World's Best Scotch Whiskey

SFIV1967

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This 8 years version is only available at Lidl in UK. Lidl in Germany only sells the 3 and the 5 years versions.

Also, there is a lot of discussion about those headlines: https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/f...the-fake-news-fallout-of-lidl-s-queen-margot/

lidl-whisky-queen-margot.jpg


Ralf
 
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fronobulax

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Sadly Lidl cannot sell distilled spirits in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I also note that the claim of "best" can be discussed. There are cases where the preference for single malts over blends are based on something other than snobbery :)
 

twocorgis

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Real whisky is never spelled with an "e". My favorite single malt is also UK only AFAIK, but a bargain at £26 at Tesco.

aberlour-10-year-old.jpg


I came home with a few bottles last trip, and still have one.
 

dreadnut

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Their claim of "best Scotch" is dubious at best.

If you're gonna drink Scotch, it should be 12 years old or older. Years ago, we used to get double shots of Chivas during happy hour for .$25 at the Sampaguita Club, Subic Bay Naval Station. Lots of years ago.
 

chazmo

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Real whisky is never spelled with an "e". My favorite single malt is also UK only AFAIK, but a bargain at £26 at Tesco.

aberlour-10-year-old.jpg


I came home with a few bottles last trip, and still have one.

No argument here, Sandy. Although the MacAllan 18 yr old I drank with my friend a couple of months ago (it was from the Bernie Madoff evidence sell-off) might be the best ever. That bottle was from the mid-1980s. Oh my!
 

fronobulax

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Real whisky is never spelled with an "e". My favorite single malt is also UK only AFAIK, but a bargain at £26 at Tesco.

Aberlour 12 and 16 year old versions are stocked in Virginia liquor stores. Acknowledging that sometimes people prefer the younger spirits, so they might not be as "good", maybe that is a reason for you to come and visit. If you do, please come when you are not selling guitars :)
 

chazmo

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A true Scotsman would recognize "Uisge" ...
I'm nothing of the sort, but I think that's kind of what it sounds like when I'm few fingers deep and say it, Al! :)

Of course, a few fingers more makes me say "cawfee" and "chawklit" too, so that'll give you a hint about my non-Scottish heritage. :)
 

chazmo

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By the way (serious question) why is Aberlour 10 UK-only? And, Sandy, what's the appeal over the stuff we get here. For the record, I love Aberlour since frono turned me on to it at LMG ! :)
 

twocorgis

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No argument here, Sandy. Although the MacAllan 18 yr old I drank with my friend a couple of months ago (it was from the Bernie Madoff evidence sell-off) might be the best ever. That bottle was from the mid-1980s. Oh my!

I've had the MacAllan 18, and it is superb Charlie, but it's also ghastly expensive! The frugal Scotsman in me loves the cheapskate price of the Aberlour 10, and it's a shame it's not available here. It might be, but I've never seen it.

Aberlour 12 and 16 year old versions are stocked in Virginia liquor stores. Acknowledging that sometimes people prefer the younger spirits, so they might not be as "good", maybe that is a reason for you to come and visit. If you do, please come when you are not selling guitars :)

I've also had the Aberlour 12 and 16, and liked them both, but there's something about the 10 that really appeals to me (beyond the price). This might be a good reason for a road trip. I'll pick Steve up along the way!
 

twocorgis

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By the way (serious question) why is Aberlour 10 UK-only? And, Sandy, what's the appeal over the stuff we get here. For the record, I love Aberlour since frono turned me on to it at LMG ! :)

I'll have to invite you over for some. Can't really put my finger on it, but it's a certain je ne sais quoi, shall we say?
 

gjmalcyon

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Real whisky is never spelled with an "e". My favorite single malt is also UK only AFAIK, but a bargain at £26 at Tesco.

I came home with a few bottles last trip, and still have one.

That may be but many an Irishman would tell you the Irish taught the Scots to make whiskey, and it's not their fault the Scots canna' spell.

[Please note: I do not have a dog in this hunt. Any Celt in me might be via mom's Breton forebears who emigrated to French Canada 400 years ago.]
 
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adorshki

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That may be but many an Irishman would tell you the Irish taught the Scots to make whiskey, and it's not their fault the Scots canna' spell.

