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Which bottle of Scotch would you buy?

A

alphaiii

New Member
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Sep 12, 2004
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I was checking the sales in Montgomery County this week, and came across 3 bottles of Scotch I've wanted to buy that I thought were priced very reasonably.

Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year 32.99
Aberlour 10 Year 24.99
Glenlivet 12 Year 28.99

I haven't had the Aberlour 10 before, but I like both the Glenlivet and Balvenie. Taking into account that cost is an issue and I only plan to buy one (yes I know these are all inexpensive by Scotch standards, but I don't have alot of cash to burn at the moment), which 1 of the 3 would you pick as the best value?

Knowing that I like Balvenie DoubleWood and Glenlivet 12, but do not like Macallan 12, Johnny Walker Black, or McClelland's 12 Sherry Finish, and was pretty indifferent regarding Dalmore 12 (I'll drink it, but probably wouldn't buy a bottle), would anyone venture to guess whether I would or would not like the Aberlour 10?

No pressure, I promise not to yell if your guess turns out to be wrong at some point :D
 
The Aberlour 15 is just SO much better then the 10 I'd say wait until you could afford the 15 before I'd say to buy the 10. That leaves the other two and I'd take the Balvenie.
 
I agree with AVB on his choices. If you can't save, I'd go with the Balvenie since I feel the Glenlivet 12 isn't as good as the Glenfiddich 12 yo.
 
Mr Peat said:
I agree with AVB on his choices. If you can't save, I'd go with the Balvenie since I feel the Glenlivet 12 isn't as good as the Glenfiddich 12 yo.
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Funny you mention that Loren because when I first looked at this I almost recommended going with the Glenfiddich. Never had the Glenlivet, but the Balvenie is nice.
 
I'm not a fan at all of the Glenlivet 12yo and while I would take a Glenfiddich 12yo over the Glenlivet, I really don't like that one either.

I would highly recommend that you listen to AVB and spring for a better scotch than the three you listed. I'm relatively new to the single malt scene and I like the Glenfiddich 18yo and 21yo SO MUCH MORE than the 12yo. Yep, they cost more but to me they are well worth it.
 
If I found DoubleWood for $32.99 I'd probably have to get two. It's $49.99 here at the cheapest place in town!
 
I haven't seen the Aberlour 15 around anywhere, but I'll keep my eye open for it. What's it typically run nowadays (I saw it was around $40 when you did the review)?

Glenifiddich 12 is on sale for 28.99 as well, but since it's in almost any decent bar, I'll try it before I buy a bottle, just in case I don't like it.

As for springing for more expensive Scotch, it's just not something I'm in a position to do. Maybe when I start racking in more income I can splurge for more expensive choices, but for now I have to keep my tastes within a grad student's budget.

BTW, I'm not set on getting 1 of these 3, and I guess I should've pointed out in the original post that I am open to suggestions of others in that price range as well. I was just mentioning the few I found on sale that I've wanted to buy at some point, and I wanted to get an idea of how everyone would stack the Aberlour up to the other 2 choices. I may just pass on the Aberlour 10 altogether.

I thought $33 was a pretty good price on the Balvenie, and it seems most agree. Besides, since I can get Glenlivet 12 in almost any bar, maybe I don't need a bottle at home. So unless there are any other suggestions in this same price range that anyone thinks would be a better choice than the Balvenie, I'll probably grab a bottle of that this weekend.

Anyway, thanks for all of the recommendations.
 
Is 33$ a sale price? I can get if for the every once in a while around here but only when a sale is on. It is worth every penny at that price so grab 2 because they wont last long. :thumbs:
 
Bond said:
If I found DoubleWood for $32.99 I'd probably have to get two. It's $49.99 here at the cheapest place in town!
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Ouch, I know I wouldn't even be considering it at $50 a bottle.

Reminds me how many can't find Rock Hill Farms bourbon lower than $40, yet a local store stocks in regularly @ a $30 price tag. I guess MD has some decent prices on whiskies if you shop around.

Now when I want to complain how the tequila selection is too limited and some are overpriced here in MD, I'll need to remind myself that it could be worse - I could be running into the same problems with whisk(e)y as well.
 
denverdog said:
Is 33$ a sale price? I can get if for the every once in a while around here but only when a sale is on. It is worth every penny at that price so grab 2 because they wont last long. :thumbs:
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Yep it's a sale price. It runs around $40 regular price in Montgomery County, and $40-45 in most of the stores in the city.
 
$48 - 50 now.

alphaiii said:
I haven't seen the Aberlour 15 around anywhere, but I'll keep my eye open for it. What's it typically run nowadays (I saw it was around $40 when you did the review)?
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The Balvenie. Unless you added in Bowmore Darkest, then I'd be in trouble
 
My choice would be the Doublewood. I bartend on the weekends at an Irish Pub, and we have a mighty collection of scotch. I've tried many, and the Doublewood I would rank right up there with most of the good ones. Another fav of mine is Oban... if you've not tried it, check it out.
 
As for the Aberlour, call a few bars and try to find somebody that carries it. There's no shame in that, and you can try before you buy!
 
Bond said:
If I found DoubleWood for $32.99 I'd probably have to get two. It's $49.99 here at the cheapest place in town!
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Hell, at that price I'd buy a case! I love that whisky, and I think it performs much better than many more expensive whiskies. I'm not a fan of Glenlivet, it's too plain. Aberlour 10 is slightly better, but not a lot, and it pales in comparison to Balvenie 12. As others have said, Glenfiddich 12 is a better choice than either Aberlour or Glenlivet, but I still prefer the Balvenie.

Other whiskies in the same price range as Balvenie 12 (it's normal range, not its sale range, as that's lower than most good whiskies in my experience) that I would recommend would be Cragganmore 12 and Highland Park 12.

If you don't like JW Black I'd stay away from Oban and other western highland whiskies (and of course Islay whiskies, which I absolutely adore :love: ) as they are very strong in the smoke, peat and iodine departments.

Edited to add: If you're indifferent about Dalmore 12, you'll likely feel the same about Aberlour 10, as IMO they're very similar drams.
 
I would suggest looking at the Highland Park 12 as well cant beat the qpr.

if you ever have the extra $ the 18yo is absolutely outstanding.

out of your picks I prefer the double wood.
 
The double wood is great. My brother bought me a bottle of the 15 year old Balvenie and it just is not the same. Stick with the 12-year double wood.
 
Well of course the Balvenie 15 isn't the same. First it is single barrel which means that it will be different from barrel to barrel and has no finish in sherry casks, just bourbon casks. I probably drink more Balvenie 15 then anything else and like it ALOT!
 
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