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On April 15 2012 05:49 phyre112 wrote:
Couple friends are celebrating something nice tonight, so on the recommendations of this thread and laws, we made a purchase of ardbeg 10 year (older versions being out of the price range). Most of us are new to whiskey entirely and for myself at least scotch is an unknown. Perhaps we should have gone with something easier....
But you only live once right?
First drink; surprised not to find any burn to it (especially as compared to my usual bourbon). The taste made me visualize an old, mossy, oak forest just after it had rained. I understand what an "earthy" taste is now, and I can certainly distinguish the "smoke".
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On April 15 2012 08:24 bayside wrote:
Glenlivet 16y.o is the best. John Walker Blue is pretty good as well (Black for when I'm low on money, it tastes a little too nutty, but still fairly decent & cheap. Never RED!!!! UGH!)
Crown Royal reserve, cask 16 is fairly awesome as well for some good whiskey.
I might be wrong, but this kind of post strikes me as typical of someone who has little knowledge or experience with scotch. But if you like whiskey with corn and rye, then why not.
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On April 15 2012 14:40 Abraxas514 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 15 2012 08:24 bayside wrote:
Glenlivet 16y.o is the best. John Walker Blue is pretty good as well (Black for when I'm low on money, it tastes a little too nutty, but still fairly decent & cheap. Never RED!!!! UGH!)
Crown Royal reserve, cask 16 is fairly awesome as well for some good whiskey. I might be wrong, but this kind of post strikes me as typical of someone who has little knowledge or experience with scotch. But if you like whiskey with corn and rye, then why not.
agreed,
As far as I'm now aware, I enjoy a good sour mash; but scotch is that thing you drink when you want to choke everyone around you. I still enjoy bourbon, but it will be a good long while before I finish the last half of the ardbeg in my bar.
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On April 15 2012 14:40 Abraxas514 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 15 2012 08:24 bayside wrote:
Glenlivet 16y.o is the best. John Walker Blue is pretty good as well (Black for when I'm low on money, it tastes a little too nutty, but still fairly decent & cheap. Never RED!!!! UGH!)
Crown Royal reserve, cask 16 is fairly awesome as well for some good whiskey. I might be wrong, but this kind of post strikes me as typical of someone who has little knowledge or experience with scotch. But if you like whiskey with corn and rye, then why not.
I dont know, theres nothing wrong with any of that stuff. I get the argument that JW blue drinkers are snobs (better whiskys out there for half the price), but the people who rip on JW blue drinkers come off as even bigger snobs.
I almost bought some Crown Royal Reserve today but got Tequila instead. Also, Im thinking about making a Tequila appreciation thread but im worried it will get about 12 replies then be buried forever.
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On April 21 2012 12:02 Equity213 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 15 2012 14:40 Abraxas514 wrote:On April 15 2012 08:24 bayside wrote:
Glenlivet 16y.o is the best. John Walker Blue is pretty good as well (Black for when I'm low on money, it tastes a little too nutty, but still fairly decent & cheap. Never RED!!!! UGH!)
Crown Royal reserve, cask 16 is fairly awesome as well for some good whiskey. I might be wrong, but this kind of post strikes me as typical of someone who has little knowledge or experience with scotch. But if you like whiskey with corn and rye, then why not. I dont know, theres nothing wrong with any of that stuff. I get the argument that JW blue drinkers are snobs (better whiskys out there for half the price), but the people who rip on JW blue drinkers come off as even bigger snobs. I almost bought some Crown Royal Reserve today but got Tequila instead. Also, Im thinking about making a Tequila appreciation thread but im worried it will get about 12 replies then be buried forever.
maybe so, tequila hasnt agreed with me since high school, and most people i know arent big fans either. im pretty boring though and just do makers mark, i am still running on the funds of a grad student tho so if anyone has any suggestions for finer whiskey to get started with im all ears.
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So what's a good starting recommendation for someone who's never tried whiskey before?
I'm not sure if there's anything else I should say that would help direct the recommendation. I mostly drink rum and beer, and when I drunk rum, I'll normally mix it with something, but it'll be a stronger proportion, or rarely I'll just drink it neat or with a tiny bit of ice. I don't really do this with anything that 'burns' though. So maybe something smooth I guess? I'd also be interested in trying to mix with water, if that would improve the taste or take off some of the edge if there is one. I'm also not willing to pay a ton of money for a bottle, but I'm willing to make enough of an investment that I can get something decent that's actually good, if that makes sense. :p
Hope someone can help!
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On April 21 2012 16:29 Mr. Wiggles wrote:
So what's a good starting recommendation for someone who's never tried whiskey before?
I'm not sure if there's anything else I should say that would help direct the recommendation. I mostly drink rum and beer, and when I drunk rum, I'll normally mix it with something, but it'll be a stronger proportion, or rarely I'll just drink it neat or with a tiny bit of ice. I don't really do this with anything that 'burns' though. So maybe something smooth I guess? I'd also be interested in trying to mix with water, if that would improve the taste or take off some of the edge if there is one. I'm also not willing to pay a ton of money for a bottle, but I'm willing to make enough of an investment that I can get something decent that's actually good, if that makes sense. :p
Hope someone can help!
