Simple Living

It's been a while and wanted to try a different Single Malt and heard good things about Dalmore.  I did some basic research and discovered this particular distillery was purchased by Whyte & Mackay who in turn were also bought out by Emperador Inc.  Not that it really matter who owns what anymore as it appears nearly all the Scotch distilleries and brands are owned by several major conglomerates. In any case, another online review at first shunned Dalmore 12 for it using caramel coloring and cold filtering, but to be honest, it doesn't matter to me as I wouldn't have even known anyway. First Taste I was quite pleased by the nose and initial taste.  It has quite a bit going on and a welcome respite from having spent the last few months imbibing bourbons and cheap whisky.  There is something special about a single malt, but one thing that was interesting was how Dalmore coats the tongue and reminds me almost like how Black Velvet has a similar effect. There is definitely

I've always wanted to give it a try and bought a bottle of Kirkland Blended Whisky, they only had the larger 1.75 L size and the price is still a bargain.  In short, you get what you pay for and this is best for mixers or my favorite a Mizuwari  (Japanese style highball with plenty of ice, water and a bit of whisky; usually 2 part water for every 1 part whisky). I find a lot of bottom shelf liquor goes nicely as a Mizuwari  and this beats Black Velvet.  It doesn't hold a candle against other blended scotches like Johnnie Walker Red Label, Ballentines, or Chivas Regal, but against other bottom shelf liquors its acceptable. For the price, this is a phenomenal deal and yields me 35 Mizuwari  for the price of maybe 15 that I could get from a bottle of Jameson or Johnnie Walker Red.  A savings of at least 2.3 to 1. But you would get bored drinking this all day and good to keep it for mixers and splurge the savings on something nice like a Highland Park 12 Year or Laphroig

I've always been curious about Black Velvet and surprisingly, never tried it until now.  I knew it would be cheap liquor as I can always find for under $10 and usually on the bottom shelf of any grocery store.  So along with my usual Bourbon fix (Wild Turkey 101), picked it up. At first, I tried it with Coca Cola and couldn't taste anything, but coke.  And it was too sweet for my taste so I tried it again on the rocks and was surprised at how smooth it was, indeed as smooth as velvet.  There are some sweet notes in the flavor profile and barely any hint of alcohol burn, but something about it just doesn't rest easy with me. It's smooth...that's about it. If anything, Black Velvet is very smooth and easy to drink, even more so on the rocks.  It rests somewhere below the sweetness of a Jim Beam and below the heavy flavoring of Jack Daniels is where I would put it, however the lack of an alcoholic burn is disturbing, especially for an 80 proof whisky. For

I've had the pleasure to enjoy many different types of whisky's and grew up on the sweeter side with bourbons (primarily Jack Daniels) then graduated to the peat smoke of a good scotch, but no matter what I fancied at any given point in time, I always find myself going back to my all time favorite Johnnie Walker Black Label. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to a dram of JW Black, but I can enjoy it neat, on the rocks or even in a mixed drink and find something pleasing about it.  It has just enough of a taste profile to keep me intrigued.  And after several years, I've reached the conclusion why I enjoy JW Black so much, consistency.  This realization hit me when I bought a new bottle of Macallan 12 from a reputable store and found it to taste utterly appalling and worse than rotgut.  I've yet to experience such a thing with any Johnnie Walker, no matter where I've procured it. I've had JW Black in over a dozen countries and dozens more different cities an

For 2018, I've purchased about 12 bottles of liquor @ 8 Liters for $404 (albeit $65 was estimated due to Johnnie Walker Blue being a gift).  That roughly equates to about 1 bottle per month, which is about on point. I increased my bourbon percentage to 33% of total consumption to help expand my horizons.  In general, I found them a little too sweet and it tends to overpower and alter the taste experience that I'm more used to with scotch whisky.  But after having tasted bourbon on a regular basis, I'm finding that I need to have a bottle on hand to enjoy a dram every so often between whisky pours. House of Johnnie I already knew that I lean heavily towards Johnnie Walker and 1/4 of my total consumption this year was in Johnnie Walker Red & Black.  Those are my go to favorites, but I'm finding Monkey Shoulder and Jameson are worthy alternatives. 2019 Future I'm going to continue my 1:2 ratio of bourbon to scotch and continue to sample other brands.

