Not wanting to turn this into an Irish Whisky thread, I do want to add something to diamud’s post.
For those loyal Irish Catholics out there who don’t want to try the N. Ireland Protestant Bushmills (which is much different that Jameson), you’ll be happy to know that a Catholic has been stirring the mash for the last few years.
difference… i would say they are much stronger in character. this does not mean the taste is too strong, character also means smoothness, body, nose,… they are usually matured at least ten years, so the quality is simply much higher - that’s what makes them so expensive. on the other hand, it takes a lot of time to empty a bottle - you simply can’t pour it down like water and it’s not good to get drunk of it - so it pays to invest in a good bottle of single malt.
someone here called the malt lovers snobs - i thought so some time ago - but the taste is simply superior!
nevertheless i have to say there are great blends! i got into whisk(e)y through irish whiskey - bushmills, tullamore dew, middleton’s - all good spirits! i had an american sour mash whiskey from louisiana once which name i don’t recall -that was fantastic. teacher’s, as mentioned before, is good too and famous grouse is really drinkable.
i never add water for i tried it and it did not work for me. but that’s individual.
slainte!!
I like Glenlivet so much, i named myself after it.
Any other dopers named after Scotch? I didn’t think so.
-Glen
Me too on the Laphroiag. It’s an islay malt, as peaty as it wants to be. If I’m belly up to a bar, I’ll enjoy it neat with a club soda no ice back. Getting delicious shivers just thinking about it. Well, it and the lovely brown-eyed girl I used to sip it with as we cozied in a booth at The Green Mill.
Dewars is my favorite of the call scotches.
Back in the early days of my bar patronage, I would order Chivas with a twist. Damn was I a rube. There’s 12-step programs for that sort of behavior.
Well, I am a good Scotch…wait, I am Scottish. Scotch is a drink. :rolleyes:
Nevermind, I got caught up in the moment. Carry on.
wow, this is probably the best response i’ve gotten from any of my threads!
i’m thinking that the first single malt i’ll try is Laphroiag, simply because it’s the cheapest (i did a little scan of the single malts my store carries, and Laphroiag is a good 15 bucks cheaper than the rest). or, if i’m really ambitious, i may buy some glenlivet. it costs significantly more, but to be honest, i’ve wanted to try it ever since i first saw it in the store. it’ll be a while before i can afford it; gotta set aside some savings y’know! plus, i’ve still got quite a lot of grouse and usher’s left.
and as an aside, expensive scotch is the thing most often stolen from the store where i work. usually, each bottle comes in an individual box. for some reason, shoplifters think opening the box and taking the bottle will make it easier to steal. in reality, it’s really obvious when someone’s opening the box, and the scotch section is the section we watch the hardest. they’d be more likely to get away with it if they just stuck a regular bottle of vodka or whiskey under their coat!
Just remember acconav…
If it’s not scotch, it’s CRAP!
Thanks for the education, folks.
I drink scotch occasionally, though less often than rum and only about as often as bourbon. Usually Pinch, or Chivas if they don’t have Pinch. Most of the other brands I’ve tasted have been cheaper lower-shelf varieties that taste like gasoline, so I haven’t experimented much.
Q1: How do you pronounce “Laphroiag”?
Q2: What is Pinch? I don’t have a bottle on hand to check. Is it blended also?
Bourbon is my drink of choice, as I like a good quantity when I drink, and the smoothness of bourbon does the trick, but Scotch is a favorite for sipping on a winter’s eve.
Only posted to give you Scotch enthusiasts a tip - GREAT prices on single malts, specially aged, etc., at the Duty Free shops at the Canadian border.
A friend visiting me in Vermont, and subsequently enjoying Montreal, bought his father a normally $90 or so bottle for between $30 and $40 canadian, or about $20. I believe the Glenmorangie mentioned above, but don’t remember for sure.
Woo-hoo! So many Laphroiag lovers here. I move we all head out to Johnny L.A.'s place to help him finish off his stock. Just having it lying idle is positively criminal!
It’s pronounced as it’s spelled, of course! 
Aha! So it’s “la-froy-awgg”, then?
I’d hate to go into the liquor store and ask for some and have the proprietor correct me:
“That’s ‘laff-rigg’, son”
“Do you perhaps mean ‘lay free accch’?”
“How about some of this here ‘lap chroww ukk’ instead?”
Bloody inconvenient time for a page wrap. That woulda been in response to:
Pronounce the “-phroiag” part as you would “Freud”, replacing ‘d’ with ‘g’, of course.
As others have said, this is a bit of an acquired taste, and is probably not a good choice for a beginner. Try Lagavulin for starters.
Highland Park is best by far imho
Too many posts and options to specifically reply to (although I was impressed to see that the first suggestion was Laphroig, a mighty malt that is not for the timid, as it’s extreme peatiness is the sort of thing that makes rooks say, “it tastes like iodine” – yes, in fact it does taste of iodine).
In the USA, anyay, you can’t go wrong with the Glenlivet – delightful and very balanced. Reasonably priced and better than most hoity-toity malts.
If ya like 'em sweet, McCallan and Oban are fine choices, although Springbank smacks them around (if you can find it).
I prefer the moderately peaty malts, such as Talisker and Lagavulin – those are my two faves regarding malts readily available in the US of A., for what my opinion is worth.
Lighter but still delightful are Auchentauchen and Abelour.
Seriously, consult Michael Jackson’s book on the subject – obviously, not the MJ of one-glove fame. The beer and Scotch guy.
So how come that all whisky fanatics, Scottish or otherwise, I know recommend that you blend your whisky with some water?
“Never drink whisky without water, never drink water without whisky”
[mild hijack]
Ditto to the bourbon comment. As a recent transplant to Kentucky I’ve decided to emerse myself in local culture: Appalachian Folk Music, horse racing, and of course that most perfect of all liquors–bourbon.
My favorite in this bunch is Booker’s with a bit of water, for the same reasons listed above.
[/mild hijack]
[another mild hijack]
I still remember the first (and last) time I drank bourbon (don’t remember the brand). A friend of mine insisted that I should try it, but I protested that I didn’t like whisky (I have learnt now). He just responded that bourbon tastes nothing like whisky and handed me a glass. He was absolutely right. It tasted awful and my friend wished that he had had a video camera to catch the expression on my face.
I did however try a nice Canadian Mist last Saturday in connection with an attempt to get into Guinness Book of World Records by arranging the World’s largest whisky tasting. We were 1210 people who all tried the same five whiskies together. And we made it!
[/another mild hijack]
For single malts, my favorites are Lagavulin and MacCallan. I always keep a bottle of each of them on hand.
You need to hang out with a better class of whisky fanatics. No water. No ice, either.