Thread: Single Malt Scotch Fans

I like Islay: Ardbeg is my favorite currently I have a bottle of their new Renniesanse and a very delicate bottle of Arbeg 1977, the 1977 is mind blowing!
Like the new Springbank 10 (black label).
And a lot more in my cabinet!

Annybody likes Redbreast pure Irish pot still? (I do)

All so enjoy Bourbons

Rene

I had a bottle of Ardbeg 1977.
It was very good, but not something I drank often. I usually foun it too peaty for my taste. Now I don't mind a peaty whisky. I like them a lot. But Ardbeg 1977 is as subtle as a shovel full of peat in the mouth

Springbank is great indeed. It is the one whisky that we always have in our cabinet.

A few more excerpts from Michael Jackson's "The World Guide To Whisky".

Orkney and Northern Highland whiskies: Far from the other whisky-producing islands, Orkney is in every sense isolated. Its two distilleries both produce whiskies with heathery tones, and this flowery-spicy character finds an affinity in the distillates from the Northern mainland. Island or mainland, the far North makes some outstanding Highland malts.

Glenmorangie is one of the best-known single malts. It clearly belongs to the Northern Highlands, but does not wear its origins on its sleeve. It is a subtle, teasing whisky, with a character of its own.

Fiddich and Dullan whiskies: It may not be widely realised outside Scotland that the glen of the Fiddich is a place. The two rivers Fiddich and Dullan meet at Dufftown. Both valleys feature in the names of individual single malts, and the Dufftown district is on of the principle centres of distillation in the broader Speyside region.

The Balvenie single malts, in their various forms, are sweeter than Glenfiddich, with honeyish tones. They make natural after-dinner malts, and offer a further gentle step in sophistication for the Glenfiddich graduate.

Campbeltown Whiskies: The smallest of the classic single malt regions is Campbeltown. As its name suggests, it comprises just one town, and even that is pretty small. Today, it has only two distilleries, and neither of those has produced for some years. Yet seasoned whiskies argue that Campbeltown should still enjoy recognition.

Springbank has been described as being "Premier Grand Cru Classe". Most lovers of single malts would certainly include this big, profound whisky amoung their handful of favourites. It is generally regarded as the regional classic.

Islay whiskies: Among the Western islands of Scotland, only those in the Inner Hebrides make whisky commercially. Within that group, Islay is regarded as being a separate, classic region. Other islands have just one or two distilleries, but Islay is dotted with them -- and its intense malts play a character part in many blends.

Ardbeg is among the most intense of Islay single malts, with its own distinctive and balancing richness, but it is not as well known as its near neighbors. It is to be found in several bottlings.

As the ferry approaches the island, four distilleries come into view, one after the other, their names painted in massive black letters on the white buildings: Ardbeg, producing the most assertive of the island's whiskies, not always easy to find; Lagavulin, with its intensely dry, aristocratic whisky; Laphroaig, probably the best-known name, with tis big-bodied, oily whisky, full of the seaweed tang; Port Ellen, with its teasingly bitter-sweet whisky that was never easy to find in the bottle and is now rarer still. Even this tiny island has regional differences. The more exposed, South side produces the more briny whiskies, and its distilleries all take their water from burns and lochs in a peaty moorland. Where the coastline curves and cuts into the middle of the island, the Bowmore distillery produces what is by Islay standards a "medium-dry" whisky. Round the bay, Bruichladdich is a little gentler. On the North side, Bunnahabhain has a softer whisky but Caol Ila, when it can be found, spoils the progression by being surprisingly peaty and dry.

Irish whiskeys: Ireland likes to claim that it invented whiskey, which would be contribution enough. It has its own style of whiskey, too, and an enthusiasm that belies the sparsity of its distilleries. Classic "Irish" is distilled in Cork, and there is blending in Dublin and Tullamore. Bushmills is a small town with its own claims and style.

Redbreast 12-year-old comprises Jameson whiskeys vatted and bottled by another company, the Irish branch of Gilbey's. Hard to find, but worth sampling if sighted, as it is full of pot-still Irish character.