Whisky under $100 (1 Viewer)
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Bowmore Darkest http://www.bowmore.com/whiskies/15-years-old-darkest/
Is that AUD or USD?
I don't rate the Bowmore Darkest. It's fine but not great...
What do you like? Sweet? Smokey?
detroitdad
Royal Flush
Forged oak
Single Malts that are easy(ish) to find:
Aberlour A'Bunadh ~ $70
Ardbeg Uigeadail ~ $70
Glendronach 15 ~ $70
Lagavulin 12 ~ $100
Laphroaig Quarter Cask - $60
Those five malts are very different... If you're not familiar with Laphroaig you might be in for a surprise, and not necessarily a good one
Blended Scotch:
Get Single Malt instead
Not sure if you're trying to leave Bourbons out because of your spelling without the 'e' but just in case American whiskey is fair game:
Bourbon:
No idea about availability down under but here's a few... For Bourbon you don't have to get close to $100 for a good bottle:
Angel's Envy ~ $40
Elmer T Lee ~ $35
Noah's Mill ~ $50
Four Roses Single Barrel ~ $40
If you do want to splurge:
Jefferson's Ocean ~ $85
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition ~ $100
Eagle Rare 17 ~ $100
Rye:
High West Rendezvous ~ $60
Sláinte!!!
Aberlour A'Bunadh ~ $70
Ardbeg Uigeadail ~ $70
Glendronach 15 ~ $70
Lagavulin 12 ~ $100
Laphroaig Quarter Cask - $60
Those five malts are very different... If you're not familiar with Laphroaig you might be in for a surprise, and not necessarily a good one
Blended Scotch:
Get Single Malt instead
Not sure if you're trying to leave Bourbons out because of your spelling without the 'e'
but just in case American whiskey is fair game:Bourbon:
No idea about availability down under but here's a few... For Bourbon you don't have to get close to $100 for a good bottle:
Angel's Envy ~ $40
Elmer T Lee ~ $35
Noah's Mill ~ $50
Four Roses Single Barrel ~ $40
If you do want to splurge:
Jefferson's Ocean ~ $85
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition ~ $100
Eagle Rare 17 ~ $100
Rye:
High West Rendezvous ~ $60
Sláinte!!!
General novice. I drink cheaper stuff usually. So open to suggestion to try. Either currency.
Single Malts that are easy(ish) to find:
Aberlour A'Bunadh ~ $70
Ardbeg Uigeadail ~ $70
Glendronach 15 ~ $70
Lagavulin 12 ~ $100
Laphroaig Quarter Cask - $60
Those five malts are very different... If you're not familiar with Laphroaig you might be in for a surprise, and not necessarily a good one
Blended Scotch:
Get Single Malt instead
Not sure if you're trying to leave Bourbons out because of your spelling without the 'e'
Bourbon:
No idea about availability down under but here's a few... For Bourbon you don't have to get close to $100 for a good bottle:
Angel's Envy ~ $40
Elmer T Lee ~ $35
Noah's Mill ~ $50
Four Roses Single Barrel ~ $40
If you do want to splurge:
Jefferson's Ocean ~ $85
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition ~ $100
Eagle Rare 17 ~ $100
Rye:
High West Rendezvous ~ $60
Sláinte!!!
Yeah not a bourbon fan at all. Thanks for the other suggestions though.
gopherblue
Straight Flush
I second Lagavulin 12. But you have to like peaty whiskies.
Bloody Marvelous
3 of a Kind
So that narrows it down to either Scotch or Japanese whisky.
You can't go wrong with the sherried Highland Park 18. If you like peaty, and a bit of sherry, try the Ardbeg Uigeadail. These are around € 50-70 in Europe which would put them within the $100 mark, but prices may be higher in Australia.
You could also try a Suntory Hibiki or Nikka Yoichi 10.
The standard Lagavulin is the 16yo (which is excellent
). There are 12yo Lagavulins, but they're limited bottlings and generally quite pricey.
The standard Lagavulin is the 16yo (which is excellent
Very good point BM... Those buying Lagavulin for the first time might not find the 12yo easily but can then think well, I found the 16yo for cheaper than the 12yo!
