Whiskey

[rickthebrew]

As a very keen beer drinker I see the next step as a natural progression onto the drinking of fine malt whiskey I have no knowledge of whiskey apart from assuming that a single malt bottle at around 30quid is going to be a far better experience than a blended brand. I`m not a huge spirts drinker but would love to learn a little about whiskey, so i`m after a few tips and recomendations that won`t break the bank

cheers :drink:

 

[Wez]

Hi Rick

First off Whiskey is Irish, Whisky is Scottish. (no 'e') A T always kicks my ass for this error :lol:

I'm a fan of peaty and smokey Scottish single malts, so I go for malts from the Isla of Islay. My Favourite is Caol Ila, i'm hoping for a bottle for Christmas, would be very happy with their 12 year old but would be over the moon to get an 18 year old bottle.

My advice is try Whisky's from different regions and find your preference, then explore the different examples from that region.

Look forward to hearing how you get on :thumb:

Enjoy :)

edit : i'm a member here http://www.malts.com/index.php/Gateway-en I find the newsletters interesting reading, you can get money off some bottles when you first join. You may find it helpful.

 

[fermentall]

Rick get to Makro Glenfiddich,Glenmorangie@under £16- Highland Park 12yo 16.99 and plenty of others. :

 

[Moley]

First off Whiskey is Irish (or American), Whisky is Scottish (or Canadian). (no 'e') A T always kicks my ass for this error :lol:

That was my first thought when I saw the thread title. Other nationalities are available, and some are surprisingly good.

My advice is try Whisky's from different regions and find your preference, then explore the different examples from that region.

:nono:
Whisky, plural = whiskies.
Whiskey, plural = whiskeys.


Anyway, where do I start?

Like Wez, I have a preference for full-bodied and heavily peated whiskies, so I would also go along with most of the Islay whiskies (a tiny island with 8 distilleries) and Talisker from the Isle of Skye.

However, as a beginner I would probably recommend something slightly less pronounced.

Try a Highland Park, The Glenlivet, a Macallan or a Glenmorangie, with just a tiny drop of water, never ice. In my opinion, avoid the market leader; great promotion, mediocre whisky.



Wez: I've got a cask strength, non chill filtered Caol Ila, remind me to bring a dram along to the Spring Thing.

 

[Wez]

Wez: I've got a cask strength, non chill filtered Caol Ila, remind me to bring a dram along to the Spring Thing.

You bet :thumb:

 

[Baz Chaz]

Ahhhhhhhhh Islay, was there again this last summer

Love the place and love the whisky, I'm rather partial to Islay malt so just topped up my collection with my personal favourite while I was there

Lagavulin....
2 bottles of 12 y/o cask strength 2009 bottling 57.9%
1 bottle of 12 y/o cask strength 2008 bottling 56.4%
2 bottles 16 y/o 43 %
Caol Ila a bottle of 12 y/o (not quite as partial to Caol Ila :lol: )

unusually the 16 y/o is cheaper than the 12 y/o but the 12 y/o is cask strength and my personal favourite :thumb:

 

[Wez]

Nice collection :thumb: i'm looking forward to seeing this thread develop.

Nice one RTB

 

[unclepumble]

I too like islay malts but they can be a bit full of flavour for new palates, laphroig cask strength is a real winner for me.

You cannot go wrong with old pulteny or the balvenie double wood, (highland park is nice too) both oP and BDW will more than likely be on offer in morrisons at the mo they usually are. I buy at least 1 bottle of each a year, and OP is allways in the top 10 of affordable malts.

Best have tried so far was clynelish from brora in sutherland a class whisky

UP

 

[Grumpy Jack]

However, as a beginner I would probably recommend something slightly less pronounced.

Try a Highland Park, The Glenlivet, a Macallan or a Glenmorangie, with just a tiny drop of water, never ice. In my opinion, avoid the market leader; great promotion, mediocre whisky.

That's VERY sound advice! Should you care to try, for example, a 10YO Glenmorangie as opposed to an 18YO you'll taste a dramatic difference (though you'll pay for it too) and you'll certainly learn a few things form savouring such fine drinks. Macallan is a rock solid starter single malt too.

I'm not a big fan of Islay whiskies, I find the peatiness just not to my taste and I have been drinking whisky for a good few years.

Irish whiskey is good too, Bushmills is my preference, Black Bush if available, but it's quite a different beast when set aside a Scottish Single Malt. My advice is to explore, do not be taken in by branding, there are some exceptionally good small distilleries that turn out fantastic drinks you'll never have heard of before!

 

[dennisking]

Balvenie
Highland park
The glenlivet
Isle of jura
Dalwhinnie
To name a few, I`m going to buck the trend of this thread, I`m not a great lover of the Islays :shock:
I find Lavagulin reminds me of TCP. Much prefer Spaysides or Highland malts.
Also never been one for water in my scotch [I know the purest swear by it]
I`ve always thought the only thing to put in Whisky is another Whisky

 

[Wez]

I find the peatiness just not to my taste and I have been drinking whisky for a good few years.

