Whisky business

[Adamski]

No not the Tom Cruise film with a lisp.

Do we have many whisky drinkers here? I got a fantastic haul for my birthday recently. Love the majority of them but my favourite has to be the 18 year old Aberlour.

Also got a 15yo Talisker Skye, Old Pulteney, Edradour 12 yo and a Macallan 12 year old Sherry Oak.

My work built the websites for a few whisky and gin clients so hoping for a few Christmas samples/tours.

Whisky :cool:

[QE Harold Flair]

All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

Spirits are also not their to taste nice - they're there to get you pissed quickly.

[Giggles]

I only like whiskey. Jameson specifically. Never bothered with all the fancy stuff as I rarely drink it.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Boydy]

I like Laphraoig and Glenmorangie but I've never gone any fancier than that. Maybe one day, when I have money.

[phonics]

I had a Whiskey Coke that was 10 years older than I was. The bartenders face when I told him to put coke in it :cool:

[Magic]

All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

Spirits are also not their to taste nice - they're there to get you pissed quickly.

What a boring cunt you are, eh?

[QE Harold Flair]

Why's that?

It reminds me of a taste test I saw last week between different waters. 'Iceberg water' costs £10 a bottle and was rated most likely to be the tap water in a blindfold test. Yet some poncey wankers are buying this, convinced it's somehow better than tap water and worth paying £10 for. Ridiculous.

[Toby]

All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

Spirits are also not their to taste nice - they're there to get you pissed quickly.

If you can't taste the difference between Southern Comfort and a malt whisky there really is something wrong with you.

[igor_balis]

I really like Laphroaig, it has basically converted me to a whiskey drinker. A friend poured me a glass of Lagavulin the other day which was also delicious.

[QE Harold Flair]

If you can't taste the difference between Southern Comfort and a malt whisky there really is something wrong with you.

I didn't say anything about 'difference'.

[Magic]

Why's that?

It reminds me of a taste test I saw last week between different waters. 'Iceberg water' costs £10 a bottle and was rated most likely to be the tap water in a blindfold test. Yet some poncey wankers are buying this, convinced it's somehow better than tap water and worth paying £10 for. Ridiculous.

Water is water mate.

[Giggles]

I had a Whiskey Coke that was 10 years older than I was. The bartenders face when I told him to put coke in it :cool:

That's actually an excellent reason to order one of these ones. I think I'll ask for white lemonade in mine.

[Pepe]

'Look at how much I don't care!'

[Toby]

I didn't say anything about 'difference'.

Suggesting a blindfold test would alter views rather implies that people couldn't tell which they were drinking.

[QE Harold Flair]

Water is water mate.

Tell that to the wankers paying £10 a bottle.

Still, this reminds me of the wine ponces who claim that aged wine is better than the comparatively cheap shit you get at supermarkets.

[QE Harold Flair]

Suggesting a blindfold test would alter views rather implies that people couldn't tell which they were drinking.

There is no implication of me saying that at all. I made clear what I said.

It's certainly the case with wine, though, which has a similar level of twats claiming that aged and expensive stuff is better.

[phonics]

Tell that to the wankers paying £10 a bottle.

Still, this reminds me of the wine ponces who claim that aged wine is better than the comparatively cheap shit you get at supermarkets.

As someone who drinks a lot of cheap tat from supermarkets. You can taste the difference and it's definitely better. Unless you enjoy having a little cough after your first few sips I guess.

[Toby]

There is no implication of me saying that at all. I made clear what I said.

It's certainly the case with wine, though, which has a similar level of twats claiming that aged and expensive stuff is better.

Well it certainly tastes different. Whether it's better is down to personal opinion, but with all your posts here (particularly the lol water comment) it definitely reads like you think they don't taste any differently. Maybe it's just yet another example of you not articulating yourself very well.

[QE Harold Flair]

As someone who drinks a lot of cheap tat from supermarkets. You can.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/you-are-not-so-smart-why-we-cant-tell-good-wine-from-bad/247240/




In 2001, Frederic Brochet conducted two experiments at the University of Bordeaux. In one experiment, he got 54 oenology (the study of wine tasting and wine making) undergraduates together and had them taste one glass of red wine and one glass of white wine. He had them describe each wine in as much detail as their expertise would allow. What he didn't tell them was both were the same wine. He just dyed the white one red. In the other experiment, he asked the experts to rate two different bottles of red wine. One was very expensive, the other was cheap. Again, he tricked them. This time he had put the cheap wine in both bottles. So what were the results?

The tasters in the first experiment, the one with the dyed wine, described the sorts of berries and grapes and tannins they could detect in the red wine just as if it really was red. Every single one, all 54, could not tell it was white. In the second experiment, the one with the switched labels, the subjects went on and on about the cheap wine in the expensive bottle. They called it complex and rounded. They called the same wine in the cheap bottle weak and flat.
Another experiment at Cal-Tech pitted five bottles of wine against each other. They ranged in price from $5 to $90. Similarly, the experimenters put cheap wine in the expensive bottles -- but this time they put the tasters in a brain scanner. While tasting the wine, the same parts of the brain would light up in the machine every time, but with the wine the tasters thought was expensive, one particular region of the brain became more active. Another study had tasters rate cheese eaten with two different wines. One they were told was from California, the other from North Dakota. The same wine was in both bottles. The tasters rated the cheese they ate with the California wine as being better quality, and they ate more of it.

[Ian]

I do like a whisky. I've got Monkey Shoulder in the house at the moment which is one of my favourite blends. The other one that I tend to actually buy would be Highland Park 12. :drool:

Of the more expensive ones I've had Glengoyne 17 is probably my favourite.

In the pub near my work there's a Glenlivet 70-year old which is £916 a shot. Even if I was a squillionaire that's a fucking eye-watering amount for that.


