Whiskey or Whisky? Let's talk about them.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Whiskey or Whisky? Let's talk about them.

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Hello whisky thread, only just stumbled upon you. I picked up the whisky bug about a year and half ago, and currently I'm trying to taste as many different whiskys as possible.

I have a new favourite bottle I think. Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or 12. It really builds on the great flavours of the normal Glenmorangie. It adds a level of complexity and depth with sweet and apple flavours. It also has a nice mouth-filling syrupy texture(which I assume is due to the higher proof than the whisky I normally drink)

I really recommend it if you like sweeter tasting whisky and having looked at expert reviews online since purchasing it, I can only assume I have great taste.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2013 09:33

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 06:48

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Luminaz posted:

Have you tried some Islay's whisky already ? Because I love the smoke taste, but I doesn't tried a lot of them, only Bowmore mainly. So maybe there is some other ones which can be nice to taste.

Yes, I've tried Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin. I quite like them, but I find I have to be in the right mood and I find the peaty/smoky taste very overpowering. The missus hates me drinking them because they smell so strong.

I'll put Bowmore on the list of whiskys I'd like to try.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2013 11:12

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

spankmeister posted:

Quinta Ruban is an excellent whisky, you won't be disappointed.

After determining that the Nectar D'Or is my new favourite whisky, I decided to try the Quinta Ruban.

I can't make my mind up on it, it has very strong flavours, much more overpowering than the delicate sweetness of the Nectar D'or. I do like the colour, it's a very distinctive dark orange.

I think this Whisky will take more tasting to form a proper opinion of, and perhaps could do with a drop of water to bring out the more complex flavours.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2013 09:36

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Something super peaty should be able to stand up against a cigar killin your taste buds. Obviously it's less than ideal conditions for tasting whisky.

Something like Lagavulin or Laphroaig should still give a nice taste alongside a cigar.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2013 11:01

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

KhyrosFinalCut posted:

My Roommate is going to Glasgow for the weekend, starting tomorrow. Quick, what's an awesome Scotch that I'd have trouble getting here, in the ~120USD range?

Old Pulteney 21 ?

# ¿ Oct 24, 2013 09:19

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

For my 30th I got a selection of different Whiskys.

Glenmorangie Ealanta - A special edition 19yo Glenmorangie aged in first-use oak barrels. It is deliciously sweet and the finish seems to go on forever. Jim Murray voted it World Whisky of the year 2014, so it has a significant mark-up if you can get hold of it. I'd say it's not worth the �150 you can get it for now, but at the �75 price point it came out at it would've been excellent value.

Ballantines 17 - A scotch blend, but don't let that put you off. This stuff is great drinking, really rich and malty, could easily drink it all in one go!

Glenfiddich 15 Distillery Edition - A nice dram, nothing special. Generally I don't find Glenfiddich to have anything special about it, seems to taste pretty middle-of-the-road to me.

Talisker Storm - This is a slightly odd one. Has a salty taste which I found quite compelling. Need to taste more of it before I make a decision

I think I did well and it's a pretty good haul with a nice variation across the range or prices, blends and tastes.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2013 11:00

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Devoz posted:

Has anyone had a chance to try Glenmorangie Ealanta? I have a bottle reserved for me, and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/opinions on it?

Here's what I wrote about it previously:

quote:

Glenmorangie Ealanta - A special edition 19yo Glenmorangie aged in first-use oak barrels. It is deliciously sweet and the finish seems to go on forever. Jim Murray voted it World Whisky of the year 2014, so it has a significant mark-up if you can get hold of it. I'd say it's not worth the �150 you can get it for now, but at the �75 price point it came out at it would've been excellent value.

After further tastings, I think it tastes much more like a Bourbon than a Whiskey.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2014 11:32

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Shugojin posted:

I opened the bottle of Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or I was gifted. It's not bad but I think the aging it in the sauternes casks has actually hurt it, it's got some tannin sort of flavor that doesn't quite work with Glenmorangie I think.

Then again the last Glenmorangie I had was the 18 year which was light and delicious in every way soooo

I couldn't disagree more, I LOVE the Nectar D'Or, it's my favourite Whisky at the moment. The taste has some great complexity to it and I really like the overall sweetness of it. Compared to the normal Glenmorangie 12 which I find quite plain now.

