Appreciation of a fine system

I’ve been enjoying Lagavulin 16 recently, it’s probably my favourite of those I have tried. Just right for wintry evenings. 

Ardbeg10y posted:

A shameless pointer to my own pseudonym here.

I tend to only buy Ardbeg 10 when it's on special which doesn't happen very often. Same for two of my other favourites, Highland Park and Balvenie Double Wood. 

The only Ardbeg I've got at the moment is an unopened bottle of Uigeadail that was a thank you gift from a previous employer. I'm expecting it to be rather good. 

My good wife bought me Balvenie Double Wood for my birthday, it was very pleasurable and saw me through the Kiwi winter. Alas, it was gone before the Nova initiation.

Vinyl = Malbec

FM = Sancerre

CD =  Guinness 

Streaming = Scrumpy

hungryhalibut posted:

I’ve been enjoying Lagavulin 16 recently, it’s probably my favourite of those I have tried. Just right for wintry evenings. 

My favourite too.

nigelb posted:

hungryhalibut posted:

I’ve been enjoying Lagavulin 16 recently, it’s probably my favourite of those I have tried. Just right for wintry evenings. 

My favourite too.

  Ditto, Laphraoig is nice too if you like peaty single malts

Lagavulin had become more like Laphraoig last time I bought a bottle, it used to have more smoke.

Ah, Lagavulin: my current favourite of the standard malts! Not sure its more like Laphroig than it used to be, though I do think it is a bit different from a decade or two ago.

Islay malts genarally are among my top picks - and indeed other islands, and highland. But I’m not keen on the recent ‘fashion’ bottlings (across the board): hard to keep track of what they are, and some are on the rough side, possibly rather young (maybe telling that they don’t give the age).

Favourite of all time is a 30 year old Laphroig I bought at a bargain price some years ago - I wish I’d bought more and kept as an investment, but only one, and too tempting not to open. 

Ardbeg10y posted:

I cannot get around the impression that the SuperNait is for beer drinkers whilst the Nait XS is more for wine lovers.

What about those who equally like beer, wine and malt whisky equally, or at least at different times according to mood (albeit selectively)?

An unashamed lager drinker here which can get a bad press but I've been really enjoying Hop House from Guiness lately it's cold and refreshing like a lager should be but also full of flavour. Other favourites are bottled Moretti and my all time favourite an ice cold bottle of San Miguel.

I had a period of drinking Ales and had a particular liking for Dark Star Porter from a small brewery in Shoreham and I still like a bottle or two of Guiness's West Indian Porter but find that most of the Ales I enjoy are very strong and can be quite heavy which is why I usually stick to lager.

Innocent Bystander posted:

Ardbeg10y posted:

I cannot get around the impression that the SuperNait is for beer drinkers whilst the Nait XS is more for wine lovers.

What about those who equally like beer, wine and malt whisky equally, or at least at different times according to mood (albeit selectively)?

A Naim pre-pre amplifier - basically an half width box between source and pre amp having tone-controls? And a button to switch on party mode: bass boom + loudness function?

Another +1 for Lagavulin here, but it's one I only ever buy when travelling and find it duty free.

I was recently on a business event in Scotland where we were given an extended tour of the Tullibardine distillery, which describes its product as "pure highland gold", a description with which I cannot disagree, it's a very fine whisky indeed.

I normally drink my whisky neat, however one thing which was demonstrated on this visit was the effect of adding a miniscule amount of water, so miniscule in fact that just one drop was added by pipette. It changed ("unlocked") the flavour substantially and for the better. Give it a try.

Clive B posted:

I normally drink my whisky neat, however one thing which was demonstrated on this visit was the effect of adding a miniscule amount of water, so miniscule in fact that just one drop was added by pipette. It changed ("unlocked") the flavour substantially and for the better. Give it a try.

My dealer provides always a bottle of Highland Spring water with the bottles of Cask strenght which I buy - to add some water and open the flavour indeed.

I was doing the pipette trick as well in the past, but nowadays it reminds me too much of drug addicts with needles that I cannot use it anymore.

Clive B posted:

.

