One smooth scotch!

Too bad I wasn't there to help you enjoy it. Nice combination.

Fernando,

On your recommendation, I got a bottle of Arbelour last night. Made the switch from Glenlivet and I am very happy. Very smooth. Very good.

Slightly off from the topic of fine single malts, try mixing a cheap Scotch blend with some plum wine in a 1:1 mix and then add a little lime juice. Very, very good mixed drink.

Munch,
Glenlivit is my drink of choice. With a twist. I haven't tried Arbelour but will if it's that much smoother than Glenlivit. Is it? What about taste?

:lol: Well if that's the way you want to be about it!! I'm stubborn; latch on to something and it's hard to let go. Just want to know how yours stands up to Glenlivit?

Ken,

As much as I hate to admit it, as I was a diehard Glenlivet fan, the Arbelour might be a little smoother. Don't get me wrong I still love Glenlivet and have not purchased my last bottle. The Arbelour is very good and until I can afford to drink 21 yr. old Glenlivet Archive on a regular basis, I will always have a bottle of it in the cabinet.

Fernando, did you try the scotch/plume wine (i suggest a cheap blend mixed with Gekkeikan) yet?

Oh damn.....I just found a bottle of 50 yr. old Macallan! It is only $2450 a bottle.

Oban is my fav. I try ALOT of different single malts, but I always seem to come back to Oban.

Oban is a tiny little fishing village on the west coast of Scotland. All they do is fish, and make a wonderful single malt scotch! I want to visit............

:thumbsup:

:biggun: Neat! A little Ma Duce Emoticon!

Not a bad idea at all. I've seen railroad videos of trains running through Scotland. The scenery is the "I wanna go there" kind of scenery. Not a single malt drinker, but I'm always up for gift suggestions since I know some single malt drinkers.

Gave my mother and her husband a bottle of Bowmore 12 for Thanksgiving, but she tells me it's too much for them. They're both experienced single malt scotch drinkers, but that wasn't for them. I've tried Oban a couple times and it was very nice. Other than that my scotch drinking experience is going a few rounds with Johnnie Black straight up many years ago. Nice stuff.

I just finished a bottle of the 10 YO, I havent seen the 15 in the Pa. state monoply & no choice shops yet, I will look for the 15 YO the next time I am in Ohio or W.Va.
The 10 was great cant wait to try the 15!
Enjoy, Vince

For an exceptionally smooth cigar friendly single malt you should try Balvanie 21 Y/O Portwood. Sensationally smooth with cigars in particular and won't set you back to a second mortgage like most 21 y/o's will - whether they were decent or not!

A tip duly noted, HP. Does that mean that a gift bottle of that will go over much better with my mother's husband than the 12 year old Bowmore, which they just couldn't handle? He's more of a Macallan drinker, I think.

Bloofington:

The Balvanie products are closer to Macallan than Bowmore for sure. If you stick with Islay, you'd want to look at one of the Bruichladdich bottles.

For comparison purposes, the Balvanie 21 to me is much more subtle than the Macallan 12, 18 and 18 Reserva (of recent). Now the 25 Y/O is arguably better and way more complex. But you'd need 3 jobs to support an ongoing habbit. The Balvanie 21 is obtainable for about $80.00 (seen it as low as $65.00) which is cheap considering it's age.

One thing I should point out, I don't drink much Macallan anymore and also the Balvanie 21 I enjoy most often with a smoke. D4s Monte 2 and Rass make great combinations. If by chance your (go on and say it) step dad likes cigars too, then I'd stop just short of a personal guarantee that the B21 will be right up his alley.

That's a world of knowledge there HP, much appreciated.

The reason I didn't say stepdad is because I, and others of my age group were always very definite about what constituted a stepdad. The man my mother is married to hooked up with her after I was out of the house, and my own father is alive, and someone I have a relationship with. We always considered a stepdad someone who you at least partially grew up with, and was usually around because your own father was dead or flew the coop. However, if your own father was around and still relating to you, the guy in your house was still your stepdad.

I left home before he moved in, and she had barely started seeing him, and didn't marry him until much later. I left for a situation with an uncle, aunt and cousins with my father living down the block, so this guy is 'my mother's husband'.

That's almost as long as your tips about the single malt, LOLOL!!! Sorry.

Anyway, that's great stuff and I'll remember that. I don't drink the stuff, but I like to know a little about which I'm speaking so that I can buy gifts that will be liked and appreciated.