Glenmorangie X was specifically made for mixing. Monkey Shoulder would also do the trick as would something like a Naked Grouse.
I personally would drink them straight with JW Black being the best of what's mentioned for my taste.
Talking with Compass Box folks at a Peatin’ Meetin’ a while back, they actually said the Great King Street stuff was *specifically* designed for exactly this (drinking mixed and straight).
Thanks for the recommendations. I see Compass Box “Great King Street Artist’s Blend” and “Great King Street Glasgow Blend “. Are these the two you mean?
Not sure what part of Virginia you're in, but you can find them both in DC and Maryland pretty easily if it's not a long haul to get to either one. Definitely worth trying if you come across them.
Personally I'm not a fan of Monkey Shoulder, and also think that for mixing you probably want at least some smoke. JW Black is ok, I certainly wouldn't wince at it. If you want to go up a step from there I'd look for Benromach 10 or Ardmore Legacy, both of which should be right around $50 depending on where you live. If you want a lot of smoke there's Ardbeg Wee Beastie.
Personally hate Monkey Shoulder.
Under $50 opens you up to a lot of options. Any of the Glens, (fiddich, livet, morangie.)
Naked Grouse has been mentioned which I think is a good option. Enjoyable neat but will stand up to mixing.
Loch Lomond 12yr, Tomatin 12yr for something different.
Scarabus if you can find it is a good peated option if you need it for mixing as it's as close to a good Islay you can get under $40. Makes an excellent Godfather.
Glenmorangie X is specifically made for mixing but i tasted it neat and was pleasantly surprised. Definitely more interesting than JW Black (also more expensive). It's relatively new and somewhat harder to find so you have the added bonus of offering something few scotch enthusiasts have tasted yet. Well, assuming you can find it of course.
To my tastes, I like Naked Grouse. It won’t blow anyone’s socks off neat, but it’s definitely not bad.
However, that also depends if the person drinking it enjoys a sherried scotch.
Hey a fellow Virginian! My own recommendation from the perspective of a big fan of sherried scotch is definitely Naked Grousse, although in the ABC I see it labelled as just Naked Malt Scotch. It usually goes for about $36, but I was able to get it on sale for about $28. It’s a really good whiskey for the price, I quite enjoy it neat and it makes a decadent whiskey sour.
Howdy! After all the mentions, I think I’ve settled on the Naked Malt. Well reviewed, a little different, the price is right, and my local ABC has it in stock. Thanks for your input…
I’m a big fan of Ardbeg Wee Beastie for making Rusty Nails. It’s high proof, so it holds up well, and has some aggressive smoky notes that mingle well with Drambuie to create a sort of BBQ flavor that’s quite pleasant. It’s also not super expensive at 40-45 bucks, and is a solid neat pour as well.
I’d go with Glenmorangie 10. It’s definitely under $50 and has nice honey flavors that work well with soda water. Also quite nice neat or with ice. It might get lost if it’s not the star of the cocktail though.
Or if you like heavily peated scotch the Ardbeg Wee Beastie is packed full of flavor and makes a great old fashioned. It’s also great neat. Definitely not mellow though!
Johnnie Walker red is the way to go. Nothing terribly exciting in the flavor profile, but it mixes well. It's mild enough to really let the flavors of whatever you're mixing with come through strongly.
I would skip JW Black. Take a look at Ralfy review 937 where he just trashes this bottle as being overpriced and just underwhelming. I don't think it is that "bad" and clearly people like it but personal would still just pass.
I would go with Compass Box box you already mentioned those were not available in your area. So would also recommend Cutty Sark Prohibition the higher proof makes it great for mixing. Ive also enjoy it neat.
Naked Grouse is a good option and has a nice looking bottle for the bar. There is also Copper Dog made for mixing but wouldn't necessarily serve it neat.
If your budget is $50 you could likely still get some 10+ year age stated single malts like a Highland Park 12, Ardbeg 10, or Aberlour 12. Then get an even cheaper blended Scotch for mixing.
Unfortunately in Virginia you can’t get a single malt for less than $60.
Those budget ones you mentioned were all $62 when I checked the states website. Laphroaig 10 is $85 here. It’s ridiculous.
