High End Scotch - What's The Big Deal
- Thread starter llowry61
- Start date
misswired
Absent Comrade
Having only tasted 2 or 3 different brands of scotch; I'm guessing they figured out how to get the kerosene taste out of the high end stuff
OP
Don't get me wrong guys they are not shaming me for my Bud Light, they are just saying I am missing out on something great that they want me to enjoy. They are good guys and are accepting, just prodding me a bit. They have said it is an acquired taste as well. So, I knew there were some knowledgeable folks on here and thought I would see what you thought. One of the guys a pretty extensive collection and he has volunteered to set up my training program. Well, I will see what happens, but either way I am going for the golf if we can get away with it and still be married, which is a subject for another day.
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You think Scotch is a big deal, Try dealing with Wine connoisseur(snobs)
From your first post I guessed your duffer pals were snobs. Glad to know I was wrong.
Take your friend up on his offer. Along with an array of single malt whisky (generally five short pours -- you're not there to get hammered) he should offer "palate cleansers." I know that sounds snobby, but it's truly not. Many cheeses, nice hard crackers or breads, and, yes, fine chocolate can accompany a tasting and make the whole session a great pleasure.
For me the chocolate only works well with whisky aged in sherry (or other wine) casks and heavily peated malts.
If he's going to "educate" you, he should know about all the various cask woods and what was in the cask before it was used for whisky (a few distilleries in Scotland use new barrels, but the majority are former U.S. bourbon barrels or Spanish sherry casks.
He should also be able to explain how that smoky or peaty flavor gets into the whisky.
Also note the spelling of Irish, American (most), and Canadian (most) distilled grain products is: whiskey. Scotland seemed to influence the rest of the world to drop the "e" so their products are spelled whisky. Makers Mark bourbon is whisky.
One last thing, then I'll stop, I promise. What's in a name? Single Malt Whisky means the product came from one (a single) distillery, and the contents of the bottle was made with 100% malted barley. Blended Scotch means the products of more than one distillery were used, and in most cases the whisky was made from a combination of corn, rye, wheat, and limited amounts of barley spirits.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
And one last thing:
There are jerks among scotch aficionados who are the equivalent of those clowns that hand their clueless girlfriend a .500 S&W and then film her as the barrel smacks her in the forehead upon firing.
Heavily smoky Islay malts like Laphroaig and Ardbeg are not the way to feel your way into scotch whisky. And if a sip of one of those is part of an introductory scotch evening, they should come last; you won’t be able to appreciate any other whisky afterwards.
There are jerks among scotch aficionados who are the equivalent of those clowns that hand their clueless girlfriend a .500 S&W and then film her as the barrel smacks her in the forehead upon firing.
Heavily smoky Islay malts like Laphroaig and Ardbeg are not the way to feel your way into scotch whisky. And if a sip of one of those is part of an introductory scotch evening, they should come last; you won’t be able to appreciate any other whisky afterwards.
Agreed.
Although those are two of my favorite scotches.
That said, there's a lot of variety in scotch, and I like that variety. Some days Ardbeg, some days Glenmorangie.
In any event, I encourage folks to try new things- maybe they'll like them.
... there's a lot of variety in scotch, and I like that variety. Some days Ardbeg, some days Glenmorangie.
A brilliant comment!
I never liked the question, "What's your favorite"?
You answered it very well.
CScott
Member
I can't say which scotch is my favorite, which is why I keep trying different ones. So far I have not come across any that I really did not like. Oban 18 seems to find it's way home with me fairly often. Lately I've been enjoying a modestly priced ($50 +/-) scotch-like whisky produced locally by Santa Fe Spirits called Colkegan. Very small distillery, very nice to sip.
To your health!
Scott
To your health!
Scott
OP
Appreciate the thought and information. I am going to take him up on it. He is very knowledgeable about it and has shared a lot of info on the 19th hole. He will usually hop in the gutter and have a designer beer while I toss back my rice beer. He is a good guy and has quite a collection of bourbons, scotches etc. He usually buys 3 bottles of whatever he is buying. 1 for drinking, one for trading and one for the "collection". I guess there are some items that only a few bottles become available per year and his network of friends all have different connections and buy then trade etc. He has never gone shooting, so I am going to introduce him and the other 3 to sporting clays. pistol shooting etc.
