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So in a pub last night and I saw a few bottles that had pride of place. I thought, aye'll I'll give a wee half a go, must be good if they are showing it off.
I was correct, it was bloody lovely! Not even a hint of the usual cringe when I try whisky, and no need for even a touch of water to tame the flavour. First time I've ever actually enjoyed sipping a whisky from start to finish!
Was this stuff...
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Though, google suggests, at £125-150 a bottle, I think it'll be an occasional indulgence! 😆
Anyhow, what whisky's have made you think... hmmmm I could get into this caper! Curious to see what else, of a similar quality, I should keep an eye out for when if fancy a wee dram?
The "basic" Balvenie is absolutely lovely too, so I'd start there.
Dalwhinnie would probably appeal too.
You could step down from Portwood 21 yr old to a Doublewood 12 yr old at 1/4 the price .
Edit: and yes, a Dalwhinnie too. I'm currently enjoying the Winters Gold version
Aye, might do that for a wee bottle to keep in the house. Good shout that and the Dalwhinnie too.
If you like that try Glenlivet, but not glenmorangie
Though, google suggests, at £125-150 a bottle, I think it'll be an occasional indulgence!
How much were the pub charging a measure?
I'm currently enjoying the Winters Gold version
Very tasty stuff, finished a bottle myself the other week.
I like having a nice mellow bottle in the cupboard as well as an Islay.
Surpringly, only £6.50, which I thought expensive at the time. But now I know the price of a bottle, they won't be making much on a it. So now seems reasonably cheap with hindsight. Much would you expect it to be?suburbanreuben - Member
Though, google suggests, at £125-150 a bottle, I think it'll be an occasional indulgence!
How much were the pub charging a measure?
I'm guessing pub prices for a bottle will differ?
I've just poured myself an Ardbeg. #toogoodforthepoor
Half the fun is trying lots of different whiskies in the pub/merchant.
just cracked this, was bought it for xmas. it is a bit rough.
Dalwhinnie and Edradour are my own choices.
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Fairly new to whisky myself - bad experiences as a teen getting blootered on the cheap stuff had put me off 🙄
Tried Auchentoshan 12 a few weeks ago and found it too sharp, but went for Kilchoman Machir Bay the other week and loved it. Had to add a drop of water mind.
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Lovely stuff.
Nope. Can't do Ardbeg. Sorry.
It is an acquired taste. Keep trying - you'll get there!
If interested in Islay but wary of them being a bit fierce, Ardbeg would be a great way in.
This stuff, not so much...
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Yes, that's nearly 60% ABV - a friend brought a bottle to our Xmas bash. I could feel myself getting pissed as I drank it.
Had some Balvenie 12 and Glenlivet this christmas, both very nice!
Supping some Jura Origin here....
I'm a pleb, but, often I find the special editions to be less good than the standard, there's often an element of "the same only HARDER" or zany flavoured crisps to it.
PS, talisker, bogstandard, mmmm.
Somafunk and a bottle of balvenie portwood at sswc are to blame for my love.
Just away to pour a nip from the edradour cask strength 12 yo sherry cask finished the wife got me for Xmas 🙂
I can highly recommend the port cask 12 yo edradour as well lovely
I love Ardbeg, in fact I love any Islay, especially Bunnahabhain & Caol Isla. Even the one's that taste like Listerine!
I need to get another bottle of Edradour, just to see if it's as nice as I remember. Never see it in the shops though.
Many of the Spey side distilleries will have editions that use recycled casks sometimes called double wood or sherry cask.
Aberlour double cask is one which is often reduced at the larger shops.
I prefer an Islay personally but a lot of the spey sides are good. Just a bit more subtle!
Glenkinchie would be a pleasant wee drop. The aforementioned Dalwhinnie Winters Gold is lovely in fact I'm heading for one now.
Double wood means it's been aged in two casks
Sherry cask means one of those is a cask that previously held sherry.
It's worth catching up with the recent BBC documentary The Story of Whisky. Very interesting and David Hayman showed a huge passion for the subject
The cask its in makes a huge difference to it's taste.
I had a Chardonnay edradour when I was at the tasting room. It was soooooooo dry it had me sucking in my cheeks. Where as port and sherry are sweet
I'm a heathen turncoat bourbon lover. Knob Creek, Makers Mark or at a pinch JD. I always 'wanted' to like whisky but now happily accept that in reality it ain't all that
Try Macallan Gold - enjoyed it that much I named my dog after it (Mac!!)
Auchentoshan do a nice 12 year old as well as their American Oak, which was on offer at £20 from Assad before Xmas - an absolute steal!
+1 for BBC's Story of Whisky.
My favourite at the moment. I bought this 20 years ago from Cadenhead for £30. I do wish i had got more looking at the price it now fetches (we are talking £'000s 😯 ). I don't drink much at all and this now comes out on very special occasions.
