Whisk[e]y

[Champagne Socialist]

Coal Ila, 1994, Distiller's choice.

Very very lovely.

[Deep Black]

Most recently picked up Aberlour & Tobermory from Coop, on offer (bout 1/3 off)

[phazedout]

got two as pressies and picked up two while returning from oz
glenfddich 12 year old (had some last night) from my mum
Jameson triple distilled from a niece who never buys me anything
bowmans 17 year old which I got in singapore
and bushmills 10 year old which I picked up in frankfurt.
Phaze
on the "still trying to decide a sig here in shiny new forum" ID

[BeckyH]

Made some really very nice whisky and peanut truffles with the 11 year old Talisker. Good dark chocolate, good whisky, chopped peanuts, heavy cream some nice honey.

[Deep Black]

You sure it wasn't 10 year old?

Hmmm truffles, tempting & lovely as the sound; doen't that count as miss use of a fine single malt?

[Hilarity Unit]

Gave a bottle of Bruichladdich Peat as an Xmas pressie, but ended drinking half of it myself :) I'll definitely be getting a bottle for myself soon.

[Deep Black]

Will you be giving half of it back to the poor soul who lost half of theirs? ;)

[BeckyH]

You sure it wasn't 10 year old?

Hmmm truffles, tempting & lovely as the sound; doen't that count as miss use of a fine single malt?

Well, I've had the bottle so long it's at least 11 years old by now! And how can it be a misuse to pair anything with chocolate? Except watermelon. And Coleman's mustard.

[Champagne Socialist]

Tabasco sauce is good with Water Melon

[Champagne Socialist]

Have found a biker pub tucked away on a local road.
Nicest selection of whiskys of any pub I've found so far.
And with it being a biker pub it's far friendlier than any local pub as well.

[Deep Black]

And with it being a biker pub it's far friendlier than any local pub as well.
So long as you're not of a different biker group.

[Champagne Socialist]

tempted to borrow a moped from someone :-)

[Hagbard Celine]

I drank a bottle of Suntory Old yesterday, feel a bit rough this morning..

[Deep Black]

Just got a bottle of Glenfiddich Caoran Reserve :)

[Hilarity Unit]

Got a bottle of [duty free shops only] Bunnahabhain Darach Ur thanks to a having to attend a training course down in Dorset last week. Very nice & quite different from the std Bunnahabhain - a lot more woody.

[Deep Black]

Got a bottle of Glen Moray

[Deep Black]

Finished said bottle of Glen Moray

[Deep Black]

Glenfiddich 12 year from Sommerfield for £17.99
&
Glenlivet 12 year from Coop £17.79

[Deep Black]

Went to The Wee Dram in Bakewell & picked up some Glenrothes
http://www.theglenrothes.com/uk/

[Deep Black]

Glenfiddich 12 again.

5 posts in a row, come on - someone must have bought something...

[Champagne Socialist]

peat monster from the local waitrose
laphroaig, 16 distillers choice, double matured
Coal Ila 25
and a friend sent me an Oban 14

added those to the Talisker, Dalwhinnie and Bunnahabhain and... teachers already in stock.

I don't have a drink problem.
I have plenty to drink :D

[Deep Black]

Good man :)

[claverhouse]

Not bought , but an old friend came for the weekend ,helped drink my Talisker 18 year old and left me a bottle of Glenlivet so he can come back!

[Deep Black]

Reasonable deal. thought you were possibly robbed ;)

I have no more Glenfiddich now, I wonder where it all went... ?

[claverhouse]

Aye , Talisker is my tipple of choice with Springbank,Highland Park,Lagavulin next in line and Glenmorangie for light relief..........a full bottle of Glenlivet for a few drams is'nt bad though LOL

[Deep Black]

Ahh, your like stuff from the islands then.

Yeah a full bottle for a few drams sounds good...

[phazedout]

yup
i bought a 12 year old bowman litre bottle in Gatwicj ariprot) last night at the prompting of my swansea friend I tried a very nice single malt welsh whisky.
Also bought a speyside one who's name escapes me for now.
phaze
on the "phaze is both hungry and tried so will doze pre food" ID

[Deep Black]

Sounds like you're enjoying them

The Welsh one would be Penderyn http://www.welsh-whisky.co.uk/index.html

[Champagne Socialist]

it's not great though

[Deep Black]

Anyone gonna be getting the St George when it gets bottled?
http://www.englishwhisky.co.uk/

[toffeeman]

Just finishing a 15 year old Glenfiddich. Went into the "local" whisky shop to buy a 10 yr old Laphroaig and came out with a 10 yr old Ardbeg. Not tried the "heavy hitters" as TMH calls them other than a miniature Laphroaig and I was very impressed with the Ardbeg. Loverly!

regards

Ian
Auckland NZ

[Halmyre]

Anyone gonna be getting the St George when it gets bottled?
http://www.englishwhisky.co.uk/

:eek: Not while I have breath in my body.

[Champagne Socialist]

How could they?!!
How dare they?!!
That's a cultural two fingers if there has ever been one.... oh, I see now.