I normally drink my whisky neat, however one thing which was demonstrated on this visit was the effect of adding a miniscule amount of water, so miniscule in fact that just one drop was added by pipette. It changed ("unlocked") the flavour substantially and for the better. Give it a try.

Yes, I learnt that some years ago from a visiting Scottish friend - and have since come across ‘World of Whisky’ sometimes suggesting it in airport shops. 

when it comes to higher alcohol bottlings, e.g. 57%, these days I temd to add water to notbonly bring out the flavour, but also drop closer to 40%. Maybe heresy to some - myself, too, some years ago - but kinder to the body, balances out the increased cost due to higher duty, and I found doesn’t have a negative effect on taste.

Clive B posted:

Another +1 for Lagavulin here, but it's one I only ever buy when travelling and find it duty free..

Not sure I’ve ever seen Lagavulin anywhere duty free to a UK resident,  but yes, airport shops are one of my main sources of whisky, where often they can be good prices - otherwise supermarket special offers can be good opportunities to re-stock...

I have been quite shocked by the  significant hike in malt whisky prices in recent years, which has coincided with the  of the ‘designer’ bottlings - on the plus side it seems that whisky has become fashionable and therefore more choice and more profit for the distillers (?),  but the doenside is more expensive to buy.

Time to redress the balance, and give a big shout out to Armagnac. One of my treasured possessions is a bottle of 40 year old picked up some years ago from Chateau Montifaud. Whilst I also enjoy a good Cognac, you can’t beat the real thing! My wife much prefers a malt whiskey, although only the Speyside type - the Islay malts taste to us of phenol (often found in disinfectant) which we both dislike intensely.

Worth mentioning that we are approaching that time of year when It's probably best to hold off from any major malt purchases, since the main supermarkets usually begin their annual discount price wars in mid November, in the run in to Christmas.

There are often serious bargains to be had, with a chance to re-stock the shelves. 

I'm thinking that maybe the thread title needs some amending...

Clive B posted:

Another +1 for Lagavulin here, but it's one I only ever buy when travelling and find it duty free.

 

It’s not duty free, but you can get it for £38 in the Eurotunnel shop in Calais. 

Innocent Bystander posted:

But I’m not keen on the recent ‘fashion’ bottlings (across the board): hard to keep track of what they are, and some are on the rough side, possibly rather young (maybe telling that they don’t give the age).

 

Neither am I. I'd say the quality of single malts, at a given price level, has generally declined in recent years: there's no longer any indication of the age of the malt on the bottle, for a lot of them (in particular malts that have become very popular, and whose production has had to be stepped up, Glenlivet, Talisker, etc.). I'm not keen either on the practice of using all sorts of different barrels, which tends to hide the original flavour (or lack of?) of the malt. You can still get excellent malt, but at a higher price level. Just my opinion...

Clive B posted:

...one thing which was demonstrated on this visit was the effect of adding a miniscule amount of water, so miniscule in fact that just one drop was added by pipette. It changed ("unlocked") the flavour substantially and for the better. Give it a try.

Clive I agree entirely, a few drops (or more to taste) enhances a fine malt. Practise and experience of how little or (rarely) how much to add to your favourite tipples is well worth experimenting with, it almost goes without saying but never drown the malt just add a few drops at a time until the flavours you are hoping for come through. 

Clive B posted:

I normally drink my whisky neat, however one thing which was demonstrated on this visit was the effect of adding a miniscule amount of water, so miniscule in fact that just one drop was added by pipette. It changed ("unlocked") the flavour substantially and for the better. Give it a try.

I don’t drink whisky that often, but I have always preferred it with just a drop of water, or perhaps a single ice cube. I agree, it makes all the difference. I remember pubs used to put a jug of water on the bar so that you can add just as much as you want, but I can’t remember the last time I saw that. 

My Irish grandmother and her brothers were all great whiskey drinkers she always took with red lemonade a 'whiskey and red' but her brothers all took it with a glass of room temperature tap water which they would add directly to the whiskey in small amounts.                                                                                         

After a couple of these those finer lower notes within reggae and Dub really reveal themselves.

Watch out for sediment in the bottom.

I also love shops at the airport, perhaps it is there that you can buy good whiskey.