A new vice....scotch talk

jeff_connors

Well i discovered the single malt.....
I have been enjoying the hell out of this...Bowmore.."A big classic Islay style with a pungent nose full of smoke and seaweed. The palate is similarly flavourful with peat character and a great balance of sweet oak notes and salt flavours."
Two part question
Any scotch recommendation?
What cigar's, or cigar types pair well with scotch

clearlysuspect

I love scotch. I love cigars. I rarely like them together. I'm not sure what the big infatuation is with scotch and cigars. Must be a Ron White thing.

One2gofst

I like some single malt scotchs. Never had a blended that didn't taste like dish soap to me. That said, my "go to" scotch is the Balvenie Doublewood. Very interesting and pretty smooth and semi-reasonable in price.

dennisking

if you like your cigars to have a lot of spice and pepper, or a maduro, then enjoy them with a nice single malt. very awesome. i had my gurkha legend and black dragon last night with MacTarnahan's single malt scotch. awesome to say the least. I also recommend an Opus X with Glennfidich. i like my scotch either on the rocks or straight. on the rocks picks up a hint of sweetness but straight up blends a little better with the cigar.

BStayer

If you're fairly new to Scotch, I would recommend the Macalland 12 yo. It's incredibly smooth and simply wonderful. The Highland Park 12 yo is also very nice. If you like a stronger Scotch that's full of peat and smoke, you may like the Laphroaig 10 yo.

On a side note, bourbon is often times overlooked as an accompaniment to cigars. The other week I had a CAO Brazillia and a Knob Creek; they paired beautifully.

clearlysuspect

Alright, I figured if I was gonna make a bold statement like I did earlier, I'd better give it another shot tonight. Boy am I eating my words from above. I'm really enjoying some Wasmund's Single Malt with a Padilla Habano Toro right now. Guess I've never found this combo since this is the first Padilla Habano I've ever had and I just recently discovered the Wasmund's.

Krieg

One2gofst:

I like some single malt scotchs. Never had a blended that didn't taste like dish soap to me. That said, my "go to" scotch is the Balvenie Doublewood. Very interesting and pretty smooth and semi-reasonable in price.

You gotta try JW Blue Label. Best blended whiskey I have ever had.

Russ55

I like Macallan 12, 17, and 18. Dallwhinnie 15 is another one I like. There aren't too many cigars I like that pair well with scotch though.

One2gofst

Krieg:

One2gofst:

I like some single malt scotchs. Never had a blended that didn't taste like dish soap to me. That said, my "go to" scotch is the Balvenie Doublewood. Very interesting and pretty smooth and semi-reasonable in price.

You gotta try JW Blue Label. Best blended whiskey I have ever had.

I have. Better than others is about the best thing I can say about it Frankly, for the price I can get single malts that I really like.

LeftFive

A few of my favorites are Lagavulin 16 year(huge peat, bandage, smoke flavors) and Talisker 10 year(smokey, with a long, pepper finish), both the main production ages of those brands. Glenlivet is a smooth, floral/fruity single-malt you can get just about anywhere.
As BStayer said, Laphroig is great, Ardbeg is another peaty, smoky brand.

I'm with One2 on the Johnnie Blue, It's not a bad whiskey, but for the price there are so many other better choices. I could care less about it being blended either, I have a few Compass Box blends in my collection that are great(Peat Monster and Hedonism). Of course it's all individual taste.

I've gotta thank Jeff for starting this topic, I don't drink a lot of whiskey in the summer, but with the weather getting colder it's a great time to pick up the pace and this has got me salivating.
Cheers!

TatuajeVI

I realize it's pretty much sinful to bring up bourbon with scotch drinkers, but I find the peaty flavor too overpowering in scotch personally. I've had some really good scotch, but they were 80-100 a bottle - a bit out of my price range. So, I've found a few bourbons that I do enjoy the tastes. Jack Single Barrel is excellent, though technically not a bourbon, lol. Buffalo Trace is around $25 a bottle and fabulous if you can find it. Woodford Reserve is another smooth bourbon, in the mid-30s for price. Good stuff.

clearlysuspect

Jack Single Barrel is some good stuff. Not much of a Bourbon drinker, but I'll sit down to a bottle of that with you any day!

BStayer

TatuajeVI:

I realize it's pretty much sinful to bring up bourbon with scotch drinkers, but I find the peaty flavor too overpowering in scotch personally. I've had some really good scotch, but they were 80-100 a bottle - a bit out of my price range. So, I've found a few bourbons that I do enjoy the tastes. Jack Single Barrel is excellent, though technically not a bourbon, lol. Buffalo Trace is around $25 a bottle and fabulous if you can find it. Woodford Reserve is another smooth bourbon, in the mid-30s for price. Good stuff.

I'm a scotch drinker, but I'm also a bourbon drinker. I have found many bourbon drinkers who also enjoy a bit of Scotch. The other night I had a 5 Vegas Miami that was very nice, but I also had a bottle of Evan Williams Black. It always amazes me how a cigar is able to make a bourbon so much more enjoyable and that very thing happened with this pairing. The Evan Williams just really delivered profound flavors of vanilla, charred oak, and the boutique was just incredible. I love pairing cigars with spirits...fantastic stuff!

dennisking

i like a lot of liquors with a cigar. i love woodford reserve bourbon, chopin vodka with a twist of lime, tangueray ten gin and tonic, tullamore dew irish whiskey, phillips union whiskey, grand marnier or a margarita with 1800 or don julio with grand marnier and lime juice on the rocks with salt. shoot, i'm thirsty and it's monday morning at work. this is going to be a long day........

One2gofst

I really like Whisky, more so that Scotch, but the question was about scoth, lol.

