Whiskey - It's the water of life!

Takayuki Yagami

Justice is Blind, and Autistic
kiwifarms.net
Go with JW out of these three. Generally non-offensive and guests are going to recognize it as well.
Better yet try and get a liter bottle of Teacher's Highland Cream which is very good for its price - it's just as good as Chivas 12.
And what of the other two, overall character of the blends I mean.
 

Boris Blank's glass eye

And just for you I have a spoon
kiwifarms.net
And what of the other two, overall character of the blends I mean.
I have never had Cutty Sark so I can't comment on that. The Grouse, at least what I had, had a noticeable sherry character with more oak and spices compared to JW Red. It might not go as well with the soda of your choice as JW Red, but it's better on its own.
 

Takayuki Yagami

Justice is Blind, and Autistic
kiwifarms.net
I have never had Cutty Sark so I can't comment on that. The Grouse, at least what I had, had a noticeable sherry character with more oak and spices compared to JW Red. It might not go as well with the soda of your choice as JW Red, but it's better on its own.
It’d just be seltzer.
 

Stoneheart

Well hung, and snow white tan
kiwifarms.net
Quality-wise European fruit spirits vary greatly. Some of them - usually locally produced moonshine intended for immediate consumption - are worse than rot gut, some of them are practically bottled fruit.
You want the Austrian or German stuff, not the eastern european.
The cheap stuff is okay and you can get very good stuff for a decent price. my go to is Scheibel, the Premiumplus line is a fantastic birthday gift for somebody you like.
they also make reasonable priced good single malt
 

Lieutenant Rasczak

Just another internet retard
kiwifarms.net
So, any fans of whiskey around here?

Bourbon, Scotch, Canadian, Rye, Irish, it doesn't matter so long as it's whiskey. Figured I'd get a thread started around here.

Personally, I love whiskey and usually drink it neat. I mostly drink the cheaper stuff though. My favorite whiskey is Jameson, with Jack Daniels in a close second. Wild Turkey and Black Velvet are decent too. I'm weird in the sense that I like Scotch and bourbon equally, but I tend to drink bourbon more often because it's usually cheaper. Glenlivet and Glenfiddich are awesome Scotch brands, as is Johnnie Walker Black Label, but the former two are rather pricey to regularly consume, so I just save those for special occasions like birthdays or New Years parties. As for Johnnie Walker, I've never bought it myself, but I did have a few shots of Black Label at a party once and it was good.

As stated before, I usually drink whiskey neat, but some of the really cheap low-end whiskeys like Early Times or Clan MacGregor are okay to mix with Pepsi or ginger ale in my book. Otherwise, I drink the whiskey straight. To mix Jameson with soda is just terrible in my book.

Feel free to share your whiskey experiences.
Bourbon and original Jack Daniels is what I've tried so far. The original jack daniels whiskey has a honey esque taste to it, before the strong alcohol taste hits.
 

Takayuki Yagami

Justice is Blind, and Autistic
kiwifarms.net
Should go well with either. Allegedly Sir Winston Churchill used to drink his JW Red with seltzer, if that means anything to you.
Based on the How to Drink guy’s demonstration of how he did his highballs, I’m not optimistic on that front. Just covering the bottom of the glass and topping with lukewarm soda seems like a bad way to do that.
I’ll probably go with famous grouse considering I’m somewhat partial to sherry and it’s probably the closest in price range to my workhorse whiskeys. Bourbon and rye don’t seem to work as well. Maybe has something to do with the grains used for them. The bourbon makes me think of how Miller High Life (cheap US beer made with corn) starts to taste off as it gets warm, and the heat and baking spices from rye probably just get lost with that heavy a dilution. Must be something with barley considering highballs are more popular than beer in Japan.
 
Last edited:

Bassomatic

True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
alkies stop caring about it pretty quick I hear
I guess I can't be a drunk because I still sip good stuff :P

Yea that is true but, while I was semi joking, some alkies who have a public face never sink to X brand since it's a good hide. If you had unlimited money no one would assume you're a drunk off Dom because who could drink 100 dollar bottles nightly? Even if well off it just doesn't make sense, unless an addict.

