Whisky

[Basualdo]

The bar I drink in has a whiskey club and 126 Irish whiskeys and 80 Scotch. Also about 30 or 40 gins.

[m4rkb]

I'd suggest a very blind eye is being turned towards the length of time producers claim they hold maturing whisky stocks versus what is actually the truth.

In the whisky world itself it is a known fact.

[subsub]

I'd suggest a very blind eye is being turned towards the length of time producers claim they hold maturing whisky stocks versus what is actually the truth.

In the whisky world itself it is a known fact.

You what?

[AlcoholBrazil]

Just don't let David Beckham advertise your brand of whiskey when everyone and their dog knows he couldn't drink the stuff and
even if he could , he wouldn't know the difference between a single malt and a Poundland blend mass-produced in Albania.

[carcinogen]

Just don't let David Beckham advertise your brand of whiskey

Why? David is so urbane. I want to be like David sooooooooooo bad. I want to dress like him, buy a motorbike and ride around LA like him. Sadly the closest i'll ever get to being him is drinking the same brand of whiskey as him. You're just jealous and bitter. His wife is so sexy too, she always looks like she's having so much fun being with David.

[subsub]

Just don't let David Beckham advertise your brand of whiskey when everyone and their dog knows he couldn't drink the stuff and
even if he could , he wouldn't know the difference between a single malt and a Poundland blend mass-produced in Albania.

In fairness, Haig Club is a cheap grain whisky designed to appeal to non-whisky drinkers.
It's OK, it's inoffensive, bland etc and should be drunk mixed, definitely not neat.
It's stupidly overpriced, though.

[VeritasVincit]

This discussion is upsetting me; not because I object to anything written but because I can’t drink whisky, and thencomments are clearly from those who enjoy it.
My drinking friends are all whisky drinkers and will sit around discussing which to try next before clearly savouring their choices. I can’t join in.

Whenever I have tried whisky in the past I found it too harsh and strong and caused throat discomfort. I have been offered sips of various brands, usually malts, but the same problem.

I have the same problem with other spirits but whisky is the worst.
I actually would love to drink it, to sit around and do what others do, enjoy it, but alas!

No doubt some will say ‘try this brand…’ but to buy a bottle and not like it would be a hell of a waste. Any solutions which don’t break the bank would be gratefully accepted.

[The Ghost of Alex Higgins]

Whiskey (deliberately provocative spelling) is the devils hot piss

[m4rkb]

I'd suggest a very blind eye is being turned towards the length of time producers claim they hold maturing whisky stocks versus what is actually the truth.

In the whisky world itself it is a known fact.

You what?

There was even a report about it in the Daily Mail a few years back claiming the ages are being faked as the distillers seemed to be able to supply unlimited amounts on demand for countries which have only just switched onto it. And all this must have happened 12 years in advance for a 12 year old. Suspicions are therefore aroused.

I can only presume something like adding one drop of 12yo to an otherwise full bottle about 2 years old allows them to make such a statement.

Any road, I had a few glasses of one which cost about £350 a bottle and I have to say it was fucking awful. Normal Grouse pissed all over it.

Fuck knows what it now as it was a good few years back and I've forgotten. But the label was something like a goblin sat under a bridge. It must have been donkeys years of storage costs and rarity which made it £350+ a bottle because it certainly wasn't anything to do with taste.

[The Ghost of Alex Higgins]

That's Old Dirty Goblin Satanic Urine (Limited Paintstripper Emergency Ward Edition). 900 quid a thimbleful. Causes immediate throat cancer but sooooo exclusive.

[subsub]

I'd suggest a very blind eye is being turned towards the length of time producers claim they hold maturing whisky stocks versus what is actually the truth.

In the whisky world itself it is a known fact.

You what?

There was even a report about it in the Daily Mail a few years back claiming the ages are being faked as the distillers seemed to be able to supply unlimited amounts on demand for countries which have only just switched onto it. And all this must have happened 12 years in advance for a 12 year old. Suspicions are therefore aroused.

I can only presume something like adding one drop of 12yo to an otherwise full bottle about 2 years old allows them to make such a statement.

Any road, I had a few glasses of one which cost about £350 a bottle and I have to say it was fucking awful. Normal Grouse pissed all over it.