[Please note: I do not have a dog in this hunt. Any Celt in me might be via mom's Breton forbears who emigrated to French Canada 400 years ago.]

I really don't either, but I always thought it was a Scottish invention due their known proclivity for messing around with pressurized vessels (Fulton: steamboat, :glee:), also, they brought the art of distilling to Appalachia in the 1700's.
But noticed exactly what you're mentioning when I started digging, and the origin story I like is that the Vikings got the distillation process from the middle east (they really got around, were trading in Russia by coming in through the Med and Black Sea and on up the Volga which took 'em by Constantinople, way before the crusades,); and then taking it past Scotland on the way back home.
(And we all know golf was invented by Scots hitting rocks off the cliffs with sticks to ward off marauding Vikings, because they were too cheap to waste good arrows on Vikings)
:glee:
 
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Quantum Strummer

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When I lived & worked in California I discovered good tequila & mescal on trips south of the border, and have been a fan ever since. Never been much of a whisk(e)y guy…don't mind a tasty (naturally sweet) rum or bourbon, though.

-Dave-
 

Guildedagain

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All boils down to history, doesn't it?

For relatively cheap, I always liked MccLelland Islay, because we prefer peaty Scotch's like Laphroig (which I discovered at Trader Joe's while in the Bay area ;-), but of course saying "best" is silly and there's undoubtedly one out there for $1000 a bottle.

https://www.winetoship.com/mcclella...lhAGVs6Neqt9XIY34B7fJjDRSqoJVuhhoCYg8QAvD_BwE

All forms of Johnny Walker are not overrated.

I have a small bottle of The Balvenie Doublewood 12 years she brought back from Edinburgh a few years back, close at hand, just in case.

We/I don't drink anymore, or as much, since they went away from Liquor Stores and added a State Tax, the Mcclelland's Islay (pronounced Ee-la for those wondering) went from $23 to $33 a bottle and I said no thx.

Stilling is becoming popular again, not uncommon around here, 135 proof spirits, made yourself, and the benefit of getting some awesome guitar repairman's cleaning fluid in the bargain (the heads, the **** that makes your go blind or kills you). My luthier neighbor uses Everclear, which may be the standard in repair shops? He's a violin builder by night, bow re-hairer by day. His first response to any guitar problem is that "the top needs to come off", lol... run!
 
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adorshki

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When I lived & worked in California I discovered good tequila & mescal on trips south of the border, and have been a fan ever since. Never been much of a whisk(e)y guy…don't mind a tasty (naturally sweet) rum or bourbon, though.-Dave-
Being a fan of malted corn products for that same reason, I always had a fond spot for this stuff ever since discovering it many years ago:
bf4e4cefe10ac57d87c4cfa483252fb7.jpg


Probably explains my fondness for Modelo Negra, too.
:friendly_wink:
 
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gjmalcyon

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Stilling is becoming popular again ...

I've been visiting some of the "micro distillers" on our road trips to Vermont, the Eastern Shore, and the Finger Lakes wine country, and I have yet to encounter anything good enough to want to bring a bottle home. I thought I did in Vermont, and what came out of the bottle when I got home was emphatically NOT what I tasted in the tasting room.

Ironically, the best micro-distiller I've found is right here in Philly: Red Brick Distillery. Their 115-proof barrel strength stunned (in a good way) a couple of my cousins who fancy themselves quite the American whiskey experts.
 

fronobulax

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I'll have to invite you over for some. Can't really put my finger on it, but it's a certain je ne sais quoi, shall we say?

Just quoting one post but hey...

There are a couple of single malts available here at various ages and sometimes the younger one just tastes better to us. So I am not surprised.

A couple of sources, possibly including a visitor to the Talisker Distillery, told me that the decision to export, or not, to the USA has to do with a lot of factors. The expected profit and demand are obvious and whether there is enough product to meet the demand is another. The net effect is that it is the older, "higher end", bottles that get exported.

I'm thinking maybe we float the idea for LMG v2.0. That would be Let's Meet GAD, in NJ and in addition to the tour of his laboratory, we have a "session" on adult beverages. NJ sort of splits the difference between VA and Mass.
 
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