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On April 01 2015 09:50 MarlieChurphy wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2015 06:10 Djzapz wrote:On March 31 2015 19:37 MarlieChurphy wrote:On March 27 2015 10:33 Djzapz wrote:On March 26 2015 13:39 MarlieChurphy wrote: Anyone here a tequila fan? I've never been much of a fan of Tequila because the one time I tried it neat it was horrible, but it was the cheap stuff made for mixing so I guess it kind of makes sense. Never tried anything decent, I wouldn't know where to start, I have no idea what the good stuff is. And if you say it tastes like water, well that's not my thing x_x. I don't drink to get drunk anymore  Not a fan of dark colored liquors so much anymore, as they contain more impurities and hangovers. What? Is that a thing? I think dark colored liquors are just darker because they're influenced by the wood and sometimes colorants, but I don't think color is in any way indicative of impurity. Also someone asked that I do a review of the A'bunadh when I get around to it, and I will, but that's not for anytime soon  . + Show Spoiler +Most are unopened ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/PT8eXeb.jpg) That said speaking of different spirits, can anyone suggest a reasonably priced Brandy for sipping? I'm thinking of getting into that type of stuff a little bit. TYL: All liquor are spirits, all spirits are clear until things are added. Anything that colors it is an impurity. I don't know that that's true. But if it is I don't know why there wouldn't be colorless impurities much worse by whatever pointless standards we might set for what purity means :p. You can have clear spirits with impurities that kill you or make you blind. IIRC as far as the distilling process goes, if done properly, it removes all extra shit and leaves just the spirit in the pure form. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol (there are a couple of good docus and hour presentations on making different kinds of booze and the industry. I recall one on Scotch, Beer, Tequila, and Wine.) That's part of the reason why I've evolved to liking 100% puro azul agauve tequila. It's super high quality and clean and crisp. Can drink it straight, on the rocks, or with a splash of lime just fine. And because the taste is so mild (with a little spicy/bite), you can mix it with practically anything, while not being as chemical as say vodka or gin.As far as the going blind thing, that has to do with backwoods moonshiners who weren't clean or professional. Kinda like how meth cookers who don't know what they are doing blow up their hood.
If your alcohol tastes very smooth, then it can't be "pure"/"free of impurities" because straight ethanol (let's say a 40/60 mix of ethanol and water, because 100% ethanol is full of benzene and will kill you) tastes awful.
Sure, the coloring and flavor in dark alcohol is an impurity, but that doesn't mean you clear ones are "pure" either, and so the fact that clear liquor is somehow better for you than dark liquor, or that you'll have less hangovers, is placebo, confirmation bias, and myth.
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Zurich15310 Posts
On April 01 2015 11:11 IgnE wrote: Most of the cheaper (i.e. sub $50 per 750ml) liquors have color added for aesthetic reasons. Most whiskey are colored, and price doesn't really matter. Among the ones with added color are big names like Talisker, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Glenlivet, Balvenie which can easily run hundreds per bottle.
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On April 01 2015 16:51 zatic wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2015 11:11 IgnE wrote: Most of the cheaper (i.e. sub $50 per 750ml) liquors have color added for aesthetic reasons. Most whiskey are colored, and price doesn't really matter. Among the ones with added color are big names like Talisker, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Glenlivet, Balvenie which can easily run hundreds per bottle. I tried Ardbeg 10 and was surprised to see that it was yellow-ish instead of the typical gold-amber color you get everywhere else.
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On April 01 2015 22:54 Djzapz wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2015 16:51 zatic wrote:On April 01 2015 11:11 IgnE wrote: Most of the cheaper (i.e. sub $50 per 750ml) liquors have color added for aesthetic reasons. Most whiskey are colored, and price doesn't really matter. Among the ones with added color are big names like Talisker, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Glenlivet, Balvenie which can easily run hundreds per bottle. I tried Ardbeg 10 and was surprised to see that it was yellow-ish instead of the typical gold-amber color you get everywhere else.