All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

Spirits are also not their to taste nice - they're there to get you pissed quickly.

Even as somebody who likes whisky a lot there's definitely a lot of "Ooooh, 18 years!" and ignoring that it might not necessarily be very nice. I would disagree on the second point though, or at least disagree that that's to be the only purpose. That said, many spirits do taste awful so getting hammered is the only real reason you'd have them by choice.

[Smiffy]

.....

[QE Harold Flair]

Well it certainly tastes different. Whether it's better is down to personal opinion, but with all your posts here (particularly the lol water comment) it definitely reads like you think they don't taste any differently. Maybe it's just yet another example of you not articulating yourself very well.

Read my excellent post regarding wine.

[SvN]

"Undergraduates".

May as well be asking toddlers to compare ales.

[igor_balis]

I think you're wrong about the whiskey, but I largely agree on the wine. Oenologists are just about the biggest fucking chancers in the world.

@harold

[Smiffy]

.....

[Toby]

Read my excellent post regarding wine.

So some people pretend they know what they're talking about when told they're drinking a nice wine. Great. White and red wine wouldn't get muddled in a "blindfold test" without somebody lying to you.

[QE Harold Flair]

"Undergraduates".

As if that discredits anything. They're a step up from the average person, aren't they? (or are supposed to be)

The first link is also not undergraduates. There's also a whole lot of proof out there that proves what I say.

'In this blind tasting (http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/06/karl-storchmann-reports-from-the-front.html) conducted in 2012, French wines priced up to $650/bottle were put up against dirt-cheap New Jersey wines. The French wines won, but by such a tiny margin that, when analysing the results, Princeton professor Richard Quandt found the expensive and cheap wines to be “statistically undistinguishable” from each other.'

[Pepe]

I have seen the studies about experts not being able to tell cheap wine from expensive wine. While I think there is definitely a lot of BS surrounding wine, I wonder how many times an expert has successfully managed to tell a shit from a good wine. All I hear is the studies where they couldn't, but never statistics on how often they are right/wrong.

I'll still stick to wines in the $10 range regardless of course. Usually stick to Malbec and Tempranillo nowadays too as I've been stuck with too many dogshit wines when going for other kinds. Everything seems to be watered down in the US for some reason.

[QE Harold Flair]

May as well be asking toddlers to compare ales.

Do you know what an undergraduate is?

[SvN]

Do you know what an undergraduate is?

Typically an 18-21 year old with little experience of drinking alcohol.

[QE Harold Flair]

Typically an 18-21 year old with little experience of drinking alcohol.

Undergraduates in wine tasting probably don't fall under that category.

[phonics]

I've got a three pound sixty bottle of Chilean White in the fridge. It's dog shit but it gets the job done.

[Pepe]

Undergraduates in wine tasting probably don't fall under that category.

First year ones probably do.

[QE Harold Flair]

I find the whole line there bizarre and a bit desperate, really.

It's almost as if certain people have to disagree with me.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Magic]

Can we all take a moment to laugh at the TTH member with the poor palate?

:harold:

[Pepe]

Well, there have also been tests where top, top (supposedly) wine experts have been fooled. What I wonder is how often they are fooled vs how often they get it right. Never seen statistics on that, just a few cherry picked tests where they got it wrong to 'prove' their field is BS (I think it is btw).

[Magic]

Well, there have also been tests where top, top (supposedly) wine experts have been fooled. What I wonder is how often they are fooled vs how often they get it right. Never seen statistics on that, just a few cherry picked tests where they got it wrong to 'prove' their field is BS (I think it is btw).

Fooled with what? Cheap shit wine?

[QE Harold Flair]

Can we all take a moment to laugh at the TTH member with the poor palate?

:harold:

I'd rather laugh at the pretentious wankers pretending they have a distinguished palette.

More evidence, this time from 'OMG! non undergraduates'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2348205/Nine-10-wine-experts-failed-spot-type-served-multiple-times.html

[Magic]

I don't pretend to taste wines or any shit like that, but there are very distinctive differences in a whisky.

[QE Harold Flair]

I don't pretend to taste wines or any shit like that, but there are very distinctive differences in a whisky.

Never said there weren't - they're made in very different ways. I'm lolling at the age fascination. I bet nobody would tell the difference consistently on the same whiskey of different ages.

[Toby]

You weren't just doing that though, since the difference between a malt whisky and Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort isn't just down to aging. Nobody really said much against the aging question, and I imagine most would agree the prices for the longest aged whiskies are ludicrous.

[Magic]

I've never had the luxury of going through the ages of one particular whisky. I'd like to do it sometime to see if I could notice a big difference.

[QE Harold Flair]

You weren't just doing that though, since the difference between a malt whisky and Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort isn't just down to aging.

Which is why I said nothing of not being able to tell the difference between them. How many more times?


Nobody really said much against the aging question, and I imagine most would agree the prices for the longest aged whiskies are ludicrous.

The op, who I was responding to before the idiots arrived, seemed to very much be using the ages as something to be proud of.

[Magic]

You also said spirits are shit.

[phonics]

Which is weird considering the only picture I remember of Harold he was cradling a bottle of Smirnoff.

[Adamski]

Never said there weren't - they're made in very different ways. I'm lolling at the age fascination. I bet nobody would tell the difference consistently on the same whiskey of different ages.

Why do people have to tell the difference? The age isn't reflective of how it tastes, they are all different. The tastes come from the barrel its aged in, not necessarily how long it's been there. It's not an exact science and doesn't have to be.

Also, spell whisky correctly. Thanks.

[QE Harold Flair]

Which is weird considering the only picture I remember of Harold he was cradling a bottle of Smirnoff.