I'm just shocked that with his heavy drinking and open purse he still went that low.
 

Boris Blank's glass eye

And just for you I have a spoon
kiwifarms.net
I'm shocked to hear a rich trust fund kid drank so poorly.
AFAIK JW Red and Black were the favourite of several rich and famous people who should have been able to afford much better stuff.
Christopher Hitchens for example loved JW Black with sparkling water and Dick Cheney allegedly loves JW Red.
I guess I can't be a drunk because I still sip good stuff
One of my professors in uni used to drink at least a bottle of Hennessy VSOP a day, paraphrasing: "My work here is so stressful I can't get through the day otherwise, gentlemen." Had a nose brighter than a stop signal.
Sometimes I wonder if he's still alive.
 

AnOminous

each malted milk ball might be their last
True & Honest Fan
Retired Staff
kiwifarms.net
AFAIK JW Red and Black were the favourite of several rich and famous people who should have been able to afford much better stuff.
Christopher Hitchens for example loved JW Black with sparkling water and Dick Cheney allegedly loves JW Red.
Churchill mainly used whiskey and seltzer for breakfast. Throughout the rest of the day, he drank port, brandy, champagne, other scotches, and more expensive stuff. At one point he was in debt to his wine seller for about $75,000 (as well as pretty much everyone else he did business with).
 

Boris Blank's glass eye

And just for you I have a spoon
kiwifarms.net
Churchill mainly used whiskey and seltzer for breakfast. Throughout the rest of the day, he drank port, brandy, champagne, other scotches, and more expensive stuff. At one point he was in debt to his wine seller for about $75,000 (as well as pretty much everyone else he did business with).
I suspect the "JW Red" part is great PR for Diageo, the rest - isn't very much so and that's why it's the best known.
 

Boris Blank's glass eye

And just for you I have a spoon
kiwifarms.net
I'm back with actual reviews. This month's topic is "Cask Strength for cheap!".

First off, West Cork Cask Strength, which is a blended Irish whiskey comprised of 66% grain and 34% malt whiskey, married together for six months in ex-bourbon barrels. While the distillers' site or the bottle labels don't carry any information about the details, Fine Drams states it's completely unmolested - bottled at a natural cask strength of 62% ABV, non-coloured and non-chill filtered.

IMG_20210510_204239.jpgIMG_20210510_204253.jpg IMG_20210510_204300.jpg

Its colour is a fairly healthy honey.
Nose: fairly aggressive generic alcohol smell at first, then it gradually develops as it breathes. Apples, peaches, sweet malty notes, and honey.
Taste: a whole jar of thick, viscous, golden honey. Strong grainy notes with a bit of the usual bite, pears, green apples, and peaches, a hint of slightly bitter almonds. No oak or oak spices at all.
Finish: short-ish. Oily, apples and the familiar honey sweetness with a hint of bitter almonds.

A splash of water mellows everything out and takes away the slight grain bite.

I like how the label forms the south-western coasts of Ireland. While it feels a bit flimsy, I'm pretty sure the cork stopper has a wooden top. Not bad for $40.

Old Perth Cask Strength by Morrison & Mackay/Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers
An all natural NAS vatted malt exclusively matured in sherry casks, bottled at 58.6% ABV.

IMG_20210511_205242.jpgIMG_20210511_205355.jpg

Its colour is a very healthy bronze.
Nose: sherry all right, apparent around two meters away from the glass. In addition to the usual dried fruits there's sweet cinnamon, ginger, and oak.
Taste: again, loads of sherry. Oily and full-bodied; cherries, plums, both fresh and dried, walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon.
Finish: slightly bitter oak, walnuts, ginger, green apple peel, slightly burnt brown sugar. Lasts quite long.

It isn't harsh or aggressive at all, even at cask strength, and a splash of water mellows it out more, shifting the balance to sweetness and bringing out some strawberry notes. I like it, and $40 was more than worth it. I think I could mistake it for an experimental NAS Glenfarclas or Glendronach sherry bomb if I didn't know what it was.

