What are your five benchmark whiskies?

Here in Ontario, we are at the mercy of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, so as much as I'd love to count on replacing my Corryvreckans or Glen Gariochs, I cannot...so I would have to go a little down-market / common and say:

Ballantine's Finest (or 17 Year Old if I feel like splurging) Talisker 10 Baker's 7 Johnnie Walker Black Alberta Premium

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Johnnie Walker Black definitely. And, one that has just become a benchmark recently, Grant's Family Reserve! I feel like somewhat of a broken record lately because I'm telling anyone who will listen, but I just can't believe how much I've taken to this commonly available blend! I also can't believe how long it took me to discover it!!

When available, these ten standard products, in approximate order of my attachment to them, would be my current benchmarks: Thomas Handy Rye, Pappy Van Winkle 15, Ardbeg Uigeadail, William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg, Talisker 57 Degrees North, Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten, Aberlour A'bunadh, Redbreast 12 Cask Strength, Bushmills 21 yo Malt Madeira Finish.

On tight money, my go-to 5 would be, in approximate order of my attachment and priority: Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Grant's Family Reserve, Old Grand-Dad 114, Old Weller Antique 107, and Johnnie Walker Black Label.

@Victor, I almost included a bourbon or rye on my list, but I'm only about six months into my bourbon/rye journey (thanks in large part to your advice!) and haven't narrowed things down to a favorite or two yet. Among my goals for 2013 is to finally land bottles of Pappy, WLW, and (especially) Stagg. I almost included the Handy on my list, as it's the most readily available of the Buffalo Trace Antiques (around here, anyway), but it would seem the others require too much of a treasure hunt for them to become regular benchmarks!

@WhiskyBee, ah, but when you succeed in putting a few bottles of each of the scarce allocated whiskeys away, then they can become something approaching 'staples'. I don't drink the Sazerac Company's Buffalo Trace Antique whiskeys every day or every week, mostly because I am usually working to continue widening my circles of exploration of new whiskies, but those are the one I come back to when I want big flavours and quality. It doesn't take a large dram to get the satisfaction from them, either. A bottle of any one of them lasts me quite a long time.

...and, @WhiskyBee limiting oneself to just 5 whiskies is a very confining task!!@!!!

OK, I'm going to cheat a little and go with 5 Distilleries, blenders or series (otherwise it might just end up being an Ardbeg list::

Ardbeg Lagavullin Higland Park Compass Box Buffalo Trace (with emphasis on BTAC and OWA and also including PVW)

@TomH, yeah, that list of distilleries puts out about 150 whiskies! Some well-defined list!

My benchmarks whiskies are Talisker 10 yo, Laphroaig 10 yo, Highland Park 12 yo, Johnnie Walker Black, and Black Grouse.

These have become my "always haves" in no particular order:

Edradour 10 (over the past year especially, the quality in each successive bottle has gotten better and better--I'm quite sure we're now drinking whisky from the new owner, Andrew Symington) , Glenrothes Alba Reserve, anCnoc 12, The Laddie Ten, BenRiach 10 Curiositas, a Benromach in the vicinity of 10 years (10 year old or Cask Strength or Peat Smoke), Kilchoman Machir Bay (looking forward to seeing how this one progresses with each new release getting older whisky added), Arran Machrie Moor (up to the Third Edition now, it's been interesting to see it change from year to year), several other Arrans (they're all good), and Laphroaig Cairdeas (each new year's release).

Ardbeg 10 would have made the list except for the price increase about five months ago ($70). With time I might give up on my battle against the price because I do like the whisky.

I'm very new to the whisky world outside of bourbon so here's my list. This is a list refective of my everyday budget, not necessarily my taste. I can limit it to three. Basil Hayden's, McClelland's Lowland, Ancient Age.

@two-bit-cowboy, is that Ardbeg 10 price increase peculiar to your state? I still see many $ 40 - $ 50 retail prices across the US on wine-searcher.com.

Aberlour 10 or 12, Compass Box Spice Tree or Oak Cross, Nikka Taketsuru 12, JW Black, Laphroaig Quarter Cask, and Centennial 10yr (Canadian). I try to rotate things through my cabinet, and due to space, rarely have the same selection year-to-year. If I had more space, those would be choices for 'permanent' spots.

@Victor Yes!

For several years Ardbeg 10 has been available for around $60 (still high, I know). Last fall the Wyoming Liquor Division (the only wholesaler in the state) "listed" the whisky. It became one of the 25 whiskies in the state's warehouse, available to every retailer by the bottle or case. Along with its "listing" came the price hike. It's the same story with anything on the state list from Wm Grant or the other big "Glen." Next month the retail price for Balvenie 15 Single Barrel will top $100. It was around $60 just three years ago. If not for that it would have hit my "benchmark" list too -- great whisky, but ....

