Best Whisky??
 

Whats you favourite Malt Whisky>?? Just back from Scotland and developed a liking for the Macallan and the Isle of Jura - anyone else want to share their whisky thoughts??

so asking about something to do with the culture of that place is NOT valid?? I fail to see how this question is so different from "can you recommend a restaurant", "where can I buy...", "what's the best .... to bring back from...".<BR><BR>Whisky is very much a part of Scotland's culture. Visit there and you will see from the mind-boggling selection that it's a bit different from buying a bottle of bourbon from your local store. Many travel books discuss this subject. I'm sure many people about to visit Scotland would be interested to know what to look out for.

Lagavulin. <BR><BR>It's always going to be a matter of personal taste tho'

No, there are absolute truths in some aspects of life, Sheila. Glenmorangie.

mmmmm-Laphroig...<BR><BR>xxx, perhaps a wee dram would be to your benefit... take the edge off, you know...

If we're talking absolutes, John, I'll see your milk-and-water Glenmorangie and raise you Mike's Macallan any day!!

Macallan 12 year will do very nicely, thank you. At times, I do enjoy a Glenmorangie 12 year, port wood finish; in front of the fire with a good book, for example.

Certainly no authority, but I enjoy sipping Glengoyne and remembering with pleasure our visit to the distillery, as well as other wonderful memories of our trip to Scotland.<BR><BR>j

Hands down, Bell's over ice with water.

I really enjoy Tallisker...Smokey with a bit of peaty flavor. I do enjoy Lagavulin and Laproig also but not necessarily the older versions. Not sure about watering it down with ice and water though.<BR><BR>A friend of mine tells the story of when he overheard a man in a Scottish pub order a rusty nail. The Bartender replied, "I'll serve ye the Scotch and I'll serve ye the Drambuie, but I'll be damned if I'll mix them together for ye! In other words....drink in straight!<BR><BR>Bill

Lagavulin and Macallan? Bit confused in the taste buds, are we, Sheila? Or are you accustomed to chewing on peat? As for the Macallan, do you buy the 18 YO stuff using your inheritance, or is it just Speyside loyalty and economics be damned? :*)<BR><BR>Time for a drink-off, lads and lasses. Where and when to gather? Who's driving?

Hey, you with the psedonym; we know who you are!!<BR><BR>You're just trying to lead these poor folks astray. You know fine that Bells isn't malt (although they do do one). And if you really want to wind us up, that should have been coke, not water you were pouring into it

D'you something, John? I drink more than one kind of wine too.<BR><BR>Lagavulin and the Macallan are the two best "ordinary" malts out.<BR><BR>They are very different, but none the less bad for that. I actually do drink malt whisky and having done a quick recce in my drinks cupboard discover that right now I have 5 Islays (Lapraoig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg Bruichladdich and Bowmore), 5 Highlands (Oban, Isle of Jura, Glenmorangie and Royal Lochnagar)and 3 Speysides (Glenfiddich, Linkwood, Aberlour. There's more than one bottle of some of them and different bottlings of some of them. And for the avoidance of any sexist doubt, these are MINE. (My husband's a wine man).<BR><BR>I normally drink Macallan 15 year old. I once gave a bottle of 25 year old to my dad who absolutely did not appreciate it.<BR><BR>I like whisky (malt whisky) and they're all different and none of them is bad.<BR><BR>May I refer you to the definitive guide<BR><BR>http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0751307084/undiscoveredscot/202-0188068-0326264<BR><BR>Please feel free to come and visit (Scotland)and taste as many as you like<BR><BR>

Bunnahabhain.<BR>Another Islay single malt, though not a typical one.<BR>Whisky loving visitors-Islay is a beautiful island.

Hey, you know I have a Bunn as well!! Not bad-6 out of 8 Islays. have you seen the new bottle, Frank? Bit girlie, eh?

John- excellent idea! Let's have our drink-off way up north at the Eagle Pub in Dornoch- where myself and two friends had an informal and impromptu whisky tasting-- I suggest we take a cab...

I am humbled, Sheila. That's at least 13 bottles of whisky. I shall retire to my single end and nurse the last remaining drams of Old Sporran left in my cupboard. Aged on the truck. Slainte.

Bunna was about to stop producing last year, to the horror of the regulars at my local.The new bottle is an attempt to keep it going, if it works, fine, these guys say they'd drink it out of a sweaty sock.<BR>Sheila, whisky goes off when it's opened.You are going to have to something.<BR>There used to be twenty-something distilleries on Islay, what happened?<BR>There isn't even a bottling plant on the island now despite high unemployment.<BR>IMO shipping of bulk malt whisky should be banned.The French would never allow it for wine.<BR>We need real appelation controlle.There are people in Japan mixing 3 year old malt whisky with Japanese grain and legally selling it as Scotch.We are cutting our own throats.<BR>

Bushmills 16yr old whiskey -- I don't care for that smokey stuff plus it has a bit of bourban taste about it.

