Whisky / Whiskey
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Whisky / Whiskey:
This is a bargain,
You have refined taste, sir. That is one of my favorites and at a very good price.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Whisky / Whiskey:
This is a bargain,
There is a suggestion that this one should be kept in the freezer. I tried that and then decided “nah.”
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@Smudge said in Whisky / Whiskey:
So a couple of weeks ago, I visited Islay, and went to 8 of the 9 distilleries on the island. I'll report back when I'm back in NZ and a little more sober.
Just realised I'd neglected this.
Up front, I'll state I was never a huge fan of the Islay whiskey but thought I should visit, considering the history etc. I'm now a convert...
Anyway, went on a tour from Edinburgh with a company called Rabbies. Can thoroughly recommend. Day 1 is pretty much getting to Islay via minibus (a nice Mercedes 16-seater, although there was only 10 of us, which meant a bit more space). You stop off at a few sights along the way, before grabbing lunch in Oban (which means you can visit Oban Distillery at lunchtime!). Bit more sightseeing, then you grab the ferry in the evening over to Islay.
On day 2, we visited Bowmore first thing in the morning (as we were staying about 50 metres walk from the distillery), and the tasting begins. That was a full tour, and not a bad one (although the guide had a serious lazy eye so I didn't know where to look). After that, we went across the island, over to the distilleries on the north-east side, and dropped in on Caol Ila, Ardnahoe (a new distillery that hasn't actually released anything yet), and Bunnahabhain. I bought a distillery exclusive bottle from Caol Ila, and a few small bottles of blends from Ardnahoe (they offer blends from around Scotland) - to be fair those blends didn't make it past the next night or two...
On the way back to Bowmore, we dropped into Bruichladdich, only missing Kilchoman, which didn't seem to be open for visitors (and we'd already had two bonus distilleries on this trip anyway).
Day 3 was all around the southern part of the island. Driving past the now defunct Port Ellen distillery (although I believe it's getting up and running again soon), we worked our way back from Ardbeg, through to Lagavulin and finishing off at Laphroaig. Ardbeg is heavy on the quirky marketing, but their whisky backs it up, and likewise, I enjoyed the Lagavulin 16yo when we moved on there. Laphroaig has never been one for me, but the nose on their drams were much more pleasing to me these days - maybe my sense of smell is slowly dying? Either way, I reckon we got through about 20-odd drams that day, including a few at the restaurant in Bowmore later that night (and a wine or two).
Day 4 was just the trip back to Edinburgh, with stops at Loch Lomond and a few other spots.
I also went up to Dufftown a few days later to visit Glenfiddich, and my favourite distillery of all time, Balvenie. By now, I probably could have given the tour myself, having gone through 3-4 of these tours, but I left it to the experts. Balvenie was slightly ruined by a Canadian tourist who asked the most idiotic questions, but my concern that their store wasn't open was very much incorrect, so I splashed out an obscene amount on the 19YO Edge Of Burnhead Wood. https://www.thebalvenie.com/our-whisky-collection/stories-whiskies/the-edge-of-burnhead-wood/
Very pleased I ticked this trip off my bucket list - probably the only thing that saved me cash was it proved difficult to find whisky stores in these areas to send bottles back to NZ. Probably worked out for the best...
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@Catogrande said in Whisky / Whiskey:
There is a suggestion that this one should be kept in the freezer. I tried that and then decided “nah.”
Tried it and had to wait for it to warm up. Marketing bollocks.
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Nikki Coffey grain. Not too bad at all. Especially regarding quality/price.
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@Billy-Tell said in Whisky / Whiskey:
Nikki Coffey grain. Not too bad at all. Especially regarding quality/price.
Love it
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@MiketheSnow said in Whisky / Whiskey:
@Billy-Tell said in Whisky / Whiskey:
Nikki Coffey grain. Not too bad at all. Especially regarding quality/price.
Love it
Have you tried the Coffey malt? If so how does it compare?
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@Billy-Tell said in Whisky / Whiskey:
@MiketheSnow said in Whisky / Whiskey:
@Billy-Tell said in Whisky / Whiskey:
Nikki Coffey grain. Not too bad at all. Especially regarding quality/price.
Love it
Have you tried the Coffey malt? If so how does it compare?
Not yet
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Tried some Chita by Suntory. Very drinkable without being entirely memorable. Best described as a whisky for people that don’t really like whisky. Nonetheless, an enjoyable drop. V smooth.
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@Catogrande said in Whisky / Whiskey:
Tried some Chita by Suntory. Very drinkable without being entirely memorable. Best described as a whisky for people that don’t really like whisky. Nonetheless, an enjoyable drop. V smooth.
Good description for other Japanese whisky I've drunk
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Port Charlotte Ten. Probably the best islay I’ve had. Fantastic value for money.
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Peaty I’m guessing?
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@Catogrande said in Whisky / Whiskey:
Peaty I’m guessing?
Very much so. But they do a more peaty option (octomore) and a totally unpeated option (bruichladdich) neither of which I’ve tried yet. The octomore is ridiculously expensive.