Years wont really come into it, if you dont like it, you dont like it.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

I don't know a thing about whisky either.... how does Bells, Grouse and Teachers rate? :hmm:
I remember my granddad drinking 10 year Famous Grouse.
What is Jack Daniels classed as?
BB

 

[highwayman]

I don't like the peaty whiskies .. But .. I do like The Glenlivet and another very smooth one and my favourite is Glen Grant! A good introduction to Scotch Whisky

BB .. I think Jack D is a Bourbon Whiskey .. That's my understanding :hmm:

 

[taity]

Highland park was my 1st malt then it never ends you just want to keep trying them all (fun but) :drunk:

 

[Moley]

I don't know a thing about whisky either.... how does Bells, Grouse and Teachers rate? :hmm:

I really don't have time to post a full explanation now, but there are two types of Scotch whisky - malt and grain.

Whisky is distilled from what is basically an unhopped beer. Malt whisky is made from malted barley in a two-stage distillation process and in relatively smaller volumes. It varies considerably according to where the distillery draws its water from and how their grain has been dried, most Scottish malt distilleries use a percentage of smoked malts.

Grain whisky is made in a continuous, industrial process. It still starts with an unhopped beer but the mash may include other cereals such as rye.

Either way, it must then be matured in wood for a minimum of 3 years before it can legally be called whisky.

Malt whiskies are usually matured for many years and the bottling age is quoted on the labels, typically 8-12 years.

Blended whiskies are mostly grain whisky with some malts added. Cheaper blends may only contain 25% malt whisky while the better blends may contain 40% malt, or malts which have been aged for longer.

Bell's, Grouse and Teachers are among the better blends, but differ from eachother due to the malt whiskies which they contain.

That's it, my time's up, I will try to add more later.

 

[bigdave]

I too am not a fan of Peat Whisky (but my dad loves them!) I find the heady peat flavours repeats on me for a couple of days. I do however have a real soft spot for Jura, Especially the 16 year old! And I LOVE Bushmills but that's a whiskey.

My advice would be to find a specialist Whisky/Whiskey shop and ask for a tasting session. http://www.whiskyshop.com may have a shop near you?

 

[Aleman]

The thing with Blended whisky is consistancy . .that is the benefit of blending. AS for how good they are . . . Try a Johhny Walker Blue or Green Lable . . .Fantastic Blended whisky and as good or beeter than a lot of Singletons, The finest malt whisky distillery in Scotland never released any of it's malt whisky as single malts as their entire production went for blending . . . . Until the closed production, and now you can buy limited edition bottlings . . . And I have to say that the 1980 Port Elen is without a doubt worth every penny . . . note that it is an Islay, so rich peaty and smoky. . . . it was nearly my Christmas present thi year (and would have completed my collection of Islay distilleries) . . . but I spent the £150 on camlock fittings instead.

There are 4 distinct regions in Scotland for whisky production

Lowland - Light whisky, quite delicate flavours like the Auchentoshan
Speysides - Grainy Like Gen Fiddich, Tamnavulin . . . Mostly from the Area around Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Not a fovourite of mine
Highlands - Peaty most of the west coast up to Brora for the Clynelish, Dalwhinne.
Islands - Peaty Rich, often heavily smoked - try the Ardbeg if you like smoke, very phenolic, Iodiney, and minerally with it.These are upfront. She reckons its like drinking burnt dirt :lol: May Faves Bowmore is relatively cheap, and a good starter. Laphroig and Ardbeg take some practise Caol Isla and Port Elen are difficult to beat. Smokehead is the Brewdog of the Islay whisky world, a very confused melange of flavours.

To water or not to water . . . depends on teh strength cask strength should have water just to release the full flavours . . cold or warm water makes a big difference too

 

[graysalchemy]

Im with Baz ChaZ My favourite is a Lagavullin 16 yr old but it is always expensive 35 - 40. Howvwer I do Like Talisker the only distillery on the Isle of Skye. It is Peaty like an Islay but not an Islay.

I just noticed in asda Quater Cask 48% Laphroaig. It is aged in quarter casks which they say gives a more balanced oak peat flavour. Not many left in my local asda, I was planning on picking one up for my brewing partner.

Cheers

AG

 

[suzie]

Jack Daniels is a bourborn whisky. Its my favourite but I think its one of those things you either love or hate.
My other half drinks islay, talisker, highland park to name a few and he loves these 3.

He wont touch grants or other popular cheaper brands.
Oh and he wont touch blended whisky either.

 

[bigdave]

The thing with Blended whisky is consistancy . .that is the benefit of blending. AS for how good they are . . . Try a Johhny Walker Blue or Green Label...

Ohhh..... Now there's a happy memory! JW Blue at The Falcon Inn in Driffield.. The last time I saw Ralphy, one of the nicest landlords you'll ever meet.. :