Favorite Wiskey

>make your own whiskey

I've had both "real" Moonshine from Down South and some that my neighbor made in his garage it felt like drinking Alien acid blood...

Our stuff is the hit of my town, everyone that likes booze loves it. Its 110 proof and pure corn liquor.

All whiskey tastes the same, you're just fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Go drink some Jameson and then try some Lagavulin 16 and tell me if you think they taste the same.

What's your process and mashbill? I've been looking into making my own whisky for a while and im debating whether to do a pure malted barley or a low rye bourbon mash.

I bought into the meme. Too much for me. I enjoyed the glenmorangie quite a lot, but this was just too smokey for me.

Got another small bottle of glenmorangie as it was on offer and better value than the big one.

Not sure what to try next. Something sweeter.

how's the glenmorangie?

>I’ve had the same bottle of Laphroaig sitting in my kitchen cabinet for about 20 years now
No you haven't.

Delicate and citrus. It says "elegant floral spirit" on the bottle and I'd agree with that.

I'm new to whisky so my taste will reflect that but I liked it better than The Famous Grouse and Jameson I tried before it. Also a bottle of Glenlivet but that was a few years ago so cant remember it well.

Another thing I've noticed with all whiskys is that they seem to taste much smoother a couple of weeks after the bottle was opened. Not sure If I've jut got used to the taste or if its a reaction to oxygen or something.

I find charts like this to be useful.

For me, it's the Laphroaig. The perfect whisky beverage.

Not true but it's close enough that if OP ever "turned alcoholic" they'd eventually reach the bottom shelf in time

We all float down here.

Bottom shelf winner. I drink to get drunk, not the taste. Besides, my tongue is completely number after the 3rd drink. Useless.

*one square foot.

Everything Highland Park and above is a treat. Staycation in a bottle.

>buddy and I go out and both buy a random bottle of Islay Scotch
>I get Talisker, he gets Laphroaig
I have never been so fucking jealous of another man's alcohol than I have been on that day

My favourite so far is probably Balvenie though

The process is fairly simple. We mash in on Monday and by Saturday the yeast has usually done its job. Then we kill the yeast, remove the solids and transfer the remaining liquid into the still for distillation.

The still we use is an old antique 5 gallon copper pot still and the worm i made out of copper refrigerant piping since you can buy it already coiled its just a matter of stretching it out and put into a rain barrel for cooling.

For our mash we use mostly corn, we started with cracked feed corn but found that sweet corn results in higher initial proofs. We use 2-row milled barley as an enzyme for the yeast and some brown sugar to boost the proof. Our first yeast we used was "Turbo Yeast" but we've since switched to a Tennessee Whiskey Yeast.

The stuff in my initial picture is 2 types we make, raw shine in the jar and aged on the left side. We have 3 liter aging barrels.

I can go into more detail about the process itself like temps and test equipment if you want but its pretty straight forward. Oh and we do two distillations.

What about Japanese whiskey, or is that considered a meme?
Hotel fucked up our reservation and I asked how it was possible that we reserved a room and they gave it away, and I got a $50 lounge voucher.
Had a glass of Yamazaki with it and I really enjoyed it.

get fucked, Laphroaig tastes like TCP

What is it with you yanks and Scotch? it's blended coffey still shite, when you get some taste you'll learn our whiskey is far superior

Solid as a cheaper scotch but people memeing about it have artificially drove the price and rarity far, far above its quality. It would be competitive around the $45 pricepoint, once the artificial hype dies down it will probably drop back to that price.

>our whiskey

I'm sorry where are you from?

is the black much different from the famous grouse? I have a bottle of the famous and honestly I need to mix it to get it down. Other scotch I can drink neat and enjoy immensely.

>all whisky tastes the same
>all rum tastes the same
>all beer tastes the same
>all soda tastes the same
>all meat tastes the same

low quality b8 m8

I'm new to scotch but I quite liked the glenlivet 12 and monkey shoulder

I'm a homebrewer of wine, beer and mead so I'm familiar with the fermentation but somewhat nervous about the next step. Through my homebrewing friends I've met someone that sells a homemade still for $750.00 but that seems pricey. I built a brick pizza oven simply off a diagram (not a blueprint). Do you have a diagram of yours? Please post. And a detailed explanation after initial fermentation.

