Whiskey Present

kevgaa

Hi Folks,

As somebody who has been tasked with getting a bottle of whiskey for his father-in-laws retirement from his beloved family I am hoping people can help.

My knowledge is zero so all help greatly appreciated.

My father-in-law likes his whiskeys and brandy so what would people recommend?

Just to help he has mentioned Midelton rare as something he liked in the past and I have done some viewing on this site and I was thinking of something he would never think of like Hibiki 17 Year Old

what would people recommend and where can it be sourced in Dublin or the net?
also should i be looking at a particular year etc?


thanks
kev.

ntlbell

what does he normally drink?

kevgaa

He has a nice collection to be honest. Usually whatever is on offer in the airport when he travels

Saying that I usually see him drinking Jameson.

ntlbell

and the budget?

johnnyskeleton

If it is a retirement after a fixed number of years e.g. 30 years, you can get a whiskey of that age to mark the event.

As NTL Bell points out, it depeneds on the budget really. If it is a whole family putting 100 each then you could get a very expensive whiskey, whereas if it is a 20 quid donation from some you might have to be content with a merely overpriced one!

kevgaa

there is a few chipping in and they were thinking about the Midelton very rare which I think is about 120-130 ?? so something in that region would be ok a bit more if its worth it??

The family are bringing him away so dont want to break the budget either.

ntlbell

Personally I have a love hate relationship with middleton, sometimes I love the whiskey and hate the price and sometimes I hate the whiskey and the price.

I think if he likes pot still and you can try get a glance through his collection and if he doesn't have it is grab him a bottle of green spot.

You can get it for aprox 45e but for me would be far more interesting and complex than a lot of the more expensive middleton's

ntlbell

Just noticed he likes brandy

You could pick up a nice bottle of calvados from the celtic whiskey shop.

It's an apple based brandy very tasty

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/-z-product-product-255-context-search_results-page-1.htm

Rangi

Everyone will have their own tastes,so making it very hard to choose.How about something a bit different,like Inis Turk Beg? I don't know much about it,other than the guy who owns the Island buys the casks from Cooley,matures them,and bottles them. The bottles are made from sand from the Island.

Rachiee

Jameson do bottles with a personalised label its gimmicky but fun and i'm sure you can pick the year on it.

kevgaa

Thanks for the replies. At this stage I would like something nice rather than a gimmick.

Any comments on Japanese Whiskey as I know he would never have tried that??

Maybe a midleton greenspot and a japanese whiskey rather than spending 150+ on one bottle of midleton very rare? Actually should I look for a specific year if I go for Midleton very rare?

Kev.

goldenhoarde

If you can head into the Celtic Whistkey shop and they will help you choose the right one as they have a greta selection

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Celtic_Whiskey_Shop_About_Us-objectid-1061-recordid-1-z-all.htm

Brockagh

kevgaa wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. At this stage I would like something nice rather than a gimmick.

Any comments on Japanese Whiskey as I know he would never have tried that??

Maybe a midleton greenspot and a japanese whiskey rather than spending 150+ on one bottle of midleton very rare? Actually should I look for a specific year if I go for Midleton very rare?

Kev.

Hibiki is very good, as is the Yamazaki 18.

If he likes Midleton, what about the Barry Crockett Legacy? It's about 160 euro, I think.

triggermortis

How about Greenore? I've only tried the cheap end one, but found it extremely good. If you're buying it in the airport it's 26 euro duty paid and 16 euro duty free (only place I've bought it - sorry).
They do some more expensive ones, but I've not tried them

Prenderb

goldenhoarde wrote: »

If you can head into the Celtic Whistkey shop and they will help you choose the right one as they have a greta selection

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Celtic_Whiskey_Shop_About_Us-objectid-1061-recordid-1-z-all.htm

+1 My OH sent an email with some whiskies I like, and they made a successful recommendation which she was able to use...

Cavehill Red

Very hard to answer this question with no knowledge of what the recipient likes. Certainly the Celtic Whiskey Shop ought to be your first port of call.
In response to some of the suggestions, I'd avoid Inis Turk Beg (most of the price goes on the handblown glass bottle - the whiskey is mediocre at best), and Greenore is a rather plain whiskey, being grain, albeit a very good grain indeed.
The Barry Crockett Legacy is a good suggestion, and it's much better than the bland Midleton Very Rare. In a similar price bracket, I can definitely recommend the cask strength version of Writers Tears, which comes in a big gift box that looks like a book, and contains two glasses. A very lovely whiskey indeed, if again you are paying over the odds for the packaging.
The Bushmills 21 yo is a lovely whiskey for those who like a sherried malt. Redbreast cask strength just won Irish whiskey of the year, and again is sumptuously sherried, this time a single potstill. I'd heavily recommend some of the single cask Tyrconnell bottlings, but would suggest talking to the CWS staff first. Their own Anima Negra bottling is delicious, and reasonably priced at under 80 euro. But the older Tyrconnells are even better.

gandalf

Another thumbs up for the Celtic Whiskey Store as well. If you could get a look at his whiskey collection again and note down the names of the bottles (maybe take a sneak photo with the mobile) it will give the guys there something to work from. Does he prefer Irish or Scotch whiskey for example. Is he adventurous or conservative?

For my 40th my in-laws (who are French) got me a 40 year old Personalised Armagnac which was a lovely surprise

kevgaa

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the advice, As I'm down for dinner this weekend I'll check out his current stash and seek advice from the people that know in the Whiskey store.

Kev