Refilling the Liquor Cabinet: Scotch Bargains

by Bruce Watson, Posted Nov 25th 2008 @ 7:00PM

When I was a kid, my family went on a trip to Scotland. Given my mother's deep appreciation for single malt scotch, a fair amount of my time in Edinburgh was spent wandering around with my sisters while my parents tried out some of the local tipples. Years later, when I went back on my own, my shallow financial resources kept me from following in my parents' footsteps, but I was able to try out some of the blended scotches. In addition to helping me make friends, the experience gave me a deep respect for Bell's blended scotch; unfortunately, I've never seen it for sale in the states.

Over the years, however, I've drank more than my share of single malt scotch and have found a few favorites and a few that I despise. Glen Garioch, for example, is so awful that I wouldn't even use it to clean out a wound.

While blended scotches generally are reasonably priced, I've found that, by and large, they are a little too harsh for my taste. Moreover, by the time you get up into the blends that don't taste like paint thinner, you're probably paying more than you would for a decent single malt. A fine case in point is Johnny Walker Blue, which is outrageous at $175 for a fifth.

Laphroaig is a fairly reasonable single malt. At $30 for a fifth, it is on the low end of the scale, yet still offers a delicious Islay flavor. On a particularly cool note, Laphroaig also has the "Friends of Laphroaig" society; to become a member, one need only send in a piece of the metal foil that surrounds the top of a bottle. In return, one gets a "lease" of one square foot of the island of Islay, rent for which is a dram of scotch, payable if you come to the distillery. Even if you don't show up, they send you a certificate and Christmas cards.

On a cheaper scale, Bowmore is an Islay single malt that costs a mere $17 a bottle. Similarly, Auchentoshan is a lowland single malt that also costs $17. Both are decent, tasty tipples that are almost ridiculously underpriced. Auchentoshan has a mellower, softer flavor, while Bowmore is a little peatier and more intense.

Finally, for those whose tastes tend more toward the Irish end of things, Powers Irish whiskey is nicely priced in the $20 range. It is a smooth, flavorful spirit that makes an outstanding Irish coffee. Of course, Jameson's or Bushmill's addicts will find this a tough sell, but it is definitely worth a try!

Scotch on a budget(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Filed Under: Budget Cuisine, Raves & Reviews, Ingredients, Drink Recipes
Tags: america, Auchentoshan, Bowmore, comfort food, europe, Laphroaig, Powers Irish Whiskey, PowersIrishWhiskey, spirits, whiskey, whisky

Chew on This

Royal Wedding Cake Details Revealed! - YumSugar

Make Your Own Pop Tarts - CHOW
Denny's Introduces a Maple Bacon Sundae - Eater
Whole Foods Opening Bars in Stores - USA Today
Rules Of Bar Etiquette -- For The Bartender - HuffPost Food

Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-25-2008 @10:17PM Bear said... Agreed on Laphroaig -- wonderful stuff, and criminally cheap. I'd also recommend the Glenkinchie, which is a bit pricier but a very nice whisky, as well as the terrific vatted malts put out by Jon, Mark and Robbo. They're all mixtures of nothing but single-malts, they're all under $30, and they're great examples of the styles that they set out to capture.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

11-26-2008 @8:08AM Dean said... Interesting article and I agree with most of the comments about single malts. Several years ago I attended a lecture by the author of a book on Scotch at the Smithsonian. He said that as part of his research he asked the master distillers of all the great single malt Scotch producers which whisky, other than their own, they'd recommend as a regular drink. He said that overwhelmingly they recommended Johnny Walker Black which was a great surpise to him as well as us in the audience. In the blind tasting we did that night JW Black was one of the samples and it ranked higher than I had expected. I'm sitll a single malt drinker but when someone offers me JW Black, I happily accept.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

11-26-2008 @1:08PM Astin said... I'll second what Dean said. A friend bought me a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black a while ago and I was surprised by how drinkable it was. It's not a complex scotch, but it's smooth and tasty. I prefer it over the Blue any day (I have a bottle of that too, and it was the biggest waste of money in my Scotch collection).

But if you don't mind spending more, I'll always trumpet the Lagavulin 16 year or Distiller's edition as fantastic.
Reply