I had a nice surprise on getting to work today....a single malt was waiting for me sent from Callum my youngest for helping him buy his car late last year. I did the running about for him and haggling for a good deal. Its nice when you start receiving the return on your 23 year investment !
He chose well. A 20 year old single malt from the Balblair distillery
I am no connoisseur for sure, but I know what I like and do not like. There are 4 regions for whisky in Scotland I do not like the Island whisky - the peaty (read smoky for me) is too strong a taste. I prefer the Highland whisky and Speyside whisky, and the bottle Callum has sent me is a real nice smooth drink.
For my 50th birthday I was treated to a family holiday on the Moray Firth at Whitehills, not too far from Banff where Princess Matilda overwintered and featured in Shane and Tim Spalls great TV adventure when the took their boat around Britain. We took in a distillery - the Glen Grant Distillery and when we (I) did the whisky tasting one thing I learnt was how much better whisky tastes with a very (and I mean very small) application of water to it. I now always take it with a little water and it makes for a much more enjoyable drink. Sounds really pretentious I know but I have drunk this whisky so I can tell you how nice it is!!
So after very long day, 5am start and the drive up from the south coast, the dram is one of my final acts of today. I was lugging coal around putting gas bottles back and finally watered up - I think I last watered up just after Christmas, so not done bad there. The weather is set to go cold again so best I have lots of coal, lots of gas, lots of water, empty cassettes and a full bottle of whisky...
7 comments:
Ah - an Islay for me every time...!
Good job we're not all the same, though.
You are not doing my vow of abstinence any good at all!!
I'm with Halfie on this one! Ardbeg my favourite so far, though even that doesn't beat the very small bottle of quarter cask Laphroaig No. 2 son bought me last year. I worked out that a bottle would have been £160 - but it was fabulous. Give me peat, smoke and tar every time (well, I don't smoke so perhaps it's the next best thing).
.... were you Island whisky drinkers ever smokers by chance?
Not I.
Don't you like smoked bacon then Nev? :-)
I do, and smoked cheese but the smokey taste in the whisky was not to my taste..... then. I guess I might have to try a dram or two to check as I now have black tea and coffee and no sugar so my tastes are changing !
A long time ago, and never very much. I don't think that's why I like a smoky/peaty Scotch. I also like the occasional Lapsang Souchong, especially out of an insulated mug on an early morning cruise. Now that really smells of coal fires!
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