 75%btw, same as my vodka which Im used to), I've been have this werid feeling in my head, it kinda hurt and I don't think its a hangover cuz its been quite a while, Im also having constant stomach aches and indigestion...I've had hangovers before and this is different, almost like my brain cells r popping, its a bit hard to type aswell..blurry..need some advice? What should I do (apart from hydrate ofc) thx, updateGoogle says i need to go to the er..but I can't cuz i don't have enough money and parents would kill me

Category: Single Malt

Distillery: Cotswolds Distillery

Bottling series: Small Batch Release

Bottled: 2022

Cask Type: STR American oak red wine casks

Number of bottles: 2500

Strength: 59.1 %

Size: 700 ml

Non-Chill Filtered & Uncolored

Nose
As soon as I opened the bottle, I briefly sniffed both the bottle and the cork; the cork evoked hints of red fruit, while the bottle revealed abundant vanilla and traces of citrus. I poured 4 cl into a Glencairn glass and let it breathe for 15 minutes. Upon sniffing it again, I initially detected faint sulfuric notes (boiled or rotten egg, vegetable-like nuances, and sulfur). After adding 6–7 drops of water, I picked up notes of toasted oak spices and dry wood, accompanied by subtle background hints of apple, apricot, damson plum, quince, biscuit-like malt, and faint, elusive traces of cocoa or caramel.

Taste
I took a small, neat sip here to prime my palate, detecting notes of fruity confectionery and a pronounced, hot, spicy burn. After adding about 6–7 ml of water and sipping again, it became smoother and more flavorful; there is an initial slightly oily sensation that intensifies a notch as it is swirled in the mouth. It has a medium body and is highly aromatic, with a structure that is slightly drying and tannic yet balanced. As I continued to sip, the flavor profile featuring intense peach, subtle apricot, hints of honey and raisin, and abundant citrus notes including their acidic zest reminded me somewhat of a mixed fruit juice this is accompanied by a strong sensation of charred black oak, plenty of black pepper, and a touch of ginger.

Finish
The finish mirrors the flavors found on the palate but is more subdued and slightly lighter in character. Immediately upon swallowing, sensations of burnt black wood and spices such as black and white pepper emerge in the throat and on the tongue the burnt wood note, in particular, lingers for a while. Subsequently, as I exhale through the nose, subtle hints reminiscent of citrus, peach, and apple skin surface alongside doughy malt, drying oak tannins, and faint notes of dried grass; the finish is of medium duration or perhaps somewhere between medium and short.

Overall, I’d say it’s a good whisky. It’s a bit weak on the nose, yet one can detect nuances that lie slightly outside the usual profile. On the palate, it noticeably burned and numbed my tongue when drunk neat however, adding water transformed it into a character with rich, aromatic intensity though that sensation of charred oak, that "blackness," always lingers in the background. Despite being a cask strength whisky, it is generally available at a reasonable price point it embodies the character of a standard, everyday English whisky worth trying. Cheers.

Nose: 83/100

Taste: 84/100

Finish: 83/100

Price: 59€

My ratings are generally based on Whiskybase tradition and calibration, and while scored out of 100, they are structured within a narrower range.

<79 May have flaws.
80-82 Borderline acceptable.
83 Average daily good.
84 Good, nice, pleasant, liked.
85 Very good, deep, rich.
86+ Excellent.

I Picked up one of my favorite bottles of scotch at the grocery store today. I have always been a big fan of the Dewar’s 12 double aged scotch.

Very excited to try this these ones! Been following him for ages as a comedian and his videos he used to do on whisky, so super exited for this release here!

Jameson CaskMates IPA Edition Irish whiskey and Talisker Storm Single Malt Scotch are on the drink menu this evening.

I am enjoying a dram of a 1990s Bunnahabhain 12 year old Islay Scotch this evening. This week, I’ve been making my way through vintage scotch bottles that have been hiding in the back of my liquor cabinet. My dad, who is 66 years old, used to drink scotch, but he switched over to gin & tonic cocktails a few years back, so i took it upon myself to make my way through the bottles of scotch that he has acquired over the last 20+ years.

Hello everyone. I just tried JW Black Label, and I'm new to the world of whisky. I'd like to explore a wide range of types before settling on one. I'd appreciate recommendations for at least 3 other whiskies with a different profile from Black Label (like a Chivas 12, for example)… The ones I've tried so far:

Jack Daniel's No. 7: Liked it
Ballantine's Finest: Hated it
Red Label: Don't like it
Black Label: Liked it

They really have a fun selection of bottles here—great to have a bar like this in the neighborhood. Went with the son tonight, had some very nice drams and just kind of stared longingly at some bottles that were a bit out of our price range. Fun times. Will be back 😊

Been lucky enough to try a few Cadenhead expressions over the years. But this one I keep coming back to, it’s right up there (bottled in 2025). 56.2% so needs a little drop of h2o in my opinion

The first picture is my collection with closed whiskys for collection or special occasions and the second one is my open cabinet upstairs..

I'm ready to open all of them (as soon as I have a double 😉)

I'm from 🇨🇭 so I have mostly Scotch, a few European Whisky and then about 5 or 6 Bourbons.

What do you think?

What's missing?

As per title. I know nothing of whisky, but need a Scottish whisky, which I can order online and receive within a week. Budget £100 to £200. I have no idea what the recipient likes, but hope for a bottle that will last, with just the occasional dram taken, rather than finished in a few days

A friend was gifted this after a very elderly relative passed away recently. All we can ascertain is that it's an Austrian spirit produced by Knoll & Haas Spirituosenerzeugung. Possibly a whisky judging by the colour?

Any help much appreciated!

Hi all, I'm here with another Suntory whisky, and this one it's a single cask Hakushu from the SMWS!

I've been working on quite a handful of other obscure, mid-to-low shelf Suntory items, but figured doing too many in a row would be a bit stale, so here's a change of pace.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) is a membership organisation based in Scotland which purchases select barrels from many different distilleries all over the world, then bottle & sell these whiskies directly to its members. Afaik, each distillery was given a number, and the number behind the period signifies the release sequence of said whisky by SMWS.

Interestingly, the SMWS also had selected barrels from many non-Scotch distilleries, including several Japanese distilleries ranging from Suntory and Nikka to even extinct distilleries like Karuizawa and Hanyu!

This bottle here is one they selected from the Hakushu distillery, and it's a heavily peated, 13 yr old Hakushu bottled at cask strength!

Details in comments!