@Whiskali mine are 11 and 7. Last year during vacation at the English countryside of Cotswolds, I wanted to visit the grain to glass distillery. Took so many bribes to convince them, and once we were there, it was all “ this is boring. Just buy a bottle and let’s go!!”

@PBMichiganWolverine I totally understand - my wife and I have a 2 1/2 year old who dominates our trip agendas.

@Whiskali there’s one distillery there called Floki ...it’s new, was thinking of stopping by there. Distillery visits are always hard on vacations...selling that to young kids and the wife is a struggle.

@Whiskali yeah—-definitely! Thanks !

@Whiskali for sure. Shoot me an email and I'll send you my open bottle list. Always down to trade samples. [email protected]

@dubz480 let me know if you’re interested in trying the Westward stout cask, and I’ll shoot you a sample.

@PBMichiganWolverine sounds great! Have you had the Westward stout cask finish? If not, I’ll include it. I really like it. Have fun in Iceland; I’m sure that will be incredible! Are you planning to visit any distilleries while you’re there?

@Whiskali oh perfect—-yeah, I’d be interested in a sample. I’ll include a few as well—that Balblair, a Del Maguey Arroqueno , and a Japan only Fuji Sanroku. You have my email? I’ll send it out Labor Day. I’m in Denver this week and next, then in Iceland for vacation

@PBMichiganWolverine I ordered it from Seelbach’s https://seelbachs.com I can include some of the Rua when I send you the Balblair 90 if you’d like.

@dubz480 @Whiskali. Where did you order it from—I’ll see if they ship to NJ.

@Whiskali. nice man!! For the money I think you will be really impressed.

@dubz480 I just ordered a bottle of Rua; it will be here next week. I’m really looking forward to trying it out!

@Whiskali i think so—at least for Act 6 of their Midwinter, they used their own distillate for a portion. And ironically, out of all their Acts, that 6 was my least favorite. Their early 2 and 3 were amazing —probably best finished rye I’ve ever had

@PBMichiganWolverine That’s unfortunate. I haven’t had much HW lately. Could be that now they’re actually using a higher % of their own juice. In the early days most of it was bought from MGP. HW has only been in existence for 12 years so they still haven’t built up a ton of aged stock but would be interesting to know how it’s being distributed across and integrated into their various bottlings.

@Whiskali the other thing I noticed with High West—-I loved their early pre-acquisition versions. Post acquisition, it’s just not the same level. Not sure if the liquid is younger, or cheaper casks

@PBMichiganWolverine That’s a good point. It will probably take a while for them to ramp up and normalize their operations/costs. It’s pretty unreal that High West was started, grown and acquired in 9 years. Shows how much whiskey is booming right now. I hope that we don’t see the independents gobbled up too quickly.

@Whiskali @dubz480 @SolanaRoots based on previous acquisitions, like Constellation and High West for example, I thought the prices unfortunately go up or stay the same. Logically you’re right. But I’m thinking the acquirer won’t reduce prices just because they need to see return on their cash infusion investment

@dubz480 @SolanaRoots @PBMichiganWolverine Thanks for the recommendations; will check these out. $180 is too high. But I am willing to pay more for American single malts and innovative whiskies from small, independent distilleries. I think about it the same way I buy food - I pay more for the things I want to see more of. I want these guys to stick around and know it’s a capital intensive business so I justify paying a bit of a premium, especially to the early-stagers. BUT Diageo just invested in Westward so, in my mind, they’re on the clock now - I want to start see the prices come down on their entry level and increase their age/stock on their premium bottlings.

@PBMichiganWolverine yeah I couldn't imagine not could live up to it! Honestly even there standard at darn near $80 is a pass for me.

@dubz480 wow...so not worth that price.

@PBMichiganWolverine Garryana 2018 is $180 in my market 🤪

totally agree with @dubz480 ...while Westland is good...it’s pricey at close to $80 for their standard offerings, and over $140 for the Garryana.

@SolanaRoots shame on me! As I know you like smoky Whiskey, The Dorado by Del Bac from my great state is also outstanding for around $45. The malt is smoked using Mesquite which is native to AZ versus peat. The results are fantastic m

@SolanaRoots best American Single Malt value hands down is the Rua out of Charlotte, NC. It's really tasty and at $40 a bottle very hard to beat. Westward and Westland while good are a poor value IMO

@Whiskali Yeah, I’m curious to see @dubz480 recommendations as well. I enjoyed Deerhammer, Westland Peated, & Slow Hand Six Woods but would probably suggest a pour rather than a full bottle of those. Heard great things about St George but hard to find & spendy

@dubz480 yeah, they’re putting out some tasty stuff over there. They also have a cask strength single malt that is a couple years older - I only had a pour of it but it good. I’m looking to explore more American single malts. Any you’ve come across the you really dig?

Sounds really interesting. I really enjoy the small batch bottle I had of theirs.