Cycling UK Forum

Not to mention these;


The Glenlivit is the one in the hip flask.

The 30 year old was given to me as a retirement present for 30 years service.

My recommendation Si, would be Jura, or Glen Moray. Which are usually a good price.(Morrisons) If you want to spend a little more I find The Glenlivit or Glenmorangie are very enjoyable.

If you find your chosen whisky a little strong you can add a little water. (It has already been watered down from cask strength after all) The last bottle of Bruichladdich I bought had a little booklet in which it recommended adding a little water to enhance the flavour.

I agree with hgf that you can open whisky and it will keep. I keep it out of bright light, heaven forbid it should evaporate. You will notice several of my bottles are part consumed.

My present favourite is The Balvenie. It's hard to know what another person will like, One man's meat etc. I'm not keen on the smokey stong peaty taste of Bowmore or Lagavulin.

Bottoms up and merry Christmas.

I spent 20 odd years in the whisky industry. When we did distillery tours which were much more informal (more free whisky) than the present commercial arrangements one very common question was "what is the best whisky ?". The answer was always "the one you like best". This is not very helpful but the best general advice is do not go for the cheapest rotgut. A medium to high price blend is probably best as a starter. Then we have blend or single malt? Malts need a bit of research. ie a lot of tasting. The Islay malts are generally high in seaweed/iodine and can be an acquired taste. Laphroig for example has been described as tasting like old socks steeped in disinfectant. Many of the other malts are not any better than blends but one good Highland one is Glengarioch which comes from near Aberdeen.In the good old days I spent quite a few nights in their hospitality suite. I have often thought about writing a book about my time in the industry but nobody would believe much of it since I started in the days when most of it was run by ex American bootleggers and some were definitely Mafia. In those days it was rumoured nobody got the sack. Two men carrying violin cases came to your door one night and you were never seen again. There is a great deal of "kidology " involved in this industry and so advice can change emphasis very quickly. Taste is a very personal thing and what suits one will not suit another so really the original answer "what you like best " is the only reasonableone.

Yep, the answer is that you need several different bottles of several different ones so you can compare them .

After extensive "research" my favourite is probably Laphroaig - the quarter cask is a bit full on but get it if you find it, it'll knock your head off. Then maybe Jura or Talisker. Seriously, buy this year's and next year's at the same time so you can taste them one after the other to notice the differences. Then you'll start figuring out which you prefer, which will give you pointers to which others you might like too.

one of my favourits id Bowmore an Islay Malt, Smokey with leafy notes and sea air

I have a bottle of Capadonich cask strength 16yr single malt, as yet unopend

If you are looking for a good whisky then look for a single malt, Islays' tend to be smoky. Speyside like Glen Fiddich,

A good book to read is Michael Jacksons "Malt Whisky" isbn 1-4053-0234-8 It lists virtualy all known Malt whiskys


Drappy hinking

Mlac

Thanks for all the advices. Am going whisky hunting tomorrow.

The reason for the half bottle wasn't just the cost, but also the size - I know that a half bottle will last me just to the end of the holidays at which point I can get back on the wagon again.

ambodach wrote:Laphroig for example has been described as tasting like old socks steeped in disinfectant.

Ha! All the more for me, then. My favourite.

Si wrote:The reason for the half bottle wasn't just the cost, but also the size - I know that a half bottle will last me just to the end of the holidays at which point I can get back on the wagon again.

the cost per litre, or per glug, or per whatever will be far higher. fractional bottles are a rip-off. if you've any left at the end of the holiday, i'm sure someone will help out by taking it off you

hubgearfreak wrote:hang on, haven't we all boycotted scotland?

Then try Brandy from the other end of the country - http://www.ciderbrandy.co.uk/shop.html

If anyone fancies a trip to Skye....
Talisker do a cask strength 60%abv version of their 10 year old. The last bottle survived 3 years in our kitchen!
My other favourite is Lagavulin but that's knocking on the door of £40 a bottle or was last I looked. It might be more by now. (And it makes Laphroaig taste like a Speyside )

hubgearfreak wrote:hang on, haven't we all boycotted scotland?

You haven't lived 'til you try guga pickled in Brig O'Banff.

BTW, back before marketing depts started bleating about single malts, my favourite whisky was the Antiquary. But then they got hold of that as well and turned it into a Product, the way burberries went from being school raincoats to being Burberrys and rubbing shoulders with Rolex. The Antiquary might still be OK for all I know - I haven't tasted it for years. I grew up and moved on to whiskey.

+1 for Talisker, you can keep Laphroig, but that just goes to show how the taste of idividual whiskey's is a very personal thing.

Mick F wrote:Highland Park.
Get the 12 year old stuff.

.... or Jura.

+1

I usually have a few bottles 'on the go' at any one time, a few of the current stock are;

Lagavulin
Talisker
Glenmorangie
Glenkinchie
Dalwhinnie
Ardbeg

eileithyia wrote:+1 for Talisker, you can keep Laphroig

people do vary in what they like then don't they?

i'm quite partial to a laphroig, but i'm not sure i'd put talisker even in a zippo, let alone my mouth. infact, lighter fluid's a far superior drink

eileithyia wrote:+1 for Talisker, you can keep Laphroig, but that just goes to show how the taste of idividual whiskey's is a very personal thing.

not that i'm pedantic or anything but it should be "whiskies" as you're discussing the scotch variety.