What's your favorite single malt?

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

The Ardbeg 10 years is possibly my #1 whiskey. Complicated but not abusive, a whisky to savor and muse. I've had some other "expressions" from Ardbeg, and found them to be good, but their newer expressions ("Galileo" for one) is shaped more by the soulless, implacable tidal forces of Marketing than by the distillers craft. The Galileo went into space! That's nice, but it is still raw enough to have a burn and the finish is unpleasant -- it benefits from ice, which is a condemnation, not praise for a single malt.

It was then explained to me that there is a crop of new whiskies coming from established distillers (mostly owned by Big Outfits like Diageo) that are cranking out young whiskies and marketing them to the younger, moneyed Hipster transitioning to Yuppie crowd. More "Extreme", trying to ride the wave of over-hopped beers* and "Big Red" wines.

A blight upon our civilization sez I.



*I quite like hoppy beers, however.

[Drunk Monk]

I'm actually not that fond of Japanese whisky, but I've never tried their single malts.

Scotland loses out as Japanese whisky named best in the world
For the first time, not a single Scottish whisky has made it into top five of World Whisky Bible


Winning whisky: Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013

By Leah Hyslop
10:37AM GMT 03 Nov 2014

The Scots are famous for their whisky, but will be licking their wounds this week after a Japanese single malt was named the best in the world.

Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was given the title by the 2015 World Whisky Bible, which is compiled by whisky expert Jim Murray.

He praised the whisky as “near indescribable genius”, with a “nose of exquisite boldness” and a finish of “light, teasing spice”, giving it an impressive 97.5 marks out of 100.

This year marks the first time in the book's 12-year history that a Japanese whisky has landed the title.To add insult to injury, not a single Scotch managed to make the final five shortlist.

The winning whisky comes from Japan’s oldest malt whisky distillery Yamazaki, which was established in 1923.

The drink, of which only 16,00 bottles have been made, is aged in Oloroso sherry butts for around 12 to 15 years, giving it what Murray called a “nutty, thick, dry [taste]… as rounded as a snooker ball”.

It beat two American rivals, the bourbon William Larue Weller and Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old, which took second and third place respectively.

Mr Murray said the high quality of Japanese and other international whiskies should be a “wake up call” for the Scottish industry.

He said that the the Yamazaki tipple was "a single malt which no Scotch can at the moment get anywhere near", and that after tasting over 1000 whiskies for the new edition, he was left wondering: “Where were the complex whiskies in the prime of their lives? Where were the blends which offered bewildering layers of depth?”

Kai Ivalo, of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, said that Japanese whiskies have gone from strength to strength in recent years, so award success was "inevitable and perhaps overdue".

He added that more and more people were becoming aware of whiskies from around the world. "This is probably related to the success of Scotch in recent years; people are become more adventurous and curious. They are discovering new experiences which lead them to try different styles of whisky, including whiskies from other countries.”

Whisky expert Sam Simmons said the Japanese whisky was a "stunning" drink and a worthy winner, but thought it was "balderdash" to decry the Scottish whisky industry as uninventive.

"The assumption from Murray’s statements is that Japanese whisky has an edge on Scotch because of a stronger vision or wilder innovation," he said. "But when it comes to innovations, like using local barley or local oak, there are precedents in Scotch in every case. So in what way is Japanese whisky’s success due to innovations that Scotch lacks? It is due to releasing top quality malt whiskies."

Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 is available in specialist whisky shops and online for around £100.

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[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Yamazaki = Boring. If you like Macallan and the Highland whiskies, then you will like the Yamazakis. Personally, I like a whisky that puts up a fight. Make it an Islay, please!

[cranefly]

A bit off-topic, but what the hey...

One Photographer's Quest to Figure Out What Causes Scotch Whisky Rings

http://io9.com/one-photographers-quest-t...1663003454

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I saw that article. Was tempted to post it here, too.

[thatguy]

I can relate...

[youtube]4dyM41174nM[/youtube]

--tg
(look ma, no arms! :drinkers: )

[cranefly]

I'm hardly a connoisseur, but thought I'd pass this on in case it's of any value:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/...stmas.html

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

That must be a meme, since not ten minutes ago I shared it with Angus on Facebook.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

FWIW I think it is a handy guide.

[Drunk Monk]

2015 Whisky Advent Calendar

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://hiconsumption.com/2015/11/2015-whisky-advent-calendar/">http://hiconsumption.com/2015/11/2015-w ... -calendar/</a><!-- m -->

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

The Whisky Fairy was very generous to me this year, so you are all invited to stop by my little shop of horror for a dram whenever you are in the neighborhood at the same time I am. Seriously, the spectrum of Scotch is on tasty display.

[Drunk Monk]

[cranefly]

In a statement, Wayne jokes, "Whiskey... it's such a volatile drink. Upon pouring a drink It's like accepting that you may become a werewolf... And really... Who doesn't want to become a werewolf ??? Ha..."

The 80-proof tipple is described as a mixture of "rye, corn and malted barley grown within 150 miles" of the company's distillery in Evanston, Illinois, but the limited edition drink won't come cheap - it will retail at $124.99 (£97) when it hits shelves in October (16).

http://www.tv3.ie/xpose/article/entertai...skey-brand

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I saw a werewolf in Trader Vic's; his hair was perfect.

[Greg]

What was he drinking?