Why would that be weird? It would signify me drinking cheap stuff. I like spirits mixed. I never drink them straight because they don't taste very nice.

[QE Harold Flair]

Why do people have to tell the difference? The age isn't reflective of how it tastes, they are all different. The tastes come from the barrel its aged in, not necessarily how long it's been there. It's not an exact science and doesn't have to be.

Also, spell whisky correctly. Thanks.

Spellchecker corrected it to ythe wrong spelling. Big deal.

Your first point changes very little. If age wasn't a big thing then don't mention it.

[The Bruce]

This had the potential to be a decent thread until Harold ruined it. Unusual that.

Can't beat a Balvenie Doublewood for an easy whisky to see if people would like something different/more expensive. All you peaty whisky drinkers can jog on though, rancid stuff.

[phonics]

Wait, that was actually a picture of you? Christ. You looked like you had a bigger drug problem than I do.

[Adamski]

Which is why I said nothing of not being able to tell the difference between them. How many more times?



The op, who I was responding to before the idiots arrived, seemed to very much be using the ages as something to be proud of.

No I wasn't, sorry. I used it as an adjective because the age is a key differential in different products from the same distillery.

The 10 year old Aberlour is probably my favourite all time whisky.

Not everyone has to be a hipster or an out and proud anti-hipster like you and Giggles. Other people have a range.

[QE Harold Flair]

This had the potential to be a decent thread until Harold ruined it. Unusual that.

Can't beat a Balvenie Doublewood for an easy whisky to see if people would like something different/more expensive. All you peaty whisky drinkers can jog on though, rancid stuff.

I've made it a much better thread. Nobody here is a whisky connoisseur (op thinks he is, apparently) and it would die on its arse without my considerable presence.

[Magic]

A decent vodka neat is very nice, actually.

[Adamski]

This had the potential to be a decent thread until Harold ruined it. Unusual that.

Can't beat a Balvenie Doublewood for an easy whisky to see if people would like something different/more expensive. All you peaty whisky drinkers can jog on though, rancid stuff.

I think I prefer peatier whiskies on the whole. I know colour isn't necessarily a gauge of flavour with whisky but more often than not, the lighter coloured ones are the ones I like least compared to the darker, smokier bottles.

[QE Harold Flair]

Wait, that was actually a picture of you? Christ. You looked like you had a bigger drug problem than I do.

I don't even know to which picture you are referring but if I was pictured with a bottle of Smirnoff then I gave the context for it. I especially dislike vodka so I never drink it by itself. I'm also anti-drugs, in case it escaped you.

[Lewis]

I can definitely tell the difference between Coke/Pepsi and the cheap pish my nan buys, for what it's worth.

[phonics]

Mate, you're anti-drugs.

edit: Misread a Harold post. How ironic.

[Magic]

I can definitely tell the difference between Coke/Pepsi and the cheap pish my nan buys, for what it's worth.

I bet you could be fooled with one of those Lidl taste tests.

:harold:

[The Bruce]

I think I prefer peatier whiskies on the whole. I know colour isn't necessarily a gauge of flavour with whisky but more often than not, the lighter coloured ones are the ones I like least compared to the darker, smokier bottles.

Often times you find the peatier whiskies are paler and were traditionally put in green bottles so that people didn't buy based on the artificial caramel put into make their whisky look more golden.

Would appear to have fallen into Harold's elaborate hipster trap there, shame really.

[Lewis]

I bet you could be fooled with one of those Lidl taste tests.

:harold:

Seriously, mate. It goes flat the minute you open the bottle for a start.

[simon]

Nobody here is a whisky connoisseur

I'm not a TV critic, but I can still post in the TV thread.

[Adamski]

Oh really, didn't know that. Interesting.

There's a cracking little whisky shop not far from me in Troon that does tasting nights every month. Keep meaning to go down as it looks pretty good.

[Magic]

I'm not a TV critic, but I can still post in the TV thread.

Yeah, the Reality TV thread.

[Spammer]

Can't drink whisky, makes me chuck. Managed to get served at a bar in Sheffield when I was 16 and a load of us got destroyed on it. Haven't been able to touch it since, nor anything else stronger than about 20% that isn't apple sours.

[SvN]

I can drink as much beer as anyone I know. I only really enjoy vodka and energy drink when it comes to spirits. Vodka and coke is something I have to down quite quickly, but can tolerate.

Everything else makes me heave.

Don't get me started on wine.

[QE Harold Flair]

I used to like whisky and coke but really, it's too expensive. I'm interested in your views on wine, though.

[SvN]

Start a wine thread, then.

[simon]

Yeah, the Reality TV thread.

:baz:

:(

[Toby]

Which is why I said nothing of not being able to tell the difference between them. How many more times?


So you accept that they taste different, but don't accept that people would prefer one to the other? And if you accept that they are obviously different, why do you think a blindfold makes a difference?

Another case of you backtracking once you realise you've said something stupid, I fear.

[QE Harold Flair]

So you accept that they taste different, but don't accept that people would prefer one to the other? And if you accept that they are obviously different, why do you think a blindfold makes a difference?

Brand recognition and expectation. All covered in my posts regarding wine.


Another case of you backtracking once you realise you've said something stupid, I fear.

Your fear is unfounded, as I have just readily demonstrated.

[Toby]

Brand recognition and expectation. All covered in my posts regarding wine.



Your fear is unfounded, as I have just readily demonstrated.

So you're back to suggesting people could tell them apart in a blind test..

You're a mess.

[QE Harold Flair]

So you're back to suggesting people could tell them apart in a blind test..

You're a mess.

I never said they couldn't, you clown. This is now the fourth time I've had to say this to you, so I will simply post what I said yet again. Maybe you will desist from your idiocy now:


All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

[Mazuuurk]

All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

Spirits are also not their to taste nice - they're there to get you pissed quickly.

