MMMMMMmmmmmm, Bowmore single malt and man flu

Fucking middle of a cunting British summer and the whole family (except
eldest daughter somehow) has a cold, ffs!

For some reason it's hit me hardest so at SWMBO's insistance, whisky is
called for! Fucking excellent, so Im sat now with a bottle of Bowmore
Islay Single Malt in front of me and a glass with 2 cubes of ice and
lashings of whisky.

Either it will help, or stop my whining, which is what I think SWMBO's
plan is all along

 

I've got a bottle of a special edition Bowmore Port Cask somewhere which
is excellent for such situations.

Funnily enough, it looks like I was a fool to drink it, because it's
currently trading for 3x what ISTR paying...

 

burn the heretic! a little spting water, yes, ice? what are you some sort
of colonial?

 

Mate, she's a keeper ...

Paul.

[1] Me, I'm outside of a cheap bottle of Aberlour, which really isn't
cutting the mustard ..

 

heh, I was about to post something very similar.

Ice, FFS! I didn't realise Donnie was a Septic.

 

I have no qualms whatsover adding water to whisky in the form of ice.
Although if it was a very nice Islay single malt I'd probably stick with
a small jug of water.

For man flu I'd probably have a Whisky Mac, although for that I'd use
one of the better blended Scotch Whiskys.

 

Personally I'd leave out the whisky, but I've never understood why
people get so shouty about such things. If someone wants to put ice,
or coke, or whatever, in their single-malt scotch, their VSOP cognac
or their fucking Dom Pérignon then why the hell shouldn't they?

 

Nah, just a higgerant culchie.

I'm with you on that one. Through yearsh of experimentashun I've come
to realise that a drop of water releases all sorts of flavours and
aromas that otherwise stay hidden - and all sorts of hangovers too.
Takes the edge of some of the harsher stuff too - I get no pleasure
from a cask strength Laphroiag for example - I'm too busy wheezing and
crying.

Supermarket own brand for that: I always keep a bottle of cooking
whisky for that purpose.

One of my peccadilloes is smuggling the odd bottle of likely-to-be
execrable whisk(e)y into the house concealed at the bottom of a bag.
I've found some gems, though - the bottle of Aldi Irish malt, for
example: smooth, sweet, smokey. Even lovelier for its price, at about
eight quid. Bell's Islander: a blend of Islay malts - again,
unexpectedly smooth and very palatable and at a palatable price.
Finding a diamond in a turd, that's what I like to do.

 

There is an Islay blend called Black Bottle which is pretty great for
the money, specially the 10 y.o.

 

*applause*

 

I'm not unfamiliar with BB, nor its close relly, Poit Dubh. I'm an
equal opportunity whisky drinker, I guess - given the opportunity, I'll
drink the bugger.

I do have a strong preference for Scottish Single Malts and within
that, the smoother and tastier the better, preferably well-peated with
a bit of smoke. Sweetness is often a good thing, medicinal seaweed has
its place but not high on my list. As my palate ages it has become
less refined and I find I'm erring towards the stronger tastes, however
- I'd never have gone for the investigations into blends and vatted
malts twenty years ago, but it has been and continues to be a valuable
and largely enjoyable experience. Every day's a schoolday - the older
I get, the more I realise I don't know.

 

That's a nasty dose of clap you've got there. You can get tablets for
that, you know.

Anyway - whisky and ice. With a blend it makes little difference at
what temperature you drink it. With an American whisky or bourbon, it
makes little difference apart from taking the edge off the raw spirit
which can be improved again by adding Coke and, in some cases, leaving
out the spirit altogether.

A Scottish single malt, otoh, is intended to be consumed at room
temperature and if chilled may well throw a haze in disgust. Chilling
it affects the flavour, and not in a good way. Adding water also
affects the flavour, but not in a noticeably bad way in that with most
malts it will just take the edge off as the spirit is diluted, but with
some it allows the spirit to come out of the shade and allows full
flavour development. Sticking ice in it is rather like being served a
fine steak in a fine restaurant and immediately covering it in English
mustard, just because you "like the taste of mustard", in which case
you might as well cover a burger with mustard and leave the steak for
somebody who appreciates it.

