lol yeah. i am going to have a good time with this one.

smb- looking foward to hearing the review on Laphroaig. normally the scotch from islay is too smokey for me but i have found a few that i like

This whiskey is a pale straw colour. It is free from colouring and is also non-chillfiltered, which many people think makes for a fuller and more complex whisky. Whisky has naturally occuring oils that give the spirit a cloudy appearance at low temperatures, and while not affecting the taste, it is not a desired effect for many distillers when trying to produce a high-class product. There are two ways of getting round the problem of clouding. The first is to chill-filter, which involves chilling the whisky so that the oils solidify, sink to the bottom and can then be removed. Many say that removing these oils also removes some of the taste and depth from the whisky. The other way of getting round the problem is to bottle the whisky at a strength of >45%. It is the latter method that is used by Ardbeg. Anyway, enough of the diversion.....

This whisky has a smokey, but sweet nose. On first pouring the fruitiness is more apparent, but after resting for five minutes, the fruit starts to be replaced by smoke. There is also a slightly medicinal smell, and a touch of salt.

On tasting, Ardbeg is pretty intense, with lots of smoke and warmth, although it still seems fresh, clean and light. The finish is long and smokey with a slight spiciness.

Overall a great whisky, certainly one that has a character of it's own. It's intensity means for me that it's not an every-day whisky, but definitely one to have as a treat when in the mood for something a bit more powerful.

Has anyone here ever done a distillery tour? I recently moved to Louisville and have friends visiting me around derby time. Just wondering if its worth a day trip to check out a few of them.

I also have been converted from Makers to Woodford since I moved here.

WL Weller 107 is a fairly cheap bourbon, I believe a 750 is around $20. Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve, and 1792 are all good as well and can be had for just a few more bucks.

If any of you are fans of Tennessee Whiskey I recommend checking out George Dickel. $20 for a liter here and it has a great taste imo.

Did you guys like Whiskey the first time you tried it? Or is it like freshman year of college where you hate beer, but by the time senior year starts you love it (I didn't drink much in h.s)? In other words, did you develop a taste for it over time? Right now I look like a woman when I drink it...I cringe after every sip.

Knob Creek is my favorite. I look forward to trying some others mentioned in this thread though.

lol go blue- i think everyone gets that at first. i know i did. being 22 i never really was into it in my younger years but probally in the past year and a half i really have found what i like and do a lil research about it and find similar items. start off with like a jack and coke, just to get the taste and then u can go for blended, and then move up to single malt. there is no sense to just make the jump from ****ty stuff to the best.

Yeah it's most definitely an acquired taste. On the rocks with some water will make it easier to drink first and you can enjoy the taste without getting hit in the face with the alcohol. IMO.

lol, yea its very much like this. I didn't really get into it until a friend that knew what was up started showing me better single malts. some bars should have a by the glass option, so it may be worth trying it that way instead of forking out for a bottle and possibly hating it

Thanks for the recommendation on the Balvenie Doublewood. Going to check it out.

+EV

hi fellow whiskey drinkers...what would be a good scotch to mix with a lemon wedge on the rocks?

Awesome post PR! I love having a few fingers of scotch or bourbon after work...

Berge, I love the Dalwhinne as well. If you like that I'd suggest the Balvenie 15- it's a little less sweet and has some smokiness and more complex flavors but has generally a similar profile. The Highland Park 12-15 is also an excellent choice. Oban's are also smooth and pleasant, although less complex in my experience.

If you ever make it downtown, the bar at the Connecticut Ave Morton's has a great selection (and a great terrace to sit outside on and smoke cigars.)

KD,

Something light. My standard scotch on the rocks is Johnnie Walker Black. That would prob be OK w/ a lemon. Lighter single malts w/ a citrus note would work well - Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Springbank. Toss in a little sugar and a dash of bitters in along w/ the lemon and you've got yourself a great cocktail.

thx for the info...are single malts smooth like crown?

had my first 'real' whiskey last night at an irish themed bar. it was Paddy('s?), which according to the bartender, is extremely difficult to get here in the US. i guess he'd been looking for like 5 years and managed to buy 4 bottles the other day and it is probably the only Paddy he'll have for quite a while so i thought i'd give it a try. i REALLY liked it and will probably try some more whiskeys in the future

Try Tullamore Dew. I was just turned onto this earlier this week when my favorite pub informed me they were out of Jack.

This is exactly the same Oban whiskey that I reviewed earlier, except this one has been matured for an extra 6 months or so in a cask that has previously been used for Montilla Fino Sherry. As far as I can remember, only around 20,000 bottles of this Distillers Edition are released every year.

