Whisky Forum - What to get at the airport?

whisky_rob · Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:43 pm Post subject: What to get at the airport?

Hi all,

I'm passing thru Heathrow terminal 5 in the next week and was after some advice. Having looked thru 'world of whiskies' and 'world duty free' web-sites there seem so many choices with each distillery seeming to have 1 or 2 travel retail releases. My thoughts are to get 2 or 3 bottles of reasonable stuff that I can't get easily on the high street for drinking and was after any recommendations. My short list is-

1 - Talisker Dark Storm
2 - Macallan select oak / estate reserve (Although Â£180 seems a bit steep!!)
3 - Aberlour 15yo double cask
4 - Glenfiddich 125TH anniversary edition
5 - Glenrothes three decades
6 - Glen Garioch 1998 Cask NO. 668
7 - The Dalmore Age of Exploration
8 - Highland Park Leif Eriksson
9 - Bowmore Mariner 15 Year Old (I have heard bad reviews on this one)
10 - Glenlivet Master Distiller's Reserve
11- Balvenie triple cask 12/16yo
12 - Anything else recommended by yourselves!

There is lots of other stuff but as much as I would love a Highland Park 1973 I think Mrs Rob would kill me!! Any help great fully received and more than happy to take suggestions not on my list. I'm on a connecting flight so time might be short so trying to decide what to buy before I get there.

Regards

Rob

jcarrick · Master Of Malts Joined: 18 Apr 2011 Posts: 949

There are a few new Highland Parks to look out for that are exclusive to travel retail, i have a bottle of the Highland Park Harald which is excellent. Also got myself a bottle of Talisker Dark Storm which i prefer to the high street Talisker Storm and it is a 1 litre bottle so good value.

Alexppp · Master Of Malts Joined: 16 Jul 2010 Posts: 1791

Personally I would get the Talisker Dark Storm since it seems good value for 1 litre and is not available elsewhere. To be honest all the other choices look enticing, I would also suggest the Glenlivet 12 First Fill, which may sound unassuming but in my opinion is a class act, better than the regular Glenlivet 12.

Quaich1 · Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:55 am Post subject:

Rob, living in Canada I don't have access to most of the bottles you mentioned. However,
I did check some of them out online and I was attracted to The Dalmore Age of Exploration
and Highland Park Leif Eriksson based on taste notes.

Cheers.
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drPete · Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 6:45 am Post subject:

Hi Rob

The Fiddy 125 is a totally different style for that distillery and worth trying. The Balvenie triple casks are yummy - especially if you cant stretch to a 25! If peat is your thing the new Laffy has jsut arrived too.

If you look hard you may find a HP1978, much more affordable than the 73. These and the 1990 have all been dropped in favour of the NAS "warrior" range which I havn't tried yet.

Both parts of WOW (left hand side walking south in the terminal and specialist whisky part on right hand side) have plenty of open bottles and are willing to let you sample before you buy. This often includes some of the (much) more expensive bottlings.

There is often a stand at the end on the right dedicated to a particular brand - in the past this had been Mac and Glenlivet, most recently it was a JW promotion.

Have to disagree about the Tali dark storm though - think it's rubbish!

Cheers
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minesascotch · Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 12:20 pm Post subject:

The Glenlivet 12 First Fill is a good one to get, better than the standard 12 and worth a try at the price.

bifter · Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 1:08 pm Post subject:

Laphroaig PX? Also, can't recommend them but, Glen Deveron 16yo, 20yo and 30yo expressions are exclusively available with World Duty Free Group for one year.
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rlemkin · Single Malt Member Joined: 09 Sep 2012 Posts: 71

Laphroaig QA?

Tried the Jura Turas Mara which appealed to me a lot more than any of the other Jura's I've had
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albo · Master Of Malts Joined: 22 Mar 2011 Posts: 1888

I picked up a Balblair that was travel retail exclusive. I've not opened it yet but i do really rate the Balblair stuff

William · Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:37 am Post subject:

Rob, if you like Bowmore then take a look at the Bowmore 100 Degrees Proof it is only a few pounds more than the Bowmore Mariner (avoid the Mariner). I have gotten through a couple of bottles of 100 Degrees Proof since it was released last year. My thoughts on it here
www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/bowmore100degreesproof.htm

The Glenfiddich 125th Anniversary is certainly worth a try and so is any of the Glenfiddich Age of Discovery bottlings but my preference would be the first release Madeira Cask Finish and 3rd release Red Wine Cask Finish would be my personal choice from this series.

The new Balvenie triple cask series is excellent and you wont be disappointed if you are a Balvenie fan.

I was a bit disappointed with the Laphroaig QA cask, I thought it was a bit lacking, it should have been bottled at a higher strength, when drinking my bottle i just kept thinking it was a watered down Quarter Cask. The Laphroaig PX cask is excellent.

As drPete says above you can still find some of the vintage Highland Parks but they wont be around much longer, the HP 1973, 1978 and 1990 are outstanding and the 1994 was pretty good also. I wasn't impressed with the Highland Park Leif Eriksson. I haven't tried the new Warrior Series which has replaced the vintage series but there are going to be 6 bottles in this series and I believe as you move up the range the bigger the sherry influence will be on the whisky. I am still very wary of this move to no age statement and I just hope they are not trying to substitute age for bold and intense flavours.

The Glenlivet Master Distiller's Reserve is a pleasant enough expression of the Glenlivet but I would take the Glenlivet 12 First Fill before it. The Glenlivet 21 is usually a good price at the airport.

The new travel retail Glen Deveron 16, 20 and 30 year olds are all very pleasant easy to drink Speyside drams and all a decent price for there age, I enjoyed them all but I don't think I would pick them up again. Would make a great gift if you were looking to impress someone with an age statement and it is a whisky which most whisky drinkers would enjoy.

The Dalmore Age of Exploration is easy to drink due to it Madiera finish.

The just released travel retail Old Pulteney Lighthouse series is pretty good with my choice of the series being the Old Pulteney Noss Head and a close 2nd would be the Old Pulteney Pentland Skerries.

I liked the Talisker Dark Storm although i would certainly choose the Talisker 10 over it but it is always good to try a new expresion of a whisky you like and you dont often see new expressions of Talisker, at least not in this price range.

Glenfarclas 17 is always a good buy at the airport, only usually found in travel retail or the US market.

If you like a blend the Ballantine's 21 year old can be picked up at the airport for a decent price.
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Alexppp · Master Of Malts Joined: 16 Jul 2010 Posts: 1791

Samson · Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:46 am Post subject:

I really shouldnt read these airport whisky threads, it just depresses me when a see a list of whisky i have no hope of tasting.

It does seem to me that there is way more travel retail exclusive whiskies than there was only a couple of years ago.

Keith · Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:15 pm Post subject:

William · Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 4:16 pm Post subject:

William · Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 4:22 pm Post subject: