morebourbon85 Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 I'm not a member of any scotch forums so figured I'd ask here since most here like scotch as well. Thoughts on Double Black Label vs Laphroaig 10? You guys find them similar to each other and thoughts on which you like better? Trying to get a gift for someone who's a huge double black fan. Wanted to get him laphroaig 10, so he can try something different. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepCover Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 I think you'd be better off with Talisker 10, as opposed to the very peaty and very smokey Laphroaig 10. It may be a bit much for your friend. Laphroaig and JW Double Black aren't all that similar. Talisker is one of the whiskeys JW likes to use in their blends, so this makes sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBadley Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Something different indeed. Many people like bourbon for a reason- it does not taste like Scotch! Especially a peaty ass thing like Laphroaig If you need to give him Scotch I would suggest Highland Park 12 year old or some such... Do what you think is right. I would suggest bourbon tho.. How about a nice bottle of (insert some bourbon you can easily find at a price point you don't object to that has a pretty bottle label or comes in a Christmas box here)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morebourbon85 Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 I think you'd be better off with Talisker 10, as opposed to the very peaty and very smokey Laphroaig 10. It may be a bit much for your friend. Laphroaig and JW Double Black aren't all that similar. Talisker is one of the whiskeys JW likes to use in their blends, so this makes sense to me.Thanks, Talisker looks good, but at $70 it's a little more than I was hoping to spend for him. Getting a few coworkers gifts, so don't want to go to crazy lol. Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Have you given any thought to a nice Armagnac? Or, if you're looking smokey, how about a stellar Mezcal? There are some bourbon like Rums/Rhums, too? You can find some reviews for these in the What Bourbon are you Enjoying Tonight? Threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 I like the Talisker option but it has crept up in price like most things Diageo. JW Black and Double Black tend to use a fair amount of Caol Ila (and Lagavulin) for the peated component making Caol Ila 12 an interesting option to expand his horizons. But a Caol Ila 12 or a Lagavulin 16 may be closer to Talisker than Laphroaig in cost. There was a time when both were in the $50's price range and you might get lucky and stumble across either with the older prices but I think that is getting pretty rare these days. The Highland Park 12 recommended above might be a nice option and still be found around the same price as Laphroaig. Haven't shopped for it for awhile. I always liked the HP 15 even more but that is definitely going to cost more these days. The Armagnac and rum possibilities might be a fun alternative but depending on where you are located finding a "nice" Armagnac might be as tough as finding a snail darter! Some nice but reasonable rum options out there but no matter how whiskey forward the rum is it will definitely be a very different experience than JW. A lot would depend on how adventurous your friend was. But if JW Double Black is his preferred drink then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IncredulousNosco Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 You know, I don't think I'd even consider a Laphroaig 10yo as a gift unless I was certain that they already knew and liked it. Even for Islay it is distinctive and medicinal. I'll also recommend Highland Park 12yo as a good affordable option. I prefer the 12yo even to the 15yo (because 12yo has more smoke) and it is a much better value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdrinker Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Since he's a double black fan, Laphroaig 10 might be too much to stomach, literally. Heavily peated scotches are an acquired taste, and if he's not used to it, it may be off putting. Hp 12 is a good recommendation. Oban 14 is another one which has some smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 (edited) Ardbeg 10 might be in your price range. The peat is on the ashier side vs Laphroaig's medicinal character. It is still very heavily peated, so it may be a bridge too far. Otherwise I'd recommend HP12 or Benromach 10 if you can find it. Either should be closer in price to what you are looking for. Actually Lagavulin 16 would be my first reco, but it's up with the other Diageo entry level prices most places these days. Edited December 20, 2016 by garbanzobean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Nobody seems to have noted that JW is a blended whisky, while the suggestions are single malts. If he has tried single malts in the past, and still prefer JW, it would probably be better to find another peated blended whisky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Oh, I noticed! Just that most blends with peat these days seem to try to up one another in smacking you in the face with peat from younger whisky and those that don't I am not sure are much of an upgrade over JW DB. Black Grouse for example is OK but not sure it is, or is going to be perceived as, an upgrade to JW DB. Maybe there is an independent bottling that would work these days but it is not an area I typically explore much. Black Bottle used to be an option but I don't think the new version is close to what it was. That said I haven't tried the new one. There is always Peat Monster (also not a blended whiskey but rather a blended malt whiskey) which I think strikes a better balance of peat flavors and highland whisky than JW Black or the individual Islay malts but unfortunately it is also pushing $60 (or more?) these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 You're probably right, Free Lunch. Most readily available blendeds seem to either go 'all in' or not at all. I would've suggested JW Green(don't know how much they're charging in the US), but the new recipe is awful. I think the old one would've been fitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Since the OP asked about a single malt, I replied with single malt suggestions. I don't drink a ton of blends anymore, but Compass Box Glasgow Blend is peated, yet pretty balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 I have a couple of older JW Green Labels, which is the one JW that I know of that is (or was?) an all malt Blended Malt Whisky (originally four different single malts including Talisker and Caol Ila as the peated malt. Cragganmore and Linkwood are the other two as I recall) and not a Blended Whiskey, but I haven't tried it since its reintroduction. My recollection of the earlier bottling is that the peat influence was a relatively light touch. Used to also all be 15yo whisky. That may have changed as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 5 minutes ago, garbanzobean said: Since the OP asked about a single malt, I replied with single malt suggestions. I don't drink a ton of blends anymore, but Compass Box Glasgow Blend is peated, yet pretty balanced. Ah, the CB Glasgow Blend. A good one to consider and usually pretty affordable. Some sherry balanced with peat which tends to be a lovely combo. Not stated but I am guessing that the "south shore Islay distillery" is Lagavulin that provides the peat component here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 I'll throw in Springbank 10 for a single malt option, Monkey Shoulder in the blended category and High West Campfire in the odd ball division because its a blend of bourbon, rye and scotch and is an interesting concept for a gift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyWhiskey Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 The HP 12 is probably the best idea i can think of for a single malt that has smoke but is still balanced enough to make a good gift. I agree with the sentiment that Ardbeg or Laphroaig are a dicey choice for a gift unless you know they like to be smacked in the face with peat smoke. I really like the Springbank 10, but, to my palate, it has a brininess that I love but I couldn't be sure a blended scotch drinker would care for . . . or else it will open their eyes to a new world of flavors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvd99 Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Yeah, HP12 is a good one that could hit all the characteristics the OP is looking for. Another suggestion is that 14 Year Old Glenfiddich Bourbon Cask which is aged exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels and finished for several months in new charred oak barrels, which is unusual. I don't think there's any peat, but it could have some bourbon characteristics, but in a single malt. It's like $50 bucks and is widely available at large liquor stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyz28 Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Why not go with a standard Compass Box offering OR go with one of the NAS Talisker like Storm. Either would be in the $50 range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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