Any Scotch/Whiskey Lovers?

[Justloadit]

I think that wine really sucks and that 99% of people that claim to be connoisseurs of alcohol are mere posers. I bet my kingdom that 90% of people can't tell brands apart if they were placed in aa row in unmarked glasses.

Absolutely, but what I could tell you is that I may like one more than the other, and on some occasions, it was a so called cheap borrel.
If it is smooth in my mouth, and leaves no crappy after taste like frot oak barrel, then to me it is a lekker wine

[adrianh]

Exactly, we drink what we like and 99% of us don't really care what's on the label. I like the taste of Jack Daniels and Castle beer. That's about it. If the Jack Daniels was swopped with something that tastes the same I couldn't care less simply because I like the taste.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

Re the wine. Too much pretence pretence. Most blind tastings produce interesting results. Certainly people ccan differentiate between the types, chardonnay or sauv blanc etc, but actual types, hmm.
When I meet a wine maker I ask him (or her) not what the éxperts' think is best, but what does he drink at his braai, always an interesting answer.
Even beer, most people cant tell the difference, especially after the second or third. After the 15th, well....


Re - PMB, you are quite correct, except whisky deserves a pass. Good examples are cane and vodka, which when mixed, unless really strong, has almost no taste.
Even better, is non alcoholic beer. Bavaria and Becks, both taste exactly like their alcoholic version, so if you like the taste of beer, its perfect.

[adrianh]

I cannot stand all the pretence. The worst is listening to Johan Matham on Cape Talk about wine. They have their own absurd made up vocabulary that just sounds ridiculous. If they were able to smell and taste the things that they claim to then most wine would have been made from fruit salad!

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

Or cats pee!!!!!!

[pmbguy]

@Adrian - Jack is the best, I prefer its taste to most other whiskeys. I also think that most “wine-connoisseurs” are posers. Everybody seems to be an expert at the restaurant table, its lame. It’s not all bullshit though and there are many people who really know their wines and I am not only talking about Natanial here.
I am concerned that you drink Castle and not Black Label. I think the way they make Castle is by collecting the urine from Black Label drinkers and then they bottle it as Castle.
Coincidently the same process is used to make white wine. Urine from castle drinkers are collected and bottled to make white wine.

@Anthony - I can distinguish between Black Label, Hansa and Castle very easily, the difference is unmistakable, but this is as far as my “connoisseurship” stretches. As far as wine goes I can distinguish between white, red (Dry-not dry) that’s it.

[adrianh]

@pmbguy - Black Label has a very harsh taste and besides, only really Large black mine workers drink it.

I feel like vomiting in my plate when the "connoisseurs" speak of the "nose" of the wine and how it is full bodied and smooth on the palette a is infused with aromas of nutmeg and strawberries.

For me its much simpler, the 1st beer is lekker and so is the 2nd-10th

And with Jack it is much the same, the 1st double is lekker and then the rest of the bottle is also lekker.

The sum total of my alcohol vocabulary consist of two words, namely "lekker" and "k@k"

[pmbguy]

Bavaria and Becks, both taste exactly like their alcoholic version, so if you like the taste of beer, its perfect.

Indeed Anthony, indeed

I was on holiday in South Port some years back with my wife’s family at their holiday house. We arrived two days before them and I spent my first day laying on the beach drinking beer and taking in the wonderful sights. Holiday time at the beach is about the only time I am allowed to drink as much beer as I like. On the second day I realised that I have run out of beer and I told my wife that I will have to make a plan to go to the bottle store, but that I can’t since I am over the limit. She said that she can’t because she is in a hurry to go to the mall, but that it’s my lucky day because they have a fridge in the garage which usually has beer in it. Without any delay I skipped down the stairs to the garage and opened the fridge door..aaaaaa!...it was full of beer. The only problem was that it contained mostly Savannah and this new beer I was not familiar with called Bavaria. So now I had a choice between the two. I don’t like Savannah because it gives me heartburn so I decided on the Bavaria, but to make sure I opened one and had a sip...not bad...not bad at all, so I packed a six-pack of Bavaria and shot down to the beach for the at noon. It was extremely hot and I was downing beer after beer laying on the beach. It did not taste bad and I rather enjoyed it, it went down so nicely. At about 3, red as a lobster I took a walk back to the house. By this time I already had all 6 Bavaria’s and feeling fresh...very fresh in fact I was feeling so fresh that I decided to continue drinking them. I had a further 4 Bavaria’s before my wife arrived back full of shopping crap we don’t really need. Anyway I helped her unpack and told her how delicious this Bavaria was, she laughed and said why you dinking Bavaria? I said that Savannah gives me heartburn and that is the only other drink in the fridge. She looked at me a bit funny with a weird frown on her face, I said “what? It’s nice do you want one?” She said “no I don’t like non alcoholic drinks”. “What? Bullshit it’s a beer.. Bavaria!...I have been drinking it all day and....and...” then for the very first time I realised that I feel way too sober for the amount of beer I have drunk. I rushed to my open Bavaria on the table and with horror and utter dismay I realised by reading the branding that it’s non-alcoholic. I never ever realised it and to be honest I did have a very slight buzz. I have never had a non-alcoholic beer and it tasted exactly like a normal beer. My wife was extremely amused and a little bit shocked at what I had done. I really felt like a royal fool. To this very day she often asks me with a cheeky smile whether I want Black Label or Bavaria. Whenever we have guests over that have not heard the story she is sure to tell them all about it...this annoys me since I have a street cred to uphold dammit!

So yes Bavaria does indeed taste just like beer...I am a beer lover and I could not taste the difference.

[CLIVE-TRIANGLE]

I enjoy any whisky and whiskey. Only the real plonk tastes lousy - I often joke that you you get good scotch and better scotch (but truth be told there are some lousing blends out there!)

To drink it with anything other than ice is tantamount to sacrilege, and that includes Jack Daniels.

I am in no doubt also that it is an acquired taste. When I first drank scotch I found it awful but somehow that quickly changed!

I have an agreement with my wife that I no longer drink scotch, sigh, unless a really special occasion. So for the past few years I drink wine instead. Copious amounts.

For me, it's definitely effect first! Taste is secondary. Actually that comes out a bit wrong. I drink alcohol for the effect. My choice of alcohol is taste and nature of the effect. If there is only crap available I certainly wont have any.

Regarding wine snobbery; I could not agree more. That said, I have encountered some folk with very educated palates, especially a few decades ago before the advent of bewildering choices! The guys can tell you cultivar, estate and vintage. Now that certification is voluntary it is a different matter because you compare a verdict to a label and there is no guarantee that the label even remotely resembles content.

I enjoy treasure hunting - trying cheap unknown brands and frequently discover great products at way cheaper prices than usual. Also, liquor stores on the platteland that do not mark up aged wine; hell some even put "old stock" on mark down! So, I use those type of nuances to feel better about no longer drinking scotch!

As for driving; only numbskulls drive when they have consumed alcohol. If I don't have a driver (normally my long suffering wife) I don't drink. Not even one. And I never ever have a drink at lunch - lunch will never end!

[wynn]

A normal beer tumbler full of ice, a single tot of 'Bell's' and ice cold soda poured to the top.

Be quick and sniff the bubbles of the soda as they fizz and pop before settling down and you get the pure aroma of the 'Bell's'.
The first sip or two is very strong and takes off most of the 'Bell's' because it is warmer than the soda and rises to the top, then settle down to enjoy the slight 'Bell's' taste in the rest of the refreshing ice cold soda.

Jack is OK now and again but a bit perfumey for me, keep the rest unless there is no 'Bell's'