I LOVE them both with a slight preference for the 12yo... Around here it's about $10 to $30 more than the 16yo...
I'd be surprised if you can find the Highland Park 18 for $100. Bottles I've seen recently in the UK go for £120 up. Grab one if you can find it, great stuff. Nice sweetness with a hint of smoke, crazy long finish.
The Ardbegs are full on peat monsters not that accessible... Same for Lagavulin. Amazing stuff but not a great start-out whisky, could well result in a wtf?!? taste experience!
I love the Aberlour Abundah. Heavily sherried but strong so it stands up to a fair amount of water being added - mix to taste. Retails between £35-50 in the UK.
Dalmore does a lot for the export market - maybe the 18 if you can get it?
The Ardbegs are full on peat monsters not that accessible... Same for Lagavulin. Amazing stuff but not a great start-out whisky, could well result in a wtf?!? taste experience!
I love the Aberlour Abundah. Heavily sherried but strong so it stands up to a fair amount of water being added - mix to taste. Retails between £35-50 in the UK.
Dalmore does a lot for the export market - maybe the 18 if you can get it?
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gopherblue
Straight Flush
Also, less peaty and more approachable would be Oban 14 or Longrow. Both excellent drams. Highland Park is also lovely.
guinness
Flush
I always get Lagavulin due to a similar poll I had with my live friends several years ago.
I stand by my suggestion. Darkest is wonderfully different from the cheap stuff, and obvious enough to be appreciated by people who haven't spent time cultivating a pallet. Smokey and slightly sweet, you won't regret it. 
:
:I heartily recommend a 'research' field trip to a whisky bar.
Try a bunch different whiskies (start with Speyside and work your way through to Islay, toffee/vanilla/caramel --> smokey/peat).
Find a flava range you like, check out the 15-18 year olds available for those. The older they get, the mellower/more well rounded they tend to become.
Make sure you have a week jug of water on hand to incrementally add water to the dram to unlock its depths.
Great excuse for a night out!
Try a bunch different whiskies (start with Speyside and work your way through to Islay, toffee/vanilla/caramel --> smokey/peat).
Find a flava range you like, check out the 15-18 year olds available for those. The older they get, the mellower/more well rounded they tend to become.
Make sure you have a week jug of water on hand to incrementally add water to the dram to unlock its depths.
Great excuse for a night out!
> Where's @pltrgyst ?
I'm here. You and Chaos have pretty well summed things up IMO -- anything I would add would be mostly individual taste. So...
Excellent advice. Though I would start with a lowland whisky -- maybe Auchentoshan or Glenkinchie. Then Speyside (Cragganmore), Highland (Clynelish), other islands (Jura), Islay (Ardbeg or Lagavulin), to sample the broad range of flavors.
And an eye dropper, so you don't overdo it. Seriously. Add your water about two or three drops at a time, and sample as you go.
As to Bowmore Darkest, I like it a lot. But it's not a gateway whisky to many others, except possibly Loch Dhu ("The Black Scotch"), which is definitely an acquired taste.
For a general serving at a group event, the Balvenie Doublewood is a fine quality, reasonably-priced whisky, as are Longmorn 12 and Dalmore 12. Highland Park 12 is a great all-rounder.
The Aberlour A'Bunadh is, for me, the finest big and complex sherry cask finished whisky without an age specification or vintage. It used to be ~$70, but now, down here in FL, it's barely under $100.
(Oban Little Bay will be sampled Tuesday night, when Nancy gets back from Colorado. She'd probably kill me if I cracked it while she's away... )
:
I'm here. You and Chaos have pretty well summed things up IMO -- anything I would add would be mostly individual taste. So...
Excellent advice. Though I would start with a lowland whisky -- maybe Auchentoshan or Glenkinchie. Then Speyside (Cragganmore), Highland (Clynelish), other islands (Jura), Islay (Ardbeg or Lagavulin), to sample the broad range of flavors.
And an eye dropper, so you don't overdo it. Seriously. Add your water about two or three drops at a time, and sample as you go.
As to Bowmore Darkest, I like it a lot. But it's not a gateway whisky to many others, except possibly Loch Dhu ("The Black Scotch"), which is definitely an acquired taste.
