New to Whisky

[barnster]

Hi all,
Have been drinking ales and cheap spirits for years but would really like to experience a good single malt whisky.
Can anyone recommend a bottle or two to start off with ? Any advice would be welcomed.
Many thanks

Barnster

[sorren]

Hi and welcome to the forum,
It's best to start with the basic styles, you could try the normal ones like Glenfiddich 12, glenmorangie original, old pultney, aberlour 10, there are also the supermarket own brands, usually come in speyside, islay or highland, once you have tried these and you have an idea of the style you like then you can go for something better, it's all about the journey.. It's long and hard but very worth wile and enjoyable.. Have fun..

[barnster]

Many thanks for the quick reply.

It seams a real minefield to the uninitiated, I have read a lot of favourable reviews of Old Pulteney so think I may invest in a bottle of that to start with.
Looking forward to taste testing a few more over the coming months !

[opelfruit]

A lot of the minefield issue comes from bottles saying various things and the average casual consumer (who said bottles are actually aimed and marketed at) not understanding what those things actually mean.

Once you understand the terminology and some basics around whisky production and bottling then it becomes a lot easier to navigate.

I'll start.


Whisky

Any grain can be used to make whisky but to be Malt Whisky it must be distilled entirely from malted barley. To be a Single Malt it must be distilled entirely from malted barley and at one distillery (displayed on the label). It has to be bottled at a minimum of 40% abv.

Whisky is aged in oak casks for a minimum period of 3 years, for Scotch it has to be distilled aged and bottled in Scotland. Any grain can be used to make whisky but to be Malt Whisky it must be distilled entirely from malted barley. To be a Single Malt it must be distilled entirely from malted barley and at one distillery (displayed on the label).

So a Single Malt Scotch Whisky is an alchoholic liquid (minium bottling strength of 40% abv) that is distilled entirely from malted barley and comes from 1 distillery.


Colouring



Whisky can contain a natural colourant called e150b. It's a type of caramel colouring and the idea is that it can be used to make the end product in the bottle look the same from batch to batch, so the consumer doesn't get any supprises. Whisky is a natural product and so is oak so there are going to be variations each time, adding colouring makes the bottlings from a distillery all look the same.

Beware, just because it's a deep and rich mahogany colour doesn't mean it's spent years and years in high quality cask....it's probably just got load sof e150 in it. Don't pick on colour!! Light looking whiskies that do not contain colouring (it'll say on the label "natural colour") are often the most tastey, espeically if they are not chill filtered.


Filtering



Whisky is barrier filtered, you dont want nasty bits of char from the casks in your bottle. Often they are also chill filtered, again to give a uniform look to the bottlings. This takes out fatty conginers from the whisky, these are flavour carrying molecules and also help with mouth-feel. None chill filtered whisky (stated on the label again) have a thicker and yummier mouth-feel and often taste a lot better!


Age

This isn't the age of the whisky in the bottle. By law it's the age of the youngest whisky in the vatting. Barrels of whisky are selected, dumped and vatted together in massive vats, mixed up, barrier (and often chill filtered), watered down to bottling strength and then bottled. Often some casks in the vatting are older than others. The age displayed on the label has to be the age of the youngest whisky in the vatting (identified in full years). A cask that has aged whisky for 11 years and 364 days is only 11 years old.

Your 12 year old could contain many barrels of 20- year old whisky, if only 1 drop of 3 year old whisky is included then it can only be called "3 year old whisky". Unlikely, but possible.


Barrels

Must be oak. Often they are used barrels from the bourbon industry or sherry industry. Bourbon is the most common and cheapest cask type. They are smaller than sherry butts so offer quicker maturation. Bourbon casks give honey and vanilla flavour while sherry casks give nutty and fruity flavour. Whisky can be bottles from a vatting containing many different types of cask, sometimes port casks are used etc.

Finish

You may see "finished in blah blah" on a lable. This means the whisky was matured in some cask type (probably bourbon) and then moved over to another cask type for a period fo add extra flavour to the whisky. It gives you an indication on what the taste profile will be like.


......that's the basics, but it's MUCH more complicated than that, when you start looking at things like fermentation times, yeast strains, still types, the condensers used, how the stills are heated, at what point the "cut" is taken in the distilate....this all changes the flavour of the whisky and each distillery has their own "recipe". One for another time
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[opelfruit]

.......as well as Pultney (good standard across the range) I can recommend The Balvenie as a good start, especially the Doublewod. It's a great entry level whisky.

