Practical Whisky?
Practical (prak-ti-kuhl) Adjective: Having the virtue of being realistic and useful, a decision based in pragmatism.

Whisky (hwis-kee) Noun: A liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grain (barley, rye, or corn) containing at least 40% ethyl alcohol. Also: Whiskey, Rye, Scotch, Bourbon. From: Uisge Beatha, Aqua Vitae, Eau de Vie.
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New tastings every Monday.
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Balvenie 12yo Doublewood Single Malt Scotch
Each of the above colors will take you to a different set of reviews. One (Balvenie) takes you to all the Balvenies (including the 12yo) The second second link takes you directly to the 12yo review. The type of whisky, Single Malt, will take you to a list of Single's and Scotland will take you to every whisky from that country.
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Welcome!

There are dozens of excellent web sites out there that extol the virtues of fantastic whisky. Fantastic in taste, fantastic in character and sadly, often fantastic in price. I have no lack of respect for the whisky aficionados who can dedicate the time, energy and money to tasting all the whiskies that I can't afford, and I salute them with glass held high. That salute will just have to employ a dram of practical whisky.

Practical Whisky, this site, contains my reviews of whiskies that I've sampled, from Scotches , Irishes and Canadians to Single Malts, Bourbons and Blends and how “practical” I think they are. I make recommendations like those found in the Random Dram widget to the left, check the lower review for whiskies that score well in both the taste and cost departments. There will also be news and updates on the goings on in the practical whisky market as I become aware of them. Look for new whiskies every Monday plus whatever else I can squeeze in on Fridays. Be sure and come back and see what's new.

I hope the site is entertaining and useful, or at least one of the two.

Salude!
-- Brian --



Recent Updates (last 30 days)     RSS feed
Review Link» Balvenie plus peat!20-MAY-2013
I am a big Balvenie fan and it amazes me that they've peated their typically sweet and nutty whisky. Balvenie has really stretched out lately, finishing and experimenting and really making my wallet scared. I assume the whisky isn't peated it is actually finished in barrels that held peated Scotch.
#556  Balvenie Peated Cask 17 YO Single Malt Scotch (Speyside)
This cost is what I found the likely shelf price for a 750ml bottle to be, based on an average of costs throughout the USA. Your price may differ significantly. This is not an advertisement of sale, this bottle is likely empty by now anyway Cost$8500Bottle Image. Image is © Practical Whisky. Bottle, logo and other trademarked imagery are © their respective owners.
BottlerOfficial Bottling
00-09:Horrid
10-19:Awful
20-29:Unpleasant
30-39:Poor
40-49:Below Average
50-59:Average
60-69:Recommendable
70-79:Very Good
80-89:Excellent
90-99:Fantastic
Taste Score
                 87    
The whisky's score as weighed against the cost of a bottle. Adj. Score
              72       
ABV43%
AwardsTaste Award: Silver
Tasting # 635
1st
Impression		Typical Balvenie, which is fantastic.
SmellSo peat is not the first thing I get. I'm smelling anise, clove, cilantro, nuts. Big spice. That's the word here.
TasteThis is ... odd. Its really sweet with caramel, cream, simple syrup, spice cake. Over that is oak and some of that spice from the nose. At the back you get the smoke and pepper, but not peat. Its very, very complex. Its also delicious. The title however, is a little misleading. 87
Tasting Score87


Review Link» A mini of theft13-MAY-2013
No clue what Larceny is, other than a bit of what might or might not be marketing fluff about prohibition. I personally put little value into suggestions that something is olde-timey or of the wild west or has some long tradition with associated heraldry. These things are too easy to fake. Quality and taste stand alone, with 100 years or 100 days of existence.
#555  Larceny NAS Straight Bourbon American
This cost is what I found the likely shelf price for a 750ml bottle to be, based on an average of costs throughout the USA. Your price may differ significantly. This is not an advertisement of sale, this bottle is likely empty by now anyway Cost$2500Bottle Image. Image is © Practical Whisky. Bottle, logo and other trademarked imagery are © their respective owners.
00-09:Horrid
10-19:Awful
20-29:Unpleasant
30-39:Poor
40-49:Below Average
50-59:Average
60-69:Recommendable
70-79:Very Good
80-89:Excellent
90-99:Fantastic
Taste Score
           57          
The whisky's score as weighed against the cost of a bottle. Adj. Score
           57          
ABV46%
AwardsNo Medals Awarded
Tasting # 634
1st
Impression		It isn't awful, the theme is carried through the logo and text. Very little detail on the bottle, but maybe that's because I got a mini
SmellPotent. Full of orange zest and mango. There's some charred oak, but you'll have to get past all that citrus and burn to find it.
TasteWow. Quite a bite (at full). Very strong wood flavors, even for a bourbon. A bit of water, then. With water its somewhat single-minded about the oak. It lacks the sweet front of most bourbons, almost to the point of being dry. Odd. Even with more water, this never strays far from wood, there's some cigarette smoke and coal smoke with just a bit of citrus in the very end. This means there's a bite even with too much water added. Not my thing, sadly. It isn't awful, but it's a long, lone note of flavor with very little variation or joy. Under 60.
Tasting Score57


