Any whisky drinkers?

Wondering if there are any whisky drinkers (bells, teachers and any mixer other than a ice or a drop of water not included) on the forum.

Been getting more into whisky (both single malt and quality blends) over the last year or so and was wonder what peoples favourite dram was.

Singleton of Dufftown 15 Year Old Single Malt

£40

Jameson's on its own. One bottle at a time.

What do you like? Peaty or not? Personally I prefer peaty so Laproaig and the like which MrsWishy despises so it has the added bonus of keeping her out of my stash as she doesn't mind a drop either.

I find looking at a map helps decide what to try based on past experiences (not a joke, see below).

had "whiskey mack " once, lovely

Singleton makes a nice whisky had the 12 but not the 15.

Jameson's is ok (the special reserve is better IMO) but I prefer Green Spot which is from the same distillery. Not as widely available though.

And whats all this one bottle at a time talk....

I have a right mix of bottles depends on the mood but generally I prefer the less peaty/smoky. Got a couple bottles of Laproaig, Ardbeg and Smokehead etc but most are "lighter". Current favourites are Jura Duraichs Own 16YO, Dalmore 12 and Balvenie Portwood (but trying to save this as its not cheap).

Iain Banks's book "Raw Spirit" is a great read for anyone who likes whisky. It's also educational about Scotland and it's a fun read. Basically he drives/rides around Scotland visiting distilleries and searching for the "perfect dram".

Did I hear whisky, forget Jameson Irish stuff. Drank whisky on & off 40 years or so. As pointed out peat or not. Speyside is the more easy to drink being less peat & a fresher drink. There are so many to choose from. One of my all time favourites is the Oban, a really spicy whisky, expensive but a must try in my mind.


By the way the only thing you should add to whisky is more whisky. I prefer my drink room temp' the taste is far more prevalent. One whisky thats a blend in most pubs around here that's a lovely chewy one is Black Bottle. In the end the choice is yours. I genuinely love the stuff, unfortunately I can't do justice to the drink now, but hey it's fun trying now & again if I have a minder with me.....

Like Hyper I have a few bottles on the go at once. I'll have a glass most nights.

Currently open are Jura Superstition, Talisker 10, Ledaig, Glenrothes, Glenlivet 15 and Ardbeg 10 (possibly my favourite but everyone else I speak to says it's too peaty).

Just bought a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 today, on offer at £24 in Morrison's!

Almost forgot, if you're ever in Birmingham seek out a pub called The Wellington.

I happened upon it while at the Christmas market in December and I counted over 80 single malts.

Jamieson 12 year old is one of my favourites also Glenmorangie is rather good.

I 2nd that

Not a fan of Glenmorangie but I am not sure why.

I have a bottle of Oban (bought in the Oban Distillery when I was there) and black bottle. Both are nice and not to pricey.

Ali - nice list. What you think of the Superstition? I was a little dissapointed. Its too peated for whisky and loses what I like about Jura.

Thanks for the tip on the Wellington.

If we are doing lists here mine - only about 4 or 5 are unopen. Theres a mix of blends and single Malts - got a few Bourbans etc.

Aberlour a'bunadh
Ardbeg 10 Years Old
Auchentoshan American Oak
Auchentoshan Classic
Balblair 1997
Balvenie Carribean Cask 14 Years Old
Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Years Old
Balvenie PortWood 21 Years Old
Black Bottle
Compass Box Asyla
Cutty Sark Original
Dalmore 12 Years Old
Famous Grouse Black Grouse
Glenrothes - Select Reserve
Isle of Jura Diurachs' Own
Isle of Jura Origin
Isle of Jura Prophecy
Isle of Jura Supersition
Johnnie Walker Black Label
Lagavulin 16 Years Old
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Laphroaig Select
Monkey Shoulder
Oban 14 Years Old
Talisker 10 Years Old

Believe or not my namesake Jim murray whisky bible, give it a whirl.

If you prefer less smokey/peaty, some of the Irish whisky brands are good.

Bushmills - Black bush is nice.

Being from Wales, I think some of the Penderyn whisky is good. My fav is the Portwood version, though sherrywood is a close second.

I do like Oban too.

Bushmills is good. Was a staple when I was in Limerick working. Black bush being the better option.

I was underwelmed by Penderyn. Not sure which one it was though so maybe need to try another one.

Ditto the comment above re Raw Spirit. I can't remember whether it was from that book or not but I was sorely disppointed to discover that the peatiness of my favoured Islay malts was imported from the mainland these days.

I never saw the point of the recent Jura flavours as IMHO the plain old Jura (now Origins?) was always a cracking and dangerously deckable non-peaty easy drinking malt, so why change anything? MrsWishy is a big fan of that one.

Caol Ila is another I'll always grab if it's around.

There are some serious collections mentioned above, I'm lucky to have 3 bottles sat around at any one time. I did used to be in the habit of keeping a bottle of a cheap blend around to protect the good stuff but stopped that long ago. I came to the conclusion that it was pointless if what I had to drink to protect the good stuff tasted horrible so why bother? So I stopped bothering.

