In Praise of Inexpensive (relatively) (and GOOD) Liquor

[MontuckyFried]

picked up Evan Williams BIB 100 proof, $19.99 for 750 ml
tasty

If you like it and want to buy more, make sure to shop around. A couple pages back I showed a pic of the shelf I picked mine up from the other night. $11.57 for the 750 mL is what I paid.

[MontuckyFried]

I just checked and there is no distribution within 100 miles of my area. I'll have to find out if liquor can be delivered through the mail in WI.

That sucks, but not surprising. I wish it were easier to ship liquor across state lines or I'd totally shoot you a bottle. Maybe see if that link I put up will let you order to WI.

[Brownski]

I have yet to find a cheap scotch that is as good as cheap bourbon. I prefer scotch over bourbon and my collection reflects that. I find bourbon much sweeter than scotch and the variety I find in taste with scotch is fantastic. But I've tried the inexpensive blended scotch and as I mentioned earlier in the thread J&B is the best cheap scotch for me. Like others, I mentioned Eagle Rare which I can get for $23 when available and I like it much better than J&B. Kirkland blended scotch is cheap and good for mixers and occasionally.

Have you tried Ballantine’s Finest? Might be hard to find but it’s pretty good for the money in my opinion.

[evasive_MT]

I have yet to find a cheap scotch that is as good as cheap bourbon. I prefer scotch over bourbon and my collection reflects that. I find bourbon much sweeter than scotch and the variety I find in taste with scotch is fantastic. But I've tried the inexpensive blended scotch and as I mentioned earlier in the thread J&B is the best cheap scotch for me. Like others, I mentioned Eagle Rare which I can get for $23 when available and I like it much better than J&B. Kirkland blended scotch is cheap and good for mixers and occasionally drinking neat, but for sipping EW 1783 is better for around the same price. I've read posts that said Monkey Shoulder, which I've have a few bottles, but that was $30 when it was cheap and now it's about $35 around here so I don't think it would qualify as cheap.

If you move the "cheap" price point to around $40 then there are a number of scotch whiskys that I find better than the bourbons at that price point, but for actually cheap whisk(e)y's I think scotch has a hard time competing with bourbon. I think there are some cheap Irish whiskeys that can compete with cheap bourbons.

I picked up a bottle of J. Rieger Kansas City Whiskey this past fall for under $20 and it was good whiskey.

I agree with you. That’s why I generally don’t buy expensive bourbon. If I spend more than about $60, it’s coming from Scotland. And now that my local carries Bowmore 12, that’s what I have (in addition to a lot of other bottles).

I’m not much of a brandy drinker, but to me Ararat always seemed like a good value. It’s all over Southern California with the Armenian population. I haven’t seen it here in MT.

[Grange]

Have you tried Ballantine’s Finest? Might be hard to find but it’s pretty good for the money in my opinion.

I haven't seen that around here, but I admit I don't look at cheap scotch much anymore since I haven't found one I want to drink regularly. I'll keep an eye out for it on my next trip to the liquor store. I did recently pick up a bottle of Game of Thrones Limited Edition The Singleton by Glendullan for $31. Not exactly cheap, but for a single malt scotch not a bad price.

[MontuckyFried]

Baccarat crystal decanter? Prepare to be "defiled." Just refilled my Louis bottle with what was left of my Shevkoff. Haha. Color wise, even I can't tell the damn difference. Not going to lie to anyone about what's actually in there, but I might as well get some use out of the dusty old thing. Cork was so dried out that it just disintegrated. Good excuse to finally use the crystal topper it came with!

[MontuckyFried]

Just re-filled my "Fauxie XIII" so I can hunker down in style. $19.



Screw hording toilet paper. I should be stocking up on liquor instead. Local emporium was well stocked and not many shoppers in there while grocery stores and Costco are still being overwhelmed. I think people have their priorities all wrong. Haha.

[cravenmorhead]

Re Scotch, Talisker Storm is now running about $40 per bottle. I'm a big fan. Smoke and salt of Lagavaulin but not the bandaid or oily mouthfeel. Some might find it more dumbed-down, but I like it.

[cinnepa]

Screwed, state stores here closed.

[Grange]

Re Scotch, Talisker Storm is now running about $40 per bottle. I'm a big fan. Smoke and salt of Lagavaulin but not the bandaid or oily mouthfeel. Some might find it more dumbed-down, but I like it.

