Decent single malt whiskey - £300-400

Hatter The Mad · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:08

*I meant to post this in La Cuisine, sorry*

A special birthday coming up and I am looking for an awesome single malt whiskey.

Birthday boy's favourite usual whiskey is Glenlivet and he only likes smooth, smokey single malts. That's all I have to go on.

I don't know anything. My ears have picked up that Macallan 25 might fit the bill, but I'm sure there's better experts on here who can put me straight...

Hatter The Mad · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:09

(PS: lol that I have a 'recommend a really expensive whiskey' question and I'm taking it to a computer hardware forum. Bigger lol that it is actually a sound bet that I'll get a good answer. I love OcUK)

County · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:10

Buy him his favourite bottle and give him the difference in gift vouchers

TFleming · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:11

Would he not just prefer the £400?

Theophany · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:13

Can't go wrong with this.*

*Unless you aren't already blind.

schumi84 · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:13

As a drinker of Glenlivet I would be more than happy with 10 bottles of the stuff for my Birthday as opposed to a single bottle of a really expensive one.

*not an alcoholic*

With regards to the question in hand I would certainly be interested to see what sort of whiskeys there are out there for that money, I once had a glass of a £100 bottle and it was as harsh as hell

leemk · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:13

Bought my dad Yamazaki 5 year old single malt Japanese whisky , he had tried all the Irish and Scotch whiskeys and wanted something different.
Cost me £250 , was some special bottling or something anyway he loved it.
http://www.masterofmalt.com/distill...agegate=true&gclid=CKCV4NmQ-7ICFWXJtAodCR0A9w

Hatter The Mad · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:15

TFleming said:
Would he not just prefer the £400?

He wouldn't; he'd relish the opportunity and apply 35+ years of whiskey drinking experience to have a whole bottle of something he'd never dream of buying even a measure of to himself

Hatter The Mad · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:18

schumi84 said:
As a drinker of Glen Livet I would be more than happy with 10 bottles of the stuff for my Birthday as opposed to a single bottle of a really expensive one.

Yeah... I see the logic, but I know for certain that quality and experience > quantity in this case.

With regards to the question in hand I would certainly be interested to see what sort of whiskeys there are out there for that money, I once had a glass of a £100 bottle and it was as harsh as hell

I've only ever had two whiskeys in my life... Jack Daniels and Macallan 25. The latter might have cost $150 a measure, but it only made me vomit harder

neodude · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:20

Glenlivet isn't "Whiskey", it's "Whisky"

IMHO, if somebody is particular about what Whisky they like then second guessing what else they might like is a bad move. You said he like The Glenlivet, so why not get him a speciality bottle of that. There's a few Here to pick from.

schumi84 · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:21

Looking on the site posted, I would certainly be interested in some of the older Glenlivets, maybe a selection of 2 or 3 of the different ages as a comparison?

Hatter The Mad · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:23

neodude said:
Glenlivet isn't "Whiskey", it's "Whisky"

IMHO, if somebody is particular about what Whisky they like then second guessing what else they might like is a bad move. You said he like The Glenlivet, so why not get him a speciality bottle of that. There's a few Here to pick from.

That's an idea. As far as 'why not...' - I don't know anything, so I don't know either!

~Divine~Wind~ · 12 Oct 2012 at 10:56

You really need stan in here mate, I've only heard good things about the japanese stuff at the moment.

The other option may be a special edition bottle of something?
Or looking at that site above theres a few nice looking peaty/smokey ones on there at
40-100 maybe a nice sleection of bottles and a few nice bars of dark chocolate?

Stan_Lite · 12 Oct 2012 at 11:03

There are a few Glenrothes bottles around that price. I haven't had any of the ones in that price range but I've had some about half that price and they were very good indeed. I would suggest you won't go far wrong with one of those

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/twesearchresult.aspx?q=glenrothes&pg=3

Ahleckz · 12 Oct 2012 at 12:55

I'll nip into my booze shop and ask the guys there what they recommend. One of the guys runs whiskywhiskywhisky so he's pretty knowledgeable.

Until then, my friends bought me bottle of Macallan distilled in 1988 for my 21st which was a good present. Maybe something like that may be appropriate?

Hatter The Mad · 12 Oct 2012 at 13:56

Ahleckz said:
I'll nip into my booze shop and ask the guys there what they recommend. One of the guys runs whiskywhiskywhisky so he's pretty knowledgeable.

Until then, my friends bought me bottle of Macallan distilled in 1988 for my 21st which was a good present. Maybe something like that may be appropriate?

That's really kind of you, thanks

Ahleckz · 12 Oct 2012 at 15:46

He said that the best they have in that price range would be the Glenfarclas 40.

squarebutt · 12 Oct 2012 at 15:54

They will always sell the most expensive they can to a willing buyer, but more money doesn't always mean better. Don't buy to a price, buy to what it is. Sometimes the prices are inflated purely to give an exclusive air about the product.

The suggestion of a few varying years from one distillery is a great idea, you can sample a few and actually have a good chat on the differences, instead of having 1 good one and saying "thats great", and then be scared of having another at £10+ a tot.

Ahleckz · 12 Oct 2012 at 16:07

squarebutt said:
They will always sell the most expensive they can to a willing buyer, but more money doesn't always mean better. Don't buy to a price, buy to what it is. Sometimes the prices are inflated purely to give an exclusive air about the product.

The suggestion of a few varying years from one distillery is a great idea, you can sample a few and actually have a good chat on the differences, instead of having 1 good one and saying "thats great", and then be scared of having another at £10+ a tot.

Whilst that is true for some companies, it isn't for all and the trick is to find a good, honest, company who are dedicated to helping you.

squarebutt · 12 Oct 2012 at 19:20

Yes, I do agree. If you have say £400 to spend, a good company would tell you the best way to spend it, whether on multiple items or just one. They dont want to lose a customer willing to spend who will return if they have been given a good service.

Decent single malt whiskey - £300-400

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