Put me in the quality over quantity camp, too. Most of the time I just drink wines, but if I were going to have a regular scotch available for sipping, it would be Johnnie Black. But in general, I think scotches carry a premium over American whiskies (bourbon, rye, etc.) and as such don't buy them much on my own.
While I do disagree that 18YO whiskies (i should clarify Irish or Scotch whiskey here) aren't worth it, it's definitely worth keeping the law of diminishing returns in mind (there is more difference between an 8YO and a 12YO than 12YO and 18YO)
@FrugalZen
Why buy it yourself? Find a friend and convince them to share part of the bottle
At the price point of George V, you can do better (it's a very nice whiskey, don't get me wrong, but i really didn't find anything unique in the taste; it was what i would have expected for a whiskey of its age, there was no individuality). I am not saying that drinking history isn't nice, but I have a feeling that you are looking for taste over label names.
Homebrew is definitely the cheapest I've had - $35 for 20l of cider from a kit! Pretty good tasting after a month of aging too.
Of the store bought kind, boxed wine on sale is probably the cheapest around here. Some kinds taste great and others shouldn't be legal to sell. Either way they feel kinda magical because you can pour and pour and it never stops flowing. Sometimes I've wondered if I'd spend less money buying bottles because I'd see how much I'm drinking!
I'm a bit jealous people living south of the 49th - a few weeks back on a road trip we stopped in Michigan and I bought TWO bottle of Yellowtail Shiraz for $12. Unbelievable! It costs twice that in Canada.