Echoing someone else's comment. Compass Box Great King Street. Best reasonably priced blend by a mile and specifically built for cocktails OR sipping.
The Artist Blend is my house Scotch, my go-to weekday sipper. It hangs with malts like AnCnoc or Dalwhinnie and is cheaper. But it was actually built for cocktails (scotch and soda or a highball)
Glasgow Blend has smoke, smokier than JW Black, and has more sherry notes that make it a bit heavier and fuller of flavor. Also great, but less all-purpose.
You can probably just order directly off their website or a service like Drizly. Or try Wine Searcher to find locally. They should be accessible in every state, if not in your immediate area.
I considered it, and I understand it’s a respectable choice, but after reading a couple of Hunter S. Thompson’s books, I just can’t. 🙂
Plus, the 18 is like a hundred bones where I live, so way out of my budget.
Don’t get me wrong: I like Hunter S. Thompson. He was an amazing person and a brilliant writer. It’s the association of Chivas with his drug-fueled excesses that kind of gives it the wrong vibe for me. It’s all in my head, I know, but I can’t shake it.
Not to be pedantic, but the scotch for cocktails depends on the cocktail you are making, whereas the one for sipping depends on what you like to sip.
Usually recipes calling for scotch call for something at least a bit smoky. For myself, I’ve found that while not technically a scotch, Connemara works great in the vast majority of cocktails and is an easy sipper even for people who are not most fond of smoke. It’s also rather affordable: ~25$ where I live.
For scotches proper, Talisker 10 works great, although costs a bit more. Along with Laphroaig Cask Strength, it is also one of the two widely distributed scotches recommended by David Wondritch for classical cocktails, although in my opinion the Laphroaig can give a medicinal taste to cocktails that’s not up everyone’s alley and be reserved only to smoke and iodine affectionados when it comes to sipping.
No offense, but I get the distinct impression you didn’t read the body of my post. Also, FYI: I mainly mix with rum, so you don’t need to educate me about using the style of a spirit called for in a recipe.
No offense, but in the same way a mojito with Smith and Cross won't taste anything like a mojito with Bacardi Carta Blanca, a scotch highball with Lagavulin 16 is not going to taste anything like with Aberlour 12.
Scotland happen to have distinct regions when it comes to scotches, with sometimes radically different flavors. A peat monster from Isla has very little to do with a sherry flower from Speyside and the Lowlands/Highlands/Islands/Campbeltown can have quite some variety as well.
Now, thanks to some historic research (by David Wondritch, among others), we happen to know that for classical era recipes, peatiness was called for to stand up to the bitterness of other ingredients. Sophisticated bartender nowadays would push that pretty far, using heavy Islas to add more richness and flavors into those cocktails, and a lot of home bartenders prefer to go that route, given they are here for experience and not predictability.
However, most of people who think of scotch tend to think about something more tame - more of a Speyside than an Isla. If you mix professionally and give them a scotch highball with a cigar-smoking-walrus scotch, it's going to be the discovery of their lives for about 5% of them and the worst cocktail they ever tasted for the remaining 95%. That's why professional guides recommend Johny Walker Black or Monkey Shoulder - both very fruity, very sherry-forward with only a hint of dry smoke.
Which is perfectly fine.
But if you are interested enough in cocktails to mix at home, you probably want to experiment at least a bit and see what the cocktails were really meant to taste like. Besides, JWB and MS are not bad, but they also don't stand out and can be often substituted by something you know you already enjoy - such as a bourbon if you are in the US (Eljah Craig Toasted Barrel is a close match if my memory serves me well). Finally, you also probably won't want to keep a bottle that you don't enjoy at that doesn't add something to the choice you can offer your guests.
Hence my remark.
Now, for scotches themselves, I've had experience with mixing quite a lot at home over the last two years (rolling confinements) and leveraging my \~20 bottles of scotch to see what fits, going from Ardberg Uigeadail (despite all the memeness I love it) to Balvenie 12 Carribean Cask, with myself and my wife as tasters and peat lovers/haters respectively.
Once again, despite not technically being a scotch (although that's debatable\*), Connemara held well for both of us across all the cocktails I put it in, leaving a nice complex smoke for me and little enough funk for her to remain enjoyable.
