UKC

Whats your favourite single malt whiskey and is it a sin to add a splash of water or afew rocks of ice???
Im currently on the aberlour and have to say im not overly impressed!!

Aberlour isn't whiskey.

In reply to Flat4matt: I think its wrong to say its wrong to do anything to your own drink!

My favourite changes but probably one I'd go back to easily is the 25 years old Talisker bottled in 2005. It would have been the same age as me.

In reply to Flat4matt:

Tried the Talisker afew days ago in the queens in litton. Twas very nice

In reply to Flat4matt:

Aberlour is a malt in name only.

In reply to Flat4matt:

Laphroaig. Straight.

In reply to Flat4matt:

not sure I could pick just one! Lagavulin, coal isla, woodford reserve...to many! And yes, adding anything is a sin.

In reply to Flat4matt:

Problem is you're drinking whiskey; try whisky instead, much nicer.

Glencoyne: air dried and smooth as.

In reply to Flat4matt: Laphrohiag cask strength neat.

I have used these though, bought for me by my lovely wife.

http://www.amazon.com/Teroforma-1220-Whisky-Stones/dp/B002GZX2DE

In reply to Flat4matt: jura 10 year old or a cheeky wee Ardbeg Alligator.
Its not a sin to put a small amount of water into the dram..it brings out the flavours. Its all personal preference at the end of the day..tho if you wear scants under a kilt you should be hanged.

In reply to Flat4matt:

Scapa 16 all the way!

In reply to stroppygob:

Burn him! Burn him!

In reply to Flat4matt: Ice tends to dampen the sensitivity of the taste buds water is ok

In reply to Flat4matt: Edradour Port Finish for me. And adding water is the only way, every distillery i've been to recommended a splash before drinking.

In reply to Flat4matt: Some Whiskies (is that the right pluralisation of whisky?) benefit from a dash of cool water, Some are best neat; only careful sampling of many varieties can equip you to decide which are which without a wee dram...

In reply to Philip: the Abunadh is one of the best Speysides out there for the price... don't write it off!

Glenfarclas 21 y/o is probably the favourite at the moment.

Re: adding water, sometimes I'll have a dash of soda water in with whisky, sometimes I'll have it neat. If I'm trying something for the first time I'll usually have it on its own to begin with.

In reply to Stuart (aka brt):

DOn't get over excited about your spelling prowess. Irish single malts are called Whiskey. Spellings differ. Oh and Tallisker has my vote.

In reply to Flat4matt: 15yo Single barrel Balvenie. With either nothing or some more Balvenie

In reply to Flat4matt: Old Poulteney and Talisker are my Xmas tipples this year.

In reply to Flat4matt:

I've got Highland Park and Bowmore on the go at the moment, I'm finding they both benefit from a splash of water. I'm thinking about adding to the collection for this Christmas. Not sure what to get though, I'm still only a recent convert to whisky, I could never drink it before!

In reply to goatee:

Fair point, though I was referring to Aberlour which is whisky. Never tried it though.

In reply to Flat4matt:
My fave is Bells with coke. Deliciomoso.

In reply to Philip:
Not having tried that one to my knowledge what is wrong with Aberlour?

Personal favourites would be Lagavulin, Port Ellen 67% cask, Highland Park and for historical reasons Glenlivet
All time favourite would be the 1966 St Magdalene I had (now all gone like the distillery)
In addition I have tasted some superb Japanese and even an Indian whiskey

But technically speaking if we are talking about whiskey, as opposed to whisky, then I would have to go for a Bushmills 16 yr 3 wood

In reply to Duncan Bourne:
Tried this one at the Stone Food fair and I have to say it was superb.

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/amrut-peated-single-malt-whisky/

In reply to Duncan Bourne:
Tried this one in Roy Bridge delicious!

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/yamazaki-18-year-old-whisky/

I like the stuff that makes you drunk.

In reply to Flat4matt:

Enjoyed a Bowmore 12 year old hugely last year. Currently liking a Glenkinchie 12 yr old - very sophisticated - and looking forward to Santa's Old Pultney 12 years old arriving soon!

In reply to Flat4matt:
It's the Ardbeg or Bowmore for me.
Nothing wrong with a dash of water either.

Got a Tobermory on the go at the moment.

In reply to chrisprescott:

Interesting, none of the 10 or so distilleries I've been to have.

I've always liked the sound of that Edradour, I do like a port finished whisky every now and then.

As for a favourite, I couldn't possibly narrow it down to one. The Bunnahabhain 18 year old is pretty special though, as was the snifter of Ardbeg Gallileo I tried a few months ago (although I tried a cask strength sherried Ardbeg at the distillery which was awesome, but I don't think it's ever been released).

