i was in the same position about 3 years ago - but love them now.
I’m glad you have managed to move
I don’t know if these are any good but I noticed our local co-op had a few whiskies at £22
Somebody posted the Finlaggan cask strength, was it Chris? Anyroad, any thoughts on it would be welcome, considering buying a bottle.
It’s kinda solid at its price point Stu. Definitely a rung below the Port Askaig 100° proof at least fer me.
I’ve found it has improved somewhat, as I’ve got further into the bottle, doubtless helped by a little oxidation. It has slight but quite present medicinal notes & a good if undramatic level of smoky/peat notes. It is probably the most Laphroig like of any of the undisclosed distillery Islay single malts I’ve tried so far.
I find it a little mercurial at times, in that sometimes I enjoy it immensely & others I find it decent if not outstanding. It probably works best as one to kick off with & not following on from summat that has a heavy sherry influence.
Ralfy rates it quite highly in his review from 2013.
Cheers Chris. I’ll get a bottle in. It’s funny how a dram from the same bottle can really hit the spot at times, and be underwhelming the next. I love the PA100, another that I will always keep a bottle in.
Enjoying the Smokehead, first dram this evening. Your description is absolutely spot on. And pricing also. Sub 40, it works really well. At 31, as I bought it, a bargain. But it’s back up at 55 quid now on Amazon, and for that price, there are a lot I would buy first. But well worth seeking out on offer. I’ve no idea which distillery it’s from though!
I’ve seen it on offer with quite encouraging regularity this year, though think the more recent pricing deals have been at the sharper end.
There is quite a lot of supposition that it’s Ardbeg & I’ve seen some chatter that the Smokehead folk have an exclusive deal from 2018 at least with the Ardbeg distillery.
Glenfarclas 25 down to a hundred notes at Amazon.
New arrival, and first dram this evening of the Arran 10. Lovely. And fantastic value for money. I already have the Sauternes ( on second bottle ) which I love, and this is looking like a firm favourite also. Bodega cask & Bothy on the list to buy soon also…
Further down the dram now. Bloody hell, this is good whisky! And for a relatively new distillery also. Fantastic.
Couple more bottles ordered & arriving tomorrow.
Been curious to try this 'un fer a while, it seems to garner mostly positive reviews on the web & also M.o.M./Amacuntz customer reviews. Unusually for a sub £30 blended whisky, it is none chill filtered & bottled at a hearty 50% ABV.
I’ve been warming more & more to the Finlaggan cask strength single malt over my last few glasses, so ordered another today @ only £34 with Amacuntz subscribe & save.
Thank you for the tip on the Cutty Sark. Duly ordered.
I’ve also ordered one of these because it sounds interesting
Your Tomatin will be nice. I have this one and it’s lovely:
Really enjoying the Finlaggan, and will definitely replace it when it’s finished. Be interested in how you find the Cutty Sark, one I hadn’t considered before. It’s got a great story behind it.
Chris, what’s the Scarabus batch strength like?
Really quite like it Stu, enough so that I bought a second bottle a couple of weeks back. Somewhat lighter in style to the Port Askaig 100 proof, but very fresh, enjoyable & honest. The pricing is very attractive & I think it offers fine vfm. Nicely balanced smokiness & typical Islay maritime notes. Kinda deceptive & understated, just really quite nice overall.
Wuz very impressed with t’ first dram of Cutty Sark Prohibition last night. Defo ‘aving another tonight & will try & post up some tasting notes in t’ moar booze thread later.
A few spaces have been left on the shelves after finishing some of the dregs of fairly bland supermarket whiskies that have been bought over the years… As I didn’t want the gaps getting dusty thought I should do something about it! Bit of a change from the Islays I have been going for recently… The Glencadam was very highly reviewed recently by Ralfy. The Chivas was down to 23 quid from 35 in Tesco, and is, at 13 yes, supposed to be quite a step up from the 12. Also fancied giving a blend a fair go, after many years of thinking single malt was the only way to go.
The Glenmorangie X is a new release, meant for mixing but possibly also decent neat. As I got in to whisky from them, I thought it would be interesting to try. And the Glengoyne also a bit different to what I have been buying recently…