Whisky for Widdo. Part I.

[Puff Scotty]

Hi H, Part I
I'll try to give you some guidance without throwing a list of 'my likes' at you.


As with Cigars, our tastes vary tremendously & I'll try to simplify the process to find out what you like.


Firstly, only buy single malt scotch, this is the starting point.
A single malt scotch by definition is one that is made in only one distillery, made only from barley malt and, of course Made in Scotland.


To help find what you like about your whisky, make tasting notes...these should comprise of;
Colour. Light to dark imbued by the cask. e.g. new oak – light. Sherry cask – dark.
Body. Mouth feel, lightor full texture of the scotch..very important to character.
Nose. Usually a parallel of palate but with scotch, a mixed indicator.
Palate. Your taste response over time, to characteristic flavour.
Finish. The aftertaste& effects.


To start, buy a bottlefrom different regions to find it's influences.
e.g...from Speyside,I'd suggest a,
Glenlivet, flowery,light & dry
Aberlour, full &spicy.


Only buy, for the time being, official distillery bottling's, available cheaply at most supermarkets!
Start there Widdo, do a bit of reading, I would suggest;
Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion, widely available & full of good info...


Part II. when you've completed your 1st mission...

[Wid3y]

Hi H, Part I
I'll try to give you some guidance without throwing a list of 'my likes' at you.


As with Cigars, our tastes vary tremendously & I'll try to simplify the process to find out what you like.


Firstly, only buy single malt scotch, this is the starting point.
A single malt scotch by definition is one that is made in only one distillery, made only from barley malt and, of course Made in Scotland.


To help find what you like about your whisky, make tasting notes...these should comprise of;
Colour. Light to dark imbued by the cask. e.g. new oak ? light. Sherry cask ? dark.
Body. Mouth feel, lightor full texture of the scotch..very important to character.
Nose. Usually a parallel of palate but with scotch, a mixed indicator.
Palate. Your taste response over time, to characteristic flavour.
Finish. The aftertaste& effects.


To start, buy a bottlefrom different regions to find it's influences.
e.g...from Speyside,I'd suggest a,
Glenlivet, flowery,light & dry
Aberlour, full &spicy.


Only buy, for the time being, official distillery bottling's, available cheaply at most supermarkets!
Start there Widdo, do a bit of reading, I would suggest;
Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion, widely available & full of good info...


Part II. when you've completed your 1st mission...

This is great info that I shall put into force straight away and thanks for taking the time to put this down.

Some whiskey buying this weekend me thinks...

Shall report back soon!

What I think i like based on your criteria of tasting:

To help find what you like about your whisky, make tasting notes...these should comprise of;
Colour. Not sure yet
Body. Like something with texture
Nose. Not sure here
Palate. Changing flavours not one dimensional
Finish. Something that isn't too harsh, smooth and soothing

This I appreciate probably sounds completely shite..

[Puff Scotty]

This I appreciate probably sounds completely shite..

Exactly! that's why I gave you a starting point & some homework...
or I could give you a list of the 3000 or so whisky's (not just scotch) that I've tried & liked!
Puff..Norfolk's No.1 whisky slut!

[Wid3y]

Well that's just showing off! will report back soon..

[Puff Scotty]

Well that's just showing off! will report back soon..

[Jacobwaits]

This is like watching Karate kid 5...wax on, wax off.

[senor_robusto]

great advice ol' boy!!! wish i had someone advising me like this when i started off!! instead i had my grandfather inform me:
"if it's not bushmills, then it's shite!!" oh grandfather, how could you be so blind and so wrong...........

lol,

alex

[Puff Scotty]

Equally as wrong as mine Alex..I would never have touched Bushmills .....if I'd listened ..
& my Dad, the biggest Scotch single malt bigot in the world...God rest 'em both...

[spirit_of_will]

I'm reading with interest. Not a big whisky buff at all but have gone thru a bottle of Balvenie Doublewood in 6 weeks. I've Laphroig and a 15 yr Tomatin lined up next...

[butternutsquashpie]

ALSO. NEVER FORGET TO EXPERIMENT.

Periodically, I enjoy adding spring water to any malt over 43%. Don't like things TOO peaty so it's always soft for me. Some people like it strong and smokey, but to each their own.
Always add water that's 15-20 centigrade, not too hot and not too cold. Tap water is sometimes too hard and has different tastes wherever you are in the world so try not to add that. They used to sell Scottish Loch water or the water bottled from the brooks and other shite like that. But nowadays i just get my local Canadian Springs water (or Fiji).

It's always great to experiment.

Also, see what foods pair with what. The Dalmore 22YO i'm having right now would go good with some 80% cocoa. Some of the more common and peaty ones like Laguvalin and Caol Ihn will go good after a small cup of fresh Colombian roast. Chocolate mousse cake is nicely paired with Cragganmore 12.
Johnny Walker doesn't go with Johnny walker by itself. And other shite like that.
These are what i found. See for yourself what's good for your palate!

[Wid3y]

The place I went to last night have a huge variety and even do whiskey pairing with the menu..

Bar man recommended me a highland park 12 which was nice. Suggested I try aberlour and monkey shoulder?...

[Puff Scotty]

The place I went to last night have a huge variety and even do whiskey pairing with the menu..

Bar man recommended me a highland park 12 which was nice. Suggested I try aberlour and monkey shoulder?...

Monkey Shoulder is a blend...get back on the program...Tesco's is open....

[Wid3y]

Time for that. Off to pickup a new humi I ordered while stuck at home sick. Damn you eBay and your tempting ways!

[Wardjrz]

Monkey Shoulder is a blend...get back on the program...Tesco's is open....

It is a blend of sorts Puff, it is made up of only 3 Speyside single malts. One of which is reputed to be Kininvie. Now Kininvie is the whisky world equivalent of rocking horse shit. It is very rarely bottled and usually only given out by Glenfiddich to staff and VIP's.

Hell they even hide where Kininvie is made behind a bank of massive trees at the back of the Glenfiddich / Balvenie site. I spent a day there and they wouldn't let me take photo's anything that had Kininvie on it, but they assured me there was no reason for that and they weren't hiding it.

Anyone care to guess which two other malts are in Monkey Shoulder?

I like it as an every day dram and you can usually pick it up at a reasonable supermarket price.

[Wid3y]

Dave, what do you make of this? Found myself in a random old pub in farringdon. Got chatting to the barkeep about whisky and he pulled a few bottles of this out.. Sampled a drop and it wasn't great! Methylated spirits sprang to mind.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1362252877.337369.jpg