Whatchya Drinking?

[ness]

I’m a fan of Irish too. And bourbon, Canadian, rye, brandy, tequila, rum, vodka and gin. All kinds of wine. Also like Coke, Mountain Dew, Seven Up, lemonade, limeade,  iced tea, skim milk, tomato juice and V8. And Arnold Palmer and Yoo-hoo. Carrot, prune, kraut and pickle juice, kombucha, Gatorade and Tang. 

Scotch, Yukon Jack and Southern Comfort — not so much. 

[MOPanfisher]

1 hour ago, ness said:

I’m a fan of Irish too. And bourbon, Canadian, rye, brandy, tequila, rum, vodka and gin. All kinds of wine. Also like Coke, Mountain Dew, Seven Up, lemonade, limeade,  iced tea, skim milk, tomato juice and V8. And Arnold Palmer and Yoo-hoo. Carrot, prune, kraut and pickle juice, kombucha, Gatorade and Tang. 

Scotch, Yukon Jack and Southern Comfort — not so much. 

You lost me at yoo-hoo!  I didn't used to lIke Scott but for some reason it just was delicious.

[MOPanfisher]

2 hours ago, rps said:

Glenfiddich is very good. However, I urge you to come to the dark side. Buy Redbreast Irish at what ever price point suits you. Pour two fingers. Drop in a single ice cube if you must. I'll wait.

 

I will give it a shot, no pun intended.  Will be a while before I get back to a town big enough to look for it.

[Gavin]

Kinda spoiled when it comes to scotch, have friends who are afficianodos. Did a few Robert Burns dinner celebrations when I did the books for the St Andrews. Balvenie double wood is my sweat spot. I don’t like the peaty, iodine stuff at all.

[Johnsfolly]

3 hours ago, rps said:

Buy Redbreast Irish at what ever price point suits you. Pour two fingers. Drop in a single ice cube if you must. I'll wait.

 

I'm a bit of a breast man my self😁. Really enjoy Irish single malts.

[liphunter]

11 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

I'm a bit of a breast man my self😁.

Sorry Mr. Folly. This isn't that kind of forum!    lol

[ness]

I’ve got a buddy who knows his whiskies. I told him I didn’t like the peaty/smoky flavor in scotch and he had me try one that I did like. Think it was Macallan’s. I’ll see him tonight and will ask.

Laphroig is disgusting. 

[Gavin]

We have a neighborhood  whiskey club (offshoot if the PTA) . Scotch is next meet. They intend to explore the 5 scotch regions. Mike did a nice write up on that. Will copy here next week.

[MOPanfisher]

51 minutes ago, Gavin said:

We have a neighborhood  whiskey club (offshoot if the PTA) . Scotch is next meet. They intend to explore the 5 scotch regions. Mike did a nice write up on that. Will copy here next week.

Now that's a cool club.

[Gavin]

Scotch whisky regions

Speyside

Speyside has the highest concentration of distilleries of the five regions. Over forty distilleries are clustered within the Spey valley. (The river Spey is Scotland’s second longest river, 110 miles, and its fastest flowing.) Four of the top five best selling single malts are from Speyside: Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan and Glen Grant. Speyside has no one particular type or style of whisky, with bourbon and sherry casks both commonly used for maturation. What the vast majority of Speyside whiskies have in common, however, is the absence of strong peat flavour.

Given that Speyside distilleries account for about half of all production, it’s no surprise that the best ones are always in high demand from the blenders.

Speyside malts available for investment: Auchroisk, Benrinnes, Dailuaine, Glen Moray, Glen Spey, Inchgower, Strathmilland Tombae.

 

Highland

Everything outside of Lowland, Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay falls into the general ‘Highland’ region. This includes whiskies from the mainland and from the islands (Skye, Jura, Arran, Orkney etc.). The Highland whiskies can’t be typified. From the power of Talisker to the subtlety of Glenmorangie, there is a long journey of discovery ahead for the whisky enthusiast. The Highland region is also geographically diverse, from the rugged peaks of the Cairngorms or Grampians to the heather-covered moorlands of Perthshire, or the rich arable land in the Kingdom of Fife. There are over 30 distilleries widely spread throughout the Highlands. And one distillery, Glengoyne, is frequently the subject of intense whisky debate as to whether it is a Highland or Lowland whisky. Glengoyne is situated at Dumgoyne, right on the border between the two regions. While it falls into the Highland category, the style of whisky made at Glengoyne fits well with the Lowland style.

Highland malts available for investment: Ardmore, Blair Athol, Glen Garioch, Nethermill, Teaninich, Tobermory and Tullibardine.

 

Islay

There are eight working distilleries on Islay. Most of them produce strong, peaty and smoky whiskies, which divide whisky drinkers into two camps: love or hate. There is no middle ground. These whiskies get their character from the heavily peated malt they use and from the local water which runs through thousand-year-old peat bogs. The local maltings, at Port Ellen, provide most of the malt used on the island.

However, two distilleries on the island, Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich are exceptions to the norm and produce a lighter and less peaty product. The most heavily peated malts, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Caol Ila, have a strong global following, as does the slightly lighter tasting Bowmore. The newest distillery on the island, Kilchoman, started production in late 2005.

Islay malts available for investment: Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila.

 

Lowland

The Lowland region is roughly defined by an imaginary line running between the Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland to the Firth of Tay on the east, and any distillery lying south of this line is lowland. There were many lowland distilleries in the Victorian era, and the region has undergone a resurgence this century; of its thirteen active distilleries, ten were founded after 2000.

At least six other lowland single malts are still available in bottle, but are no longer distilled: Rosebank, Kinclaith, St. Magdalene, Ladyburn, Inverleven and Littlemill.

Traditionally Lowland single malts are triple distilled but this is not true of all of them. Lowland malts tend to be light and floral in character.

Lowland malts available for investment: Auchentoshan, Borders, Kirkcowan and Strathenry.

 

Campbeltown

Campbeltown whiskies are made in the burgh of Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula. This was once the whisky capital of Scotland, with up to 28 distilleries in operation. However, there has been a steady decline in numbers and now most of the distilleries have gone out of business and little trace of them remains.

Today only three distilleries continue to produce whisky in Campbeltown: Springbank, Glengyle and Glen Scotia. The Springbank distillery produces three distinct whiskies: Springbank, Hazelburn, and Longrow. Glengyle distillery has recently been revived by J & A Mitchell and Co Ltd., who own and operate the Springbank distillery.

 

Unlike malt whiskies, grain whiskies are not given a regional classification although most of the grain distilleries are located in the Lowland region, the exception is Invergordon located in the Highland region. Grain whiskies available for investment: Cameronbridge, Invergordon, North British and Starlaw. Learn more about the distilleries making malt and grain spirit available on our platform.