Scotch Whisky - Blended or Single Malt, What do You like?
What's are the Scotch Whiskies that you like best?
Blended, blended premium, single malt (Highland, Lowland, Speyside or Islay) or single malt premium?
And have you ever come across a bottle of blended single malts that you liked (i.e. not blended with neutral grain whisky, but different single malts mixed together). I know I haven't.
Is the real M'Coy Canadian Club 15 years old minimum ( Not the crap they sell here ) Blended of single malt ? this is my Scotch of choice , beautiful drop .
Brian.
I find Laphroaig fascinating, and I love it. In fact, it is second only to Lagavulin, my top of the heap.
Incidentally, I also love a good gin. Guess where my recently discovered new favourite gin comes from? The Isle of Islay! That place is simply magic.
Cheers
Steffen.
Steffen, you naughty, naughty boy! You introduced me to Laphroaig, I believe it was, at this year's SPSP. I have since been RESEARCHING single malt peated whiskies!!!! Even found a Tassie made peated single malt,
Another fan of the peaty ones here. My oldest daughter's name is Isla, and my youngest's second name is Skye. I regularly get a few bottles of the 18 year old Talisker sent over - my all time favourite drop.
There's always a Laphroaig and a Lagavulin here, and I quite like the Ardhberg offering as well.
I keep a bottle of Glenlivet handy for those philistines who want it in their coke.
slainthe!
Andrew.
ahh scotch......... scotchy scotchy scotch....... it goes down, down into my belly! (anchorman)
islay malts for me, laphroaig quarter cask and the 10
islay malts are the most distinctive drinks in the whole world, they are powerful but still have a delicacy, they are forward but still amazingly complex and they are obvious without being crass!
cut my teeth on the lagavulin islay donkeys ago and became a convert
pat
Ahh, but that was Lagavulin, the ultimate acquired taste. Once acquired there is no going back, though.
Next year I'll bring a bottle of Botanist, the Islay Gin. I may even bring some dry Vermouth and olives
Cheers
Steffen.
Sheesh, I better track you down then Steffen Hmmm?..I might bring a good Japanese whisky I think they can be as good as or indeed better than many of the top Scotch Whiskies
Of the ones I've tried I'd agree with the flavour classification of all except for one. It mystifies me how does Glenfiddich 12 YO gets classified as light and delicate.
Regards,
Renato
Hi all, if you are really interested in learning about whisky, I recommend you attend some tasting classes, at such places as The Oak Barrel in Sydney, which has sessions every month or I so. I have been going to these for several years, and have accumulated tasting notes for over 200+ different expressions. Better still, come to the Sydney Whisky Fair, held in September each year, and you'll get the chance to try pretty much anything imaginable, they have about 130 options on hand!
I have started running my own tasting nights for clients and friends, and it is great fun to share the love of what is known as "the water of life".
My obsession has led me recently to join the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. For those really keen on single malts this is the way to go - they buy barrels from distilleries all around Scotland, and store them in their own warehouse in Leith until ready. They have about 5000 barrels at any one time, and release about 100 expressions each year at full cask strength. Glorious stuff, but not cheap, ranging from $200 to $1000 per bottle.
Sadly once a taste is acquired for cask strength whisky with all of its complexity, most of the widely consumed high profile whisky that floods the market tastes somewhat, well, bland.
Blended whisky is generally an elaborate exercise in trying to hide inferior poor tasting whisky amongst OK whisky. Ballentine's 17 year is quite nice.
This is my current top 20:
Glenfarclas 30 year old
Bowmore Springtide
Old Pulteney 21 years
Glendronach Single Cask 1992
Ardbeg Ardbog
Longrow Rundlets and Kildekins
Bruichladdich Octomore 6.0
Glennalachie, Single Malts of Scotland
Glengoyne SMWS 123.8
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Amrut Intermediate Sherry
Glendronach Single Cask 1991
Glendronach Single Cask 1990
Glendronach Single a Cask 1978
Glenfarclas 40 years
Old Malt Cask Ardbeg 1991
Bruichladdich Octomore 5.
Nant Cask Strength
Mortlach Adelphi 26 year old
In this list there are 18 from Scotland, 1 from Australia (Nant) and 1 from India (Amrut). I have tried many bourbons, but the top one only comes in at 27 (Booker's Noe).
Amongst Scotland's finest is Glendronach distillery and Glenfarclas (both the sherry butt style), and Ardbeg (peated). Dan Murphy's stocks Some Ardbeg and Glenfarclas, you'll have to go to more specialists stockists to get Glendronach.
Believe it or not, Helliers Road Whisky was recently rated #1 in the world. And it's from ..... Tasmania!
