M. Bardamu
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What many people consider "smooth" is likely to be construed as "lacking character", "unchallenging", by serious SMSW aficionados.
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You're gonna look like a douche if you bring it up around anyone. To start drinking scotch you need to kill your tastebuds first. Drink ****** whiskey from the bottle at room temperature for a week first. About 5 ounces a night should do it for you. Move on to an okay whiskey from there, same gig. Eventually you won't gag, and then you can start trying $50 bottles.
What many people consider "smooth" is likely to be construed as "lacking character", "unchallenging", by serious SMSW aficionados.
I find blends like Johnny Black, J+B, and the Japanese blended malts to be far hotter and less smooth than any decent single malt out there. There are some real raunchy single malts like Tobermory, but still I think that even those hit me harsher than Johnny black or J+B.
If you read Robertson's tract in its entirety he makes the point quite convincingly that what people find harsh or "hot" about whisky is either the amount of raw grain alcohol or the lack of aging. When the whisky is aged it picks up oils and flavours from the cask that mask the harshness of the grain alcohol. Heavy reek does the same thing Sweetness will also mask the grain alcohol. That's why young women (young men too) like mixed drinks and alco-pops--the sweetness masks the taste of the alcohol.1- Single Malt Scotch Whisky- can only come from Scotland- an' must be made by one distillery only- an' must be made from 100% malted barley... an it must be aged in wood in Scotland for no less than three years... (I refer to this as "malt") examples; Macallan, Glenfiddich, Laphroiag, Talisker, Bladnoch, Glenkinchie, Balvenie... 2- Blended Scotch Whisky- can only come from Scotland- an' will be a blend of many many different single malts along with a lot o' grain alcohol (this is like vodka- but it is aged in wood like malt whisky is)... it is not made from 100% malted barley... it is a mix of malted barley, unmalted barley, wheat, maize (corn), rice, an other grains... an it must be aged in wood in Scotland for no less than three years... (I refer to this as "whisky" or "blended whisky"") Most blended whiskies contain between 2%-40% malt... the rest is grain... examples; Famous Grouse, White & MacKay (pronounced- McKIY), Johnny Walker, J&B (only 2% malt), Cutty Sark, Grant's, Pig's Nose.... 3- Vatted Malt- Pure Malt- Blended Malt Scotch Whiskies- are all the same thing... they can only come from Scotland- they can only be made of Malt (no grain alcohol) they are made by several distilleries an' vatted together- an' must be made from100% malted barley... an it must be aged in wood in Scotland for no less than three years... (I refer to this as "vatted malt") examples; Compass Box, John Mark & Robbo's, Sheep Dip...
Everyone that thinks 'smooth' is a n00b word is pretty cool from where I'm standing. I just bought a bottle of 10yo Talisker. I thought it was pretty smooth. My GF, not a whisky drinker, thought it very nice. Funny thing, the next day after two rigorous brushings and breakfast and lunch, I could still taste/smell that (bold) smokey flavor on me. Please, real scotch drinkers, enlighten me. Is Talisker smooth? I'm far too inexperienced to know.
I don't drink a lot. And malts are not meant to be guzzled anyway. So I tend to buy good malts and older malts, perhaps more expensive, malts--12 year old or older. Personally I think the Talisker 10 is very nice...kind of a good cross between the Highland Malts and the Islay malts...but the 18 is better, of course.the VAST majority of flavour in malt comes from the cask it is matured in.... the grain, water, yeast, peat smoke play a much smaller part in creating the flavours... all the colour in malt comes from the cask....(unless it is added artificially by the bottler during blending orr bottling....all blended whiskies an all usa whiskies are artifically coloured) in Scotland, whisky must be matured in a cask in Scotland fur at least 3 year. Most single malt are aged between 8-12 years.... older does NOT mean better.... often older single malt is exceptional... because the extra years in the oak usually adds more sweetness and toasted flavours and removes many sharp or harsh flavours... but not always... and as a general rule.. if you put bad malt into a cask... you will get bad malt out... no matter how many years in is in a cask...
Everyone that thinks 'smooth' is a n00b word is pretty cool from where I'm standing.
EDIT: P.S. many connoisseurs lament that Talisker has indeed become smoother and lost some of its white-pepper fire, but I wouldn't call it "smooth" as the term is widely understood.
What are really talking about here? I want to say that in the context of this discussion we're talking about single malts for the most part.
Everyone that thinks 'smooth' is a n00b word is pretty cool from where I'm standing.
Lag 16, Talisker 10, Bowmore 12 and 18 - these I find extremely smooth. I think others here may disagree on that, but I could drink those all day. Scotches like Laphroaig CS or QC, Caol Ila, Ardbeg - I think there's a consensus that those are pretty serious and will put you on your ass.