that is exactly what I was thinking !
This is likely too late for your husband’s purchase, but that question is rather one of personal preference.
I’m solidly in the single malt camp & find all blended scotch to be a waste of money 
I’m also not crazy about highland scotch, as I find it too sweet. My personal favorite (and a good bargain) is the Jura - only lightly peaty & fairly complex.
I started off my scotch “journey” (how I hate that word, unless it actually involves travel) with peatier ones like Laphroaig, or Talisker, but those are def not every day scotches for me.
It’s rare these days that I’m in the mood for a mouthful of embers 
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There’s always this tinyurl.com/2cwfrnzv
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I love Laphroaig and Talisker, and especially Ardbeg. But I also like Johnny Walker Black Label. So sue me.
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Nah. We like what we like
I laughed out loud when I opened your link and saw the $$$$ thanks for your post.
My husband would have to finish off the basement and build a cottage to earn that one !
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Please write a review later.
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I always thought Yukon Jack was based on a dare. I so dislike it. I like Dickel better than JD.
I use the Bulleit Rye in my Red Hooks (variant on the Manhattan) and it makes a really tasty drink. 2 ounces Rye, 1/2 ounce Luxardo Maraschino Cherry Liquor, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth (I don’t use Punt e Mes) garnish with a regular maraschino cherry.
Now that is a nice sipping drink!
I have also used Bulleit Bourbon in my Red Hooks and it is nearly as good as the Rye. Not surprisingly, the Luxardo bottle lasts a lot longer than the Rye bottle…
Scotches are so wildly different that a best is impossible. They can be very expensive, but the highest price is not always the best choice. For example, I went to a vertical of Macallan many years ago. The 18 was by far my favorite, but the twenty-something was mighty nice with bread pudding. I enjoy Islays. I usually buy Ardbeg or Bowmore, but I am not wed to Islay. I greatly enjoy Glenrothes, Dalwhinnie, and Aberlour, but my goodness they are different. Despite the crap that Scotch elitests throw their way, I enjoy the more mainstream ones like Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and Glenmorangie. I am not wild about Scotch aged in Sherry, Port, etc. casks, but they are the whiskies I find pair best with a cigar or pipe. Heck, I can even enjoy Johnnie Walker red.
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I used to treat myself to a bottle of Macallan 25 a couple times a year when it used to cost $250-300. When it hit $500 I bought three to put away. Drank 2 and put the last in my cellar. I am having a hard time opening it now as it’s replacement will be $1400 and there’s no way I will pay that much. That is a special scotch. My favorite for regular drinking is Lagavulin 16.
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I feel that way about vintage Krug.
I feel the same with many bottles in my bourbon collection. Many have escalated in price so much that I hate to open them.
Well, unfortunately I cant say “many bottles”, but I do have an unopened bottle of Van Winkle 12 year Reserve Bourbon that I look at wistfully when I drink my way thru the perfectly acceptable bottle of Makers Mark that stands next to it. Maybe for my 100th birthday?
While I loved the regular Rip, there are some other comparably fine bourbons out there. Sadly, they are all going up and up in price. Thankfully the bottle of OGD bonded i am working on is quite affordable and pretty perfect in an old fashioned.
I hear you. I have a 1976 Sauterne that I got when a friend passed. I am not much of a wine drinker so drinking it would be kind of like throwing pearls before swine. If the wine is still good.
Perhaps you shouldn’t wait past your 90th?
If well stored, an aged Sauterne can be pretty wonderful.
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I know we have the inflation now, but since I bought the majority of my single malt whsikeys in 2018 and 2019, prices have raised like crazy on single malt whiskeys to a point where I no longer feel it’s worth it to.
I do enjoy a good single malt whiskey, but I can’t afford paying crazy prices for my daily driver.
Lagavulin 16 is still priced pretty much like it used to be priced back in 2018 - perhaps raised by 15% or so, but some of the other whiskeys have raised in price like 2-300% since early 2019.
I remember the prices starting going up in mid 2019 on many of my daily driver whsikeys and it doesn’t seem to have stopped - and this was before the inflation, war in Ukraine and covid_19.
Is it the big venture capital companies that have caused the raise in whiskey prices ?
I’ve been a fan of OGD 114. Bought a case when it was rumored to be discontinued several years ago. Used it in my Manhattan barrel in my kitchen. Manhattans on tap….so good. Antica vermouth, one of the best imo was my go to
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