The Official Whiskey, Whisky, Bourbon and Scotch Thread

[KBear]

I'm not very adventurous with this stuff. I only drink when I go out and that would be either beer or shots. Occasionally I'll have a rum and coke.

I want to drink more at home now...so, can someone summarize the difference in taste between all these drinks? Scotch, whiskey, bourbon, cognac, brandy, and whatever else? I gather that scotch and whiskey are about the same thing, just depends where they are made. Same with brandy and cognac. And I know the former is made from grains and the latter from grapes.

I've got a little Johnnie Walker red label to try, but after that it's wide open.

Edited November 28, 2012 by KBear

[Georgy Zhukov]

I am of Polish heritage so vodka is important to me. I love whiskey though. I love all kinds. Though I think Southern Comfort is a bitch drink.

[Johnny Drama]

The only bourbon I ever drink.

And the only cocktails most men should be found with are Martinis and Old Fashioneds.

Agreed.

On that note, men should not drink vodka unless you're a Russian, gay, or for the purpose of pleasing and or having sexual relations with a woman.

Lenny, on your post, this isn't a thread about drinking to get drunk, or to knock back as much as you can to prove you have stones.

To me, drinking is about more than that. Sure, you can be at a party and sip on jungle juice until you stumble out onto the streets, but to me drinking is more than that.

Drinking is to sip on culture, emotion, passion, and history.

The drinking of spirits, liquor, and beer, is one of the oldest traditions of man kind, and is to me, a respectable practice.

So many great people throughout history drank every day. Writers, musicians, directors, politicians, revolutionaries, mathematicians, and scientists. Drinking fine liquors and spirits is a shared practice between people in everyday life, and the ones we admire.

Sipping a good whisky isn't about getting wasted, it's about so much more.

Vodka should be a part of any man's healthy drinking diet. That bring said only with OJ, Coke and maybe Tonic water and always out of a freezer. And if drinking straight chase with Beer.

I am of Polish heritage so vodka is important to me. I love whiskey though. I love all kinds. Though I think Southern Comfort is a bitch drink.

A man should be shot out of a cannon straight into a wall 1 metre away if he drinks Southern Comfort. Absolute swill.

[Georgy Zhukov]

I would drink a vodka matrini just for kicks.

Shaken not stirred.

[AxlisOld]

I'm not very adventurous with this stuff. I only drink when I go out and that would be either beer or shots. Occasionally I'll have a rum and coke.

I want to drink more at home now...so, can someone summarize the difference in taste between all these drinks? Scotch, whiskey, bourbon, cognac, brandy, and whatever else? I gather that scotch and whiskey are about the same thing, just depends where they are made. Same with brandy and cognac. And I know the former is made from grains and the latter from grapes.

I've got a little Johnnie Walker red label to try, but after that it's wide open.

Really it's hard to describe. If I say some has a warm aroma or something how do you know what the hell I mean? You just have to try them. Not a fan of Irish whiskey myself.

[username]

Sipping a good whisky isn't about getting wasted, it's about so much more.

A thousand times this.

[izzygirl]

Vodka drinkers and hooray for tolerance!s stay out.

I don't usually drink. But I wanted to say that I like your new avatar.

If I had to choose, Scotch or Irish without a doubt. But whiskey is not my thing.

[Guest Len B'stard]

The only bourbon I ever drink.

And the only cocktails most men should be found with are Martinis and Old Fashioneds.

Agreed.

On that note, men should not drink vodka unless you're a Russian, gay, or for the purpose of pleasing and or having sexual relations with a woman.

Lenny, on your post, this isn't a thread about drinking to get drunk, or to knock back as much as you can to prove you have stones.

To me, drinking is about more than that. Sure, you can be at a party and sip on jungle juice until you stumble out onto the streets, but to me drinking is more than that.

Drinking is to sip on culture, emotion, passion, and history.

The drinking of spirits, liquor, and beer, is one of the oldest traditions of man kind, and is to me, a respectable practice.

So many great people throughout history drank every day. Writers, musicians, directors, politicians, revolutionaries, mathematicians, and scientists. Drinking fine liquors and spirits is a shared practice between people in everyday life, and the ones we admire.

