Unusual question regarding vintage Jack Daniels.

[doghouse]

Scott is a fine gentleman and an excellent judge of good whiskey and scotch. There is no such thing as aging the stuff in the bottle. It is distilled and not fermented in the wine sense. Take it out of the barrel and it goes nowhere. It also makes me laugh when people have whiskey or scotch that is over 10-12 years old and think they have something great.

Let me help you fools. Scotch and whisky (whiskey) can actually deteriorate beyond twelve years. I have tasted much of it that was twenty years old and well past its prime. That same barrel would have been great five or ten years before. I forget the brand names but I noticed this when taste testing scotch from scotland. Downing a Speyside 12 YO now. :cheers1:

Regards,

J

Thank you. That makes sense when you think about the different processes it takes to make scotch or whiskey vs. wine.

I'm fairly new to Scotch. The first I had was a cheap brand I bought in Hot Springs for my anniversiary. It tasted like an ashtray. Seriously! lol
I wouldn't touch the stuff for years. Then, a friend bought me a bottle of Glenn Fiddich (sp?) I've had a few bottles of that and I'm hooked!

Thanks to this discussion I am heading to the liquor store tommorow. (I live in the bible belt, so no alcohol on Sundays) Could anyone be a sweetheart and recommend a scotch or two that a newbie might like? I'm anxious to try something new, but a little intimidated by the variety.

(edit: After I posted this my husband reminded me we have also had Glenlivet(sp?)

 

[carebear]

Don't limit yourself just to "scotch", try some bourbons and the Irish whiskeys.

It can get expensive buying a bottle of something you might not like (since I'm out of driving distance, I'll drink anything), so order by the glass when you are out and about. Or cultivate knowledgeable (but not Scotch snob) friends.

 

[doghouse]

Don't limit yourself just to "scotch", try some bourbons and the Irish whiskeys.

It can get expensive buying a bottle of something you might not like (since I'm out of driving distance, I'll drink anything), so order by the glass when you are out and about. Or cultivate knowledgeable (but not Scotch snob) friends.

Heh. I'm certainly NOT limiting myself to just Scotch. We drink bourbon several times a week. (although admittedly its usually not the expensive stuff)
Irish whiskey shows up in my decanter at least twice a month.

Ordering by the glass would be great, but around "these parts" people only drink cheap whiskey and Bud Light. There isn't exactly a great variety of scotch at the local bars. Needless to say, I don't know anyone around here that drinks Scotch. [huh]

 

[carebear]

Ohhhh ARKANSAS Arkansas... :eusa_doh:

Sorry for the bourbon mention then.

I like Laphroig but some people who like the Glens don't.

 

[doghouse]

Ohhhh ARKANSAS Arkansas... :eusa_doh:

Sorry for the bourbon mention then.

I like Laphroig but some people who like the Glens don't.

haha. I'm from Texas dangit!

Is Laphroig real peaty?

 

[BellyTank]

BT - How was the stuff anyway??

It was OK- we drank it with Ginger Ale anyway...

B
T

 

[Kt Templar]

Scott is a fine gentleman and an excellent judge of good whiskey and scotch. There is no such thing as aging the stuff in the bottle. It is distilled and not fermented in the wine sense. Take it out of the barrel and it goes nowhere. It also makes me laugh when people have whiskey or scotch that is over 10-12 years old and think they have something great.

Let me help you fools. Scotch and whisky (whiskey) can actually deteriorate beyond twelve years. I have tasted much of it that was twenty years old and well past its prime. That same barrel would have been great five or ten years before. I forget the brand names but I noticed this when taste testing scotch from scotland. Downing a Speyside 12 YO now. :cheers1:

Regards,

J

Ok, I'll take onboard the notion that spirits do not mature in the bottle. This is re-iterated on the Courvoisier web site and they also suggest that the opened spirit should be consumed within 12 months (but of course they would!).

The one I had was given to my dad when he toured the Remy Martin distillery as a guest of the family and they may have given him something special.

But, are you saying that all the 18, 24, 40 YO etc etc labeled whiskys sold by distillers out there are just a marketing gimmick and the spirit is past it?

 

[farnham54]

Here's a thought on trying something new:

Be adventurous. Buy something exciting and random. If you don't like it, mix it with Dr. Pepper--it makes everything better.

Honestly--A friend bought a bottle of some TERRIBLE whisky (the kind you usually find empty in ditches or encased in a brown bag). Couldn't stomach the stuff to save our lives. 2 liters of Dr. Pepper later and the night gets a bit hazy...but I do remember it tasting good in that mix!


I know Some folks will be appalled at this suggestion. I say drink what you LIKE, and damn the pedigree.

