Whisky Connoisseurs

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  • cellar 13 is closest to sea,and i suppose there is a hint of salt in it ,but its very smooth,almost sweet,a nice dram to drink anytime.did any bother to look on the loch fyne whisky site yet ?
  • You people are all whiskey lovers but have left the best one off the list?

    My fav one of all time is Wild Turkey! Its very popular back home in Oz but doesnt seem that popular over here. Fortunatley, One of my irish frinds from Middleton, works for Pernod Ricard, and she works on marketing for Wild Turkey, Chivas Regal and Jamesons, so there is always loads of bottles around our place.
  • Slainte, I've been immersed in the LFW website for the past couple of evenings (doing a bit of research as to how I spend my birthday money). It's absolutely brilliant - cheaper in most cases than Oddbins and better delivery terms.

    The best thing is the reviews - they sound like they're written by someone who really wants to advise you, rather than simply sell the stuff. Some of them are so negative you wonder if they actually sell any bottles of the stuff. It particularly made me smile seeing skipp's reference to Chivas Regal, having read the review of it last night! I also love the fact that if one of the ridiculously priced whiskies isn't very good, they'll let you know.

    I can't say I have any experience of Wild Turkey - is that a Bourbon? And is bourbon whisky? (Excuse my ignorance)
  • SVT, yes to both questions.
  • Okay, next stupid question:

    What makes a bourbon a bourbon?
  • Straight Kentucky Bourbon is to blended whiskey what a demarcated wine is to ordinary table wine. It takes its name from Bourbon county, Kentucky, once the major transshipment site for distilled spirits heading down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. Barrels shipped from its ports were stamped with the county's name, and Bourbon and whiskey soon became synonymous. Today, 90 percent of all Bourbon is made in Kentucky, most of it in Jefferson, Franklin, Nelson, and Anderson counties, the heart of Bluegrass Country.
  • Thank you!

    I forgot to mention the other thing I really liked about the Loch Fyne website - the range of half bottles, 20cl bottles and miniatures - very useful for sampling new brands.
  • What a website!!

    Loch Fyne Whiskies Online

    I will defintely be buying a few minatures and/or 20cl bottles. SVT, fancy putting in a combined order and broadening our horizons? (I guess this will be post MK Half on Sunday!).

    I've got a 'proper' whisky tumbler which I think was given as part of the tour of the Whisky Heritage Centre Tim mentioned earlier (well, it was raining....) and the bar looked very tempting, but as I was with two notquitesuch connosieurs, we moved on.

    What about doing a distillery run? We could make a weekend of it. Up to Scotland on the Friday, do the run on the Saturday morning - say a 10m-half marathon, stopping off at a number of distilleries on the way for a wee dram, and then properly celebrate on the Saturday night, home on Sunday.

    There's something similar in Bordeaux, a marathon with wine stops! The local chateaux owners I think trying to win and do a PB is very much frowned upon.

    Rather than make ours a race (and hence we need to get permits, etc.,) we just go out on a group training run - maybe let one or two (or more!) distilleries know we're coming, a bit of publicity for them - surely an article in RW could follow??

    I'm happy to try and get something organised, but maybe some of the more regular Scottish visitors could suggedt an area with a plethora of distilleries. We don't want to be getting thirsty between stops now....




  • A group training run around Islay (7 distillers) or through Speyside (numerous distillers). What an idea?

    Run a mile, drink a dram, run a mile, drink a dram, etc, etc. Now that really would be the ultimate challenge!!!


  • SVT

    Think that the pub's called the "Crooked Billet". It's in a village about eight miles South(ish) of Milton Keynes. Does excellent food too!!!

    SLAINTE

    Thanks for the info. on Glenmorangie Cellar 13. You've pretty much endorsed David Stirk's comments
  • skip im just pouring a makers mark..mmmm nice,ive got quite a few bourbons myself,and yes i like wild turkey ,been drinking it years.

    so v t,yes minitures is the way to start collecting,i wish i`d started that way,i could have paid of the mortgage by now ;-))

    dr g. nice idea ,lets hope i comes off,i`ll be interested,

    tim is l. thats the way i train,run,shot run somemore shot,run ,etc....

    glad you all like my fave whisky shops web site.....
  • This idea of an Islay training run sounds great. In fact, we could set up the first Islay half marathon - your finishing time is divided by quantity of scotch consumed to give a fair picture!

    Dr G - having just spent most of my birthday money in advance(see below) I'll have to see if I get any more dosh on Tuesday (or if the wife lets me reward myself for succesful completion of the half)!

    Well, I went to Safeway with my £40 last night, spent a long time weighing up the options, and ended up coming away with a bottle of Talisker and a half bottle of Glenfiddich. Unfortunately, any of the sub-£20 bottles on offer were ones I already had, or weren't so bothered about. I've only ever tried each of these varieties once, but enjoyed each immensely even though they're pretty much from opposite ends of the spectrum.

    So that's now 9 malts in my collection, all costing less than £30 and all rather tasty.
  • Forgot to mention - in choosing the Talisker, I was helped by Loch Fyne's comparison of it to the intro of 'Won't Get Fooled Again' by The Who!
  • On the subject of whisky and books, has anyone read "Raw Spirit: In search of the perfect dram" by Iain Banks ? I'm a fan of his fiction, but not read this travelogue yet. If you've read it, is it any good ?

    Right, a quick dram for me before bedtime tonight (Auchentoshan, I think), and then abstain tomorrow - MK half on Sunday.
  • Yep, last whisky tonight pre-MK half. The wife had diet coke it the house so it seemed a shame not to open the JD. I haven't often drunk it straight but I tried a sip or two first and it was pretty decent. That was before the very generous measure I mixed with the coke.

    The Talisker and Glenfiddich are remaining closed until Tuesday!