Sipping a good whisky isn't about getting wasted, it's about so much more.

I dont feel well

*crawls up to LiveFromNormal, hugs his waist and falls asleep*

[streak]

Lens fav whisky was high commissioner

& Chekov Vodka

[Dazey]

Scotch on the fucking rocks.

Fucking sacrilege! Never, I repeat NEVER ruin a good scotch with ice! There are only two mixers for a good scotch and they are a tiny splash of water or more scotch. As for the rest, I'm not a big fan of bourbon and I've never really sampled a lot of Irish.

Question for (AxlisOld) our US contingent. How much is a decent Scotch over there? I mean you can get a 15 year Glenlivet here for like $50 which isn't peanuts but it's not exactly expensive either. I'm guessing import costs, taxes and all that crap makes a big difference to the price in the US?

[Johnny Drama]

I can get a 12 year old for 55 bucks. I hate this shit. It should only cost me that for a 15. Although the 12 gives me a lot of pleasure as is.

[Dazey]

NO ICE! Stop watering down your whisky you pussies! Don't mix it. Don't water it down. Drink it like it's meant to be drunk - pure.

The only correct glass of whisky looks like this:

Quite right and bollocks in that order! Ice is a no no, of that you're correct! However as anybody in the know will tell you a splash of water is essential when learning to appreciate a quality dram. It's a two stage process in the tasting. Stick your nose right in the glass and get a good whif then tilt the glass until the whisky coats the side and a good indicator of age and maturity will be the viscosity and how it clings to the side of the glass. Then the first taste unadulterated and finally add the smallest eyedropper of water, half a teaspoon at the very most and smell and taste again. It doesn't water it down at all but what it will do is allow fats in the whisky to separate releasing yet more flavours and aromas. Honestly, next time you treat yourself to a dram add a teardrop's worth of quality spring water then hold the glass upto the light and you can see this happening (the whisky goes all cloudy). Then smell and taste again and you'll see it doesn't adversely affect it at all.

[Guest Len B'stard]

Lens fav whisky was high commissioner

& Chekov Vodka

It's all a load of fuckin' piss to me

[Aaron_H]

Scotch on the fucking rocks.

Fucking sacrilege! Never, I repeat NEVER ruin a good scotch with ice! There are only two mixers for a good scotch and they are a tiny splash of water or more scotch. As for the rest, I'm not a big fan of bourbon and I've never really sampled a lot of Irish.

This, although even the water is debatable and a controversial subject. I'm not a whisky snob so I won't take a side on that argument. I can appreciate a splash of water.

My vote went to scotch and straight.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Aaron_H

[Guest Len B'stard]

Honestly, yous lot don't half suck the fun out of things. "NOOOOOOOO, you don't do it like that, you do it like this!", bolllllooocks, there's one fuckin' way you do it and thats down the fuckin' hatch and onto the next one. "But thats not the proper waaaay", yeah, right bunch of Burlington Berties you lot are, i'm sure

[username]

Quite right and bollocks in that order! Ice is a no no, of that you're correct! However as anybody in the know will tell you a splash of water is essential when learning to appreciate a quality dram. It's a two stage process in the tasting. Stick your nose right in the glass and get a good whif then tilt the glass until the whisky coats the side and a good indicator of age and maturity will be the viscosity and how it clings to the side of the glass. Then the first taste unadulterated and finally add the smallest eyedropper of water, half a teaspoon at the very most and smell and taste again. It doesn't water it down at all but what it will do is allow fats in the whisky to separate releasing yet more flavours and aromas. Honestly, next time you treat yourself to a dram add a teardrop's worth of quality spring water then hold the glass upto the light and you can see this happening (the whisky goes all cloudy). Then smell and taste again and you'll see it doesn't adversely affect it at all.

Agreed with everything you said and yes that's also exactly how I taste my whisky. Well, in my local whisky bar they actually give you a carafe of water and a pipette with every glass. But the essence is the same as the teaspoon you mentioned. And yes, a good whisky can change flavor or release certain specific flavors when a few drops of water are added. Mind you, a few drops. Completely agreed there. I do think that and in some cases it clearly does make it better as well.

