The way I was told on my last distillery tour was to fill the glass with water then tip it out, what clings to the inside through surface tension is the right amount, no more no less. I don't usually take water or ice with any spirits, but first glass of a new bottle I will do the above to get to the more delicate flavours.
This is a good idea. I like it. I very rarely take water with any whisky (unless it is cask strength)! It's only a good idea if you include a signed photo with the bottle...
Fair dos mate, I prefer not to cool it down as it's generally cool enough here any way and I find that ice causes a loss of flavour - it might be psychological but I prefer to drink it at room temperature. Part of it is also how you're taught, the person that taught me would actually refuse service to someone if they asked for ice with a single malt (it was his pub, he had over 50 different single malts for sale ). I've never been quite that bad but it definitely merits at least a when seeing the combination as it just strikes me as alien. I'd expect that the ice doesn't exactly stay in solid form very long where your are though! As far as quantity of water is concerned, that may be the opinion of different distilleries as Jamesons were very clear about equal amounts and actually provided tasters poured that way for everyone when I was last there before following it with neat. I generally only add a splash when I have something over the 45% ABV mark though as I find it a little harsh for my palate without it. Otherwise the only thing that gets added to my whisky is more of the same
Sounds like a terrible idea. How about you send it to me and I'll organize the competition, makes it more.... fair. Yes, fair
I have a few special edition bottles lying about, no way I can bring myself to drink them but I don't want to let go of them either. Always good to have something to win the future father-in-law over with though I guess.
I can't compete anyway. Sending Booze this way is not on. Even online shops want >60 GBP shipping on 3 bottles. As for the whole water/ice debate: Good point. "room temperature" is a bit subjective. 32 Celsius is quite lukewarm. Unlike most Europeans, we drink pretty much EVERYTHING cold ('cept for coffee, tea and hot chocolate, and even those are negotiable). Adding ice to whisky around here simply means that we're bringing it down to euro-room temperature and adding a splash of water. Also, a number of the single malts I have had are cask strength... that justifies it a bit.
I start feeling seriously uncomfortable when it gets above 20 C, 16-18 C is the sweet spot for me - for whisky and everything else. A lump of ice when it's 30+ C would probably go straight down my gullet rather than reaching the glass! When you're paying that much for shipping you'd have to be bleedin' daft to buy anything other than cask strength! Besides, no need to justify it - it's personal preference and/or cultural influence. We've had three different answers in the thread so far with respect to whisky, water and ice, I'd like to know how many others there are. I can't afford to be a whisky elitist so generally stick with what's within budget - Jura just happens to be £27ish in the local Co-Op so I'm enjoying a glass or two of it at the moment. It's rather too easy to drink - damn stuff goes down like water. Most blends are the same ABV with twice the burn and a tenth of the flavour!
They haven't been mentioned and I wonder if that's due to lack of opinion, or not considering them a valid option... what are the thoughts on whiskey stones? Chilled drink without diluting the flavor, seems win/win.
In case you hadn't already guessed I'm rather averse to chilling whisky at all. If I was drinking a bourbon or blend maybe but otherwise? *spits* The subtle flavours and undertones are lost if you chill it too much. Then again, I was brought up in the elitist, English whisky snob school so 15 - 25 C is the right temperature range for me. If you need to drop the temperature and it isn't cask strength then I might forgive you
I rather hope that you're trolling - having to hunt people down and murder them is just so messy and very rude! I'd be utterly mortified afterwards of course but there are limits to what's acceptable in civilised society. Could we perhaps make an appointment for the murdering? I hate to be a bother but standards must be maintained
Standards were maintained I didn't suggest Diet Coke also I like whiskey and coke fair enough the whiskey has to be a cheap blend of which the coke hides the taste. A single malt on the other hand that needs to be enjoyed neat On a side note its not me that needs murdering. I know some one who likes mixing coke with really cheap wine. he calls it a helicopter apparently its something he started drinking in south Africa years ago. To give him some credit though he only drinks it when its a really hot day and he's sat in the garden.
I always maintain that there's roughly 3 price brackets of whiskey. #1 is the cheap rubbish. Around this part of the world, we categorise Scottish Leader, Harrier and other rubbish (there's a whiskey in an Africa shaped bottle that's particularly vile, as nice as the bottle is). The stuff is cheap, and about as much fun to drink as nail polish remover (YMMV, of course). This bracket includes (my opinion) Johnnie Walker Red Label, for example. It's the kind of bottle that you get when one of your mates rocks up and couldn't find brandy (around here, folks drink cheap brandy and coke ALL THE TIME). I don't touch it, and my less civilised mates can chase that with whatever the hell they want. #2 is the "drinking whisky" It's not ridiculously priced, but quite pleasant. As such, I tend to buy them for myself, and not mind sharing. When a mate pours coke over it, I'll get quite irritated, though. Thi includes the Chivas 12, Johnnie Walker Black, Bushmills and some cheaper single malts. #3 is the "very nice but my wallet hurts" bracket. A lot of the single malts fall into that bracket (in this part of the world). AS such, I don't buy them for myself. If I did, I'd open the bottle, give my friends a taste, and then frown when they want more... that's not the point of a good drink. So I buy them for (whisky appreciative) friends' birthdays. That way, they share, since they didn't have to pay for it. I win, they win.
For scotch I generally get Speyside Shieldaig 18 yr old which is about $40 USD a bottle. Not much of a whiskey drinker otherwise.
