What dram is in your quaich?

[mookien]

... What's your advice? Rocks? Water? Straight?

Glenfiddich 12 is a good whisky and has a permanent place in my bar. While not a peaty scotch per se, it does have a distinct peaty aspect to it, especially to new malt drinkers. That's why I mentioned (see above) the friend of mine who drank it with strawberry soda - the only way he could stand it. The other Glenfiddichs (15, 18, 21), particularly the 15, are not peaty and are also good, ... in fact excellent.

So, I suggest first trying a sip or two straight (neat). You might even cool the glass with the whisky in it down to cellar temperature by putting it in your fridge for a few (~ 10) minutes. If you find the peaty flavor/nose off putting, then try it on the rocks. That's the way I routinely drink and enjoy it.

If that fails the taste test, then you can try adding a bit of water, but that almost never works for me unless I am trying to dilute cask strength whisky which Glenfiddich 12 is not.

Finally, remember that scotch tasting is VERY subjective. Drink it the way you like it, even if you have to add strawberry soda. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[Dughlas mor]

Mookien, that is good advice, though the strawberry soda might be going a bit far. I enjoy a nice smoky Islay from time to time, though they are not my favorites. I consider Talisker 10 to be a lightly peated malt, and to me, it is the very definition of scotch whisky. My absolute favorite. Wish I could afford it more often, scotch is very expensive here in Washington. In any case, your bar sounds so well stocked that I will surely be looking you up next time I`m anywhere near New Mexico!

[craigclan]

Tall boy of tennents

[mookien]

Mookien, that is good advice, though the strawberry soda might be going a bit far. I enjoy a nice smoky Islay from time to time, though they are not my favorites. I consider Talisker 10 to be a lightly peated malt, and to me, it is the very definition of scotch whisky. My absolute favorite. Wish I could afford it more often, scotch is very expensive here in Washington. In any case, your bar sounds so well stocked that I will surely be looking you up next time I`m anywhere near New Mexico!

I'm with you on Islay malts - "from time to time". The Bowmore 18 is exceedingly smooth, but it makes me pay for it with its very peaty finish. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing inherently amiss with Talisker. It's just not my favorite, because of the peat. My favorite peaty malt at the moment is probably Jura Prophesy. It has a sweetness that is well-balanced with the peat. I got a bottle as a B-day present from a good friend.

Two pictures of my bar from a few years ago are posted below. It looks pretty much the same today. Over the years I have figured out what malts I like the most, so I stock those. I also keep a few, because my friends like them. And, I always have one or two new ones (to me) like the Skapa for experimentation. Drop by anytime. Just give me a bit of notice so I can clear the contraband out of the house. By the way, many years ago, and I do mean many (early 1950s), I use to live in Edmonds. It was a community out in the woods in those days.

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[Dughlas mor]

Wow! Most impressive. The nice thing about single malts is that they are all good, some we like more than others, but I haven`t tried one yet that I didn`t enjoy. Not too much forest around Edmonds these days. Downtown is still "quaint."

[DyerStraits]

My Cheap Bastard Gene has led me to two Mystery Malts stocked by my local Trader Joe's here in the Chicago area: Lismore Speyside Single Malt (US$17.99 for 750ml) and Islay Storm (US$19.99 for 750ml). I'm three malt glasses into the Lismore and it's bloody good stuff for the price--young of course, so not much complexity, but full, smooth and mellow with an impressive lack of heat for its age, and fully what you'd expect from a Speyside. As fine an everyday dram as I've found so far, and I've been stalking for good sub-US$20.00 Single Malts for quite a while. I'm waiting for more blustery weather next week to sample the Islay Storm--hoping it's not some of the under-age, not very peaty, harshly disappointing off-label stuff from Bowmore that's all over the place lately, and that it compares well to Finlaggan, my all-time favorite Mystery Malt. The online reviews all agree that it's got plenty of smoke, so I'm very encouraged. We shall see...

[Sample m]

I have been drinking both of the tj drams. I found them a year ago and have been my go to scotch. Cause the price is right and everyone I give it to loves them. Since I almost always have my flask on me,I need to keep it full. And those are the two drams that are likely to be in there. I have turned a lot of friends into scotch drinkers just by letting them have a dram of lismore or islay storm. Sorry should have told you about them earlier.

[kiltedsawyer]

Thank you, I was trying to place that. I've found the Taliskers to be very much the same. Not that I won't drink it, but it's not a favorite.[/QUOTE]

And.............so what did I receive as my birthday gift from my stepson this past weekend? Talisker Storm. Nice, peaty, and I'll drink it to his health. I of course did not tell him that it was not my favorite, accepted it graciously, but I did have to explain to him the nature of peat. He's young.

[frank_a]

I've some 12 year old MacAllans I've been enjoying. I think my 1st trip in retirement is going to John's place in NM. Looks very enticing & inviting!

I'm almost done with my bottle of Scottish Leader. For a blend, it's not too bad. Sadly, right now, all I have is those 2 bottles of Scotch.

Frank

[mookien]

My Cheap Bastard Gene has led me to two Mystery Malts stocked by my local Trader Joe's here in the Chicago area: Lismore Speyside Single Malt (US$17.99 for 750ml) and Islay Storm (US$19.99 for 750ml). I'm three malt glasses into the Lismore and it's bloody good stuff for the price--young of course, so not much complexity, but full, smooth and mellow with an impressive lack of heat for its age, and fully what you'd expect from a Speyside. As fine an everyday dram as I've found so far, and I've been stalking for good sub-US$20.00 Single Malts for quite a while. I'm waiting for more blustery weather next week to sample the Islay Storm--hoping it's not some of the under-age, not very peaty, harshly disappointing off-label stuff from Bowmore that's all over the place lately, and that it compares well to Finlaggan, my all-time favorite Mystery Malt. The online reviews all agree that it's got plenty of smoke, so I'm very encouraged. We shall see...

TJ's is a great place to pick up a good bottle of malt for a very good price. Lismore used to be in my stable, but I replaced with other inexpensive malts that I prefer (eg Speyburn 10 and Speyburn Bradan Orach).

TJ's 10-year old Highland Single Malt is excellent, but costs around $25 - still a good buy for me. It's one of my favorites. I have not tried Islay Storm, but given my aversion to peat, you can probably guess why.

As for Finlaggan being a "Mystery Malt", I read somewhere that it is distilled by Lagavulin, though they don't put their name on it, a reasonably common practice. I can drink Lagavulin 16 over ice, and even kind of like it, but Finlaggan is way too peaty for me.