Whisky / Whiskey / Bourbon

No sightings of the cognac? #iad

There aren't too many others that I would say have the peppery, fiery quality of Talisker; it is what makes Talisker so unique. But for smokey I would seek out a Caol Ila 18 if you can.

Otherwise, as people have said, Ardbeg is good quality and value. Laphroaig 10 is pretty sharp, and I prefer the quarter cask, but really any Laphroaig is good to me. But it was an acquired taste.

Lagavulin would be the other Islay whisky that I think really fits that peaty, smokey profile. Very well rounded and lush.

Hippo - Looks like I'll be at the club next week, I'll have a shufti at the shop's stock.

Some good reccomendations there, thanks, I'll have a look into it and see what my bank balance will permit!

Actually I've got a little 20cl bottle of the Oban unopened so i might give that a go next, avoid spending money I don't have.

It's not massive on smoke/peatiness, but it has a touch, and is very nice (IMO)

There aren't too many others that I would say have the peppery, fiery quality of Talisker; it is what makes Talisker so unique. But for smokey I would seek out a Caol Ila 18 if you can.

Longrow is worth trying. It's highly peated but also has the traditional Campbeltown saltiness. The 14yo is rather nicer than the 10yo.

I'll put that on my list then.

damn wish i wasnt doing a dry month now.

^ me too...

^ & ^^
Fools.

I barely managed 1 dry day, this week. Maybe tonight...

Worth a try is Snow Grouse - 100% GRAIN spirit. So bad in fact its being marketed as a whiskey you should freeze then shot. If you like a dram its worth going to the total opposite end of the spectrum just for comparative value. Only go for a 10cl bottle. Its filth. Brilliant marketing though.

Hippo - Looks like I'll be at the club next week, I'll have a shufti at the shop's stock.

Mighty kind of you sir, mighty kind.

I know next to nothing about whisky, I've got a couple of bottles on the go at the moment, one is a Balvenie Doublewood which is pretty nice, very sweet and very easy to drink. The other one is a 10 year old Talisker which is almost the exact opposite, very smokey and spicy, but very nice in a different way. I'm right at the end of the Talisker, are there any recommendations for similar whiskys? I want to try something new but I'd like something a bit more fiery than the Balvenie, to give me a bit more choice and variety.

There aren't too many others that I would say have the peppery, fiery quality of Talisker; it is what makes Talisker so unique. But for smokey I would seek out a Caol Ila 18 if you can.

Otherwise, as people have said, Ardbeg is good quality and value. Laphroaig 10 is pretty sharp, and I prefer the quarter cask, but really any Laphroaig is good to me. But it was an acquired taste.

Lagavulin would be the other Islay whisky that I think really fits that peaty, smokey profile. Very well rounded and lush.

I'm a big fan of Ardbeg 10, but it's a very unique one (salty and vigorous), as is Lagavulin (rich and complex... "the aristocrat of Islay"), as is Laphroaig (smelly and brutish). Three distilleries on one road but different flavours. All lovely by the way, but very specific. I wouldn't rush to recommend any of them of the brief is 'something a bit like Talisker'. What about Bowmore? For an Islay it's relatively soft and a good introduction.

I drank a lot of Bunnahabhain (sp?) over Christmas. It's the only unpeated Islay whisky and is really nice. Very easy going. Thoroughly recommended.

Actually I've got a little 20cl bottle of the Oban unopened so i might give that a go next, avoid spending money I don't have.

Probably ideal actually, a nice all-rounder with lots of fruit and spice IIRC.

Student loan got paid in today, so I wandered over to Morrisons to replace my recently deceased bottle of Highland Park 12 year old. Ended up with Tobermory 10 year old, the first glass of which has gone down very nicely. Anyone had it before? Think I'm gonna try it with a drop of water, 46.3% ABV is proving rather strong.

46.3% is standard strength for single malts. Cask strength is higher, normally 56%-63%. You only add water if you want to expand flavours, not stay sober :)

I have a few Tobermories around the place. All have their virtues. Aroogah is right; some whiskies change significantly with the addition of a small amount of water (particularly true of single cask offerings). Some are quite boring straight out of the bottle, but become much more interesting with only slight dilution. Too much water and you lose it all again, though. Try adding a small drop, sample, add a tiny bit more if unsatisfied etc.

I just cracked open the Oban. Absolutely lovely, very smooth, with a sort of vanilla flavour to start but with a nice fairly firey finish. The saltiness eightball mentioned is great as well. I'll definitely pick up a proper bottle when I can afford it (no time soon). One of the advantages of being (hopefully temporarily) unemployed is that I can stay up late drinking whiskey. Downside is that when I run out, I can't afford to replace it.

Actually the fireyness might be coming from my horribly chapped lips more than my perfectly exfoliated and tirelessly maintained tongue.

That came out sounding much creepier than I had intended. I intended it to be fairly creepy.

hitting up the smws sauturday tasting in feb to celebrate my reintroduction to drinking

until then I'm out of this thread again... it's just too painful to read right now

I know it's not whisky but a friend is looking for Kelt XO Cognac..
http://www.keltcognac.com/default.aspx?FolderID=b8d91e65-645c-4c1d-97db-a0a306eaf6e9

Anyone spotted this in the UK?

OK. So I have been asking around and they do not appear to have a distributor for the UK. So not in the shops. I've only seen one place carry it online in the UK, and it was a members only site with a list price of £90. I did see some listings on eBay but they are all 2+ years old.

I think you will need a friend who travels to the continent a lot for business to do some rummaging for you in some of the speciality shops. I would recommend you concentrate on Paris for obvious reasons - it's cognac and you don't have the stupid fluid restrictions on the Eurostar.

Also, yesterday I managed to find a source for Woodford Reserve Double Oak. I am most happy.

£36/L bottle in world of whisky (duty free), my favourite everyday islay malt