From what I have gathered Ardbeg 10 should not have E150 added. Am I wrong?
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Anyone else tried out Talisker 57° North? Personally i think it's the best whisky i have ever had.
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On April 02 2015 18:46 raynpelikoneet wrote: Anyone else tried out Talisker 57° North? Personally i think it's the best whisky i have ever had. I've tried it a couple of weeks ago. It's definately a very fine Talisker! Regaring the price/value though, I'm not convinced. Sure it's 57%, so with water actually more than an usual 0,7l bottle. Well, I felt like that the Dark Storm is pretty much on the same level as 57° North, but cheaper. I'm a Talisker fan, but wouldn't say it's my all time favourite. ;-)
Edit: LOL, I just checked the prices of the Dark Storm! I got it for 50 EUR 3-4 months ago, now it's around 70EUR!!! omfg xd
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Zurich15310 Posts
On April 02 2015 23:14 helius788 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2015 18:46 raynpelikoneet wrote: Anyone else tried out Talisker 57° North? Personally i think it's the best whisky i have ever had. I've tried it a couple of weeks ago. It's definately a very fine Talisker! Regaring the price/value though, I'm not convinced. Sure it's 57%, so with water actually more than an usual 0,7l bottle. Well, I felt like that the Dark Storm is pretty much on the same level as 57° North, but cheaper. I'm a Talisker fan, but wouldn't say it's my all time favourite. ;-) Edit: LOL, I just checked the prices of the Dark Storm! I got it for 50 EUR 3-4 months ago, now it's around 70EUR!!! omfg xd Getting a couple of Dark Storms for 40 EUR each on my next flight. Nice duty free deals going on currently.
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On April 02 2015 17:01 OminouS wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2015 22:54 Djzapz wrote:On April 01 2015 16:51 zatic wrote:On April 01 2015 11:11 IgnE wrote: Most of the cheaper (i.e. sub $50 per 750ml) liquors have color added for aesthetic reasons. Most whiskey are colored, and price doesn't really matter. Among the ones with added color are big names like Talisker, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Glenlivet, Balvenie which can easily run hundreds per bottle. I tried Ardbeg 10 and was surprised to see that it was yellow-ish instead of the typical gold-amber color you get everywhere else. From what I have gathered Ardbeg 10 should not have E150 added. Am I wrong? From the color I've seen I'd guess it doesn't. It allows them to sell those things in green bottles
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Baa?21242 Posts
I got some Dalwhinnie Distiller's Edition today. Been meaning to try it for a while but never saw it at the liquor stores, happened to come across some behind the normal Dalwhinnie. This one is the 2013 bottling, distilled in 1997.
As a bonus I think the store forgot they even had it and had no idea what to charge for it and ended up selling it to me for the normal Dalwhinnie 15 price, score~
It's quite nice, very similar to the normal Dalwhinnie - goes down smooth, very light fruity aromas throughout, but it also has a heftier kick at the end, with other, more substantive fruity and spicey tastes throughout that the normal Dalwhinnie doesn't have.
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I want to try a Dalwhinnie but I went way.... way overboard with my booze spending.
I have a quite extensive little collection now but I haven't really gotten to any of the highlands. I have an unonpened Aberfeldy but it's one of the more affordable ones. Now I'm trying to choose between Dalwhinnie, Glen Garioch, Dalmore and Glengoyne. There's also Macallan but I hate the no age statement stuff.