Talisker is my favorite distillery overall. I try to keep Storm and 10 stocked as they are often my go to whiskys. Lagavulin Distillers Edition is my favorite whisky and the 16 is also great, but for bang for the buck Talisker is hard to beat.

[MontuckyFried]

Re Scotch, Talisker Storm is now running about $40 per bottle. I'm a big fan. Smoke and salt of Lagavaulin but not the bandaid or oily mouthfeel. Some might find it more dumbed-down, but I like it.

Talisker is my favorite distillery overall. I try to keep Storm and 10 stocked as they are often my go to whiskys. Lagavulin Distillers Edition is my favorite whisky and the 16 is also great, but for bang for the buck Talisker is hard to beat.

I'll have to check that one out! Wife was asking me the other day why I don't drink Scotch. My explanation was that with bourbon, you could get some really great stuff for cheap then it quickly becomes diminishing returns, whereas I DO like Scotch, but in general I don't like the cheap stuff and it starts getting expensive pretty quick. Very different dollar to taste curves.

[evasive_MT]

Talisker is my favorite distillery overall. I try to keep Storm and 10 stocked as they are often my go to whiskys. Lagavulin Distillers Edition is my favorite whisky and the 16 is also great, but for bang for the buck Talisker is hard to beat.

I like the 10 a lot - it tends to run ~$70 in Montana. I bought a bottle in VA last fall for a little over $50, which I though was a bargain. I should give the Storm expression a shot.

[cravenmorhead]

Yeah, no age statement on Storm, and it's maybe a touch sweeter. I think it was priced higher, but seems like price has come down well.

[tgapp]

talisker storm is fantastic because 1. it tastes like talisker and 2. you can mix with it without feeling guilty - try a talisker old fashioned or a talisker sazerac, fucking amazing.

i have both talisker distiller's edition and talisker 18, talisker is far and away my favorite distillery.

[muted]

Thanks to everyone for that Svedka Vodka recommendation. Not the greatest tasting, but the real test for me is hangover quality for what I spend. usually at that cheaper price the hangover is significant, but I'd have to drink a lot to really feel it, so it's worthy.

[Woodsy]

recent quarentine buy, all fit the bill and 2 have been mentioned. Buffalo Trace cheaper than Eagle and still very good.

Almost anything Bottled in Bond is worth the $, usually not much
no idea why pic posted that way but ...

[cravenmorhead]

Oh also, thanks to many for the WT 101 recommendation. It's my new standard mixing bourbon.

[Grange]

talisker storm is fantastic because 1. it tastes like talisker and 2. you can mix with it without feeling guilty - try a talisker old fashioned or a talisker sazerac, fucking amazing.

i have both talisker distiller's edition and talisker 18, talisker is far and away my favorite distillery.

I've been looking for Talisker Distillers Edition and am unable to find it around here. I can find the 18 yr, but I don't want to spend $130. I had the Distillers Edition in a restaurant and it was fantastic. It was that whisky that made me seek out other Distillers Edition whiskys and so far I haven't been disappointed. They tend to be finished in sherry or port casks and for me the smokey and briny whiskys really do well with the sweet notes of sherry or port casks.

[riser4]

Beware the Kickin' Chicken!

[MontuckyFried]

Re Scotch, Talisker Storm is now running about $40 per bottle. I'm a big fan. Smoke and salt of Lagavaulin but not the bandaid or oily mouthfeel. Some might find it more dumbed-down, but I like it.

Went to my favorite store last night in search of the Talisker Storm per your recommendation, but they only had the Talisker Single Malt 10 (not cheap at $73). Asked them if they had Storm, so they looked it up and found a bottle at a nearby location but it was still like $60. Doh!

So I just left with my go-to handle of EW 1783 bourbon. Still a good night, but I'll have to hold off on the Talisker until I have a job again. Haha.

[Core Shot]

Screwed, state stores here closed.

How the fuck can you shelter in place without booze?

[oftpiste]

liquorama.com FTW

[Spats]

Buffalo Trace cheaper than Eagle and still very good.

Buff Trace is solid for the $.
Same person who told me about it turned me onto Larceny, which is also solid for the $.

[Woodsy]

Ok, this needs to stay on the front page of the Padded Room in these challenging times.
And I may love Buffalo Trace too mucj6

[Name Redacted]

I'd like to thank baby Jesus and my local distillery connection for getting me through these tough times where my wife has asked my not to visit the liquor store on accounts that my spending habits were not copacetic to our new financial picture. I'm still drinking good, just not as much variety.