tfahey1298 started a discussion
9 years ago
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Whisky selection for a gala dinner - ideas?
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Nozinan replied
I think you can probably get more bang for your buck by getting a little creative.
I personally prefer Laphroaig quarter cask to Lagavulin 16.
You could try one of the Amrut single casks or peated CS. Now they are 700 cc bottles so keep that in mind. The Portonova could replace one of your higher priced finished whiskies like signet.
Balvenie 12 year single cask would be cheaper than the 17.
If it's for charity, why not ask the brand representatives to donate the malts? A single bottle should be easy.
My question: what is the charity, how much are the tickets and where can I get one? And where is the dinner?
9 years ago 0
tfahey1298 replied
Details on event:
The hosting charity is Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot (the three townships in Waterloo county around Kitchener-Waterloo).
"A Wee Toast"... Celebrating the Whiskies of Scotland Date: Tuesday March 24, 2015 Location: Waterloo Inn, 475 King Street North, Waterloo, ON, N2J 2Z5 Time: 6:30pm Tickets: $125/person Email: info.aweetoast@gmail.com
9 years ago 0
Maltmaniacmate replied
First of all I think you have to consider the order of the chosen whiskies well. As a general rule of thumb I wood start with the lightest whisky (in your example that would probably be the Auchentoshan) and then end with the most peated (Lagavulin in your case). I like your choice of Laga 16 (eventhough I would personally prefer an Ardbeg Uigeadail). Auchentoshan Virgin Wood sounds interesting, though I haven't tried it. The A'bunadh is a great choice. However, I also think you can do better than the Balvenie DW 17 and the Signet. Particularly the DW17 has gotten mixed reviews. Maybe it's too expensive but an 17 year Old Pulteney is far better in my opinion (eventhough that's not a speysider, but you have that area covered already with the Aberlour).
9 years ago 0
FMichael replied
Just my dos pesos...
Swap the Balvenie 17 DBL Wood for either the Balvenie 14 yr Caribbean Cask, or 15 yr Single Barrel - Sherry Cask, and maybe the Auchentoshan for the Glenkinchie 12 yr.
9 years ago 0
newreverie replied
On the subject of Glenmorangie, I can still get my hands on a bottle of Ealanta in the states. I think the Signet is the better dram, but Ealanta is about $120US after tax and is pretty rare these days. Not sure how to get a bottle up to you, but maybe something to consider. It'd fit into your #2 or #3 slot and give you can put something else at #4
9 years ago 0
JayRain replied
One item that is missing is your target market profile (level of scotch awareness, disposable income, reason for attending, etc). As your objective is to sell as many tickets as you can, you probably want to map your selections to their interest.
If highly knowledgeable, I would actually stay away from the everyday stuff and go with the more unique, pricey stuff (if you could somehow tie your purchases to an american weekend trip, even better),
The other approach to mull over is to go with a crown jewel approach $50, $75. $125 x 2 and $500 bottle (for marketing purposes). To maltmaniacmate's point, set up lighter to peatier as well.
9 years ago 0
I'm on a committee organizing a charity gala dinner... 5 courses, 5 single malt whiskies. I have been asked to assist in selecting the whiskies. I have some ideas, but looking for suggestions.
The average cost / person for the whisky has been set at $30. Pours will be 3/4 oz (22.5 ml).. I am basing my calculations on a bottle size of 750ml, or 33 pours / bottle (assuming all pours equal not factoring in spillage, etc.).
Since we are in Ontario, we have to factor in the LCBO / AGCO special occasion levy (16%) on the cost of the whisky. This means the $30 noted above is "after levy", so the limit drops to approximately $26.50.
Using these parameters, I did some calculations and came up with these price points as the LCBO retail price for the five whiskies:
Whisky 1 - $95 Whisky 2 - $120 Whisky 3 - $160 Whisky 4 - $200 Whisky 5 - $300 Total cost: $875 Cost / person (assuming 33 pours) = $26.50
As an example, I have this list: ABERLOUR A'BUNADH (Speyside) - $95 LAGAVULIN 16 (Islay) - $122 AUCHENTOSHAN VIRGIN OAK (Lowlands) - $100 THE BALVENIE DOUBLEWOOD 17 (Speyside) $200 GLENMORANGIE SIGNET (Highlands) $332 Total cost: $849 (prices are current from the LCBO web site)
In my list, I have tried to have selections from different regions, and included a cask strength.
So, the question I am posing is: With $875, what five single malts would you suggest? (Only Scottish single malts for this year's event... future events will focus on other whiskies) (The C$875 is my upper limit, but use it as an overall guideline - I'm more interested in suggestions and reasons for them than sticking to the budget).
Thanks to all in advance.
Sláinte!