Care to join?

[[SiC]]

From a properly distilled beverage you shouldn't have any headache. If you do, then change it (I mean the liquor, beer, whatever... not your head )

The Booze works in mysterious ways Doc

[[SiC]]

Heey! Just days ago you sounded like a bunch of whisky-PROs!

[Birma]

Haven't tried that many because of this but I have one I'm quite fond of - [url=http://scotchwhisky.net/malt/strathisla.htm]Strathisla Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky aged 12

Sorry Zeb, not come across this one. Perhaps it's so good they keep it a secret from the English

[01af]

Three days ago, I bought a bottle of Talisker (10-year-old, 45.8 %) from the isle of Skye, and then yesterday a bottle of Isle Of Jura (10-year-old, 40 %) from the isle of Jura. This starts getting expensive---now I have three single-malt Scotch whiskies, from three different islands. And still nothing from the Lowlands, the Highlands, or Speyside ...

Both the Isle Of Jura and the Talisker are pretty much different from the Ardbeg 10yo (which comes from the isle of Islay). The single malts from Islay are notorious for their full and strong flavours ... and boy, the Ardbeg definitely is heavy stuff, compared to the others! Probably not for everyone---but I like it. Maybe my experience with Japanese green tea helps appreciating strong and weird flavours ... just speculating.

Some locals will add much more and drink it very weak, the same way the French add water to pastis.

Now that's interesting! Never heard of this way to drink Scotch ... but it's good! The highly diluted whisky is very soft and smooth in the mouth but the lingering aftertaste is almost as strong and persistent as from the neat stuff (well, not quite ... but close).

I found out that while this is true for the Ardbeg, it is not for the other two. Both Talisker and Isle Of Jura are not full-flavoured enough to defend themselves against a large amount of water; the Ardbeg is. I guess my next bottle will be an Islay single malt again ... maybe Laphroaig.

I just found out you cannot enjoy a Scotch to the utmost unless you're using a glass with a lid. When lifting the lid, there will be a sweet and fruity fragrance which after a few seconds will turn into a peaty and smoky scent. Replacing the lid and waiting for a minute will restore the fruity nose---again for just a few seconds.

Again, this is mostly true for the Ardbeg but not so much for the other two.

I prefer ice to water with most fuller-flavoured island malts ...

Well ... ice tends to round off rough edges (if there are any) and generally makes strong spirits smoother and thus easier to consume. But in my opinion it also takes away a bit from the subtleties of the flavours---rather than drinking expensive stuff with ice, I feel one could just as well have a cheaper variety of the same stuff (well, not quite as well ... but close).

I must revise my opinion about ice. The Isle Of Jura tought me that at least with some single malts, a small amount of ice doesn't take away anything. Instead, it will slightly change the character and bring out new aspects of the flavour.

-- Olaf

[David Kilpatrick]

Olaf, experimentation vs moderation...

Tonight, I was told that Barbara, who used to work for us, ordered WARM water for her whisky. Now try that! Shirley has an incredible memory for detail. I forget everything. She remembers what one member of staff, ten years ago, asked for at our Christmas dinner.

David

[Birma]

Hi Olaf , while you are in the experimenting mood I think you should definately try the Laphroaig - it is very peaty like the Ardbeg but has some very interesting other tastes to add to the mix - I have seen these described as it having "something of the medicine cabinet" about it. Lagavulin is the other big Islay single malt that I've tried. I prefer the Ardbeg.

The Isle of Jura (the place) is a gem; an extra level of remoteness as you have to get a ferry to Islay, drive across Islay, and then get another ferry to Jura, and then drive around Jura to get to the main settlement (and distillery!). I wouldn't turn down a glass of Jura Single Malt , but I prefer the Ardebg and Talisker.

I'm visiting Skye in 3 weeks so I will try and get a shot of the Talisker distillery and then we'll have to start a Scottish Single Malt thread

Sláinte!

[01af]

Hi Olaf , while you are in the experimenting mood I think you should definately try the Laphroaig - it is very peaty like the Ardbeg but has some very interesting other tastes to add to the mix - I have seen these described as it having "something of the medicine cabinet" about it.

That's what I've seen, too---and it's making me curious.

I prefer the Ardbeg.

Seems that my first choice was a big hit. Of all single malts I have tried so far (not too many, admittedly), the Ardbeg 10 yo 46 % still is my favourite (with a splash of water or two).

I wouldn't turn down a glass of Jura Single Malt ... but I prefer the Ardbeg and Talisker.

The Jura single malt (the ordinary 10 yo 40 %) is mysterious stuff. It will take extreme drinking temperatures, low and high, most graciously. It's the best of all single malts with ice (the others I prefer with plain water) ... and with warm water, as David has suggested, it's delicious! The Talisker 10 yo 45.8 % for example with cool or cold water is very nice but with warm water it will just fall apart ... not recommended. I have not yet tried the Ardbeg with warm water ... I can have only so many drams per day (even if they're small drams)

While drinking strong spirits with warm water may seem odd, there's a traditional drink here in Germany (and probably elsewhere, too) called grog. It's particularly popular among sailors and fishermen. It's one part of brown rum, several parts of hot (!) water, and some sugar. A 'stiff' grog contains more rum. Whisky with warm water reminds me of grog---but it does not work with all whiskies. With Jura single malt, it does.