IMG_20210511_205135.jpgIMG_20210511_205142.jpg
This is a very nice touch. What I assumed was a bit of copper-coloured foil turned out to be an actual copper plate embedded in the wooden top of the cork stopper.
It's thin, but it's actual copper.

The line had some limited releases, including WIP expressions, and now the core range is the Original - sherry-matured, all-natural, NAS, bottled at 46% ABV - and this here Cask Strength. There's a 12yro coming out later this year, some time in the autumn.

I've also bought a couple of minis - Delamain Pale&Dry XO, Cotswolds Single Malt, Paul John Peated Select, and Tatratea - a tea-based liqueur made in Slovakia - Citrus.
Reviews coming later.
 

Takayuki Yagami

Justice is Blind, and Autistic
kiwifarms.net
I'm back with actual reviews. This month's topic is "Cask Strength for cheap!".

First off, West Cork Cask Strength, which is a blended Irish whiskey comprised of 66% grain and 34% malt whiskey, married together for six months in ex-bourbon barrels. While the distillers' site or the bottle labels don't carry any information about the details, Fine Drams states it's completely unmolested - bottled at a natural cask strength of 62% ABV, non-coloured and non-chill filtered.

View attachment 2161391View attachment 2161393 View attachment 2161396

Its colour is a fairly healthy honey.
Nose: fairly aggressive generic alcohol smell at first, then it gradually develops as it breathes. Apples, peaches, sweet malty notes, and honey.
Taste: a whole jar of thick, viscous, golden honey. Strong grainy notes with a bit of the usual bite, pears, green apples, and peaches, a hint of slightly bitter almonds. No oak or oak spices at all.
Finish: short-ish. Oily, apples and the familiar honey sweetness with a hint of bitter almonds.

A splash of water mellows everything out and takes away the slight grain bite.

I like how the label forms the south-western coasts of Ireland. While it feels a bit flimsy, I'm pretty sure the cork stopper has a wooden top. Not bad for $40.

Old Perth Cask Strength by Morrison & Mackay/Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers
An all natural NAS vatted malt exclusively matured in sherry casks, bottled at 58.6% ABV.

View attachment 2161444View attachment 2161445

Its colour is a very healthy bronze.
Nose: sherry all right, apparent around two meters away from the glass. In addition to the usual dried fruits there's sweet cinnamon, ginger, and oak.
Taste: again, loads of sherry. Oily and full-bodied; cherries, plums, both fresh and dried, walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon.
Finish: slightly bitter oak, walnuts, ginger, green apple peel, slightly burnt brown sugar. Lasts quite long.

It isn't harsh or aggressive at all, even at cask strength, and a splash of water mellows it out more, shifting the balance to sweetness and bringing out some strawberry notes. I like it, and $40 was more than worth it. I think I could mistake it for an experimental NAS Glenfarclas or Glendronach sherry bomb if I didn't know what it was.

View attachment 2161488View attachment 2161491
This is a very nice touch. What I assumed was a bit of copper-coloured foil turned out to be an actual copper plate embedded in the wooden top of the cork stopper.
It's thin, but it's actual copper.

The line had some limited releases, including WIP expressions, and now the core range is the Original - sherry-matured, all-natural, NAS, bottled at 46% ABV - and this here Cask Strength. There's a 12yro coming out later this year, some time in the autumn.

I've also bought a couple of minis - Delamain Pale&Dry XO, Cotswolds Single Malt, Paul John Peated Select, and Tatratea - a tea-based liqueur made in Slovakia - Citrus.
Reviews coming later.
There’s a Russian youtuber I like that’s a big fan of Tatratea. Toured the distillery at one point.
 

Bassomatic

True & Honest Fan
kiwifarms.net
My neighbors who don't drink liquor and (god bless them) are cheap jews literally, brought me a 1/3 a bottle of bankers club bourbon they used it for cooking and donated to me. A 750 was like 9 bucks. It's... not good I don't pretend to be enjoying it but a cheap drunk that doesn't suck for other rot gut level stuff.

Better yet they donated a spare bit of the bourbon chicken they made it was delish.
 
Top