I think even both our bankrolls combined would struggle to buy a bottle of the original!

Adding water does two things. The first is that it dilutes the whisky. This can help to enhance the taste because often bottle strength neat whisky can numb the senses which leaves you unable to taste some of the complexities. The second thing it does is that it actually breaks up the structure of the whisky which helps to release more flavour and aroma.

The water should not be cooled because the cold temperature works in the opposite direction and reduces the flavour. The same is true with ice.

The above is only applicable though to actually tasting the whisky, not enjoying it. You can enjoy your whisky however you like, after all, you bought it. Some people like the smoothness and cooling effect of having it on ice. I personally prefer it with a tiny amount of water. Others swear by never 'tainting' the whisky with anything at all.

Something interesting to try is to pour yourself a measure of your favourite whisky and try it neat and try to really think about how it tastes, and which part of your mouth the taste is coming from. Then take some water in a jug and pour a drop into the whisky from a height. Immediately take another sip of the whisky and if you've done it correctly, the whisky should 'explode' in your mouth, giving you a completely different experience. Leave the whisky to stand for a minute or so and have another try, once again it should be different.

Jura Superstition



This whisky is actually a blend of two different single malts from the Isle of Jura distillery, mixing a young and heavily peated malt with some older whisky. It is darker in colour than the standard Jura 10yr old, which is probably the influence of the older whisky in the blend. I have not tried the 10yr old unfortunately so I can't say how this compares, but I know that in the 10yo there is only a touch of peat, whereas this is more heavily peated. It's not quite in the leagues of the Islay whiskies where the peatiness is concerned, but it's not far off. The nose is smoky and fruity with a strong scent of raisins, and a slight whiff of toast. It is fairly full-bodied and maybe a little too sweet for my liking but the smokiness, which takes over in the finish, balances the taste out nicely. This whisky could be the perfect stepping-stone for those who like sweeter whiskies but want to get into the more intense flavours of the Islay whiskies.

Ended up picking up some Woodford cuz of this thread, and love it, thanks guys, great thread OP.

that jura is a cool bottle

Tried both Macallan 15 and 18, bought another but it hasn't been opened. The 15 had a pretty strong chocolate flavor and overall very good. The 18 is more traditional but is so amazingly smooth and no afterburn that it is well worth the money. As a side note though, I am a total noob about this stuff and just am buying expensive stuff and trying it to see what I like.

top whiskey

a nice bottle of irish whiskey for ye's

I've been on a cocktail kick lately and I've been using this for my whiskey sours. Excellent stuff.

On the scotch end, I brought a bottle of the Macallan 18 yr a few weeks ago at a family party. Most of them drink Crown or Jack usually mixed with coke but everyone really enjoyed that bottle.

This thread is making me very thirsty.

I just started getting into scotch in the last few months and have purchased bottles of Macallan 12 and 15 and just recently tried the 18 at a bar. The Macallan 18 is pretty awesome but is a little pricey as a standard go to drink and I still really enjoy the 12 and the 15. I really like Macallan but I want to widen my horizons and I'm wondering which other single malt brands I should check out.

If you want to try some different stuff I would check out the Lagavulin 16 year. It's an islay malt, so it's very peaty and pretty intense stuff, but it's ridiculously good whiskey for the money (I get it around 50/bottle). Aside from that I would just find a good store where there is some knowledgeable staff that can recommend you some things based on certain things you like about the macallan. I really like a lot of the Glenmorangie stuff. The oban 14 yr is very good, and I had a Talisker the other night at my buddy's place that I enjoyed. Check out some higher end bourbon if you wanna try something different (pappy van winkle, parkers, blantons). Been playing at foxwoods much lately? I've been on a month long hiatus or so, but will be kicking around there a bit more in the coming month. Hope to see you around.

Cool man, I'm gonna give the Lagavulin a try. I've only been to Foxwoods once since NAPT but will probably get down there a few times before Vegas.

An OK whiskey.
Until you drink Red Breast Irish whiskey.