The usual Penderyn is the madeira aged one which I don't like. The others are better.

Interesting, I've tried Penderyn but it was just OK, I'll have a look at the other variants. In any case, better than what I've tried from the English Whisky Co.

Just don't mention the Japanese....

Wow! I'm jealous. I need a bigger sideboard!

I quite like Superstition but it falls in line with my taste. Ardbeg and Laphraoig are my cup of tea and the peatiness(?) is right up my street.

I've started to get into malts from other quadrants of the graph though, Glenlivet being my preferred.

I'm still waiting to win the Euromillions so I can buy that £30k Dalmore I saw at Heathrow once.

Jura duirach for me, although I did enjoy my bottle of j.Walker blue.

i think blends are much maligned. they can be as good as many a fine single malt. I think it stems from most cheap whisky being blended but the issues more to do with cheap (read crap) rather than blended.

I tend to agree with the Jura comment the 10 year old Origin and 16 year old Duraichs Own are to me preferable to the other but the do offer an interesting comparison. More for marketing like the poorly reviewed Club Haig (which has some funny reviews).

Ali - not sure I could part with 30k but I do have my eye on this
https://www.whiskyshop.com/isle-of-jura-2108
for my 40th next year.

I'm not a drinker myself, but my father lives round the corner from Talisker Bay, so it would be rude not to... it is certainly a fascinating taste.

If I was going to introduce someone to malts for the first time the Macallan 12yr old would be a good choice, fruity sweet with marmalade in there as well.

Glenfarclas another sweet & spicy Whisky to try.

I remember on holiday in the west coast trying a 25yr old Macallan in a pub some years back...sublime. Got chatting to the barman who knew his stuff about the water of life,he took the bottle down from the top shelf & said you might just like this.Slurp, blether about more Whisky. It was early afternoon & before I could say cheerio to my new friend the wife dragged me out & into the car, she was driving by the way.

Perhaps I get a bit misty eyed & look at life through rose coloured specs, but there is something special about sitting in a lovely wee country pub in Highlands getting the craic with the locals, barman jollying things along while I'm sipping a chosen malt.....much brawness.

When my parents moved up to Skye, thirty years ago, we went in this place: http://goo.gl/maps/v2u2W

The downstairs bar had maybe six dozen bottles on the top shelf, all unlabeled, all 'local'...

Have always been chasing for a real nice smooth whisky! But never found it yet
Was once offered a whisky from a hip flask at a wedding from a guy in the full kit! Whisky was so nice smooth and flavoursome (not sure how to describe it but) without the sort of sharp fumes gasses?
No idea if it was a special whisky can't remember to be honest but it was like drinking a nice mixed short!!

Would love to find something similar

When I drink whisky I need a bit of water but don't know why it took so long to re-discover whisky as its really nice!
Am going to try some of the recommendations

J&B rare is considered a really smooth blended whisky. Heard it called the woman's choice. I think it's part of the Knockando distillery, another cracking whisky from Speyside. Had a '77 vintage which was delicious, very expensive & very well drank & gone now.

Speyside & Highland tend to be what you are looking for, but there are exceptions. Half the fun is finding them...

Funny thing when drinking out of a hip flask does seem to enhance the flavour.

Thanks Jimboy will try the ones recommended by yourself!

Just seems wrong to be thinking about whisky whilst at work and on call for the whole weekend!
Roll on Monday

Keep us posted on how you get on. Realistically tasting whisky can be a bit daunting in a good way if you what I mean, it's a good experience if you have like minded people with you.

Most of all enjoy.

Where is the Dalwhinnie? ....lovely we dram that. 25 year especially so.

If you really want smooth the blue label was fantastic, 1 lump of ice in a glass and wow!! I couldn't fault it. My wife even liked it, she's not good at spirits or even wine over 9%.

It was like glass, rock star glass....

Dalwhinnie just down the road from me on the A9 Inverness-shire. Refreshing dram that's for sure. As for ice in your dram that's really a big no for real whisky drinkers although each to their own & all that. Whisky is best drank at room temperature to release the best tasting notes & aromas all make for a better event.

If you want to stick ice or even worse a mixer in to your chosen whisky thats up to the individual, but hey each to their own......

Ice is not ideal as it cools to much and flattens out the taste like over chilled beer or wine (which a trick marketing use to hide a poor product - Carling extra cold anyone?) but a drop of water as an alternative is a good thing to try especially for cask strength bottleings. A splash of water can open up favours.

At then end of day though its your drink so have it how you like is what I say, but you might miss out on the full experience on offer.

As for Dalwhinnie, the list is the current open or full bottles. Dalwhinnie is on another list...

Still up & awake Hiperlink. Puzzled at your comment about the Dalwhinnie being on another list. I'm very lucky up here as for choices, some out of the way wee pubs not yet closed down sport some interesting offerings indeed.

Still think atmosphere & of course company adds to the event...

Out of interest are you Scottish by birth or just educated in the finer things of life....

Yep.

Dalwhinnie is not on my current open or full list as I finished the bottle I had hence on its another list.

atmosphere & company adds to the event...sometimes. A good whisky with a good book or favourite music is also a nice way to spend time.