I should try and get hold of some 18 and see if I like that.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2014 09:21

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

My friends 30th birthday and he likes Peaty Whisky. I've bought him a bottle of Bruichladdich Peat, hope he likes it. It seems to get quite mixed reviews.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2014 08:52

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Wolfgang Muthspiel posted:

Anyone have suggestions for an Android app for keeping record of Whiskey/notes? Iphone has a few good ones but every one i've tried on android has been lackluster.

Distiller has an Android version.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.distiller.distiller&hl=en_GB

# ¿ Sep 5, 2014 09:31

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

biglads posted:

It's a shame the new one isn't in the same class. I've still got a few bottles of the Black Bottle 10 y/o which is all kinds of awesome. I guess my go to Blend now would be Baillie Nicol Jarvie but that's not especially cheap.

Ballantines is a good go-to blend also. But again it's not that cheap.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2014 13:48

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Scyron posted:

Glenmorainge (Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or) Sauternse cask? Spicy/peppery like Syrah? I am really interested in that being a very unique cask for scotch.

The price is steep and wont be an immediate purchase but something I have been eyeing with a 15% discount. (Though I should argue for the 20% given, we honor coupon price reductions)

Nectar D'Or is my favourite all time Whisky.

It has a sweet almost appley taste so if you like smoky or peaty then this isn't the Whisky for you. It's definitely not peppery or spicy, it's much more on the sweet side of things.

Picked up a Talisker Dark Storm at the airport last week and it's great. It is really spicy and smoky, eventually turning to a caramel type taste on the finish. Does need a drop of water to bring the alcohol burn down a bit though. It's a travel exclusive I believe.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2015 10:43

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

The Wife and I are planning on heading up to Edinburgh for the fringe this year and then touring around the Highlands to take in a few distilleries and Whisky tastings around Scotland.

Any recommendations for places/distilleries to visit?

# ¿ Apr 7, 2015 14:46

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Ralith posted:

Most distillery tours are the same, so I wouldn't bother with too many. The Deanston tour is (or was when I was there, at least) unusual in that it actually takes you inside the vault where they age the whisky, though, which is pretty neat. The air is just saturated with whiskyness.

Yeah we were thinking of maybe a couple of distillery tours and then finding decent restaurant/hotels with extensive whisky selections and tasting sessions.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2015 09:06

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Sludge_McBain posted:

I've just returned from a week in the Scottish highlands.

I only managed to fit in 1 distillery tour which was the Dalwhinnie, because it wasn't too far from where we were staying. I've drank it before, about 16 years ago but it isn't a favourite of mine.

I did manage to fit in a bottle of Tomatin and a bottle of Big Peat.

The Big Peat is a blend of Islay malts, supposedly to give a concentrated smoky, peaty flavour. It smells better than it tastes. It doesn't quite measure up to the peatiness of a Lagavulin or even a Talisker but was nice for a blended.

How was the distillery tour?

# ¿ Jul 27, 2015 13:33

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Head up to Scotland next week for a bit of a tour, and then off the Fringe in Edinburgh. I've booked the following distillery tours: Dalwhinnie, Glenmorangie, Macallan. Quite excited about the Glenmorangie as it's my favourite and you get a taste of the Signet.

I'm also staying at "The Highlander Inn" in Craigellachie (how do you pronounce this?), which is pretty well known for it's Whisky menu and tastings. Here's their tasting menus: http://www.whiskyinn.com/_pdf/tastingmenus.pdf
They also offer a Whisky breakfast, which sounds like a pretty good idea to me. http://www.whiskyinn.com/whiskybreakfast.html

Best of all, wife has agreed to be Designated driver for the Distillery visits.

Slash fucked around with this message at 09:44 on Aug 6, 2015

# ¿ Aug 6, 2015 09:40

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Cromlech posted:

Are there any other more complex, more intriguing offerings that has a similar mixed flavor profile?

Talisker Dark Storm is kinda similar, much more smoky though.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2015 11:56

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

I went to Scotland recently and we did 3 distillery tours, which were all great for different reasons:

Dalwhinnie - Tiny little distillery compared to others we visited. Was good to see how it works on a small scale. Their scotch is a delicious sweet highland malt. They do a whisky and chocolate tasting, which i thought was a bit of a gimmick, the chocolate just masks the taste of the whisky. They also sell some whiskys which are quite difficult to get hold of normally, such as the Triple Matured. Scenery here is spectacular, also it's quite cold and can be difficult to get to in winter.