-- Olaf

[David Kilpatrick]

Well, I'm roughing it with Jim Beam. Shirley got me Talisker for my birthday last month but that always lasts a very long time.

More on topic, my studios used to do a load of food and drink photography - some years we had so much come in we gave it away to the neighbours, but we never gave away the occasional drink which had to be opened and poured for the right shot! Those went straight to the boss. One year we had 11 large Christmas turkeys delivered in August, in the middle of a heat wave, to be fully prepared and photographed. They were delayed by three days, in the middle of a heat wave. They were all so bad the smell was terrible, but we still had to COOK the birds and photograph them - they look just the same. That was when we realised, you can cook bad meat, and the smell goes away - roast a turkey which has sat in a railway truck for a week, and it still looks like OK food.

I've been very careful about where I buy food ever since, and I always try to go to restaurants where you can see the kitchen and see the raw materials.

You would not enjoy some of the whisky we photographed because it was not whisky at all, just cold tea and food dyes - but whenever possible, for legal reasons, we photographed the actual item being sold.

David

[bakubo]

I've been very careful about where I buy food ever since, and I always try to go to restaurants where you can see the kitchen and see the raw materials.

When traveling in less developed countries that is particularly true. For example, in Southeast Asia there are always lot of people preparing and selling food on the street. Many foreigners are afraid to buy the cheap, and often delicious, food from them because of the assumption that it is probably unsanitary, etc. I have explained to many people though that they are often much better off eating on the street than some of the restaurants where the kitchen is hidden away. On the street you see everything. You can see if the food is selling quickly and lots of local people are buying it. You can see if the cooks keep their hands clean, if the ingredients that need to be kept cool are in an ice chest, if the meat and vegetables look fresh, and so on. Some of the restaurants have filthy kitchens. In Laos one time I went to the back of a restaurant and peeked into the kitchen. Raw meat was just heaped on a dirty, wet concrete floor with roaches crawling around and workers with dirty barefoot feet. I just had some stir fried cabbage over rice. Here are few photos of street food in Thailand:

[David Kilpatrick]

Great photos Henry. When we were in Thailand in 1986, Shirley and I ate the street food (sort of kebabs on sticks) at night, we were watching the candles/flowers being floated on the lake in November, festivals of the lights. Most others would not touch the street food. We were fine. People in our (Minolta Club) party who had eaten the salad buffet at our last hotel, in India, were very ill by the time we reached Bangkok. I didn't touch any of the vegetables or salad, or anything cold, in India - only food which had been boiled or grilled/oven cooked. We told everyone not to eat salads, but of course, they look so clean and fresh. I also drink beer all the time, or premium name mineral water - never water brought to the table in a jug.

David

[[SiC]]

Haven't tried that many because of this but I have one I'm quite fond of - Strathisla Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky aged 12

Sorry Zeb, not come across this one. Perhaps it's so good they keep it a secret from the English

Must be so

Has anyone tried Glenmorangie 10y.o? Got a tip about it but haven't tried it yet.

/Zeb!

[Birma]

Has anyone tried Glenmorangie 10y.o? Got a tip about it but haven't tried it yet.
/Zeb!

Glenmorangie is 10y.o. is fine - if I were to use a camera analogy I would say it was an A300 - it ticks all of the boxes, but there are more exciting (and more expensive) alternatives. Glenmorganie also do some nice "specially finished" 10y.o. single malts where the spirit has been finished in old port/sherry/etc. barrels rather than bourbon barrels as usual. All single malt is finished in some way and this is how it achieves a colour amongst other things such as subtle flavours - otherwise it would be a clear liquid. The Port Wood Finish Glenmorangie is a favourite of mine (almost a A350!). I have a bottle of something (the name escapes me) finsihed in Champagne casks but it was so expensive it sits at the back of the cupboard for very special occasions.

[bakubo]

Great photos Henry. When we were in Thailand in 1986, Shirley and I ate the street food (sort of kebabs on sticks) at night, we were watching the candles/flowers being floated on the lake in November, festivals of the lights. Most others would not touch the street food. We were fine. People in our (Minolta Club) party who had eaten the salad buffet at our last hotel, in India, were very ill by the time we reached Bangkok. I didn't touch any of the vegetables or salad, or anything cold, in India - only food which had been boiled or grilled/oven cooked. We told everyone not to eat salads, but of course, they look so clean and fresh. I also drink beer all the time, or premium name mineral water - never water brought to the table in a jug.

I still haven't made it to India, but I would love to go. I was thinking I might go this fall, but with the current financial/economic upheaval I will probably hold off. Plane tickets to India are particularly expensive from Hawaii.

The first time I went to Thailand it was 1985. Then again in 1998, 2006, and 2007/2008. It is a fairly easy country to travel around in on your own and also pretty cheap. In recent days the Thai baht has gotten even cheaper.

Funny thing is that of all the places I have been and the many times I have eaten rather strange things the only time I have ever gotten sick was from a restaurant in Vancouver, Canada. I got terribly sick from some bad octopus at a Japanese restaurant there.

[01af]

I have a bottle of something [...] finished in Champagne casks ...

You have a whisky that was finished in Champagne casks!?

Did you receive it on April Fool's day?

-- Olaf

[[SiC]]

I have a bottle of something [...] finished in Champagne casks ...

You have a whisky that was finished in Champagne casks!?

Did you receive it on April Fool's day?

-- Olaf

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/produc ... GF9NOHSQ6B