I can agree with the principle to an extent here, but if you had people doing a blindfold test with some drinking bourbon and some drinking scottish whisky you'd really need for that person never to have tasted either to be unable to distinguish them.

[QE Harold Flair]

I fear you're making the same mistake as Toby. I never said anything about being able to distinguish them.

[Magic]

Its a stupid point anyway, why can't you enjoy both?

[QE Harold Flair]

You can. My point was about the pretentious nature of people who think expensive = better. The OP may not fall into that category now he's explained his behaviour but the larger point remains.

[igor_balis]

Nobody thought he was implying expensive=better except you, because you're a fucking idiot.

[Disco]

Expensive = better is obviously not always true but then neither is it always false so once again this is a completely pointless sidetrack.

[QE Harold Flair]

I'm not sure you've asked everyone yet.

Pretentious people have been unearthed as a result of my tireless work.

I also have to wonder generally about the people who claim to love the taste of alcoholic drinks - would they still but whisky at £30 a bottle if it tasted the same but had no effect?

[leedsrevolution]

What a shit thread this.

[Magic]

I'm not sure you've asked everyone yet.

Pretentious people have been unearthed as a result of my tireless work.

I also have to wonder generally about the people who claim to love the taste of alcoholic drinks - would they still but whisky at £30 a bottle if it tasted the same but had no effect?

This makes no sense either. You can't quickly and cheaply make a good single malt, it's a skill. There are cheap blends if you don't care but by fuck can you tell the difference there.

You also don't get non alcoholic whisky. Its the nature of the beast. If there were non - alcoholic drinks that had the variety and complexion of whisky/wine I'm sure they would cost exactly the same, and I'm sure people would pay for the experience.

The fact that it would be non alcoholic would probably root out pretence fairly quickly because people wouldn't pay for it if they didn't like it.

[Disco]

People pay all sorts for things like coffee, not to the same levels but the concept is the same.

[Toby]

I never said they couldn't, you clown. This is now the fourth time I've had to say this to you, so I will simply post what I said yet again. Maybe you will desist from your idiocy now:

You aren't making any sense. If they're sufficiently different that people can tell them apart, they're sufficiently different that somebody could prefer one over the other (and know that even blindfolded).

Either you think they don't taste different enough for somebody to tell which is which, or you don't. You can't have it both ways.

[Baz]

I occasionally ruin whiskey (although I disagree because I don't like it neat) by adding malibu, blackcurrant and lemonade. It's tasty.

[QE Harold Flair]

This makes no sense either. You can't quickly and cheaply make a good single malt, it's a skill. There are cheap blends if you don't care but by fuck can you tell the difference there.

You also don't get non alcoholic whisky. Its the nature of the beast. If there were non - alcoholic drinks that had the variety and complexion of whisky/wine I'm sure they would cost exactly the same, and I'm sure people would pay for the experience.

The fact that it would be non alcoholic would probably root out pretence fairly quickly because people wouldn't pay for it if they didn't like it.

I haven't said they don't taste better - what I asked is if anyone would pay that much if there was no alcoholic stimulant.

[Magic]

And I've said yes they would. Less of them, maybe.

[QE Harold Flair]

You aren't making any sense. If they're sufficiently different that people can tell them apart, they're sufficiently different that somebody could prefer one over the other (and know that even blindfolded).

Either you think they don't taste different enough for somebody to tell which is which, or you don't. You can't have it both ways.

You've just not read what I have written. It's been proven with wine (and other things) that the label makes a big difference. Even if someone had never tasted whisky before they will know the mass-market label ones. This makes a difference and has been shown to make a difference to most people's perceptions.

[QE Harold Flair]

And I've said yes they would. Less of them, maybe.

I think you are very much mistaken. I mean you will always get the idiot who will pay £10 for the iceberg water, but still.

[Magic]

Well the you go then. :harold:

[Shindig]

I don't think I've had a brand I've actively disliked aside from Bells. Scottish Leader is canny, as is Aberlour. Their fancy Christmas batch is a bit of a let-down, mind. Pushes 60% but loses the bite because it doesn't sit in a sherry cask for years.

[QE Harold Flair]

Well the you go then. :harold:

Not sure what you mean?

[Disco]

I think you are very much mistaken. I mean you will always get the idiot who will pay £10 for the iceberg water, but still.

Things like Civet Coffee, Ruwa, and all kinds of aged teas suggest people would indeed still be willing to pay plenty for non-alcoholic beverages.

[Toby]

You've just not read what I have written. It's been proven with wine (and other things) that the label makes a big difference. Even if someone had never tasted whisky before they will know the mass-market label ones. This makes a difference and has been shown to make a difference to most people's perceptions.

I've read it, and it makes no sense. Now you're just repeating yourself. Either they taste different, or they don't, and if they taste different then people can have a true preference blind taste or not.

[Magic]

People pay about £20 for honey these days. Sainsburys have security tags on it.

[QE Harold Flair]

I've read it, and it makes no sense. Now you're just repeating yourself. Either they taste different, or they don't, and if they taste different then people can have a true preference blind taste or not.

I'm repeating myself in the face of you repeating yourself. It's not my fault if you can't get your small head around what should be very obvious.

Once again, never once have I said or even intimated that they taste the same. You're ignoring what I have said about brand awareness and how it affects people's perceptions, backed up by definitive evidence. Stop ignoring what I tell you.

[leedsrevolution]

I'm repeating myself in the face of you repeating yourself. It's not my fault if you can't get your small head around what should be very obvious.

Once again, never once have I said or even intimated that they taste the same. You're ignoring what I have said about brand awareness and how it affects people's perceptions, backed up by definitive evidence. Stop ignoring what I tell you.

