Affordable/house/everyday/young scotch

Hard for me to wade thru the 18 year olds in the scotch thread and find the daily drinker gems. Our state has done us a huge favor and increased our scotch prices by 50% or so (actually we did it to ourselves). I’m not so sure what my regular scotch is anymore. Used to be Aberlour 10, but I guess they don’t make it anymore. Sometimes I use JW Black. Sheep dip. Springbank 10, but not so cheap. Need some other ideas.

Uhhhhh … I’m pretty sure Aberlour 10 is still made … when/where did you hear it’s no more? That would be a major bummer, if true — it was going to be one of my suggestions.

Others to consider:
Highland Park 12
Clynelish 14
Cragganmore 12
Port Charlotte 10 (Islay)
Laphroaig 10 (Islay) … and I’d actually strongly urge you to step up to the 10 yo CS, but that’s going to be i nthe $65 - $70 range, which I reckon is more than you’re looking for here

Gordon & Macphail makes some nice bottlings that are very affordable from many different distilleries

Kilchoman is a farm distillery that is making a name for it’s young whiskies

Glenmorangie 12yr Quinta Ruban is one my go to’s, can he found for $58-$65.

But I have switched to rum and the el dorado 12yr old at $25 can’t be beat.

Look for Passport Scotch. It’s a blended scotch that is/was shipped in bulk and bottled here in the US. It was my daily drinker for many, many years, while my Dewars and aged single malts remained in the cupboards for special days.

Also, I was drinking it with soda in the early years, with water in the middle years and on the rocks before wine became my daily drinker.

Passport to Pinot? Sounds like an epic voyage. There’s a book in there somewhere. Maybe a made-for-television movie starring Beau Bridges?

I switched more to bourbon a few years back, and the basic Buffalo Trace is a good value.

It’s clearly not scotch but the Powers 12 Irish Whiskey is delicious and super easy drinking. It’s $30. I’ve got fancier stuff in the cupboard but this makes me happy more often than not.

Otherwise I like the Glendronach stuff. The 12 is 40-50.

K and L was selling the Singleton 12y Glendullan for $28. That’s for a liter I haven’t had it but it sounds like it might fit the bill.

Scott

Kirkland (Costco) single malts. 18 year old under $40. Macallan made the Speyside release. Now it’s a Highland 18.

Careful, I’ll complain to the WWOTW about your comment and all wine will taste like pond water to you.

You don’t think she fantasizes about Beau Bridges, when, you know…

thanks everyone. Note that a $30-40 scotch elsewhere is likely to be a $60-70 scotch in Washington state these days.
with regard to Aberlour, we haven’t been able to get it in WA for the last 2-3 years. I was told they weren’t producing it ,or bringing into the US or something, but maybe that’s all whoey. If anyone knows where it’s available in the seattle area, let me know. It was a nice affordable scotch and it’s sad it’s disappeared. All the other aberlours are too oaked up.

You’re right about Aberlour - the 12 Year Old is now their least expensive entry. It’s a solid “daily drinker” and you should be able to find it for $40-$45. Two others to look for are the Aberfeldy 12 Year and the Old Pulteney 12 Year. They should also be around $40 and I think they’re both more interesting and have more character than your basic Glenlivet or Glenfiddich. If you can’t find things locally there are plenty of shops who will ship to you. If you order at least 2 bottles then the shipping costs aren’t that bad and are often covered by what you save by not paying tax.

I think the 12 yo is their sherry cask thing or something–don’t like the super woody scotches that seem to be the trend these days. I’ll check out the others you’ve mentioned.

thanks Randy. Not sure if I can ever remember having Passport. Sometimes in all the single malt trendiness folks forget that there are some very, very good blended scotches.

In the under 50 category, ones that I always make sure I have are cragganmore and dalwhinnie in the vanilla leaning category and laphroaig 10 in the peat monster category.

Thanks berto. I’ve always liked Cragganmore, but both it and dalwhinnie at least around here seem too expensive for what they are. with regard to laphroaig, I like the peaty monsters now and then, but not for an everyday drinker.

Tried Aberfeldy and Old Pulteney. Both good solid choices, but I found myself wanting some slight peat, and a splash of floral component. Any other ideas?

Give The Famouse Grouse a try. The Grouse is a blend but very decent and should be a bargain compared to most single malts.