Talking about Whisky

[ahinton]

tEssd ,,, nbut sit' trmmndoiss bn (£bn"> ddi Is ay £bn? o ment "dun"!Q!( fondng out!!"!!

Uyor'e my bestst maet, ummmsloppioppyglasss ,,, veI ever tild uyo thqt>

This Glengeliebte stuff must be cask strength if the above is anything by which to go; I daresay that it tastes rather more ferney than heathery...

[ahinton]

Possibly, but I remember once ordering a dram of Lagavulin 16 year-old in The Mermaid, Hugh Town, Scilly. It turned out to be the very last of the bottle and it was a very old bottle at that (it didn't have the ship at the top of the label, but (I think) a bell). It must have been open a long time because the whisky tasted very "stale" compared to the normal 16 year-old. Not undrinkable, but not very pleasant.

Fine malt Scotch can be very popular in certain parts of rural France, even - indeed, especially - in the Cognac region of the Charente where you'd really expect something else to be the star of the show; I've often wondered if some of them assume that La Gavulin is actually distilled in France...

[Beef Oven!]

Fine malt Scotch can be very popular in certain parts of rural France, even - indeed, especially - in the Cognac region of the Charente where you'd really expect something else to be the star of the show; I've often wondered if some of them assume that La Gavulin is actually distilled in France...

All Scotch, malt or blended, is fine. In fact it’s not possible to find bad Scotch. Goes for grain whisky, too. We are blessed.

[ahinton]

All Scotch, malt or blended, is fine. In fact it’s not possible to find bad Scotch. Goes for grain whisky, too. We are blessed.

Well, some's nevertheless finer than others and the "stale" taste of the 16-y-o Lagavulin that Vox Humana attributes to its possibly having been kept less well than it might have been must obviously been a good deal less fine than most.

Grain whisky? Silence from me!

[Vox Humana]

All Scotch, malt or blended, is fine. In fact it’s not possible to find bad Scotch. Goes for grain whisky, too. We are blessed.

This is true, but I could certainly name some lacklustre ones.

I'm very sceptical about the expressions that some distillers are producing specifically for supermarkets. Years ago Sainsbury's did a dreadful Glen Moray with no finish at all. Their current Bowmore is less than par for that label as well. On the other hand, I recently picked up a bottle of Tamnavulin from Morrison's and was most pleasantly surprised. That's one that's going on my repeat prescription list.

[umslopogaas]

Tamnavulin ... thanks VH, that's good to know, Morrisons is my local supermarket. Not one I've tried, I'll put it on the shopping list.

[umslopogaas]

#525, ferney, you have clearly approached the spirit of this discussion with great rigour!

[Vox Humana]

Tamnavulin ... thanks VH, that's good to know, Morrisons is my local supermarket. Not one I've tried, I'll put it on the shopping list.

I don't normally care too much for sherried malts, but this one is well balanced and with a fuller flavour than I would expect in a scotch at 40% abv. It feels more like a 43% one.

[umslopogaas]

Just checked my local Morrisons and they didnt have Tamnavulin. Instead I bought a bottle of Ardbeg, one I havent previously tried. Very expensive, at £47.

[johnb]

Hope you like pleated whisky! (The Ardbeg is very good IMO.)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hope you like pleated whisky!

To go with the kilt, perhaps?

(The Ardbeg is very good IMO.)

[Vox Humana]

Instead I bought a bottle of Ardbeg, one I havent previously tried. Very expensive, at £47.

Absolutely the best scotch in the world, IMO. But, yes, enjoy chewing the peat!

[umslopogaas]

VH, that sounds very promising, though peat is something I normally reserve for the rhododendrons ... I shall sample it this evening, and report back.

They certainly promote themselves as the best malt in the world. And its 46% alcohol, stronger than my other spirits. And they make even stronger ones, Ardbeg Corryvreckan at 57% which sounds like a recipe for a very severe headache indeed.

[vinteuil]

... it's 46% alcohol, stronger than my other spirits. And they make even stronger ones, Ardbeg Corryvreckan at 57% which sounds like a recipe for a very severe headache indeed.

... 57% does indeed sound a little bit too much of a good thing. Mind you, in the winter months I have been known to indulge in a snifter of green chartreuse or chartreuse VEP - and that comes in at something like 55%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartreuse_(liqueur)

[umslopogaas]

Its the measure that counts, as some character in a novel used to say (something by Graham Greene? Or maybe it was Nabby Adams in Burgess's Malayan Trilogy?). Anyway, at the price I shant be overindulging in Ardbeg. I've never tried Chartreuse, I must investigate.

The stuff you really have to watch is puncheon rum. They sell it in the Caribbean and its twice the strength of ordinary rum. Which is fine, except that they use it to make rum punch, where all the other ingredients disguise the taste so you dont realise how much you are drinking. You have one, which tastes great and makes you feel nicely mellow, so you have another one and the world starts to spin ...