I was talking about people adding ice or people who "splash" it about 50/50, should've been more clear on that one.

I've been to a lot of nosing and tasting sessions actually, so I know the drill.

[Dan H.]

'Round here a 12 year old is 40-45, depending on the bottle.

[Dazey]

Quite right and bollocks in that order! Ice is a no no, of that you're correct! However as anybody in the know will tell you a splash of water is essential when learning to appreciate a quality dram. It's a two stage process in the tasting. Stick your nose right in the glass and get a good whif then tilt the glass until the whisky coats the side and a good indicator of age and maturity will be the viscosity and how it clings to the side of the glass. Then the first taste unadulterated and finally add the smallest eyedropper of water, half a teaspoon at the very most and smell and taste again. It doesn't water it down at all but what it will do is allow fats in the whisky to separate releasing yet more flavours and aromas. Honestly, next time you treat yourself to a dram add a teardrop's worth of quality spring water then hold the glass upto the light and you can see this happening (the whisky goes all cloudy). Then smell and taste again and you'll see it doesn't adversely affect it at all.

Agreed with everything you said and yes that's also exactly how I taste my whisky. Well, in my local whisky bar they actually give you a carafe of water and a pipette with every glass. But the essence is the same as the teaspoon you mentioned. And yes, a good whisky can change flavor or release certain specific flavors when a few drops of water are added. Mind you, a few drops. Completely agreed there. I do think that and in some cases it clearly does make it better as well.

I was talking about people adding ice or people who "splash" it about 50/50, should've been more clear on that one.

I've been to a lot of nosing and tasting sessions actually, so I know the drill.

I got into it through some people at work a while back but I've not done it in ages (9-10 years) and I really miss it. Used to really enjoy the SMWS tasting evenings (are we talking about the same events?) where you'd have three to four hours with a different malt every 30 minutes or so and at the end of the night when you're fucking ballocksed they'd come around with the credit card machine. I once bought a 25 year old malt that was to fuckin' die for and I swore I'd keep it for a special occasion. Turned out that "special occasion" was a night round my mate Andy's house playing Mario Kart on the Gamecube. Best thing about a good malt though is that you don't even feel drunk after caning a whole bottle if you're taking your time but it does fucking funny things to your legs. I took the whole 120 proof bottle down and didn't feel rough at all until I tried to stand up when my taxi arrived. I literally couldn't operate my limbs but my head was fine.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Dazey

[Guest Len B'stard]

Quite right and bollocks in that order! Ice is a no no, of that you're correct! However as anybody in the know will tell you a splash of water is essential when learning to appreciate a quality dram. It's a two stage process in the tasting. Stick your nose right in the glass and get a good whif then tilt the glass until the whisky coats the side and a good indicator of age and maturity will be the viscosity and how it clings to the side of the glass. Then the first taste unadulterated and finally add the smallest eyedropper of water, half a teaspoon at the very most and smell and taste again. It doesn't water it down at all but what it will do is allow fats in the whisky to separate releasing yet more flavours and aromas. Honestly, next time you treat yourself to a dram add a teardrop's worth of quality spring water then hold the glass upto the light and you can see this happening (the whisky goes all cloudy). Then smell and taste again and you'll see it doesn't adversely affect it at all.

Agreed with everything you said and yes that's also exactly how I taste my whisky. Well, in my local whisky bar they actually give you a carafe of water and a pipette with every glass. But the essence is the same as the teaspoon you mentioned. And yes, a good whisky can change flavor or release certain specific flavors when a few drops of water are added. Mind you, a few drops. Completely agreed there. I do think that and in some cases it clearly does make it better as well.

I was talking about people adding ice or people who "splash" it about 50/50, should've been more clear on that one.

I've been to a lot of nosing and tasting sessions actually, so I know the drill.