Review Link» Yay, more rye.06-MAY-2013
I'm not a big lover of rye, it tends to be too simple and fruity. Could be my tastes are too refined, could be I'm jaded, could be I lack those taste buds.
#554  James E. Pepper 1776 NAS Rye American
This cost is what I found the likely shelf price for a 750ml bottle to be, based on an average of costs throughout the USA. Your price may differ significantly. This is not an advertisement of sale, this bottle is likely empty by now anyway Cost$3000Bottle Image. Image is © Practical Whisky. Bottle, logo and other trademarked imagery are © their respective owners.
00-09:Horrid
10-19:Awful
20-29:Unpleasant
30-39:Poor
40-49:Below Average
50-59:Average
60-69:Recommendable
70-79:Very Good
80-89:Excellent
90-99:Fantastic
Taste Score
              71       
The whisky's score as weighed against the cost of a bottle. Adj. Score
              73       
ABV50%
AwardsTaste Award: BronzeGold Bottle Award: +70 points at $40
Tasting # 633
1st
Impression		I love the bottle, the use of 1776 is a bit weak, but if they can justify the date I guess it can get a pass.
SmellIt has a tart, fruity punch. Very strong rye and cream. Lots of alcohol.
TasteThe rye is big and dry, full of oat and vermouth. Odd, but not in a bad way. It pulls together in the top, the rye loses that bitter start and finds some hard fruit and flowers. The end is creamy and fruity, with enough depth to hold all that sweet and airy flavor up. Low 70s.
Tasting Score71


Review Link» An older, smoother Bulleit.29-APR-2013
My favorite liquor store owner had this waiting when I arrived, which is nice service. Why the decade version o Bourbon? No clue, but my love of the great American whiskey plus my love for Bulleit equals happy times.

Review Link» Friday Retaste, sort of.26-APR-2013
I tasted an Evan Williams SBV 2002 Link to another review already this year and I picked up a bottle accidentally thinking it was one I'd missed. However, this is actually a different barrel (the old was barrel 315) so I'm counting this as a new tasting but putting it on a Friday. Because they're my rules to break as I please!



Site Layout
  • Index: The page you are on. Right now. Presently even.
  • Reviews: The raison d'etre of the site where the reviews go to congregate and establish pecking orders. This is important, get moving
  • » Brand Listing: A breakdown of brands for ease of location or general interest
  • » Events: A subsection of reviews, with a ranked list of whiskies for each taste event.
  • About
  • » About Whisky: Start your education here.
  • » About PW: Info about how this site works and what some things mean.
  • » Stats: Lies, damn lies and statistics.
  • Tops: The top (and bottom) 5% of the list and the tops of each style. If you want to know the best of the best, go here.
  • History: Will eventually contain everything I've ever done. Ever. For now it's just the history of this site. Sanitized for your protection.
  • My 2¢: Rants and raves about ... well, whisky related topics mostly. Gripping stuff.
  • Links: Places to go when you're tired of being here. I refuse to make this one a link because I don't want you to leave. See how much I care?


Whisky Cred
  • Member of the Ardbeg Committee
    One of the finest Islays, and the 10YO is legendary.
  • Ambassador of Maker's Mark
    Don't be put off by the hype as I was. MM is a fine bourbon and a perfectly Practical Whisky.
  • Companion of Aberlour
    Speysiders that will warm your heart without draining your wallet.
  • Balvenie Club Member
    One of my first, and I've yet to find a Balvenie I haven't liked.
  • Compass Box Hedonists Society
    Master mixers and Lords of variety. Expand your horizons here.
  • Striding Man Society
    If all you know is the Red Label, you don't know Johnnie.
  • Glenmorangie Kindred Spirits
    They once made the perfect 10YO, I still love them despite changing her.
  • Member of the Springbank Society
    My first true Scotch and the bar by which all others have been measured.
  • Jim Beam Brotherhood of Bourbon
    Beam Black is nearly the definition of Practical Whisky in Bourbon.
  • Glenfarclas Friend of the Family
    Glenfarclas is a wonder and impossible to find locally outside the 10 and 12. Luckily a buddy loves the 21 and so I get a taste reminder once in a while.


Boring Notices
  • This site is not offering anything for sale. Should I ever decide to offer anything for sale it will not include anything produced or trademarked by a whisky company.
  • I receive no compensation for doing reviews, linking to manufacturers web sites or for doing anything else in relation to this page.
  • The images on this site are eiter:
    • Original works created by me
    • Photographs of bottles taken by me for purposes of review
    • Images taken from official sources for identification under Fair Use provision of the Copyright Act for purposes of Review and Criticism.
  • The links on the links page and distillery data pages lead to the companies that produce the whiskies and are provided explicitly without agreeing to any "Linking Policy" presented by the company in question. The proliferation of these unenforceable policies is ridiculous and I refuse to be a party to it. The company web pages are public information, I am presenting them clearly as addresses to be visited for further information, I am linking only to the top level entry page of the site with no framing and I offer no option to deep link. Should the company in question complain, I'll just add a link to a Google search for their name and let Google's lawyers fight it out. The content of those pages is outside of my control, such links do not represent any endorsement by myself or the linked company and should you choose to follow those links, I am no longer in control of your internet destiny.
  • The images of bottles clearly include copyrighted works, and are presented under the Fair Use Statute of the Copyright Act for purposes of review and criticism. All trademarks and copyrights are held by the companies represented.
  • It sucks that I should have to even consider posting this legaleese here, but that's the world we live in.
  • Isn't this text TINY! Man, you could get a migrane reading this.