Jim Beam is the most standard Bourbon out there, and Bourbon is probably the safest variety of whiskey out there for a beginner. Basically, if you can't stand Beam, you won't like whiskey.
There's much better out there, obviously, but Beam is the most straightforward whiskey, in my opinion.
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Because you like rum and beer, and you prefer mixing rum, I'd recommend you try a blended whiskey as your first. Blended is going to generally be less expensive, and the sharp and distinctive tastes of each single malt are mellowed. Depending on your price range for your first bottle, I'd probably push you to get a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red or Black Label. It will certainly be fairly smooth and give you a good foundation for the various tastes you can get in a Scotch Whiskey.
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More of a rum and vodka guy but I can get down with some Crown Royal. Makes a nice Manhattan.
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Zurich15325 Posts
On April 21 2012 16:32 corpuscle wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2012 16:29 Mr. Wiggles wrote:
So what's a good starting recommendation for someone who's never tried whiskey before?
I'm not sure if there's anything else I should say that would help direct the recommendation. I mostly drink rum and beer, and when I drunk rum, I'll normally mix it with something, but it'll be a stronger proportion, or rarely I'll just drink it neat or with a tiny bit of ice. I don't really do this with anything that 'burns' though. So maybe something smooth I guess? I'd also be interested in trying to mix with water, if that would improve the taste or take off some of the edge if there is one. I'm also not willing to pay a ton of money for a bottle, but I'm willing to make enough of an investment that I can get something decent that's actually good, if that makes sense. :p
Hope someone can help! Basically, if you can't stand Beam, you won't like whiskey.
That is nonsense. Bourbon is not lighter whisky, it's just something different. Most people I know who like whisky detest bourbon.
Also MrWiggles this questions has been asked and answered a million times in this thread.
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On April 21 2012 16:29 Mr. Wiggles wrote:
So what's a good starting recommendation for someone who's never tried whiskey before?
I'm not sure if there's anything else I should say that would help direct the recommendation. I mostly drink rum and beer, and when I drunk rum, I'll normally mix it with something, but it'll be a stronger proportion, or rarely I'll just drink it neat or with a tiny bit of ice. I don't really do this with anything that 'burns' though. So maybe something smooth I guess? I'd also be interested in trying to mix with water, if that would improve the taste or take off some of the edge if there is one. I'm also not willing to pay a ton of money for a bottle, but I'm willing to make enough of an investment that I can get something decent that's actually good, if that makes sense. :p
Hope someone can help!
I bought a bottle of Glenmorangie a couple of weeks ago, it's pretty "easy" to drink, imho...
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One day I decided to try Black label at bar and absolutely loved it. Afterwards I've tried quite a few common ones at various bars (as a student I prefer "not too expensive" bars and there's usually just the Jameson, Jack, Jim Beam, Famous Grouse and a few others, all of which are better than beer but still not that great. A nice exception was Balvenie.
Recently was at cruise where tried some single malts, mainly Glenfiddich, which were not bad by any means, but not really worth the cost. Rather stick with Black  .
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Oops, I drank mad too much Wiser's, you like Wiser's guys? It's good Canadian whiskey, better than Jack in my books,.
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On April 21 2012 16:29 Mr. Wiggles wrote:
So what's a good starting recommendation for someone who's never tried whiskey before?
Johnny Walker Black
Jamesons
Talisker 10
Dalwhinnie 15
Highland Park 12
Jamesons is Irish whiskey, the rest are Scotch; but they are all delicious.
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On March 31 2012 22:19 OminouS wrote:So I bougth two whiskies last month. Ardbeg Uigeadail. Whisky of the year 2009 according to Jim Murray. Although I'm a sucker for all things Ardbeg, and I really enjoyed the whisky, I feel that the Alligator was more impressive and somewhat ruined the experience of Uigeadail for me, since I had tried it just last month. I would still recommend it to anyone. Port Charlotte 8. I wanted to jump onboard and try this newly started 2nd distillery from Bruichladdich before the standard 10 year old version will be released, since it will most likely be watered down to 46%. This bad boy had a cask strength of 60,5%, and was the first time around a bit disappointing, but this turned out to be a product of the fact that my brother doesn't have proper whisky glasses, so the smell was very hard to catch. When I tried them in my Glencairn glassess (http://www.whiskyglass.com/), the smell was present and all was good with the world. It did remind me of a younger Lagavulin with the same strenght, not unlike Lagavulin 12 years original cask strength which was one of the whiskies I tried right before this one. The future does indeed look bright for Bruichladdich and their projects such as Octomore and Port Charlotte. My latest purchases, haven't tried any of them yet though since I usually wait until my brother can try them with me: Smokehead Extra Black. I'm pretty sure it's just smartly marketed and probably overpriced, but I wanted to try it anyway. Bowmore Laimrig. I check this blog written by two fellow Swedes (http://peat.se/), and they usually have the same taste as I do. They highly recomended this one and I'm looking forward to trying it. Caol Ila Unpeated. Probably a fresh change of pace from the usually heavily peated whiskes from Islay. (As you've probably noticed, almost all my latest purchases has been Islay. Guess I have to branch out a bit more.) Bunnahabhain Peated Sherry Butt. Been looking forward to try something from this distillery for a long time, unless you count the closed Port Ellen and the newley opened Kilchoman, I tried something from all the other Islay destilleries that is available on the market right now (at least for a person in my situation). I will, however, get around to Kilchoman when it gets a bit older, and also Port Ellen, I will try that one in May when I get some more money to spend As you've seen, I haven't really expressed the taste and smell of these whiskies. It is because I don't really know how to. Hopefully I will learn it in time, as I spend more time tasting and reading about whisky. I keep you posted when I've tried these 4 new purchases
I (finally!) got around to try the whiskies I bougth over a month ago!
