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Thread: Any Scotch/Whiskey Lovers?

  1. #1
    Bronze Member rfnel's Avatar
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    Any Scotch/Whiskey Lovers?

    I'm curious - are there any uisge beatha lovers on the forum?

    I never used to drink any form of "hard" liquor, until a couple of years ago. Bushmills ran a competition with a 1969 E-Type Jaguar as the prize - that was motivation enough for me to buy a bottle. I found it rather enjoyable, and I tried some other whiskeys (Irish, that is) as well. Somewhere along the line, I ended up buying a bottle of Scotch and then my preference started switching from the products of Ireland to the products of Scotland.

    My current collection includes a near-empty bottle of Bushmills Black Bush, a bottle of Glenlivet 12, a bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (highly recommended) and as of today, a bottle of Ardbeg 10. The Ardbeg 10 was Jim Murray's World Whisky of the Year in 2008, but I'm still trying to make up my mind about it. It's my first Islay, and I've never been to Scotland, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's the equivalent of diving into a peat bog head-first with your mouth open. Once I get past that, I'll probably be able to decide whether or not I like it. All I can say for now it that it's a world apart from anything else that I have ever tasted.

    With the exception of a couple of drops of water with my whiskey, I shy away from mixers of any sort. What do you folks enjoy?
    "Fortune favours the bold" - Virgil
    Riaan Nel
    Freelance Software Development | LinkedIn | Skype

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    A proper whiskey doesn’t have to be an expensive one.
    A few fine examples according to my personal taste;

    J&B Rare (yellow label) (Highly recommended)
    Johnnie Walker (blue label) (Highly recommended)
    Famous Black grouse (Highly recommended)

    Famous Grouse (very good)

    Scottish leader (good)
    White horse (good)

    Chivas regal whisky (good)
    Chivas regal whisky (Rare Old 18) (good)

    Just remember to enjoy a whisky properly you need a very thin crystal glass with a thin base. This allows the warmth of the hand to heat the whisky “slightly”. The best type of glass is the lowball glass. The ball shape helps the hand to cradle it and if it is thin enough the heat will transfer correctly. “depending on the thickness of the glass” you can give it 3 minutes to 5 minutes but best results is about seven minutes “in your hand”

    Try it yourself... take a sip from a glass “that is coldish” and then a sip when you held it for a few minutes.

    Drink responsibly
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    The only thing worth drinking is Jack Daniels

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    Email problem solweb's Avatar
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    Three Ships

    Quote Originally Posted by tec0 View Post
    A proper whiskey doesn’t have to be an expensive one.
    A few fine examples according to my personal taste;

    J&B Rare (yellow label) (Highly recommended)
    Johnnie Walker (blue label) (Highly recommended)
    Famous Black grouse (Highly recommended)

    Famous Grouse (very good)

    Scottish leader (good)
    White horse (good)

    Chivas regal whisky (good)
    Chivas regal whisky (Rare Old 18) (good)

    Just remember to enjoy a whisky properly you need a very thin crystal glass with a thin base. This allows the warmth of the hand to heat the whisky “slightly”. The best type of glass is the lowball glass. The ball shape helps the hand to cradle it and if it is thin enough the heat will transfer correctly. “depending on the thickness of the glass” you can give it 3 minutes to 5 minutes but best results is about seven minutes “in your hand”

    Try it yourself... take a sip from a glass “that is coldish” and then a sip when you held it for a few minutes.

    Drink responsibly
    I find the Three Ships 5 year old to be inexepsive and a great whiskey for everyday consumption.
    Michael Vella
    Web Presence Solutions - www.solutionsweb.co.za

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    Bronze Member rfnel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tec0 View Post
    Just remember to enjoy a whisky properly you need a very thin crystal glass with a thin base. This allows the warmth of the hand to heat the whisky “slightly”. The best type of glass is the lowball glass. The ball shape helps the hand to cradle it and if it is thin enough the heat will transfer correctly. “depending on the thickness of the glass” you can give it 3 minutes to 5 minutes but best results is about seven minutes “in your hand”
    I use a brandy snifter. The issue I have with a lowball glass is that it doesn't quite trap the aroma of the whisky like a glass with a more narrow top does.

