Favorite cheap Scotch?

[weaksides]

Alright....it's been a couple years. I've been practicing and I got hitched.

First off....Scoresby is straight-up CRAP. I've had it several times and this 1.75 will hopefully be the last. After re-reading this thread, maybe I should give Duggan's Dew another spin.

Sorry for the rehash...but drinking that fucking Scoresby swill today reminded me of this thread.

[Cowboy Joe]

Think I saw this thread way back in my lurking days....I like Teacher's, but it ain't cheap in my current locale. I can get Ballantines for a decent price, which I like, and I do have some weird affection for Clan MacGregor. When it gets a little cooler I'll shell out the cash and get some Laphroaig....sure, it's expensive, but it's heaven in a bottle.

[captain gonzo]

Famous grouse, its the best of the worst kind of thing.

JW red altho not so much cheap as cheaper than black.

Used to like high commissioner when i first started on whiskey as a kid.

[weaksides]

For the record, I'm still hacking away at this Scoresby filth. There's more there than I thought before today. That's a good thing and a bad thing.

WHISKY!!!!!

[peetie44]

Famous Grouse is the only blend (that I know of) which doesn't contain any added grain spirits. However, J&B is a pretty good low-end scotch.

If you want a low-priced (reasonably low -- there's NO good "cheapos" with s-malts), try the Bowmore 8yo. It's a single that DOES need the "splash of spring water" -- not to open up the flavor so much as to knock off the rough edges -- but it's peaty/smokey enough to stand up to the water.

[captain gonzo]

I really like bowmore 8yo, yeah its a little heavy handed but thats part of why its so great. Its not that cheap either really, never actually tried it with water.

[Cowboy Joe]

For cheap single malt, I've always found Speyburn to be pretty good. And the McClellannd single malts are usually well priced, they have they best (only, perhaps) Islay for less than forty dollars. Glenlivet is sometimes on sale, and it's always good too.

[peetie44]

I really like bowmore 8yo, yeah its a little heavy handed but thats part of why its so great. Its not that cheap either really, never actually tried it with water.

I get Bowmore 10yo at my local Belgian supermarket for 27euros for 70cl (700ml).

For an Islay single malt, that's cheap (cheap being a relative concept).

CHEERS, cap!

[captain gonzo]

I really like bowmore 8yo, yeah its a little heavy handed but thats part of why its so great. Its not that cheap either really, never actually tried it with water.

I get Bowmore 10yo at my local Belgian supermarket for 27euros for 70cl (700ml).

For an Islay single malt, that's cheap (cheap being a relative concept).

CHEERS, cap!

Not bad at all, i like the more powerful rough whiskeys by large so generally the cheap and cheerful islays suit me

*raises laphroaig for now* better than bowmore by far still and around the same price.

[peetie44]

Not bad at all, i like the more powerful rough whiskeys by large so generally the cheap and cheerful islays suit me

*raises laphroaig for now* better than bowmore by far still and around the same price.

Which Laphroaig are you referring to?

I like their 15yo (and up), but the younger ones seem to fall off, IMHO. I've found the 12yo and even the 10yo Bowmore to retain much of the same flavor characteristics as their 15yo and up. However, scotch is probably the most subjective of whisky tastes.

I'm afraid I'm a bit high-maintenance when it come to s-malts -- I mostly go for the $$ stuff.

[Cowboy Joe]

I actually like the Laphroaig 10 year old better than the 15. The 15 is a little too mellowed out, and has just a bit much barrel for me. I dearly love their quarter cask, it's by far my favorite scotch of all time.

[peetie44]

I actually like the Laphroaig 10 year old better than the 15. The 15 is a little too mellowed out, and has just a bit much barrel for me. I dearly love their quarter cask, it's by far my favorite scotch of all time.

CJ,

The quarter cask is my favorite Laphroaig too. But the Lagavulin 16yo is the best balanced s-malt that I've found. It's not cheap, but I'm willing to pay for it. The last 5 gigs I did in Italy all had Laggy at the bar -- and free to the piano-player!

There's a supermarket-labled, "Islay" s-malt that I get at my Belgian supermarket (Delhaize). It's some generic(?) that was bottled for them and costs = $21USD for 70cl (700ml). It's got all the good Islay characteristics, but is a little young.

[cornbread714]

The last 5 gigs I did in Italy all had Laggy at the bar -- and free to the piano-player!

That's exactly how I started developing my fondness for single-malts years ago. In my early 20s, I started drinking the blended Scotch brands (J&B, etc.) - straight, with beer chaser - I liked it better than cheap bourbon. It was good enough until I started sampling (for free) single-malts in the bars I was playing in . I started liking the more high-end stuff and then one day I went to the liquor store to actually buy some.
I realized quickly that I was out of my fiscal league.
I ended up on Irish whiskey with beer chaser (Jameson and Bud, typically), and still like the Jameson just fine.
For the price, Jameson is pretty much my favored brown booze.
At home, though, these days, I pretty much stick with wine and beer. .

[Slim]

OK, we all know the Laphroaigs, The Benrinnes, the ones we'd never turn down. But what about the other end? What about when you have $15 on Monday night and Friday is a long ways away, when several days' undrunkenness is out of the question, when going to the bar is out unless someone else is buying.

What then?

My current favorite, when I'm in an area that had a Trader Joe's, is their house label blend ($9.99USD/750ml) I think it's Famous Grouse relabeled. Other faves are Grant's ($12-14USD/750ml) and Famous Grouse ($16-20USD/750ml).

Any other suggestions? Dewar's sucks outright and Chivas tastes like good Scotch with a sugar cube dropped in it.

I wouldn't call chivas "cheap" but it is sweetly pallatable.

However I'm with ya on the Trader Joes re-label. My grandpa introduced me to that on a camping trip full of near-beer. I nearly creamed myself.

[Bluto]

Famous grouse, its the best of the worst kind of thing.

JW red altho not so much cheap as cheaper than black.

Used to like high commissioner when i first started on whiskey as a kid.

J&B is much better than Red Label at the same price. I'm not saying Red is all bad, mind you, but for the price I'll take a bottle of J&B.

Techer's is one that I've heard quite abit about here on the board but was only able to find just recently. It's likely to be my next Scotch purchase.