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March 28, 2024, 02:35:51 PM

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Enjoying a glass of whiskey

Started by kalowski, April 06, 2021, 10:46:28 PM

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Chedney Honks

I was into whisky in a pretty big way a few years ago, did a lot of tasting stuff, had shelves of it and then I tried good bourbon, my jaw dropped and that was that. Then the bourbon market became daft, unfortunately. The Weller 12 I'd bought for 35 quid the previous year was now a ton and you had to enter a lottery for it. I actually managed to get hold of some George T. Stagg and Thomas H. Handy back in the day for like £130. Literally impossible to get hold of those releases nowadays unless you're a very regular customer somewhere with very good connections and you're still talking hundreds, and a grand on the secondary market.

There used to be a bar near me which had Pappy van Winkle 15 and 20, plus the Pappy Rye. I don't know how they even got hold of the stuff and the guys behind the bar didn't really know, either. It's still the greatest whiskey I've ever had and ever will have. Cascading layers upon layers, indescribable and almost overwhelming depth. The rye and the 15 were probably equal, and ever so slightly preferable to the 20. They weren't on the menu and it was slightly more expensive for a measure so it just didn't sell. Over the course of about two months, my mate and I had the lot. Utterly magnificent. We went every weekend for fear that it would be gone by the next visit.

One Saturday afternoon and evening we went and shared the best part of a bottle of the Rye. The young fella behind the bar charged us four quid a measure which was essentially theft on our part. We still talk about it occasionally, which is sad, but on the other hand it was a once in a lifetime experience of perhaps the greatest American spirit ever made. It also pretty much drew a line under my bourbon and rye exploration because there was nowhere else to go.



:')

Sebastian Cobb

Caol Ila is nicer than Laphroaig imo.

I think I can drink a wider range of whiskys than rum, but a nice rum I much prefer, and for a bottle of cheap whisky I can buy Kraken and for a ok whisky I can buy a bottle of Diplomatico Reserva.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Speaking of rum, I recommend Three Tides, all scorched gorse, demerara, delicious stuff.

Sebastian Cobb


Chedney Honks

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on April 07, 2021, 10:30:51 AM
I think I can drink a wider range of whiskys than rum, but a nice rum I much prefer, and for a bottle of cheap whisky I can buy Kraken and for a ok whisky I can buy a bottle of Diplomatico Reserva.

Similar to when I fell off whisky for the sweeter pleasures of bourbon, that also led me to trying rum. I also really like that Diplomatico but my go-to is Ron Zacapa 23, if you've not tried it. A little less sweet than the Diplomatico and I get plenty of depth from it. I understand that proper rum fans find the marketing objectionable (the 23 is bending the truth, it's a blend of aged rums) and various Diagio-related complaints which are no doubt valid, but I like this so I'm not bothered.

Inspector Norse

By no means a whisky buff, I could never be one of those people who just have a casual dram in the middle of a day like you see the suave spies, serious men of business, or train-hopping hoboes do on the telly, but for a nightcap once a week or so it can't be beat.

A few that I've had recently and liked include Kilchoman's Machir Bay (I understand that their Sanaig is also very worth a try) and some Nordic efforts: Mackmyra is the most well-established Swedish distillery and has made some very decent whiskies, but if you come across something from High Coast (they used to be called Box but had to change their name because
Spoiler alert
something or other, I don't know
[close]
) I've found theirs very impressive too.

Picked up a whisky from Finland last week, from a distillery called Teerenpeli. Not bad on first impressions.

JesusAndYourBush

Quote from: kalowski on April 06, 2021, 10:46:28 PM...Laphroaig...