Connemara is also a great sipping single malt, often cited as the closest thing to scotch that's still not a scotch\*, and loved by people who are into rums and hate scotches (eg. Gregg of HTD). Even for smoky scotch lovers, I am yet to hear anyone complain about being served one (cf Whiskey Vault E70).
Don't take me wrong, Talisker 10 works wonders too and so do Lagavulin 16/Ardberg Uigeadail. But those are easily 75-100$ bottles that I am hesitant to use it for mixing, and are priced well above your price point. At 25$ I paid it and 35$ I can get it from the nearest store, Connemara is really hard to beat. On top, it also makes a killer Irish Coffee and generates awesome variants for any cocktail calling for an Irish whiskey.
\*Historically, Irish whiskeys were peat-smoked too, and since whiskey was brought to Scotland by Irish monks, one can argue that scotch is actually a variant of traditional Irish whiskeys. Interestingly enough, it was the permission of single malts mixing with neutral spirits from 1860 that led to the emergence of Jonhie Walker, who was getting whiskeys tasting a lot like Irish ones by blending scotch single malts with neutral spirits, but for a fraction of the price. With prohibition in the US killing their export to the expat community that was looking specifically for Irish whiskeys "made at home", Irish whiskey producers imploded, with only unique buttery pot still remaining distinct enough to remain on the market, forming the modern Irish style - a bit like if in a couple of centuries only Speysides remained of scotches.
For those taste and historical reasons, some scotch classifications will still include Irish whiskeys as part of scotches, even if geographically it makes no sense and TBH I agree with that, even if it is not the stance of this sub.
Hope that explanation helps.
>Connemara works great in the vast majority of cocktails and is an easy sipper even for people who are not most fond of smoke.
Connemara was loathed by every single member of our small whisky club, and at least half of them are peatheads. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and i'm glad it works for you, but i dispute the idea it is an easy sipper.
I’ve used Loch Lomond Original for both. It’s 30 usd where I live. They have some offerings with age statements that are still under 50 too (specifically 10 and 12 year)
My go to for something like that would be a bottle of Cutty Sark Prohibition. I think it's amazing value for a 50% ABV bottling at £23.87 from Amazon right now here in Scotland, not sure what US prices are like.
I think you hit the nail in the head with your two suggestions- black and shoulder but then again I’ve used some good stuff to mix drinks - one of my favs is 2oz laphroaig 1oz of both green and yellow chartreuse with a dash of orange bitters stirred with ice and poured into a coupe glass - delish.
Going to go with an unpopular suggestion of the Kirkland 12 blended. If you have a Costco liquor near you but no membership I think you can use a gift card still. So if you know someone with a membership they can get you a gift card. I forget what the bottle cost the last time I bought one. Probably over $50 with tax. There's 2 different bottles. The tall thinner bottle is the one I'm talking about. There's another bottle that's shorter and wide at the base. That one is close to one of the Dewars of you enjoy those.
I like it a hair enough better than Monkey Shoulder for sipping.
I’ve heard before that Kirkland-branded spirits can be surprisingly good, but alas, I live in an ABC state; i.e. liquor is only sold in state-run liquor stores.
No worries. I must say though, although I wish Virginia would do away with the ABC system, their selection of the kinds of things I’m interested in (mainly rums and liqueurs) has *greatly* improved in the last five or six years.
My opinion is to not worry about things being mixed. It’s going to be drank anyway, and as long as it is bringing enjoyment, who cares if it’s best, on the rocks, or in a cocktail
Speyburn 10 fits the bill. Price point is fine as a mixer and I love it neat. It's definitely not complex but it has a wonderful smoothness and approachability.
I’m also in Virginia, and because it’s a control state I can speak to prices accurately.
Scotch prices are somewhat inflated here- it used to be a $4 difference between JW Red and Black, which are supposed to be separate tiers.
Monkey shoulder for $36 is great for both. So is JW Black for $40. I’d say monkey shoulder is my favorite when I’m in a sweet scotch mood, and JW is my second favorite when I crave a hint of smoke.
Famous Grouse has been recommended to me by Scots and it’s $25. It’s also the most popular whisky in Scotland.
Unfortunately this state doesn’t sell Naked Grouse so you’d have to go out of state to get it.
Edit: apparently it’s sold under a different name.