Doesn't have to be bourbon for me. In fact my go to liquor is Jack Daniels. Love the single barrel, but not all the time, just for special occasions. The only Jack I don't really care for is the Gentleman Jack. IMO, it changes the taste from that signature "Jack" taste just for the sake of smoothing it out. But, just like cigars, I know a number of gents who prefer Gentleman Jack, so to each their own.

That would be my suggestion to anyone looking at finding a "good" any type of liquor. Try them. If you are out and see something you haven't had, order a glass of it. If you are over at a buddy's and he has something you haven't tried, go for it rather than your old stand-by. IMO, that is the best way of finding a drink that is good TO YOU.

Falcifer

Best Scotch bang for the buck imo is Talisker 10 and for a few dollahz more the Oban 14 (which is what I am currently in the middle of).

bacon.jay

I've wanted to try the Highland Park for a long time and I finally got a chance to last night and was sorely disappointed. Light to medium-bodied with an extremely short finish, and an overwhelmingly leathery taste. There was a hint of oak, but the leather just overpowered everything else in the mix. I didn't like it. I almost gave it back to the bartender after the second sip.

martymcg43

i'm quite partial to anything Johnnie Walker.

MAJORdorMo

I bought a Glenlivet 12 year at Bevmo (http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=706), not to drink until after midterms next Monday. ^_^

This is the first time I will have ever tried scotch, so I'm rather excited.

jeff_connors

Enjoy!!
Neat that is..

bacon.jay

jeff_connors:

Enjoy!!
Neat that is..

On the rocks.

boostdemon

never pour single malt over ice, it would be a waste.

Scotch goes well with certain cigars as coffee drinks go well with others but the wrong combo means you've essentially ruined the finer points of both.

McCallen 12 is fantastic if you like rich flavors. "The Macallan 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750ml Aged 12 years in sherry casks, this fine scotch has rich flavors of vanilla, toffee and a hint of hazelnut. A true classic."

If you're big on the Islay variants i'd give Highland Park (think its a 12 year also) a try. Very very good.

jeff_connors

boostdemon:

never pour single malt over ice, it would be a waste.

Scotch goes well with certain cigars as coffee drinks go well with others but the wrong combo means you've essentially ruined the finer points of both.

McCallen 12 is fantastic if you like rich flavors. "The Macallan 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750ml Aged 12 years in sherry casks, this fine scotch has rich flavors of vanilla, toffee and a hint of hazelnut. A true classic."

If you're big on the Islay variants i'd give Highland Park (think its a 12 year also) a try. Very very good.

I Tired highland park and I have to say I like Bowmore alot more, more peat and more smoke and dark coco..less fruity too

boostdemon

Cool, thanks for the input. I dont remember having anything from Bowmore, but i will definitely order a glass this week when i'm out.

jeff_connors

try the 12 year, its great!

Fourtotheflush

Definately agree with this statement that some scotches dont go well with cigars and some cigars dont go with well with Scotch. So heres what I have to say.
v
Connie wrappers are mostly going to get wiped out by most scotches. That being said some of the sweeter scotches - Edrador, vanilla and almond - actually pairs nicely with a good full flavor connie. I like Bowmore Darkest, Lagavulen 16, Laphroig for the big peaty flavors.
These would completely wipe out any connie or maduro in my opinion (havent tried to pair them).

Oban 14 is probably my personal favorite and does pair well with medium to full bodied smokes (see Decade here and Ive paired it before and its worked out nicely) I think that if you combo them right it will enhance the flavors of both ....

Dalwhinne actually made a cigar malt that was blended to pair with cigars.


And I dont think its cut and dry that you like burbon or scotch. You can like both and I do. I have a bottle of Eagle rare and Glenlevit{sp} sitting in my cabinet that I pull a dram out of fairly often.

Also Ice, Water or Neat is a personal preferance. Most beleive that a little water is the best way to drink scotch, but I prefer 1-2 cubes to drop the temp just a litte and open it up with some water.

bigbgballz

I love single malts more than blends. I prefer mine with no ice. Ice for me is deluting a very nice and expexsive alchohol. A lot of flavour will diminish. That is just me though. If you are in to explore single malts, buy yourself a proper glass, pour the alchohol in it, not a lot. Keep the glass in your palm to warm up the whiskey, that can take between 5 to 8 minutes, to get the temp to your body temp. Meanwhile you can take a whiff from like 3,4,5 iches away and then from the edge of the glass and that will give you a first impression of the aroma and flavours. Swirl the alchohol in the galss as well and take a little sip, keep it in your mouth till all your taste buds get a good feel for it. Then drink on. You will appreciate it a lot more. Also, belive it or not, a drop of water(not tap) in your drink will open up more flavours. As far as brands go just stick with the once that start with Glen and will not be disappointed.

martymcg43

i've always drank johnnie walker. yesterday i picked up a bottle of glenfiddich 12yr. heard that was a good introductory to single malts. not too bad for the money i suppose. almost smelled like wine.

camgfs

Hi everyone! Yes, I am a newbie to this forum, but not to Scotch and Cigars. I've been reading some of these forums for a while, and thought this topic would have been covered a long time ago. I like the Glenfiddich 12 yr. with an RP vintage 1990 or a 5 Vegas Relic...but it suits some Cubans better....if you have the chance to smoke those.

jeff_connors

I had an aurora 1495 and some bowmore 12 year, and they where fantatic together!

jeff_connors

camgfs:

Hi everyone! Yes, I am a newbie to this forum, but not to Scotch and Cigars. I've been reading some of these forums for a while, and thought this topic would have been covered a long time ago. I like the Glenfiddich 12 yr. with an RP vintage 1990 or a 5 Vegas Relic...but it suits some Cubans better....if you have the chance to smoke those.

Hey! your on the forms!!!! Welcome!