So I bought some for the wife's birthday (she loves the peaty ones) and it's not peaty but sooooo smooth and flavoursome, highly recommended
Believe it or not, Helliers Road Whisky was recently rated #1 in the world. And it's from ..... Tasmania!
So I bought some for the wife's birthday (she loves the peaty ones) and it's not peaty but sooooo smooth and flavoursome, highly recommended
Not quite, although I am sure it is very good.
At a blind tasting in Paris by local whisky enthusiasts in 2013, the Pinot cask expression was voted the best New World Whisky. In other words, it was not competing against Scotch whisky, but amongst new countries that are making whisky it was voted the most popular at that event, probably because the Pinot cask created an original flavour profile that intrigued people.
Australian whisky will always struggle to achieve the consistent heights of Scotch whisky because in our climate, the whisky takes on too much of a woody flavour profile if left in the barrel more than 4 or 5 years. It will always be young and fiery, which is a nice distinctive style, but it will never reach the sublime heights of some of the 30 year old malts you get from colder climate countries like Scotland.
My favourite Australian whisky is Nant. I visited their distillery at Bothwell, about 45 mins NW of Hobart in January 2014. They make a truly local product, using locally produced barley and local yeasts. They mill the barley themselves, indeed all steps are done on site. They age the whisky for about 4 years, but I think they are using some excellent casks because the flavour profile is exquisite. Highly recommended - especially the sherry cask, cask strength.
Rod you are the man
Fortunately for my part I am not alert to the finer points in respect to wisky so I will drink anything with equal approval.
Interesting stuff.
At a blind tasting in Paris by local whisky enthusiasts in 2013, the Pinot cask expression was voted the best New World Whisky. In other words, it was not competing against Scotch whisky, but amongst new countries that are making whisky it was voted the most popular at that event, probably because the Pinot cask created an original flavour profile that intrigued people.
I stand corrected and doff my hat to you sir! (must go get some Nant in now )
Hi all, if you are really interested in learning about whisky, I recommend you attend some tasting classes, at such places as The Oak Barrel in Sydney, which has sessions every month or I so. I have been going to these for several years, and have accumulated tasting notes for over 200+ different expressions. Better still, come to the Sydney Whisky Fair, held in September each year, and you'll get the chance to try pretty much anything imaginable, they have about 130 options on hand!
I have started running my own tasting nights for clients and friends, and it is great fun to share the love of what is known as "the water of life".
My obsession has led me recently to join the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. For those really keen on single malts this is the way to go - they buy barrels from distilleries all around Scotland, and store them in their own warehouse in Leith until ready. They have about 5000 barrels at any one time, and release about 100 expressions each year at full cask strength. Glorious stuff, but not cheap, ranging from $200 to $1000 per bottle.
Sadly once a taste is acquired for cask strength whisky with all of its complexity, most of the widely consumed high profile whisky that floods the market tastes somewhat, well, bland.
Blended whisky is generally an elaborate exercise in trying to hide inferior poor tasting whisky amongst OK whisky. Ballentine's 17 year is quite nice.
This is my current top 20:
Glenfarclas 30 year old
Bowmore Springtide
Old Pulteney 21 years
Glendronach Single Cask 1992
Ardbeg Ardbog
Longrow Rundlets and Kildekins
Bruichladdich Octomore 6.0
Glennalachie, Single Malts of Scotland
Glengoyne SMWS 123.8
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Amrut Intermediate Sherry
Glendronach Single Cask 1991
Glendronach Single Cask 1990
Glendronach Single a Cask 1978
Glenfarclas 40 years
Old Malt Cask Ardbeg 1991
Bruichladdich Octomore 5.
Nant Cask Strength
Mortlach Adelphi 26 year old
In this list there are 18 from Scotland, 1 from Australia (Nant) and 1 from India (Amrut). I have tried many bourbons, but the top one only comes in at 27 (Booker's Noe).
Amongst Scotland's finest is Glendronach distillery and Glenfarclas (both the sherry butt style), and Ardbeg (peated). Dan Murphy's stocks Some Ardbeg and Glenfarclas, you'll have to go to more specialists stockists to get Glendronach.
Slainte!
You have a current Top 20. I think I've only tasted 20 Single Malts all up!
Curious how no one has made much mention of Blended Whisky.
Chivas Regal leaves me scratching my head as to why it is better than say Ballantines.
I'm currently drinking lots of Dewars and Pepsi Max, mainly because it is what keeps being served to me when flying Emirates. So I feel like I'm on a plane.
Regards,
Renato
Is the real M'Coy Canadian Club 15 years old minimum ( Not the crap they sell here ) Blended of single malt ? this is my Scotch of choice , beautiful drop .
they can be as good as or indeed better than many of the top Scotch Whiskies 