I tasted one of his aged in an old oak wine barrel and it was pheomenal.

Japanese whisky used to be some of the best bang for your buck whisky 5 years ago until Jim Murray ruined everything and made Yamazaki 12 his whisky of the year and ever since prices doubled and demand went crazy. Indian whisky will likely be next since Amrut.

Here's a quick Paint drawing of the setup. Pretty simple, all you need is somewhere to heat the mash(still) and somewhere to cool it back down(worm). Inside the rain bucket is cold water, it'll heat up during the process so you need a way to drain hot water and replace with cold (we just use a hose).

As you may know, anything with alcohol in it can be distilled, you could pour budweiser in it and distill the alcohol out of it. So if you're a homebrewer I'll spare you the mash process and go to the final step.

Get your mash in the still and get it heating (we use a propane burner). Make sure you have some way to monitor temps (we have a thermometer on the side). once it gets up to 172F you'll want to hold the temp there for awhile, this is where the booze you want to drink will begin to boil. After some time you'll get it coming out of the worm. THROW THE FIRST FEW OUNCES AWAY ITS POISON. Then using a proof hydrometer monitor the proof coming out of the worm, it will start fairly high and then begin dropping. Once it gets low and the booze starts getting cloudy you can stop the heat (we save the remaining stuff in the still for a further process but its not necessary). We do this process 5 times over 5 weeks and then take everything we get and pour it back in for another distillation. This is where you will get HIGH proofs, and then proof it down to wherever you want to drink it, we choose 110p.

>tfw you love Alcohol but scared it'all make you fat(ter)
I'm not even close to being thin but I lost 50 pounds and I fucking envy my buddy who drinks like a fish and still looks better than me.

I just wanna relax with a Martini after work.

Well obviously alcohol is empty calories but if that's your main concern then liquor is the way to go. Having a martini after work isn't going to turn you into a lardass, there's easier avenues to get that done.

Sometimes I like being a tryhard and making fancy cocktails, its fun.

What I do is have maybe 4 quarter ounces of scotch I like and I enjoy it and stop. I also find moderation good with peattier whisky because it can stain your teeth if you aren't having a good amount of water afterwards.

>tfw check my one square foot of land
>surrounded by germans like it was ww2

Is your booze made from cooking oil or something?

Great. Thanks, pretty clear information. So after my initial fermentation, run that through my still built according to your instructions. I think I'll try this. I've always got a mead or wine brewing. The copper coil might be tricky, though. But I use one to cool my beer wort, so maybe I can get away with something like that.

Thanks. A lot cheaper than $750.

Copper is very important, its nonreactive. Like I said for the worm I just bought refrigerator piping from Home Depot, it comes coiled and you just need to stretch it out and secure its shape with some wire.

I'm friends with some guys that have a super small brewery and they always give us the experimental fuckup beers they make that are shit for us to distill the alcohol out of it, so it really works out to have a still. I don't know what country you're from but in America its a felony to make shine so be careful.

Best whiskey for its price imo.

Bullshit. JB Black is better than that, as is every $50+ bottle I've had.

>'murrica, the land of freedom, it's a felony.

Gotcha. I'm aware of that, but of course it's for my own private use. They'd have to be interested for some other reason before they'd try that crap. Unless you live in the world of Herr Drumpf, who knows?

Thanks for the info.

I don't sell mine either and based on the amount I make its not on anybody's register to fuck with us. We're friends with our local police and at one time had the entire on duty police force except for the supervisors at our house for the final run we were making. Living in a small town white community has its perks.

Making liquor is only a federal crime because of how much tax money the government makes off of the stuff.

>how much tax money the government makes off of the stuff

Yeah, don't get me started on the other innocuous stuff that people are serving lengthy prison terms because they didn't pay their taxes on pot.

But you've been helpful. And I have a feeling we've got quite a bit in common in terms of fuckall the control bastards.

>Bringing up the drumpf meme for no reason
Go back to l eddit

Balvenie tastes like candy.

I enjoy Japanese whisky with dessert.

GROW UP

You're gross.

>no age statement

Talisker isn't Islay, it's considered an Island whisky.

That's literally my alchy dad's favotire Drink, OP.

Like seriously, there are empty bottles of it all over his fucking house

Yeah, NSA whisky is the thing now because hyping age finally bit them in the ass and they can't keep up with demand.

