I noticed today that Asda have lighter ones on the top shelf and smoky,peaty ones on the bottom shelf, which I thought was a good idea.

I spotted that, and take issue with their idea of classification. Danger, Will Robinson.

A Glen Ord is a bit more unusual

Really? We’ve nicknamed it Glen Ordinary. Mate of mine swears by it, it’s decent enough but isn’t particularly exceptional.

Jura, Dalmore, Highland Park are all good ‘gateway’ whiskies. Can I add the Benromach Organic to the mix? It’s absolutely superlative for the money, one of the best bang-for-your-buck malts I’ve ever found.

I was given a Glenfiddich three small bottle sample pack recently.12, 15 and 18, and very good it was too. Not as good as visiting the distillary and doing the tour…. where you get to sample the same three now. The sample notes from the tour were brilliant and the tour was fun for my 3 & 5 year olds. The difference between the three whisky ages is huge.

Benromach organic mentioned by cougar is nice, tastes very much like a bourbon, a good oddity.

+1 for Lagavulin 16yrs and Caol Ila 12 yrs – both are lovely, have agreat aroma and are very peaty. The Talisker distillers edition is lovely too.

I picked up a bottle of Auchentoshan 3 wood yesterday. Matured in a Bourbon cask and then finished in spanish Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.

Fantastic colour and nose, stays on the tongue for ages (still getting flavours coming through on the car journey home from the shop) but with none of the medicinal/TCP tinge of the Islay malts. Lovely stuff.

A touch over budget at £44 but well worth it.

Quinta Ruban is a Glenmorangie which has spent a couple of years in port wood casks, giving a really soft chocolatey finish. Very different.
Around £25-£30

i mentioned to the mrs after getting given some laphroaig quarter cask id like to try some more over christmas i now have glenfiddich 12,15 and 18 , talisker 10, dalwhinnie 15, singleton 12 and glenkinchie 12

im sure there is something there i like 😉

Some generalisations/rules that help me:

The overriding factor is if you like a strong peaty/smoky/tarry character. Cos if you don’t you will find a lot of the “Island” recommendations vile: Lagamhullin, Laphroag, Taisker, CaolIsla, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Brora etc. My friend Paul is in this category.

Then decide if you like strong toffee vanilla notes (usually sherry finishing): Macallan, Glenmorangie and many others. Port finishing is interesting to: definitely winey.

The remaining spirity fruity “ester” flavours are more subtle so tend not to cause offence either way: Many of the Speysiders are like this.

The older the better as cask ageing removes the harsher spirits, leaving it smooth and palatable. I suspect the spirits have a minimum age that they become nice and it varies from still to still. I found this quite noticeable in the ‘fiddichs. I find the 12yo harsh, but the 18yo smooth and complex.

I hope this helps.

Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old is excellent.

Waitrose did a very readable guide to whisky recently which came in one of their Wine Direct mailings. It groups recommendations by taste, rather than being just a “top ten whiskies to drink” type list. Good, if like me, you have only a handful of whiskies which you know and want to be a bit more adventurous. Not sure what the online version is like, as my work’s smut filter won’t allow access, but its probably worth a look.

+1 for Balvennie Doublewood – very easy to drink, good intro to whisky

hmm

in our collection we have

Highland park 12 and 18 (these are my hip flask whiskies)
Kilchoman 2009 Autumn release (this is a keeper)
The Yamazaki 10
Cragganmore 12
Caol Ila 12
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Bowmore
Talisker 10
Macallan cask strength 10 (dangerous stuff)
Penderyn Peated

any suggestions as to where to go next with the collection? should get an idea of our tastes from the above.

mrmichaelwright, you need ardbeg 🙂

yes you are right

Luckily I shall be spending Hogmonay on Islay so it shouldn’t be a problem 😆

mrmichaelwright – Member

any suggestions as to where to go next with the collection? should get an idea of our tastes from the above.

Cognac perhaps? 😆

I’ve got a reasonably diverse collection that seems to rapidbly diminish over winter !

Most fascinating one i had this year was a Bruichladdich 5yr old organic. I had low expectations of such a young expression but it was simply awesome.

Bruicladdich made me quite ill last time we toured in Scotland, not through excess either. Mind you the midgies had caused me to lose a good 90% of blood on Colonsay so that may have been a factor

google whisky taste map

don’t knock Glenmorangie even the ‘ordinary’ 10 yr old has complexity but won’t scare off the beginners.
My preference is for Islay Malts; Ardbeg and Buachladdich are my favs buthave also enjoyed the others and an occasional Highland and Speyside. Aberlour good too but not a fan of Jura not alot too it.

What’s the welsh one like? thinking of a bottle for my Dad

it’s pretty good, not got the complexity of the islay malts or the peatiness but certainly very drinkable and nice in that it’s a little different.

I’m not a fan of Jura either, a bit to medicinal for me. Also our stay on Jura was pretty miserable!

The pub we are spending Hogmonay in has a collection of over 140 islay malts varying form normal to astronomical prices. I plan to sample one really expensive one to see if my naive pallet can tell the difference.