Whiskey Forgery

[Ihasadram]

I've been amusing myself cloning some single malts. I've managed some fairly close forgeries of unpeated single malts using vodka and/or bourbon, etc, as a base, and adding a little sherry and/or port. For example, I've gotten close enough to Tobermory 15 that the local shortage does not phase me. However, I am not sure how to achieve a peated flavor. I'm aware of varieties of liquid smoke, but I'm not sure if any of those available are similar to peat smoke. Some varieties I can order are Mesquite, Hickory, and Applewood. Any idea which, if any if these might be reasonably close?

[jcarrick]

It is difficult to say how they would taste when added to alcohol, the peat we find in our whisky is quite unique in each whisky so it depends which flavour of peat you are going for, if it was say a smoky BBQ flavour then perhaps Hickory could provide that.

If you come up with a recipe to reproduce Ardbeg for under £5 do let me know

[WinBase]

I personally know several neighbours on the same street who make their own whisky/vodka/rum by using a biostill then adding various flavourings they purchase from places a far away as new zealand. I was a tad dubious about what it would taste like neat, seeing as it was weeks rather than years old & at 70%, but have to confess it was better than the gutrot id pre-imagined it to be. While not something to savour as you would with a good scotch, it would be hard to tell by someone given it with dry ginger or coke to know it wasnt the 'real thing' compared to bells or whatever other cheap blended crap you get, and at a couple of quid a bottle they all seem happy enough

[bluepeter]

[sorren]

My question is WHY ??????

[Acksboy]

[Acksboy]

[TheWM]

[sorren]

But that's not fake whisky..
in theory any sherried whisky or whisky matured in bourbon barrels has had some liquid added.. only virgin oak can be truly untainted.. but I just don't get the trying to make something that tastes like whisky.. or fake whisky..

[TheWM]

I totally agree - it's a bit vegetarian sausage. But some folks don't mind it...

[bluepeter]

[bluepeter]

[WinBase]

[bluepeter]

[Ihasadram]

For those you curious as to my particular motivation, I am having a great deal of difficulty obtaining Tobermory 15. There was a time when it was plentiful, but it has been scarce for over a year now. For example, I waited several weeks for a shipment to come in, and got there the day of, only to learn someone else beat me there and bought all three cases. I've placed orders several times, and I've only received one bottle to date. So I originally tried adding a bit of sherry to other unpeated scotches, but there was always too much oak/spice in those scotches. I eventually tried vodka as the base, and got very close by adding a little port along with the sherry. The experience, however, has led to a desire to experiment. In particular, I would like to try to clone Lagavulin 16, which has also become difficult to obtain the past few months.