Calling all Whisky Lovers - Advice please

Thanks to this thread i had to take a little nap this afternoon :nuts:
 
Can't stand the stuff myself but hubby's fave is Highland Park (12 year old)

This is taken from their website.....

"The abiding care and attention, the hallmark of Highland Park production, manifests itself in the distinctive aromatic, full-bodied floral sweetness of the whisky. Highland Park’s incomparable balance comes from a tension between the aromatic Orkney peat and the sweetness of oak casks seasoned with Oloroso sherry."
 
Yves Geza said:
The medicinal peaty-smokiness of an Islay malt like Laphroaig will probably be a bit hit-or-miss for non-whisky drinkers.
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Agreed, try a Macallan, it's fairly smooth and quite easy to come by. My personal favourite is Highland Park from Orkney but it's a wee bit stronger tasting.
 
Hi, thanks for the above. I've been to Sainsbury's and read the back of all the whisky bottles too so now I have something to go on.
The plan is to to the pub tomorrow night and see what they have on offer. (Combined with a busker's night, I'm not sure if this is a good idea)
Thanks for all your input, I'll keep you posted.
If anyone thinks of anything else please add it to the list.

And, thanks twentyten, but I'm not sure if i'll have time to taste and put an order in before next weekend.
 
So, a lot of recommendations for Highland Park here. First tried it a few years ago at the Good Food Show at Earls Court and bought a bottle at Half Price (About £12 I think). Then lost half of it as, without me knowing, the missus had been using it for hot toddies, despite having 2 bottles of cheap blended stuff in the cupboard! :bang::bang::bang:

She then bought me another bottle as a Christmas present! :woot:
 
:D a good while ago, when I used to go to the martial arts club,they had a decent bar next to it.
I was getting a lift there from a young woman,(had no car them days)
So after a session one night ,took her for a drink to say thank you for the ride.

Well ,she was a Whiskey drinker and asked for a Glenlivet (I think)

Hoping to impress, I ordered a Chivas Regal, ;) smirk smirk.

I then shot my bolt by asking for some lemonade with it......:nuts:
:lol:
Still got a lift next week though......:thumbs:
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without me knowing, the missus had been using it for hot toddies, despite having 2 bottles of cheap blended stuff in the cupboard! Unquote




I had the same Marc ,but she was using the Cognac in the trifle.....she said "you enjoyed it didn't you"
 
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I recon you will have a hangover just thinking of which one to get. :nuts:
 
Looks like a great place to stay.
Wonder what the mini bar is like too...
 
Nod said:
I'm surprised Yv hasn't turned up in this thread - a hint of the Water of Life is normally enough to wake her up!!!

My earlier use of the E in whiskEy was to differentiate between Scotch and Irish/American products. Personally, I prefer mine with the e but am happy without it!
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I am perfecting the art of arriving fashionably late at parties :D


I do agree with many that a heavy smoky Islay like Laphroaig will definately be marmite to your non-whisky drinking friends no matter how much of it I could happily sup, some will love it, some will hate it, so opt for a nice Speyside such as The Glenlivet that will be much gentler on unrefined pallettes, plenty of other good ones already mentioned. However, If you really want a good smoky Islay whisky, I personally find a 12yr old Bowmore a bit sweeter than Laphroaig as Bowmore doesn't really get serious until about 15, just imo.

However, its a Burns night, as lovely as some of them are I would not recommend taking an Irish, Japanese or American Whiskey! :nono:

Nor are they allowed to add 'mixers', lemonade, cola, or any other such travesties must be banned from the festivities, only water and/or ice are permissable. Oh, a useful tip, cooling a finger or two with an icecube will take the edge off for any reluctant non-drinkers ;)
 
Jameson going down well at the moment :thumbs:
 
StuntMonkey said:
Thanks to this thread i had to take a little nap this afternoon :nuts:
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You woken up yet? :)

Seriously, though, if it's not too late, is there an independent wine merchant local to you Loopy?

In Swindon, there's one call Magnums who have wide range of whiskies. They will give advice and let you taste them. Given that single malts aren't cheap, it might be a worthwhile and educational experience.

Someone mentioned Tobermory - yep Agreed it would be a good 'starter' whisky.
The Knockando is nice
Royal Lochnagar is another one that I have recently discovered that may fit the bill.
 
Hi, thanks to everyone for the above comments.
I have to admit, from reading the tasting note of many of the whiskies, Glenlivet sounded the nicest (to me)

With regards to merchants for tastings, the only one I could think of was Majestic and I wasn't keen on the range of singles on their website. However, I have just remembered about Oddbins so as soon as they open I'll give them a ring.
 
Oh, and I forgot to say, the haggis thread that this has spawned has been very useful too.
 