During all my drinking years I never developed a taste for Scotch. My parents had a cabinet full of all the most best-est, expensive Liquor of every type. After dinner drinks, every Scotch, Whiskey Bourbon, Gins you name it, they had it. They were not "drinkers" but had to have what ever someone wanted if they had a dinner party.
Not much into Wine not Beers
I got to sample them all
I settled on JD, Makers Mark and some others. That along with GOOD BEER, Not that Lite garbage!.(lived in Wisconsin for a while)
Kept me fueled for years!
My Father in Law was a Scotch snob
Not much into Wine not Beers
I got to sample them all
I settled on JD, Makers Mark and some others. That along with GOOD BEER, Not that Lite garbage!.(lived in Wisconsin for a while)
Kept me fueled for years!
My Father in Law was a Scotch snob
Old Arkansawyer
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There would be some who would drink kerosene if it was hyped enough
and priced at $200.00+ a quart.
and priced at $200.00+ a quart.
whisk(e)y is a journey not a destination...
I am a bourbon & rye kinda guy... I have not ventured down the scotch path very far... I do not find it enjoyable.. I keep an open mind and will try what is offered, and some have been VERY pricey... sadly they are wasted on me. frankly the peated ones taste like industrial cleaner filtered thru a coal miners sweat socks... I may find one the works... but I will take a different path.. mostly thru Kentucky... have fun golfing
I am a bourbon & rye kinda guy... I have not ventured down the scotch path very far... I do not find it enjoyable.. I keep an open mind and will try what is offered, and some have been VERY pricey... sadly they are wasted on me. frankly the peated ones taste like industrial cleaner filtered thru a coal miners sweat socks... I may find one the works... but I will take a different path.. mostly thru Kentucky... have fun golfing
JJEH
Member
There is a difference between a limited barrel, well made (where the master distiller works his/her magic), aged drink and a mass produced liquid supervised and controlled by a machine.
Back when I was still drinking alcohol, I preferred a good whiskey over anything else. Got really into it, bought books and learned. My favorite and most expensive Whiskey I have bought is Jameson 18 Yrs.
So smooth you don't need water with it. Rich flavors and great taste. And Whiskey is never consumed "on the rocks" btw...
Jameson 18 Years Old
Try this one and I promise you won't regret it.
I still like the smell though, I just stopped drinking a long time ago...
Back when I was still drinking alcohol, I preferred a good whiskey over anything else. Got really into it, bought books and learned. My favorite and most expensive Whiskey I have bought is Jameson 18 Yrs.
So smooth you don't need water with it. Rich flavors and great taste. And Whiskey is never consumed "on the rocks" btw...
Jameson 18 Years Old
Try this one and I promise you won't regret it.
I still like the smell though, I just stopped drinking a long time ago...
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UncleEd
Member
For boubon drinkers I'd like to
suggest one though it suits my
taste and maybe not a lot of
real pro bourbon drinkers:
Jim Beam Double Oak
suggest one though it suits my
taste and maybe not a lot of
real pro bourbon drinkers:
Jim Beam Double Oak
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
For me it’s also a seasonal thing.
Now in the summer, much more fruity and floral Speyside and Highland whiskies. And there’s nothing like a bourbon or Tennessee whiskey on a hot sultry summer afternoon.
When the wind and rain start blowing around the house, it’s time to shift to the islands and peaty smoke.
Islay doesn’t make it easy; the special editions like Cairdeas and Ardbeg Day bottlings always show up here in mid-summer
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Gosh, you live close to, perhaps, the best scotch bar in the U.S.A.
The Dundee Dell.
Monthly tastings on a Sunday afternoon (check for the pandemic schedule -- it may be "different" now).
Last time I was there, the back bar held 860-odd single malt scotch whiskies. Mind blowing.
I’m no help, it all tastes like lighter fluid to me.
I drank a 1/5 of Cutty Sark when I was 15. Put me under and out for two days. That was all the Scotch I ever wanted. Can’t even stand the smell of it now. I don’t drink like I use to, but if I have a shot it will be bourbon and maybe a little Crown. That’s as fancy as I get.