:drink:

Have a sup of Bushmells bourbon and lighten up.

[Toby]

I'm repeating myself in the face of you repeating yourself. It's not my fault if you can't get your small head around what should be very obvious.

Once again, never once have I said or even intimated that they taste the same. You're ignoring what I have said about brand awareness and how it affects people's perceptions, backed up by definitive evidence. Stop ignoring what I tell you.

You haven't said those words, but the clear implication of:


All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.


Is that you don't think people would have a preference (that is, find one more 'pleasant' than the other) without a label to guide them, and that cant be the case if they taste differently.

[Magic]

Isle of Skye 8 year old. Not one for me.

I'm shit at this but here goes...

Nose: Fruity

Palate: Peaty, musky, fruity

Finish: Smokey

It's a throat burner.

[Pepe]

It's not my fault if you can't get your small head around what should be very obvious.

:henn0rz:

[phonics]

Has it been open for 8 years?

[Pepe]

Isle of Skye 8 year old. Not one for me.

I'm shit at this but here goes...

Nose: Fruity

Palate: Peaty, musky, fruity

Finish: Smokey

It's a throat burner.

9/10 would read again.

[Magic]

:D / :(

Dots

[Davgooner]

Can we all take a moment to laugh at the TTH member with the poor palate?

:harold:

I always thought you'd be that twat on Come Dine With Me.

[Mazuuurk]

All this 'look how aged it is!' guff sounds a bit poncey to me. I bet most people wouldn't find them any more pleasant than Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort in a blindfold test.

Spirits are also not their to taste nice - they're there to get you pissed quickly.


I fear you're making the same mistake as Toby. I never said anything about being able to distinguish them.

Fair enough, but still it's a bit of a strange example. I feel people who like bourbon are probably more likely to enjoy a dark rum than a whisky (of course most people like all three) - they are just so different in taste that I don't see how a blindfold test is relevant.

[Luca]

I didn't say anything about 'difference'.

I'll take it one step further: if you don't find a malt whisky more pleasant than Jack Daniels (Southern Comfort can be cast aside, as it isn't anywhere near an apples-to-apples comparison - it is a flavoured liqueur, not a spirit), there really is something wrong with you.

[phonics]

I'll take it one step further: if you don't find a malt whisky more pleasant than Jack Daniels (Southern Comfort can be cast aside, as it isn't anywhere near an apples-to-apples comparison - it is a flavoured liqueur, not a spirit), there really is something wrong with you.

Nah, you've just proved his snob point in trying to refute it.

[Ian]

Jack Daniels isn't worse because it's not a single malt Scottish whisky, it's worse because it tastes like bum.

[Luca]

Jack Daniels isn't worse because it's not a single malt Scottish whisky, it's worse because it tastes like bum.

That's what I was getting at. Given the differences in the production methods, Jack Daniels is objectively "harsher" than single malts. Since pretty much everyone agrees that "smoothness" is a key characteristic of a whiskey's "pleasantness," single malts are indeed more pleasant.

Harry will find a way to disagree (perhaps he'll refute the notion that smoothness is ideal), but the FAHCTS remain.

[Ian]

Is it harsher? It tastes like sickly rubbish to me. Perfectly suited to mixing with Coke or whatever other rubbish people pair it with.

And having tried my share I'd argue that single malts and smoothness are not necessarily synonymous. Your Islays, for example, are "good quality" but there are plenty of those which give you a bit of a burn if that level of peatiness isn't your cup of tea.

I'm sort of agreeing and disagreeing with you here. Perhaps on the definition of "smoothness" rather than your greater point. Harold thinks we're a dick either way of course, but then Harold is a contrarian tosser who I don't understand why he came to this board any more than I know why he stayed at the old one.

[QE Harold Flair]

Isle of Skye 8 year old. Not one for me.

I'm shit at this but here goes...

Nose: Fruity

Palate: Peaty, musky, fruity

Finish: Smokey

It's a throat burner.

I would have thought an 8 year old might be a bit young, even for you. Sounds like fun, by your description.

[QE Harold Flair]

You haven't said those words, but the clear implication of:



Is that you don't think people would have a preference (that is, find one more 'pleasant' than the other) without a label to guide them, and that cant be the case if they taste differently.


There is no implication. If I had meant what you thought I meant then I would have just said it rather than imply it.

Instead, I said nothing of the sort, but you refuse to quite get this. I'm not going to go over it again.

[QE Harold Flair]

That's what I was getting at. Given the differences in the production methods, Jack Daniels is objectively "harsher" than single malts. Since pretty much everyone agrees that "smoothness" is a key characteristic of a whiskey's "pleasantness," single malts are indeed more pleasant.

Harry will find a way to disagree (perhaps he'll refute the notion that smoothness is ideal), but the FAHCTS remain.

What tastes nice isn't a fact.

[Boydy]

What tastes nice isn't a fact.

If that's the case then how can you say anyone would find Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort just as 'pleasant' in a blindfolded taste test?

[Toby]

There is no implication. If I had meant what you thought I meant then I would have just said it rather than imply it.

Instead, I said nothing of the sort, but you refuse to quite get this. I'm not going to go over it again.

Well, there is an implication. Maybe you didn't mean it, and you're just an actual idiot rather than wrong about this one thing.

[ItalAussie]

There's no doubt that ageing whisky (and wine) affects the taste, which also occurs as a function of the container in which it's stored. That's just basic science.

What happens is that more age gives you more time to absorb the effects of containment. But spending a long time in a terrible container isn't going to magically make it better. The reason aged whiskys tend to be prized is that the only ones worth keeping while they age are the ones which will derive benefit from it; it's self-selection. Nobody bothered to keep the ones that didn't work. It's not just more years = better.

