Cheapest I have seen it for a while. One of my personal favourites. Dan Murphy's has it for $41.90 at the moment as well. https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_907528/dimple-12-ye…
Dimple 12YO Scotch Whisky 700mL:
As with any blended Scotch the key to a good one is the balance of flavours which is delivered in droves by Dimple. A well rounded Whisky with surprising depth of character making it a stand out that punches well above it's price!
How would you compare with this:
https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_91241/chivas-regal-…
$39.80
Good price on the regal too. I drink both. Not a bad drop as well.
I love Chivas now. Especially the 18yo Chivas!
Very good scotch. Pricey though. Not for the every weekend drinks.
I grabbed a Glen Grant Major's Reserve Single Malt the other day at the same-ish price. Being an inexperience whisky drinker - how does this compare? I'm surprised by the difference to the Lagavulin. I know it's much more expensive, and aged, but the smoky peaty-ness is all but absent from the Grant.
The beauty of single malts is the uniqueness of each malt! If you're a fan of the peat smoke you should stick to the Islay (eye-lah) malts in no particular order - Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Bunnahabhain, Bowmore, Kilchoman, Bruichladdich. Talisker is another fairly seriously peated malt, but from the Isle of Skye. Do not be surprised if you don't detect any peat in a single malts from any other distilleries.
Also the peatiness doesn't actually come from the aging. It's put into the barley just after malting, when it is (sometimes) toasted over peat. Originally this was done in Islay because the island is covered in peat bogs and the cost of shipping wood or coal over probably wasn't justified.
Incidentally if you like a bit of spice to your Scotch, try to find something that was finished in a sherry, or red wine cask. Different cask finishes can be another source of complexity of aroma.
Thanks for reply mate. Yeah, been doing a bit of my own research - lots of those same names cropping up. Apparently the Ardbeg is even more smokey than the Lagavulin? General rule is islay malts are peaty and highland malts are sweeter?
Hmm, regarding sherry/wine casked whisky, are there any you'd personally recommend?
Yep Ardbeg has more peat than Lagavulin.. prob one of my favourite malts.. the Uigeadail is fantastic but even the standard ten year old is great value.. definitely one I would recommend buying. Packs a lot of smokey complexity. You'll notice it's a yellow colour (indicating they haven't added caramel to it) and if you drink it on a cold night you might notice it go cloudy in your glass (indicating it hasn't been chill filtered). Caramel and chill-filtration is something whisky nerds often go on about.. they make a whisky prettier and more marketable (particularly in growth markets in the developing world) but negatively affect the taste. When a whisky has no added caramel and is not chill-filtered its an indication that the producer has some dedication to the drinking quality of the product, and is willing to make some marketing sacrifices to achieve it.
In terms of sherry-matured malts, I reckon you could do worse than the Glendronach 15 (http://www.nicks.com.au/glendronach-revival-15-year-old-100-…)
Eeach to their own of course, but I never understood why drink blended when you get a proper single malt for the same price?
My favourite everyday sipper is Glen Grant Majors Reserve Single Malt and is $39.80 from Dan Murphy's. A perfect contender for the $5 Amex cashback deal.
The only blended Scotch I ever thought was good value is the recently discontinued Johnny Walker Green Label. I guess it was cannibalising the sales of their other labels, the ones most stores keep in the locked glass cabinet (i.e. Gold, Platinum and the grossly overrated Blue).
I grabbed a bottle of this Glen Grant stuff last week from BWS. It's a bit sweet but not bad. To be honest I'd probably rather Jameson
I agree with this. It's nice, but quite sweet. Would have liked a bit of spiciness.
Of course, there are better single malts to be had, just not at the $40 mark.
And fair enough too, but Irish Whiskey is a different cattle of fish altogether though. Some people prefer Jim Beam and there's nothing wrong with that either (that's why I said each to their own).
I'm very much a Scotch drinker myself and I was just comparing the value proposition of the blended Scotch vs single malt Scotch. I like a good single malt Scotch for it's complexity and Jamison just doesn't give me that.
A single malt is a blend, but more specifically a blend of whiskys from a single distillery. This doesn't mean that it is necisarily better than a blend, although it is more than likely the case when looking at more expensive bottles.
The quality of whiskeys at the $40 price mark, however, is more dependant on the individual brand / label than on whether it is a "blend" or a "single malt".
That being said, the Glen Grant isn't a bad drop!
Personally, for this price range, I'd recommend The Glenlivet 12 yo (single malt) or Spey River 12 yo (blend)
I agree with most of what you said there, but the Glen Grant Majors Reserve is the only one that can often be found under $40, which would technically put these two in a different price range.
Also, I would personally rate Glenlivet more or less on par with the Majors Reserve. Perhaps, it's related to the increased production volumes (the Glenlivet is one of the most popular single malt's in the world and is growing really fast in Asia)and the inevitable drop in quality. Not saying it's bad, just remember there being more complexity 5 years ago. Or, maybe, it's a case of my tastes changing over time.
$39…$45… close enough to compare.
You may be correct, the last bottle I had was bought about 4 years ago.
It also tasted definitely worse after I obtained a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15yo and another from Lark (Tassie)! ;)
have you tried Glen Moray? Another single malt usually at or below $40.
I've seen it around but have not had a chance to give it a try. Thanks for the tip.
Should try the Overeem port cask from Old Hobart Distillery (which, i believe, was recently bought by lark too)
I'd love to do a whisky distilleries tour of Tassie one of these days!
worth it for Lark alone :P
Although in a completely different price bracket than what we are talking about for this deal, their Single Malt Cask Strength is probably the best whisky I have ever tasted in my life.
That being said, my exposure to whiskys in the $150 for 500ml range is relatively small.
http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/02/what-is-single-malt-sc…
This is a good read about single malt and blended whiskies.
Great timing !!!