Stocked up my Liquor Cabinet with two (2) bottles: Basil Hayden Bourbon Jameson Irish Whiskey Whiskey Front The Jameson was decent and on par with Johnnie Walker Red Label.  It's excellent on the rocks and will be in rotation with JW Red and Monkey Shoulder for my standard Whiskey. Bourbon // Still Trying I'm really trying to get a taste for Bourbon.  Buffalo Trace was decent and Basil Hayden was always on my list to try.  Generally, most Bourbon's I drink are part of an Old Fashion. Was interesting to learn Basil Hayden is part of Jim Beam and one of four brands they are segmenting along with Bakers, Bookers and Knob Creek.  I'll eventually try them all. Thoughts so Far... I'm just a Scotch drinker...took almost 10 minutes to decide whether to pick up Laphroig or Basil Hayden.  I haven't had a dram of Johnnie Walker Black Label and had one on the rocks recently at a bar and it tasted delicious.  I have a bottle of JW Black (Jane Walker Edition), b

Purchased a 750 mL bottle of Buffalo Trace for $28.  While I prefer Scotch and imbibe primarily Single Malts or Blends, I wanted to expand my understanding and appreciation for Bourbon's. 1st Dram - My basic take: Bite - similar to Johnnie Walker Red Label; has more than I'm used as a regular Scotch Drinker. Taste - ranges between a Blend (JW Black) and but less than a Single Malt (Highland Park 12).  There is alot going on and reason I need a few more drams to appreciate this.  It is a bit spicier and some sweetness; but nothing like a Macallan 12 or any Cognac. Nose - similar to Hennessey VSOP. For the price, its worth a try to see if its worthy of adding to your liquor collection.  It has a distinctive taste that is nice to add to a taste library and for me helps gain a better appreciation when sampling other brands.  The main thing I love about Bourbon's at this point is usually mixing it in an Old Fashion as I appreciate the Spiciness and Sweetness. 2nd T

I picked up the Limited Edition - Jane Walker Series of Johnnie Walker Black Label.  It actually retailed for less than regular Johnnie Walker Black and partially reason I purchased a bottle.  Otherwise, my understanding its exactly the same blend just in different packaging. They sell at least 230 million bottles of Johnnie Walker Black a year and produced about 250,000 bottles of the Jane Walker variant.  I was surprised they still had quite a few left at my local liquor store. To be honest, I bought it because I love JW Black and it was selling for $4 less than the regular bottle.  I understand what they are trying to accomplish with this bottle packaging and applaud them for it, but same time after reading other blogs and reviews online, I tend to agree that slapping on a different logo and putting a new name on the same blend of whisky is not exactly impressive marketing. I'm surprised Diageo would make such a misstep like this.  They sell quite a few popular Vodka's

I wanted to broaden my palate beyond just Whisky and after some Research discovered the delightful world of Brandy's.  There are probably just as many if not more types & brands of Brandy's as there are Whisky's and some of the most famous are the French Cognacs. There are also several grades starting from lowest: VS (Very Special) VSOP (Very Special Old Pale) XO (Extra Old). There are several major brands of Cognac and for my initial foray I selected a VSOP from the House of Hennessy (LVMH) for about $18 USD on a 200 mL Bottle. Initial Reaction It is flavorful, sweet and a nice nose (fragrance).  In terms of 'taste' its about par with a Johnnie Walker Black, but only half as interesting as a Highland Park 12. For sweetness, its almost the same as a Macallan 12 and honestly, the viscosity & taste reminded me of the time I added a teaspoon of Maple Syrup to a bad bottle of Macallan 12...the Hennessy VSOP was almost identical in that experience!  Not saying i

People must know I like Whisky, a friend gave me the small 200 mL Bottle of Johnnie Walker - Blue Label.  Pretty cool and now I have a way to sample Blue Label without popping open the big bottle. I'll save it for something special.  Probably will open it for New Years.  

Highland Park released New Packaging & Branding for their 10, 12 and 18 Year old Single Malt Whisky's.  I picked up the 12 Year old - Viking Honour to replenish my stock as it's been almost 2 years since I last had a dram of HP12.  Eagerly waiting to give it a try later in the Month. Original Notes: HP 12 Year Old 2015   Update 9/30/17 Popped it open and had two pours.  Both were phenomenal and I'm very happy I picked up the Highland Park 12.  It's not as Sweet as a Macallan, but perfectly easy to drink neat. Update 10/13/17 Already drank half the bottle!  Have to slow down...particularly what is amazing about Highland Park 12 is the nose.  I can't get enough of the aroma and drinking out of a proper curved glass I can really take it all in.  

Made a short stop in Las Vegas for a few days.  Stayed on the Strip and was quite fun to see the old town again.  Haven't been here in years and mostly just had a few beers and did some sight seeing.  While it was great to see Vegas again,  it's just not the same unless you go there with a bunch of friends to party. The Old Fashioned wasn't half bad...but to be honest for $17 in Las Vegas it should have been spectacular.  I get better Old Fashion's back home and that's part of the reason I'm no longer impressed or amazed by this City.