I don't even like whisky that much and I know that.

[QE Harold Flair]

If that's the case then how can you say anyone would find Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort just as 'pleasant' in a blindfolded taste test?

Well, why not? That doesn't contradict anything. It also rather depends on how you mean 'anyone'.

[QE Harold Flair]

Well, there is an implication. Maybe you didn't mean it, and you're just an actual idiot rather than wrong about this one thing.

There would be an implication if I didn't say exactly what I meant straight after in the same sentence, and which you keep ignoring.

[Mike]

Whisky is something I'd like to get into drinking but I've yet to find one I like. Is it like beer where its not nice at first but once you're used to it you're fine?

[Giggles]

What tastes nice isn't a fact.

In fairness, no matter what is spouted (and it happens a lot these days about more than food), Harold has a point here. All these things are down to the individual.

[Pen]

I really like a good smokey single malt after a meal or as a solitary drink if I'm doing nothing and just relaxing. I got some Ardberg (might have been 12 yo) that was absolutely heavenly, but the taste was so strong I usually had no more than one in one go. I'm not that fussy though, and as I keep getting lesser quality whisk(e)ys as a gift at times I sometimes use them for whisk(e)y and coke. Would never mix anything decent with coke.

Wines are trickier I think. There are so much variety and different stuff is meant for different things you can't really be sure which bottle is the way to go if you haven't tasted them. Of course the origin, grape and year are good indicators, but some wines might take hours to air to really get the taste out of them and you don't always know how it will take for each wine.

[-james-]

Worked my way through a bottle of Canadian Club in the past week or so of evenings, which is a bit worrying. I'm exposed to a lot of people telling me how great Scottish single malts are, but this is the first whiskey I've ever actively wanted to drink.

[Luca]

Worked my way through a bottle of Canadian Club in the past week or so of evenings, which is a bit worrying. I'm exposed to a lot of people telling me how great Scottish single malts are, but this is the first whiskey I've ever actively wanted to drink.

Not a fan, although the old building they used to produce it in is ace.

[-james-]

Yeah, I have been getting the impression that I ought to be a bit embarrassed. Think I'll try and find something similar, but more esteeming, for my next buy.

[QE Harold Flair]

Oh dear.

In a nutshell, what I was saying.

[Luca]

Yeah, I have been getting the impression that I ought to be a bit embarrassed. Think I'll try and find something similar, but more esteeming, for my next buy.

Nah, nothing wrong with it, I just prefer smokier whiskeys, which is why I tend to single malts. Probably also a bit of the standard Canadian aversion to anything Canadian.

[Kikó]

I posted in another thread on here that I have a few bottles of Glenlivet and Glenfiddich Cask Collection with a freebie of Jacboite. I am going to have to get a new bottle when I next pass through the airport as they have a brilliant selection.

I'm a big fan of the Japanese stuff and Monkey Shoulder as well.

[Ian]

I tried my first Japanese whisky recently. it was whatever the 'normal' Yamazaki whisky is I think and I enjoyed it very much.

[Kikó]

We've probably drank the same stuff. Very easy to drink.

My missus dad is a whiskey taster so it's always good to go up to visit and try some of the less usual stuff.

[Toby]

Whisky taster as in he does it professionally?

[Kikó]

Not really but he's part of different societies/clubs (lol illuminati) which give him the chance to do whiskey tasting. Its just a hobby.

[Lewis]

He's a poser mate. Give him some cold tea in a fancy bottle and show him right up.

[Magic]

Sounds like a paedophile.

[Kikó]

I'll buy him some southern comfort and call him out as a FRAUD.

[QE Harold Flair]

Sounds like a right ponce.

[Disco]

Down with other people's hobbies!

[Kikó]

He's an expert on wine as well. Absolute mentalist.

[Magic]

As shit as this sounds I'd love to be able to do that. I don't have the time nor money though.

A delicate palate. :drool:

[Magic]

Lol @ real ale descriptions as well.

No I can't taste nectar, fenugreek, summer fruits, cabbage, rump steak or Christmas pudding. It tastes like fucking beer, mate.

[QE Harold Flair]

I knew I'd turn you.

[Henry]

I don't like whisky but my mate does and he has a fondness for certain brands and older vintages.

I'm going to believe him rather than Harold on this one.

[QE Harold Flair]

How is Glen?

[Henry]

He lives in California now. It's not him.

[Giggles]

Harold is so rapey and creepy when it comes to Henners.

[QE Harold Flair]

This would have been such a good moment to post the Henners with 2 bottles of beer and silly grin pic, but it seems to have been wiped forever. :thbdn:

Have you told Glen about us, Henners?

[Mike]

How do you get into Whisky then? Like its a bit pricey to buy a bottle just to see if you like it.

[Magic]

Nips in a pub, taster sessions, Christmas presents etc

problem with buying a bottle is you might not like it. I had a double of that Isle of Skye and I don't think I'll be going back to it. Anyone want an almost full bottle? Lol

[Kikó]

Go to a bar and ease yourself in. Try it with a dash of water and work out which flavours you prefer.

[Magic]

Please go for single malts though. Also get one from each region, generally if you don't like one from a region you won't like the rest (I've found).

Once you find what you like explore the ages, older the better. Again that's generally speaking.

[Luca]

Please go for single malts though. Also get one from each region, generally if you don't like one from a region you won't like the rest (I've found).

Once you find what you like explore the ages, older the better. Again that's generally speaking.

Or just boil some grains in water. It all tastes the same, anyways.

[QE Harold Flair]

Said nobody.

[SvN]

Harold, for your info, you're on the verge of being fuckwit claused. If you get any enjoyment out of posting here, I suggest you reign it in a bit.

