NJR- Single malt vs blended

[FG Lurker]

AO, smokey whisky like Lagavulin and Laphroaig are an acquired taste. You may find you like Lagavulin better as it is 16yo and IMO smoother.

The best whisky I have had is this:
http://www.theglenlivet.com/25yearold/

It's not cheap and it is often hard to find but damn is it good!

[FG Lurker]

What do you guys call those 375 mL bottles of whisky? Where I grew up, we called them "a mickey", and the hip pocket on your jeans was called "a mickey pocket". Went out East, and they called those little single-shot airline bottles "mickeys". You?

For me the 375ml bottles were also called mickeys but I've never heard of a mickey pocket. I guess we would have called that a flask or a hip flask...

[Edit]
Came to me today that we probably called small mickeys "fifths".

[Mike Oxlong]

Been a fan of The Macallan for many years.

[FG Lurker]

Been a fan of The Macallan for many years.

I used to be but have found in recent years the price went way up and the quality dropped.

If you liked the old Macallan though you will probably like Glenlivet too.

[American Oyaji]

I misspoke earlier, I mentioned Glenfidditch, but I 've never had it. I pulled that word out of my memory by accident, I could not have named it as a Scotch if you had asked me if it was one. The Glenlivet 12 was real nice.

HOWEVER, the more I drink the Laphroaig, the more I realize it is merely a stronger taste than other Scotches. Not bad actually. It kind of stays with you though. Never had a liquor that I could taste hours later. Not bad.

I do realize one thing. I need to slow my drinking. It's ok to get drunk, but when I want to get drunk, I need to drink a lesser drunk unless I can properly afford the good stuff. But if I just want a drink, then I will drink nothing less than single malt. Never had it before, never will drink anything less.

I'd heard of single malt but never had it. I'm now a fan and hope to become a connoisseur. I want to become an expert in Scotch. I like bourbon, but there is something about Scotch.

I'd like to go to Scotland and drink in Scottish pub. Can you imagine 6'10" me in a Scottish pub? BWAHHAHAha.

Laphroaig aint so bad. I want to try Lagavulin now.

[Charles]

I do realize one thing. I need to slow my drinking. It's ok to get drunk, but when I want to get drunk, I need to drink a lesser drunk unless I can properly afford the good stuff. But if I just want a drink, then I will drink nothing less than single malt. Never had it before, never will drink anything less.

If you really want to get drunk, whiskey is not recommended. Scotch and whiskey have ingredients that increase the painful hangovers. Clear liquors cause less intense hangovers (with the exception of gin). And definitely don't mix brown and clear liquors, or beer and liquor.

I had a friend who once taught me all about this, he found a book called "The Drinking Man's Diet," which gave detailed instructions on how to drink massive quantities without hangovers. We followed the method, it actually worked. The idea is to support your body's ability to rapidly metabolize the alcohol. Here's what we did.

1. Start the evening with a large dose of vitamin B complex, and a light meal of carbs. This should be several hours before drinking.
2. Just before drinking, take a dose of B12. An injection would be preferable, but there are also "sublingual B12" doses that are gels placed under the tongue.
3. Start drinking. Drink vodka only. Drink a lot. Drink water occasionally between vodkas.
4. Once every hour, breathe pure oxygen for 5 minutes.
5. Finish the evening with a glass of water and a light carb & fats meal just before sleeping, a baloney sandwich on white bread was recommended.

I was surprised at how much we drank, I think I drank about 1.5 bottles of vodka, and I didn't get falling-down drunk. And I definitely didn't have a hangover the next morning. And yes, we did all that stuff, the hardest thing to arrange was the tank of pure oxygen.

[American Oyaji]

Usually, I don't get hangovers, no matter what I drink.

MASSIVE quantities will give me a slight headache.

[FG Lurker]

Sounds great Charles! I've always wanted to take a wild drinking session and turn it into a medical experiment.

[American Oyaji]

On further reflection, I think I might be spoiled.

This shit is some good shit!

[Mike Oxlong]

What do folks recommend in Irish whiskeys? I'd like to explore and experiment a bit more with the uisce beatha...

edit: found a nice starting point here http://www.emeraldtiger.com/general/whiskeys.htm

[Greji]

Usually, I don't get hangovers, no matter what I drink.

MASSIVE quantities will give me a slight headache.

It's now part of my metabolic rate. If I don't wake up with a hangover, my body refuses to function until noon..

[CrankyBastard]

It's now part of my metabolic rate. If I don't wake up with a hangover, my body refuses to function until noon..

Burratleast it functions,. I haven't had a functioning body since the early 70's.

[kamome]

I'm not a single malt connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination but I'd like to give your recommendation a try one of these days.

You won't regret it! However, after reading this thread, I went out to a liquor store to price a bottle of Lagavulin (I've always bought it by the glass, never bought a whole bottle). Fucking $70 for a bottle of Lagavulin - and this was at a liquor store in Queens, NY ferchrissake!

Macallan, which Mike Oxlong mentions above and which I also really like, is about $50 a bottle. Actually, I keep a bottle of Macallan in my office and share it with a few colleagues whenever we're working late at night. It's great stuff.

[American Oyaji]

You won't regret it! However, after reading this thread, I went out to a liquor store to price a bottle of Lagavulin (I've always bought it by the glass, never bought a whole bottle). Fucking $70 for a bottle of Lagavulin - and this was at a liquor store in Queens, NY ferchrissake!