    MRF - the book sounds interesting. I've read two or three of his novels and I'd like to hear his take on whisky! Actually, just read some of the reviews on Amazon and it seems like a number of people found it rather lacking in whisky and rather too full of Mr Banks' friends and political views. I'd have to read it to judge properly of course - maybe one to get out of the library...
  • 16 year old Lagavulin.
    Got it as a gift 5yrs ago when I left for the states. Head back to the UK next Friday and will be opening it next Saturday night.

    Also have a last dram in a bottle of 10 year old Balvenie which will not make it back to the UK.


  • "Raw Spirit" by Iain Banks, which has a £16.99 RRP, contains his thoughts on:-

    (a) his mates;
    (b) the Iraq war;
    (c) obscure Scottish C-roads;
    (d) drugs;
    (e) politics;
    (f) cars and bikes,

    etc, etc, etc, etc. But precious little quality information on malt whiskies.

    So don't buy it. Instead, take the money saved to Ottakers in Milton Keynes and buy:-

    Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2004 - £9.99
    David Stirk's The Malt Whisky Guide - £9.99

    These are both cracking books.

    David Stirk's book is aimed at the novice, so focuses to malts that can actually be bought relatively easily . Also, he describes them in language which the layman can understand. Background on each distillery is given, along with cracking photography.

    Jim Murray's book is what it says it is - the bible. No pictures. No background on distilleries. But evaluations of pretty much every whisk(e)y and bourbon expression in the world. And its pocket-book sized, so you can carry it around




  • Oh, by the way, you may wish to know what Iain Banks considered to be the ultimate dram.

    Well, it was the "Glenfiddich 21yo Havana Reserve". This malt was finished in ex Cuban rum casks. Jim Murray considers that everything (ie malt and rum influences) cancel each other out.

    I tried this dram early on at "Whisky Live" (whilst I could still tell the difference between Bells 8yo and Ardbeg Lord of the Isles). It didn't impress me. Despite its price tag, it wasn't a patch on the Glenfiddich 12yo or the 15yo Solera Reserve (both in Sainsbury).
  • tim,i think your taste buds were a little dulled by somthing,glenfiddich havana reserve is a very good dram,i agree not what i would call my ultimate dram ,but still very good,solera is tocreamy,bland,and glenfiddich ok,but a little to fruity for me.
    raw spirit isnt ment to be a guide to whisky,read it with a mind to finding out how a group of people go out to visit whisky country with an open mind and checkbook,and its a good book.
  • another good jim murry book is the complete book of whisky,

    s v t talisker,mmmmmm

    texas strider(nice play on word aragorn ,,,) ;-)),lagavulin is worth the wait....

    tim is l ,jims bible is good,but dont get caught up in trying to taste what others do in any whisky,say it as YOU taste it,

    slainte mhath.....
  • Right, if I break 2:00 in tomorrow's MK half (doen't feel likely), I'll open the Talisker to celebrate. Otherwise, it'll have to wait till my birthday.

    Talisker is actually my most expensive malt, but only because the Lagavulin was on special offer when I bought it. The Lagavulin's worth every penny and I'm sure the Talisker will be too.

    I've never visited any distilleries - I think I did manage to cross the threshold of the Talisker distillery when I was a toddler but forced my parents to leave because I objected strongly to the noise.

    How times change...
  • aahhhh,skye,i love it there.....
  • Give me a few weeks and I'll put out some feelers about what/where/when/how much regarding the First RW Forum Whisky Connossieurs Training Run!


  • Slainte

    Thanks for all your advice. If I ever know 1/1000th of 1% of what there is to learn about malt, I'll be happy. Its a vast subject!!

    I usally don't rely on what others say. Just that I had 13 or so drams at "Whisky Live" and can't really remember the fine detail.

    When I am fully sober, I'll confess that I often struggle to find the words to express what my nose and palate are telling me.

    A problem that I think that many so called experts share. I hate pretentious crap like "nose - two week old new potatoes, rubbed over a stallion's saddle recently used by a naked virgin". That one's obviously mine, but you know what I mean


  • Edinburgh's only two weeks away. Joy!
    So many malts, so little time.

    Well, I've earned my dram tonight - after running the MK Half. I've a nice "Macallan 15yo", which is a single-cask bottling by Cadenheads.

    Talking of Cadenheads, we've an oddity of theirs in the house. It's a Guyana Demerera Rum, which was finished in Laphroaig casks. My wife Sue loves it long (as with all things) with coke. I've tried it twice, once neat and once with coke. Neat, it was absolutely bloody disgusting. With coke, its bearable but weird. No words to describe it.

    And they thought that Queen Vistoria was weird to mix malt and claret lol!
  • red wine and malts ok ,but takes a lot of exrerimenting withwhich is nice ;-))
    tim,the best way to learn tasting is pour,sniff,breath,sniff again,but dont taste,add a little water(to start with about 25%,untill you get used to it)then taste,dont swallow just yet,run it under and over your tongue(is it me or does this sound sexy!!!!)then drink,when youve swallowed the malt breath an taste....
    and tim im so envious of your whisky live trip,i`d love to go to that one day.

    slainte mhath
  • Well, I qualified for my Talisker last night. Unfortunately, I've also got a cold so couldn't taste it properly. Given that I couldn't smell anything, it's amazing I could taste it at all but what managed to come through was pretty darn good - a real mouth-tingler. I'm looking forward to trying it when I can really enjoy it.
  • inverleven time,.. ............. . . . a 1979,gordon and macphail,

    slainte mhath.
  • tobermory. what a let down....not one for me.thats one for the toddy cabinet,or for guests who mix it.....
  • Anyone else had any particularly disappointing malts?

    Or anyone care to defend Tobermory? (lovely place, but not tried the whisky yet!)
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