[Disco]

Nuisance thread in 3..2..1..

[QE Harold Flair]

Harold, for your info, you're on the verge of being fuckwit claused. If you get any enjoyment out of posting here, I suggest you reign it in a bit.

Wait, you're an admin? :happycry:

If you have an issue pm me, since I'm sure you wouldn't want to do this in public as that would result in you definitely having to ban me. Which you would hate.

My comment was perfectly legitimate since I never said anything about all whisky tasting the sam.e Not my problem people can't read and get butthurt with incredible ease.

[SvN]

I'm only an admin for technical stuff. I've got nothing to do with bans or infractions. I do, however, have access to the staff forum, which is why I know you're probably being perm banned in the very near future.

It was a friendly warning really, as my personal view is that you're part of the board and should be ignored rather than banned. However, you've been insufferable since the board move, so my advice (which you can ignore if you wish) is to chill out and take a step back if you want to continue posting on the board.

[QE Harold Flair]

I will ignore it, yes.

Pm me in future as you're ruining an excellent thread.

[Lewis]

The 'fuckwit clause' was sad enough on the old board, but that at least had to pretend it was commercially viable and welcoming to homosexuals. Having it here is properly tragic, and everybody involved is a dickhead.

[Magic]

Surely permbanning can't be employed on such a small insignificant board?

[Ian]

It tastes like fucking beer, mate.

It would do. It is beer, after all.

Lol at you giving it that and then imploring somebody to stick to malts, do region by region whisky samplings and then "explore the ages" you shambles.

[Lewis]

We've got more 'staff' than actual TTH as well. Give it up you twats. We need SvN to do the nerd stuff, and somebody else in case he dies of baldness.

[Magic]

It would do. It is beer, after all.

Lol at you giving it that and then imploring somebody to stick to malts, do region by region whisky samplings and then "explore the ages" you shambles.

What's wrong with that technique? I'm no expert it's just what I would do and have found works for me, so there's no need to be a pretentious cunt about it.

[QE Harold Flair]

What's your favourite malt vinegar?

[Ian]

I only ever buy Sarsons so I'll say that.


What's wrong with that technique? I'm no expert it's just what I would do and have found works for me, so there's no need to be a pretentious cunt about it.

There's nothing wrong with it, I just find it daft that you're dismissing all beer as tasting the same and then discussing the ways in which you're selective about whisky as if the different regions are producing something radically different.

[Magic]

Its the end product for me. I just don't really get the flavours people say real ale can produce. At all.

[Luca]

As much as I think Harry is a raging idiot, fuckwit clausing someone on a board of about 12 people, unless they're actively undermining the operation of the whole thing, is a bit silly. He's a pedant, but we engage him, so he's our pedant.

[QE Harold Flair]

Its the end product for me. I just don't really get the flavours people say real ale can produce. At all.

The problem with you is you've got a shit palate.

[Pepe]

It's a shame 'cool-down bans' never stuck.

[Magic]

Phonics and Henry think about what you're doing lads.

[QE Harold Flair]

Ooh, what happened?

[Toby]

As much as I think Harry is a raging idiot, fuckwit clausing someone on a board of about 12 people, unless they're actively undermining the operation of the whole thing, is a bit silly. He's a pedant, but we engage him, so he's our pedant.

If only he were a pedant, he might be capable of actually saying things that make sense.

[Mike]

Maybe we should all just stop discussing him and replying to his trolling posts. (I see the irony here, I won't reply/comment further)

Might look into one of those box set things with a bunch of samplers in, or ask for one for Christmas and see if I find something I like. :)
Any recommendations?

[Spoonsky]

Harold is only truly annoying because people like Lewis and Toby tend to engage him in two-page arguments over things that never made sense in the first place. Find your arguments elsewhere, lads.

Hi Mike.

[Toby]

I already worried for you and your poor grasp of what was going on in the other thread. If you can't work this one out either you probably need to knock the helmet-bongs on the head for a bit.

[Henry]

Harold is not a pedant. Harold is a moron.

This is an entirely different problem. But I'm not in favour of a permaban, for the record.

[Pepe]

Spoonsky is right. Lewis mate, you really need to find yourself a job.

[QE Harold Flair]

It's tribalism, really. Nobody ever admits when I'm right, which is most often.

Given that I gave context for what I said originally (wine tasters were clearly affected by known brands and expectations based on labeling - hence blindfold is for that), it's really not my problem people don't let go of things which are obvious.

[Spoonsky]

I already worried for you and your poor grasp of what was going on in the other thread. If you can't work this one out either you probably need to knock the helmet-bongs on the head for a bit.

I didn't even read the argument in this thread. You yourself just said that he tends not to make sense. But your condescension is irrelevant, because the point is that it's stupid to complain about Harold and then regularly engage with him. It doesn't matter who "wins" an argument if reading it makes you want to kill yourself.

[Toby]

I don't really complain about him, as I've said before it's amusing to watch him scramble around and dig holes for himself. That he's still doing it in the post above yours is pretty spectacular.

[The Merse]

Recently dusted off a 12 year cherry cask MacAllan Gold, which was great.

Have a bit of a thing for young malts at the moment. Simon Taylor's 3 year old stood out in my last session in Bath.

[Ian]

Its the end product for me. I just don't really get the flavours people say real ale can produce. At all.

Isn't this just practice (for want of a better word)? With wine and whisky all I really know is what I like and what I don't, with beer I can now pick out some things (probably not fenugreek, I'll grant you) but then I've had significantly more beer than the other two. I do think with any of these though people can start to imagine they're tasting things that they can't, especially when it comes to 'quality', as with the blindfold wine tasting thing.