Macallan, which Mike Oxlong mentions above and which I also really like, is about $50 a bottle. Actually, I keep a bottle of Macallan in my office and share it with a few colleagues whenever we're working late at night. It's great stuff.

I was talking with a friend today about scotch and he recommendad the Macallan as well.

[Greji]

Actually, I keep a bottle of Macallan in my office and share it with a few colleagues whenever we're working late at night. It's great stuff.

One bottle, a fifth at that? This to "share" with colleagues? What sort of pansies do you work with Bird? GJ, the Captain, or yours truly would be all over your ass if you pulled that cheapie on us........ After hours here, means you speak in case lots! You better go chase some more ambulances before you come back over here this year!

[FG Lurker]

Bought a bottle of The Glenlivet XXV today.

One word: Perfection.

[2triky]

You won't regret it! However, after reading this thread, I went out to a liquor store to price a bottle of Lagavulin (I've always bought it by the glass, never bought a whole bottle). Fucking $70 for a bottle of Lagavulin - and this was at a liquor store in Queens, NY ferchrissake!

I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks.

Macallan, which Mike Oxlong mentions above and which I also really like, is about $50 a bottle. Actually, I keep a bottle of Macallan in my office and share it with a few colleagues whenever we're working late at night. It's great stuff.

Yeah I've had a Macallan 18 yr before...good stuff.

[kamome]

One bottle, a fifth at that? This to "share" with colleagues? What sort of pansies do you work with Bird? GJ, the Captain, or yours truly would be all over your ass if you pulled that cheapie on us........ After hours here, means you speak in case lots! You better go chase some more ambulances before you come back over here this year!

Hey, I ain't made out of money, Greji! You should be lucky enough to get as much as a fifth!

That said, if I find myself out your way again, I'll definitely spring for some good scotch.

[Greji]

Hey, I ain't made out of money, Greji! You should be lucky enough to get as much as a fifth!

That said, if I find myself out your way again, I'll definitely spring for some good scotch.

You're s'ppose to be here by now, schedule change? I found a place in an alley behind Roppongi Hills where the real bearded reprobates hang out.

[American Oyaji]

Bought a bottle of The Glenlivet XXV today.

One word: Perfection.

How much?

[FG Lurker]

How much?

A couple of thousand yen less than it seems to be selling for in the UK and about $70 less than the US MSRP.

[sublight]

Ok, I bought a Laphroaig 10 tonite.

First impression. Fucking nasty shit. That's on the first taste.

It tastes like the inside of a fucking chimney. I'll finish the bottle, because I don't want to waste my money, but DAMN it's nasty.

It has a oily smoky mediciny taste.

I've never met a liquor I couldn't finish. This may be the first.

I looked at the Laphroaig 10 today at Hasegawa's in Tokyo Station, but ended up buying the Laphroaig Quarter Cask (3500 yen) instead. Hasegawa lets you buy sample tastes for 100 yen or so, so I tried them both out. The Quarter Cask was a little smokey, but finished a lot milder. Walking back through the station, I still tasted smoke in my mouth, though.

blend vs single malt: There are a lot of really good blends out there (even the cheap stuff like Johnnie Walker Red isn't all that bad), but there are also a lot of distributors out there that use blending to dump all their crap.

[CrankyBastard]

Jeezus guys. You're talking like single malt is just one type of drink.
Don't jump in starting off with Laphroaig, of course it's going to taste like something produced at your local refinery.
It takes time to get a taste for the Islays.
Better to start off with the Highland and Speyside single malts first the 'Glen' malts
Or to make it simple, start training your taste buds with a few bottles of Balvenie DoubleWood.
When you've developed a taste for it , move on to the more smokey Islay malts.
(Lagavulin, unless it's a bona fide distillers batch, in recent years is over rated and not worth the inflated price.)
Cheers, Cranky:cool:

[American Oyaji]

Well, I will say this. The Islay is definitely an acquired taste.

Not bad after I got used to it and definitely better after a 2:1 water:spirit ratio.

Next on the list is Macallan's

[CrankyBastard]

Well, I will say this. The Islay is definitely an acquired taste.

Not bad after I got used to it and definitely better after a 2:1 water:spirit ratio.

Next on the list is Macallan's

Right AO, you'll find Macallan much less intense.
Enjoy

[FG Lurker]

After Macallan 12 or Glenlivet 12 maybe try Oban 14.

[American Oyaji]

After Macallan 12 or Glenlivet 12 maybe try Oban 14.

Had the Glenlivet 12. I really liked it.

[FG Lurker]

Had the Glenlivet 12. I really liked it.

You'll find Macallan to be a similar sort of Scotch.

Once you've tried some 12s try some 18s, maybe at a bar with a good selection. The jump in quality from a good 12 to a good 18 is generally pretty substantial but the price also jumps so it gets expensive to experiment a bottle at a time.

[Jack]

Macallan 18 is my favourite followed by Hibiki. Reading this thread made me want to try the Glenlivet 18 that I have and no yet opened. I'll do it tonight. In a bar, though, I usually go for the Macallan 12 because it is reasonably priced and it's the only single malt name I can pronounce.

[American Oyaji]

OK, tried the Macallan 12.

VERY similar to Glenlivet 12 except it doesn't take to water nearly as well.

Has a richer taste than the Glenlivet.

I believe that good Scotch is going to teach me to drink slowly.

Yummy.