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Auchentoshan do a nice 12 year old as well as their American Oak, which was on offer at £20 from Assad before Xmas
Presumably an auto correct of Asda, rather than the Syrian despot?
Can someone enlighten me why speyside or Islay is a style please? I thought you could get all flavours from all over?
Edit
Presumably an auto correct of Asda, rather than the Syrian despot?
Islay is also corrected to Islam... makes you think!
The Abelour 12 yr is nice as an everyday (well not everyday!) drinker, or the Balvenie 12 is very nice (I prefer the single cask stuff to the Doublewood)
Try Macallan Gold - enjoyed it that much I named my dog after it (Mac!!)
Got a bottle in the cupboard and I concur, lovely stuff. I do like the Dalwhinnie Winters Gold mentioned above as well. And the Balvenie that the OP mentioned, difficult to go wrong with one of them. 🙂
had a little tasting set for my birthday, it had a jura in it which I enjoyed, can't remember the others two, but I did have all three in short order so I could tast the difference.
Currently sipping a whisky mac made with cheapo highland earl from aldi. It's not bad at all.
Balvenie Caribbean cask is really nice. A wee drop of water in it and its lovely.
Can someone enlighten me why speyside or Islay is a style please? I thought you could get all flavours from all over?
Speyside is a famous tourist area. Whisky distilling became a large scale legitimate business about the same time as railways were being built all over place. This meant tourists could be taken in to Speyside and whisky out. It also meant coal could be brought in to fire the malting process. Coal does not have the same aromatic qualities as peat so Speyside whiskies are softer and less smokey. Islay, on the other hand, is an island covered in peat bogs so the fuel for malting is all round and shipping coal in by boat is expensive. Burning peat imparts the smokey, peaty aroma to the malt which then finds it's way into the final product. So, although one Speyside is different to another (yeast, still shape, type of barrels etc) the general style of a Speyside is different to that of an Islay.
BTW - if you liked that port wood finish you should try this, Glenmorangie with a port finish
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BigButSlimmerBloke
Cheers for that wee explaination. Explains alot in particular to the islay stuff. Sounds like I'm be more predisposed to the coal made stuff rather than the peaty stuff, definiately would place myself more of the smoother/sweeter side of the spectrum. The likes of laphroig is very harsh, can't see me ever choosing to drink that, saying that, I have tried caol ila before mind, I liked that.
Just sipping a Laphroaig just now. But have to admit to liking the Famous Grouse Smoky Black edition on special at £14 just as much.
just filled my hipflask with jura superstition.
out on a social ride tomorrow with a few off here.....will be a nice mid ride tipple.
+1 for Glenmorangie, standard 10yo or port finish are both lovely.
The 10yo is one of the best-balanced whiskies out there IMO, always a good option for whisky sceptics.
Thanks bigbutslimmer- that makes a lot of sense in general style terms.
Ps - feeling slightly hungover due to finishing off a Dalwinnie 15 last night - luckily I have another bottle - as well as some lovely Nika Cask (Japanese), a bottle of the English smokey (Norfolk) as well as a decent selection of Areberg, Abblour, Talisker, etc - in fact, I'll post up a picture later of tonight's Whiskython challenge!
Edit: and yes, a Dalwhinnie too. I'm currently enjoying the Winters Gold version
That Winter's Gold is amazing! Have you been chilling it like it recommends? I haven't been bothering to lol 🙂
Oh yes. It pours like a thin honey.
Always liked the peatier end of the game, but if you like a sweetish smooth malt with a slightly smokey finish, Jura Superstition is knocking about a lot of supermarkets at about £25. I've got a bottle of Ardbeg 10 yr old on the go at the moment. Needs a drop of water to really let it go, but one of my favourites. The kids have got me a bottle of Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Scottish Barley for my birthday, so counting down to the 2nd to give that one a go.
We called in at the Tomatin distillery on our travels in the summer, and picked up a bottle of the 12-year old (sherry cask). It's lovely, and never seems to get a mention in threads like this one. (It's a Highland, and it's light, subtle and drinkable and doesn't taste of peaty or smokey mud.)
The other reason for the two distinct styles is the soil the water used has filtered down through.
Islay peaty soil. Speyside much less.
Having had a few favorites largely due to sentiment, Scapa really is my #1. Discovered the 16 right before they stopped producing it ( have bottle at the back of the wardrobe now) the replacement Orcadian comes in two varieties and both are pretty much on the mark. Never mind yer Highland Park when you want to visit Orkney whisky, get over to the Scapa.
I'm a heathen turncoat bourbon lover. Knob Creek, Makers Mark or at a pinch JD.
So am I, I came to whisky much later.
JD is not bourbon, btw.
my current bottle of 12yr tomatin came with a miniature of the 14yr from a port cask. The 12is good but the 14 is great.and picked up a bottle of the 12-year old (sherry cask).