Smokehead Extra Black: This one was pretty much as I expected it, smartly packeted and marketed product, but around 20€~ (imo) overpriced. The smell was nice, taste ok, finish quite welcoming, but as a whole, it fell short. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but it did. When I judge every part of it one by one the sum of the score adds up to 83/100. This is, however, too high in my oppinion. Considering every part as a whole, I give it sub 75/100. A bit disappointed, but I was prepared for it so everything is good with the world once again. Still a pretty good whisky if you have some money lying around.
Bowmore Laimrig: This whisky was nothing like I expected it to be. After reading about it and probably laying to much focus on the 'Sherry finish' part, it was a shock when I first tasted it. After doing my best adjusting my expectations (and taste buds) I started to slowley appreciate it. The taste was pretty much oak dipped in tar, and with the natural cask strenght to top it off it gave a very raw expression. I decided to give it 76/100, but since I have most of the bottle left that value might improve over time, when I've had more time to process it.
Caol Ila Unpeated: This one was quite overwhelming. I decided to start the night with this bad boy since it wasn't a peated Islay whisky, and therefore I suspected it to go down a bit easier than the others. Turns out this wasn't really the case. While I'm a big fan of natural cask strengths and usually don't have any troubles drinking 50-60% whiskies without adding water, this one at 64% was a bit too much. After adding water, and then adding some more, my mouth was already anaesthetized (google translate, usage ok?) and I had troubles appreciating it fully. It did however give me a nice perspective on what unpeated malt does to a whisky, and after I get more chances to try it out (and hopefully find the right amount of whisky/water ratio) I do believe I will enjoy it more over time. For now though, I'll give it 73/100.
Bunnahabhain Peated Sherry Butt: The crown jewel of the evening. This relatively young (13 years) whisky was a really nice surprise, probably bougth a false ID from some kids in college, because he could probably get into a bar with the right attitude. It's the first one I ever tasted from Bunnahabhain, and on top of that, a single cask as well. Balance, taste and finish, everything was really nice. Only the smell fell a bit short but I blame that mostly on my brothers lack of real tasting glasses. However, I convinced him to buy real ones, and until then since most of the bottle is left I will have a field day with it at home with my proper glasses. The rating for this whisky landed on a solid 86/100.
We also revisited my oldest and most rare whisky, 41 years old from Glenfarclas, bourbon hogshead, only released in 195 bottles. I've tasted it before and wont spend too much time talking about it, but it is to this day the greatest whisky I've ever tried, and this night just cemented that oppinion. I gave it a 95/100 even without proper glasses, with - 96.
For now, that is all. But next month is Port Ellen 28 years old and Octomore 4.2 (167 ppm) if everything goes as planned, so things have just gotten started in the world of whisky for my part...
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On April 15 2012 14:14 phyre112 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 15 2012 05:49 phyre112 wrote:
Couple friends are celebrating something nice tonight, so on the recommendations of this thread and laws, we made a purchase of ardbeg 10 year (older versions being out of the price range). Most of us are new to whiskey entirely and for myself at least scotch is an unknown. Perhaps we should have gone with something easier....
But you only live once right? First drink; surprised not to find any burn to it (especially as compared to my usual bourbon). The taste made me visualize an old, mossy, oak forest just after it had rained. I understand what an "earthy" taste is now, and I can certainly distinguish the "smoke".
Really? I'm not much experienced and Ardbeg 10 was my first *good* whiskey, but i couldn't find much in it but smoke and maybe some oak notes. but it goes awesomely well with dark chocolate
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Zurich15325 Posts
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On April 21 2012 18:48 Equity213 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2012 16:29 Mr. Wiggles wrote:
So what's a good starting recommendation for someone who's never tried whiskey before?
Johnny Walker Black Jamesons Talisker 10 Dalwhinnie 15 Highland Park 12 Jamesons is Irish whiskey, the rest are Scotch; but they are all delicious.
Some good recommendations there. I also think it's valuable to show the variety of whiskies when introducing somebody new to it, for instance giving them one glas of laphroaig and one glas of dalwhinnie (or any other "sweet" whiskies).
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Friday I drank 3/4 bottle of The Bowmore Islay 12 yr. No hangover or buzz. I actually woke up the next morning energized. Supremely smooth. My friend the tequila drinker was destroyed.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pnDe6.jpg)
