The whisky thread...

[UNKAL]

Yes its time for all you closet whisky anoraks to come out of the drinks cabinet! You're all welcome as long as you have an appreciation of the 'good stuff'. And I don't just mean single malt whisky, we're talking blended 'scotch', bourbon, Irish pot whisky all the lovely incarnations of the 'water of life'.

So to misquote the famous bard "Lead on McDuff..."

I've been drinking the the stuff seriously for only about ten years. I've always drunk whisky from Bells to Teachers and all the generic brands inbetween, when I was a 'younger' man no pint or bottle of lager was complete without a chaser of Bells or Jack D when I was feeling flash. I graduated to Famous Grouse and eventually discovered the smoothness of the single malt with Glenmorangie and Glenlivet and the peaty acquired taste of Sheep-dip and Laphroaig (I wouldn't say I love peaty stuff but I will drink it in small amounts).

My current regular drinking whisky is the lovely Bailie Nichol Jarvie or BNJ. Its a blend but its tastes divine. Quite sweet, slightly woody, with the tiniest hint of peat it goes down a treat with or without water. I buy it in Waitrose but I have seen it in larger Sainsburys as well. If you want to spend £15 on a good alternative to the usual big brands I can't recommend it highly enough. Oh and it has a cork not a screw top which for me is a bit of an anorak bonus.

I only have two others in at at the moment:

A 1987 Glencadam (from the Connoisseurs Choice range). Got this for xmas and have really had to stop myself drinking the whole bottle but as its 21 years old I thought I'd hold back when I got to the last three inches! Now I keep looking at thinking hmmmm, should I? No tasting notes I'm afraid as I'll have to crack it open for that and I want to keep it a bit longer yet.

My other current bottle is a Cardhu special cask reserve (another present I have to admit), no age on the packaging - its meant for the Spanish market and that's all I know but it looks good.

So please jump in and tell us about your favourites, classic bottles and undiscovered gems...

[Moog]

Ahhh!
that peaty smell, I must admit, I can only drink Laphroaig in small quantities, but that's probably for the better!

First got drunk on Whisky with a mate when we were 16, we wanted to get drunk before going to the pub so it would be cheaper! He borrowed a small bottle from his father's cabinet (just teachers) and we took ever longer gulps until we nearly threw up! after each gulp we stood up to see if we were drunk or not, we assumed that cos it was strng it would work straight away.. it didn't. we even jogged to the pub to see if it made us drunk quicker... nope
so we ordered our first pint (back in the good old days when you could dangle your parents' car keys casually off your hand to make you seem old enough...) we took a few sips and then *WALLOP* I was out for the count! Fantastic! I couldn't stand properly & we had to leave before we finished incase we made too much of a tit up & get banned from our under age drinking haven!

Many years on whisky & coke has been my tipple to get slaughtered on & wake up hangover free.
Then I enjoyed Jamesons, no ice, neat, sipping & moved onto Te Beagh.

I currently have half a bottle of Laphroaig (15 years) and one tenth bottle of Poit Dhubh (8 years) which I prefer as it's creamier, the Laph is a bit too peaty.

Blend or single, I'm not bothered, but I do prefer the creramy Whisky. Will watch out for your reccomendations Unkal ;D

*feck, just realised what drivel I've written *

[OutcastDai San]

personally i prefer a single malt

normally have glenmorangie 10 year old of if i can find it the 12 year old one. my favourite though is oban but only place i ever see it is in bars and hotels and it cost a fortune pity i cant find anywhere near me who sells it by the bottle

[UNKAL]

Aug 20, 2008 7:52:20 GMT OutcastDai San said:

personally i prefer a single malt

normally have glenmorangie 10 year old of if i can find it the 12 year old one. my favourite though is oban but only place i ever see it is in bars and hotels and it cost a fortune pity i cant find anywhere near me who sells it by the bottle

Ah yes Oban is very nice...

For those elusive and hard to find whiskies I recommend Royal Mile Whiskies. I ordered a 30yo malt (not as expensive as it sounds) for my friends 30th birthday and the service was excellent (not tried the whisky yet though must drop him a hint).

www.royalmilewhiskies.com/

I really want to try a Japanese whisky, they are meant to be excellent - anyone tried any?

[alba]

I stay about 1/2 mile away from this place and although it has an excellent selection the place is slap bang in the middle of touristville and is a commercial rip off. There is another small backstreet shop at the bottom of the Royal Mile(it's a big hill!)that specializes in cask and rare whiskeys(indeed there are a few), most of the stuff you buy is bottled on premises and is just awesome. I usually pick up a quarter bottle of whatever(I like them really oily and peaty myself) for £10(you get it in an old medicine looking bottle) and I also use these said bottles as gifts for almost every occasion. Also Jenners in Edinburgh has a surprisingly fantastic selection and arrange free tasting sessions for you.