Was surprised at how cheap this Old Fashion was at a local bar.  For Happy Hour they charge a mere $4.75, about the price of a regular beer.  Other Bars would charge $10-12 for the same drink.  Granted it's not as fancy using plain ice and whatever fruit & ingredients they have in stock, but it tasted decent. The only danger was at this price it's easy to drink a half dozen of these and not realize you consumed that much alcohol.  Cheap, but Dangerous.

In my quest for the perfect 'Old Fashion' I've been trying one at every Bar and decided to give Nordstrom's a shot.  Based on what I'm reading online this is closer to a traditional Old Fashion with the choice of glass, square ice cube and garnishing.  The drink was quite strong and I didn't start to enjoy it until the halfway mark with the last sip being the best.

I've always wanted to try an Old Fashioned after seeing Don Draper down so many of these on the show Mad Men.  Was out on the town with friends and the bartender offered this variation on the Old Fashioned using Japanese Whisky and different types of bitters.  It was quite good and this beats a plain Scotch on the Rocks. I'll likely ask to try a traditional Old Fashioned to compare to this Japanese version, but I'm sure both will be great choices.

What a difference a year can make on my perception of Scotch Whisky.  I was barreling towards Single Malts only to be disappointed in a very bad bottle of Macallan 12 year old and now hurtling back to Blends.  While I tried various Blends, none seemed suitable beyond Johnnie Walker Red or Black and while I was tempted to move towards Green Label, the online reviews mentioned it's the older, discontinued variation of Green Label that was limited to just four (4) Single Malts that defined this JW version; in otherwords, I missed the party on that one. And so, to ensure some variety in my collection I opted for Monkey Shoulder which is a Blend of three (3) Whiskies: Glenfiddich Balvenie Kinivie I am familiar with Glenfiddich and Balvenie and for the most part was unimpressed by Glenfiddich until I tried mixing it with some other Whiskies.  So this naturally got me interested in Monkey Shoulder.  I don't really know much about Kinivie other than all three Whiskies are part of the s

Everyone needs a reminder that hard work pays off and this year has been an eventful one.  To commemorate and cap off 2016 I'm adding a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to my modest Whisky collection.  It'll sit front and center next to my JW Black and Red Label as a constant reminder that I've achieved quite a bit in life, but have much more to accomplish before I feel satisfied. I have set some goals in life and perhaps in five years on News Year Eve I'll crack open this little gem to celebrate.  Until then, I'll just glance at it each time I pass by my liquor cabinet to remind me that I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

Finally did it, purchased a bottle of Laphroaig 10 Year old Scotch Whisky.  I had tried some at a party a few years ago and wanted to get into Islay Single Malts.  The first dram didn't disappoint and I could feel the 'peatiness'.  It's certainly an acquired taste and most of my drinking habits have centered around Speyside or Blends, but I can see Islay's as a natural progression.  It was only my first drink in a while and I'll see how it goes over time.  I do plan on making this a regular staple in my collection and adding more Islay's from Lagavulin, Caol Ila and more.

Building back up my Whisky Collection for 2016.  After being on the fence for a number of years, I am going to go all-in and focus on learning more about what are my preferences in various Scotch Whisky.  Basically, this means I'll be buying more bottles of Whisky... Consumption Rates My overall Whisky consumption has held at around 175mL/week; equivalent to a six-pack of Lite Beer, fairly pedestrian numbers.  This translates to: Month -- 750mL (1 Bottle) Year --  9 L (12 Bottles) Consumption Ratios (Blends vs Single-Malts) First Half 2016 (80 / 20) -- 5 Blended ; 1 Single Malt Second Half 2016 ( 50 / 50) -- 3 Blended ; 3 Single Malt The 80/20 Ratio turned out to be rather boring and left me room for only a single bottle of Single Malt (Glenfiddich 12).  JW Black was pleasant and JW Red acceptable, but drinking the same thing for several months is uninteresting.  I am hopeful a 50/50 Ratio is more palatable and not that much more in cost to add-in additional bottles of Single Malt.

Johnnie Walker -- Red Label Scotch Whisky has been my basic go-to drink when I just need something for a Mixer or on occasion straight up on the Rocks.  It's certainly more harsh compared to Black Label, but over the years I've grown accustomed to the bite and actually kinda like it sometimes. In terms of Prices, I find the 1.75 Liter a better deal; twice the Scotch for half the price 😀 Costco 750 mL - $20 1.75 Liter - $30