gamerforever wrote:Do you use the standard angostura or the orange one?
I didn't even know they did an orange one.
I used sugar syrup in mine as opposed to an actual sugar cube, worked quite well. We also have these ice cube trays that create massive cubes of ice that look cool in the glass.
Yeah, I saw that they were doing orange bitters, but will try out the standard one with an actual orange peel slice. I've read Buffalo Trace is also a good whisky to have. I need to get those larger ice cubes, that's for sure!
Make sure the white pith is removed from the orange peel. Then give it a good squeeze over the glass to get the oils out.
gamerforever wrote:Do you use the standard angostura or the orange one?
I didn't even know they did an orange one.
I used sugar syrup in mine as opposed to an actual sugar cube, worked quite well. We also have these ice cube trays that create massive cubes of ice that look cool in the glass.
the problem with the syrup is you dont get a developing drink - i.e. getting sweeter as you drink it. not 'bad' - just a preference.
Finished my bottle of Clynelish 14 Year Old Whisky the other day. My parents visited my brother in Scotland and were nice enough to bring me back a bottle. Very nice whisky indeed and I would happily buy another bottle, especially as the price isn't too bad.
Received a surprise package from a generous family friend today - a bottle of "The Nikka" 12 year old blended Japanese whisky.
Not tried it or heard of it before but a quick google shows that it retails for about £100 a bottle Don't know what I've done to deserve such a nice gift, but I'm already counting down the hours until the kids are in bed and I can crack it open
How much is in one of those? Seems like a bit more than a sip, and you wouldn't really savour it properly. There may be an application for that sort of system somewhere in the wide world of boozing (maybe in mixology, or even to reduce the weight of bottles in transit like they do with wine), but I'm not sure it's whisky.
Currently drinking an Auchentoshan (well, not right this second, it's half six), and I've got a Glendronach lined up after that. My wife got me a whisky blending kit for my birthday as I went on a course at a whisky festival last year and have been experimenting with it a bit since. It's quite a lot of fun, although potentially it's quite pricey.
For the 500ml one I made earlier this year I started with a base of cheap Haig Club and some of a single malt I was drinking, then tried to accentuate that with some interesting miniatures. Problem was I could hardly find any non-Glenfiddich single malt miniatures. I could basically only get hold of a reduced to clear Glenfiddich gift set (with a 12, 15 and 18yo), and a Smokehead, which I ended up having to mix out with some further blending as it just overpowered everything. Pro tip: when you're tasting whiskies for blending don't start with the one that trades on being ultra smoky
I'm thinking of saving a little bit of every bottle I buy to build up a little blending library.
Ste wrote:After reading Irish whiskeys are easier to drink I got a bottle of Bushmills Black Bush recently.
I've found it by far the easiest to drink of all the ones I've tried.
Also got bottles of Monkey Shoulder and Chivas Regal. I'm finding the Monkey shoulder ok the Chivas not so much.
Yeah I started with Irish whiskey, particularly Bushmills and Jameson and they are a fair bit smoother than other mainstream tipples. In terms of Scottish whisky a safe bet would be a Speyside like Balvenie or Glenfarclas, as in my opinion they're far easier to drink than an Islay (which are the smokier and peatier) like Talisker.
I tend to drink it a room temperature but I think they look pretty cool.
All the Irish whiskies I've tried tend to be quite sweet, more like a bourbon, but I'm not massively experienced in them myself.
As Preezy says, if you're starting out then run a mile from Islay whiskies or anything described as peaty or smoky. I like them but I still find some of them heavy going. Laphroaic actually advertises using the fact that their whisky has a very "Marmite" quality to it (not in actual taste but that people either love it or hate it). Laphroaic was actually the first whisky I tried and I loved it, but I'm definitely in the minority there! Jura Superstition actually put me off whisky for a bit.
If you like sherry there's a whisky by a Welsh distillery called Penderyn which is finished in sherry casks. It's very drinkable and you can find it for a reasonable price in Tesco sometimes.
When selecting a whisky I just have to look for the mildest words I can find if it's got sweet, light, easy-going etc written on the bottle then I'm all over it!