For a general serving at a group event, the Balvenie Doublewood is a fine quality, reasonably-priced whisky, as are Longmorn 12 and Dalmore 12. Highland Park 12 is a great all-rounder.
The Aberlour A'Bunadh is, for me, the finest big and complex sherry cask finished whisky without an age specification or vintage. It used to be ~$70, but now, down here in FL, it's barely under $100.
(Oban Little Bay will be sampled Tuesday night, when Nancy gets back from Colorado. She'd probably kill me if I cracked it while she's away... )
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That should've been 'wee' jug of water. Lousy autocorrect grumble grumble
Auchentoshan Three Wood is good.
Have to agree - the Aberlour A'Bunadh is great for a NAS whisky. The flavours you can get out of it, depending on how much water you add, is surprising.
If you don't have an eye dropper, dip your finger in the water and drip-drop a couple of drops in, taste, add a few more until you hit the sweet spot for your palette.
I'm reminded of a fella who won the Black Cat bad-beat jackpot, which was a bottle of malt (Highland Park 17 bottled by Carn Mor, iirc). He was the dad of a reg (and now a reg himself), and a self-certified whisky nut. He cracked the BBJ bottle after the game and added water. His rule was "half malt, half water, and add more water the older it is"
I'll bet a lot of great malts have died at his hands! 
Auchentoshan Three Wood is good.
Have to agree - the Aberlour A'Bunadh is great for a NAS whisky. The flavours you can get out of it, depending on how much water you add, is surprising.
If you don't have an eye dropper, dip your finger in the water and drip-drop a couple of drops in, taste, add a few more until you hit the sweet spot for your palette.
I'm reminded of a fella who won the Black Cat bad-beat jackpot, which was a bottle of malt (Highland Park 17 bottled by Carn Mor, iirc). He was the dad of a reg (and now a reg himself), and a self-certified whisky nut. He cracked the BBJ bottle after the game and added water. His rule was "half malt, half water, and add more water the older it is"
I'll bet a lot of great malts have died at his hands!
{shudder} People like that shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.
Lagavulin 16 is fantastic but it took me a while for my palate to develop and for me to 'get' peaty whiskies. Love several of them.
Ardbeg Corryvrecken is another great NAS - like some ordered up a peaty napalm strike is your mouth. B00M!!! Wouldn't not recommend buying a bottle blind but if you see it in a bar, give it a try!
Ardbeg Corryvrecken is another great NAS - like some ordered up a peaty napalm strike is your mouth. B00M!!! Wouldn't not recommend buying a bottle blind but if you see it in a bar, give it a try!
> Where's @pltrgyst ?
I'm here. You and Chaos have pretty well summed things up IMO -- anything I would add would be mostly individual taste. So...
Excellent advice. Though I would start with a lowland whisky -- maybe Auchentoshan or Glenkinchie. Then Speyside (Cragganmore), Highland (Clynelish), other islands (Jura), Islay (Ardbeg or Lagavulin), to sample the broad range of flavors.
And an eye dropper, so you don't overdo it. Seriously. Add your water about two or three drops at a time, and sample as you go.
As to Bowmore Darkest, I like it a lot. But it's not a gateway whisky to many others, except possibly Loch Dhu ("The Black Scotch"), which is definitely an acquired taste.
For a general serving at a group event, the Balvenie Doublewood is a fine quality, reasonably-priced whisky, as are Longmorn 12 and Dalmore 12. Highland Park 12 is a great all-rounder.
The Aberlour A'Bunadh is, for me, the finest big and complex sherry cask finished whisky without an age specification or vintage. It used to be ~$70, but now, down here in FL, it's barely under $100.
(Oban Little Bay will be sampled Tuesday night, when Nancy gets back from Colorado. She'd probably kill me if I cracked it while she's away... )
Perfect advice all around!!
Agree on ALL accounts... Sort of a single malt primer really... The combo of @pltrgyst , @Bloody Marvelous , @Toby and others is hand to beat...
Can't remember
will go look for the bottle.
That's an outstanding dram Paul!! I hope you liked it man...
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