Hey, you know I have a Bunn as well!! Not bad-6 out of 8 Islays. have you seen the new bottle, Frank? Bit girlie, eh?

I went to count, and am embarrassed to admit there are no fewer than 18 all together (I found a lonely Edradour lurking at the back)<BR><BR>Some of them are very good- the Linkwood is a 23 year old- and remain unopen.<BR><BR>But I'd happily bring them all to a whisky party if someone else'll organise it. The Lochside in Bowmore would be my pick.

Highland Park (shit name, great whisky) from Orkney is my favourite, but if I want one that jumps up and bites my bum, then Lagavulin from Islay.

Old Sheep Dip...I am not kidding ...is not bad!!<BR><BR>My DH favorite - Lagavulin or Laphroig<BR><BR>Mine- Dalwhinnie

I like several but The Macallan (18 year old if I rob a bank) or Highland Park are probably my absolute favs.<BR><BR>When I want a blend to splash w/ water I stick to Grouse or Bells.

After a high roller scotch tasting, I'll cast my vote for the Tallisker. Friends brought some home and agreed.

Not many Isle of Jura fans out there! I too rank it among my favourites, especially the Island of Jura! where are you Jura lovers??

Jake, it's Okkkkk:) but not a patch on most of the Islays.

Ok, I must try get to I slay sometime!!!<BR>and who on earth said Bushmills?? bit of a no contest with your malts!

Glenfarclas 105 or 17 yr old are both wonderful. Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish is another I enjoy, along with Highland Park and a few others.

Janis: Agree with Famous Grouse as blends go. When we want the occaisional scotch old fashioned, we use the "Grouse" with a bit of water rather than soda. Otherwise, Macallan and Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish are still the favorites. Brought back a beautiful thirty year old Dallas Dhu on last trip.

I guess its all a matter of personal taste. I certainly enjoy Macallan and Glenmorangie, but don't really like Tallisker. However, on my last trip to Scotland, I was introduced to Ben Nevis and really, really liked it. Too bad it is so expensive in the U.S.

I'm with Sheila. I like the Islay malts best. But the last time I was in Scotland, about four years ago now I guess, I found time to visit the tiny Edradour distillery and brought away a bottle which I never opened. A couple of years after my trip my brother Christopher won an all expenses paid tour of the single malt distilleries in Scotland -- a wonderful prize for someone so devoted to his malts. But the morning they were going to Edradour he had the opportunity to visit a fish hatchery nearby and as a limnologist, he seized the opportunity expecting one of his mates to pick him up a bottle while there. Well, they didn't. Guess where my Edradour went?<BR><BR>Incidentally, my son and raise and occasionally breed whippet dogs here in Canada, using bloodstock we have imported from England over the years. Our number one stud dog had a fantastic win in Scotland before we brought him over so we decided to name his pups after single malts. We are close to running out of names now and were glad when the last litter only had one pup (Avalonia Bunnahabhain). We greatly enjoy hearing news of Islay in Sweden, Glenfiddich in Finland, Glenlivet in France, Bruichladdich and Glenmoray in Germany etc. Meanwhile we still have Jura (a little wispy and thin boy rather like the real Jura), Lagavulin and Macallan (robust, full bodied girls) and Laphroig (a smooth and rich coloured laddie)at home!<BR><BR>

I notice from my newspaper that the Bunnahabhain distillery is advertising 4 cottages for rent at the shore near the distillery & the village.(01496 840646)<BR>Jake, Jura used to be my favourite, now its Bunna.

if you are in glencoe go to the distillery there. the local whiskey was extremely good either neet or with a small splash of water

The cottages at Bunnahabhainn are lovely and the views great.<BR><BR>The only downside would be the fact that, as they overlook the Sound of Islay, you can't swim there safely (given Scottish temperatures, you might not want to awim anyway)<BR><BR>Peter, I don't wish to rain on your parade, but, as I said elsewhere, I promise there is no distillery in Glencoe. Are you mixing it up with somewhere else?

thanks for all your comments! I must visit Scotland again and try all these wonderful suggestions! too many whiskys to choose from!

I would have voted with Glenmorangie, being an uneducated whisky drinker, prior to our too-short trip in November. We quickly found other, preferred tastes (such as Mcallan) which will lead us to be lighter in the pocket in the future, undoubtedly! Sheila kindly introduced us to Edradour and we accidentally stumbled across our favorite, Deanston, almost out the back door near Stirling!