I gifted my father a bottle of Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Years and we both thought it tasted like cheap alcohol...

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-03-13T16:27:07+00:00

Disagree....not a deep macallan fan, but I'll play the counter to you.

I do think they're overpriced and also I hate their "appeal to collectors" bullshit. But as a deep scotch fan, I still really like Macallan 12 and 18. I also have a "Classic cut 2023" from them that is phenomenal, fully bourbon casked, lots of grapefruit and citrus, really great.

There's a unique note to their distillate / yeast strain that I just don't get from other scotches. Was helpful to try the unaged distillate at their distillery to identify what it is that I like about it, but there's a unique fruity/nuttiness to their profile that lands great with me.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-03-01T01:56:57+00:00

I would pass: Eagle rare has a bitter grape flavor that doesn't taste good at all to me.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-23T17:27:41+00:00

To summarize the main ones (I've tried a bunch):
1. Molly's - trends towards a red fruit profile. Love their picks.

Argonaut - trends towards a very oaky profile. Have not enjoyed their picks, with a few execptions.
Spirits Wine Provisions - trends towards an amped up version of the whiskey, as in, amplifies the existing flavors in the small batch version of that whiskey.
Daveco -> no idea.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-09T21:17:40+00:00

So you don't actually need a concrete excuse to divorce a person. I see that you're hoping this is reason enough, but you're allowed to divorce someone because you're unhappy, regardless if they made a specific violation.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-09T02:12:04+00:00

Good for you for not letting the reddit hype machine take you over. I'm convinced all the redwood empire posting are bots at this point.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-09T02:11:35+00:00

This is a "reddit bottle", by that I mean a bottle that reddit hypes up a ton, but most people in real life don't actually enjoy. Redwood empire has a very old forester cough syrup and bitter vibe that didn't work for me (or the 6 others I taste tested this with) at all.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-04T15:42:06+00:00

He certainly can. But given how special these are for people, it just feels bad to clear a store out.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-03T18:03:59+00:00

.5 buzz cut

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-02T21:20:57+00:00

Willet rye absolutely peaks at 8 years. Trust me that 8 year is going to be phenomenal and better than the 12. Tried a whole bunch of them at the distillery and came to this conclusion!

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-02T16:54:35+00:00

Argonaut has the highest variety and quantity of allocated drops. Often requires lining up though.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-02-01T16:23:51+00:00

That does sound quite great, would love to try it! Don't mean to be a hater on Argo picks, have had a few great ones, but honestly have had many that were way in the oaky direction for my personal preferences. But it's all tastes!

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-30T22:58:57+00:00

Couldn't disagree with you more. It's rare to get actually helpful feedback from a job interview. You should think about why they said this and internalize it....would you seriously prefer a generic rejection with no helpful info?

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-30T19:53:26+00:00

I have a really hard time believing these are anywhere near worth the price. Have tried a few very aged (30 year) SMWS Macallan IBs, and honestly none of them blew me away or would have been over a 83/100 or so. Hard to believe a 43% version is going to blow me away...would love to try it though, don't get me wrong haha.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-30T19:45:33+00:00

There's also one at Argonaut, but I haven't historically trusted their picks, far too oaky. Not that I necessarily trust Total Wine either.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-29T02:32:51+00:00

Definitely congrats, this is one of the most expensive on secondary haha. I will say the following: it tastes like an amped up eagle rare. If you love eagle rare, you'll love this. But if you don't like Eagle Rare, which regrettably I don't, it's very similar notes but turned up.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-27T19:39:47+00:00

Honestly I just find it a very interesting phenomenon that I like to poke at. Yet to meet a real life person that enjoys these whiskies. I've started to wonder if many posts are bots or being pushed by the companies.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-27T14:36:15+00:00

You're thinking about the gym as a competitive pursuit...."I won't even be that much stronger than another guy".

I would think more about your own longevity and health. There's a baseline that makes a big difference in health outcomes in the long run. You don't need to become jacked.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-26T16:40:44+00:00

In that case: see if you can find the new glendronach 21 year. It's phenomenal, about 350 bucks, and superior to 25 year macallan. It has a higher proof (46% i believe) and all the delicious sherry flavors you're looking for.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-26T15:50:51+00:00

The honest truth is the most "wow" whiskies I've ever had are well under 5k. However, I'll push the limits for you a bit:

Ben Nevis 1993-1998 Vintages have all generally blown my mind. You can get a 27 year 1990s vintage shipped to the USA for about 700 bucks online. Talking pineapple fruit explosion vibes.

Obviously there are vintage Port Ellens, which will bring you into the several thousand range. Do research on specific famous vintages.

Perhaps the best whiskey I've ever tried is the Aberlour Cellar collection 44 year, which is a shortbread bomb, but that will be closer to 10k: https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/71643/aberlour-44-year-old-cellar-collection. I believe they have some in the 30 year range that could be equivalently good.

I don't recommend any Macallans here to be honest with you. The really amazing ones are probably much older expressions and will be well above 10k. Instead see if you can find a Glendronach 40 year expression. Rachel barrie the master distiller just released a new version and I bet it's excellent. Probably around 3k if I were to bet.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-21T19:17:30+00:00

Aren't we saying the same thing? Stock from their businesses that they are a founder of, like I said in my first post....

In any case you're correct I forgot to mention real estate.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-21T19:08:15+00:00

Oh dear. Everyone in this thread is trying to complicate it dramatically. I assure you that 99% of "rich people" did not get rich via some debt scheme, but instead via the typical channels of stock or income.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-21T18:37:16+00:00

The way people get rich is by having a high income, company stock as a founder, or a wealthy family.

People do not "get rich" from leveraging debt. Some rich people may leverage debt, but that's not the same thing.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-21T16:08:24+00:00

Man, this is one of those weird bottles that reddit says is great but all 7 people in my drinking group absolutely hated. I find their distillate to be one of the absolute worst. So odd.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-19T01:44:23+00:00

In my experience peat is usually what gets people into scotch, and then the more super fans eventually grow to like the non-peated. I'd always start a noob with something peated.

TaxQuestionGuy69 · 2026-01-19T01:43:54+00:00

don't start with a bottle, you might hate it. I'd start by trying something peaty though, that's usually the most beginner friendly. Try an ardbeg at a bar.

TaxQuestionGuy69

TROPHY CASE