Scotch

[svizzerams]

I think I'll still stick with a nice red blend wine - something with a little Cab Sav.; Cab Franc; merlot, and perhaps some syrah thrown in....

[Bronco]

Just a short story here. I inherited a Decanter and was wondering what I should put in it so I asked several friends for suggestions and most agreed that it should be a good Scotch. The big problems there are a) there are so many brands available, and b) many of the opinions of scotch are pretentious. To resolve this dilemma I have begun to buy bottles one at a time and methodically work my way through them. I have come to the conclusion that everybody is right. Each person has their own set of taste buds and they all vary.
At this point I will NEVER buy another bottle of JW Red, I do like Chivas Royal Salute, but I prefer JW Gold to that. I tend to like single malts better than blends, although good blends are nice to offer other people who are not whisky enthusiasts on special occasions. My next plan is to buy one bottle at a time and drink less than half the bottle, leaving the rest for comparison testing at some later time as I add to my collection. As a general rule the better choices of single malts tend to correlate with the sales turnover at the liquor store. People buy what they like but can afford, therefore buying what everyone else is buying is a fairly safe bet.
Ice tends to soften the alcohol shock but waters down the taste once it reaches a certain level of dilution, therefore limiting the amount of ice or drinking a single malt neat is probably my preferred way to drink it. I have not developed the taste for soda....yet, although I can see your point, Kurt. Thanks to all of you for your educated and experienced input.
I have decided to get rid of the decanter.

[WillyBlues]

Just a short story here. I inherited a Decanter and was wondering what I should put in it so I asked several friends for suggestions and most agreed that it should be a good Scotch. The big problems there are a) there are so many brands available, and b) many of the opinions of scotch are pretentious. To resolve this dilemma I have begun to buy bottles one at a time and methodically work my way through them. I have come to the conclusion that everybody is right. Each person has their own set of taste buds and they all vary.
At this point I will NEVER buy another bottle of JW Red, I do like Chivas Royal Salute, but I prefer JW Gold to that. I tend to like single malts better than blends, although good blends are nice to offer other people who are not whisky enthusiasts on special occasions. My next plan is to buy one bottle at a time and drink less than half the bottle, leaving the rest for comparison testing at some later time as I add to my collection. As a general rule the better choices of single malts tend to correlate with the sales turnover at the liquor store. People buy what they like but can afford, therefore buying what everyone else is buying is a fairly safe bet.
Ice tends to soften the alcohol shock but waters down the taste once it reaches a certain level of dilution, therefore limiting the amount of ice or drinking a single malt neat is probably my preferred way to drink it. I have not developed the taste for soda....yet, although I can see your point, Kurt. Thanks to all of you for your educated and experienced input.
I have decided to get rid of the decanter.

The rule with ice is extra large cubes, buy a tray if needed, it cuts down on the melting time.

[Kurt]

Just a short story here. I inherited a Decanter and was wondering what I should put in it so I asked several friends for suggestions and most agreed that it should be a good Scotch. The big problems there are a) there are so many brands available, and b) many of the opinions of scotch are pretentious. To resolve this dilemma I have begun to buy bottles one at a time and methodically work my way through them. I have come to the conclusion that everybody is right. Each person has their own set of taste buds and they all vary.
At this point I will NEVER buy another bottle of JW Red, I do like Chivas Royal Salute, but I prefer JW Gold to that. I tend to like single malts better than blends, although good blends are nice to offer other people who are not whisky enthusiasts on special occasions. My next plan is to buy one bottle at a time and drink less than half the bottle, leaving the rest for comparison testing at some later time as I add to my collection. As a general rule the better choices of single malts tend to correlate with the sales turnover at the liquor store. People buy what they like but can afford, therefore buying what everyone else is buying is a fairly safe bet.
Ice tends to soften the alcohol shock but waters down the taste once it reaches a certain level of dilution, therefore limiting the amount of ice or drinking a single malt neat is probably my preferred way to drink it. I have not developed the taste for soda....yet, although I can see your point, Kurt. Thanks to all of you for your educated and experienced input.
I have decided to get rid of the decanter.

Problems with decanters are:

Lead crystal...or why rich people would die of lead poisoning or kidney failure.

Part of the point of good booze is the bottle. It contains information so you can buy another one and, there is never any lead in them.

If I had a crystal decanter I would put a cheaper but good liquor in it...then leave it out so my housecleaner would think she was stealing a shot of "fancy" booze.

Also another good use for one would be to decant a red wine into it before serving. the motion of pouring it twice would speed up the "breathing" but you would never want to leave it in the decanter. (I "decant" in a Pyrex and it works great)

[rickshaw92]

I think I'll still stick with a nice red blend wine - something with a little Cab Sav.; Cab Franc; merlot, and perhaps some syrah thrown in....