Black label for 20 €
Yey or nay ?

JW? It's not bad at all, I'd say go for it since it's so cheap. It's not great though, don't expect amazing things from it

It litterally takes years. The fuck it's not that hard!

Thanks

I love Hakushu 12. That stuff is smooooooth

I don't know what you're talking about, it takes me 6 weeks to make 5 gallons of 110 proof whiskey. If you mean to age it then we usually let it sit for 1 year. Because of the small barrels that we use it has an accelerated aging process so its not necessary to leave sitting for too long to get a good amount of flavor.

dalwhinnie 15

you can drink hard liquor on a diet as long as you don't eat while drinking.
the alcohol calories won't be stored as fat, they just get burned up, like rocket fuel.
they do take priority over whatever food it is you are digesting, so everything you eat while drinking will go straight to the fat reserves because your liver's busy shooting you to the moon.

This has been my budget goto whiskey for a while, I enjoy it a lot more than JW Black, anything else you guys would recommend for around $50?

how do you guys like birddog?

shitty or actually decent for a budget?

>drinks blended
>not single barrel

Probably the best bourbon under $200.

>turn into

Drinking flavored 'whisky' is generally frowned upon, because you might as well drink flavored vodka. But whatever floats your boat.

Is Laphroaig a good whisky to mix with coke

I think I have a type. PX is the best though. Also if each book got me one square foot I'd own half the island.

I've got a bottle of Black, is it any good? I went to the Grouse distillery and tried everything they made at the time (bout 2 years back) and none of it really stood out. But I might just be an islay fan.

I really like the Yamazaki 12. I've got a pair of Hibiki and Hibiki Masters Select, but I've only tried the non MS Hibiki and it's alright. It gets a lot nicer after I let the glass sit for an hour or two. I've been thinking of getting a bottle of Toki to see if that's any good.

Monkey Shoulder is a good entry level, it's a decent well rounded introductory whisky!

This was nice, same with the corryvreckan (I can not spell that without checking every time.)

Any of those peaty, I'm digging that atm

I've only recently delved in to single malts. Quite a variety out there. and each has it's own attributes. But this...this...campfire in a glass. It's just unbelievable...

You should drink good whisky neat, so it depends how much it costs

If you want peaty go for the PX, the first time I tried it blew my mind. It was like chewing peaty soil. It had a great slightly oily texture sometimes too that was just really satisfying to drink. It has good substance to it.

But in general the ones I've got are quite good. the select is actually one of the weakest expressions Laphroaig do. It's very weak, not quite as weak as say Islay Mist (a cheaper blend which Laphroaig is the base of, which is perfectly serviceable if you're looking for a cheap peaty drink. Black Bottle is the same thing but made with I think Ardbeg?) But in general any laph is good. Not pictured in my shot is Quarter Cask which is also quite nice, a touch fruitier but still quite peaty.

It's an experience isn't it? I can't get enough. I love the salty peaty campfire atmosphere. I'd wear it as a cologne if I could. Sometimes I pour a glass just to smell for an hour before I even get around to drinking it.

Bought it for 75 bucks. It's the triple wood version. It's way too strong for me to drink straight

if it's too strong, try adding a touch of water. It'll actually change the taste of the whisky as well. Also if you let the bottle air out the taste will change. I've had some whiskys that were unpleasant when I first opened them, but if you leave a glass out overnight to air out and try it the next day you'll get an idea of what the bottle will eventually taste like. As soon as you open a whisky the air will start getting into the bottle and the taste will slowly change. So some people own bottles immediately and then drink it 6 months later.

If you let a glass air out for a day and don't find it's improved to you taste wise then the bottle won't 'grow' on you, and you might as well try mixing it to see what works for you. Some people like Laphroaig and coke, some hate it. If you want a whisky that works REALLY well with coke go for something canadian, their whiskys are great mixers. Something like a bottle of Collingwood is actually really nice mixed with coke. (to me at least. I'm getting into drinking my stuff neat so I've stopped mixing.)

some people OPEN bottles immediately and drink it 6 months later, sorry.

Hell, I've had bottles open for years.

Question for you guys. Today is my birthday. Girlfriend bought me (pic related) fucker two weeks ago as some sort of gift in advance. I got to chose it. I love it.

