The Bell Curve and the Truly Elite ?

Are you limiting by price? You can get Brora 30, Glenfarclas 40, Highland Park 25 or 30, but it's gonna cost 'ya.

Individuals will weigh in on what's good, but whose opinion do you trust? I find most useful to me personally 1) the opinions of those whom, after long study, I have found to be closest to my own, and 2) the opinions of the large sample of reviewers. Although there will always be outlying opinions, when you find a whisky which gets mass grades averaging above 90 points (or 88 for that matter) it means that almost no one is giving that whisky a low score. Those are the whiskies worth trying.

Around this club most people seem to usually want to know what is really good below some number between $ 100 and $ 150. The list will look different if you limit by price. And it will look different if your price limits are defined by the secondary market. (e.g. Pappy Van Winkle 15 yo Bourbon at $ 120 from a dealer vs $ 1,300 average on the world secondary market, as of today on wine-searcher.com. Most people cannot count on any dealer ever selling them a bottle of PVW15 at dealer suggested retail price. You'd have to marry the dealer's daughter.)

@Victor I am not getting married. I did it once. I was not very good at it. The limit was commonly available and generally under $125 US. I am asking people to set aside the just great whiskies and tell me of those that fit the description what ones really rise above.

I'm always thinking point of diminishing returns. For example, my friend recently had me try several generous drams of Highland Park 18. It was really good, but I can't help thinking I would have been disappointed had I spent $200 on a bottle myself. Was it better than HP 12? Absolutely. Was it worth 2 1/2 times the price? Nope. Not even close. Some people, my "former" self included, think that the more they spend, the better the whisky will be. This is only true to a certain point. Even Macallan Rare Cask, which was very very very good, would disappoint me if I spent $400 of my own money on it. At that price, I would expect a spiritual transformation. Not what I got...

@OdysseusUnbound I think because different people enjoy different whiskies, it's hard to say what will be better or worse according to price. A great example is Benromach 10. Tastes better than some malts twice the price.

Amrut used to be a bargain dram. I've yet to taste one that wasn't great or spectacular but I don't remember paying over $110 for the most expensive, and I believe the Fusion was about $50 when I bought it.

I would say that OGD 114 is a whisky that punches well above its price range. It's not only great for under $25, it's just great!

@dcbill, not an easy question to answer. @Victor has broken trail on this with his response. I'll follow his lead with some information. Part of the answer(s) you seek can be found in the Top Rated Whisky list of 100. It will be for you to determine which of these 100 are available and affordable. Keep in mind that we are most likely focused on commercial retail offerings and not exclusive private bottlings or super-ultra-premiums

www.connosr.com/top-rated-whisky-list

@paddockjudge I've wanted to try redbreast CS 12yo because of that list but haven't come across a chance to sample it. I've had the regular 12yo, but thought it was just ok. If the CS is as good as the reviews here and elsewhere it would seem a solid buy. Curious as to people's thoughts here - is it that much better than the regular 12yo?

@nooch, Redbreast Cask Strength 12 YO is well worth waiting for.

@nooch, via the Connosr Top 100 rated you've seen what the masses think about Redbreast 12 Cask Strength...a list I egged @Jean-Luc on to making at several iterations, expanding the original tiny list twice. Thank you very much @Jean-Luc. The list is invaluable. I am very happy for you that it was technically a rather simple programming task for you. You've seen what all of the individual reviewers have said about Redbreast 12 CS. Redbreast 12 standard and CS are different and opinions vary among those who like both which is "better". Some do more often prefer to drink the standard Redbreast 12. But for you there really is not anything left but to get a taste of Redbreast 12 CS. No amount of gathering people's opinions is going to make the whiskey taste any better or any worse for you. You will not know until you try it.

On to @dcbill...You ask a short, simple question, with a long, difficult answer. You have sufficiently defined your question to get the kind of responses you seem to be seeking. OK, "commonly available and no more than $ 125". Bear in mind that both price and availability vary extremely with almost every whisk(e)y and jurisdiction on earth. What you really want to know is what is commonly available to you at no more than $ 125. Answering this question correctly would require prodigious research into price and availability in your area. (and how large an area you define as 'your area'.) We would have to start with a list of what we each think is in its own class, then pare the list down to those few below $ 125, then go to great pains to find out if they are sold near you. You are not likely to get that response from anyone. What you are likely to get is a SWAG (sophisticated wild-ass guess) about which whiskies that person thinks are outstanding might be available within your parameters in the "average" availability type of location. It is overwhelmingly likely that no one on Connosr knows what you can and can not get in Calvert County, Maryland.