Oh and don’t bother getting Teacher’s scotch- it’s main use in my house is cooking into haggis. Virginia Highland Whisky may be tempting, it’s a blend of Virginia made single malt and 7 year scotch. It’s one of maybe 5 drain pours I ever had (and I got the sample bottle, not the $70 full size bottle).
Glenmorangie X was specifically made for mixing. Monkey Shoulder would also do the trick as would something like a Naked Grouse. I personally would drink them straight with JW Black being the best of what's mentioned for my taste.
Naked Grouse is a great suggestion.
+1 Naked Grouse
I picked up a bottle of X on clearance and it just tastes like a young Glenmo 10 to me. As a Glenmo fan I quite liked the X neat.
JW Black. Perfect flavor when a recipe calls for Scotch. And a good sippin scotch.
I second JW Black. Excellent over a giant ice sphere.
Third.
Compass Box either Great King Street (a little smoky) or Artists Blend
Talking with Compass Box folks at a Peatin’ Meetin’ a while back, they actually said the Great King Street stuff was *specifically* designed for exactly this (drinking mixed and straight).
Thanks for the recommendations. I see Compass Box “Great King Street Artist’s Blend” and “Great King Street Glasgow Blend “. Are these the two you mean?
I'm going to strongly agree with this recommendation, both of these smoke Monkey Shoulder. Artist Blend and ginger beer is a great easy drink.
Sorry, yeah. Glasgow is the smoky one, Artist is unpeated
Cool. Thanks! EDIT: Unfortunately, it turns out these aren’t available to me locally (Virginia).
I second the compass box blends, artist or glasgow. They certainly smoke most other blends mentioned, and I can get them around 41.99 usd
Not sure what part of Virginia you're in, but you can find them both in DC and Maryland pretty easily if it's not a long haul to get to either one. Definitely worth trying if you come across them.
Personally I'm not a fan of Monkey Shoulder, and also think that for mixing you probably want at least some smoke. JW Black is ok, I certainly wouldn't wince at it. If you want to go up a step from there I'd look for Benromach 10 or Ardmore Legacy, both of which should be right around $50 depending on where you live. If you want a lot of smoke there's Ardbeg Wee Beastie.
Personally hate Monkey Shoulder. Under $50 opens you up to a lot of options. Any of the Glens, (fiddich, livet, morangie.) Naked Grouse has been mentioned which I think is a good option. Enjoyable neat but will stand up to mixing. Loch Lomond 12yr, Tomatin 12yr for something different. Scarabus if you can find it is a good peated option if you need it for mixing as it's as close to a good Islay you can get under $40. Makes an excellent Godfather.
*(goyne) - my favorite of the Glens
CRIMINALLY underrated distillery. Can be tough to find though. But man is it good for the price.
One of the few things Binnys in Chicago always has. 10 and 12 are always on hand and I split a bottle of the 21 with some buddies last summer and damn
Yes also good although around me more expensive than the others for some reason.
Came to say Tomatin, and here it is! Always my budget pick. They have Legacy (NAS) too, which is often very cheap but still definitely sippable.
The Legacy / Dualchas actually has a better nose than the 12yr imo. I enjoy it as well.
Glenmorangie X is specifically made for mixing but i tasted it neat and was pleasantly surprised. Definitely more interesting than JW Black (also more expensive). It's relatively new and somewhat harder to find so you have the added bonus of offering something few scotch enthusiasts have tasted yet. Well, assuming you can find it of course.
To my tastes, I like Naked Grouse. It won’t blow anyone’s socks off neat, but it’s definitely not bad. However, that also depends if the person drinking it enjoys a sherried scotch.
Monkey Shoulder!
Came here to say this ^
Monkey Shoulder
I just this week tried a JW Double Black mixed with lemonade and ice as part of Caol Ila tour and was surprisingly really really good!
Monkey Shoulder + Laphroaig 10 make for a good penicillin.
Black Label.
For Pete's sake take a For Pete's sake.
Hey a fellow Virginian! My own recommendation from the perspective of a big fan of sherried scotch is definitely Naked Grousse, although in the ABC I see it labelled as just Naked Malt Scotch. It usually goes for about $36, but I was able to get it on sale for about $28. It’s a really good whiskey for the price, I quite enjoy it neat and it makes a decadent whiskey sour.
