MrWizard's Ramblings

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I was getting progressively more inebriated while writing this… This should be considered somewhat of a satire/drunken rant.

Whiskey or Whisky?

I. don’t. care! Both are correct.
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Best Whisky

There’s none. If it tastes good to you its good whisky!
BUUUUUUUUUT
Do yourself a favor and try different whiskeys across categories and styles. What tastes ‘good’ now, could taste like a swill in comparison to something else. Don’t settle for first thing and definitely explore. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not trying new things here, just like most things in life: The more you try, the better you understand.
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Smooooooth

Means not interesting
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Rough?

Does NOT mean interesting. Could be just crap alcohol. Balance is important.
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Drinking whisky properly

a) Whiskeys are not shot drinks. If you want shots, do Jack Daniels or some some other garbage. Whiskey is contemplative drinks to be drank without anything. Have a conversation. Have a sigar (and peated scotch). Discuss with friends. Look at the fire dancing in a fireplace. Stare at the stars. Write a ranting post on personal website where nobody will ever read it.

b) If you want to drink whisky as an accompaniment with food instead of shitty vodka? Sure. Don’t use good stuff. Get a bottle of generic blend, its cheap. Get a branded release of a major distillery that is under 12 years of age. Impress your friends or family with your fancy name of ‘Macallan 12′ (which you won’t taste at all if combined with food) bottle. Don’t overdo it. You can put ice tea and vodka into a Macallan 18 bottle and if you combine it with food someone will be invariably amazed by how good that ’scotch’ is. Don’t spend more than about $50.

c) Good stuff first! or ‘the fallacy of taste’. After about 3rd or 4th taste, everything mushes up together and it all tastes about same. If not sure, only drink one thing per sitting.

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Glass…
This one is controversial. I highly recommend glencairn or brandy glass or something similarly shaped. I’ve had whisky out of coffee mugs and out of champagne flutes. It’s just not as good. The whole dimension of smell and (surprisingly) some of the taste is lost. A wine glass works in a pinch as long its lip curves inwards. Rocks glass is okay in some situations.
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Ice…

If you insist on lots of crushed ice with whisky. Fuck you, you uncultured swine! Don’t be that pretentious asshole that has no idea what they are doing with scotch on the rocks.

If you want small ice cube to keep it cold/cut the burn… that’s occasionally acceptable. Almost no bottles are blindly filled from the barrel. There are many people between the still and the bottle in your hands, and they know what they are doing with the source material so it’s my strong opinion that whatever is in the bottle should be consumed as is, unaltered. Some bottles respond okay to few drops of water, most do not. Some times that same effect as water can be achieved by simply waiting.
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Right way of drinking whiskey?

There really isn’t one. Do what works for you individually though respect others opinions.

Today lets run down new to the shelf additions:

Grain whiskey… It’s an interesting thing. Lately I’ve come to the conclusion that there are some tremendous bargains to be had with grain whiskey without compromising on the insane price points that single malts have been going for lately (with no sign of stopping). What’s the catch? Well that’s simple, Jimmy! Its age… My overall opinion that grain whiskeys need 5 to 10 years longer in the barrel to get ‘interesting’ but ‘interesting’ they do get. Note: “Single Grain” can mean a lot of things but typically means that its not 100% malted barley and/or continuous (column) still vs pot stills which are required for single malt scotch. Then again, Loch Lomond was 100% malted barley in a vodka still… soooo I guess ‘Single Grain’ is sometimes a way to denote things that are scotch but not fall under ‘Single Malt’ as defined by regulations.

Invergordon 26 Single Grain
Almost oily consistency. Smells like perfume again. On the tongue, barrel char fights with strawberry jam and all sorts of sweet candied white fruits. Lovely. In your face. Musky. Powerful. One of those contemplative scotches one should try.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1331550
Score: N/A

Glenmorangie Allta
Glenmorangie 10th special edition. I feel like I just wrapped up writing about the 9th and now a new contender have entered the ring. Overall? Its more of my style of drink when I want something light and sweet. This time the distillery focused on natural yeasts rather than experimenting with barrels or blending. In many ways it reminds me of the regular 12, with a 3rd dimension of ‘interesting’ added in. Honey and wax. Tiny bit of smoke and nuts both in the smell and the taste. Almost like a mix between 12 and 18 release taking the best of the two and mixing them together.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1401121
Score: N/A

Glen Oak 17
You thought it was a no-name, but it was me Bruichladdich all along! Briny, funky, interesting, almost swamp-watery in some ways… I don’t use ‘old leather’ very often but this one is definitely in that general idea when I sip it slowly and chew in my mouth. Highly dry and dusty… maybe like licking an cry leather couch or a horse saddle… but in a good way. Definitely one of the more divisive tastes for my palate but overall I’m glad I have it on my shelf.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1400399
Score: N/A

Next up…. We’ll talk Compass Box.