I tried building up a great home collection but then I realized there's a bar near me with a few hundred whiskies and they serve half-price-half-pour of *everything* they have, including rare whiskies. And a bar around the corner from them is run by a guy who knows a guy who has a some sort of magical hookup with Japanese distilleries and they keep getting bottles that aren't even sold in the US. So, building a home collection seems kinda pointless now.
Now I just keep three bottles at home and go out if I want anything else: Talisker 10, Stranahan's and Rittenhouse Rye. The last one's really just for mixing Manhattans.
Others I've tried:
* Caol Ila, one of my favorites
* Macallan 12, solid choice
* Macallan 15, very good
* Macallan Whiskey Maker's Edition, duty free offering not worth buying
* Glenmorangie 10, solid standby
* Glenmorangie Signet, way too intense of a burn but I didn't get a chance to try it with water
* Aucentoshan 12 year, meh
* Laphroaig 10, about once a year I get a craving this whiskey
* Old Pappy 21. Mind-blowing.
* Leopold's American Whiskey.
Ryes:
* Bulleit Rye, glad to see the price coming back down. Overrated.
* Rittenhouse. Still, IMO, the best mixing rye available and not bad to sip either.
* Willet. Probably my favorite of the MGP products
* Michter's. Solid choice.
* High West's A Midwinter Night's Dram. Definitely for sipping only. Delicious.
* Old Overholt. My mixing backup if I can't find Rittenhouse.
Japanese whiskies:
* Hibiki 12/17/21. I think the 17 might be my favorite, just wish it was possible to find *anywhere*
* Hibiki Japanese Harmony. Just not the same as the age-statement bottles.
* Nikka From the Barrel. A dirt-cheap blended whiskey that goes for maybe $12 in Tokyo department stores. Amazing value, unavailable in the US. I bring a bottle or two back from my yearly trip to Japan
* Hakushu 12. Solid choice, also impossible to find.
* Nikka 12. Eh.
The Hibiki 17 and 21 are probably the best whiskies I've ever tasted. I'm so sad they're disappearing from the market. I know a few places left where I can buy a glass but they're nowhere near me. One bar in Tokyo and All Nippon Airline's first class service (which I'll be flying later this year thanks to a large stash of frequent flyer miles
)