15 Responses to “glenlivet 12 year vs johnnie walker black”  

1. 1 Alexander on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   My favorite scotch is The Dalmore 12 year single malt.

   http://www.thedalmore.com/taste/12taste.htm

2. 2 Greg on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   perhaps a more suitable contender would be another blend.

3. 3 Bob P on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   ditch the blends. ditch glenlivet too, its crap. Definitely not a good bottle to introduce yourself to single malts and come away with any great appreciation.

   Generally speaking, like better wines and better beers, better Scotch is not going to be found at just any corner store or general grocery. (and here in michigan, glenlivet is on every bottom shelf, just like wine by the gallon.)

   Some Scotch I count among my favorites:

   MacCallan 12 yr or older is an absolute delight and around $55. This is a fantastic way to start. It’s smooth, complex and inexpensive. Always keep a bottle on hand.

   Lagavulin 16yr is bold and superb, albeit pricey at $85. A real “special occasion” centerpiece to share with friends.

   If you really want some peat, Laphroaig is your bottle, it smells like a campfire. Super strong and super complex around $50. Not for the faint of heart.

   to mellow any whiskey, give it half an once or so of ice old filtered water. The changes a bit of water does to a Scotch really give you whole new experience - even from the same bottle you just enjoyed straight. (this absolutely is required to smooth out the overpowering notes of Laphroaig.)

   As for storage - Long term direct sunlight isn’t good for scotch. If you dont have an enclosed cabinet to store the bottles, keep their boxes. They are handsome enough to display and will obviously keep out the fireball’s harmful rays.

   and remember - the ONLY place real scotch comes from is SCOTLAND. No exceptions.

   Whiskey.com is a great resource for information, though their prices seem a bit high compared to the wholesale/retail pricing here in Michigan.

   -Bob P, A Scotch snob

4. 4 Cash on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   Awesome info Bob. I have in fact tried Laphroaig and was impressed. It’s definitely another level of smoky goodness. I’ll check out the Mac Callan.

   Alexander; thanks for the suggestion. I really liked this from their site:

   “Taste
   Good attack on the mouth, more elegance than muscle. The aged Oloroso butts smooth its rich, fleshy body with great harmony. Almost a concentrated citric mouth-feel captivates and tantalises the middle part of your tongue.”

   I’m always down for a good tongue tantalizing.

   Anyone else out there care to chime in?

5. 5 Ben on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   Wow. Senior Bob is a wealth of Scotch info.
   Having just finished a bottle of Laphroaig, I think that the Lagavulin is smokier. Talk about an attack on the mouth! I love that stuff. Also, I’m currently back on one of my earlier Scotch loves, Glenmorangie 12 yr aged in Port casks. It is smooth and heavy on the oak which I love. I certainly can’t argue with the MacCallan 12 yr being an “absolute delight”, but with that being $55 and the Glenmorangie being 60+ per bottle, I get one or two of those about about once or twice a year at most. My usual to get me through the evenings in front of the puter or fireplace is Johnny Walker Red or the aforementioned Dalmore. Both of those require ice cubes. 2 for the Dalmore and 3 for the JWR.
   Good topic.

6. 6 goat on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   by the power of google a quick search of denver brings up Pint’s Pub has an excellent scotch selection. My recommendation is go there and see if you can do a “flight” of scotches. Barring that try to see if any of the wait staff have some suggestions.

7. 7 Bob P on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   Ben - make friends with some guys that own a liqour store. It helps a lot.

   What year of Lagavulin did you find stronger than the Laphroaig? the 16 Ive found rather smooth while still maintaining character, but I couldnt drink the Laphroaig without water, it was too intense in the nose.

   on the bold beverage tip - MacCallan markets a Cask Strength bottle that you can water to your desired taste… and if you dont… WOW. Don’t make plans for afterward.

   Another one that just came to mind, and which I haven’t had in far too long is Oban. it’s a very balanced malt with just enough of everything to sit right in the middle of the spectrum, IMO. I think I’ll grab a bottle tonight.

   For those on the west coast, there is an annual whiskey festival that brings all the major and not so major distilleries to the yard - my buddy Jeff went last year and brought home stories the likes of which no beer festival can ever top.

   Amongst them - “How’s the Johnny walker black label?” “Oh.. no one’s even asked for it yet, would you care to try it? ” ” sure, why not?” *un cork followed by a 6 Oz Pour*

   needless to say, its an event for which you arrange transportation to and from.

   OH and a correction: the URL for further reading is in fact WHISKY.com , not whiskey as I had typed in error.

8. 8 Scott on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   I was all geared up at work to come home, have a nice glass of scotch, and write a well thought out response.

   Bob P totally stole my thunder. Cheer’s to you sir.

9. 9 drew bomb on Apr 14th, 2008 said:

   Go with a Dalwhinnie 15 year old single malt scotch…. the trick is to drink it room temp….but drop just a hint of water…. two or three drops in it to release the bouquet. Some of the best drinking of my life.

10. 10 Bob P on Apr 15th, 2008 said:

    I got all geared up for Oban, so I ended up picking up the last bottle on the shelf on my way out of the store last night. After all the chatter, it was a nice way to end the evening.

    Scott, you’re welcome to join me for a drink, cheers indeed!

11. 11 Brian R on Apr 15th, 2008 said:

    I amazed nobody’s mentioned Aberlour or Balvenie.

    Aberlour is a lighter, more approachable drink, and relatively cheap for a single malt.

    Balvenie makes a number of different single malts, all of which are worth a taste. They are one where I’ve found that you get what you pay for, in the sense that their basic 12-year is good, but the more expensive Doublewood, 15-year, and 18-year Portwood are worth the price bump.

12. 12 Cash on Apr 15th, 2008 said:

    Thanks to everyone for the awesome suggestions.. I’m putting together a list and will try to comment on my favorites as I sample them.

13. 13 Cash on Apr 17th, 2008 said:

    I tried the Dalmore 12 last night.. very smooth. Not quite as peaty as I prefer, but I think that has something to do with it being a Highland?? Anyway, I’m debating doing a full review post on Dalmore, stay tuned.

14. 14 Fenriz on Apr 28th, 2008 said:

    Ah, a peat lover. Good man! I second (and third, if you’ll allow) Lagavulin and Laphroiag. (I happily throw Ardbeg into the mix, too, but really that’s just throwing more fuel onto an already glorious peat fire.) This post has put me in the mood and I have the pleasure of sipping the Laphroiag 15yo at this moment.

    Macallan is certainly good, but I feel it coasts more on reputation these days than superiority. It won’t give you any smoky peat, it’s a classic sherried Highland (or Speyside if you want to get your Scotch geek on). Resist the tempting price tag on the Fine Oak expressions, they offer nothing novel.

    Two greats I will throw in are Talisker and Highland Park. Both are Island malts so they’ll give you the peat, sea salt, and iodine. Of the two Talisker is a mega peat monster, and a primary component of JW Black and Blue Labels — most of the smokiness you get from JW Black is because of Talisker. Highland Park I would call the most balanced of the Island malts, with plenty of good peat but not monstrous like the others mentioned. A perfect marriage of Island and Highland, IMO.

    I just Googled upon your posts today and I’m loving them, especially since I’m a Denverite too (well, Westminsterite technically, but my spirit is with Denver). And don’t pay the prices mentioned above. We’re in a good liquor market here and you can have the stuff for a lot less. I’m sure there are good places in town (Applejack?), but up here I shop at Total Beverage and the Lagavulin is $75, Talisker 10yo $43, Highland Park 12yo only a mere $35, and my beloved Laphroiag $32 with their club coupon! Scotch ain’t cheap, but those are some awesome prices.

15. 15 Cash on May 2nd, 2008 said:

    Argonaut in Denver tends to have some decent prices on Scotch, and even feature sales on occasion. Welcome to UM Fenriz, thanks for stopping by.

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