Whisky / Whiskey
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Faced a four pronged attack last night - a tasting session with my brother. My original two (Glenlivet Founders Reserve and Glenmorangie 10 yo) plus a Glenfiddich 12 yo he bought me as a late birthday pressie. The Glenfiddich is a classic drop that is perfectly affordable.
He then introduced me to his fave drop - Caol Ila, a mildly smoky Islay whisky. Hints of other stuff apparently, but the smoky flavour is all I get. It was magnificent, a tad spendy for my wallet but you sure get you pay for (he gets it for about NZD 100 in duty free).
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There are some Single Malts, particularly the Islay ones I believe that are made to be 'enjoyed' with a Cigar...
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@taniwharugby said in Whisky / Whiskey:
There are some Single Malts, particularly the Islay ones I believe that are made to be 'enjoyed' with a Cigar...
By ''some'', you in fact mean ''all". At least that's what I take from that.
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@Crucial said in Whisky / Whiskey:
ome single barrel Blanton stuff that was rather nice but still tasted like bourbon
Now that you mention it - the Blanton's I had with the neighbour smelled just like shitty Cougar Bourbon, and on first taste was exactly that.
It settled a lot better though. And the conversation around it reminded me of some great ads for Cougar Bourbon:
There were a few others.
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I got a Glen Grant 10yr single malt from the Kids for Xmas...had never tried it before, is pretty nice, smooth and aromatic.
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Whiskey vs. Whisky – Flaviar
Have you ever asked yourself what's the correct term? Does it depend on the production method used or the country of origin?
Whiskey vs. Whisky - What's the Difference?
PUBLISHED IN WHISKEY, WHISKY, SCOTCH, IRISH WHISKEY, JAPANESE WHISKY
Is it Whisky or Whiskey? Have you ever wondered which really is the correct term to use? We’ll do our Flaviar best to clear up any confusion around this issue for our readers once and for all.Rule of Thumb: Whiskey or Whisky
So, to break it all down for you, our dear Flaviaristas; the main difference between Whiskey and Whisky is simple, but quite important.Whisky almost always refers to Scotch Whisky and Scotch-inspired Whiskies from a multitude of other producing countries like Japan, Canada, India, Taiwan and Switzerland (just to name a few), while Whiskey usually refers to the Irish and American varieties.
So while modern distillation practices originated in both Scotland and Ireland, using Whiskey to refer to Scotch Whisky can get you in trouble in Scotland, while using the term Whisky in Ireland might get you in some trouble there. Colour yourself informed.
Distillation Process vs. Spelling
Regardless of how you spell it, Whisk(e)y is a finely distilled spirit made from grain mash. In the US, Uncle Sam (not to be confused with Uncle Flaviar!) officially recognizes nine different Whiskeys, including bourbon, corn, malt, rye, rye malt, wheat, blended, light, and spirit. That’s too many to remember, unless you’re a proper Whiskey snob (which some of you most certainly are :D), but we’ll let you off the hook for now.It’s in the distillation process that one of the main differences between the two different meanings becomes most apparent.
STILLS IN GLEN GRANT DISTILLERY IN SCOTLAND - PHOTO: FLICKR/SHNAIDER_SEMStills in Glen Grant Distillery in Scotland - Photo: Flickr/shnaider_sem
Broadly speaking, Scottish and American Whiskies are usually distilled twice, while Irish Whiskey is distilled three times, producing what is generally believed to be a lighter and smoother spirit.
According to a fascinating New York Times column penned by Eric Asimov back in 2008, the entire Whiskey vs. Whisky controversy comes down to a few liquor purists who believe American and Irish Whiskey is not in the same league as some of their European counterparts. But Jesse Sheidlower, Editor-at-Large of the Oxford English Dictionary disagreed and had the following to say about the proper usage of Whisky and Whiskey:
As an aficionado of whisky and whiskey, I do have deep feelings on the usage, which is pretty much that the Times style should be changed. This isn’t a case where a small group of fanatics are insisting on some highly personal interpretation of an issue that is not adhered to by anyone outside their cult. It’s almost universally the case that the word is spelled ‘whisky’ in Scotland and Canada... people really do care about this as an important distinction.
Whisky National Pride
Ah, but alas there’s another issue here, one of national and cultural pride. Of the countries affected, the Scots may indeed be the most insistent about the proper spelling of their Whisky.If you know anything about Scotland, then you know how much that country prides itself on its Scotch Whisky. It's the national drink of Scotland, and as far as national symbols go, it’s practically up there with the Loch Ness monster.
So there you have it, while the question of Whisky vs. Whiskey may seem silly or inconsequential to some, Whisk(e)y aficionados will beg to differ. Cheers & sláinte.
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Glenfiddich IPA experiment.
You get to be a whisky geek and beer geek at the same time!
Light in colour but quite a bit of depth in flavour. Basically a brewer matured some IPA in oak casks then the whisky was matured in them and took on some of the hop flavours.
Don't expect anything like a new world IPA flavour though. They found an English traditional IPA worked the best.
Nice drop though and worth trying if you see some. -
Little public service announcement if you're flying through Incheon and have KAL lounge access.
The drinks are shit, except for the Ballantine's 17 year old, which is just sitting there on the bench looking for love.
Getting plenty from me too. I never drink Ballantine's, but this is brilliant. Very smooth with a long sweetish finish. Very good follow-up to the Bowmore 12 yr single malt from the JAL Sakura lounge in Haneda
For those talking Japan stuff, the Nikka Yoichi Whisky Distillery in Hokkaido is a great place to visit if you're ever there:
DISTILLERIES｜NIKKA WHISKY
Two representative distilleries of Nikka Whisky. Distinct natural environment and facilities, resulting in wide variety of whiskies. Distillery tours are also available.
They have a fancy bar where you can get limited stuff, and another bar where you can get 3 free shots (I had more, they aren't really checking) of the cheap stuff. With soda water available, these made for great highballs to follow up the 17 yr old stuff we started with at the other bar. Suffice to say I didn't drive back to Otaru.
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@gt12 I haven't tried the 17yr, but have the 30yr, and it was an interesting experience given I hadn't tried any other Whiskies of that age before (they were doing free tasters in Singapore at Duty Free one time) the lightness and clean-ness of the taste was what I noticed the most.
Ballantines is one of the few blended ones I drink (my ancestry goes back to this distillery - before Diego or whatever they are called)
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Halfway through a bottle of Octomore 07.1
This is a ridiculously heavily peated whisky (208ppm)
Despite the crazy amount of peat it's still very drinkable. Worth trying once but I doubt I'd buy again.. Ardbeg Corryvreckan has a massive taste too but is more balanced and cheaper
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The Chivas pop up blending bar is on again and this time I got a ticket.
A nice time tasting different elements of malts and grains with some explanation and guidance then some time to make your own blend up, bottle it and take it home.
I think mine has turned out ok but need to let the tastebuds settle for a couple of days now before sampling again. -
I got given a few single malts for my 40th from people i thought knew me.
But, one of them is fucking beautiful and i am smoking it back.
It's called Auchentoshan and it's fucking tasty and may not last the day