Next time I am in town I will get all the details for you although the shop doesn't look like they have a website and you need to know the special pinkie shake to get in.

My cousin drinks Japanese whiskey and swears by it, not tried it myself but he has drunk it for over a year now and says it is far smoother than you would imagine and very potent.

I prefer single malts myself but will drink any although I tend to drink Laphroaig a little more than most as it's readily available in most pubs here. Had Monkey Shoulder last weekend which was ok.

[UNKAL]

I know what you mean about the Royal Mile Alba, I've been to Edinburgh a few times (I love the place - hopefully back up there in October) but I have to say the prices on their website aren't bad, I've trawled most of the online retailers and they are about average.

I will however look out for the medicine bottle place, it sounds awesome!
;D

[CAM3L]

Oooo this looks an interesting thread

I'm like you Unk, I only started seriously about 12 years ago, if you discount my early dabbles on a night out with Glenfidditch at the end of evening.

Mrs CAM3L got me a selection pack with about 5 or 6 different single malts Craggenmore, Oban and a few others. But there was one in particular which became an instant favourite.......Talisker, particularly the 18 year old. It has a very smoky, peaty taste with a real warm creamy after taste. Also a hint of pepper (less so than the 10 year old), ideal for warming you up on a cold winter night.

It is a tad expensive though so my usual tipple is a Grants blended. Tesco sell the sherry/ale cask reserve varieties which are both very drinkable.

[rabin]

This is the only whisky I drink at the moment after years of experimentation to find one I really like:

www.royalmilewhiskies.com/product.asp?pf_id=0010000023541

I started drinking whisky aged 6 (yes six) as I'm from a Scots Irish family who populate most of Glasgow. I'll still drink other whisky at friends' houses as they don't buy the Black Dog like I do, but everything else is inferior ;D

[OutcastDai San]

might be able to get to edinburgh myself nexth for work and will have a look myself if i do go

[daffy]

Ahhh,
My thread ;D

I started drinking whisky (single malts only) about 7 years ago, and at it's height our whisky collection sat at 36 bottles. Unfortunately, due to kids, that number has fallen to a paltry 22. This is due to a lack of ready cash and a desperate urge to drink more

Despite living in whisky country, at the northern end of speyside, i have a fondness for the island whiskies, Lagavullin, Laphroig, Bruchladdich, Port Ellen and Coal Isla (all from the wonderful island of Islay) as well as Talisker (Skye) and Highland Park (Orkney)

Everytime we go on holiday around Scotland we visit a distillery and go on a tour, and pick up a bottle or two ;D

Others I have tried. and recommend include Glenkinchie (triple distilled and very smooth), Bowmore, Auchentoshan, Oban, Jura, Royal Lochnagar.............the list could go on

[mabozaritchie]

my favourite is jura ,i have a little soft spot for arrans single malt as i used to work at a little hotel about 2 miles from the distillary

[Moog]

I was at a wedding in Nottingham last week, & they had some nice looking whiskies behind the bar so I thought I'd try one I hadn't tried before. Has anyone heard of - Hennesy? I think that's how it's spelled (?)
Wel I asked the barman for a neat dram & he must have known the cut of my jib, because he said -" it is a bit expensive that one."
I asked how much for a shot, he says - "twenty two pounds for a 25millilitre shot!"
I had a JD and coke before I choked to death.
Has anybody tried Hennesy? Is it worth that much?!

[OutcastDai San]

moog hennessy is a cognac not a whiskey and its about £22 a bottle so hotel is putting a huge mark up on it

[Moog]

Glad I left it well alone then!
I found a Royal Mile Whisky shop in Bloomsbury Street, London, where I work occasionally :-)
I may order some Te Bheag...

[UNKAL]

As Xmas is virtually upon us and I've been thinking about stocking up, I thought I'd bump my favourite thread back up ;D

Tesco (as most supermarkets do at the moment) have a very good sale on their malts. Bought a 15yo Glenlivet reduced from £30 to £23 for my dad's Xmas pressie. They also HAD (it was all gone when I got there) some Suntory Yamazaki 10yo Japanese Single Malt for £19.99 from £25 I was rather gutted as I've been waiting to get some of this although I have read that the 12yo is much, much better.

Waitrose may still have some Red Breast Irish pot still whisky on offer for £19.99 from £25 - I love this stuff its the Irish equivalent of single malt but they can't call it single malt. Tried it in Dublin earlier this year and was very impressed, its made by Jamesons buit is very different to their normal stuff - highly recommended!

Also, I was in Norwich in Sept and found the Norwich branch of the shop that Alba mentioned with the medicine bottles! Its a chain of shops imaginatively titled The Whisky Shop... I bought a little bottle (12cl for £12.99) of 18yo Macallan which I've been saving for a special occasion, check out their website www.whiskyshop.com
;D