Cheers
Craig

 

[scotrace]

But, are you saying that all the 18, 24, 40 YO etc etc labeled whiskys sold by distillers out there are just a marketing gimmick and the spirit is past it?

Not at all. But that maturation period took place before bottling. Once it is bottled, the age is locked. A 20 year old spirit is going to be (generally speaking) better than a 5 year old spirit, and will be priced accordingly. The distiller also has a heavy investment in warehousing those barrels over the decades.

 

[carebear]

But, are you saying that all the 18, 24, 40 YO etc etc labeled whiskys sold by distillers out there are just a marketing gimmick and the spirit is past it?

Not at all. But that maturation period took place before bottling. Once it is bottled, the age is locked. A 20 year old spirit is going to be (generally speaking) better than a 5 year old spirit, and will be priced accordingly. The distiller also has a heavy investment in warehousing those barrels over the decades.

I think he was questioning Powers' edict.

Let me help you fools. Scotch and whisky (whiskey) can actually deteriorate beyond twelve years. I have tasted much of it that was twenty years old and well past its prime. That same barrel would have been great five or ten years before.

 

[scotrace]

.

Ah. My mistake.

I never question JamesPowers. He knows where all the bodies are buried.

 

[griffer]

haha. I'm from Texas dangit!

Is Laphroig real peaty?

Laphroaig was my first and still one of my favorite scotches.

Very peaty, and not very smooth, i think you acquire a taste for it.

I tell people it's like drinking a Texas barbecue- and I'm not talking grill, I'm talking smoke pit. From one Texan to another, you know what I'm talking about.

I love it though. I have tasted the flight, and I still like the younger stuff. It's more brash, kicks me more, and it takes me back to my first sip.

Don't let this throw you though, it is a complex set of flavors, balanced. It is not not the kick of cheap rot gut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laphroaig

 

[carebear]

What griffer said.

It does have a heavy smokey taste. As for the "kick"...

Where there's smoke, there's often fire. lol

 

[OldSkoolFrat]

Alas

Jack Daniels would never last 30 years in my house.

 

[jamespowers]

But, are you saying that all the 18, 24, 40 YO etc etc labeled whiskys sold by distillers out there are just a marketing gimmick and the spirit is past it?

It is not always the case but yes. I have had some horrible whisky from makers that was 40 YO while their 12 year old was superior. Age in whisky is tricky. It doesn't necessarily impart smoothness or clarify the flavor. In most of the cases I have experienced, it gives it time to oxidize and make the flavor more sharp and biting to the tongue.
If other have comments and specific brand examples otherwise then please cite them. I am willing to try other brands of Scotch or Irish Whisky.

Just about any Scotch would be recommended but from your previous experience with Scotch, I would recommend either a Highland Malt or a Speyside. Last evening a few friends and I tried The Speyside. It got one good and looped. lol I like Talisker and The Macallan.

Regards,

J

 

[doghouse]

Thanks so much everyone. I look forward to trying all these out.

 

[jamespowers]

I think he was questioning Powers' edict.

Holy Crimony! I meant to write "the fools" not "you fools." :eusa_doh: Sorry for the mistake. That does sound ridiculous. I was responding to the previous mention of the person who thought keeping a bottle around for decades made it better and lauded it over the guests.

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Holy Crimony! I meant to write "the fools" not "you fools." :eusa_doh: Sorry for the mistake. That does sound ridiculous. I was responding to the previous mention of the person who thought keeping a bottle around for decades made it better and lauded it over the guests.

Regards,

J

Thinking about it and rereading it further, I think I just left out one letter---r. So it should be "your fools." :eusa_doh: What a difference a letter makes. Sorry about that.
Yes, I am a whisky snob. It brings to mind the term rot gut. The cheap stuff will rot your guts. I won't even bring up how the term got adopted from body snatchers in the old days who used to use barrels of alcohol to hide and preserve the bodies for later use in college room disections.

Regards,

J

 

[carebear]

Thinking about it and rereading it further, I think I just left out one letter---r. So it should be "your fools." :eusa_doh: What a difference a letter makes. Sorry about that.
Yes, I am a whisky snob. It brings to mind the term rot gut. The cheap stuff will rot your guts. I won't even bring up how the term got adopted from body snatchers in the old days who used to use barrels of alcohol to hide and preserve the bodies for later use in college room disections.

Regards,

J

If the cadaver so used was 4 decades along, would that make the alcohol 40 year old whiskey?

 

[jamespowers]

If the cadaver so used was 4 decades along, would that make the alcohol 40 year old whiskey?

Even more wierd was that the body snatchers sold the whiskey to the students after they were done using it---thus rot gut.
It would still be only as old as it was in the barrel. The 40 year old addition makes it a blend and not a single malt though.

Regards,

J