I thought I'd give an outcome after everyone's help.
DH and I popped into the very friendly and accommodating OddBins in Newcastle and they very kindly guided us through a selection of Scotch Whiskies. We sampled (not in this particular order) Royal Lochnagar 12, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, Wholly Smoke Blended Islay Malt 10 year, Auchentoshan, An Cnoc 12 and Monkey Shoulder; in the end going for... the Wholly Smoke!

It probably wouldn't be everyone's recommendation for a starter whisky but we both liked the flavour and aroma. On the way home we also bought a 1/2 bottle of Glennfidich from the local ASDA as it was reduced to £10 (daft though it may seem the 75cl bottle was still £25ish).

Thanks for everyone's help.

I feel a trip to the West of scotland coming on........:woot:
 
Loopy said:
I thought I'd give an outcome after everyone's help.
DH and I popped into the very friendly and accommodating OddBins in Newcastle and they very kindly guided us through a selection of Scotch Whiskies. We sampled (not in this particular order) Royal Lochnagar 12, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, Wholly Smoke Blended Islay Malt 10 year, Auchentoshan, An Cnoc 12 and Monkey Shoulder; in the end going for... the Wholly Smoke!

It probably wouldn't be everyone's recommendation for a starter whisky but we both liked the flavour and aroma. On the way home we also bought a 1/2 bottle of Glennfidich from the local ASDA as it was reduced to £10 (daft though it may seem the 75cl bottle was still £25ish).

Thanks for everyone's help.

I feel a trip to the West of scotland coming on........:woot:
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BOOOOOOO HISSSSSSS

:coat:
 
Glennfidich would be one of my choices too. It converted me to a whiskey drinker a couple of years ago. The 12 year old would be the best choice as the 15 and 18 year olds may not be to everyones taste. Another personal favourite is Johnnie Walker Black Label it feels so smooth to drink :D
 
Twentyten said:
BOOOOOOO HISSSSSSS

:coat:
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I know, sorry like but I wanted to taste it first.

Does your place do tours and tastings cos if we are going up the west coast at some point, it's nice to have a starter to base a trip around. I'm assuming that it's on the west but I could be way off. Aberdeenshire appeals to me for a few days either.

I can feel an obsession coming on. There's distillery in the Brechin Beacons too and it just so happens that I'm going to be in Talgarth for the August Bank Holiday. Yay!
 
Unless you can get a personalised tour from someone on the inside, the Glennfidich distillery tour is one of the most informative tours for the general public... Theres a whisky trail around moray, linking several distilleries, a former distillery which is now a museum (Dallas Dhu) and the couperage at craigalachie. Hovever a couple of tours is enough as you will be wanting to skip the tour and get to the taisting. I would plan to visit a distillery or 2, but may not arrange the whole trip around tours.

Mid week is best for the tours as they will probably start a mash on monday morning, which means the whole process is in full flow for wednesday. Monday may mean theres not much happening in the distilling stage and friday may mean theres not much happening in the mashing stage.
 
Hmm, whisky, now that is a topic close to my heart.

I currently have 22 bottles in various stages of drinking all Single Malts.

To answer the OPs question it depends on tastes, even though I love Islay malts including Lagavulin and Laphroig I wouldn't reccommend them to a novice as they are some of the most strongly flavoured malts.

I would suggest a lowland or speyside malt with a reasonable age (18 years old +). Other than increasing price (unfortunately), age mellows whisky by removing the fire "claw". An 18YO Glenfiddich would be reasonably priced (£40), if you can find it the 21YO would be nice too (but expect the price to be IRO £70).

As to where you can buy from there are a number on online retailers but if you want a shop to talk to someone at I beleive there is an outlet of The Whisky Shop in the Metro Centre, but they probably won't allow tasting of all the whiskies they have for sale (there might be one or two to try)

HTH
 
One to consider is Ardbeg Uigeadail - just won Whisky of the Year 2008. It is not a light malt, it is a powerful heavy weight of a whisky with a very strong smoky and peaty taste (drinking it now :)) but does represent really good value at about £40.

IMO Possibly one of the best value whiskies about at the moment, but as I said not for the starter
 
Nae worries, I'm just messin with you,

There's a bit of rivalry up here between all the different Whisky firms, with us calling each others products only fit for starting fires or stopping the water freezing in your car window washers:lol:

None of our Distilleries are located on the west coast, the nearest being Glenturret (The Home of The Famous Grouse) which is in Perthshire near Creiff all the rest are on Speyside(Macallan.Glenrothes and Tamdhu) with Highland Park in Orkney.

Only Macallan,Highland Park and Glenturret have visitor centres.

There are a few distilleries on the west coast though, I've just done a search and found this

As singlespeed said Glenfiddich do have a good Visitor centre, they've got it done to a fine art, even i've been round it!!

Hope this helps, the offer from before is still there if you decide you want to broaden your whisky pallete
 
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Glenkinchie is a very pleasant, easy going Lowland Malt that first-timers usually enjoy.
 
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