Also, as alluded to by @Nozinan and me, the emphasis has to be on current price, because you are looking to go shopping for some new products for yourself. Many of us have a list of favourites extensively populated by whiskies which used to fit your parameters, but which have over the last several years either become unavailable, or the price has been raised to no longer fit within your specification.

OK, all of that said, I will do my best to give my own answer to your question. At current prices of $ 125 max, assuming I were just building my whisky collection from scratch, I would buy: 1) any bottle of Van Winkle Bourbon or Rye offered to me under the max price (yes, I still do get offers these days, mainly for the 10 yo), 2) any bottle of Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Whiskey, i.e. George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Handy, Sazerac 18 Rye, Eagle Rare 17, offered to me below the maximum price (I have bought many of these, but the prices are just this past year starting to rise above the $ 125 limit. They are very tough to get now, at dealer price.), 3) selected batches of all Islay distillery products except Bunnahabhain, 4) any Amrut under the price limit, except maybe the unpeated Cask Strength, Intermediate Sherry and Portonova are at the top of that list, followed by peated Cask Strength, which is also excellent, 5) any Four Roses LE, or private single barrel release under the price limit, 6) any Parkers Heritage Collection release, though it might be tough to find one under the limit now, 7) Both Redbreast 12 and Redbreast 12 CS. You probably won't see Bushmills 21 for $ 125 anymore, but that would also be included, 8) all Willett Family Estate Ryes and Bourbons

In addition to these at the top of the list, 'best buys' for me also include 1) any inexpensive blended Scotch which you actually like (try Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition), 2) Old Pulteney 12, 3) Springbank 10, 3) Old Grand-Dad 114 and also 100 proof Bottled-in-Bond, 4) Bulleit Bourbon and Rye, 5) George Dickel # 12 (NOT # 8), 6) Wiser's Legacy Canadian, 7) Jameson Black Barrel, 8) Tullamore DEW Phoenix, 8) ANY AND ALL allocated Buffalo Trace products, like Elmer T. Lee, Sazerac Rye, Weller 12, Old Weller Antique 107, Rock Hill Farms, Blanton's, etc. (the only BT products to ignore are standard Ancient Age and Old Charter 8 yo), 9) almost any private barrel offered by a higher end shop, e.g. of Knob Creek Bourbon, 10) Rittenhouse and Knob Creek Ryes, 11) KBD products like Noah's Mill, Johnny Drum Private Stock, Pure Kentucky XO, 12)...and on, and on....

@dcbill, many short questions have very long answers.

@dcbill, one correction: I meant to say that you have insufficiently defined your question to obtain the sort of answers which you are seeking.

@Victor I'm curious about the reason you explicitly excluded Bunnahabhain. Are you not a fan? I've never tried one, but I'm curious to hear your reasoning...

@OdysseusUnbound, I do not dislike Bunnahabhain. I've had both very good and not good experiences with different bottlings of the 12 yo. I consider Bunnahabhain 12 to be overpriced and @dcbill is asking for best values.

...and I would be surprised if Corryvreckan-loving @dcbill is extremely impressed by mild-mannered Bunnahabhain 12.

I have enjoyed reading the replies to my post... thank you. Victor, I appreciate the list of suggestions... I will keep my eyes out for some of them. A lot of mention for Red Breast 12 CS... I love the regular 12 YO, so I will have to try and find it.

@Victor The Bunna 18 is a good one, and not badly priced (in Alberta). I too was unimpressed with the 12 even though the newest version is NCF, uncoloured and 46.3%. I had a sense that some suspect sherry casks were involved. At $105 Can in BC, it was only marginally less than the 18 a friend picked up in Edmonton.

I looked back on my notes from 2 years ago and apparently I quite liked the Bunna 12 then. It was a subsequent bottle that put me off last year. I might try it again if any of my friends have it on hand. The price here is still prohibitive though.

@BlueNote, batch quality inconsistency is a turn-off, no? Especially when the whisky is not sold inexpensively.

Three more bourbon faves, @dcbill: 1) Elijah Craig 12 yo Barrel Proof is a buy below $ 100, and a screaming buy below $ 70, 2) Evan Williams White Label, Bottled-in-Bond is my current pick for best solid drinkable bottle in the truly inexpensive category. In my area it costs under $ 15, and 3) despite some batch variability risk Fighting Cock, 103 proof, is usually strong, and is very inexpensive.