@Victor Just to clarify a point: the high price is not reflective of the state's involvement in the process. The importers set the prices, and the state applies a standard mark-up. Two years ago when Laphroaig Quarter Cask was around $55 everywhere else in the USA, Wyoming shops often offered it for $40. Must have been a special offer from Beam because Wyoming prices equal the national price. At $40 it too was a "benchmark" whisky.

@Victor, OK I'll play a little more fair

Ardbeg - Ugi (for a regular release) (Day for a special release) Highland Park - 12 Compass Box - Hedonism (with Flaming Heart a close 2nd) Buffalo Trace - William Larue Weller (Followed closely by Stagg, OWA, and Van WInkle Rye) Lagavulin - 16

Buffalo Trace (the bourbon, not the BTAC), Highland Park 12, Ardbeg 10, Springbank 10.

If I take @WhiskyBee's question at face value and stick to those that are affordable, easy to find and offer a good price to quality ratio, I would say HP 12, Talisker 10, Ardbeg 10, Laphroaig 10 and Bowmore 12 (I would say Lagavulin 16 but it's $125 here). To those I would add one good blend, JW Black, one good Irish, Redbreast 12, one good American, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, one good Canadian, Wiser's Legacy, and one good Japanese, Nikka Super. Like @talexander in Ontario and @JoeVelo in La Belle Province, we here in British Columbia pay more and have less to choose from (for some good and some not so good reasons) than most other places, so our options are less wide ranging than most. But I would certainly be happy to be stranded on a desert island with what I have listed. Cheers.

I should probably have one good bourbon cask aged whisky in there, like maybe The Laddie 10, and a good sherry cask aged one, Glenfarclas 15 or Macallan 12 or Glenfiddich 15. You are right @Victor, only five is a tough call.

@BlueNote and @Victor: Five just seemed a convenient number. If you have 50, list 50!

I'll add HP 18 to my list, if only because the local store sells it for a better price ($88) than I've seen anywhere. I'd also add Johnnie Walker Green, if it wasn't being discontinued. (Still have two bottles in reserve, however.)

Those are two beauties @WhiskyBee. Unfortunateley HP18 is 150 bucks here. But I can see adding JW Green to my list.

Man... that's a tough to whittle it down to just 5. Best I can do is 7. :)

I'd say: Ardbeg Uigeadail, Old Pulteney 17, Springbank 15, Caol Ila 12, Laphroaig Quarter Cask, Talisker Distillers Edition, and Thomas H Handy Rye.

I wish I had five benchmark whiskies right now :)

@WhiskyBee Gosh I tried hard to solve this discussion by keeping the list down to five so here goes, in no particular order AnCnoc 12yr, Bunnahabhain 12yr, Caol ila 12yr, Kilchoman Machir Bay, Dalmore 12yr. However the Caol ila 12yr is my admiral (wifes) so maybe I would swap out that one with the Glenfiddich 15yr just don't tell her I said that. I'm safe because unlike @Victor my wife is not a member yet. Lol. :)

Buffalo Trace, JW Black , Ardbeg 10, HP 12 , and Knob Creek single barrel

Tough indeed !

Ardbeg 10 (for a single malt)

Grant's The Family Reserve (for blend)

Forty Creek Barrel Select (for mixing my ginger whisky)

Jefferson's Reserve

Old Rip Van Winkle 90 or 107

(These fit the not too expensive, availabilty & willingness to replace criteria for me)

But the journey never ends...

I nearly always have JW Black, Ardbeg 10, Evan Williams Single Barrel, Rittenhouse Rye, and Buffalo Trace on hand. I still have not found anotther Scotch single malt I would consider a benchmark that I have to have on hand and helps center my tastebuds. I would like to add Alberta Premium to the list but availability is a problem in my area.

@JeffC Alberta Premium not readily available... No sympathy from me Jeff, when there are so many bourbons that would just like to try that are likely handy where you are. :)

Laphroaig 10, Elijah Craig 12, Woodford Reserve, Johnnie Walker Black, and Glenfiddich 18 would be my benchmarks. They're all relatively easy to find and mostly inexpensive depending on where you live. So far my tastes comprise of Islay whisky and a nice aged bourbon but like I've said before I'm experimenting haven't tried a Lowland or Highland single malt whisky yet.

I consider "must-have" whiskies to be those that are attainable and affordable - so when they happen along, I buy a case or two to hold me over until the next 'great one' appears. Masterson's 10 yr old Straight Rye, Alberta Premium 30 yr old, Wiser's Legacy (2010 release), Forty Creek John's Private Cask No.1 or any of the FC annual releases, and Booker's. Yeah, I'm partial to great rye.