[Deep Black]

That's a no then is it?

Hi there Ian :)

[toffeeman]

Hello back!
My first post on the Iain Banks Forum and it's about whisky. Go figure. I was sure it was going to be about a book, just not the non-fiction one!

regards

Ian
Auckland NZ

[Deep Black]

Picked up an on offer Auchentoshan Classic from Asda
http://www.auchentoshan.co.uk/

[Deep Black]

I think bottleing so much so early is a mistake:
http://www.englishwhisky.co.uk/acatalog/english-whisky-co.-liqueurs.html

[Deep Black]

Uuuuuuuuuuuuhh finished that Auchentoshan after many beers, feeling it now :(

[Champagne Socialist]

Had a heacache this morning from all of the mulled wine last night, so treated myself to a new bottle of Monkey Shoulder, Oban, to cheer myself up, and as a special christmas treat a 30 year old highland park from wee dram :-)

[Deep Black]

Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or

http://www.glenmorangie.com/our_range/fiche_nectar.php??resolution=1280

[Thrikodithanam]

Well, I've had the bottle so long it's at least 11 years old by now! And how can it be a misuse to pair anything with chocolate? Except watermelon. And Coleman's mustard.

But the age refers to the amount of time the whisky spends in the casks... If I'm not mistaken they did release an 11-year-old, though.

Personally, I'm a big fan of Jura, Talisker, Glenfiddich and Highland Park. And as for blends, I really like Monkey Shoulder.

But I'm also partial to bourbon, especially Bulleit.

[Thrikodithanam]

Just finishing a 15 year old Glenfiddich. Went into the "local" whisky shop to buy a 10 yr old Laphroaig and came out with a 10 yr old Ardbeg. Not tried the "heavy hitters" as TMH calls them other than a miniature Laphroaig and I was very impressed with the Ardbeg. Loverly!

regards

Ian
Auckland NZ

Ardbeg! Lovely stuff.

[Deep Black]

Sounds like you like the ones with some punch :)
Have you tried the Ledaig from Tobermory
or the Islay's: Lagavulin, Caol Ila & Bruichladdich
Some of my favorites

Never tried Bulleit

[Thrikodithanam]

I haven't tried any of those actually! Although I was eyeing up the bottles of Bruichladdich and Caol Ila in Waitrose earlier today. I really fancied the look of the cask-strength Caol Ila, but didn't think I could justify spending £41. I ended up just buying some houmous. If only money were no object!

[Deep Black]

You should give them a try, but shop around, I don't usually pay over £30 for a bottle.

Scapa is an excellent Whisky too.

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm houmous

[Deep Black]

Finished off the Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or last night, lovely stuff :)

[cabbo]

Sainsbury's cheap whiskey states on the bottle that it has a "less refined taste that is perfect for mixing".


So basically, it's dirt, but stick it in some coke, and you won't notice. Nice one, Sainsbury's, but I think I'll stick to good ol' sippin' whiskey. Easy on the sippin'.

[Deep Black]

Picked up a bottle of Jura for £18 (offer from Coop)

[oneexwidow]

I haven't tried any of those actually! Although I was eyeing up the bottles of Bruichladdich and Caol Ila in Waitrose earlier today. I really fancied the look of the cask-strength Caol Ila, but didn't think I could justify spending £41. I ended up just buying some houmous. If only money were no object!

If only, indeed... Although I did once by (and still have half of it) a 25 yr old Highland Park - a snip at £165 for the bottle. Needless to say it doesn't get out much!

[Macros1980]

Had a nice drop of Talisker at my Father's, at the weekend.

[Champagne Socialist]

Glenrothes

a little light for my tastes.

[Solipsist Mercenary]

Bourbon man myself. Usually buy Wild Turkey 8 year old, 2500 yen a liter, last week I was feeling a little flush so I picked up a bottle of Rare Breed (54% alcohol!). I keep a bottle of Four Roses on hand, at half the price of the Wild Turkey it mixes well with Coke.

I don't know how common they are outside of Japan, but for sipping whisky, I always use an ice ball similar to the one in this video (although I don't mess around with the smoothing process, I just have a rough mold.)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx7u0_whiskey-on-the-rock_tech

-sm

[Deep Black]

That link doesn't work for me?

Bourbon man eh? I've tried a few of the more obvious ones, but not really to my taste. Have you had any Scottish Single Malts? Not to be mixed with Coke of course ;)

My most recent perchase has been (Irish) Bushmills.

[oneexwidow]

Have you had any Scottish Single Malts? Not to be mixed with Coke of course ;).

Or ice... ;-)

[Deep Black]

Indeed :)

[Solipsist Mercenary]

I haven't tried any Scottish single malts, not that there aren't plenty available here, but it's a bit of a wilderness, seems like all you have to do is slap "Loch" or "Mac" on the start of things and hope that someone will pick it up.

I didn't get started on whisk(e)y until a couple years ago, I'd had some experience with Jack Daniels, and one notable evening with most of a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and, well, lets just say that no felony charges was the high point of the evening, but I finally decided to find out what I liked, without spending too much money at the outset.

