[A Lot of Empty Bottles!!] Whiskies Finished in the First Half of 2024

This time, I would like to introduce you to the whiskeys I drank in the first half of the year.

First of all, I would like to point out that from January to June 2024, there are some bottles that I drank in their entirety, but there are also bottles that I drank halfway through and were less than half full, or I drank the bottom of the bottle and sorted it out.

Let me introduce you.

1st bottle: Lagavulin 16 years old

This is one of the bottles that got me hooked on whisky.

It's a satisfying drink with peat, iodine, and a heavy feel.

There was a time last year when it was difficult to obtain them until around 2023, but I think things are starting to recover now.

The price is a little high at around 13,000 yen (it was around 8,000 yen when I first bought it two years ago), but if you've never had it before, it's definitely a bottle you should try.

2nd one: Killchoman Makhiarbey

It has a strong peat and iodine content, and is extremely delicious.

Since it is young, it has a fresh feel, so highballs are perfect for the upcoming hot season.

When I bought it, it cost around 4,000 yen, but now it costs about 6,000 yen. .

It's a little difficult to get my hands on, but it's one I recommend.

3rd: Ardbeg TEN

I think this is one that needs no introduction.

This bottle is delicious whether you drink it straight, on the rocks, or as a highball.

I think the average price is around 6,000 yen, but sometimes you can buy it for around 5,000 yen on sale, so if I see it on sale, I'll buy it again.

4th bottle: Ardbeg Weeb Tea

5 years of Ardbeg.

Highball is the recommended way to drink it.

I think you can feel the rougher smokiness than TEN.

However, the price difference with TEN is about 500 yen to 1,000 yen, so if I were asked whether I would buy it next time, I would probably buy TEN. .

5th: Laphroaig 10 years

This bottle is delicious whether you drink it straight, on the rocks, or as a highball.

I think it was around 5,000 yen when I bought it, but now it costs around 7,000 yen, so I think it's become harder to get my hands on it. .

6th bottle: Big Pete Whiskey Lovers Nagoya limited bottle

Islay blended malt.

This bottle is limited to Whiskey Lovers Nagoya, so I think the distribution may be a little different from regular Big Pete.

However, as is the case with regular Big Pete, what I want you to see is this color.

I think it has this pale color.

A highball goes best with this colored whiskey.

I think it would be possible to purchase a regular Big Pete for around 5,000 yen.

It's a little expensive, but I think it's a good idea to have one as a smoky highball player.

7th: Talisker 10 years

This is a classic highball.

It's smoky, of course, but I think it also has a slight iodine feel to it.

I'm always drinking this bottle, so I'm thinking of buying it again.

8th: Dewar's 12 Years

This is an old bottle.

It was delicious with a hint of raisin.

You can have it straight, but I think it would have been better served in a highball or mixed with water.

I like the taste of the old bottle better than the new bottle, so I wish I had at least one more bottle of the old bottle. .

9th bottle: Dewar's Portuguese Smooth

Port wine cask.

Port wine is a type of fortified wine like sherry, and many sherry whiskeys don't go well with highballs, but this one makes an extremely delicious and sweet highball.

I think sweet highballs are rare, so I think this is a valuable one.

It's sad that it's so hard to get anymore. .

10th: Ballantine Finest

I think this is one of the best value for money.

I felt a strong alcohol attack when I first opened the bottle, and although I don't think it's been more than a year since I opened it, I think it would have been better to drink it right before I finished it.

The cost performance is good, but I think the time performance is poor.

11th bottle: Johnnie Walker Red Label

When I first opened the bottle, it was delicious, and I thought it would be good for just 1,000 yen, but when I drank the second half, I felt like it was missing something. .

I think it's better to drink this as soon as possible.

12th: Campbelltown Journey

A blended malt from Campbelltown.

There are only three distilleries in Campbeltown: Springbank Distillery, Glengyle Distillery, which makes Kilkerran, and Glen Scotia Distillery.

And since it's blended, it means that at least two ingredients are mixed together, so at least it contains unblended spirits from popular distilleries.

Rumor has it Springbank and Glen Scotia.

As for the taste, I think it has the characteristic salty taste of Campbeltown.

However, this has also become difficult to obtain. .

I sometimes see it being sold at Yamaya-san and other places, so I recommend it to those who have never tried Campbelltown before.

13th: Glen Grant Alboralis

This is one of the standard highballs.

When I bought it, you could buy it for the low 2,000 yen range, but now you can see it being sold for the low 2,000 yen or 3,000 yen range.

When it comes to Glen Grant 10 Years, it's around the low 3,000 yen range, so if you can buy 10 Years for an additional 500 yen, I think I'll buy 10 Years next.

It may not have been good in terms of cost performance, but I think it's delicious, so if you haven't tried it yet, I think you should buy a bottle.

14th bottle: Glenfiddich 12 years old (half bottle)

I think this is one of the standard ones as well.

When you drink it in a highball, you can feel the nuances of green apple and it is delicious.

If Suntory is an importer, they often have half bottles, so it's easy to try a full bottle when you can't finish it or it's expensive.

15th: Busker Single Grain

I think green (blended) is best for busker, but grain is also delicious.

I found it useful because I could easily taste the vanilla and other grain whiskey elements, but I ended up drinking it all.

It was temporarily unavailable for purchase when it was renewed, but now it has been renewed and can be purchased.

