Holy Grail

SPIRITUAL QUESTS, @Fons! The Philosophy, Nay!, Theology of Whisky-Love...Poetry too, I suppose.

I am more about the acquisition than about the lusting/panting and frustration myself, but I do know the desire to have some beverages which have stayed a bit out of reach.

For me, the pull is much much stronger if I've actually tasted the whisky and love it...not to be a tormentor to you, but that taste of Octomore Orpheus that @dbk gave me on April 8, 2011 burned something of a whole in my brain until the day a bottle appeared in front of me at a liquor store, totally unexpectedly. I really hadn't been looking for it because I thought that it was no longer available in my area. Of course I bought it, given the chance. Even my now-70-yo sister who "hates Scotch" and "hates peat" swooned for the stuff immediately. And it is EVERY bit as good as I remember it.

For me, now, the ONE on that list for me is one I've tasted maybe 5 or 6 times. It is a single private barrel of Willett Rye Whiskey, 23 years old, named "The Iron Fist", which came out and was sold in, I think, 2008. I think @BourbonDork probably owns a few bottles of it on that Willett Shelf of his. How to describe the taste and appeal of this whiskey? I, my wife Dramlette, and at least one or two other friends of ours, upon first tasting "The Iron Fist" spontaneously, uncontrollably, independently, doubled over in paroxysms of LAUGHTER!!! WHAT IS THIS STUFF I AM DRINKING? It tasted completely unlike anything I have ever had in my mouth, before or since.

@Fons For me, right now anyway, it's your very last question that I'll respond to. There is no one bottle I'm after, but I am looking for something special from the Bladnoch Distillery. Bladnoch whiskies are not especially hard to come by so I'm waiting for something special. After that I'll search for the next new release that peaks my interest.

New, unusual releases are unexpected and often offer a special surprise. My most recent purchase was the Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection Ledaig 19 year old that had been finished in St. Joseph wine casks. Utterly amazing stuff. The red wine tamped down Ledaig's burnt rubber smoke without making the whisky sicky sweet. My first sip of that one was akin to the Holy Grail. There will be lots more to come, and they will come from unusual and unexpected places too.

I guess you'd say my advice is to not get fixated on search for the grail, but certainly to enjoy it when it presents itself.

@Fons: I think that for most of us the 'Holy Grail' Whisky is just around the next corner and we keep looking.

Do try as many samples as you can, decide on the style you like most, then refine your search - If you find you particularly like like a certain 10yo. try the 15yo. from the same maker or perhaps a cask strength.

Older is not always better nor is more expensive the best guide to what might tick all your boxes, just keep looking.

Good Luck.

For me I'll go with "The Last Drop" and/or Black Bowmore. I've seen Black Bowmore a couple of times in person, once in New York City's Park Avenue Liquor and again in London's Harrod's. both times they were asking around US$6,000. I'll never see The Last Drop. If I did I might try to buy it.

@Wodha do you snow ski?

www.wineliquorbeer.com/sku19994.html

My whisky budget would not likely allow a spontaneous purchase of a 'Holy Grail' like bottle, but one that I really feel like I juuuuust missed out on (why couldn't I have gotten into whisky sooner?!) would be the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist. I have no idea what the cost would be, if I happened to stumble across a bottle on a rare/random trip into the US, but it would be one that would tempt me more than most.

Very happy to say that I just recently acquired my Holy Grail! I have been wanting to get my hands on a Karuizawa from the Noh series for quite some time. Just a couple of weeks ago I came across it in a store in Tokyo and jumped on it. I am now the very proud owner of a Karuizawa Multi-vintage 27 yo from the second Noh series.

I'll be opening this one on my son's wedding day!

I'd also like to pose a question to everyone. What is your opinion about obtaining your Holy Grail whiskies from ordering online?

Personally, I think the option of purchasing whiskies online is fantastic, but when it comes to getting that special bottle, I think much of the enjoyment is the search itself. I could have easily purchased a Karuizawa from the Noh series online but for some reason I really wanted to discover this bottle in a more personal way. Any thoughts?

@CanadianNinja I also get much more enjoyment from buying a bottle "in person" rather than over the internet, even if the "in person" purchase is 10-20% more expensive than the internet price (physical shops do need our support).

Personally, my Holy Grail is the 1995 Nikka Coffey Malt (not the Nikka Coffey GRAIN, which is widely available, but rather the Nikka Coffey MALT)

Now that this thread has resurfaced, I go back to the last line I wrote in my original post.

Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2006 came to me out of some effort on my part and a great patience on my supplier's part.

To date Bere Barley is the Holy Grail. There's no other whisky like this. It demands your time to become acquainted, and you're rewarded for the time invested. You can't have Bere Barley and three or ten other drams. You must maintain a certain fidelity. You can't be fickle or your desire will betray you and leave you thinking less of the dram. Marry this dram for a night, or two. Your reward will be a life-long memory.

@Fons I don't have a Holy Grail as i haven't been drinking Whisky for all that long. I have a real itch to scratch with Ardbeg Galileo and Ardbeg Alligator. I would love to try these but had been struggling to find some at a half reasonable price.

In my search I found a web site yesterday which sources and stocks hard to find Whisky (www.htfw.com) and they appear to have to stock your personal Holy Grail but it is over what you wanted to spend.

htfw.com/scotch-malt-whisky/islay/…

In response to the thread subject of buying from a retailer rather than online, i would live to. I haven't found anywhere local to me that has a good stock of Whisky so I do tend to buy online when "regular" stores don't stock it (e.g Uigeadial).

Good thread though, interesting to see what people are hankering after.

@tjb Sorry for the late reply! Thanks for your suggestion. I looked at it and thought for a minute "Should I...", but that ended quickly, since it was indeed way more than I saw myself spending on it. Either way I noticed it is gone now anyway. Maybe for the best or I could've succumbed in a weak moment. :D

@Fons Great discussion yes I have a Holy Grail of whisky it's any Octomore I can find, just found the Orpheus in Chicago a week ago and yes I paid plenty for it. I just can't seem to leave that one behind anywhere I come across one I buy it. :)

@two-bit-cowboy Only $2,200! It's a good thing I am 889 miles away from Jackson Hole. I assume one of the high-rolling visitors there already snagged it. I don't watch MTV Cribs much but when I have the pop star or rapper always proudly open their refrigerator to display multiple bottles of Cristal Champagne. I always thought if I had that kind of money I'd have a man cave with crazy whiskies. Last, Drop, Brora 30, Black Bowmore, the entire offering of Glenfarclas Family Casks...

@Wodha Yeah, it's good to dream, eh?

Probably Ardbeg Lord of the Isles. Though I'd go crazy for any vintage Ardbeg. I am so much more obsessed with Ardbeg than any other distillery.

Scratch that - Ardbeg Supernova

My "holy grail?" Any Port Ellen I can get my greedy hands on.

It's not all good, but more than a few so-so batches somehow turned magically delicious over time. Not sure why. The really good batches are, by and large, mostly bought up and in people's collections or the bottles have already been drunk.

www.youtube.com/watch (due to censorship, this scene is only available in Spanish dubbing)

I suppose a Holy Grail for me would have to be something that I could potentially afford, otherwise, what is the point of finding it? It would appear that for the moment, my cut off is 300.00. I have never paid 300.00 but I could see myself doing so for something that I abslolutely must have.

For me, that would be Laphroaig 25 cask strength 2011 bottling. It is not particularly hard to find, but it is so beyond my price point that it may as well be. My hope, is to find a bottle in a small liquor store that they are tired of looking at, and would rather get something, than nothing. When I can talk an owner down to 250-300, I will have my Grail.