Whisky again... sources? - by tungsten
Scots Taffer on 20/12/2007 at 00:36
Oh god... Nirvana.
Quote Posted by Rug Burn Junky
On Islay's I generally am willing to go for the better expressions. Because they're such bold flavors to begin with, the differences are more dramatic, and because I've spent so much time drinking them to begin with, that I appreciate it more. With Speyside, or Highland malts, I don't explore as much, partially because they aren't my favorites to begin with, and partially because the subtle differences don't really do as much for me.
Quote Posted by tungsten
I don't agree with RBJ's view on this. I tested with a friend, who "just started" with the whisky (never drunk more than 20 glasses in life!). We went to a tasting and started mild, climbing fast to the higher end. - Even beginners can tell the huge difference between a fantastic (and expensive) whisky and a good (and cheap) one. Although there are some/many expensive ones that are not as good as they are expensive.
Interesting discussion point. I used to go to a pub in Scotland called "The Pot Still" and it was a bar that specialised in single and had wall-to-wall whiskies. Whenever we visited this place me and my friends would typically do tasting rounds, order a selection of whiskies and sample them. You had to be careful though, they had some extremely high end bottles in there. In June when I last visited my friend joined me at the bar when I ordered a dram of the oldest Glengoyne they had, he was emboldened by me paying 21 GBP for a single measure (but actually ended up getting nearly 2 for the price of 1 as the bottle had less than a measure left and the girl behind the bar loved me) and ordered a random whisky, price was no issue. He changed his mind when they informed him it was 60 GBP for a dram.
Anyway, in these tastings I would often urge the group to for Speysides or Northern Highland malts. The great thing about those is that you can do sequential tastings without losing coherence of flavour, you can still pick up subtlety and nuance, character and nose.
Throw one Islay in there and you'll taste none of the subtleties of the Speysides/Northerns as you feel like you're sucking on a lump of coal for the rest of the evening, it gets right through your palate and renders anything less than sledgehammer flavour bland.
That's why I always recommend steering well clear of almost all Islay/Skye malts until you're comfortable with the cleaner and sweeter palate of the Speyside and Northern Highland malts. My first ever whisky was a Laphroaig and it nearly put me off whisky for good, I didn't even try another for a few months. It is simply overpowering. In my opinion, stay away from the Laphroaigs, Bowmores and Caol Islas until you've tried a few others. As even the Laphroaig ad put it: "love it or hate it". Personally, I hate it.
I'm a huge Speyside Malt enthusiast, so I've tried a lot of them, but whenever asked what whisky to try - for a beginner - I often recommend Glenfiddich. The reason I do so is twofold, one I have a weakness for them after visiting their wonderful distillery and sampling more than I rightly should have, and because they are entry-level for price range across all the differing maturities of whisky out there. Not just that, they have a high quality process and as you progress through their whiskies, you can get a real appreciation of the length and breadth of complexity that can be developed. However, you've done so on the "entry level" malts across a decent spread of years - from 12 to 18 to 21 to 30 yr olds.
Someone watched Ratatouille.
Stitch on 20/12/2007 at 02:45
I'm not allowed to drink whiskey anymore.
Shug on 20/12/2007 at 03:10
Quote Posted by Rug Burn Junky
Shug, don't tease, I've stocked up for you.
Private stock? You sure know how to treat a woman
Brian T on 27/12/2007 at 11:45
PHHUCCK, I swear I'll never touch whisky again. I decided to buy some anyway on Christmas Eve, to give it another chance. Famous Grouse it was. First few sips were bearable, although to me taste of whisky lose its novelty value after a while, so I started mixing it with Coke. Normally when I drink I can judge it pretty well, not taking too much at a time, but I suppose the Coke gave me false sense of security. I wasn't actually too bad when I went to bed, but by the time 1 o' clock came around, I was literally opening the back door every half hour or so to go outside and heave my guts up. Christmas Day was a horror. Only today do I feel competely normal and detoxified.:cool:
Thanks guys for this inspirational thread! :( :tsktsk: ;)
Scots Taffer on 27/12/2007 at 23:32
Drinking cheap blended whisky will do that to you. I've drank the last third of my 21yo Glenfiddich bottle over the past two nights and not even the hint of a hangover the next two mornings.
RBJ, I'm eying a 25 yo Fine Oak Macallan at my local.
Rug Burn Junky on 28/12/2007 at 05:21
I've never had the Fine Oaks (supposedly they're a bit lighter), but you can't go wrong with Macallan.
Keep a little aside for when I show up at your front door next month. ;)
Scots Taffer on 28/12/2007 at 05:23
:wot:
PigLick on 29/12/2007 at 03:26
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
I've drank the last THIRD of my 21yo Glenfiddich bottle over the PAST TWO NIGHTS and not even the hint of a hangover the next two mornings.
I think we have solved the problem of no hangovers, a 3rd of a bottle over two nights? You were expecting a hangover?
Tocky on 29/12/2007 at 06:11
Quote Posted by Rug Burn Junky
I've never had the Fine Oaks (supposedly they're a bit lighter), but you can't go wrong with Macallan.
I've puked on it. Granted, it took half a bottle and a case of beer but it can be done. I couldn't stand the taste but kept figuring it would get better. Iodine doesn't get better. But Glenfiddich is lovely flavorful and reminds me of college football games and the smell of hickory smoke on a cold winter day.
demagogue on 29/12/2007 at 07:23
After living in Japan, I like to make it Suntory time sometimes just for the pure camp of it, and the nostalgia factor. It's the quintessential salaryman drink, Old Malt Suntory, and brings up everything classic, seedy, and hilarious about after hours with a bunch of overworked, wasted J-suits laughing it up over overpriced drinks; tasteless jokes predictable an hour in advance; and slutty, chirpy hostesses. That and it has the camp-cachet of a great cameo in a classic movie.
As for the flavor, it's like purposefully over-refined and you can taste it (not sure how to explain it). It's like the way Japanese praise/emulate Mozart's music or Van Gogh's painting ... it's like they're trying so hard to recreate a "classic" experience of a Western bent to make something that, on the one hand, is outrageously well-crafted, with an insane amount of devotion and energy put into the preparation, flavor and texture, taking ideas from other whiskeys and mixing, matching, "perfecting" them. But at the same time almost vulgar in not paying attention to its personality, like missing the spirit of how to make a good, slightly flawed or idiosyncratic bottle of whiskey that has some "localized" soul to it, something you could craft a "legacy" around, and then commercializing it with a laughably generic brand identity ... it's sort of missing something. While it has an identifiable character, J distillers haven't quite made whiskey their "own", it seems to me, if that makes sense.
But there's no denying it's a very fine drink to pour down your gullet; and it's hard not to smile, feeling "Roger Moore" suave in having a glass.
