Whisk(e)y for beginners.....

Right here goes
firstly there is no beginner Whisky,
There never has been & there never will be.

Budget has a lot to do with it as to whether you want a Malt whisky or a blend.
Malt being the more expensive although i have had some blends that have been class.

Everyone’s taste buds are different as you know and just like shaving we all like different things.

One ones Nectar is another mans poison.

if i were you i wouldn’t buy anything Peaty or smokey but hey you might like that,
i don’t but being a Scotsman i’ll drink it anyway lol.
One of my Favourites is Dalmore which i find nice & smooth.

Glenfiddich the worlds best selling Whisky mostly to the japanese off course however it’s a big seller for a reason, it’s decent.

If i were you i wouldn’t buy a bottle of anything i would go for miniatures until you find the right one.
A good starting place is
Master Of Malt website where you can get sample pots of Whisky, Ranging from say £3 to £30 for a 30cl.
That way you can spend say £30 ish and get a taste of scotland different whisky regions.
and one more thing a small drop of water to the whisky will completely change the flavour so drink it exactly how you like it and don’t let the snobs tell you otherwise.
Also as stated above somewhere the japanese do some nice whisky’s especially The Hibiki from the Suntory distillery.
One more thing
there is no bad whiskeys’
only good ones & better ones lol
Enjoy
 
Right here goes
firstly there is no beginner Whisky,
There never has been & there never will be.

Budget has a lot to do with it as to whether you want a Malt whisky or a blend.
Malt being the more expensive although i have had some blends that have been class.

Everyone’s taste buds are different as you know and just like shaving we all like different things.

One ones Nectar is another mans poison.

if i were you i wouldn’t buy anything Peaty or smokey but hey you might like that,
i don’t but being a Scotsman i’ll drink it anyway lol.
One of my Favourites is Dalmore which i find nice & smooth.

Glenfiddich the worlds best selling Whisky mostly to the japanese off course however it’s a big seller for a reason, it’s decent.

If i were you i wouldn’t buy a bottle of anything i would go for miniatures until you find the right one.
A good starting place is
Master Of Malt website where you can get sample pots of Whisky, Ranging from say £3 to £30 for a 30cl.
That way you can spend say £30 ish and get a taste of scotland different whisky regions.
and one more thing a small drop of water to the whisky will completely change the flavour so drink it exactly how you like it and don’t let the snobs tell you otherwise.
Also as stated above somewhere the japanese do some nice whisky’s especially The Hibiki from the Suntory distillery.
One more thing
there is no bad whiskeys’
only good ones & better ones lol
Enjoy
This. And I’m with you on Dalmore, Mike. It is getting bloody expensive though.
 
This. And I’m with you on Dalmore, Mike. It is getting bloody expensive though.
your right
iv been drinking The Dalmore King Alexander 111 recently and yes very expensive but im not a huge drinker so treating yourself now and again i don’t mind spending a bit more.
im pretty sure you can still get a Dalmore 70cl for around £50 ish i think.
My only criticism of Dalmore is they use a toffee flavoured & coloured dye to make all their whisky’s the same colour.
not a big deal really but unnecessary at the same time.
At this very moment im drinking a Glenmorangie 18 extremely rare.
the extreme part is probably marketing but a decent dram nonetheless.
I don’t like Glenmorangie as a rule but this one is possibly the smoothest Whisky iv ever tried,
Not the best one but certainly the smoothest.
 
your right
iv been drinking The Dalmore King Alexander 111 recently and yes very expensive but im not a huge drinker so treating yourself now and again i don’t mind spending a bit more.
im pretty sure you can still get a Dalmore 70cl for around £50 ish i think.
My only criticism of Dalmore is they use a toffee flavoured & coloured dye to make all their whisky’s the same colour.
not a big deal really but unnecessary at the same time.
At this very moment im drinking a Glenmorangie 18 extremely rare.
the extreme part is probably marketing but a decent dram nonetheless.
I don’t like Glenmorangie as a rule but this one is possibly the smoothest Whisky iv ever tried,
Not the best one but certainly the smoothest.
Yes, the use of caramel for colouring is irksome. Laphroaig are bad for it too.
 
After years of enjoying single malts, I try to limit myself now to non-coloured, non-chill filtered bottles at minimum 46%. It's been a revelation how much better they taste, even those with no age statement.
I always used to go for age and strength, and still love a nice old cask strength, but for value I'll take a no age statement bottle, as described above, over almost any whisky bottled at 40% any day.
 
After years of enjoying single malts, I try to limit myself now to non-coloured, non-chill filtered bottles at minimum 46%. It's been a revelation how much better they taste, even those with no age statement.
I always used to go for age and strength, and still love a nice old cask strength, but for value I'll take a no age statement bottle, as described above, over almost any whisky bottled at 40% any day.
Think your right Bruce
iv had some 21 year old and older that haven’t been any better than the 12 year old from the same company.
My mate is a blender for White & Mckay and he’s telling me there is a 40 year old malt in the Lidle own brand blend so worth a try i think although just because it’s 40 means nothing really.
Tweedale is the best blended whisky i have ever tried and it’s up there with the best malts iv had,
mind you it’s really expensive at £170 so i don’t have it often.
 
After years of enjoying single malts, I try to limit myself now to non-coloured, non-chill filtered bottles at minimum 46%. It's been a revelation how much better they taste, even those with no age statement.
I always used to go for age and strength, and still love a nice old cask strength, but for value I'll take a no age statement bottle, as described above, over almost any whisky bottled at 40% any day.
Very true.
 
After years of enjoying single malts, I try to limit myself now to non-coloured, non-chill filtered bottles at minimum 46%. It's been a revelation how much better they taste, even those with no age statement.
I always used to go for age and strength, and still love a nice old cask strength, but for value I'll take a no age statement bottle, as described above, over almost any whisky bottled at 40% any day.
Absolutely! I don't understand why distilleries go to such trouble to add flavour to their product only to then filter it out.
 
Absolutely! I don't understand why distilleries go to such trouble to add flavour to their product only to then filter it out.
I think it's all about making sure that every bottle of a particular brand looks and tastes exactly the same, the assumption being that is what their customers want. And the filtering also ensures a nice clear drink without any haziness when ice or water is added.
I sometimes wonder if market research is actually carried out on the people who actually buy the stuff to drink!
 
It's true. Industry people always choose consistency over everything else. Maybe that's what the numbers tell them. But it's also why artisans do well - because some of us prefer craft to cookie-cutter predictability. A very good head barista I know once praised McDonald's coffee, saying "they've got consistency nailed", and baristi are taught to aim to produce drinks that are consistent. Similarly with supermarket produce, they get rid of all the funny looking fruit and vegetables that actually taste nice, in favour of "perfect" looking tasteless mush. And people pick it. Or take Apple: "market research tells us our customers want thinner phones/laptops". Yes, maybe, but if you asked them to choose between 1/8" less thickness (not "thinness" Apple!) and an SD slot, removable battery etc, I think many would prioritise things differently.

As Paul Weller famously sang "And the public wants what the public gets".
 
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