I've never tried the Macallan, but I can guarantee you that Lagavulin is a totally different beast. It's rich, oily, heavy, peaty and a truly fantastic whisky, but obviously these characteristics mean that it's not to everyone's taste. I definitely recommend you give it a go though.

yeah lagavulin is not much like macallan at all, great stuff though and i prefer it to macallan, but not similar.

if you're looking for something like macallan you could try balvenie or glenlivet, both are pretty well regarded speysides (like macallan). balvenie doublewood is very good and has been mentioned in this thread.

Just picked up a bottle of Makers, and I'm kind of conflicted.

It's super smooth, probably the smoothest whisky, or even 90 proof liquor, that I've ever drank straight. At the same time, I feel like it's really lacking flavor, it's almost too smooth, doesn't leave you with much, or something.

Definitely recommend it to anyone trying to get into drinking whisky neat, though.

Eh, ok, its good, but yea, very very smooth.

Am enjoying a few glasses of this independent bottling of Caol Ila tonight while watching our election results....



It is aged 12yrs the same as the previous bottle of Caol Ila that I reviewed, but it is an independent bottler that has selected the cask as having special characteristics. It is definitely the same whisky but much softer and sightly sweeter and more citrussey. I just love this whisky, can't wait to taste some more expressions from this distillery.

In terms of drinks when I get out here in bangkok it's pretty limited, clubs will usually only have JW red-gold and Jack along with a few others scattered around town here and there. Thread is making me miss/want other whiskey, gonna have to head out today when I wake up and pick some up I think

I am a whisky newbie. I tried MacCallan 18 last night at the bar and got to talking to the bartender and asked him to recommend some for the future. He gave me a taste of Midleton (Irish whisky, I think he said it is made by the Jameson people). It was really good! I only have really tried Bushmills in the Irish whisky department which I like but this was even better.

love knob creek and woodford reserve was suprisingly kickass when i got it.

picked up a bottle of basil hayden's and i'm a little underwhelmed when i compare it to knob/WR.


whatever, i just like drinking whiskey ,feeling like a cowboy and beating my old lady up.

Finally got delivery of the bottle of Sazerac Rye I ordered weeks ago. Not tried it yet, but it definitely smells the same as bourbon.

To the bourbon drinkers out there... do you find that there is a lot of variety between the different brands? Out of the 10 or so bottles of Scotch I've got, I can instantly tell from just sniffing it which one I'm drinking, but when I drink bourbon (I only have 2 to compare atm) I can't really tell the difference. I'm guessing that it's mainly down to inexperience of bourbon, but I also think that it's maybe partly down to there being less variation in bourbon than there is amongst Scotches.

Trying Lagavulin 16 for the first time tonight, on the basis of the recommendations in this thread. My previous familiarity with scotch was Highland Park 12, Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12.

This whisky is something of a revelation for me. I had come to enjoy the clean and subtle complexity of the very popular single malts to which I've been exposed. They definitely helped me to come to appreciate what can be good about single malt scotch. But this Lagavulin is blowing me away. Thanks very much to those who recommended it.

BTirish - once you get a taste for Islay whiskies, you'll find it hard to enjoy other whiskies as much as you did before.

Trying the Sazerac now, it's pretty nice, seems lighter but harsher/spicier and less sweet than the bourbons I've tried. Not experienced enough in this kind of whiskey to give a good tasting review, but it is definitely nice stuff. It also comes in a cool bottle which is a nice added bonus.

Then here's hoping, for the sake of my family's budget, that Jura 10 or Jura Superstition can compete. I bought a bottle of the former today; I've only smelled it, and I'll drink some tomorrow night.

The Jura 10 is an island whisky, but obv not from Islay. Island whiskies tend to be more peated than those from the mainland, but nowhere quite matches the power of the Islay whiskies. AFAIK the standard Jura 10 is only very lightly peated, but I've never tried it myself. The Superstition is more heavily peated but is also very sweet and fruity (see my review above). Imo anything produced at Jura will be good whisky, but as I said, once you've got a taste for the Islay whiskies, it's hard for anything esle to truely compete.

Ah, I'd seen Jura compared to the Islay whiskies often enough that I guess I ran them together in my head. Thanks for the clarification.

Still enjoying this glass of Lagavulin--it's just ridiculously good. I'll try it with a few drops of water next time.