Originally posted by Arsenlael
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People sometimes overlook them, because of they've been around so long, or it's "what their fathers drank" and that's a mistake. They've been around so long because they're delicious and reasonably priced.
I'm not a huge fan of regular Maker's but the 101,(harder to find), the cask strength and the 46 are solid. If they have Buffalo Trace on the shelf, buy it, as long as it's no more than $30.00. The Mrs and I prefer it over the regular Maker's and it used to be a relative bargain for ~ $23.00. Not anymore. For whatever reason, people started going nuts for it, (I forget the reason), and you couldn't find anywhere. Even now, it's usually overpriced and, in some places, it's even allocated. It's good, but not that good.
If you like rye whiskey, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding Rittenhouse or Old Overholt ryes. They're a downright bargain in the $20-$25 range and they're both very good. Knob Creek rye, in any iteration, is good and can be had for around $30-$35. Wild Turkey 101 rye and George Dickel rye are also good ones, and reasonably priced at ~ $30.00. A word of caution on the Dickel.....it has a distinctive and to some, off-putting, flavor that some people describe as a "Flintstone vitamin". I get that flavor from Dickely whiskey, but I like it. YMMV.
As far as Scotch goes, that's a tough one. Peated, non-peated, single malt, blends, etc. There are a ton of them, and lots of different styles. Personally, I prefer single-malt Islay whiskey. Laphroaig 10 year, Ardbeg 10 year are staples on my bar and just South of $60.00 in this neck of the woods, (Baltimore Metro area).
The Ardbeg Wee Beastie is a younger whiskey matured in ex bourbon & sherry casks. It's a solid pour for $50.00 and drinks like an older whiskey. For $20-30 more, Lagavulin 16 year, (also a staple), and Laphroaig 10 year cask strength are good ones. I was just gifted a bottle of Ardbeg Correyvreckan which is also a cask-strength whiskey, and I think that's anywhere between $90.00 and $115.00.
There are certainly more choices out there, (as our booze bunker will attest), I'm pretty sure that most of the whiskey that I've mentioned is easily found, pretty much anywhere.
Good luck in your journey!
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