Gits
I went to the Tomatin distillery last winter, in the middle of a great snowstorm. I thought we were going to be snowed in - quite disappointed we got out...
My uncle in law is very good friends with one of the tour guides, so we had an extra long tour with a lot of tasters, followed by a great discount at the shop - all 4 bottles now drunk 🙂
Another sweeter Islay is Jura, Duirach's Own. Personally think its the best of the mainstream Jura's.
My all time favourite (so far) is Ardbeg's Lord of the Isles - it is simply stunning, never knew smooth til I tasted that.
Mind you, at over £400 a bottle it might be another few years til I taste it again!
Scapa really is my #1.
It's my number 2, try Old Pulteney 21yo you won't be disappointed
Just about to open a bottle of Glenrothes Robur Reserve.
Never had of bottle of this before, my wife bought it for me on a return trip from abroad, duty free.
Looking forward to some extensive testing,just in from a ride in the gloomy mist, need to replenish my fluids.......
Whisky!
Tastes [s]like[/s] worse than petrol!
just finished my second recent bottle of scapa, very nice
got a tobermory on the go at the moment
and an eradour and balvenie carribean cask
Picked up a bottle of Talisker Skye, along with a bottle each of Highland Park and Woodford Reserve bourbon before Christmas, and I'm enjoying the Talisker so much I thought I'd pick up another, and I found this one on the shelf in Morrisons this morning:
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The rather neat bag has already been earmarked as a carrying case for my heavy-duty powerpack battery, an ideal bit of re-purposing.
Was given a bottle of Talisker Skye for Best Man duties in November - very nice it is too.
No mention of Cragganmore?
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Another sweeter Islay is Jura,
well, yes except Jura isn't actually Islay, it's another island
trail_rat - Member
The other reason for the two distinct styles is the soil the water used has filtered down through.Islay peaty soil. Speyside much less.
Good point
Another Islay worth a sniff is the newest distillery, Kilchoman. The owners leased a farm, started growing barley, then decided to make whisky out of it. One of very, very few distilleries with their own malting floor, most buy in from specialist malting companies who can provide malt to specific requirements.
Sorry, meant to type 'island' & went with 'islay' instead - oops.
Tastes like worse than petrol!
I wouldn't expect anyone to appreciate a good whisky if they drink petrol.
Talisker Storm currently in Amazon Lightning deal.
Dalwhinnie Winters Gold will be at 6.29pm: lot of love for it here, lot of hate in the Amazon reviews. I liked it.
What are the prices? I try not to use Amazon unless it's a super-duper deal.
Storm - £26.99
Winters Gold - £25.00 (4.6/5.0 in Amazon)
Thanks, good prices but I will refrain for the sake of my bank account and to help reduce my intake.
I have tried a few of these lighter offerings from some of the famous distilleries.
Loved that Dalwhinnie.
Talisker Skye was OK but just made me want the proper stuff.
Laphroaig Select is nice in its own right, very well made - but the 10yo is better.
Bowmore sherry cask 9yo is lovely - something different to the normal 12yo, while still sharing the same character. The peat and sherry work well together IMO.
Winters Gold 23.00 in lightning deal so not hardly a massive reduction on their regular 25.00 price...
Bought a Talisker Storm but passed on the Gold as fancied trying something new to me. My Gold never made it as far as freezer!
Loads of excellent choices here. Currently sipping a Tomatin which is lovely. If I had a favourite though I would choose Glenfarclas 10 year old. Their 105 is good too though definitely for sippin' not gulpin'.
As expected the Port Charlotte Scottish Barley has turned out to be an awesome birthday pressie. It's very peaty nosed, but a touch of fire to it. Sweetish, caramel and something I can't put my finger on. Long finish. I'll try it with a threat of water next nip, see if it opens up a bit, but first impressions are good. Compares favourably with the Ardbeg for phenol content.
As expected the Port Charlotte Scottish Barley has turned out to be an awesome birthday pressie. It's very peaty nosed, but a touch of fire to it. Sweetish, caramel and something I can't put my finger on. Long finish. I'll try it with a threat of water next nip, see if it opens up a bit, but first impressions are good. Compares favourably with the Ardbeg for phenol content.
Johnnie Walker Double Black is on a lightning deal of 24 quid just now, just incase that's of interest to anyone...
[url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008X6TB08/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_q57AybFPA91EP ]JW Double Black[/url]
(hopefully doesn't start a single malt v blend argument :wink:)
A couple that haven't been mentioned that we like: Ledaig (from the Tobermory distillery on Mull) and Caol Ila, another Islay distillery. They could hardly be more different and we do get "looks" at the whisky shop if we buy a bottle of each at the same time. Another one that isn't perhaps well known is Mortlach, one of the Speyside distilleries.