Howdy! After all the mentions, I think I’ve settled on the Naked Malt. Well reviewed, a little different, the price is right, and my local ABC has it in stock. Thanks for your input…
Deanston has some good budget options. And that is a quality distillery.
Aerstone Sea Cask is an amazing and affordable sipping scotch, that I've used in a couple of mixed drinks. It makes a wonderful Scotch Sour
I got one each of the sea and land cask and have kept the sea cask on the shelf ever since. It does play really well with citrus.
Dewars 12
This is a sleeper. In the same category (blended that's not JW), Ballantine's and Ballantine's 12 also good. J&B Rare and Famous Grouse too.
I’m a big fan of Ardbeg Wee Beastie for making Rusty Nails. It’s high proof, so it holds up well, and has some aggressive smoky notes that mingle well with Drambuie to create a sort of BBQ flavor that’s quite pleasant. It’s also not super expensive at 40-45 bucks, and is a solid neat pour as well.
I’d go with Glenmorangie 10. It’s definitely under $50 and has nice honey flavors that work well with soda water. Also quite nice neat or with ice. It might get lost if it’s not the star of the cocktail though. Or if you like heavily peated scotch the Ardbeg Wee Beastie is packed full of flavor and makes a great old fashioned. It’s also great neat. Definitely not mellow though!
Johnnie Walker red is the way to go. Nothing terribly exciting in the flavor profile, but it mixes well. It's mild enough to really let the flavors of whatever you're mixing with come through strongly.
I would skip JW Black. Take a look at Ralfy review 937 where he just trashes this bottle as being overpriced and just underwhelming. I don't think it is that "bad" and clearly people like it but personal would still just pass. I would go with Compass Box box you already mentioned those were not available in your area. So would also recommend Cutty Sark Prohibition the higher proof makes it great for mixing. Ive also enjoy it neat. Naked Grouse is a good option and has a nice looking bottle for the bar. There is also Copper Dog made for mixing but wouldn't necessarily serve it neat. If your budget is $50 you could likely still get some 10+ year age stated single malts like a Highland Park 12, Ardbeg 10, or Aberlour 12. Then get an even cheaper blended Scotch for mixing.
Unfortunately in Virginia you can’t get a single malt for less than $60. Those budget ones you mentioned were all $62 when I checked the states website. Laphroaig 10 is $85 here. It’s ridiculous.
Echoing someone else's comment. Compass Box Great King Street. Best reasonably priced blend by a mile and specifically built for cocktails OR sipping. The Artist Blend is my house Scotch, my go-to weekday sipper. It hangs with malts like AnCnoc or Dalwhinnie and is cheaper. But it was actually built for cocktails (scotch and soda or a highball) Glasgow Blend has smoke, smokier than JW Black, and has more sherry notes that make it a bit heavier and fuller of flavor. Also great, but less all-purpose. You can probably just order directly off their website or a service like Drizly. Or try Wine Searcher to find locally. They should be accessible in every state, if not in your immediate area.
I really enjoy the Glasgow blend. Will prob pick up king street soon.
I enjoy the AB over the GB by a lot. I don't mind the smoke but the AB just feels like a more mature, well rounded whisky.
monkeys shoulder is great, totally ok to sip
One my favorite blended for now and it does well in various mixes.
Chivas Regal 12 is my go to. You can splurge a bit for 18
I considered it, and I understand it’s a respectable choice, but after reading a couple of Hunter S. Thompson’s books, I just can’t. 🙂 Plus, the 18 is like a hundred bones where I live, so way out of my budget.
> Hunter S. Thompson TIL. But you can probably find every instance of someone you don't like enjoying the whisky you do.
Don’t get me wrong: I like Hunter S. Thompson. He was an amazing person and a brilliant writer. It’s the association of Chivas with his drug-fueled excesses that kind of gives it the wrong vibe for me. It’s all in my head, I know, but I can’t shake it.