Oh, and I'll add a splash of water to some cask strength whiskies to take the edge off the strength (if they need it, some don't), but I wouldn't add it to 40-odd percent bottlings.

In reply to Duncan Bourne:

In reply to Flat4matt:

whatever works for you with regards to ice or water.
For cask strength in particular it can help (although since i tend to manage to jump from no difference to homeopathic whisky in one easy splash i dont often bother).

In reply to Flat4matt: 14 year old Oban, no water or ice......this has reminded me i need a bottle for christmas

In reply to goatee:

Is Tallisker an alternate spelling for Talisker?

In reply to Flat4matt:

note to self : Never get involved in the pissing contest that a Whisky thread generates.......

In reply to Slugain Howff:

......this week it's mostly 18 year old Highland Park

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Acht I wouldn't get too worried, it should really be Talasgar anyway.

In reply to Flat4matt: whatever I get at staff prices from any of the bonds and distilleries I visit.

In reply to Flat4matt:

I don't have *a* favourite. I have a few!!!!
Clynelish
Cragganmore
Glenfarclas 105
Linkwood
Mortlach
Springbank

Not a big fan of the Islay iodine/TCP overload... Some of the older softer Bruichladdichs are fine though. Also, some lovely whiskys at the cheaper end of the spectrum are Bendromach and Old Pultney.

Go to:
www.lfw.co.uk

For your whisky needs. I once went into their shop and after a considerable tasting session, I was persuaded to part cash for a 1981 Brora (now closed), which was £60 at the time. It was certainly one of the best whiskys I've tasted. Its now worth a fortune, but I'm glad I drank it!

The rule for me with whisky is don't anaesthetise your palette, as you won't be tasting much after the first sip. This is especially true when you go above 40% and necessary for cask strength whisky. I tend to add a spoon of so to a healthy fingers worth of whisky in a whisky glass. But you should try with and without, and see what happens to what you can taste changes when you add a little water. If you have chlorine tasting water, get something bottled, better still, if you live near the highlands get some nice peaty water from a burn to add to the whisky.

In reply to DaveHK:

That Aberlour A'bunadh at 60.3% is a bit special though. I got a bottle and went back to the tap 4 times to get the mix right.

So at the moment I've got a bottle of that, a bottle of Bunnahabain and a bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban on the go.

Yum.

In reply to Flat4matt:

highland park 16 yr, but there all pretty good

In reply to DANNYdjb: with ice

In reply to ollieollie:
probably. The one that does the good food and has a whisky selection to die for

In reply to Duncan Bourne: yes, a fine collection of whisky indeed, and a tall tale or two from morris behind the bar

In reply to Flat4matt: i like the auchentoshan's, will be opening the 18 yr on christmas day, have an old pultney 12 on the go at present which is nice. just straight up, no ice or water for me

In reply to nniff:

Indeed. It is a very nice dram but imho you need to suck it up and savour it at the cask strengh. Let it breath and alcohol vapours off and enjoy the firey bite.

Enjoy whisky as you like it if you pay for it though. While a little water opens up the nose on a lot you will always sacrifice the palate.

Ice dulls the aromas too much. Handy for cheap nasty whisky if you want to just get drunk but but a waste of coin for more expensive ones.

It is all about cask strength for me. 46% prefered for regular strength stuff. bruichladdich etc. A couple are enjoyable at 43% but 40% is too weak for me. Is like drinking water.

In reply to Flat4matt:

One other thing. Experiment with leaving the whisky to breath once poured into the glass.

In reply to Duncan Bourne:

Nothing wrong with Aberlour - the 16 yo and the A'bunadh are both very good. The 10yo is a bit anodyne and watery, though it's often less than £20 which makes it a pretty good alternative to blends. It's a mistake to judge a distillery by it's cheapest product. I don't care for their standard 10/12yos, but the Glenfiddich 15yo Solera, the Glenlivet Nadurra (Cask Strength), and Auchentoschen Valinch (Cask strength) are very good and decent value.

Agree with the praise for Indian whisky - I've recently tried Amrut's Fusion and non-peated Cask Strength and both were great. As for Japanese, I remember liking Yamazaki but I don't really care for the much lauded Nikka From The Barrel - tasted close to a hot mess to me (and for that I can buy A'bunadh a lot cheaper!). The other Japanese whiskies are too pricey for me to try - anyone got any recommendations?

