Whiskey advice

Man of Honour
Joined
14 Aug 2005
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Location
York
Looking at getting a nice Whiskey for after dinners and the long summer evenings in the garden until now have just had stuff from the supermarkets, but wish to try some finer flavours something a bit more special. What can people recommend? been to some tasting sessions in local specialist stores around York but thought some of you maybe able to give some good advice. from my tasters i quite like Glenrothers vintage collections would anyone recommend these?.
 
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From my collections I would recommend in no particular order:

Old Poultney (12 yr)
Glenmorangie (18yr)
Glenfarclas (21yr)
Oban (14yr)
Clynelnish (14 yr)
Aberdour (12 yr)
Glenfiddich (18yr)

Depends on your taste and what you like - but generally you get what you pay for. The malts above range in price between £20 and £50. You can spend a lot more quite easily but thats the range for my drinking preferences.
 
Buy and try really; just the same for wine ...... you will get to know what you like and what you don't.

We all have different palates/tastes so reccommending one or another is very dodgy; as a starting point I'd say try Glenmorangie (the Scots pronounce it to rhyme with "orangey").

The world's your lobster so if you have the dosh, see what's on offer and go for it.

BTW, WhiskEy is the Irish stuff, Whisky is the scottish brew.
 
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If BigStan is around then he should be able to offer some good advice, I personally know relatively little about whisky (whisky is generally taken to be Scottish, Canadian or Japanese. Whiskey for most of the rest of them).

Do you prefer a smoother tasting whisky or do you prefer peatier versions? I don't know what a Glenrothes whisky tastes like offhand so that is why I'm asking.
 
Im not a huge Whiskey drinker, i like Glenmorangie which is probably a bit plain for a real connoisseur. Im told Islay malts are good Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Laphroaig etc

I know a few real Whiskey bof's that swear by Highland Park.
 
highland park is very good, glenmorangie is pretty good too, considering it's a big brand now it's surprisingly good perhaps and it's pretty good value. personally I'd recommend talisker or laphroaig, but it's all down to personal preference in the end
 
Somewhat sacrilegious perhaps but if you want smooth whisky then you may want to look towards something like Canadian Club, pretty smooth and mixes very nicely with ginger ale. I'm not sure about the availability over here but I don't think it should be all that hard to track down.
 
Laphroaig is superb, but if you want something slightly gentler, than try a speyside malt, or the cask conditioned Glenmorangie, the sherry cask one is nice and mellow. Find a good whisky shop, you will be able to taste before you buy...
 
I'll put forward my opinions on Single Malts (I have no opinions on other types of whisky)

If you like them peaty and smoky try Lagavulin or Talisker.

If you like them rich and smooth try Dalwhinnie (Gorgeous tbh) or Oban

If you like them light and airy try Glenkinchie or Edradour.

Out of all of them Dalwhinnie is my favourite tipple. Although I like a good Talisker now and again.
 
What have you had that you like? With a few examples I can probably point in the right direction.

I can recommend Michael Jackson's (not that one) books on the subject as a handy guide. I have Malt Whisky Companion (5th Edition) and it's been very helpful and extremely comprehensive for single and blended malts but it doesn't cover much on blends, rhye, bourbon etc.

My absolute favourite (so far) is Lagavulin 16 year old, a really powerful peaty whisky but it would probaly overwhelm a lot of people.

One of the wonderful things about whisky (or whiskey for that matter) is the sheer variety of flavours that can be had from the stuff. Apart from a few examples that I really love, my usual priority is buying something that I've not tried yet.
 
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