The Hast Whisky experiment

[Hast]

Right

So I have decided that it is time to experiment some more with different whiskys. So I have decided that I'm going to buy a decentish bottle every other week or so, depending on price and size. Probably going to spend on average 40 euros a week on this experiment. That will get me a decent bottle of whisky every other week or so I hope. I'll stick to 10-12 YO to begin with and later when I know more what I like I'll maybe splash out for a 25 year old or something.

So I started last week and bought a bottle of Glenmorangie and today I went and bought a bottle of Highland Park 12 YO



Next on my list is Laphroaig. I have of course tried it before but it is too good to not own!

So what else should I add to my list?

[XenosisReaper]

Obans fits all your criteria and is pretty good to boot.

[Sofia Roseburn]

Obans fits all your criteria and is pretty good to boot.

Having lived in Oban, living and breathing the distillery not only due to the air but also due to my old landlord working in it, I can vouch for this recommendation.

[FatFreddy]

I have no recommendations, but I salute your efforts to become a sophisticated alcoholic o/

[Morax Marbas]

How about some Irish Whiskey?
Probably my favorite "not too fancy but very good" whiskey:



Getting the 18 year old would be worth it though imo.

I also recently tasted an Indish whiskey (not kidding) and it was quite good. Can't remember the name though

[SAI Peregrinus]

Thirding oban. Also, for Irish, try Knappogue.


Jameson is nowhere near as good as knappogue, though the 18 year is rather close.

[Loire]

Canadian Rye is somewhat lighter and fruitier than your average Whiskey, with creamy tones similar to butterscotch or caramel, hot peppers and a reoccurring citric zestiness. If you can get a hold of some you might want to give it a try:

Alberta Springs is my personal favourite, 10 years, not too expensive (here), 100% rye



Some say Canadian Club 30 Year is the best Canadian Whiskey ever produced, it is positively delicious, it is however on the more expensive side of things.

[XenosisReaper]

:whiskey:

Oh boy here we go

[Hast]

i would like to remind people that I am prone to abuse my powers.

[Elriche Oshego]

The Laddie Ten is a great Dram. Also, Old Pulteney 12 and Glenfiddich 15 solera.

[Mavolio]

Were you adding any water to the whisky?

[HyJek]

anyone have a good recommendation for Kentucky bourbon?

[Lorkin Desal]

Balvenie single malt for scottish. Best there is.

[Silas]

If Laphroaig is next on your list I'd like to recommend their Quarter Cask version... very good imo.





Also check out this guy: http://www.youtube.com/user/ralfystuff
He does some excelent whisky reviews etc. on his Youtube channel.

[Hast]

Were you adding any water to the whisky?

for the Glenmorangie no, but yes for the Highland park and Laphroaig.

[F*** My Aunt Rita]

Drunk Hast=Easy Hast

[Aeolos]

If Laphroaig is next on your list I'd like to recommend their Quarter Cask version... very good imo.

Seconding the Laphroaig Quarter Cask. It's really nice. I've recently drank some Caol Ila (Islay) which I liked as well. Not as "punch in the face" as some heavier Islays, which works for me.

[Narmio]

If you're into smoke, I really must make the obvious recommendation of Lagavulin. It's got a markedly different character to the other heavyweight Islays - Ardbeg and Laphroaig. It's... smoother, more like smoking a cigar in a high-backed leather chair by a smouldering fireplace, if you'll permit the slightly wanky imagery.

Other favourites of mine include Glenfiddich 15 (skip the 12!), the aforementioned Quarter Cask, and if you like big meaty whiskies then check out Talisker.

Also, if you're a fan of different whiskies, check out this youtube channel of a crazy scotsman: http://www.youtube.com/user/ralfystuff?feature=watch . He's very slightly utterly bugfuck insane, but he really helped me when I was first getting into whisky. I find I don't agree with him on everything, but he's accurate enough to be a good guide for getting stuff.

[KathDougans]

The Talisker distillery has a tour (with free samples), as do several of the distilleries around Scotland, including some on Islay.

Some of them have online shops, and you can order a miniature or two, for a taste, rather than a whole bottle.

[Silas]

The Talisker distillery has a tour (with free samples), as do several of the distilleries around Scotland, including some on Islay.

Some of them have online shops, and you can order a miniature or two, for a taste, rather than a whole bottle.

I take it from Hast's sig that he is Norwegian, in which case shopping online for spirits is not really practical due to our customs and tax systems. Unless you are really serious about your whisky we are somewhat stuck with what we can bring back from vacation and what we can buy here. There's a decent selection, but it is not awesome.

As a rough example I wanted to buy a bottle of some sort of Laphroaig straight from the distillery and figured out it would cost me something like 110€ for a bottle that the distillery charges 40€ for. The same bottle is around 80€ in Norwegian liquor stores...

Naturally miniatures are a lot cheaper. I haven't looked into importing those. Might be worth it for stuff you can't get a hold of otherwise and you really want to test out...