To add insult to injury, Scotch is apparently about to be hit by the tariff stuff. Luckily I'm stocked up on Lagavulin. :)
I used to think JD was great whiskey when I was in High School, then I thought Makers Mark was a premium whiskey when I tasted the difference between it and JD. Then I started drinking stuff like Lagavulin and High West, and began to understand what I do not understand. :)
Not that there aren't good cheaper whiskies out there - I recently discovered Sexton Irish Single Malt, which is a great buy at 30 bucks.
I'd never drink JD anymore. I might have Jim Beam or similar in a mixer, but for straight sippin' whiskey for a steak or cigar, or even for a proper Old-Fashioned, I want the good stuff.