Show: Whisky!

[TDP]

Sounds nice, but....ice? Really? Kills half the subtle aromas and flavors in there. Cheap bourbon on the rocks I can get on board with.

There are some really nice collections in this thread, though. My own cabinet holds 9 bottles right now, with a healthy island representation (Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 10yo cask, Talisker) plus a variety of others...

Sometimes with ice, sometimes water, sometimes neat - it just depends on what I feel like.

 

[danska]

Another way to go is "Whiskey Stones". They are soapstone pieces carved into cubes that you freeze and then add to your drink. No water melt from them which is nice and you get a bit of a cooling effect. I use them in the summer sometimes. I personally don't ever put ice in my Whisky, but I do add one-few drops of water depending on the proof.

 

[Just Jim]

Sometimes with ice, sometimes water, sometimes neat - it just depends on what I feel like.

I agree... sometimes water opens up the flavor, other times it will dilute it to something that tastes of lawn clippings. Sometimes ice adds a smoothness, sometimes it's subtracts all flavor. Neat can be nice; other times maybe a shot of lighter fluid would be better. The miasma of grey inbetween allows a good drinker plenty of wiggle room towards our wonderous jouney to liver failure. It's not about being proper; it's how to give a good whisky the best treatment to massage what the drinker likes.

 

[radamo]

lagavulin yesssssssssssss

Exactly my thought!!!

 

[danska]

Here is my latest acquisition. Bruichladdich Carmel Cask 1989. This distillery does a lot of un-peated stuff but they are from Islay. I'm a huge fan of the salty influence of the water and air there, but am not the biggest fan of peat. I do really enjoy their Port Charlotte line which is peated. The only other Islay's I really enjoy are Lagavulin and Caol Ila. This one is a hard one to find, I bought one bottle out of a case that was the only one in the state. Has some unusual character with the wine influence, but I can't pin it to any normal wine cask flavors.

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Bruichladdich Carmel Cask by danska8, on Flickr

 

[Wolf]

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[danska]

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How do you like this Connemara?

 

[Wolf]

it's very nice
strong at first (58%), but you get used to it fast

 

[Wolf]

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[GaryAyala]

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Gentleman Jack by RedTail_Panther, on Flickr

As it is unopened, I suspect the bottle is given much respect.

 

[rnagoda]

Here's a Bulleit Bourbon right before it warmed me up on a cold, Pittsburgh day:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnagoda/8238163983/" title="Bulleit Bourbon at Industry Public House by Robert Nagoda, on Flickr">

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"800" height="534" alt="Bulleit Bourbon at Industry Public House"></a>

 

[GaryAyala]

Not that anybody cares (or that anybody should care), but, while I'm okay with whiskey and I have a few bottles from different makers, not as big a fan of whiskey as I am of vino (100+ bottles at any given time). I think I need to take that TDP whiskey class.

Gary

 

[steve16823]

Evan Williams Single Barrel

Yeah the last one I had was awful. That 2001 was for the gods, and I bought a lot of it when it was available. Haven't tried the latest one though unless it's still 2002. It is hard to believe they don't have a consistent distillate.

I'm certain the distillate is very, very consistent, although they might have a few different mash bills (recipes) at Heaven Hill. But the distillate that goes into the barrel is only a small part of the character of the bourbon compared to what happens during the barrel aging process: Which barrel house was it aged in? Was it on the north side or south side? Near the wall, or near the center? Was it an upper floor or a lower floor? What was the weather like during the seasons it was aged?

So many variables affecting the expression of hundreds of flavor compounds. But even still, I think Heaven Hill could find some consistency among their barrels year-to-year if they wanted to, but this sort-of defeats the purpose of buying a single-barrel product. I think they purposefully select distinctly different barrels for each year's release. The most recent release is extremely woody. Do I love it? No, but I like it well enough at $24 and it is a great demonstration of a woody bourbon (I think it was an upper floor of the barrel house which exposes it to the most temperature extremes and therefore the most woody flavor notes).

Picture not from Heaven Hill but Woodford Reserve.

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[BigTam]

Gary, the next time you're near me (Dortmund, Germany), you're invited to one of my single malt whisky tastings: 8 different and contrasting tastes. Bit like trying 8 different top cameras in one morning

 

[Djarum]

Really nice images. Tequila drinker myself. Funny things is, Lynchberg is only about a 45 minute drive away.

 

[GaryAyala]

Gary, the next time you're near me (Dortmund, Germany), you're invited to one of my single malt whisky tastings: 8 different and contrasting tastes. Bit like trying 8 different top cameras in one morning

Thank you Big Tam. Not only would I love the event I will make a point of it next time I'm in Germany. I am not a total neophyte to whiskey. I do prefer Scotch and a single malt at that. Being born and raised in this state ... I guess wine is to a Californian what Bier ist zu einem Deutsch.

Gary

 

[BigTam]

Normally, I'm a beer drinker. But a glass of wine with a meal, or an occasional Macallan digestivo ...

 

[PeeBee]

One shot leads to another.....

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[Firedogg]

A trip to the bottle shop

By the 6 pack

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P5062524 by Firedogg123, on Flickr

or the carton

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P5062525 by Firedogg123, on Flickr

And a few others

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P5062526 by Firedogg123, on Flickr

 

[randyspan]

Stop!...you're makeing me thirsty!