Be Excellent To Each Other

Constantly shouting "boy" at the wife's pregnant stomach has had the desired effect, as many of you know.
I would like to buy a good bottle of whisky that I can keep for 18 years and present to him on his birthday.

However, beside ordering it in the pub and shouting at them if they try to put coke or water in it, I know little about whisky.

What's a good one?

Johnny Walker blue label.

Would last 18 years?

Oh aye. See if you can get the 200th Anniversary bottle. Only sells for around $3,599 a bottle.

This looks great, thanks.
I don't have to keep turning it like wine, do I? I can just stick it in a cupboard at my parents house and forget about it?

Angus McKilt's Old Shredded Sporran. Full of peaty strength, heather overtones, and for good luck it's been deep fried as well.

When I wanted to get a decent bottle of Scotch for someones Diamond wedding I went to a whiskey shop in Soho ( on Wardour Street, I think ). The guy there was really nice, they had a whacking gurt selection ( literally hundreds of different types ) and he chatted to me for about 15 mins before we choose one. They'd probably know which ones would age well, how to store it etc. I'd recommend finding a decent specialist shop and hassling them. Either that or get a bottle of Bells and hope they don't realise.

The anniversary edition comes in a crystal decanter, so I'd have thought not. If I recall, you only turn the wine to stop the cork drying out and pissing it all over the floor.

Grimm... Junior in 2026:

Also, what Squirt said.

I know piss all about whisky, but I have a mate who's a bit of a connaisseur. I could ask?

The anniversary edition is a tiny bit expensive, but a normal bottle at ~£150 looks just about right.
I'd love to go into a shop Squirt, but the 'just had a baby' thing puts a stop to that MR SAD FACE

Supermarket stuff: I'd recommend Caol Ila, Laphroaig or Ardbeg. I'm a bit of an Islay fan.

If my dad had talked enigmatically about a special bottle of whiskey put aside and aged and matured for 18 years for a special 'coming of age' present, and it turned out to be a Bells, I'd probably murder him. And then Jools Holland.

I'm sure the police could work out the connection without a note or anything.

Quality whiskeys that I like are:

Ardbeg (good all-rounder)
Talisker (spikey, peatey, aggressive tastiness)
Old Pultaney (salty taste, oddly refreshing, hint of seaweed)
Craggenmore (like Talisker but less extreme, good reliable)
Bruichladdich (used to be a joke, but now incredibly good - also awesome packaging)

Edradour is good. Otherwise one of the Islays.

Speaking of Whiskey... I never did get that free sample I ordered online.

If that isn't an excuse to drown my sorrows with booze, I don't know what is.

Grim... can you be my dad?

Ak! I come back after my shopping to find the thread full of other recomendations!
Thanks all, but I went with the Jonnie Walker one - his grandmother worked for them before she died, so it seems like a fitting choice.

I spent a good while learning about whisky and trying different ones and buying bottles of good stuff and all that.

Turns out my favourite is Elijah Craig bourbon, with plain old Jack Daniels so close behind that I decide I might as well just drink that.

Wow... all I got for my 18th birthday was... umm...

Did they tell you if you could just chuck it in a cupboard and leave it for 18 years?

I got tickets to an Iron Maiden gig, I think.

Maybe for my 21st birthday I'll get my own bedroom. That would be a nice suprise.

Fair so.

As long as you keep it at an even temp in the dark it'll do fine. It won't mature or anything though, it'll generally just stay the same as the day you bought it.

I love whiskey, me.

Yeah, a quick hunt around online told me as long as I keep it dark and dry it'll be fine.
I quite like whiskey, and there's no other drink you can do this with, really.

It would have to keep at lot longer than 18 years surely though? At 18 I couldn't drink whisky. I am rubbish.

Um, no. He's going to be 18 in (counts on fingers) 18 years...

I think Lave means that the taste buds of an 18 year old tend to find whiskey a bit overpowering. It used to make me gag a few years back, but the older I get the more agreeable it becomes.

Oh right. I'll start him on Red Label when he's 17, then

Indeed. I'm 26 and it's still like rocket fuel to me.

A good Bombay Sapphire Gin and I'm in heaven though.

I'd imagine you'd be a bit more relaxed than your avatar makes me think you are.

Can't one of these London cunts go for you? I would, but I don't live in London. (Plus, I'd get to look around a whiskey shop!)


edit: too late!
Also, you should have tried to get a whiskey that had just been distilled. Or even better; distilled on his birthday. Then it would be the same age as he is!

Lagavulin.

Gesundheit.

I should inform you that whisky does not really improve much in the bottle. You may lose some alcohol if the top has not been fixed on properly, and temperature variations could lead to some changes in the overall flavour profile, but these are usually very subtle. Having it in a cask is obviously something completely different, and I think you can buy some young whisky now and collect it once it has fully matured (although I don't remember where I heard this so this so I could be wrong or it could turn out very expensive).