    Drink responsibly
    This goes without saying. My self-imposed limit when driving is two Windhoek Lights - no whisky. It's just not worth risking your safety and (especially) that of others.
    "Fortune favours the bold" - Virgil
    Riaan Nel
    Freelance Software Development | LinkedIn | Skype

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    tec0 (01-Jan-14)

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    Platinum Member pmbguy's Avatar
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    Here is the reality of alcohol: It is poisonous and the body recognises this, that’s why we mask it through flavour or produce it in a certain way to make it palatable. An alcoholic beverage only tastes good or bad compared to other alcoholic beverages. Essentially we don’t drink alcohol for its taste, we drink alcohol because of its effect. I know this might not sit well with some, but that is the reality. I easily reconcile this fact with the notion of connoisseurship, the reality of why we consume alcohol does not distract from or discredit connoisseurship. The reason I mention this is that I get a little annoyed when people say “Oh but I drink for taste only, not to feel the effect” you see I think the only reason we drink alcohol is essentially for effect, taste is a huge factor but always secondary to the underlying effect we seek, even if that effect we seek is implicit. Someone may argue that if what I stated is true why doesn’t everybody just drink straw rum? The simple answer is that this is where taste comes in. A fine whiskey is much more palatable than straw rum, it tastes better and you still get the effect you seek. I don’t want anybody thinking that I am accusing everybody who drinks of trying to get wasted, I simply want to allude to the underlying fundamental reality of why alcohol is consumed at all. I would bet that if alcohol had all the same properties it has now (taste, aroma, colour etc) but with the exception that it did not produce any effect, we would not drink it at all.

    Having said all this I enjoy whiskey, Jack Daniels off course. I drink my Jack with crushed ice. When it’s a very warm day I will use ice blocks instead. I just add ice, no water. I also like Black Label beer. It must be served ice cold, I mean Ice Cold. I leave it in the freezer until it has reached the point where tiny ice crystals form inside the beer...aah then its ready. If I neglected my beer because the wife “asked” me to clear all my fishing gear from the lounge and my beer gets warm I chuck it out. If it’s a very hot day and my beer gets hot and flat I usually don’t drink that last 10%. Drinking a warm flat beer is utterly unacceptable. At this point it would be irresponsible for me not to warn you about leaving your beer in the freezer too long. It may freeze over completely, it may even pop open and leak, and sometimes it may even blow up, imbedding shards of glass in your boerewors. It is a horrible thing to witness.

    I drink with moderation, only on weekends and I never drink and drive. I only get ChevyChased on camping trips, bulls parties etc. I must admit that my wife/domestic manager also acts as my party police.

    Bottom line...bottoms up
    It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. – Charles Darwin

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    Well I am happy to proof you wrong. Some of my bottles are 4 years old others as old as 15 years. They are opened and I enjoy a double every now and then. I like the taste and don’t seek the effect. That said I am addicted to coffee... and my body is feeling the effects.
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    Platinum Member pmbguy's Avatar
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    Tec0, you surprise me, I never knew you were such a cultured gentleman and connoisseur, a true renaissance man with sophisticated taste.
    ............

    Having bottles stored for many years is great, but this does not in any way disprove my theory. It only proves you never have guests over

    The fact that it contains alcohol is the primary (implicit) attraction and taste is the secondary attraction. If whiskey had no alcohol in it, it would not be sort after in the first place. It’s exactly like coffee, it is the small kick it gives you that is the main attraction.

    But like I said in my first post this in no way detracts from the connoisseurship of whiskey or wine for that matter.
    It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. – Charles Darwin

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pmbguy View Post
    Tec0, you surprise me, I never knew you were such a cultured gentleman and connoisseur, a true renaissance man with sophisticated taste.
    ............

    Having bottles stored for many years is great, but this does not in any way disprove my theory. It only proves you never have guests over

    The fact that it contains alcohol is the primary (implicit) attraction and taste is the secondary attraction. If whiskey had no alcohol in it, it would not be sort after in the first place. It’s exactly like coffee, it is the small kick it gives you that is the main attraction.

    But like I said in my first post this in no way detracts from the connoisseurship of whiskey or wine for that matter.
    I get a lot of people over but they get the “special of the day”... I see no reason to squander a R2000 bottle just so that someone can get drunk. Like you said any type of alcohol can do that...

    Truth is we are not the same...
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    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.

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