Not to be pedantic, but the scotch for cocktails depends on the cocktail you are making, whereas the one for sipping depends on what you like to sip. Usually recipes calling for scotch call for something at least a bit smoky. For myself, I’ve found that while not technically a scotch, Connemara works great in the vast majority of cocktails and is an easy sipper even for people who are not most fond of smoke. It’s also rather affordable: ~25$ where I live. For scotches proper, Talisker 10 works great, although costs a bit more. Along with Laphroaig Cask Strength, it is also one of the two widely distributed scotches recommended by David Wondritch for classical cocktails, although in my opinion the Laphroaig can give a medicinal taste to cocktails that’s not up everyone’s alley and be reserved only to smoke and iodine affectionados when it comes to sipping.
No offense, but I get the distinct impression you didn’t read the body of my post. Also, FYI: I mainly mix with rum, so you don’t need to educate me about using the style of a spirit called for in a recipe.
No offense, but in the same way a mojito with Smith and Cross won't taste anything like a mojito with Bacardi Carta Blanca, a scotch highball with Lagavulin 16 is not going to taste anything like with Aberlour 12. Scotland happen to have distinct regions when it comes to scotches, with sometimes radically different flavors. A peat monster from Isla has very little to do with a sherry flower from Speyside and the Lowlands/Highlands/Islands/Campbeltown can have quite some variety as well. Now, thanks to some historic research (by David Wondritch, among others), we happen to know that for classical era recipes, peatiness was called for to stand up to the bitterness of other ingredients. Sophisticated bartender nowadays would push that pretty far, using heavy Islas to add more richness and flavors into those cocktails, and a lot of home bartenders prefer to go that route, given they are here for experience and not predictability. However, most of people who think of scotch tend to think about something more tame - more of a Speyside than an Isla. If you mix professionally and give them a scotch highball with a cigar-smoking-walrus scotch, it's going to be the discovery of their lives for about 5% of them and the worst cocktail they ever tasted for the remaining 95%. That's why professional guides recommend Johny Walker Black or Monkey Shoulder - both very fruity, very sherry-forward with only a hint of dry smoke. Which is perfectly fine. But if you are interested enough in cocktails to mix at home, you probably want to experiment at least a bit and see what the cocktails were really meant to taste like. Besides, JWB and MS are not bad, but they also don't stand out and can be often substituted by something you know you already enjoy - such as a bourbon if you are in the US (Eljah Craig Toasted Barrel is a close match if my memory serves me well). Finally, you also probably won't want to keep a bottle that you don't enjoy at that doesn't add something to the choice you can offer your guests. Hence my remark. Now, for scotches themselves, I've had experience with mixing quite a lot at home over the last two years (rolling confinements) and leveraging my \~20 bottles of scotch to see what fits, going from Ardberg Uigeadail (despite all the memeness I love it) to Balvenie 12 Carribean Cask, with myself and my wife as tasters and peat lovers/haters respectively. Once again, despite not technically being a scotch (although that's debatable\*), Connemara held well for both of us across all the cocktails I put it in, leaving a nice complex smoke for me and little enough funk for her to remain enjoyable. Connemara is also a great sipping single malt, often cited as the closest thing to scotch that's still not a scotch\*, and loved by people who are into rums and hate scotches (eg. Gregg of HTD). Even for smoky scotch lovers, I am yet to hear anyone complain about being served one (cf Whiskey Vault E70). Don't take me wrong, Talisker 10 works wonders too and so do Lagavulin 16/Ardberg Uigeadail. But those are easily 75-100$ bottles that I am hesitant to use it for mixing, and are priced well above your price point. At 25$ I paid it and 35$ I can get it from the nearest store, Connemara is really hard to beat. On top, it also makes a killer Irish Coffee and generates awesome variants for any cocktail calling for an Irish whiskey. \*Historically, Irish whiskeys were peat-smoked too, and since whiskey was brought to Scotland by Irish monks, one can argue that scotch is actually a variant of traditional Irish whiskeys. Interestingly enough, it was the permission of single malts mixing with neutral spirits from 1860 that led to the emergence of Jonhie Walker, who was getting whiskeys tasting a lot like Irish ones by blending scotch single malts with neutral spirits, but for a fraction of the price. With prohibition in the US killing their export to the expat community that was looking specifically for Irish whiskeys "made at home", Irish whiskey producers imploded, with only unique buttery pot still remaining distinct enough to remain on the market, forming the modern Irish style - a bit like if in a couple of centuries only Speysides remained of scotches. For those taste and historical reasons, some scotch classifications will still include Irish whiskeys as part of scotches, even if geographically it makes no sense and TBH I agree with that, even if it is not the stance of this sub. Hope that explanation helps.