I always imagine that's pronounced 'leap-frog', then I look up the pronunciation and instantly forget it so the next time I encounter the word it's 'leap-frog' again.

wooders1978

Nice to see so many whisky heads are about on here - can't say I share a love for laphroaig, too peaty for me by far (it was my mate dads favourite however, we buried him with a bottle of their standard 10)

I got into whisky about 10 years ago, I got pretty friendly with our local wine shop, and whilst chatting about wine he convinced me to buy a bottle of nikka from the barrel; a "Japanese" whisky (Recently delisted as Japanese as most if the whisky is distilled at Ben Nevis distillery) - I enjoyed it immensely, having never been into spirits before, my brother got me one of those tasting sets, world of whisky, it had Canadian club (not bad imo) some Irish (teeling) and some more nikka, nikka 12 - I was then very fortunate to have been able to get some excellent Japanese whisky just before the prices went berserk and have had bottles of Yamasaki 18 (great, but now vastly overpriced, there are better scotches available at a fraction) nikka 21(blend but amazing) and hibiki 17

Edit - second the mackmyra Swedish brand recommendation - they often have very good bargains on their website too

English brands I also recommend - Cotswolds, the English, the lakes
My current faves are
Arran 10
Wolfburn - any bottle
Deanstown 18
Redbreast 12
Eagle rare 10 year old bourbon

mothman

Lagavulin has been my all-time favourite for 20 years. I've toured the distillery. Still don't know how to pronounce it.

Quote from: touchingcloth on April 07, 2021, 01:03:52 AM
Old Pulteney is great. Were you after the peated Penderyns as an Islay...tourist? I've not tried it myself, but the Penderyn's I have tried have been lovely if a little on the clinical/simple side, tastewise. Not simple in the way that a blended whisky can be, they've just weirdly tasted like Proper Whisky whilst having little complexity.

Penderyn was nice, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way for it. Whenever I see some interesting-looking new expression, it's always when I'm not looking to get whisky. And when I am, I always see something else more interesting.

Remembered the name of the bottle I have on the go right now: Benromach. It's nice. Quite peaty for a Speyside, I thought.

Also... um. Shit. Just looked up the price of an Octomore 1. I bought a futures case on a whim when I visited Bruichladdich in 2004 (it was their then-experimental uber-peaty expression), £250 for 12 (plus tax on release). I still have 9 bottles. Lowest price I saw is £675.

Sebastian Cobb

I've been to a couple of distillery tours dragged by mates. To be honest they'd be much better if they skipped the stage where they show you the vats mashing grain or making the beer and the stills and skipped right to the bit where they give you a handful of minatures.

flotemysost

Quote from: JesusAndYourBush on April 07, 2021, 12:37:50 PM
I always imagine that's pronounced 'leap-frog', then I look up the pronunciation and instantly forget it so the next time I encounter the word it's 'leap-frog' again.

Yeah the first couple of times someone ordered it in the pub I worked at I genuinely couldn't find anything on the bar that matched the noise the customer was making, had to get a manager to help me out.

buttgammon

On the pronunciation questions, I'll ask my missus, because she speaks some Scottish Gaelic.

Johnny Yesno

Or you could listen to how ralfy says it...

ralfy review 793 - Laphroaig 10yo @ 40%vol (2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bju6FT0kZEY

Chedney Honks

Great rec, Johnny. Loved a bit of ralfy when I was whisky mad, I'm going to revisit, get back in the bothy.


ZoyzaSorris

Not a a big whisky aficionado but my other half got given a bottle of Arran Sherry Cask Bodega 55% from a photo shoot and I have to say it is most enjoyable (in small doses).

Cuntbeaks

Quote from: Chedney Honks on April 07, 2021, 10:28:18 AM
Bourbon chat.

I do like a good bourbon, but would balk at paying crazy prices. Do you have any tips for the supermarket stuff?

I just finished a bottle of single barrel JD and wasn't very impressed, too sweet and a touch cloying. On the hand, the Makers Mark 46 i had last Xmas was, to my pallette anyway, superb. I've also enjoyed Buffalo Trace, particularly when it's on offer at £18.

mothman

Actually, I could do with some bourbon recommendations too. So far, I like Jim Beam much more than I expected, but didn't get on with Woodford Reserve at all.

sardines

Always liked whisky and decided to spend a bit of cash during lockdown trying a few different kinds.

