I drink single malt quite a bit (obviously...); Lagavulin 16 is an Islay Malt I enjoy neat, but for Laphroaig (10 or one of the cask strength varieties), I add chilled spring water at about a 1 to 5 (water to whisky) ratio & it opens up the taste remarkably well while cutting the harshness down noticeably. Ardbeg is another where I might add a splash, but not a 1 to 5 dilution. I've found many of the Islays benefit from added water, although you want to generally leave Highland and Speyside malts alone. The water often opens up the aromas, and it also takes a little sting out of the alcohol. Rule of thumb is to leave whiskies alone if they are at or near 80 proof (40% alcohol) since they are already cut with water at the distillery. Anything above 46% or so, and you can consider it. Cask Strength bottles are usually around 52-53%, which allows you to drink it neat (otherwise known as a man's drink hahaha) or dilute it to 43-44% for greater enjoyment. Experiment a little with bottles you have & you may be surprised at how well some of them take to the water. The rules of thumb also apply to bourbon (where they want "branch water" to be the add). For the purists, you never add ice to single malt- it is not so much that it dilutes the drink (and won't be spring or branch water in most cases, so the taste also changes), but cooling the liquid like that kills a good deal of the taste. If you do add ice (to a blended whisky), let it sit for a few minutes to allow the liquid to warm back up a little.
If you like peated malts, try to get hold of one of the Octomore editions Have you tried the Lagavulin Double matured? It has two extra years on sherry casks. I really like the Talisker 18 years Years back I found a special edition of Laphroaig from murray McDavies. A single cask they called Leapfrog...
I finished off a bottle of the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition double-casked a few months back. I enjoyed it, although it was a little sweet on the tongue (kind of a brown sugar taste combined with smoke). I'd buy another bottle, though, due to the care and character of the edition. I have a bottle of Bruichladdich 18 (2nd release) that was rated top ten last year. It is interestingly fruity on the nose, with wine-like notes (it was primarily casked in bourbon, and it has vanilla and malt on the finish). I truly enjoy it, and agree with those who rated it so highly. I have yet to convince someone with an Octomore bottle to share it, though. I enjoy peat-forward Islay brands, so it would be fun to try. At $150 or so a bottle, my fear is it would be like 151 rum - a test of will more than a dram of whisky Talisker 18 matures the astringency I find in the 10, and it is a very good bottle for the serious drinker. For anyone who likes them, the 18 is a must & you'd want to get it before prices start to rise. The Leapfrog is hard to find, and I'd imagine it is pretty pricey by now. I'm building a larger Scotch cabinet right now (much to the delight of my wife...) so my habit will no doubt continue to grow. Other than the 18 (described above) the quarter cask is quite good (48% percent). I received a bottle of Feis Ile 2013 Cairdeas for Christmas, but have yet to open it. If you like the double casked Lagavulin, Laphroaig also has a triple-cask that is not too expensive, and which also has a little of the edge taken off by the casking changes as it matures.
If you ever are in London, visit The Vintage House on Old Comton Road in Soho. Bruichladdich has many interesting bottlings. I tried one matured in Pomerol wine casks. I was a little bit disappointed. A collegue, who is a big malt enthusiast, liked the Sauternes edition. I saw a Calvados wood matured Sprinbank. Is this pushing it too fast?
Calvados was used in the 19th century by some small distilleries that couldn't pry their way into the Jerez sherry barrel market, mostly. They would get Calvados from the Normandy coast, and Armagnac from Gascony along the southwest French coast (the story is no one else was buying these barrels, so the smaller houses could get them). The explosion of the bourbon trade in the USA, especially laws that made bourbon distillers use barrels only once, created a norm in purchasing, and now taste, for most whisky. That said, Calvados is a re-emergence of the "old style" & I'm glad that Springbank is experimenting with it. I haven't had any Calvados-aged whisky. I do enjoy Hibiki, which is aged in plum barrels, and I have another bottle aged in barrels that held Madeira, and would enjoy trying it. I'd imagine it would have notes of apple and vanilla on the nose (vanilla is from the oak, as is spiciness & "pepper" in most instances), and an apple cider in the taste. Thanks for the reference to The Vintage House, too. I've had more fun in public houses in England and Edinburgh bars than almost anywhere else in the world. It's nice to drink with people who know how, and know how to have the right amount of fun doing so.
Has anyone tried "Scotch Stones" (Amazon.com: Scotch Rocks - Set of 9 Chilling Whisky Rocks in Scotch Rocks Gift Box with Muslin Carrying Pouch: Kitchen & Dining)? These are intended to slightly cool the scotch without watering it down. I don't like scotch with ice because it totally changes the flavor, but I'm curious if this mild cooling without adding water might have a positive effect. Has anyone tried these?
They work reasonably well, but have upkeep people may not think about if they get them. They should be washed, dried and then put back in their bag before tossing them back into the freezer. If they're not cleaned, you can get weird tastes as the last drink you had with them becomes part of the next drink, too. There is also the reality of them clinking the inside of the glass, which could lead to chipping. Of course, if you're not careful, they can also slide to the rim and clink on your teeth (which is probably also not what you want). My thought is that a lot of these stones are bought by friends of serious drinkers who are not serious drinkers themselves. It would be a thoughtful gift, but a potential bother to the drunkards who imbibe more often. If you have them, try them out & see if they suit you; if so, great. If not, they can be kept out as a conversation piece. Your friends who are not serious drinkers would probably prefer real ice, since the dilution of taste wouldn't be that much of an issue. Scotch is like red wine, and generally drunk at "cellar temperature". That means 60-65 degrees f (a pantry in an air-conditioned home or one in temperate regions works OK). If your storage is too warm, and you can't relocate them somewhere cooler, chilling the drink to a suitable temp is fine. Most aficionados would cool the drink with cool water to bring the temp down - if you want ice, freeze some bottled water for it to keep the taste from changing.
My dad came to visit a few days ago, so we toured my small scotch collection of 7-8 varieties. This was his favorite: Image Unavailable, Please Login
On valentines day, the presented me with this excellent single malt.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have just opened a Glenmorangie "signet". Wow this is a wonderful single malt from Glenmorangie. Yes it is very rare & extremely pricey, but I have been blessed to add this to my Single Malt library. If you have the chance/opportunity to purchase/sample this ambrosia I highly recommend it!
Glenlivet 25, or Aberlour A'bunadh. Most of the Speyside distilleries are within an hour of me, let me know if you're over and fancy a tour :thumbup: Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Wow, would love to have a tour, . Is later September a good time to visit Scotland in terns of weather?
It was last year, we had a really good Indian summer. Should be Ok Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
The whisky addicts seem to have sustained their (and my) congregation of comments and photos of Scotch and similar malts in the "Scotch Suggestion" about 3-4 threads down from this. It may be the most congenial thread on the entire site (I'm sure because many of us drink while we are keyboarding) with some pretty interesting suggestions, personal favorites, new finds, etc. There are similar threads for bourbon, which also include rye drinkers (of which some of the best is Canadian) and Tennessee whiskey. Nothing hardcore; no "my dram is better than your dram" or fights over favority brands. It's kind of like a neighborhood pub, only without spilled drinks, stale food or a TV stuck on some show no one likes...you also don't have to have three drunkards verify your ownership of bottles to be an honorary member of the single malt, blended malt and all things malt thread. Just show up, love your drinks and share your imbibing escapades hahahaha
