The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

Jokester · 8 Dec 2012 at 12:15

Anyone got hold of Lidl's Maxwell 33 year old?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...-experts-calling-single-malt-reason-live.html

IRLeetly · 8 Dec 2012 at 18:15

Found this on HUKD for those interested in £3 off an easy to drink Jura.
Here! Credit to HUKD.

Raymond Lin · 11 Dec 2012 at 13:57

Raymond Lin said:

Tried all 3 of these now and I think 15 years is the smoothest and best of the lot. 12 seemed very in your throat and 18 was more bitter.

delta0 · 11 Dec 2012 at 14:04

I have only tried 12 year and I agree it has quite a punch. I don't rate Glenfiddich too highly, but there are worse.

Sleeve · 11 Dec 2012 at 14:19

Loved the Doublewood.

Ended up drinking half the bottle on Friday night. Trying to use less and less water each time. Very enjoyable.

Any recommendations for another bottle similar to doublewood?

IRLeetly · 11 Dec 2012 at 14:23

Raymond Lin said:
Oh, what are these like?

I didn't get them because it was £20 but they are 10cl bottles.

The Quinta Ruban is one of my favourites, also one of the few other people I drink with can stand without being big girls.

delta0 · 11 Dec 2012 at 14:26

I think Aberlour is not too disimiliar. Oban (distillers) if you want a little smoke.

Raymond Lin · 11 Dec 2012 at 22:14

Sleeve88 said:
Loved the Doublewood.

Ended up drinking half the bottle on Friday night. Trying to use less and less water each time. Very enjoyable.

Any recommendations for another bottle similar to doublewood?

Half a bottle?!!? neat or with water?

I would be SICK, i mean like hospital, stomach pumped sick if I have that much alcohol in 1 sitting. lol

Sleeve · 12 Dec 2012 at 09:24

Raymond Lin said:
Half a bottle?!!? neat or with water?

I would be SICK, i mean like hospital, stomach pumped sick if I have that much alcohol in 1 sitting. lol

Haha, not entirely neat. With a few drops of water per drink.

I had about 10 beers along side also

Martynt74 · 12 Dec 2012 at 09:56

I'd give The Glenlivet 12yr a go if you enjoyed the Doublewood. Similar price and again nice and smooth. Available virtually everywhere to.

Oban is also a fantastic Whisky and up there as one of my favourites.

FTM · 12 Dec 2012 at 10:55

Marvt74 said:
I'd give The Glenlivet 12yr a go if you enjoyed the Doublewood. Similar price and again nice and smooth. Available virtually everywhere to.

Oban is also a fantastic Whisky and up there as one of my favourites.

not a fan of their 12 year old..asda had the 18 year old on offer this week and its an entirely different proposition..well worth the 36 quid they were asking for it

personally a safe bet if you like balvenie would be to try a macallan (though one of my personal faves at the moment and becoming more widely available in supermarkets is Ardmore, I would call it a highland rather than a speyside, though seems open to debate!, but is silky smooth, coats the glass and the mouth superbly, is smoky without being overpowering)

I prefer my whiskies smoother rather then the rather phenolic islay malts..so have tried a lot to find ones I actually like to drink!

other easy going drams would be royal lochnagar and clynelish (both have a distillers edition available as well which are bloody lovely)

theres plenty of single malts out there with loads of flavour to try before heading straight to the big boys..I have been drinking whisky for over 20 years and I still cannot stomach talisker! everybody has different palletes and theres whisky out there so suit everybody.

even my wife can manage some whisky neat if it has the right flavours and finish (I had a claret finished benriach that vanished over a period of weeks in unexplained circumstances!)

Raymond Lin · 12 Dec 2012 at 17:21

Sleeve88 said:
Haha, not entirely neat. With a few drops of water per drink.

I had about 10 beers along side also

I think, and no exaggeration, safe to say that half a bottle of whiskey and 10 beers would put me in either a coma or a coffin!