Glenmorangie - We did the Signet tour, this place was a major contrast to the previous one, with their 12(?) huge stills compared to Dalwhinnie's 2. The tour is in-depth and you get to taste the spirit at various stages of the process. This tour culminates with a trip to a private tasting room, where you get to taste the standard Glenmorangie and the Signet, they then offered us to taste any of their other scotchs we liked, so i went for the 25yo and their new extra matured expression. This was by far the most generous tour with samples, but is a little more expensive. (we were the only ones of the signet tour)

Macallan - This is on another scale again compare to the two previous ones. This place is HUGE! The tour here is the most in-depth by miles, it lasts over 2 hours and goes over everything from making barrels and sourcing water right through to the warehouses which store the spirit. This will be even more impressive in a few years time when their new buildings are finished, which will make them the largest distillery in Scotland.

All in all i think Glenmorangie was my favourite tour and not just because it's my favourite Scotch. The extra samples and the personalised tasting really made it. But for actual content and overall knowledge, the Macallan tour was amazing.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2015 11:17

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

moflika posted:

I'd definitely be using a wide mouth container, so that shouldn't be a problem. I prefer glass myself, but broken glass and lost nectar is no good.

Glad to hear that the flavor isn't ruined

edit: I won't be jumping into the $100 range anytime soon.

Apparently pewter hip flasks are better for not making the whisky taste funky. I have two stainless steel ones which work Ok, if you drink the booze within a day or two, any longer than that and they start to get a bit metallicy.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2016 10:53

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

spankmeister posted:

When I started out collecting I did but now I just throw them away.

I do keep them in the box/tube until I open the bottle though.

Yep ditto. Keep it in the box/tube until it's opened, and then bin the box.

They take up too much room in the Liquor cabinet which could otherwise be taken up by actual booze.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 15:55

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

DerekSmartymans posted:

I'm not an expert by any means but I have tried a bunch of whisk(e)y in my forty years and I can't ever remember getting a briny blend. If somebody knows of one I'd be just as interested in hearing about it!

Talisker Storm came across as slightly salty to me.

e: just noticed you said 'blend'

# ¿ Jul 18, 2016 14:50

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

mojo1701a posted:

I finally get to have a real honest-to-God vacation again after four years, and this time I'm travelling to the UK. I'm looking to actually go north up to Scotland and take a distillery tour, and I've heard that some tours are better than others. Is there a legit list of the best tours to take? I'm looking to go sometime in October, if that helps.

Three tours i've done:
Dalwhinnie - Tiny distillery in a very remote, desolate location, good tour, but they do a weird chocolate/whisky tasting pairing, which didn't work for me.
Macallan - Very in-depth but quite corporate, very knowledgable guide and a HUGE distillery.
Glenmorangie - Paid for the upgraded(signet?) tour, and we were the only 2 on it. Tour was very good, with lots of tastings and a good guide. They took us to a private tasting room at the end where they give you a Signet, a 25yo and a standard bottling to taste. They also let us request any other Glenmorangies we'd like to taste.

These three tours were great for us as they were all very different, ranging from small to medium to Huge.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2016 09:56

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Jamsta posted:

So I'm starting to really like sherry monsters after trying GlenDronach and Glenfarclas.

Anyone got any good recommends for other sherry casked whiskies which are reasonably priced? (<~ �/$/E 50)

I know this was form a page or so back.

Aberlour Abunadh. I got a bottle a few weeks ago, it's got a huge taste and is very strong(~60%). It really benefits from a drop of water.
Here's what spergs have to say about it: https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/aberlour/aberlour-abunadh-batch-45-whisky/

# ¿ Oct 7, 2016 11:28

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 06:48

Slash: Apr 7, 2011

Tiger Millionaire posted:

Grabbed this as I was able to get a bottle for cheap.

I'm really enjoying it! Has lots of depth and nice fruity flavours (to my untrained tongue at least!)

Thank you for the recommendation. When it comes to scotch I've much preferred the aged stuff to the NAS with what I have tried so I was a little nervous about trying American style whiskeys as they tend to be a lot younger I think? So I was a little nervous, but this is delicious.

Bulleit Rye is also good, and worth trying for something a bit different.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2016 11:38

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