Does anyone here like single malt whisky?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jun 23 2007, 08:27 PM) [snapback]467070[/snapback]</div>

For the record, I don't make it a habit to shove my somewhat extremist option about this matter down just anyones throat. I have seen a lot of destruction caused by alcohol, drugs, etc. and saw this post and what someone else had said about it being poisonous, and felt It was a good opportunity to stir the pot a bit.

Not drinking, smoking or doing drugs is how I choose to live for me and my family. My wife and I feel it is important to be the best example we can be to our child and drinking (for me) is an example we would rather not set. That being said, we have a long way to go and a lot to learn. We're only 9 months into this adventure.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(steve-o @ Jun 23 2007, 11:08 PM) [snapback]467099[/snapback]</div>

And for every destruction caused by alcohol there are millions of episodes that did not result in destruction after consuming alcohol.

 

Hundreds of people die in traffic accidents every day, too. OH NOS! YOU BETTER STOP DRIVING RIGHT NOW!!!!

 

Sheeeesh! Some people are just way too serious....

Laphroig is heavenly. Pop for the 15 year old, much more complex then the 10 year old. The taste just explodes (in a nice way).

I might have misspelled, please forgive me. It doesn't grace my house often, and seems prone to rapid evaporation once there.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wildkow @ Jun 23 2007, 02:47 AM) [snapback]466787[/snapback]</div>

Oh wow. The WigWam is one of my most favorite places to stay. The margueritas are amazing.
I like a single malt scotch now and then, too. Some I like more than others but I'm not a connoisseur.

 

I drink only a couple of times a year, but I do prefer single malt when I drink whiskey. Last weekend we were at a Highland Games and a spokesperson from Glenfiddich Distillery was there with some samples of 12, 15, 18 and 21 year. When I do drink whiskey it's Glenfiddich 12-year. I got to try the 21-year and it was quite a difference, even to my uneducated pallet.

 

Interesting to see the temperance minded instincts of tee-totaling Americans rear its ugly head in this thread about single malt whisky. I apologize to our friend from overseas; we Americans are ugly sometimes, and especially when we pontificate about what you should enjoy and do. We have a constitutional right to freedom of speech, you see, and we must impose our speech on people far and wide.

God help you if you light up a cigar in the States. We are more tolerant of misunderstood rapists, terrorists and the occasional serial killer (who just can't help himself) than we are of smokers! You can still get away with enjoying a scotch, as long as you don't smile too much. The pleasure police are out to get you.

Besides which, I doubt very much that you'll see very many people stumble-bum drunk on 21 year old scotch ... the smart drunk switches to some swill like Johnnie Walker Red long before he's falling down. We may as well be talking about how many lives have been ruined by fine wine: in truth, its the act of unscrewing the cheap wine bottle top that causes moral degradation. The stumble-bum drunk is not drinking the good stuff. Probably, he's a Jack Daniel's drinker. That Tennessean mash would make Mother Teresa mean.

Back to the subject. I'm not a snob, and I'll enjoy a fine scotch anytime. I know nothing about them, but I do know I like most of the single malts better than any of the blended scotches. Including the blended scotch Chivas Regal (several bottles of which are in the cupboard) which for me, has long been the standard to measure other common scotches against. For the special occasions, I'll drink any of the single malts and enjoy them very much ... Glenfeddish and Glenlivet are common choices around here.

Perhaps those are not "real" single malts; remember I'm from the land where not much is real, neither culture nor breasts, but I do enjoy more evenings on the deck due to our moderate climate. So I have the time to try your suggestions.

I also enjoy an Irish whiskey (as a Protestant, should I be drinking Old Bushmill's or Jameson's)? In my cupboard is a bottle given to me by an Irish boatbuilder and friend, who drove his motorbike 4 hours to Bray to grant it to me, taking one of his holidays to do so. I will need to remember to enjoy it soon.

I prefer my whiskey over ice, rather than neat. While a splash of water is acceptable in an Irish whiskey, I shudder at the thought of water coming into my scotch glass. I will not order a double: attention to sipping consistently is in order to avoid the dreaded watering down of the beverage. And its no use, you cannot make ice cubes out of scotch; it magically avoids the solid state that common water assumes so casually.

Do you drink it neat, or straight up, or whatever the terminology is there? Or does ordering it without the qualifier on the rocks suffice to have the whiskey placed before you unmodified?