As for Irish whiskey, I like Connemara - Peated Cask Strength, and Redbreast 12. But the best value is the Safeway Taste the Difference Irish Single Malt - Dun Leire. It's an 8yo made for Sainsbury by Cooley and it is absolutely lovely - a full, almost oily body; biscuity malt, lots of citrus. An absolute steal at £20 - won a load of awards a few years back (Jim Murray's whisk(e)y yearbook gave it around 95/100) but is oddly under-promoted.

In reply to Jimbo W:

That is the best way to deal with a cask strength. Give it time for the alcohol vapours to burn off. I don't find my palate gets anesthetised too much.

I am very sceptical about Jim Murray these days. Scores seem to be on the high side for the brands he appears to be ambadassor if you like for.

I agree with Jim Murray's views on sulphur though. I seem very sensitive to it and some really sherried stuff just smells like rotten eggs to me. Something sherried married with something from a bourbon cask is nicer than pure sherried.

In reply to Milesy:


Above 50% ethanol concentration, the ethanol acts as a precipitive fixative (such as can be used to preserve tissue specimens, and strong gin was not uncommonly historically used for this purpose). It does so by denaturing proteins (buggering up their structure), this happens not just to protein receptors involved in taste, but also to within surface cells because ethanol is readily absorbed. I would have thought it unlikely that there wasn't some reasonably significant anaesthetic effects of drinking cask strength whisky neat, especially in the 60% range, however, palate isn't the only part of enjoying a whisky!

In reply to Jimbo W:

Indeed if it is drank quickly the face numbs pretty quickly. I tend to drink a dram (say 30ml), and in particular a cask strength one over say a full hour. Small sips but the finish is longer so it can be drank slower.

My favourite dram just now is Glen Garioch 1995 vintage. It is nothing short of sublime. I have bought a few bottles of it as it wont be about forever being a limited single cask.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-17400.aspx

It sits at 55.3% and I find it is perfect with no water at all. I have experimented with different strengths of this at 50, 48, 46, 43 and 40 using standard dilution formula: C1 x V1 = C2 x V2

The nose changes considerably through the different dilutions but the palate worsened considerably for me throughout. Just tastes and noses perfect as it comes for me.

In reply to Milesy:

Well of course, each to their own, but palate is only really about four additional senses: sweet, bitter, salt and sour. The rest of what is sensed as taste is done via the nose. That's what I mean by other things that people enjoy in the whisky, such as the finish, and the physically astringent effects / warm burn of the whisky on the mouth. I would add very little to a 40% whisky, but I'd experiment, a few drops at a time. But I would never just drink a cask strength neat, the extra expense gives me more whisky and the option to find my dilution preference, rather than the distillers, but again I would only do this a few drops at a time. I note from your post that you wrote a descending order. One of the reasons that a whisky can feel empty on the palate if you taste in that order is precisely because the palate can be anaesthetised. If you rather just rely on your nose, find your 3 dilution preferences, just for the nose. Then the next time you drink your whisky, prepare those three dilutions, and start with the weakest, working up the way. Also, the older the whisky, the less water you'll need to add, if at all.

In reply to Jimbo W:

I understand the palate is limited. I didnt do those dilutions in a row by the way. I done it on consecutive evenings It is just a personal thing and I am not the only one. Charlie Maclean also drinks many as is at cask strength.

In reply to Milesy:


True - but with the Sainsbury's Dun Leire he's on the ball - it is very good and quite unusual. My fear is that Cooley will stop giving it away and keep the spirit for their own bottlings. Jim Murray's scoring is a bit of a mystery - seem to be a strange mix of genuine personal taste, reputation / ambassador preference, snob / rarity value (very limited bottlings are guaranteed to get 90+), and plain contrariness - giving massive scores some mediocre blends like Jamesons and Grants.

In reply to Flat4matt:

Very much enjoyed a 15yo Dalwhinnie with a drop on Saturday night.

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Indeed. Definately folly to trust the word of a single man whom we know not who fills his bank account. I would rather make a decision based on multiple reviews from the interwebs and I usually do

For example the Old Pulteney 21 is a nice dram, but I would not consider it the best in the world as he does.

In reply to Dave 88:

At that price, its about the best available.

In reply to Flat4matt: On 14yr old has been top of my list for around 5 years now.

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:


I will have to give those a try. Thanks for the heads up

In reply to Stuart (aka brt):

beat me to it!

In reply to Removed User:

+1

Drinking the Glen Garioch 12 year old tonight. Won best 12 years and under at the world whisky awards.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-2172.aspx

http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/2012/

Pricier than other 12 year olds granted but it is really good. Natural colour, unchillfiltered and 48%.

You can get a litre it in duty free for a good price as well