Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

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Michel Couvrer.

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IIRC, this is a "vatted" scotch, meaning its a mixture of solely single-malts. Whereas a blend like Johnny Walker is single-malt mixed with grain whisky.

Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

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So I read this thread last night before I went to sleep and realized I have never actually tasted scotch. I was talking to my roommate about this and he said scotch is awesome, so basically I want to buy some scotch for either tommorow night or thursday night. I need the fine people of 2+2 to recommend me a good first bottle. I am taking a wild guess that decent bottles of scotch are usually about 50-100$ right? maybe? I have no idea but I am not crazy about spending more than 100$ on a bottle. So yeah, I am going to buy a bottle based the recommendations I recieve...I am really excited about this for some reason! Help !

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I highly recommend starting with the Macallan 12. It is $35 to $40 around here.

Re: Food!
 

I personally dont like to drink Scotch with a meal. Drink it afterwards, or before, or both. Ive found that sometimes a nice, sweet scotch goes well with dessert. Esp. desserts like a spiced gingerbread cake with whipped cream.

And definately go with the Macallan.

Re: Scotch Tasting (NY/NJ)
 

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Seems like fun times for sure. One problem with scotch in particular is that some of the heavier ones, eg Lagavulin tends to numb your mouth and taste sense, so basically you can't appreciate the later drinks fully. So while you should certainly go ahead with the idea, it might be a good idea to focus on not so peaty or smoky scotches, or at least to drink them in order of peatiness.

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As someone else recommended, light to peaty. Here is the order we went in last night: Scotch tasting

Take small tastes, then after the tasting, circle back to enjoy your favorites.

Having a nice range of scotches is key. I am happy to provide counsel when you guys start getting this together.

Re: Food!
 

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Ok, so I am probably going to get either the Glenliveit 12 or the Macallan 12. Does anyone have any suggestions on what may or may not taste awesome while drinking either one of these bottles? From what I understand food and scotch go hand in hand. Even though I am in college I have a full functional kitchen so anything is possible...My initial thought is to make steak or pork. Thoughts?

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Save the scotch for afterwards. Its great with dessert. Like a creme brullé would be perfect. For the meal, you can never go wrong with a nice wine.

I'd go with the Macallen. The Glenlevit is pretty decent, but think of it as scotch with training wheels.

Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

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I highly recommend starting with the Macallan 12. It is $35 to $40 around here.

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Any particular reason to go with the Macallan 12 over either the Dalwhinnie 15 or Balvenie 12 I mentioned?

Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

There is nothing wrong with blended scotches.

I wouldn't bring one to a tasting since it isn't very exotic.

Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

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I highly recommend starting with the Macallan 12. It is $35 to $40 around here.

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Any particular reason to go with the Macallan 12 over either the Dalwhinnie 15 or Balvenie 12 I mentioned?

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Its a little smoother than the Balvenie I believe. And more readily available than most other singles. There is no particular reason... its jsut a common favorite.

Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

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There is nothing wrong with blended scotches.

I wouldn't bring one to a tasting since it isn't very exotic.

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There's nothing wrong with ugly chicks either...

No, blends are fine for every day drinking (or you know what I mean... common stuff)... but by and large, they have very little personality.

Re: Scotch Questions from a silly college kid
 

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There is nothing wrong with blended scotches.

I wouldn't bring one to a tasting since it isn't very exotic.

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There's nothing wrong with ugly chicks either...

No, blends are fine for every day drinking (or you know what I mean... common stuff)... but by and large, they have very little personality.

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The guy has never tried scotch, so drinking a blend will be enough to let him figure out whether he likes it and want to try some more. Some of the single malts have very particular qualities and he may pick one that isn't his thing. If he tried some Talisker, for instance, I don't think it would give him a really good idea what scotch is like in general. Just my opinion.