Evan Williams single barrel vintage

Maker's Mark

Knob Creek

I really love Forty Creek. Fantastic flavor and very smooth.



http://www.fortycreekwhisky.com/history/patiencetimetalent.asp

Glen Goyne is pretty sweet.  Reasonably priced as well.


edit:

For fun, bring this for dessert.  It's like Irish Cream only it's Scottish.  Far more complex and yummy then Bailey's.  You'll never want Bailey's again after this stuff.

Woodford Reserve

johnny walker blue

Connemara Single Barrel
Connemara Cask Strength
Jameson's
Tuallamore Dew
Redbreast
Clontarf
Michael Collins

I just had some Leopold Bros Whiskey over the weekend.
Phenomenal tasting stuff, from a small distillery in Denver.
Highly recommend if you can find it, I am though unsure of the cost per bottle.

This!  Blantons too, if it's under the price cap where you are.



Single barrell bourbons you might consider in addition:



Bakers

Bookers

Basil Haydens

Makers Mark 46

Blantons

Pappy Van Winkles (out of price range no doubt)

Buffalo Trace

Jim Beam Rye

Jim Beam Black

Jack Daniels single barrel



If you're looking at whiskeys outside the US:



Bushmills

Jameson

Glenlivet

Glenmorangie

Glenfiddich

many other single malt scotches...





 

Woodford reserve, for sure.  
black maple hill bourbon, if you can find it.  Not a lot is made, but it's my fiancee's favorite.
Some rye of some sort?

Oban scotch and Tangle Ridge Canadian.

Either one is good enough to straighten your toes.

Crown and Makers is pretty good, the rest of that stuff is mix only.





SMS only here, LaPhroaig Quarter Cask, Talisker, Balvennie.





sometimes I slum it, Rich and Rare mixed with some Vernors


Maybe throw some of that in with your midrange stuff for fun.

 

If it's available to you, I'd suggest Pendleton's, which runs about $25.

Cabin Still
Yellowstone
Old Crow

Just for something different - Yamazaki. 12 year single malt whisky from Japan. Technically not a scotch, but it tastes like one. Try it, you'll thank me later. Oh, and relatively cheap at $36 a bottle. FWIW, I switch between this and Oban 14 yr for my regular drinking scotches.



The 18 year Yamazaki is divine, but also $140 a bottle (That one only gets brought out as a treat - same with a Balvenie 21 year).

Since you said whiskey you need to add in Jameson and Redbreast.

 

Eagle Rare Single Barrel

A rye whiskey such as Jim Beam Rye or WT Russel Reserve Rye

No love for the Kickin' Chicken? Bah.

Wild Turkey 101, bitches.

Dang you caught my edit

Has anyone ever tried Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey?

Gentleman Jack

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Dickle (Merl Haggards favorite)

 

Bourbons are for gentlemen, whiskeys are for godless heathens and Canadians.

Bushmill's  BLACKBUSH  you can thank me later

Scoresby.

Ive been drinking alot of this lately

http://www.lairdandcompany.com/index2.htm

+1 This stuff is great!




 

In the price range you give?



Try Bulleit Bourbon (decent for an economically priced bourbon blend) or Corner Creek (NY) or Sazerac (American rye, pretty raw though)



For American made single malts (I know you said not single malts, but I want to suggest as these two are American and pretty good)







Try McCarthy's (Oregon distillery Clear Creek) . It's Islay style and very peaty. It's not Laphroaig or Lagavulin, but it's a little similar at less than half the price (under $40 in state controlled liquor WA stores). I am looking forward to seeing McCarthy produce and release some very good American single malts in the future.



WA state's Dry Fly distillery is worth looking at too if it's available. A little wheaty for my tastes, but interesting.

It is not a good idea to mix varieties of whiskey for a tasting.  It is better to stay with one variety, Bourbon for example.  Because of the characteristics of the different varieties your palate will be compromised and it will become impossible to appreciate the subtleties of the whiskeys sampled.

As a whisky drinker I drink Tullymore Dew

You're probably right with mixing whiskey types, canadian, scotch, rye, bourbons, bourbon clone sipping whiskeys.  Might make them another event for another night.  

I'm prone to bourbons myself but a bottle of Speyburn single malt will fit nicely in that price range I think.  I found it better to have an ice cube in it and let it melt enough to loosen the scotch up.  It really does change the chemistry as it relates to your tastebuds.

Yes, and compare this with a true French Calvados.

It really is great stuff.  You can taste the apples.

I suggest you pick a consistent theme as your tasting will be much more enjoyable because your participants can use the theme to pick out differences and commonalities among the spirits in question.

You said:



... which makes it very difficult to discern if you have a theme in mind.  

Your list includes one blend from Scotland, one Canadian and some whiskeys from the United States.  Each has its own peculiarities, which makes it difficult to compare them as you've put out too many variables for a novice tasting effort.  Let's take the first one on your list, Johnny Walker Black:

- You are also comparing a whiskey that is blended from distillate from multiple distilleries to US whiskeys that all come from the same distillery.  

- You are comparing a whiskey that was aged in second and third use barrels that have previously contained other spriits (e.g. US bourbon barrels), while all the US bourbons are required to be aged in first-use (brand new) barrels.  

- You are comparing one whiskey that is distilled twice to some US whiskeys that are only distilled once.  

I could go on, but your choices have very little in common except price –– and price doesn't really give you a consistent yardstick in terms of taste.  Taste is paramount in a whiskey ... tasting ... and price should take a back seat.

I suggest you pick a theme (with price as a second consideration).  You'll be much better off because your guests will actually have something meaningful to discuss, beyond "do I like it?"  Why not pick something like "American Bourbons under $40/bottle" so that you'll have less of a wild variation between your tasting candidates?

Example:



All the above are bourbons and have many commonalities, but they also have some subtle differences that can be identified for your guests and they can opine on all of them.  As an example, Woodford Reserve is distilled using solely pot stills while the others are usually distilled using column stills (or both).  Why not start a discussion as to whether your guests prefer pot still distillate to column still distillate?  How about comparing the mashbills of each bourbon and its effect on taste?  

Hope this helps!