 

IN YOUR OPINION.

Why do you feel that everyone has to share your tastes?

I mean, I don't like my fillet steak cooked to a cinder and smothered
in ketchup, but I have a good friend who does, and while it can be
embarrassing explaining it to a French waiter, I don't see any reason
he should not continue to do so.

 

One I & many others would share too. I was once stranded in a place
called Latheron Wheel for a few days. It was pretty clear in the bar
there that asking for anything other than a glass & maybe a drop of
water with a malt would see you refused service.

My youngest insists on having ketchup with popadoms.

 

He's obviously a complete heathen. He forgot the coke.

 

Yes, dear. No need to shout. I knew I'd hook you with my response, in
the same way that you knew you'd hook me with this one. I only offer
my opinions, especially when something concerns tastes which are,
obviously very subjective. In this case the above is not just my
opinion however, it is an opinion shared widely amongst many whisky
drinkers and not only the casual drinking types, but those who style
themselves connisseurs of the water of life, not to mention those who
make a living writing about it (the filthy hacks).

Where did I state that? You carefully snipped the justification I made
for my opinion, so you must have removed the part where I made it law
to comply. Single malt whisky, unlike many other spirits, is not
chill-filtered to the full extent of the process. This leaves
congeners present in the spirit and it is their presence that will
cause a haze to form if whisky is chilled. The haze is not an
indication that the whisky is contaminated, but it is an indicator that
something has occurred, and not in a good way.

Apart from anything else, the addition of ice will lower the
temperature of the spirit to a level where the taste will change and
IME not for the better. Not only that, but it will chill and even numb
the tongue, dulling the sense of taste - and what's the point of that
when you've paid thirty quid for a bottle of something that tastes
nice? Single malt whisky is not intended to be drunk as a cooling,
refreshing draught, you know.

But would he suggest that you have your steak as he has his? I used to
prefer steak well-done. I mean, I liked it crispy round the edges. I
understood this to be a test of a chef, in that if he can cook it to
such a level and retain juices within the meat, he's doing a good job.
Some years ago, I was presented with a steak which was anything but
well done and I realised the error of my ways and the error of
'testing' chefs. It tasted so much more pleasant and was much more
tender. I still don't like it Burnt-style, mind, I don't really want a
puddle of blood on my plate as I might confuse it with the ketchup.
Medium rare is as much as I like it cooked sur le continong, but I'll
go rare in the UK.

I do not try to dictate how people take their whisky, but I will try to
give them the benefit of thirty years experimentation. If a visitor
asks for ice when I dribble them a tot of 1978 Ardbeg, I'd grind my
teeth, mind. Then I'd get them to try it without and see what they
think. This approach has worked well so far, but if a visitor insisted
on dumping a mixer in the galss with the whisky, they wouldn't get the
hundred quid a bottle stuff. I mean, get real!

 

I've spent a lot of time getting stoned and drunk in that very location.
Couple of New Years too. Until my mate Chicken George died of a heart
atttack before reaching 30. Mushroom grew in some abundance in the vicinity.
You would indeed be frowned upon for spoiling good malt. Though we consumed
Woods rum more regularly.

Did you find Whaligoe Steps during your stay.

 

On Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:08:55 +0000 (UTC), "SIRPip"

snip>

What a load of bollocks.

So you advocate denying something they like because you think it's
wrong? Next thing you'll be saying nobody can have a litre class
sports bike unless they can ride it to it's limits all the time.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, boots

Christ, I hope they go bust.

That sort of bollocks is absolute pretension. I'm the paying customer,
*I* choose how I have my food and drink.

 

Didn't do any exploring, I was sans car[1] waiting for a replacement
before proceeding to Kirkwall to bring the benefits of mobile
telephony to the deprived islanders.

[1] Having comprehensively stuffed a 3 month old Vogue EFI into an icy
ditch.