Tried some Jim Beam Rye, White Horse scotch, Four Roses bourbon, Bushmills, and threw Jack Daniels back into the mix, and I found (didn't do a blind test, but I tried to go in without preconceptions) that I liked the bourbon the best, rye or Irish second, then Jack, then the Scotch, so I started working my way up the bourbon ladder until I hit a survivable compromise between taste and price, hence 8 year old Wild Turkey.

As far as scotch, I don't know if I gave it a fair shake, I generally like bourbon, but I've had one (Yellow Rose of Texas) that remains unfinished after a year and a half. Every so often when I get really, well, warm and fuzzy, and out of everything else, I put down one more shot of that stuff, and then realize I should really be off to bed because it just isn't worth it. For all I know, White Horse may be the scotch equivalent, if anyone wants to recommend (anyone still reading this rant?) a reasonably priced scotch as a tester, I'll take a look and keep an open mind.

Oh, yeah, ice balls. Don't know why that vid didn't work, but here's a couple pics, basically just a sphere of ice, maximizes volume and cooling ability while minimizing surface area and dilution:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2437/4287315911_7428ceef38_o.jpg
The molds I have are from the dollar (100 yen) store and are excitingly chunky rather than smoothly spherical, but they serve the purpose.

Anyway, rather far into that Wild Turkey, all for now

-sm

[Deep Black]

Wow, that's a big chink of ice.

A nice Scottish Single Malt should be in a glass more like this:
http://www.glencairn.co.uk/portal/images/stories/the%20glencairn%20glass.jpg
No room for the Ice Ball you see ;)

As for recommendations (tricky as there are soooo many to choose from & a great many different styles) but these 6 show a reasonable spread of the differing styles:
http://www.awa.dk/whisky/clasmalt.htm

Some of the bigger names to try would be:
Glenlivet
Glenfiddich
Macallan
Laphroaig

The cheapest example (in the UK at least) is GlenMoray

Maybe look for some minatures if you want to try them without spending to much...

[Solipsist Mercenary]

Some of the bigger names to try would be:
Glenlivet
Glenfiddich
Macallan
Laphroaig

Pretty sure all of those are available across the street at the local Discount Liquor Barn (actually, it's called "Don," which may mean "Boom" in Japanese, or it may mean something else....)

Pretty sure I remember a friend telling me that the hierarchy went Glenlivet-Glenfiddich-Glen Morangie, Laphroaig is another step up pricewise I think, but we'll see.

More later (more Wild Turkey at the moment)

-sm

[Deep Black]

Most will have a standard age of around 10-12 years, with prices going up the longer they have been aged (generally speaking).

Have you read Iain's book "Raw Spirit" all about Whisky & Scotland?

[Deep Black]

Just picked up "The Yamazaki" 10 year old Single Malt. (12 looks to be the standard)
From Asda £25
http://www.suntory.com/yamazaki/main.html
http://www.whiskyandwines.com/images/yamazaki_10yo.jpg

[Deep Black]

& now it's all gone :)

[oneexwidow]

...and the verdict? What was it like? Is it like a lowland or speyside...etc?

[Deep Black]

Hmmm it was nice, but harsher than most Scottish Malts.

Vaguely like a Highland (maybe Oban or Glen Ord like) but with hints of a *whispers* American Rye or something

[black]

The whiskey cupboard is just about run dry so I'm thinking of stocking up with a few bottles of mid-priced malt. Of late I've been dabbling with the Balvenie Doublewood, the Highland Park 12-year and the Glenrothies Select Reserve, all of which have served me most admirably, but now I'm fancying something a little different this time around. Suggestions gentlemen?

[Deep Black]

Talisker?
Oban?
Glen Ord?

Or try the Irish Bushmills Malt

I had an excellent Glenesk 20 year old the other day and a nearly as nice Balblair too

[Deep Black]

Over halfway through a bottle of Monkey Shoulder. Apparently a "blend" of 3 Speyside single malts, not sure which but I'm guessing one is pretty unknowen?

[black]

Talisker disappointly out of stock so ended up with the 12 year Balvenie Signature and a 10 year Bushmills Malt to tide me over. Cracked the Balvenie last night and was suitably impressed.

[Deep Black]

Well as the Wife is away at the Download Festival (Donnington Monsters of Rock to you & me), I'm drowning my lonely sorrows with a Balvennie Double Wood (oo-er) £22 on offer at Morrisons :)

[Deep Black]

It's going down nicely, 1 more day of the festival to go & a third of the bottle left for me this evening :)

[Deep Black]

Right well that's that Balvennie polished off (& 3 bottles of Old Speckled Hen) best I'd go to bed & get some reading in (instead of wasting my life looking through youtube clips - as I've been doing all evening) for a bit before the misses comes home tomorrow...

[Champagne Socialist]

Coal Ila 25

[Champagne Socialist]

Oban 14

[Deep Black]

I was drinking Bowmore 12 year last night (on the beer this eve though)