Have been a single malt drinker since I was 17 or so - favourites are
Talisker
Highland Park
Lagavulin
Springbank
Glenmorangie

All of those plus
Laphroaig
Glenfiddich
Bunnahabhain
and Bruichladdich

sitting in the house at the moment, all for drinking not collecting.

Just down the road to the distillery that's cool!

Yep a wee dram (NO ice EVER ruins the flavours) maybe a drop of room temp filtered water, a hi-fi playing jazz, Green and Black's plain chocolate = total heaven (substitute brandy as required)

If you like your whisky a little chilled then whisky stones are a good option.

I use them occasionally but normally it's either straight or with a splash of water.

Actually Submariner I'm spoilt for choice, I'm surrounded by distilleries. Just up from Dalwhinnie there's Tomatin. Six miles North from me Muir of ord. Further up Glenmorangie. Speyside is an hour away from me. Craigelachie is probably the place to visit if you are an ardent fan of the water of life. Look it up. Chock full of places for the discerning gent who likes a snifter or two.

I can't believe it took so long for Highland Park to get mentioned (Azzura being the one to get there) - a must try for serious whisky drinker. The 12 yr old is very good, the 18 yr old even better (but getting expensive). The 30 yr old is seriously special, but then so is the price.

I must have 30+ bottles of various types, with the mood dictating what I fancy. The one I can never fancy though is Laphroaig - it's fun in the way that kicking a wall repeatedly is fun (IMHO!). Something to do with the phenols, but it just doesn't work for me!

So many to choose from. Highland Park being a strong robust contender for the serious taster. Perhaps I was under the impression rightly or wrongly...malts for someone starting off on a tasting journey.

Well I started the post ask what peoples favourites were. No specific intention.

Highland Park 12 is also on "the other" list.

Just added a bottle of Compass Box Spice Tree to the collection but it wont get opened just yet whilst i work through a few other bottles.

Ah, there you go then. Not really one for lists myself, more of a taster. I find it really rewarding when I come across something special when I'm out & about in my travels (not so much these days)

It's always nice to have a wee stash waiting in the wings right enough...

Thanks for starting this topic. Only read it tonight, and
promptly resumed the Dalwhinnie 15 that I bought at Christmas while halfway through it!
Having it straight, it's almost too easy to drink. I've only had Glenmorangie (sweet and not complicated) and smokey Talisker before. Talisker is my fav so far.
Always on a budget in the Hiraeth household, can you tell me if the Lidl or Aldi blends are interesting enough to try?

In all honesty I haven't tried Aldi or Lidl brands. I have heard from others that they are indeed good. If you read up about them they seem worth a punt. The prices are very decent.

Not sure about the own brand stuff but the do offer some good whiskies at attractive prices.

Got my bottle of Glenmorangie from France the other day! so looking forward to it tomorrow night been putting it of as I know I will get carried away which is not good when I have work in the morning
I shall duly report back!
The plan is to buy a bottle every other month and to perhaps go a bit dearer each time!
Cheers

Nice plan. I started with the same but seemed to end up buying 23 bottles last year....not sure how that happened

Adder's proud dad post got me thinking about whisky again and I remembered this thread.

I'm still favouring the stuff from Islay but I have branched out a bit. Currently, the shelf looks like this;



Next on the list to get is a Balvenie Portwood and (one day) a bottle of Macallan 18.

I've known some wee pubs with less choice than in that picture

Laphroaig for me

Jameson's for me

Nice selection. the Dalmore would be my choice out of that - I finished my bottle

Balvennie Single Barrel was the nicest whisky I've ever bought for myself.

Gotta be in the mood for Laphroaig.

I do admire your self control though!

I love my whisky too I strive to get a collection like that going but it always sorts of evaporates and i end up with empty bottles!I think I've had all of those in ali_hires picture and it's nice to be able to select a peaty whisky or a more subtly flavoured one depending on the mood. My mainstays though are Laphroaig and Jura superstition. Highland park and Singleton make a nice contrast though.

There's a cracking Whisky shop in Clitheroe and another in Skipton that i like to visit. Anyone made the move to Gin? my wife joined a Gin club and it's been an eye opener - there are some cracking gins out there and the mixer you use and any additions such as fruit, cucumber etc don't half make a difference.

I think I still prefer my whiskies though. I'll have to dig out my bottles now and see what I've got

The trick to building a collection I used was to buy quite a few bottles all together, cheaper ones are fine, to keep you going and then just keep topping up when you see something or theres a good deal. I now stay at arrow get 20 bottles (including bourbans) without too much fus.

Yeah a like a gin too! Made a few fruit gins in the past including lemon, lime, damson, blackberry & raspberry, as well as the usual sloe gin. We are going to do rhubarb this year. We also have a trip to Adnams to make our own gin later this year. Had a interesting smoked gin a while back which was excellent.

thats quite the Whiskey Shelf AH... are they miniatures

Very Impressive.

I'm on my 3rd bottle of The Glenrothes, half way through a nice 12y Glenlivet, So I imagine that 18y one is a top drop