The extra maturation period is supposed to both soften and enhance the flavours in the whisky, but to be honest I'm not 100% sure on the merit of this practice. The flavours do seem to be enhanced, with the salty and citrussy tones of the whisky being more pronounced, and I'm sure there's more than a hint of smoke in there too, but the sherry does kind of take over the whole experience a little, overpowering the main flavours and leaving the whisky too sweet. After leaving the whisky to breath for a while, the sherry influence does start to soften and the orignal character starts to take over more, leaving a nice and complex drink. Personally I prefer my whisky to be a bit more on the raw side, but for those who prefer a sweeter and richer drink, then this can be higly recommended.

Caol Ila (pronounced cull-eela) is one of the lesser known Islay whiskies. The one slight problem with this whisky is that although it's distilled on Islay, the vast majority of the spirit is matured on the mainland. It's probably down to personal opinion, but some people think that the place the spirit is distilled is the major factor in determining the final product and others are more concerned with where it is matured. Personally, I think this is definitely an Islay whisky.

Pale straw in colour, Caol Ila is a pretty simple whisky, but imho a fantastic one. On the nose, it is very smokey, more like an ashy aroma, but also very fresh and clean. On the palate there is a slightly sweet taste with some salt, and that ash-like smoke continues. The finish is fairly long, smooth, smokey and salty, but still clean and light.

This is my favourite whisky. I'm a fan of complex and rich whiskies in general, but the simple, sharp and clean flavours of this particular dram just do something for me.

Question on Caol Ila: I bought a bottle many moons ago as my first venture into Islay whisky. I was very excited and even had a friend come over to share the experience with me. It's very hard to describe the taste, but it was awful. Incredibly strong, almost like old seaweed smell, and tasted like gasoline. Mind you, I'm an experienced scotch drinker, and by no means afraid of strong ones, but this was out of control. I've since kept the bottle around and I think a friend of mine blacked out and finished it, finally, a couple months ago. I've made ~ 20 people try it, and those that can get past the smell can barely help to not spit it up.

So did I get a bad bottle? I mean, I've heard so many great things about the drink I can't imagine that I didn't. But how does a bottle of Scotch go bad? Assuming I got a bunk batch, how common is this?

Also, I've recently become enamored with Oban. Some of you may remember a little over a year ago a Marine Corps Hornet pilot ejected over San Diego and his jet killed a Korean family. Well I was actually up in Tahoe with him over the winter, between some training evolutions, and it happened to be the year anniversary of that event. He brought a bottle of their standard 14 to toast in the families memory and I loved it. That's around my price range for an average bottle, so since then I've been through a couple bottles myself. I would highly recommend it for anybody that is looking to upgrade from the standard available whiskeys and move onto something special, without taking too big a chunk out of your wallet.

I've never heard of a bad batch of whisky, and as far as I know whisky can't "go bad". The standard of whisky produced from any one distillery does vary from year to year and experts can sometimes tell the difference between the years, but I don't think the quality changes enough to have "great" years and "terrible" years as can happen with wine. With regards to you experience, I don't know what could have caused the whisky to be that bad, maybe there was some kind of contamination at bottling, or is it possible you got a conterfeit bottle? Although Caol Ila is my favourite whisky, I can definitely see why people wouldn't like it. It is pretty raw and can be harsh, with none of the fruity or woody complexities of a lot of whisky. This is the reason I love it, but would also be the reason for people hating it. I do find it strange however that you've tried it with 20 people and they've all said the same thing, I would have thought that at least one or two would have enjoyed (or at least tolerated) it.

Of those ~ 20 people I'm the only "real" whisky drinker. I think I should just try a more mellow Islay and see what I can glean from it. Any suggestions?

Jihad,

Caol Ila is actually one of the milder Islay scotches. You probably just don't like Islay scotches. Go to a bar and have a Laphroaig and a Lagavulin (two excellent classic Islays) to see how mild the Caol Ila is by comparison. I suspect you will really hate both of them.

Bowmore Darkest is one Islay you might like. It's pretty mellow to start with and is finished in a sherry barrel to add some sweetness and cut the peat/sea taste.

Talisker is not an Islay, but shares some flavor elements and is a good "stepping stone" to add a little bit of peat/smoke taste without going full bore like most Islays.

I think my approach to Islay is going to be that the next nice meal I get, I'll get either a Laphroaig or a Lagavulin and just keep an open mind while trying it. It's been a year or two since the Caol Ila and I last disagreed.