The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

Jura is pretty smooth, but with quite a tingle on the lips and mouth. It's not an Islay whisky, despite being next door. More of a Highland type.

It's worth knowing that there are 5 whisky regions in Scotland, each with their own unique style.

Lowlands: Right down south. These ones are pretty smooth and clear. Usually pretty grassy, but nice. Don't expect much peat. Auchentoshan and Glenkinichie are the main ones to look out for.
Campbletown: Used to be a major player, but not many are around now. Fair bit of salt in these, and medium peat.
Speyside: The daddy of whisky, loads of distilleries up there. Expect easy drinking drams with a fair bit of sherry in there. Little to no peat and smoke. Nice and fruity.
Highlands: Huge area, and no real rules. Tend to be smokier and peatier than Speysides though.
Islay: The Grandfather of whisky. Big, robust, super peaty and smoky whiskies abound here. These are man whiskies! Not one to be started on.

You really should have heeded my advice and got the 70cl of Macallan. The Jura, for me, isn't a particularly great whisky. It's quite fruity, and pleasant enough but it's just a bit 'meh'. Plus, I think it's a bit unique to give an introduction into whiskies. If you got one of the 'proper' Speysides/Islays then you'd know what you were getting. Jura is a bit of a renegeade.

But, I must add. Whisky is totally personal. My friend really likes Jura, and we've had a fair few discussions about it as I'm not a fan. I'm a huge Islay (and Talisker) fan, whereas my other friend can not stand them and would happily drink Balvenie & Glenlivet for the rest of his days. You're doing the best thing, and going out and buying something and trying it. No one can tell you what a good whisky is (though, the Port Ellen fanboys may try!) and the best thing is to go and try some. But, we can recommend styles and flavours.

I await Stan & Nydryl to come in telling me I'm wrong...
 
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My tastes seem to be changing so I'll doubt anything I say here! I preferred an old pulteney 12 over both a glenfarclas 105 and a quarter cask at the weekend. Taste buds still burning from the whisky festival? :p

I'd echo what Ahleckz said and Stan eluded to earlier: listen to reviews and suggestions, use them as a rough guide through the styles and flavours, only care about what you enjoy yourself, and to hell with anyone who says your taste is wrong. Also pay little heed to the 100 point rating system; it's absurd to think a person can differentiate accurately between, say, an 87 and 88 rated whisky.

Personal tastes? As far as supermarket whisky goes I, and probably many others, would recommend a Balvenie Doublewood as a decent next step. Also, you might find few people are likely to recommend a highland park, macallan, glenfiddich, and so on with the massive brands. It's maybe not fashionable to do so, but try them as they are fairly essential whiskies, like them or not.
 
Ahleckz said:
I await Stan & Nydryl to come in telling me I'm wrong...
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You're wrong :p

Only kidding. For the most part, everything you've said is pretty much spot on. A few things I would add is that some of the lowland malts can have a slightly floral taste and the Auchentoshans are triple distilled (actually, while we're on the subject of Auchentoshan, if you can stretch to £38 for a bottle of the Auchentoshan Three Wood, get a bottle, it's lovely). Also, I tend to find the Highland malts are peaty but not terribly smoky and there tends to be a bit of caramel or chocolate sweetness to some of them. I'm not a huge fan of Highland malts but I will drink them if nothing else is available.

Personally, I like Jura. Not so much the bog standard Superstition but, the 16yo I've just poured a glass of is lovely and complex with straw and fruit and oak and a little peat and smoke.

nydryl said:
My tastes seem to be changing so I'll doubt anything I say here! I preferred an old pulteney 12 over both a glenfarclas 105 and a quarter cask at the weekend. Taste buds still burning from the whisky festival? :p

I'd echo what Ahleckz said and Stan eluded to earlier: listen to reviews and suggestions, use them as a rough guide through the styles and flavours, only care about what you enjoy yourself, and to hell with anyone who says your taste is wrong. Also pay little heed to the 100 point rating system; it's absurd to think a person can differentiate accurately between, say, an 87 and 88 rated whisky.

Personal tastes? As far as supermarket whisky goes I, and probably many others, would recommend a Balvenie Doublewood as a decent next step. Also, you might find few people are likely to recommend a highland park, macallan, glenfiddich, and so on with the massive brands. It's maybe not fashionable to do so, but try them as they are fairly essential whiskies, like them or not.
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Again, not much wrong with this post. Listen to advice but don't accept everything you read as gospel (unless it's from me, of course :p). As nydryl says, it's a very personal thing and everyone has their own preferences. I personally can't stand Highland Park and I'm not a big fan of Glenfiddich but you may well like them. As for the Balvenie, that's always a good choice - every expression I've tried so far has been good. If you can find it in the supermarket, try the Signature - it's better than the Doublewood (which is a perfectly nice whisky). If you can stretch to a few quid more, get the 15yo single barrel - one of my favourites in the £50 price range.