[QE Harold Flair]

I don't really complain about him, as I've said before it's amusing to watch him scramble around and dig holes for himself. That he's still doing it in the post above yours is pretty spectacular.

You always make these comments without refuting what I say.

[igor_balis]

Had quite a few nice single malts recently. Highland Park 12 was the 'malt of the moment' when I went to a pub quiz on tuesday, so at £5 for a double I had probably a few too many, I thought it was very decent. Had a bottle of Aberfeldy which was nice, if a little sweeter than I'd like. Tonight I'm trying rye whiskey for the first time, Bulleit's '95' rye, named for its 95% rye content rather than its age. I'm enjoying it, very spicy.

[Bob Sacamano]

Wow, Harold absolutely ruined this thread.

Would be nice to just delete all of his posts, failing that, ignore list ftw!!

[Kikó]

I read a recipe that I want to try out with a cheap bourbon. Basically mix bourbon with coffee beans and let it ferment for a bit. Can imagine it adding a nice kick especially with good beans.

[The Bruce]

Whited out by the snow at a mates house last night so we tanned a bottle of Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask which is completely different from the last time I tried it years ago.

I have a bottle of Aberfeldy I haven't opened yet igor_balis, big fan of a nice sweet whisky but too sweet and it can taste like cough syrup.

[Pavel]

Spellchecker corrected it to ythe wrong spelling. Big deal.

:D

[phonics]

I drank half a bottle of Johnny Walker watching England v Spain. Got back home to find out about the terror attacks and vommed everywhere. Lovely stuff.

[Baz]

Can any of you pro's suggest a bottle of whiskey I can get my dad for Christmas?

Was gonna get him some of that Haig Club (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haig-Club-Scotch-Whisky-70/dp/B00N0XSP4W/ref=zg_bs_358583031_2) stuff that D-Beck sells, but I doubted it's any good and the reviews back that up.

Up to about £35 I guess, cos thats how much the Haig stuff is.

Thanks.

Edit: how about Dalwhinnie (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalwhinnie-15-Year-Old-Whisky-70/dp/B00CEZ2HDC/ref=zg_mw_358583031_6)? One review says it's sweet though, which I don't think he'd like.

[Magic]

Dalwhinnie 15 I have. It's very smooth.

[igor_balis]

Balvenie 12 doublewood is really lovely for that price range.

[Adamski]

http://www.worldwhiskiesawards.com/2016/single-malt-whisky/

Old Pulteney voted worlds best again. My step-sister works for the distillery and she got me a bottle of the 12 year old a few years back, it's really nice.

Anyone tried the winner?

[Ian]

I've only had the one you've had.

Bottle of this for the old man for Christmas:
https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/114/ardbeg-uigeadail

Didn't spend as much as that on it, mind.

[Kikó]

Can your step sister send some to us?

[Adamski]

Haha I wish she had enough for that! She just works in purchasing, I think they get enough credit to buy 2 a year so I get one and my old man gets one.

[Samadini]

Can any of you pro's suggest a bottle of whiskey I can get my dad for Christmas?

Was gonna get him some of that Haig Club (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haig-Club-Scotch-Whisky-70/dp/B00N0XSP4W/ref=zg_bs_358583031_2) stuff that D-Beck sells, but I doubted it's any good and the reviews back that up.

Up to about £35 I guess, cos thats how much the Haig stuff is.

Thanks.

Edit: how about Dalwhinnie (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalwhinnie-15-Year-Old-Whisky-70/dp/B00CEZ2HDC/ref=zg_mw_358583031_6)? One review says it's sweet though, which I don't think he'd like.

I've got a Drinks by the Dram advent calendar on the go and had Haig Club Clubman last night, thought it was pretty horrible, really sickly sweet. Have really like all the others though.

Favourites so far have been https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/glenfarclas/glenfarclas-2009-bottled-2016-cask-1805-drinks-by-the-dram-whisky/ and https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/30094/kilchoman-2010-single-cask-px-finish-twe-exclusive. Both way too expensive for me to be buying a bottle of, so was nice to at least have a try.

[Lewis]

I tried some of this (https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/24244/macallan-1996-18-year-old-sherry-oak) recently, and it tasted like when you accidentally spray deodorant in your mouth.

[mugbull]

That happen to you a lot?

[Lewis]

At least once, clearly.

[Samadini]

Sounds gnarly dude.

[Adamski]

It's milk you drink isn't it Lewis?

[niko_cee]

Which, if any, of these:

http://www.waitrosecellar.com/spirits/spirit-type/whisky/malt-whisky#%2F%2Fwww.waitrosecellar.com%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs %2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FCategoryNavigationResultsVie w%3FpageSize%3D24%26manufacturer%3D%26searchType%3 D%26resultCatEntryType%3D%26catalogId%3D10551%26ca tegoryId%3D1052002%26langId%3D-1%26storeId%3D10701%26sType%3DSimpleSearch%26filte rFacet%3D%26metaData%3DaXNDb3Jwb3JhdGVXaW5lOiJOIg% 253D%253D%26beginIndex%3D0%26contentBeginIndex%3D0 %26facet%3D%26resultType%3Dproducts%26orderBy%3D3% 26viewAll%3D%26maxPrice%3D%26minPrice%3D%26facetSn apshot%3D%26identifier%3D1481465381719

Is the least likely to taste like shite?

Don't be giving me any of the lafroyd nonsense.

[Adamski]

Aberlour 10 or Talisker Skye.

Aberlour 10 is my favourite whisky. Quite dark and smoky.

[Lewis]

Can't go wrong with milk mate.

[niko_cee]

A crate of Guernsey milk it is then.

[Lewis]

Do Guernsey and Jersey people argue over whose milk is better?

[Ian]

There are a lot of threats made but neither side has the bottle to follow up on it.