Booze

[Cerina]

Is anyone here a whisky connoisseur? I want to buy Trevor a nice bottle of whisky for Christmas, but I don't really know what to get. Budget is roughly $50-60 a bottle. Typically he'll drink cheaper stuff. 

[Jedigoat]

Bourbon or Scotch?  It's easy to find a great bourbon in that price range.  For Scotch, it would be a little tougher.

[Zathras]

Not really a whiskey guy, but what I do know is you can get a 12-16 year single malt Scotch for that price range.  I love Total Wine and More, and I think they ship.   I live by one, so I just go there. 

As for bourbon, something like this would be good.  I've tried this a couple times:

https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/bourbon/small-batch-bourbon/makers-mark-46-cask-strength-bourbon-limited-edition/p/231738750?glia=true&cid=plia:Shopping+US+None+ENG+SPART:::google&s=1002&&pid=cpc:Performance+Max%2BUS%2BARIZ%2BHIGH+PRIORITY::google::&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAvdCrBhBREiwAX6-6Umo8ggjHStUcuB8n1C1oc4O2_-V3dKRktG-lqo8J6g1q7gGkU4vg0hoCpIsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

 

 

[Cerina]

2 hours ago, Jedigoat said:

Bourbon or Scotch?  It's easy to find a great bourbon in that price range.  For Scotch, it would be a little tougher.

Scotch. And lay it on me anyway. I might forgo another gift idea to add money to the budget. 

[The Choc]

If you want to look Irish Whiskey both Green Spot and Red Breast are very good. Green Spot would fall into your price range, Red Breast more but not too much. 

[Darth Krawlie]

can confirm green spot

irish > scotch and bourbon

[Destiny Skywalker]

Smoky or not smoky?

[Destiny Skywalker]

These were my husband's recommendations for that price range.

[Odine]

Talisker-  is a very nice single malt from Skye around £40-£50 (from memory)a bottle and it looks classy. 

https://www.malts.com/en-row/brands/talisker

Personally I prefer Japanese whiskey than scotch, it's generally way smoother but more often they are blend than single malt. I'm not a whisky nerd but I generally don't like whiskey that makes me feel like it's trying to make me prove how much of a man I am by drinking it. 

if you can find it I highly recommend Yamazaki, which is a single malt. Might be creeping up in the more expensive territory though 

https://www.distillersdirect.com/products/suntory-yamazaki-distillers-reserve-70cl?variant=42147441410229&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NWrBhD-ARIsAFCKwWu7wTDZzeKjASmqfIEifgZGaEHOM0zhIvXaQ99rK-86GTrmx8XtAsoaAijMEALw_wcB

My neighbour who is a proper scotch nerd says 12 year old is the magic number. Something about 12year aged single malt makes it way smoother than younger whiskeys. I don't know why, but he had some long winded answer why 

 

[Ms. Spam]

I love gifting booze because it's not normally something I spend money on so I give the good stuff for the holidays. Usually hoping that someone will get me a super good rum in return.

I will use Spec's website because Spec's is ten thousand time's better than Total Wine and More, Twin Liquors or D&B's in Texas. (Twin when it has it's dollar day sales is great but Spec's has a 5% cash price discount which is awesome.)

Last year a friend asked for TX Whiskey and it's surprisingly good. It had me at honey butter banana caramel notes. LOL It went out of stock last year in San Antonio Specs $32.00

Tx Blended Whiskey (specsonline.com)

Then there's this one, Bulleit. $49

Bulleit 95 Small Batch Rye Whiskey (specsonline.com)

While we're on the subject of Booze,

Any white wine recommendations? I got two in the family who I get a good bottle of white. They don't like dry wines as much as they life fruity not too sweet ones. I can even run to reds. I don't drink wine so I suck at that. 

[Jedigoat]

20 hours ago, Cerina said:

Scotch. And lay it on me anyway. I might forgo another gift idea to add money to the budget. 

Everyone's given some good recs.  (But you're locco if you think Irish is better than Scotch or bourbon, haha)  That being said, Redbreast and Green Spot are great.  

For Scotch, , Highland Park 12, Oban, and Talisker are easy to find and great.  If you want to go nuts and get the best, IMO, go for Lagavulin 16.  

[Jedigoat]

4 hours ago, Ms. Spam said:

 

While we're on the subject of Booze,

Any white wine recommendations? I got two in the family who I get a good bottle of white. They don't like dry wines as much as they life fruity not too sweet ones. I can even run to reds. I don't drink wine so I suck at that. 

Not a wine guy, BUT Oliver Wine in Bloomington IN does US shipping.  They have a sweet red that is super popular around here.  I always pick up a  bottle during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  I believe they're available in most regions as well. 

[monkeygirl]

My favorite white wine is Duckhorn Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. Nicely balanced, affordable, fast, crisp finish.

 

[Destiny Skywalker]

Oh I love picking out wine! I'm good at picking out wine for people who don't know wine.

If they like sweeter whites, Riesling is almost always the safest bet (don't get the super sweet stuff, though). Riskier but usually a good payoff is a Gerwurtztramier or Viognier. Personally I love a good sauv blanc like Tami likes, but it tends to be a little too dry for those that like sweeter wines.

Please don't buy any Texas wine, that shit is rancid. Sorry, it's just too damn hot to grow good wine grapes. Stick to west coast wine or European stuff.

I also prefer Japanese whiskey. My bottle of choice is Hibiki. My husband likes Angel's Envy rye. I prefer bourbon to rye. Old Fashioned is my go to liquor drink as of late.

[Jedigoat]

5 hours ago, Destiny Skywalker said:

I also prefer Japanese whiskey. My bottle of choice is Hibiki. My husband likes Angel's Envy rye. I prefer bourbon to rye. Old Fashioned is my go to liquor drink as of late.

Yes!  I forgot to mention Japanese wine.  It's great stuff.

[Odine]

This  is my favourite white wine.. 

And this is a banging light peppery red that I had last Christmas and wanted more bottles of. Shame its out of stock at my local 

And this tasty one not least because it comes in 1L bottle 

 

 

[monkeygirl]

I like the name of the Italian wine!

 

[Ms. Spam]

Soooo judge my booze gifts.

For my brother I bought a Texas whiskey called Lone Star 1835. It's got a dumb come and take it cannon from that flag but it should be pretty good. There's an in joke because, well, my brother is a raging liberal so this could be fun. I didn't realize the label came with it. I just liked the way the guy described it.

For a brother in law I got an Italian chianti from RisVeglio. They are foodie eaters and do pasta and fresh vegetables and really enjoy a glass with their meals. 

For my brother's mother in law I got a Pinot Noir from Bliss Family Vineyards 2019 Should be a really good California wine.

Then for my brother's wife I got a Sauvignon Blanc from Prize 2021 Good ole Napa.

And lastly apparently I stole a bottle of Bacardi black cherry for making new years drinks for MEEEEE. When I got home I checked the receipt because that's what I do and discovered the guy forgot to scan it or missed it. 

All of that for $70. 

They were pretty gone over for the holiday and sold out of the duckhorn, Tami.

Odine! I almost bought the stuff you suggested but they were a little out of my price range. I was aiming for 15$ or less for people in my family who are not quite related but since they're kinda hosting I should bring something.

[Odine]

Yeah that's fair. Some of those natural wines are spenny. Like you can get  half decent conventional wine for £10-£12 but naturals the average price for something tasty seems to be closer to £18. They're definitely treats more for immediate close family rather than second cousins and aunts and stuff.