h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Shoot myself huh? If i spend a lot of money on a good single malt I want to enjoy the full taste ( so I add water, as the brewer recommend), if I was into stupid macho drinking I would drink moonshine

Macho has nothing to do with it.
Moonshine gives me the most Fantastic Lucid Dreams. However..... the good stuff has a very faint Chocolaty smell to it, as yet, never had a hangover from it either!
Still think adding water to it is silly.

I hugely enjoy Scottish Islay malts, and yes I've stayed on the island and yes I had a wonderful time. I drink Islay malts for pleasure. To get pissed, I drink bourbon, usually our good friends Jack and Jim. The point is, a Canadian friend recently introduced me to "WISER'S VERY OLD CANADIAN WHISKEY" which is a fine fluid that I will wholeheartedly recommend to anybody in this forum.

Glenmoranjie, Rosebank and Glenkinchie are just a few of my favourite things, but don't decry blended whiskies . eg. Whyte & Mackays is a really nice drink. Has anybody tried a Scottish pure grain whisky ?
It's not too bad actually.
Enough of this ... time for a dram.
cheers!

Some of the Polish/Russian Stuff can be excellent if the commie Mafiosa have not doctored it. Try a genuine Polish or Russian "Starka". guaranteed to knit your EyeBalls together!

I guess I fall into the 10% category as I prefer tequila. I do like a good drink though, but I do love me some shooters!

Snadj

Agree with GargleBlaster, no Whisky comes close to the real stuff.
Glenfiddich is an abobination, some blended stuff tastes better.
As for Canadian stuff, their Continuous Stills resemble Petrol Cracking Plants. And the stuff tastes about as subtle as petrol.
Grey Area seems to have some outspoken views I agree with.
Mainly, NO H20!

Just a point of useless information, in 1956 when Kruschev visited with Bulganin, he preffered Macallan to the best Brandies on offer.
Strangely, still with Glennfiddich on my mind.
Balvenie distillery is only a few hundred meteres away just, a bit further down the hill, so why does it taste so much better?

I may be sorry, but If you can drink the cheaper blends,barring Teachers, without a mix, you are ablaggard, Sir.
Cheaper stuff, all of them, are either drunk mixed or straight. The peaty, smokey Scotches are from Islay. they are deffinitely distinct, but from what you say, you want a Highland Malt, not so smokey, and not "salty" as the whisky's from the lowlands can be. Taste le difference as they may say!!!!

If you are having trouble with the "dark smoky malt's" then try adding a drop of water per cl of wiskey. This will "open" the whisky palette.

As I've already said, I usually drink cheaper brands, ALWAYS neat. I'm not drinking them for the taste experience, I'm drinking them to anesthetise my mind. I still dislike Teacher immensly. I have also observed Prof drinking whisky neat. Does this make us blaggards? Each to their own.

I like whisky. I adore Laphroaig as much as the utterly different Macallan.
I love Alcohol, I delight in the subtle differences between wines, spirits, cider or whatever. I will drink anything with alchol in.
I will not ruin a good malt by pouring water in with it, yeuch!

I've recently aquired a blended Malt (as opposed to simply "a blend" - no grain whisky involved) called Campbell's Tomintoul Special. It's 100 proof, and rather pleasant! (hic)

Oh, and £18.99 for a 70cl bottle...

No no no no no. You've all got it wrong. You can't tell people how they "should" have their whisky. The only rule you can lay down is that you should enjoy it. Whisky drinking isn't something you're forced to do. If you don't enjoy it, drink something else.

So if the person who introduced you to whisky made you drink it neat and you didn't like it, try it with some ice. If you still don't like it, try it with some water. If you still don't like it, then mix it (but if you're in a bar you might want to ask for a blended whisky for your personal safety). If you still don't like it after that, then give up & drink something else - no hard feelings.

For the record, I drink single malts neat, & my favourite so far is Cragganmore (although there's still several hundred I haven't tried). Can't stand the blended stuff. That information constitutes my recommendations but I wouldn't force my views on anyone.

Interesting, I have heard of the distillery and brand, but not in the form you describe. Enjoy, mutter, mutter, mutter.....

Has anyone tried Black label, which is apparently a blend of all the Islay malts? (no grain) Since I'm very fond of all of them, especially Laphroaig, I thought it might be worth a go over New Year - and no I won't be putting any water in it. My grandfather, who worked for the despised Teacher's used to drink whisky with a water chaser,but never mixed the twain. He died in his bed well into his eighties, without ever having spent a day in it for sickness. Let's hope all us malt appreciators go the same way. Cheers.

I too am, as stated in this thread some 20 weeks ago, a Laphroaig supporter. But I also like The Macallan, and even some blended ones. Among the blends I tend to favourise The Famous Grouse, which I find oddly smooth and tasty for a blend. I will not, however, go anywhere near anything that resembles a bottle of Chivas Regal. That is liquid dung.

The 'Grouse website has been totally updated and is well worth a look.
(Well, If DNA can plug third party commercial sites, so can I!)
http://dev.famousegrouse.com
for a sneak preview.

Sorry, D.J., at 6:38pm UK time, 7/12/99 it didn't work.

Your absolutely right, because (a) it has now been released, so is at
http://www.famousgrouse.com/index_js.html
and also, shockingly, I had mis-spelt "famous" with an e on the end - all the more surprising as I'm sure I copied the URL.

Anyway, give the above a try..and if it's to your liking go to
http://www.clearcut.co.uk
and follow the clients list for a selection of other distilleries and blenders on-line.