GRcade

OnlyShallow wrote:

Fatal Exception wrote:Downed a gooseberry fool load of Laphroaig over the weekend at a wedding up in Aberfoyle. Man that stuff is morish, much better than the gooseberry fool I used to steal out of my dad's alchohol collection.

Aberfoyle

Whereabouts in Aberfoyle?

Forest Hills Hotel... it was near a fuck-off lake. and not much else. It was a bit remote.

Fatal Exception wrote:

OnlyShallow wrote:

Fatal Exception wrote:Downed a gooseberry fool load of Laphroaig over the weekend at a wedding up in Aberfoyle. Man that stuff is morish, much better than the gooseberry fool I used to steal out of my dad's alchohol collection.

Aberfoyle

Whereabouts in Aberfoyle?

Forest Hills Hotel... it was near a fuck-off lake. and not much else. It was a bit remote.

Ha! No way, that is where I went on honeymoon.

Hello there. I am looking to begin my whisky drinking career. Can anyone recommend a decent starting whisky? Basically, something that won't be too harsh or expensive, but will light the fire of my passion for whisky. At the moment, I'm looking at regular Jack Daniel's as it's £15 for 70Cl, but I'm guessing that won't be well thought of here as it's cheap and popular with the masses. Happy to spend around £30-40.

Laphroaig JD isn't whisky, it's whiskey

Got some Cameron Brig for Christmas. It's made just up the road from me

I recommend a Dalwhinnie 15 year old. One of the best 15 yr old whiskies available and one of my personal favourites, usually for around £30-35. It is divine and on the sweeter side.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-1814.aspx

Or, if you prefer a slightly smokier flavour, Highland Park 12 is quality.

Or you may want to start with a blend rather than single malt. In which case go for one of the best blended whiskies, Johnnie Walker Black. Can't go wrong with it. Black Grouse is a good cheaper equivalent to that though.

If you are a fan of Jack Daniels then may I recommend you upgrade to Buffalo Trace, one of the best American Bourbons around and usually reasonably priced.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-15620.aspx

Dalwhinnie, £25 at Tesco? We have a winner!

I've just read through the thread and it seems my prediction regarding JD was correct . Could you explain the difference between JD and Dalwhinnie? What is it that makes the Dalwhinnie superior? What kind of tastes can I expect? You say it's sweet rather than smoky - is it the case that people tend to like one end of the sweet-smoky spectrum and not the other?

I know little about Whisky. But from experimentation I love Laphroaig, but can't stand:
-JD
-Bells
-Grouse

What other peaty smoky ones should I try? Ardberg seems to advertise itself on being smoky.

FEstive FEast wrote:I know little about Whisky. But from experimentation I love Laphroaig, but can't stand:
-JD
-Bells
-Grouse

What other peaty smoky ones should I try? Ardberg seems to advertise itself on being smoky.

If you love Laphroaig, you will probably love Ardbeg 10 or Ledaig Single Malt. They are smoky as strawberry float. You'll be in peat heaven.

If you have the time to answer my questions, Mocky (or anyone else), could you also please advise me on the best way to drink the stuff? Should I be pouring it over blocks of ice or mixing it with water? How much water?

Ta. I will pick some up when I'm done with this bottle.

*edit*

Ledaig seems to be suspiciously cheap. Less than £20 for a bottle.

John McClane wrote:If you have the time to answer my questions, Mocky (or anyone else), could you also please advise me on the best way to drink the stuff? Should I be pouring it over blocks of ice or mixing it with water? How much water?

You don't really want to be pouring it over ice if you want to experience its taste properly. In my experience adding water is ok for stronger whiskies with a higher alcohol percentage (i.e. getting towards 60%). Stronger whiskies can really overpower, so a tiny bit of water can open up the flavour and make it less about the explosive hit and more about the actual taste.

In terms of flavour it depends what area the single malt comes from, so it might be worth trying out one from each region:



And an idea of the types of flavours:



Of course that's just malts from the UK. There are some really nice Japanese and US whiskies.

Everyones' taste buds are a bit different so different people can get different things from the same whisky.

If you want to get into whisky tasting I highly recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/101-Whiskies-Tr ... 845&sr=8-2

Unlike other books that subjectively rate whiskies, it objectively suggests a wide variety of good ones to give a try and is a great starting point. I've slowly been ticking them off.

Dalwhinnie get!



Yes, that is Coke in the background. No, I am not going to spoil the whisky with it!

John McClane wrote:Dalwhinnie get!

http://i.imgur.com/WSz8D.jpg

Yes, that is Coke in the background. No, I am not going to spoil the whisky with it!

I got one of those for Christmas, along with a big bottle of Balvennie Doublewood. Both are rather good.

Speaking of 15 year old whisky, a friend got me a gift set of Glenfidditch 12, 15 and 18 year old minis a few months ago. The 15 year old one was a big surprise in that it was bloody lovely, and quite a bit different to the 12 year old I'm used to. The 18 year old was good too, but I preferred the 15.

Bump.

Because I know there are many anCnoc fans on here:

http://shop.ancnoc.com/collections/fron ... 98-vintage

They've released their 1998 vintage. Sounds lush. It's a limited release of only 850 cases, and retails at £50.

In other whisky matters, also relevant for anCnoc fans, is this:



A Speyside single malt, that similar to the anCnoc, is very light on peatiness, and has much more in the way of fruitiness and vanilla notes. Got a bottle for Christmas, and had already bought myself a bottle, which I originally intended to return, but after tasting it, I have kept it, it's just that good.

I need to buy my dad some Whisky for his birthday. He mostly drinks Famous Grouse and had a bottle of Dura recently which he seemed to enjoy. I know zilch about Whisky so would welcome some recommendations! Want to spend around £50.

You cannot go wrong with a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15. It's quality.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-1814.aspx



You also can't go wrong with Johnnie Walker Black.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-550.aspx

Another smooth and easy drinking whisky.

If you fancy being a bit more daring, get him something with alot more punch (stronger than the average malt at 59.8%) but still high quality tasting and complex, the Aberlour A'Bunadh (co-recommended by rinks):

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-16651.aspx

These are 3 of my personal favourites.

In my efforts to drink better whisky, I've just bought a nice bottle of my favourite, Laphroaig.

Dark Ritual wrote:In my efforts to drink better whisky, I've just bought a nice bottle of my favourite, Laphroaig.

That's very noble of you !!

Dark Ritual wrote:In my efforts to drink better whisky, I've just bought a nice bottle of my favourite, Laphroaig.

strawberry floating love that stuff.