If you can get your hands on something like Glencadam 10 year old that is stunning, and not even for starters.


Speyside and the Highland style are often the best starting point as the flavours are less challenging and aimed more to a mass market.


Islay is very smokey, peating and medical so either a love or hate style. Marmite whisky. Try it before you buy it is my suggestion.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Quaich1]

barnster, I must applaud Opelfruit on his comments to you on the basics of single malt scotch whisky. The core points he brought up are integral and germane to understanding the history and production of this type of whisky. The best way to learn is to try a variety of single malts over time and determine what taste profiles you most prefer and start with proven starter or mid-range bottles. Others have mentioned Glenmorangie 10 Year The Original as well as Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year. I don't think I've ever come across anyone who didn't appreciate these 2 drams. Some folks like me were intrigued and enjoyed very peaty and high per cent alcohol by volume drams right from the start years ago. Lagavulin 16 did it for me, love at first taste but again everyone's palate is like personality, i.e., different from one person to another. Feel free to ask any questions you may have or that may arise as you pursue this interest.

Cheers.
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[Blackadder]

Look out for offers in the supermarkets over the next couple months and you will save quite a bit. A few i will recommend are Glenfiddich 12 & 15, Glenlivet 12, Glenmorangie 10, Highland Park 12, Dalwhinnie 15, Talisker 10 and Aberlour 10

[barnster]

Thanks all,

After some research and advice from you all, and after comparing prices ! I have decided on 3 bottles.
Old Pulteney 12 Year Old, Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old and Auchentoshan 12 Year Old.
Unfortunately tasting cannot commence until November the 1st due to sober for October.
Just one more quick question does anyone actually decant whisky ? Personally I dont understand why it would be necessary.

Barnster

[Quaich1]

[opelfruit]

I regularly decant whisky into my stomach it must evaporate or something.



.......nah, pointless. Leave it be where it is, it's own bottle is the best place for it as Murray says.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[James T]

Personally i wouldnt rate the Old Pulteney 12 very highly, if you want a good Highland malt take a look at the Dalwhinnie 15.

A short list of what i would rate very highly and wont cost the earth which I would recommend to start your Scotch single malt whisky journey is:

Glenlivet 12
Glenfiddich 15
Highland Park 12
Aberlour 10
Balvenie 12 Doublewood and 14 Caribbean cask
Glenmorangie 10 and Quinta Ruban
Talisker 10
Ardbeg 10

You will find all of these over the next few months on offer in the big supermarkets often with up to £10 off.

What i would highly recommend is get a good whisky glass to help you appreciate the whisky, a tumbler is no good. Look for a Glencairn whisky glass or a copita style whisky tasting glass they will help you appreciate the whisky. The Whisky Exchange usually has a few glasses to choose from.

[Samson]

[percyhedgehog]

I understand the idea of entry level, even though i cut my whisky teeth on Lagavulin and Laphroaig a year ago, I have since sought out many other profiles.

The beginner whisky listed so far are largely repeated in similar conversations and I wouldn't argue that. But based on my own backwards experience, I would include
Jura 10 as a nice starter due to value. Even moreso, Glengoyne 12 which has been a great surpeise to me, and without a doubt, the fastest vanishing bottle I've had the pleasure of emptying.
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Slainte

[barnster]

Thanks for all the advice, had my first few drams this weekend. Fell in love with the Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old, what a great drink, also was very surprised by the Glenlivet 12 on sale for £24 a bottle fantastic value !

[sorren]

Sounds like you are enjoying yourself, the balvenie range offers some fantastic whisky, good prices and great tastes, you will often see the doublewood on offer so keep your eyes peeled, the livit 12 can also be found a little cheaper (£20) at times, again it is a good starting point, I prefer the 15 but I'm sure you'll get round to that one day, as for the Auchentoshan 12, in my humble opinion it's a good choice although again the three wood is slightly better and the valinch is fantastic although cask strength, please remember though when tasting the Auchentoshan it is a lowlander and will be more subtle a taste, more floral, it's s lovely summer nights dram, it does not pack the power of others so is dismissed by many, hope you enjoy it, Auchentoshan is my favourite distillery so I'm glad to see you trying it...