I like El Dorado 12 rum!
I would throw High West Double Rye into the best under $45 rye category. I love it in a Manhattan, yet it can hold its own consumed neat. I like Rittenhouse in a Manhattan but am not crazy about it neat. Of course Rittenhouse is cheaper than HWDR. I can usually get the DR for $35; however, when we were on the other side of FL for T-giving, I found a place selling it and the HW Prairie Bourbon for $25/bottle. I loaded up, so now I will be enjoying Double Rye Manhattans for the foreseeable future.
Not to put too fine a point on this but Redbreast is Irish Whiskey . . . . good Irish Whiskey but Irish Whiskey never the less. Redbreast is a great way to move over from bourbon to Scotch because most Irish Whiskies are milder than Scotch. Irish Whiskies are usually milder because they are triple distilled. Irish Whiskey and Scotch have a lot in common because they are both starting with barley as their main grain.I'm drinking more scotch as I age. More opportunities to try different ones. I have really enjoyed red breast ones I had over the last 2 _ 3 years. Not a bad introduction for new drinkers.
What are some scotches that would be the opposite of that?
Not to put too fine a point on this but Redbreast is Irish Whiskey . . . . good Irish Whiskey but Irish Whiskey never the less. Redbreast is a great way to move over from bourbon to Scotch because most Irish Whiskies are milder than Scotch. Irish Whiskies are usually milder because they are triple distilled. Irish Whiskey and Scotch have a lot in common because they are both starting with barley as their main grain.
Scotch is made from malted barley and is usually (but not always) double distilled. Irish Whiskey is made from malted barley and dry barley and is usually triple distilled.
I am a big fan of Irish Whiskey but I drink more Scotch. Generally speaking you are not going to find as many different Irish Whiskies as you will find different Scotches.
I definitely agree with you that the older I get the more I like Scotch. Could that has something to do with our tastebuds?
What do you think of Dalmore 12? I don't have the most advanced scotch palate, but a friend gifted me a bottle last year and I have really enjoyed it.
Game of Thrones has come out with a limited edition of eight different Scotches. They are done by eight reputable distilleries. All eight Scotches are reasonably priced. I bought one by Talisker and another by Lagavulin . . . but I haven't tried either. They are getting decent reviews.
I like it a lot. It is a very good, medium priced single malt. (Most reviewers give it 3 1/2 to 4 out of 5 stars.) I personally like it because it is partly finished in oloroso sherry casks. Also try Dalmore Cigar Malt . . . even if you don't smoke cigar.
Picked up the Glenmorangie 12 year La Santa (bourbon/sherry cask finish) for Christmas sipping. I enjoy all sorts of liquors but in the cold dark months Scotch is my go-to. Bourbon for the spring and fall, gin all summer long.
Speaking of gin, Fainting Goat Distillery in Greensboro makes one called Emulsion that I think is excellent.