I got into it through some people at work a while back but I've not done it in ages (9-10 years) and I really miss it. Used to really enjoy the SMWA tasting evenings (are we talking about the same events?) where you'd have three to four hours with a different malt every 30 minutes or so and at the end of the night when you're fucking ballocksed they'd come around with the credit card machine. I once bought a 25 year old malt that was to fuckin' die for and I swore I'd keep it for a special occasion. Turned out that "special occasion" was a night round my mate Andy's house playing Mario Kart on the Gamecube. Best thing about a good malt though is that you don't even feel drunk after caning a whole bottle if you're taking your time but it does fucking funny things to your legs. I took the whole 120 proof bottle down and didn't feel rough at all until I tried to stand up when my taxi arrived. I literally couldn't operate my limbs but my head was fine.

Fuckin hell bruv, i'll have a bit of that, what was it called?

[Dazey]

Fuckin hell bruv, i'll have a bit of that, what was it called?

*puts on whisky snob's hat* Why Leonard you silly boy there was no name on the bottle as well you would know if you were, as it were, in the know, what what?

The bottles are numbered by batch and distillery but not branded at all. Fucking cracking though some of em, but they're not generally available as they're only very limited batches usually.

http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships/

This is the kinda thing I'm on about.

http://www.smws.co.uk/LastDrop/9.67-Granny's-kitchen-dram.html

Edited November 28, 2012 by Dazey

[Guest Len B'stard]

Remember this bloke telling me once that glenmorangie is just soft shite for tourists.

Anyone ever tried James Martin?

[izzygirl]

Remember this bloke telling me once that glenmorangie is just soft shite for tourists.

No, I don't remember that bloke. But he was wrong.

[Dazey]

Remember this bloke telling me once that glenmorangie is just soft shite for tourists.

Most stuff you'd buy off the shelf is soft shite simply because a proper cask strength malt is typically around 60% abv as opposed to the more usual 40%.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Dazey

[username]

I got into it through some people at work a while back but I've not done it in ages (9-10 years) and I really miss it. Used to really enjoy the SMWS tasting evenings (are we talking about the same events?) where you'd have three to four hours with a different malt every 30 minutes or so and at the end of the night when you're fucking ballocksed they'd come around with the credit card machine. I once bought a 25 year old malt that was to fuckin' die for and I swore I'd keep it for a special occasion. Turned out that "special occasion" was a night round my mate Andy's house playing Mario Kart on the Gamecube. Best thing about a good malt though is that you don't even feel drunk after caning a whole bottle if you're taking your time but it does fucking funny things to your legs. I took the whole 120 proof bottle down and didn't feel rough at all until I tried to stand up when my taxi arrived. I literally couldn't operate my limbs but my head was fine.

Not exactly SMWS tasting evenings, but very similar! I'm a member of Whisky Club Groningen and they organize about 10 tastings a year, each with about 5 or 6 whisky's. That's also how I got to take my first whisky trip to Scotland last summer. We went to Brora first and from there we visited Glenmorangie, The Dalmore, Clynelish (including the old Brora distillery) and Benromach. Then we head south, to Dufftown. From there we visited The Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Glenglassaugh and Glenfarclas. Got sublime tastings at all of them except Clynelish (rubbish tasting, a bit cheap). At Benromach we all chipped in to buy a 500 pound bottle of Benromach 1968 Vintage. Really amazing whisky, but ridiculously expensive. Just a cool thing to do with the whole group.

Aside from that my local pub hosts about 4 tastings a year where they invite 3 importers and each of them bring at least 15 bottles. For 30 euro's it's all you can drink. Even better is Whisky Festival Noord Nederland - the second largest whisky festival in the country and it's held right in my back yard. It's held in the huge church which is completely filled with amazing whisky stands. Absolute magic! 25 euro per day and all you can drink.

Quite honestly, whisky does get me drunk but it never gets me wasted. Not like say...beer. It just...happies me up and nothing bad ever happens.

[Dazey]

Quite honestly, whisky does get me drunk but it never gets me wasted. Not like say...beer. It just...happies me up and nothing bad ever happens.

When I say drunk I mean like falling down puking drunk and feeling like shit for it. You get a nice warm glow with a good scotch and it's nice to just maintain that but not go over the top. A whisky hangover is actually pretty pleasant too in as much as any hangover can be. If you don't have to get out of bed it's actually pretty nice to just lay there feeling all fuzzy headed and cozy.