Today she offered me another bottle: Glenffidich 18. she picked it herself and told me she kept the receipt in case I wanted to change it for another one. I think I don't want to keep that thing since it's so damn expensive (around $90 here in switzerland) and given the reviews I read it's not worth it. Any of you ever tasted this one ?

You should taste it yourself and see if it's worth it. If you just go on reviews you'll miss out on stuff you really like. Just because some doofus says it isn't worth the cost doesn't mean you won't love it, and even if you end up agreeing you've still expanded your palette. Life's short, never pass up the opportunity to try a new whisky

Sounds good PX it is

So what does "aging" refer to? Johnnie Walker Black Label is a cheap and common whiskey, "aged" 12 years. Does it mean that it literally sat in some barrel for 12 years, or does "aging" refer to some process that replicated actual years-old whiskey?

75 is getting into decent territory. You can have it on the rocks or with a bit of water i guess

Yeah it actually sat in a barrel for that long. The longer it sits, the more flavor imparted from the actual barrel.

So they make batches of even the most common whiskey 12 years in advance?
Bloody hell, that's some dedication

That's why you'll find there's a lot of price elitism with aged liquors like whiskey, cognac, and more recently rum. Gin and vodka are traditionally unaged and therefore don't require the same amount of dedication.

But what do I know I love gin.

...

Been enjoying this recently, can't believe how good it is for £20.

Widow Jane is around the $50 dollar range and I find it very good.

Angel's Envy is also another good one for the $50 dollar range.

Glenlivet 18 is okay but you can find better.
If you like sherrybombs look around for Glenfarclas 105 if you haven't had it yet, it has a nice rich spicy quality like a lot of signature speysides and more light fruits rather then darker richer red flesh fruits the A'bunadh has.

It sounds promising since it's finished in sherry butts rather then seasoned or refill casks, however NAS and 80 proof for £35 sounds a bit steep. Is the spirit mature enough in your perspective?

It is currently £20 in Morrisons and I think in Tesco too if you are in the UK. I think £35 is a bit steep considering what else you can get for that price, but having said that it does not taste like a spirit that is "too young".

It is a little unassuming, but very approachable and nice to sip on. I would recommend picking up a bottle, but not at £35.

Unfortunately I'm in Canada so I won't be seeing this until 2017 or 2018 but even in 2018 I'll probably be more inclined to save up for the next batch of Glendronach 18. I just hope LCBO carries this for a price that's not over $60 because they're notorious for overpricing specific brands.
>mfw Balvenie 12 SB is $150 in Ontario
>15 SB is $270
Kill me

Lads, I was given pic related as a gift last week at work. Is it any good? I know know fuck all about whisky. Should I just regift it?

You can always just try it and see if you like it, expanding your palette is always good but if you're worried about it and you can find two bottles you're interested in for half the price of the G18 then swap it for something that looks more appealing. Personally I'm not really a fan of fiddich but it is a huge brand which means a lot of people DO love it.

let us know what you think of the PX user.

Fellow Ontario victim here, I share your pain. Although we are in the same province as the largest collection of whisky in canada. Check out The Dam pub in Collingwood if you haven't already. They have about 900 single malts. I travel up there just to go to The Dam sometimes. (10 drinks gets you a free glass) I have certainly 'expanded my palette' there.

Since JW is a blend it usually means the youngest whisky IN the mix is at least 12 years old. Then the mix is re-casked to marry together and released. But yeah basically every age stated whiskey has sat in a barrel that long! It doesn't age once bottled.

I'll put that on my to consider list, what did you think of it? General taste impressions?

Keep it user, have a taste. It's supposedly quite easy to drink for a newcomer. If you find you like the taste. Try it neat without ice and water first to see what you think. It's got a good reputation and wasn't cheap by the looks of it!

>If you like sherrybombs look around for Glenfarclas 105

This is the thing. I'm more of a peathead and when it comes to sherry bombs the Aberlour a'bunadh from the pic fill my needs for now. I might go for Laphroaig QC instead of the fiddich 18.

I bought one just to try it 2 years ago.
I'm not an expert but I really liked it. Smooth and light in mouth if I can use those words.
I would buy it a second time.

you also added an unnecessary "e" but whatever. Also what so special about the select that makes you wanna go full drunk ?