the only thing wrong with your drink order was the whiskey and the ice. start over

Whisky is definitely an acquired taste. Think back to your first cup of coffee ever, did you like it right away? (assuming you drink coffee...)

I started with jack on the rocks too. I learned to like it and it eventually got me to jump off into other bourbons.

Whisky is King. Just think, in the beginning, it's tough to do. Something for a man. Let it burn you. It'll become one of your best friends with time, when you free yourself from the stuff I wrote in the beginning of this post

And yes, definitely not on the rocks. But after all, why not, for the good sake? Better a whisky on the rocks than no whisky at all.

BT: they make tons of really interesting stuff

YF: jack and coke is where I bet many of us started with whiskey. Makers Mark on the rocks is a good start to plain whiskey.

well that was incredibly helpful...

why not with ice?

I think whisky and coke is definitely a better starting point, I was drunk by the time i ordered so that got the better of me.

Perhaps ill try it with coke and maybe try some others at some point. Thanks.

YF,

Try Makers and Ginger Ale as well.

As the ice melts the whisky gets watered down. The cold makes it harder to taste the subtleties of the flavor. If you don't like the taste of straight whisky but are determined to drink it anyway, these are both good things, so go ahead and use ice, IMO.

ahh ok.

its common to have whisky with a splash of water (correct?), if so, whats the reason?

I'm not exactly determined, i just wanted to try more drinks and thought whisky was a good starting point.

You can use a little it of water to get more smoother taste. You can also try drinking whiskey with club soda but make sure you get them separately. And don't drink too much club soda after you drink whiskey

all,

just went to pull the cork out of a bottle of glenlivet 18 and it snapped in half and fell into the drink! wtf?

gonna go buy a funnel to filter it out and refill the bottle i guess.

Strange, but probably just a random thing from time to time. A friend drinks glen 18 regularly when we drink at homes and I've never seen that happen.

HoR,

Yeah, had that happen w a bottle of Maple Hill 16 a while back, but I didn't worry about it because the bottle only had about a quarter left. Just stuck a stopper in it and finished the bottle off, was fine. YouTube had some videos on getting corks out.

That splash of water is something I probably will try more at some point, it should be correct. They say that a small splash of water will make the taste and nose "explode", it's something about that it releases the aroma quickly. To find the right amount of "splash" I will primarily google methink.

Or can somebody here say, how many milliliters of water could be "splashed" into a regular 5 centiliters shot, for best result? A teaspoon is about 5 milliliters.

Just a drop or two generally.

Tried some Highland Park 12 over Christmas. Loved it! Gonna grab some more bottles to stock.

Also, just bought my father-in-law a bottle of Ardbeg 10, and got myself one too. Looking forward to trying it. I hear this one is very very peaty. Any opinions on how Ardbeg 10 tastes compared to the other peaty drinks I've tried?
-Bruichladdich Peat
-Highland Park 12

Ardbeg is a lot more peaty than the Highland Park. I haven't had a bottle of Bruichladdich for many years, but I think it's fair to say that Ardbeg has a reputation as one of the peatiest classic expressions going. It's also the best whisky that money can buy, so nice job acquiring some

Got a bottle of this for Christmas:



The whole sending it into space thing seems a bit gimmicky; but I'm a big Ardbeg fanboy, so I'm bound to love it. If I pass my driving test next week, I may have to crack it open to celebrate!

Can crack it open before your driving test to steady your nerves.

Got these two bottles today.


I had tried the bruichladdich at a friend's birthday party and really enjoyed it. This friend has a collection of about 80 bottles, here's a blurry picture I took that day:



The Willet rye was very smooth for a 110 proof whiskey. I'm going to make me a Manhattan to see how well it mixes.

Here's my whiskey collection as it stands right now:



ETA: Quite a powerful and tasty Manhattan!

holy **** batman

Had my first Japanese whiskey the other day. Didn't even know they existed and couldn't resist trying it. Excellent bang for my buck, nice and smooth.

Yea, I like yamazaki as well. Anyone tried the 18? I hear it's great, but not sure if it would be worth the extra money.

*Drooling smiley*

Updates on this?

My understanding is that most of that really interesting stuff was the fruit of the previous management (either directly, or as the newer managers' attempt to make interesting blends out of the stock they had). New managers have owned the distillery for just over 10 years, hence the emphasis on the "Laddie 10" as the first release of their whisky. I'm not as familiar with Bruichladdich's lineup, but this 10 year old is supposed to be different from most of their other stuff. Maybe I have the wrong impression.

I also picked up another bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail on sale the other day. Looking forward to opening that bottle soon.

Might not have been a bad idea! My legs went to jelly which didn't help with my clutch control, but I passed anyway

The Ardbeg Galileo is a nice drop. I'm not much good at tasting given that I've got through a fair few bottles in my time, but even I got the spicy toffee on the nose; and pretentious as is sounds, the puff of soot too. Salty at first taste (not unlike Old Pulteney, a good thing in my eyes), giving way to that delicious Ardbeg creaminess. Bottled at 49% it was powerful stuff, I think it improved for a few drops of water.

Thumbs up, but Ardbeg would really have to make a pig's ear of a whisky for me not to like it tbh. Is it worth 2 or 3 bottles of Ardbeg 10? Tough question. Luckily for me this was a gift, so no buyer's remorse