16th: white corner

I finished drinking Shirakaku, which was released for a limited time in the summer of 2022.

I think it has a refreshing taste with a hint of vanilla or honey.

I think it was the perfect drink to accompany a meal as it goes well with dashi soups.

Highball is delicious, but water mixed is also delicious.

If you are going to buy a bottle from now on, it will be sold for 6,000 yen or more, so it is difficult to recommend it. .

There are white square cans of water available for sale, so it might be a good idea to try them out.

By the way, I still have a bottle in stock, so I think I'll still be able to enjoy it.

17th: Old

I think many people drink it on the rocks, but personally I often drink it with water.

If you have the time, you can split it in advance, but it's still delicious even if you don't.

I used to drink it when I forgot to refrigerate my carbonated water.

18th bottle: Suntory Royal (slim bottle)

This is a slim bottle.

Royal is also excellent with water.

The highball is quite delicious, and it's also good straight, but I ended up drinking it with water most of the time.

19th bottle: Yoichi Distillery limited bottle

It was salty and delicious.

I saw it on sale when I went to Miyagikyo Distillery and was able to purchase it.

It is difficult to go to Miyagikyo Distillery, but the problem is that it is currently difficult to purchase unless you are at Yoichi Distillery, making it even more difficult. .

20th: Super Nikka

The label is limited to Miyagikyo Distillery, but the contents are just regular super knickers.

The water was delicious.

21st bottle: Pure malt black

It was a delicious smoky highball.

It is only sold at the Yoichi Miyagikyo Distillery, and it may not be sold even if you go to the distillery, so it is difficult to obtain. .

If you see it, buy it or try it.

22nd bottle: Ichiro's Malt White Label

It's delicious as a highball, but I often drink it with water.

Also, it was good with hot water, so I got the impression that you could drink it any way you like.

23rd: Blended M

It is a blended M that has a hint of banana.

At first, I thought it was a banana, but as time passed, I was able to clearly sense the banana nuances.

I think it would be a good idea to take some time to drink it.

24th bottle: Single malt Kanosuke

The highball was delicious.

However, when I first opened it, it tasted the best, but as time went on, I think it started to taste a bit like kelp, which I don't like.

It costs about 10,000 yen, so you want to drink it carefully, but if you want to drink it, it's better to drink it early.

25th: Asaka&4

I think it was a malty bottle.

As for the taste, I think it was a difficult one because it had a fleeting feel and was difficult to understand and lack distinctive features.

If you ask me whether to drink it straight, I think it's different, rock is different, highball and water mixed are different, but I think drinking it with hot water is the best.

26th: Tennen Akira Noir

It was smoky and delicious.

You can feel the smokiness for around 4,000 yen, so it's quite a thing.

However, if you're in the same price range, you can buy Finlaggan or Eyreke's Mystery Islay single malt, so I think it's a bit of a question of whether I'll buy it next time.

27th book: 10 years Akira 7

10 years Akira 7 has been discontinued and has been replaced by the 10 years Akira Noir.

When I first opened it, it had an Islay-like iodine flavor, which was nice, but when I drank it for the first time in a while, I think the iodine flavor had disappeared.

With the lack of iodine, the second half gave the impression of Newborn or vodka.

I can't buy it anymore, but it was delicious at first. . It was one book.

Episode 28: half decade

This is also a discontinued item, and it is also one of the limited sales in the Hokuriku area.

I didn't go to Hokuriku, but when I visited Sendai to tour Miyagikyo Distillery, I happened to come across Yamaya and bought it because it was on sale.

When I first opened it, it had a nice iodine feel to it, but it still splattered away. .

29th: Koshi Hyaku

It had just the right amount of smokiness, but it also had an apple-like flavor and was delicious.

Although the price is a little high at 5,000 yen, it is well worth it as it is a blended malt.

However, there are a lot of competitors in the 5,000 yen price range, so it's quite difficult to decide which one to buy next. .

1st bottle other than whiskey: Rokujin

Suntory's craft gin is a nice little gin that costs about 4,000 yen.

It has flavors such as cherry blossoms, tea, Japanese pepper, and yuzu, so it doesn't go well with food, but it's a strong drink, so I think it's better to drink it on its own.

There are conflicting claims that the split material is tonic water, so I think that carbonated gin soda is better.

I think the cheaper Suijin would be better if you were looking for sake to accompany a meal, and there are quite a few other craft gins in the same price range of 4,000 yen, so I'm not sure if I'd buy it again. .

Second whiskey: Flamingo Orange

This is a popular potato shochu that doesn't taste like potato shochu, with a lychee or citrus flavor.

It seems a bit strong as an alcoholic drink to accompany a meal, so I think you'll need to choose a snack to go with it.

I think it's best to pair it with umami-rich seafood, or drink it alone.

I think even people who don't like potato shochu can drink it, so I recommend it.

Closing Thoughts

In total, I drank 29 bottles of whiskey during the first half of 2024.

Including things other than whisky, I drank a total of 31 bottles.

By the way, during the same period from January to June 2024, I bought exactly 50 bottles of whiskey.

There were 29 fewer bottles, so 50-29 = 21 more bottles, which means you can't put them on your whiskey shelf anymore. .

In the second half of the year, I will continue to consume and organize, but if possible, I would like to increase the amount I consume rather than the amount I buy. .

Also, I think it will be around the end of the year or the beginning of the new year, but if I drink anything in the second half of the year, I would be happy to introduce it to you.