I'll throw Kilkerran into the mix. Tried their 12 and the 8 and both have a lovely briny freshness that is pretty unique (at least in my limited experience).

kalowski

Always found bourbon too sweet, so would love some recommendations for some good stuff

mothman

Quote from: kalowski on April 07, 2021, 10:30:53 PM
Always found bourbon too sweet, so would love some recommendations for some good stuff

There seem to be a lot of bourbon liqueurs on the market (or in my local super one, at any rate). And that's really not what I'm after.

Chedney Honks

I'll start a Bourbon thread later on with some recs. I started but got to get to work.

notjosh

A wee dram every Friday night with a new episode of No More Jockeys has pretty much kept me going throughout lockdown. My standard bottle is Talisker Skye, which to my uncultured palate is pretty much as good as a Talisker 10, but much cheaper in Sainsburys.

I also have a whisky subscription service which I now get every Christmas called Whisky Me. Every month they'll send you a different scotch in a little Capri Sun pouch. Nice way of tasting loads of different things, though a lot of them tend to be quite obscure or limited edition so if you find one you really like you'll have to spend quite a lot for a full bottle.

Also a big fan of La Froig. Had a lovely small bottle of Longrow 14 (pronounced Lagroon Fourtupe I believe) a couple of years back which was finished off in a sherry cask, but I think there's only a couple of bottles left now and they cost about £300. Would love to have something like that again.

Don't think I've ever had a non-Scotch whisky, whiskey or Bourbon which I thought was any good, though I hear the Japanese ones aren't bad.

Paul Calf

Inspired by this thread, I opened a bottle of Talisker Skye that I'd had sitting in my cupboard for a while. These new expressions that have been crammed in to fill the gaps left by the new Asian markets dragging all the standard age expressions off the shelves are unpredictable, and this was a bit of a confused mess. Too sweet at the front and with a medicinal kick that clashes with the initial mouthful, I'd rather have a glass of the 10-year-old than this confected freak.

Johnny Yesno

Quote from: notjosh on April 08, 2021, 08:09:49 AM
My standard bottle is Talisker Skye, which to my uncultured palate is pretty much as good as a Talisker 10, but much cheaper in Sainsburys.

Skye is fine but unless it's improved since I tried it, which is possible, it lacks the flavour of the 10. Of the more budget expressions, I would choose Talisker Storm. Btw, I picked up a bottle of 10 yesterday at Sainsbury's for £30, which is £14 off the usual price.

My favourite Talisker that I've tried is Talisker 57° North. I tried a couple of shots the last time I was in Edinburgh and it blew me away. It's been out of my price range for some time, but I swore I'd get a bottle when I could afford it. This Christmas, my mum asked me what I wanted and I thought this would be a good time to finally catch up with it again. Went online, fucking discontinued. Bah!

Johnny Yesno

The other whisky that blew me away during my Edinburgh session was Ardbeg Corryvreckan. That's what I ended up getting at Christmas and it didn't disappoint. It's quite similar to the 10, which is another favourite of mine, but far more intense.

buttgammon

Quote from: Johnny Yesno on April 08, 2021, 10:39:49 AM
The other whisky that blew me away during my Edinburgh session was Ardbeg Corryvreckan. That's what I ended up getting at Christmas and it didn't disappoint. It's quite similar to the 10, which is another favourite of mine, but far more intense.

I've wanted to try this one for ages - can't wait to get hold of some in the future, because it really sounds like my cup of tea (or in this case whiskey).

sovietrussia

It's Green Spot all day long for me, Clive. Yellow Spot at Christmas. Also a big Redbreast fan.

Glebe

You lot are all alcoholics! As for me:


mothman

Ever since I read Iain M. Banks's Raw Spirit I've wanted to try Glenfiddich Havana Reserve (now called Gran Reserva - or possibly vice versa!). Apart from one non-commercial whisky from a distillery I can't recall (and he himself couldn't buy any either), it was his favourite he encountered on his travels while writing that book. I can probably afford it now. Might have to finally get some...