We have this awesome thing and I'm thinking of picking it up: http://www.saq.com/page/en/saqcom/scotch-single-malt/glen-garioch-scotch-single-malt-1995/11898717
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On April 01 2015 09:50 MarlieChurphy wrote:Show nested quote +On April 01 2015 06:10 Djzapz wrote:On March 31 2015 19:37 MarlieChurphy wrote:On March 27 2015 10:33 Djzapz wrote:On March 26 2015 13:39 MarlieChurphy wrote: Anyone here a tequila fan? I've never been much of a fan of Tequila because the one time I tried it neat it was horrible, but it was the cheap stuff made for mixing so I guess it kind of makes sense. Never tried anything decent, I wouldn't know where to start, I have no idea what the good stuff is. And if you say it tastes like water, well that's not my thing x_x. I don't drink to get drunk anymore  Not a fan of dark colored liquors so much anymore, as they contain more impurities and hangovers. What? Is that a thing? I think dark colored liquors are just darker because they're influenced by the wood and sometimes colorants, but I don't think color is in any way indicative of impurity. Also someone asked that I do a review of the A'bunadh when I get around to it, and I will, but that's not for anytime soon  . + Show Spoiler +Most are unopened ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/PT8eXeb.jpg) That said speaking of different spirits, can anyone suggest a reasonably priced Brandy for sipping? I'm thinking of getting into that type of stuff a little bit. TYL: All liquor are spirits, all spirits are clear until things are added. Anything that colors it is an impurity. I don't know that that's true. But if it is I don't know why there wouldn't be colorless impurities much worse by whatever pointless standards we might set for what purity means :p. You can have clear spirits with impurities that kill you or make you blind. IIRC as far as the distilling process goes, if done properly, it removes all extra shit and leaves just the spirit in the pure form. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol (there are a couple of good docus and hour presentations on making different kinds of booze and the industry. I recall one on Scotch, Beer, Tequila, and Wine.) That's part of the reason why I've evolved to liking 100% puro azul agauve tequila. It's super high quality and clean and crisp. Can drink it straight, on the rocks, or with a splash of lime just fine. And because the taste is so mild (with a little spicy/bite), you can mix it with practically anything, while not being as chemical as say vodka or gin. As far as the going blind thing, that has to do with backwoods moonshiners who weren't clean or professional. Kinda like how meth cookers who don't know what they are doing blow up their hood. Coming from the south(moonshine capitol) i can go ahead and tell you, you can tell the difference when someone doesnt know how to make moonshine compared to someone who does its pretty much sickening how big of a difference it is.
going blind is usually something where they try to make it out of car radiators and dont take precautions to clean it or build their own still to make shit out of
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On April 05 2015 23:52 Djzapz wrote:I want to try a Dalwhinnie but I went way.... way overboard with my booze spending. I have a quite extensive little collection now but I haven't really gotten to any of the highlands. I have an unonpened Aberfeldy but it's one of the more affordable ones. Now I'm trying to choose between Dalwhinnie, Glen Garioch, Dalmore and Glengoyne. There's also Macallan but I hate the no age statement stuff. We have this awesome thing and I'm thinking of picking it up: http://www.saq.com/page/en/saqcom/scotch-single-malt/glen-garioch-scotch-single-malt-1995/11898717
Can't speak for the 1995 special version, but I definitely recommend Dalwhinnie over the normal Glen Garioch 1797 Reserve, and any comparable Dalmore/Glengoyne by price. I think the Dalwhinnie 15 is one of the best choices out there for price/quality ratio.
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
I'm a new fan of Laphroaig :D (still trying others)
going to the distillery some time soon since it's "only" several hundred miles away
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On April 02 2015 23:14 helius788 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2015 18:46 raynpelikoneet wrote: Anyone else tried out Talisker 57° North? Personally i think it's the best whisky i have ever had. I've tried it a couple of weeks ago. It's definately a very fine Talisker! Regaring the price/value though, I'm not convinced. Sure it's 57%, so with water actually more than an usual 0,7l bottle. Well, I felt like that the Dark Storm is pretty much on the same level as 57° North, but cheaper. I'm a Talisker fan, but wouldn't say it's my all time favourite. ;-) Edit: LOL, I just checked the prices of the Dark Storm! I got it for 50 EUR 3-4 months ago, now it's around 70EUR!!! omfg xd Yeah Dark Storm is pretty good aswell, i had a bottle last summer. Apparently in World of Whiskies it's ~59 EUR atm (tax free 1.0 l bottle). I have a huge problem with 57° North because now (as usual) it's around 85-90 EUR (even higher sometimes). Maybe once in a couple of years the price drops to around 70 EUR for a short time.
