Laproaig

[celsis]

Or Ardbeg?? Typical Islay flavours but more refined and less of the "punch in throat" you get from Laphroaig...

[cj121]

Mmm, I've passed it by a few times celsis. Perhaps it'll get grabbed next time I'm due for a tot. Thanks also for feeding in

[Lascaux]

weird i find the ardbeg 12 has more of a punch than laphraoig 10, and none of the duration or smoothness of taste to back it up. ardbeg suprnova i did love.

the laphroaig quarter cask is very nice

caol ila is definitely one to try. their cask strength is beautiful.

[cj121]

I've been on a bit of journey this year with the singles thanks to you buggers on here. I'm compiling a list of must tries on a weekly basis.

Cheers for another one on it Joe.

[snooky]

I tend to go for the Speysides a little sweeter, Laphraoig has been described as TCP which is unfair, though they say there is a whisky to suit evryone I just enjoy looking. I always add a dash of water, no shame in that.

[daverave999]

...Medicinal, peaty seaweed...

However, my second, sur les rochers, avec eau was more palatable.

And my third, with a cigar...

It's meant to taste like that.
I've not bought a bottle myself but drank it quite a lot in pubs. I haven't tried it with water yet and I think ice just hides the taste in any drink it's added to. I'm surprised it worked well with a cigar, I would have thought two strong tastes would have been at odds with each other. I generally go with a Speyside or a bourbon with a cigar, or even a blend.
Just personal taste though, I'm still a relative n00b to cigars, and most definitely to whisky...

If you're a fan of Islay scotches, then I would suggest Lagavulin, this is definitely one of my all time favourites!

I tried the Lagavulin 16 for the first time yesterday and while it was good, I'm not sure I could convince myself to spend the money on a bottle!

Or Ardbeg?? Typical Islay flavours but more refined and less of the "punch in throat" you get from Laphroaig...

I love Ardbeg 10 Yr Old. It has that mental peaty wallop, but doesn't seem to have that medicinal aftertaste of Laphroaig. It's what turned me onto Scotch in the first place!

If you're enjoying the journey into whisky and haven't got a copy yet, you might find Jim Murray's Whisky Bible worth a read. My (signed) copy turned up in the post this morning and I reckon it's well worth a tenner or so for the amount of info.

[celsis]

OK, fave malts.

Ardbeg, typical Islay without the Laphroaig/Talisker medicinal overtones.
Ledaig, golden and peaty. A very smooth, hard to find malt from Mull.
Scapa, the OTHER Orkney whisky. Almost fruity and with a slight overtone of peat.
Glenkinchie, typical Lowland malt. Light and airy. A great summer malt.
Springbank. If you can find it, it will be expensive, but you will not be disappointed..

[cj121]

Ok folks, I'm going to have to put my


.and say I'm converted after a third of a bottle. The new experience of it was the cause of the consternation

Cheers for the input celsis (espesh the notes) more on my blooody list and Dave, I've an extra tenner to pay out now for the bloody book about the scotches that I want to drink. Fuggin' 'ell.

[daverave999]

Nice.

I was like that. We opened the Ardbeg and I thought "Fucking hell, people like this stuff?"
Four hours later the bottle was empty.

[pch050]

My first experience with Islay Scotch was the new edition Laphroaig cask strength 57.8% batch #1 bottled in 2009. I love the smoky and wild flavour released by the cask strength so I fell in love with Islay immediately.

Bough 5 bottles and think shall get more but they were all gone in all the shops where I was from!!!

[daverave999]

You could always just buy an older copy of the Whisky Bible on ebay? I'm sure for us who aren't majorly into it, it wouldn't really matter. I just wanted a signed copy.

I had another whisky book turn up today from ebay that you may find interesting. The Malt Whisky File ranks them by sweetness and peatiness so you can gauge what kind of thing you like that way. I've surprised myself by discovering that I don't like sweetness in my whisky (by their rankings).

[cj121]

You could always just buy an older copy of the Whisky Bible on ebay? I'm sure for us who aren't majorly into it, it wouldn't really matter. I just wanted a signed copy.

I had another whisky book turn up today from ebay that you may find interesting. The Malt Whisky File ranks them by sweetness and peatiness so you can gauge what kind of thing you like that way. I've surprised myself by discovering that I don't like sweetness in my whisky (by their rankings).

Ah ha (in Patridge style)

Sounds interesting Dave. To date I haven't considered branching out into any literature, but it makes perfect sense to read up and around. Cheers for the bottoms up.

[HabanoSy]

If you're enjoying the journey into whisky and haven't got a copy yet, you might find Jim Murray's Whisky Bible worth a read. My (signed) copy turned up in the post this morning and I reckon it's well worth a tenner or so for the amount of info.

Have to keep a lookout for this...

Cheers, HabanoSy

[daverave999]

He'll sign it for you if you get it from the linked shop Sy. I seem to keep tempting you with boozy purchases lately!

[Lionhound]

As a former resident of the island, I would say that the Islay distilleries offer tastes to suit all palettes. From the smooth Bunnahabhain to the peatier options from Laphroaig, Lagavullin and Ardbeg. The newly reopened Bruichladdich Distillery is certainly one to check out on the web. They use traditional methods and produce a number of regular and limited edition single malts to suit all tastes, with many of them stating their peat content so you can choose something that suits your taste.
Have to agree though that, especially as an evening choice, a good Cuban & a large Laphroaig are perfect pertners in my opinion.