- Joined
- Tuesday May 22, 2012
- Location
- Cumbria, England
Me too, Glenfiddich is a bit delicate for my taste.
It made me shake my headMe too, Glenfiddich is a bit delicate for my taste.
...on the odd occasion in the past when I've tried whiskey, there was some kind of burn which I didn't really enjoy...
It made me shake my head
Hi - no - tried it neat. Why not? Wont do that again!Try Ardbeg! Did you try adding a bit of water?
I'll definitely try adding water. I need easing in. Bit like starting out wet shaving with an R41Ardbeg is one of the most heavily-peated whiskies out there and bottled at 46%. It's fantastic IMO but a bit of an acquired taste and unlikely to go down well with a newbie.
With whisky I always taste it neat first, and then gradually add water. Adding a wee bit of water can open up the flavour and also knock back the burn from the alcohol. I mostly add a teaspoon of water to a measure of Ardbeg, others it can be a couple of drops or none at all depending on the whisky and my mood. I don't like ice as the chill dampens the flavour.
Cheers Rob - I'll look out for Aberlour in the supermarket. I'm looking out for miniatures at the moment. Loving the advice!I've only got into ‘proper' whisky over the last few years. I've never liked ‘normal' blended whisky like Bells and Teachers.
I started off with a couple of different bourbon's but after a couple of mates encouraged me to try Single Malt's I've never looked back.
I started off with Aberlour 10 year old. I bought a full bottle, a risk but it was on offer* at the supermarket, so rude not to really. The first mouthful was a revelation. Oh my sweet Lord! Just bloody lovely.
I've tried a few over the years and started enjoying the more peaty whiskies more and more. I bought a miniature bottle of Ardbeg and I'm glad I didn't buy a full bottle. It's way too peaty for me. I might as well been drinking TCP neat. YUK!
I had a bottle of Laphroaig bought for me at Christmas, which has a reputation of being very peaty but I found it easy to drink.
As already mentioned Peaty Whiskies are definitely an acquired taste and something you build up to. If you'd like to try a Whisky with a hint of peat, then I'd recommend Highland Park 10 year.
*Aberlour 10 year old is regularly discounted in Supermarkets. You can pick it for £25.00 most of the time. I'd highly recommend it. It's not Peaty at all BTW.
Thank you for the advice, and videos. Very informative!Another thing you might want to consider, especially if undiluted Glenfiddich (a fairly sweet malt that's bottled at the minimum allowable alcohol percentage of 40%) is causing unpleasant alcohol burn, is that you might be taking too much into your mouth when you take a sip. It should be obvious that taking the same amount of a spirit as you would wine or beer isn't a good idea. I take the advice of Ralf Mitchell (ralfydotcom on Youtube) and try to take at most half a teaspoon of whisky in a single sip, ideally less. That way, you can enjoy the flavours without being overpowered by the alcohol content. Of course, you'll probably decide to add a drop or two of water to most whisky, though some are better neat and cask-strength malts need quite a bit more, but a small sip of neat whisky need not be that off-putting.
Here are a couple of Ralfy's videos that might be of interest in terms of appreciating whisky:
Ralfy can get a touch opinionated at times, but he knows his subject better than many who are employed in the industry despite being an amateur enthusiast.Thank you for the advice, and videos. Very informative!