Whisky / Whiskey / Bourbon

Nope, just met a few guys who did and said it was very good, but not 2k per bottle good ;)

I think I drink a little too much...

I have a unopened bottle of hibiki suntory whisky aged 12 years 70cl if anyone is interested.
Now discontinued.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0046XWPWI/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new

£?

£90

Where do you live, SuperMario? When you're not in Mushroom Kingdom.

4days a week in Shoreditch 3days in the Mushroom kingdom.

Can anyone tell me about Grant's? Specifically where it's from? My understanding is that originally it was the distillery in Dufftown but now the core whisky is from Girvan with additional malts from elsewhere (and where are these from?). Does that sound right? And that it's been spun out as a brand owned by the original company William Grant & Sons (who also own Hendricks/Balvenie etc)

Correct on the sources for Grant's. Correct on the ownership. I recall that the brand in its current guise is from the 40s or 50s. Probably 50s.

Hendricks, Balvenie and Glenfiddich are the other well known brands.

Why do you ask?

They're calling for pitches for a video and I'd rather like to win it. Obviously no hope in hell but the brief sounds actually a joy for a change. But I want to be accurate about where it all comes from - I don't want to put pictures of Islay/Highlands in the moodboard if it's a Speyside / Lowland blend etc.

Ok. I have pics from our distillery tour of Balvenie - a tour that is no longer available. Happy to impart knowledge if it is useful for the pitch

Having grown up in Moray, many moons ago I worked as a tour guide at Glenfiddich as a summer job. Mainly awful, but free whisky and access to staff malts was a bonus. Alas, I was a daft 19 year old who knew fuck all about what to buy, so my dad was kept in Balvenie for many a year whilst I bought £12 litre bottles of Goldschläger. I have some juicy behind-the-scenes stories that would help in no way whatsoever but could probably remember most of my tour spiel.

As for pitching, I'd stress the family aspect of Grant's, the Speyside aspect, the rolling heather romanticism of it all. Just avoid the "wild seas/Rapha film" stylings that the Island distilleries adopt as Dufftown is a pretty dull place. As for the whisky itself, maybe emphasize the skill it takes to blend etc. Glenfiddich was always considered the posh cousin to Grant's red-nosed jakey uncle, mainly from the pure malt/single malt angle.

Probably not mention the fact that all kinds of "extra ingredients" went in the mash tuns, particularly after a staff night out.

was at Dalwhinnie last week on way up to Inverness - the 15 to me doesn't deserve its reputation - I quite enjoy the new NAS Winters Gold expression though - although £43 in the distillery shop compared to £25 in Tesco at Christmas - it isn't a plus £40 bottle to me - I can wait

My stash from my Islay pilgrimage in September has sadly run out.

I'm pretty up on Whisky but what little known gems can people recommend that are not from Islay (since I've been drinking them exclusively for months) and are generally under £40 so I can justify getting a small selection rather that one fancy bottle that I'll end up drinking after a night in the pub and then regretting it.

Thanks in advance!

FWIW - this is the standard and this is still one of the best ads I've ever seen. And I can't stand the stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ6aiVg2qVk

I've never been a whisky fan, but recently got given a tester in a bar and it was quite tasty.
All I know is it was really smokey, dried my mouth out and left me feeling like I had been near a bonfire.
What fits my amateur description?

Something like this? The packaging is naff, but it's really quite good. https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/3698/smokehead

Actually I don't think I saw a bottle, I was unable cocktail bar in Brighton and asked the bar staff what the difference between bourbon and whisky was and they bought over some samples to show the difference. My wife like Bourbon and I preferred the whisky.
I've tried generic stuff (Bells, Glenfiddich, etc) and not liked it, but what ever the smoky stuff was ticked my fancy, so was hoping for smokey recommendations.
Might just work my way through a few in a decent pub and see what floats my boat.

Lagavulin 16 year old is a classic but not overly peaty IMO.

If you want some thing peatier then Laphroaig is popular

Lagavulin def, and Bowmore might be up your street, as single malts. Malts from Islay and the islands fit your brief generally:

https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/c/50/islay-single-malt-scotch-whisky
https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/c/315/island-single-malt-scotch-whisky

Have you tried Johnny Walker Black Label? That will be widely available and cheaper and is my personal favourite blend, even over the much more expensive Blue label - it has a long smokey finish to it and is extremely drinkable. If not smokey enough, there is a double black label out, that I'm yet to try.

Girlfriend came back from holiday and brought me a 1 litre bottle of makers mark and a bottle of bulliet bourbon <3

Thanks all, will look out for the above mentioneds in a boozer and see what I prefer.

Entry(ish) level whiskeys with all the smoky, peaty goodness:

https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/4989/compass-box-the-peat-monster
https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/32946/kilchoman-machir-bay-2016

Both bangers.

Seen it before but really appreciating it now. Was watching, thinking "crikey, who produced this?" and then HLA popped up in the credits. I worked on my first commercial for them (Land Rover). They really are one of the best.

Thanks for this - appreciated. I remember visiting Dufftown when I was about 10 and while my dad was excited I was too young to appreciate. Was more interested in being given a Scottish fiver in change at the shop after I bought some toffee.