Back to Scotch, you will probably never see it on a shelf, but Isle of Skye 12 yo may be my all time favourite blended Scotch, and it costs about $ 45, tax included. I like Isle of Skye 12 better than 90% of the single malts out there.

So @dcbill & Co., we're looking for exceptionally good whiskies under $125 USD? Here are a few contenders:

•Compass Box Flaming Heart 2015 ($100)

•Springbank 12 CS ($85)

•Laphroaig 10 CS ($60)

•Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 ($75, if you can find a place that still has any—I saw one just last month)

•Indie sherry-cask CS Bunnahabhains ($60+)

•Kilkerran WIP #7 CS Bourbon Cask ($75, if you can find a place that still has any)

•Single-cask, cask-strength Kilchomans (usually around $110)

•Booker's bourbon ($50+)

•Cask-strength Port Charlottes from the "PC" range ($125+)

The stuff in bold I've personally had and would buy again under $125. The others have garnered enough glowing reviews for me to buy, but I haven't opened them yet.

Two more to look for:

•High West Midwinter Night's Dram ($80)

•Indie sherry-cask Ledaig ($80+)

(Note again the lack of bolding. I'm passing on these recommendations based solely on the basis on consensus and buddies' opinions. I haven't had them—yet.)

@MadSingleMalt Bowmore Tempest if you can find it...

@Victor , you say Isle of Skye 12 is unlikely to be found on a shelf? Is that just in your neck of the proverbial woods, or across all markets?

I've tried the 8, at least, and wasn't impressed. (If I had the 12 too, I've forgotten it.) But you say the 12 is that good, huh? I think one of my local shops has a shelf full of it.

@MadSingleMalt Isle of Skye 8 yo and 12 yo are different animals. I have had both good and less than good experiences with the 8 yo. Most people like it, but the second time I had it something was off. The Isle of Skye 12 yo remains a great favourite of mine. See if you can find somebody to give you a taste. Or get some for your club and share. I guarantee some people will love it, even if you do not. As for availability, it has appeared sporadically in some markets out here and not at all in others. It is not one a person can count on finding, at least not around here. It is still blended Scotch of course. But, as for liking it, I cannot think of another blended Scotch which I prefer. It has been awhile since I have drunk any. I don't have a bottle of it open, but I do own three in storage. I like it that much. The flavour density is very good. It is a well put-together blend.

@Victor Have you tried the Compass Box Great King Street Artists Blend? It's one I really like, even though price wise it is at the low end of the single malt range.

@BlueNote I think Artist's Blend is a blended whisky. I've heard great things about it, but it's not a single malt...

@OdysseusUnbound Right. I was a bit unclear. I meant that for a blend it was approaching single malt prices. I should re-read before I hit submit. Cheers.

@BlueNote, yes I am familiar with Compass Box Great King's Street Artist's Blend. If you are in the mood for citrus that is a good choice. My one 375 ml bottle of it was given to me as a party favour when I once heard John Glaser speak in 2011. I still haven't opened it up, but that is mainly because I have so many open bottles. In a blended whisky citrus mood currently I go to Black & White, which I also like, and which is less expensive than GKS. 6 years ago I really didn't like whiskies to be heavy on citrus. The one which changed my mind, also blended Scotch, and almost impossible to find now, is The Bailie Nicol Jarvie. 40% ABV blended Scotch, but that one is a citrus BOMB.

@Victor Yeah. The BNJ is legendary. I've never had it, but I think it can still be had in the UK.

@Victor BNJ is very missed. Black & White we don't get in Sydney any more, it was a favourite of my grandfather in the 80s (and possibly earlier too)

Also, I wasn't aware (forgot?) that you rated The Isle of Skye 12 yr so highly. There is a few bottles kicking around here that I keep ignoring. Having read a lot of your content on here, your endorsement alone places it on my list to pick up.

@Frost, by all means try Isle of Skye 12 yo. I'd like to hear your experiences with it.

@BlueNote, interestingly wine-searcher.com shows no BNJ for sale in UK, Canada, Australia, or USA. There are still a few stores in continental Europe that have some, and also in Japan. The price hasn't changed much where it is available. Still around $ 35. If I were somewhere I could buy some it would be a high priority for me. One interesting thing about BNJ is that it is supposed to be 60% malt whisky. It is a Glenmorangie-based product.

@Frost Agreed. @Victor's recommendations carry considerable weight for many of us here.