A really special whisky as a main present, advice please

[TwinsandTrifle]

I don't drink whisky. Can't stand the stuff so can't appreciate a great one from a terrible one. DH however, loves a good quality whisky, and has been going on about some fancy Japanese ones. I think these had stonking price tags though.

I'd like to treat him to a really nice bottle. And have no idea where to start. I guess no more than £200, he can be a bit: if I get it right, he won't mind what it cost, but if I get it spectacularly wrong, any more than £200, he'll be "how much????". I'm happy for recommendations that are cheaper too as long as the quality is there. He drinks it neat with either no ice or one ice cube, if that makes any difference? I'd like to go for Japanese if possible, but I think the excellent Japanese ones are above £200, unless anyone knows of one in particular that's fab and on budget? What would be a good alternative to Japanese?

Thank you!

What sort of whisky does he like? Does he like it peaty, clear, heavy, light?
Whats on his shelf right now?

I always buy Penderyn whisky (Welsh) for presents. They are online and do gift packages. Sorry if I misunderstood and that you want advice on Japanese whisky specifically.

To buy the perfect one for him, you’d need to check what he likes (peaty, more sweet like Sherry or port cask etc). Try and get a bit more info then we can sneakily advise on a more special version of what his taste buds like. In very basic terms it’s like trying to advise you on a splurge bottle of wine if we don’t know if the recipient likes red/white or rose …

I was given a subscription to The Dram Store as a gift. They send me wee bottles of whisky with tasting notes. It's a lovely gift that I am thoroughly enjoying.

Apologies - Dram team

On his shelf is nothing. He's only drinks quite expensive whisky, rarely. So when he finishes the bottle, there's nothing until he buys himself another. Which only happens maybe twice a year.

How do I find out the kind he likes (peaty or non peaty?) without being so obvious? I've literally never asked him anything about whisky before, so he'd guess I was digging so I could get him some for Christmas. Is there something more generic I can ask to lean towards one or the other?

Go for a single malt as opposed to a blend.

Glenmorangie 18 Years Old Whisky, Gift Box 70cl for £88.56 at Amazon.co.uk

Then save the £111.44p for yourself during the boxing day sales :)

Maybe take him out to a bar that has a huge selection and see what he picks?! God, hard if he has nothing for you to look at 😂

If you're unsure what he likes why not get a Japanese whisky tasting set? Masters Of Malt and The Whisky Exhange do them.

My DH loves a whisky but is incredibly fussy about it so I often buy tasting sets and then buy him the one he likes best out of the set afterwards.

Does he prefer smoked bacon or unsmoked?

I like smoked and like peaty whisky. dh prefers unsmoked bacon and lightly peated whisky.

There may be no correlation at all.

I love whisky and have used this store before to buy online www.whiskyshop.com/

Generally speaking a single malt Scottish whisky will be a great starting place for a good whisky, although I also get excited by the Japanese ones.

I would steer clear of Penderyn as mentioned previously as although it is nice, you can buy it in tesco so for me doesn't count as "very special".

You can get something great around the £100 mark. Small batch special editions are a good place to look.

If you're not sure what he likes then I would stay away from the very peaty ones like Laphroaig. A few suggestions are below of what I would pick, but you can always give a good retailer a ring and ask their advice. Oddbins are also very good for this, as are the Whisky Exchange.

www.whiskyshop.com/bunnahabhain-aonadh

www.whiskyshop.com/glenfarclas-105-185th-anniversary

www.whiskyshop.com/jura-21-year-old-tide

If you live near a branch of the Whisky Shop you can taste whatever you fancy. I suggest not doing this at the beginning of a christmas shopping day though.

Yeah you want Japanese whisky

Won the best in the world last year and I think the year before (it's the water I think)

Go on Fortnums website, they will have a few - I've seen them in the shop, they have a whole whisky area

Bowmore is delicious. No where near two hundred quid in price but tastes gorgeous. It's the only whisky I'll drink as I didn't particularly like whisky until I tried Bowmore.

Buy a selection of ages in one range such as Bowmore or Glenfiddich or Glenmorangie etc

My husband drinks a lot of whisky. Don't buy anything until you know what his tastes are as what tastes nice to one person will be another's hate. Many that are mentioned here he wouldn't touch (but to show he's not a total snob he would drink a £20 single malt from Sainsbury's, it's not £ it's taste). I think the idea of getting him out somewhere with a lot of whiskies and getting him to talk about them may be a good route? Or does he have a mate you can task with a whisky conversation?

The whisky exchange have some decent Japanese whiskies in that price range.

Yamasaki 12, Nikka 12, and Hakushu 12.

Try and go for a single malt with an age statement, rather than a blended one, which he probably won't appreciate as much.

Ah, these are words I recognize, and I know he and his equally whisky snobby friends, won't drink any whisky beginning with "Glen". Laphroaig is a no too.

I didn't even realise I'd stored that information away until I read those names on this thread

I'll have a look at Fortnum's, but what do I look for? I can pick Japanese out, but what's good?

Master of Malt does tasting sets and I’ve bought my husband a few from there before including the Japanese one and world whiskies.

I agree that you might need to find a way to find out what type he prefers - and think seeing which whisky he chooses in a well-stocked bar might be the best way. Either that it asking an utterly trustworthy IL or one of his friends.

My favourite Is Highland Park, the 'ordinary' bottles can be found in supermarkets, but they do limited edition ones as well - and I've just had a SIOB on discovering they do one at over £1k - Highland Park Thorfinn (Warriors Series), and a 40 yo at nearly £2.5k!!

At your proposed budget there are a couple of possibilities

Highland Park Fire Island Single Malt at £190

and

Highland Park Light at £182

ad there's a 21 yo at £205

The retailer I've linked is at random - I was checking prices, and saw they had tasting notes and you might find those useful

They have a Japanese selection
www.tyndrumwhisky.com/world-whisky/japan.html
where the prices are nowhere near as eyewatering as Scotch!

I second the Dram Team monthly subscription. My husband is very fussy about his whisky but has found a couple of new ones that he liked.

@Raskolnikov84 is spot on about what to look for: Single malt, age statement. This applies to all whisky really. If you're looking for something special then smaller batch whisky from a bigger distillery is a good bet.

You can look at the tasting notes of them too which you can match to his tastes in food.

Its good that you know he isn't good of Laphroaig as this is a good benchmark for his tastes in terms of peatyness. Honestly if it were me I'd just ring a specialist store and get them to recommend one based off what you describe here.

My dad used to work at the Highland park distillery... (he would have been involved in the making of that 40 year old)

he was also part of their team that helped Suntory in Japan develop some of their whisky

So Highland Park would be a good choice as an "origin" story for some of the Japanese whiskies.

Hibiki or Nikka. Japanese whisky has increased in value over the pat few years, Master of Malt usually have a good selection, as do the Whisky Exchange and Selfridges.