Fuck knows what it now as it was a good few years back and I've forgotten. But the label was something like a goblin sat under a bridge. It must have been donkeys years of storage costs and rarity which made it £350+ a bottle because it certainly wasn't anything to do with taste.

Nah, I simply don't believe that that sort of thing goes on - not in Scotland, anyway.
Customs etc has records of all activity in a distillery, and they have to present records etc of what they do very regularly.

Also, the age statement on a bottle of whisky refers to the youngest component, so if I had barrel of 18-year-old whisky and put just a teaspoon of 10-year-old in it, I could then only release it as a 10 Year Old.

The point is that at the moment, demand exceeds supply, which is why so many distilleries are removing age statements and launching non-age-statement (NAS) bottlings, eg Talisker Storm/Skye, because they just don't have enough aged stock at the moment.

Re your £350 bottling - that's very hard to gauge. Just because a whisky is old doesn't automatically mean it will taste good.
I personally think that the sweet spot for ageing is between 15 and 21 years. That gives the spirit enough time to soften and interact with the wood, but once whisky has been in a barrel for 25 years or so, there's a big risk of the wood influence becoming too great, so blenders have to taste frequently, and once the balance is right, they have to get a wriggle on and decide what to do with it.

[subsub]

Whenever I have tried whisky in the past I found it too harsh and strong and caused throat discomfort. I have been offered sips of various brands, usually malts, but the same problem.

I have the same problem with other spirits but whisky is the worst.
I actually would love to drink it, to sit around and do what others do, enjoy it, but alas!

No doubt some will say ‘try this brand…’ but to buy a bottle and not like it would be a hell of a waste. Any solutions which don’t break the bank would be gratefully accepted.

That could be down to a few things. You may just not like neat spirits, be that whisky, rum, whatever. 40% ABV (or higher) is a strong drink, no matter how you look at it.

If you find Scotch whisky a bit much, try bourbon. It's made with 51% (minimum) corn, so will naturally be sweeter than Scotch. Mrs subsub struggles with single malts and prefers bourbon.
Or try Cognac, which is generally softer and richer, or there's always rum, which again will be sweeter. Aged rums can be phenomenal, and they are delicious neat.

Or, if you're determined to get a taste for Scotch, just add a little water, and keep adding until you're happy with the balance. The intensity will drop off the more water you add, but equally, the drink will become more approachable and palatable.

[Eaststand]

This discussion is upsetting me; not because I object to anything written but because I can’t drink whisky, and thencomments are clearly from those who enjoy it.
My drinking friends are all whisky drinkers and will sit around discussing which to try next before clearly savouring their choices. I can’t join in.

Whenever I have tried whisky in the past I found it too harsh and strong and caused throat discomfort. I have been offered sips of various brands, usually malts, but the same problem.

I have the same problem with other spirits but whisky is the worst.
I actually would love to drink it, to sit around and do what others do, enjoy it, but alas!

No doubt some will say ‘try this brand…’ but to buy a bottle and not like it would be a hell of a waste. Any solutions which don’t break the bank would be gratefully accepted.

talisker is a nice one. cheapish. single malt, genuinely lovely I think, 35-40 a bottle, so pretty reasonable.

Bushmills is something I like, as i find the Irish whiskeys slightly smoother, but I dont know what your tolerances are exactly and it is a more cheaper mainstream one, so you probably won't like that, but you never know.

Failing that, just have a brandy.

[Eaststand]

Also, put an ice cube in it. Theres no shame in it, about 50% of people do it and it smooths it right out.

[subsub]

Also, put an ice cube in it. Theres no shame in it, about 50% of people do it and it smooths it right out.

Nothing inherently wrong with adding ice to whisky, if you enjoy it that way.

Of course, chilling anything will reduce the flavour you get from it (which is why overchilled white wine tastes of precisely fuck all), but if it makes it more palatable, go ahead. This summer, when it was ludicrously hot, I added ice to a whisky now and again, and it worked a treat.

But what really fucks me off is when I order a good whisky in a bar and they chuck a load of ice in without asking me first. Highlights the lack of basic training in most bars/restaurants these days.