Whisky drinking can be a bit of a lottery. I've spunked £83 on a bottle of whisky before that I could hardly drink but I'm a huge fan of Laphroaig Quarter Caske at £25-£30 a bottle. I've also spent £250 on a bottle of 37yo Glengoyne which was (thankfully) delicious and worth every penny.
 
Thanks all. In a strange way I'm actually excited about starting out in the world of whiskey! There are so many different types and brands, I'm looking forward to discovering some gems!

Ahleckz - I was really hoping to get a bottle of Macallan, but as you can imagine the options at a Tesco Express are very slim. Just went for the most recognisable one I could see.

I seem to hear the Balvennie Doublewood mentioned quite a lot, will put that and/or the Signature on my list also. I can see this being quite expensive! Lol.

my only gripe is having to spend £20+ on a bottle simply to try it. If you don't like it then you're lumbered with an awful tasting whiskey! Maybe there are miniature sets i could try to get a broader understanding, if so, please do recommend :)
 
Master of Malt do samples but they don't seem particularly good value. You'll get a fairly decent range of miniatures at most whisky shops, again they aren't likely to be great value. I suppose it lets you try a whisky that you might think is awful (or unattainable) without paying full bottle price, but you'll pay over the odds for the amount of whisky you get. I found the best way to broaden my taste was to try a new whisky, where possible, every time I was in a pub. Or a whisky festival!
 
There must be a whisky shop in Cambridge that'll have a decent selection of miniatures. You don't really see them in supermarkets beyond the gift sets which aren't often very interesting.

I haven't drank in England for a while, but you'll find Balvenie & Macallan in pretty much any and every pub up here, I'd have thought it would be the same down south?
 
Ahleckz said:
There must be a whisky shop in Cambridge that'll have a decent selection of miniatures. You don't really see them in supermarkets beyond the gift sets which aren't often very interesting.

I haven't drank in England for a while, but you'll find Balvenie & Macallan in pretty much any and every pub up here, I'd have thought it would be the same down south?
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I cant say I've noticed to be honest, but then again, I've never really looked.

Will investigate :)
 
Most pubs should be able to give you some tasters for most of the normal whiskies.

Not sure how much you want to spend but Masters of Malt are doing a Whisky Advent calendar for £150 which gives 24 miniatures but thats obviously not terribly cheap!
 
If I were to buy 1 Whiskey.....what would it be..

It's for me personally. I have never been a big fan of whiskey as such, I know I never really have tried some proper stuff - JD, Jameson's, neither of which are that nice.

So if you were to give me a bottle of whiskey to win me over to the drink, what would it be?
 
Raymond Lin said:
If I were to buy 1 Whiskey.....what would it be..

It's for me personally. I have never been a big fan of whiskey as such, I know I never really have tried some proper stuff - JD, Jameson's, neither of which are that nice.

So if you were to give me a bottle of whiskey to win me over to the drink, what would it be?
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Read the last few posts mate as I've pretty much asked the same question.
 
Raymond Lin said:
If I were to buy 1 Whiskey.....what would it be..

It's for me personally. I have never been a big fan of whiskey as such, I know I never really have tried some proper stuff - JD, Jameson's, neither of which are that nice.

So if you were to give me a bottle of whiskey to win me over to the drink, what would it be?
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its incredibly difficult to say, there are so many different flavours to pick from:

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See I really struggle to understand that.

What does light and delicate mean (In whiskey terms)? What does rich and smoky mean (Again, in whiskey terms)?

Would I actually be able to differentiate as a beginner drinker?
 
Raymond Lin said:
If I were to buy 1 Whiskey.....what would it be..

It's for me personally. I have never been a big fan of whiskey as such, I know I never really have tried some proper stuff - JD, Jameson's, neither of which are that nice.

So if you were to give me a bottle of whiskey to win me over to the drink, what would it be?
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Balvenie Doublewood or Macallan 10. Stan will try and sell you the Balvenie Signature, but it's usually around a tenner more expensive and not worth dropping £35 on a bottle if you're not going to drink it after the first few drams.
 
Ahleckz said:
Balvenie Doublewood or Macallan 10. Stan will try and sell you the Balvenie Signature, but it's usually around a tenner more expensive and not worth dropping £35 on a bottle if you're not going to drink it after the first few drams.
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:p

15yo Dalwhinnie isn't a bad place to start either. Ahleckz will no doubt think that's too dear at around £36 but it does get discounted occasionally.
 
I won a bottle of this at my works Xmas party on the weekend:

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=4190&afwinid=90909

Old Pulteney Malt Whisky Liqueur....

It's certainly different, like, instead of an ice cube, its like they used a sugar cube, very sweet whisky with all the hallmark smells. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a bottle, its sortof like an alcopops whisky!
 
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