I wouldent be caught dead drinkin wine as that is a total womans drink, but why not try the Rickshaw92 tried, tested, and true method and gettin the cheapest stuff with the most alcohol?
Not for Scotch though, for that ya gotta spend at least a score, anything less and you are an chavastic alchie.

[Kurt]

I found a scotch for the hypothetical decanter. It is cheap....$32. Speyside single malt and from Gordon & McPhail who make my kickass 15 year old that costs way too much.

It is called The MacPhail's Collection and this is an 8 year old from Tamdhu Distillery. The fact it is 8 years old and made from whiskey that is mostly used in blends makes this cheap, but really tasty. Plus it is smooth so people who don't like old single malts will still like this.

[Caliban]

I found a scotch for the hypothetical decanter. It is cheap....$32. Speyside single malt and from Gordon & McPhail who make my kickass 15 year old that costs way too much.

It is called The MacPhail's Collection and this is an 8 year old from Tamdhu Distillery. The fact it is 8 years old and made from whiskey that is mostly used in blends makes this cheap, but really tasty. Plus it is smooth so people who don't like old single malts will still like this.

Now,we are a considerable time and six pages into this thread and I'd still stick with the Balvenie, doublewood or single barrel 25 you mentioned in the first post or an old Dalwhinnie, a fine distillery in the central highlands. Nice and smooth.

I have a Balvenie 25 yr single barrel that was my dads, still unopened after close to 20 years (yes I realise that it no longer matures after bottling) that I am thinking of opening in six weeks time for my sepcial occasion. Or maybe I'll save it another two years for what would have been his 80th birthday.

[shivers]

I think he wants you to open it for that special occasion.

Cheers!

[Kurt]

I am tempted to "just happen" to be in Liverpool for the Scotch opening.

The Balvenie 12 year old is a fine drink. I cannot imagine what the 25 year old would be like. Whatever occasion you open it on will be a memorable one.

[coldharvest]

I found a scotch for the hypothetical decanter. It is cheap....$32. Speyside single malt and from Gordon & McPhail who make my kickass 15 year old that costs way too much.

It is called The MacPhail's Collection and this is an 8 year old from Tamdhu Distillery. The fact it is 8 years old and made from whiskey that is mostly used in blends makes this cheap, but really tasty. Plus it is smooth so people who don't like old single malts will still like this.

Now,we are a considerable time and six pages into this thread and I'd still stick with the Balvenie, doublewood or single barrel 25 you mentioned in the first post or an old Dalwhinnie, a fine distillery in the central highlands. Nice and smooth.

I have a Balvenie 25 yr single barrel that was my dads, still unopened after close to 20 years (yes I realise that it no longer matures after bottling) that I am thinking of opening in six weeks time for my sepcial occasion. Or maybe I'll save it another two years for what would have been his 80th birthday.

half now, half then?

[rickshaw92]

I have a Balvenie 25 yr single barrel that was my dads, still unopened after close to 20 years (yes I realise that it no longer matures after bottling) that I am thinking of opening in six weeks time for my sepcial occasion.

Party at Calibans!

[Caliban]

No problem there my friend.All welcome.

A small select band (and their beer auxilliaries) awaits your arrival



That wee one at the front is going down rather well as I type. Ledaig from the Fort William distillery. A rather smoky back taste that is reminiscent of a mackeral smokery which for some curious reason works really well

[vetparatrooper]

Wish I could actually listen to all of Burns Poem's being actually read but every time I click on one of these readers it says "not available in your area".
but the Glenlivet has been been good while reading.

[suwon fish]

Wish I could actually listen to all of Burns Poem's being actually read but every time I click on one of these readers it says "not available in your area".
but the Glenlivet has been been good while reading.

I normally use Demonoid to find torrents, but you need to be a member to use it. Isohunt works just fine too.

http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/112627097/burns+poetry?tab=summary

This torrent is the poems of Robbie Burns.

If you never downloaded torrents before you need a program to do it for you. I like Utorrent best.

http://www.utorrent.com

All this stuff, movies, ebooks, audio books, music is free by the way.

[vetparatrooper]

Well hey that is pretty cool thanks and with the wintery mix that just started I just got back from the liquor store in time for the third and final storm of the season (hopefully) and decided to try the Balvenie doublewood that the beginner of this fine thread suggested....so it shall be a night of Burn's Poetry (read aloud this time) and a nice fire in the fireplace...cheers...see ya'll when the power comes back on...gonna save the battery on this thing for the evenings festivities