BUT! At some times you can find it on certain FIN-SWE ferries for ~70 EUR tax free (which basically means instead of the 0.7 l bottle you get 1.0 l one for that 70 EUR). My problem is you never know when you can get that...
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Thinking of picking up a bourbon, I'm more of a beginner when it comes to whisk(e)y, and I pretty much narrowed it down to either the Wild Turkey 101 or the Elijah Craig 12. Which one would you recommend? I'm looking for something thats on the sweeter side.
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On April 13 2015 02:10 DrCooper wrote: Thinking of picking up a bourbon, I'm more of a beginner when it comes to whisk(e)y, and I pretty much narrowed it down to either the Wild Turkey 101 or the Elijah Craig 12. Which one would you recommend? I'm looking for something thats on the sweeter side. Of those two I would go with Elijah Craig for sure (more about wild turkey 101 at the bottom)
Here is a short list of what I would recommend, this goes from cheapest to more pricey:
Evan Williams black label ... standard stuff, can get it for like 10 bucks. I think it's fantastic. Very traditional bourbon flavor there.
Makers Mark, very light and flavorful, never too woody or offensive.
Buffalo Trace. This guy is a little bit more intricate than the others, but still super approachable.
IMHO I would steer clear of the popular choices of Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey and Jim Beam. (I like Wild Turkey 101 and Jim Beam Devil's Cut, but they are a little on the characterful side - and if you're looking for intro and sweet, that isn't it)
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Just placed an order, some of the picks were inspired by this thread:
Elijah Craig 12 Year (TL!) Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (TL!, other sources) Glenfarclas 105 Cask (I freq get the A'bunadh, trying this as a half-price replacement) Auchentoshan Three Wood (tried it once and liked it) The Hakushu Distillers Reserve Malt (non-age, are you mad?) Dalwhinnie 15 Year (dunno what to expect) Prearis Grand Cru 2014 Whisky Barrel Aged- Ardbeg (Beer) Bunnahabhain EIRIGH NA GREINE (I'm trying all Bunna's, love all of them too. Vastly underrated distiller) Ardbeg 10 Year (staple) Lagavulin 16 Year (staple)
I had to take care to not go overboard on expensive bottles and I wanted to try a few new brands. Especially would have liked to fork out more money on some Japanese bottles, but I'll try this one first and then move on from there.
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Not a bad selection. I wish the Ardbegs were affordable here but they have a wild markup . $90 for a regular plain mass-produced 10 year old Ardbeg? Bleh.
If you get around to trying the Glenfarclas 105, tell me how it compares to the A'bunadh.
By the way, if I wanted to try something that compares to the Elijah Craig 12, what should I pick up?
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Djzapz, I was just trying the Glenfarclas 105, and it's almost precisely what I expected. Although I cannot compare them side-by-side at the moment, so I'm just going by my 3-week old memory of the A'bunadh. The initial smell is similar, but a bit further away, slightly more hidden. The taste (I tried with and without some water (which I don't really believe in, but hey, 60%)) is very similar, lots of sherry in there. When it fades out, it tends to taste a little bit more artificial. Not unpleasantly so, but it does lack a bit of depth and richness the A'bunadh has. The latter also feels a bit thicker, like a honey or syrup, which isn't so much the case with the Glenfarclas.
So overall, I think it's definitely not a bad alternative, depending on the price difference. These cost 40 (105) vs 61 euro over here, with the former also being 100cl, which makes it way better value for money. Definitely worth trying out, even if it's a poor man's Abunadh.
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