Single malts and other whiskies/whiskeys

dr wu23 wrote: I like 'sweet' tasting liquor in general...though I wouldn't say Bourbon is 'sweet' per se. I would say B&B , Grand Marnier, and similar things are sweet. There are various hints in Bourbon...vanilla being one..never tasted any coconut or had anyone mention that before.  I think Cognac might taste sweet to you also if you think Bourbon is. I never had acquired the taste for single malt scotch whiskey (or Scotch in general) though I know people rave about it.

May I suggest 'Grant's Family Reserve'.  Sweet is not how I would describe it (some might), I like to call it very flavorful, with a hint of smoke.  I like it a lot but beware, It's a blend.

chopper wrote: I was on holiday in the Cotswolds last month and was surprised to find there is a new distillery there - https://www.cotswoldsdistillery.com/cotswolds-single-malt-whisky   I felt obliged to buy some and it's very good.

For best price-performance ratio, Highland Bird.

someone_else wrote: Here in the Netherlands, we have another low-priced one: Highland Queen Islay Single Malt, which seems to be bottled exclusive for a Dutch liquor store chain. I cannot find it on the Highland Queen site anyway, but it is hardly more expensive than a Black Grouse or a Black Bottle and quite a lot of quality for that price (but of course not as good as an Ardbeg or a Laphroaig).

Islay all the way... Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Bowmore. Not exclusively, though. The Speyside malts make a nice change, but the smoky, peaty nature of the Islay malts make them exceptional. Blends like Black Bottle and Black Grouse work well from an economical perspective when you want the more expensive single malts to last a little longer!

Edited by BaldJean - July 13 2018 at 07:45

I usually find myself with a Highland Park, or did, before I gave up drinking. Really, like beer, wine or cigars, I don't have an absolute favourite drink. Most good quality whiskies have their own character and it depends on what I fancy at the time - fancied at the time, that is. So long as you can appreciate the quality, they all have something to say. Apart from Glenlivet or heavily peated whiskies like Laphroaig, which I can't stand. 

As for Irish whiskey / Canadian whisky / bourbon, no thanks. If I have a bourbon, I'm reminded it's made from corn, and then I'm drinking corn on the cob. Not for me. 

Incidentally, I used to review cigars for the largest UK importer. Easy way of getting free stogies. All a long time (and one stroke) ago. ;-)

Edited by Davesax1965 - July 13 2018 at 04:42

The Benelux and France hasve a few single man distillers >> the stuff is much cheaper than the Scottish equivalent for some relatively similar performances (so in some ways, it's often a much better qualityprice ratio)

Belgium has two of them:
Goldlys (the regular is smooth, but go for the specials (Manzanilla and SM) are much better)
The Belgian Owl is very well rated, but nothing more than 5y available (they started 7 seven years ago) >> I can imagine it' future greatness but right now, it's fairly rough going down so far

The Netherlands has two of them as well
Fryske Hinder is quite a very good thingie, but hard to find (small quantities)
Millstone (I think) is the other >> haven't tasted it yet

France: we all know France is more into Cognac and its cousin Armagnac or Calvados, but Britany has at least two distillers

I tried the Armorik 10Y >>> quite interesting (didn't stay long enough to investigate the others)