It's Friday! Let's Drink Some Whisk(e)y!! (Responsibly, Of Course) (page 4)

poopsiecakes

And Lysmith - your cool factor went up to like stratosphere range for me

Low-Key Lysmith

Hi poopsiecakes,

I'm right there with you. I think the pinnacle of whisky is in the form of a Single Malt Scotch.

Macallan is a great distillery. They are unique in that they use European Oak only to mature their products. Most, if not all other Scottish distilleries use primarily ex-bourbon casks from the USA, then some will finish their whisky in a European cask, such as Spanish Oloroso Sherry or Portuguese Madeira. Ex-rum cask finishing is also gaining in popularity in Scotland'

Macallan is a quintessential Speyside Malt. Whiskies from the Speyside region tend to be very light & gentle with fruity complexities. I like a good Speyside (my favorite is Cragganmore) when I just want to sip a good dram without having to put too much effort into it. When I'm in a real, robust whisky drinking mood, I tend to gravitate more toward the Islay side of things with their rich, deep peat smoke and balls-out characteristics. Some of my favorite Islay malts are, in no particular order: Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, & Bruichladdich.

poopsiecakes

mmmm Bruichladdich

FadeToGrey

Thanks Low-key. For this great idea we need this. Well I think so anyway.

It's so hard well were i live to find a brother or Ex Bro who likes scotch and or whiskys for that matter.

Iam in Aust. And hav been collecting Whiskys for the past few years. i have a fondness fot the bourbons at the moment. Ive had some good ones pass through my bar over the last year or so. Wild turkey russel reserve, woodford reserve, makers mark 46, Buffalo trace, Jack D single barrel, WT rare breed Evan williams and a few others aswell.

My Scotch collection is pretty nice too!!! Your right about J walker Gold, it's my fav.. the blue is good but the gold has something special about it. Ardbeg is real nice too ive got a bottle of the std one atm. Glenmorangie Nectar dO'r is Brilliant aswell lov that stuff. Got prolly 20 diff single malts in the bar, but am stuck on bourbons hehe. ohwell will get stuck into them one day. Oh if anyone wants a real nice drop. Try this Aberlour A'bunadh. It will put hairs on ya chest, as my dad used to say.

Oh Highland park 12 and 18 YO. To die for..

Low-Key Lysmith

Hi FTG,

I can certainly appreciate an enthusiasm for bourbon. You listed Russell's Reserve. Love that stuff. If you ever run across a bottle of Bulleit (pronounced like "bullet"), give it a go. It's a bit spicier than some of it's peers. Very clean and crisp.

Johnnie Walker Gold Label was created to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of John Walker & Sons being in business. For a long time, it was only available to employees of JW&S. It was recently made public. This blend focuses on the sweeter component whiskies. It has nice notes of dried fruits, like raisins & dates, deep honey, toffee, butterscotch, & creme brulee. Absolutely decadent. The youngest component whisky in this blend is 18 years old.

Aberlour A'bunadh will indeed put hair on your chest..or make your sticker peck out. either way, this is a result of the whisky being bottled at cask strength, which generally runs somewhere between 110 and 125 proof. Also non-chill filtered, meaning that the fatty acids and esthers are left intact, maintaining the original body of the spirit. Cask strength whiskies are generally designed for the drinker to add water to their own liking.

I can't say enough good things about the Highland Park Distillery. Incredible whisky. The distillery, which resides in the Orkneys, is one of the very few distilleries that does its own on-site malting (germination & toasting) of the barley. Most other distilleries have their barley malted to order by professional malters, like Port Ellen, for example.

TD

What a cool thread. I know next to nothing, but have enjoyed learning a little bit.

Low-Key Lysmith

So, I know it's not Friday. I have to comment, however, due to the fact that I'm actually in Scotland at the moment. I'm staying at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. I moseyed down to the hotel bar a bit ago and discovered that they had a series of Scotch Whiskies called the Managers Choice. these Scottish single malts are limited edition bottlings hand chosen by each distillery manager. All of them are bottled at cask-strength.

Being a huge fan of Oban, I chose the Oban Managers Choice. This is cask-strength at 58.7% ABV, however, remarkably gentle and drinkable without being diluted. The signature Oban fruitiness is there, of course. This whisky was distilled in 2000 and bottled in 2009, so much younger than the typical Oban offering at 14 years minimum, but every bit a fine representative of the Oban tradition. A bit spendy at 60 Pounds Sterling per shot. Wow! I'm glad the company is picking up the tab for this one. Paired with a nice Macanudo Maduro cigar and a pint of Guinness, this is a treat that will go down in personal history.

Today, I visited and toured the Glenkinchie Distillery just outside of Edinburgh. Tomorrow, we tour Oban. The next few days will be peppered with more whisk(e)y distillery tours, such as: Cardhu, Royal Lochnagar, Dalwhinnie, and Bushmills in Northern Ireland. I love my job.

Slainte!

-Breck

unshackled

That's awesome Low-Key. Very jealous. Big fan of Oban here as well, my fav Scotch. Just wish I could afford it more often.

In my early 20s I toured the Bushmills distillery in N. Ireland. Also remember a great little town called Port Rush. I was a scotch rookie back then and now wish I had also toured Oban while in Scotland.

Was gonna say 'have a great time'....but....no shit Sherlock.

talesin

Oh, man,,, ME TOO!!!! I'm so jealous.

Oban is my fav... though can't afford it, so usually buy Glenfiddich.

Enjoy! :D

t

Low-Key Lysmith

I seem to have been glorifying Scotch single malts as of late. Time to throw a little love toward a down-home American distillery.

George Dickel Barrel Select:

There are only two active whiskey distilleries in the state of Tennessee: George Dickel and the other one, maybe you've heard of it? Jack Daniel's.

While Jack is an extremely popular whiskey, it is made in huge batches, essentially by machines, robots, if you will. Everything at JD is automated and controlled by computers. If that's the type of whiskey that you enjoy, then by all means, enjoy it with pride. It is not in my nature to down-talk brands or distilleries. JD has to run this type of operation in order to supply its enormous demand.

Let's talk about hand-crafted, small batch whisky in Tennessee.

George Dickel is entirely made by hand. The only computer on site is in the office. Made with love & care.

George Dickel Barrel Select is bottled from 10 casks, hand chosen in the peak of the maturation season. Most of these 10 barrels are aged 12 years minimum. The whisky is soft and sweet. Flavors of maple, caramel, & vanilla explode across the palate. It finishes nicely with lingering spice.

George Dickel adopted the Scottish spelling of "Whisky" as his claim was that his Tennessee whisky was as fine as any Scotch whisky. In this case, I tend to agree.

It's Friday! Let's Drink Some Whisk(e)y!! (Responsibly, Of Course)

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