Sonea Fifer · 12 Dec 2012 at 17:43

Raymond Lin said:
I think, and no exaggeration, safe to say that half a bottle of whiskey and 10 beers would put me in either a coma or a coffin!

Lol - we'd class that as nothing more than the start of a good night

Seriously though it's good to see you posting in this thread Raymond and I'll look forward to reading your views on the whiskies you've tried. My personal favourite (which I may have mentioned before) is the Royal Lochnagar 12 year old which isn't overly expensive coming in at around £30.00 or so a bottle. Like others have said though everyone has a different palate - there's no way I could stomach the Laphroaig Ahleckz and others here enjoy as it's far too peaty for me.

I also have the Glenfiddich 15 year old (The Solera VAT) you posted but I haven't opened it yet. Can't see it surviving long into the new year though so expect and update from me on that soon.

krooton · 12 Dec 2012 at 17:52

Because of a deal, and it getting relatively ok reviews, I just bought my first bottle of whisky.

Jura Origin 10 year old, £18 with a voucher.

Hope I like it!

Sonea Fifer · 12 Dec 2012 at 17:56

krooton said:
Because of a deal, and it getting relatively ok reviews, I just bought my first bottle of whisky.

Jura Origin 10 year old, £18 with a voucher.

Hope I like it!

I've tried that and it's quite a nice whisky Krooton - I'll look forward to hearing your opinion on it though.

Enjoy

krooton · 12 Dec 2012 at 18:07

Cheers, the only time I have had a whisky that I loved was at the end of an Xmas do when my manager got a round in for us lot that managed to stay til the end.

It was marvelous, but he can't remember what he got us, just that it was pretty expensive, lol.

Razor-BladE · 12 Dec 2012 at 18:28

What's a good whisky for me to start with? Because of the hukd thread I'm looking at getting a bottle but not sure what to get, so asking you lovely folk to recommend me.

I only have Waitrose and Sainsburys near me, so the ones on offer are:

Balvenie Double Wood 12 yo £22
Isle of Jura 10yo £19
Laphroaig Quarter Cask 25.20

I've had a 12yo blended whisky before (can't remember what it was, maybe the Chivas Regal) and didn't think it was great.

I'm not big on the 'husky' flavours, I prefer drinking sweet ciders, rose/white wine over red, prefer sweeter spirits like Southern Comfort, Amarula, etc.

So out of those, which would be more my taste?

Ahleckz · 12 Dec 2012 at 18:29

Razor, get the Doublewood. Don't even consider anything else.

You won't like the Quartercask (yet), and the Jura probably won't be to your tastes.

We need a edit on the first page telling new comers to buy Doublewood, hah.

krooton · 12 Dec 2012 at 18:32

Sonea Fifer said:
I've tried that and it's quite a nice whisky Krooton - I'll look forward to hearing your opinion on it though.

Enjoy

Hmmmm... not bad at all, certainly not too harsh for me, and a pleasant little after-tingle.

Will post back after some more tries at home, can't really test properly here at work, haha!

Sonea Fifer · 12 Dec 2012 at 19:20

Razor-BladE said:
What's a good whisky for me to start with? Because of the hukd thread I'm looking at getting a bottle but not sure what to get, so asking you lovely folk to recommend me.?

Have to agree with Ahleckz, Razor - get the Doublewood buddy.

It's a perfect whisky to start with and is quite smooth - don't get me wrong the Jura isn't at all bad but for the sake of £3.00 (and having tried both) I'd opt for the Doublewood every time.

As for the Laphroaig - unless you're used to your whisky and have a taste / palate that prefers the REALLY peaty Island malts (which judging by your previous post you don't) I'd steer clear. I'm not saying this because I'm not a fan, I'm saying this because if you're a novice whisky drinker then this may put you off whisky for life. No offence meant to any peaty whisky connoisseurs here (Ahleckz I'm looking at you) that may disagree with my judgement.