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In NYC it goes for more than that. One problem is that not everyone likes Scotch, but if the giftee likes Scotch, blends are a safer bet than single malts. If the giftee is a Scotch drinker and open to a little adventure, I recommend Highland Park. It's a genuine single malt with a relatively gentle flavor profile. It's one of my favorite nectars, as is Edradour.
Yeah, the only place we've gotten a price that good on Johnnie Walker Blue Label has been duty free shopping in the UK. I'd personally not gift someone with Scotch, not knowing if they're Scotch drinkers or not.
The bad thing about choosing a wine for someone is you cannot tell by price whether or not it will be good. I have tried to find some fabulous wines I had at a restaurant, only to be disappointed when I tracked it down. If you get a fine bottle of liquor, you can be sure of consistency.
An unfortunate truth of wines is that they can be very inconsistent, whether from year-to-year or within a bin. A few years back I visited my sister for Christmas, and she took us to the winery she now works at. Bought a 2005 tempranillo that was truly outstanding at the winery, popped it open a year later, and the cork was bad. (A good argument for screwcaps or synthetic corks.) Wine can be thought of being very organic, in the true sense of the word, not how the word's used these days. As such it can vary year-to-year. Very weather dependent. On the other hand, distilled spirits or liquors (bourbon and whiskey, gin, tequila, liqueurs, and especially vodka) are generally consistent no matter what. Because they are manufactured they are more a product of the distiller's art and science than the soil and weather. Consequently, hard liquor generally tastes the same, it's what the distiller does that makes that batch unique. With wine, a Willamette Valley pinot noir is much different than a Russian River or Burgundy pinot noir, reflecting the locale it's grown in, as well as the winemaker's art and skill.
I like the previous post suggesting port or sherry... much more consistent than a vintage wine. I've even had a very nice muscadine port.
I don't know too much about wines but I do agree that there are some excellent values in port and sherry. I actually visited the Gonzalez Byass sherry bodega in Jerez last year and got a 30 year old solera bottling of a palo cortado sherry for around 60 bucks. Now, what would an equivalent aged bottle of almost any other wine cost? At least 3 times as much probably. More importantly is that it was some excellent stuff too.
Could you please give me some examples of a fine liquor? Frankly I thought liquor is a common name for alcoholic beverages.
People often refer to spirits as hard liquor--these are drinks that typically have 40% alcohol or higher, such as rum, whiskey, tequila, vodka, etc.
For a fine spirit, I would suggest:
Lagavulin 12 (scotch--very, very smoky)
Tequila Ocho Reposado
Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon
There is a huge variety of wines that you could get in the ~$100 range. I might suggest these 2 wines as a nice gift pair that covers pretty broad ground:
I'd go with a nice bourbon, you should be able to get a 750ml bottle for under $60.
If you know he likes scotch, go with that. But bourbon is a solid choice.
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