Zzul Mapping Music (and whisk(e)y) thread

Whisky: Tamdhu Batch Strength 006

Very strong whisky, just over 58%, but still surprisingly smooth neat. Prefer a bit of water in this one but not too much since it is already smooth given the abv. Tamdhu in general is highly recommended - the 12 year old is one of my favorites. Just wish the bottle didn't look like it does.. I guess I prefer a less flashy looking bottle.

Hahaha. Actually Port Charlotte ended up being my favorite out of the younger smoky whiskies that everyone recommends (Laphroaig, Talisker, Ardbeg). Laphroaig 10 I still drink too mainly because it is much cheaper at around the mid $40s and I get 99% of the enjoyment out of it compared to Port Charlotte 10. My personal preference is Port Charlotte/Laphroaig, then Talisker, then Ardbeg.

Port Charlotte 10 is also bottled at 50% which I appreciate greatly and isn't a whisky that I need to add any water to in order to get maximum enjoyment. My main reason for enjoying it so much however is that it reminds me of vacationing in Port Aransas each summer as a kid. The flavor and smell reminds me of being back in the gulf (so take from that what you will), but I love the stuff. For this reason it will always be one of my favorites.

Tbh I highly recommend any of the peated scotch whiskies. IMO the best ones are the younger ones, especially Port Charlotte and Laphroaig for my tastes, because of the price. It isn't something I am dropping $100 at the store for when I need a refill so I can drink it whenever. I think Talisker 18 or Lagavulin 16 are still better tasting still, but they are obviously in different price points.

As an aside it is funny how older whiskies are just so different in comparison to the younger stuff. Redbreast 27 is the one that comes to mind the most (I had batch 3). It was like drinking peaches/nectarines and was so easy to drink even at 53%. So hard to compare stuff. Fascinates me how leaving something in wooden casks changes the flavor so much.

Happy drinking.

Whisky: Knockdhu 2008 13 year old sherry cask finish 57.2% abv
A very solid whisky which was released for Specs Texas. Requires a bit of water because it isn't as smooth as higher abv whiskies in my collection. Still fun to pull out every once in a while. It has a very unique flavor unlike other whiskies I have had. It has kind of a sweet soapy/lemon/tangy flavor. An acquired taste for sure.

I'm enjoying these whiskey reviews. Music is pretty good too.

Hibiki Harmony. It is ~$100, and a blend, but it is very good. Highly recommended.

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Super jealous if you saw them when Portnoy was still on drums. I saw them a few times when they were playing Scenes From a Memory in its entirety as their encore a few years ago. Amazing show.

Yeah Awake is such an amazing record. Definitely in my top 3 DT albums.

Whisky: Balvenie 12 Double Wood

In short this is one of my favorite scotches. I get such a heavy orange note from this whisky that I can't help but love it to death (oranges are one of my favorite foods). It is so easy to drink too at 43% and doesn't require any water. This scotch is in the kill-myself range of whiskies - I have to execute a very high level of restraint to make sure I stick to my couple oz limit otherwise it is easy for me to forget that I am drinking an alcoholic beverage and go way overboard. Fits my tastes to a T. Such an easy recommendation from me (and it is the cheapest Balvenie which is even better). Will always have a bottle of this on my cask.

Apparently some of the whisky snobs on youtube bash this whisky for being chill-filtered, not having natural color, and being below a certain abv. Tbh this whisky makes me just want to ignore all of these comments and avoid those videos completely.

Good music selection, Haken is a bit too heavy for my taste but Scale the Summit is top tier, I really enjoy instrumental progressive as it ties nicely into jazz fusion, which I also enjoy a lot.

Whiskey: Blanton's 46.5 abv

I have only heard about this bottle and have never really gone out of my way to try it. As luck would have it I found it randomly sitting in one of the smaller stores I frequent so I grabbed it.

It is a very easy bourbon to drink and very well put together - IMO if you aren't really into bourbon and want to try something I would say get this if you can find it for a fair price (sticker is ~$60 or something). If you are already into bourbon, scotch, etc I would say don't go out of your way to find this or pay a lot of money for a bottle because it really is just a good example of a good but safe bourbon. I would be able to recommend this more I think if it was a higher proof (there is a 'gold' version and also a cask strength version which is probably amazing but not spending the amount of money required for a bottle after the 46.5% version being just 'ok' in my books).

Anyways it was fun finding a bottle of Blanton's because of how hyped up it is but it is *definitely* over hyped IMO.

Whiskey: Garrison Brothers Single Barrel 47% abv

In short this is one of my new favorites. The flavors in this whiskey are so strong that I can't help but love it. It is like I am drinking the wood from the cask. Highly recommended. Not much more to say.

As an example my RedBreast 27 I polished off earlier this year was 6 months old. Still tasted great.

You have to start worrying about having too much air in the bottle. Some people talk about re-bottling their whiskies to preserve them for even longer. But tbh I share mine so much with friends and family that they don't ever last too long.