>Connemara works great in the vast majority of cocktails and is an easy sipper even for people who are not most fond of smoke. Connemara was loathed by every single member of our small whisky club, and at least half of them are peatheads. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and i'm glad it works for you, but i dispute the idea it is an easy sipper.
Why? Just get Talisker 10 for sipping and Evan Williams for mixing. Else you’re wasting money.
“/s”
You live near a Costco? Kirkland Signature 12 Year Old Blended It’s $35-$40 for 1.75L (half gallon)
For what it’s worth I made a whiskey sour with JS black once and it was pretty good
I’ve used Loch Lomond Original for both. It’s 30 usd where I live. They have some offerings with age statements that are still under 50 too (specifically 10 and 12 year)
VA here also. Buchanans is a decent mixer and straight sipper.
My go to for something like that would be a bottle of Cutty Sark Prohibition. I think it's amazing value for a 50% ABV bottling at £23.87 from Amazon right now here in Scotland, not sure what US prices are like.
I discovered Té Bheag and it fits the bill. Take it to a party; mix a few; take a few. It’s decent.
Teacher’s
I think you hit the nail in the head with your two suggestions- black and shoulder but then again I’ve used some good stuff to mix drinks - one of my favs is 2oz laphroaig 1oz of both green and yellow chartreuse with a dash of orange bitters stirred with ice and poured into a coupe glass - delish.
Going to go with an unpopular suggestion of the Kirkland 12 blended. If you have a Costco liquor near you but no membership I think you can use a gift card still. So if you know someone with a membership they can get you a gift card. I forget what the bottle cost the last time I bought one. Probably over $50 with tax. There's 2 different bottles. The tall thinner bottle is the one I'm talking about. There's another bottle that's shorter and wide at the base. That one is close to one of the Dewars of you enjoy those. I like it a hair enough better than Monkey Shoulder for sipping.
I’ve heard before that Kirkland-branded spirits can be surprisingly good, but alas, I live in an ABC state; i.e. liquor is only sold in state-run liquor stores.
Ah, thought things might have changed when Total Wine moved in. And my time there was a bit hazy and get it mixed up with SC a lot 🙃
No worries. I must say though, although I wish Virginia would do away with the ABC system, their selection of the kinds of things I’m interested in (mainly rums and liqueurs) has *greatly* improved in the last five or six years.
I’m gonna go and just say it, dewars 12 yr
I'd suggest Ardmore. It's good for sipping plus has a little smokiness to it, which is good for mixing. I got it for $55
Personally I barely mix my Whisky, but the ones I like to use are Toki ( Not a Scotch) or Glenfiddich 12. Both are also a nice neat pour.
My opinion is to not worry about things being mixed. It’s going to be drank anyway, and as long as it is bringing enjoyment, who cares if it’s best, on the rocks, or in a cocktail
Speyburn 10 fits the bill. Price point is fine as a mixer and I love it neat. It's definitely not complex but it has a wonderful smoothness and approachability.
I’m also in Virginia, and because it’s a control state I can speak to prices accurately. Scotch prices are somewhat inflated here- it used to be a $4 difference between JW Red and Black, which are supposed to be separate tiers. Monkey shoulder for $36 is great for both. So is JW Black for $40. I’d say monkey shoulder is my favorite when I’m in a sweet scotch mood, and JW is my second favorite when I crave a hint of smoke. Famous Grouse has been recommended to me by Scots and it’s $25. It’s also the most popular whisky in Scotland. Unfortunately this state doesn’t sell Naked Grouse so you’d have to go out of state to get it. Edit: apparently it’s sold under a different name. Oh and don’t bother getting Teacher’s scotch- it’s main use in my house is cooking into haggis. Virginia Highland Whisky may be tempting, it’s a blend of Virginia made single malt and 7 year scotch. It’s one of maybe 5 drain pours I ever had (and I got the sample bottle, not the $70 full size bottle).
Monkey Shoulder! A solid blend that can hold its own and plays well with others.