What is the Scotch equivelant?

**RockyR** · 6th July 13, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by artificer

My wife got me a bottle of Smokehead for Father's Day - it is indeed very nice.

I agree with the commentator a while back that recommended Auchentoshan, the lighter, unpeated Lowland Malt would be a good place to start on Scotch Whisky.

ith:

As I'm a HUGE fan of Islay Scotches, I'm shocked and embarrassed that I've not heard of and / or tried Smokehead. Where can I purchase a bottle in PA (or online and have it shipped to myself)?

**artificer** · 6th July 13, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by RockyR

As I'm a HUGE fan of Islay Scotches, I'm shocked and embarrassed that I've not heard of and / or tried Smokehead. Where can I purchase a bottle in PA (or online and have it shipped to myself)?

A search shows it's available in NJ, NY, and RI, but I don't see any PA, so you might have to order it online.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/sm...islay+scotland

You might also want to try "Peat Monster" which is actually a blended Whisky, made of Islay and Highland Malts. It's like an extra-peaty Highland Park without some of the sweeter notes.
It's probably the BEST blended Whisky I've ever tried.

http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pe...+scotch+whisky

ith:

**English Bloke** · 7th July 13, 03:30 AM

Scott.

If you fancy a crack at another peaty blended, give this a whirl. It's stands up well to single Islays.

It's a mix of non chill-filtered malts from Ardbeg, Bowmore, Coal Ila and Port Ellen. The chap's face on the label says it all really.

Last Christmas (over here anyway) they released a cask strength version at 57.8%. That definitely need a bit more than a splash of water lemmee tell ya!!

You might be interested to hear what Ralfy Mitchell has to say...

His considered opinion of Big Peat is here

His review of your Peat Monster is here

And to bring us back to doe... Some interesting notes on Irish Whiskey and particularly Jameson is here

CAUTION: To those who haven't yet arrived at this fork in the road, these Islay flavours are nothing like Jameson whiskey!!

Edit: Just for fun, you might like to see what Ralfy has to say about this recent innovation... Not that I have an interest obviously.

**creagdhubh** · 9th July 13, 05:44 AM

Originally Posted by English Bloke

Kyle, I've said it before but that's a corkin' Macpherson Kilt!!! I Love that 'to stripe' pleating.

Cheers, John!

**Starhunter451** · 1st August 13, 07:35 PM

I bought a bottle of Powers Gold Label Irish Whiskey out of Ireland.
I have to add water or some type of mixer, cream soda make everything taste good, to be able to drink it.

Does anyone else drink this?

**HippieLee** · 1st August 13, 09:02 PM

My kids got me a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask for christmas a while back.

Those kids are back in the will.

**Liam** · 4th August 13, 02:02 PM

My son treated me to a wee dram of "Ardbog" a couple of days ago. A very interesting concoction of traditional Islay peat with fruitiness from what I would generally find in a Speyside... a complex dram that I enjoyed very much.

**PiperChick** · 4th August 13, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by Starhunter451

I have tried Bushmills and was of the thought, eh!

But the dram of Glenlivette was good. How does that compare on the smokey/peat scale?

I started with Bushmills, then moved to single malt Scotch. Glenlivet is my standard when I'm out, mainly because I can find it most restaurants and pubs I go to. I get all kinds of excited when I find somewhere with a good selection.

There are some good maps online that might help. For example, if you like Glenlivet, then maybe try something else from that region, like Auchentoshan (a favorite of mine). Here's one that might help: http://www.malts.com/index.php/en_us...ky-Flavour-Map

Laphroaig is honestly a bit much for me, maybe because I started with the simpler Irish flavors. It's more of a kick-you-in-the-head flavor. Nothing delicate about it. I'd suggest a whisky tasting, if a liquor store in your area has one. You'll be able to find one or two that you like, and then you can move from there.

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**mookien** · 4th August 13, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by Liam

My son treated me to a wee dram of "Ardbog" a couple of days ago. A very interesting concoction of traditional Islay peat with fruitiness from what I would generally find in a Speyside... a complex dram that I enjoyed very much. ...

Ardbog may be the Ardbeg distillery's attempt to penetrate the "younger" market.

A number of distilleries, especially on Islay, whose peaty whiskys generally appeal to the more experienced (older) malt drinker, have recently (in the past few years) "designed" fruitier/sweeter malts that they hope will be taken up by less experienced tipplers. Bruichladdich's entry in this category (or their first one, anyway) was ROCKS.

Of course, that doesn't mean that us old guys can't drink them or won't like them. I drink and like ROCKS. It's just a bit pricey for me.

**artificer** · 4th August 13, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by mookien

Ardbog may be the Ardbeg distillery's attempt to penetrate the "younger" market.

A number of distilleries, especially on Islay, whose peaty whiskys generally appeal to the more experienced (older) malt drinker, have recently (in the past few years) "designed" fruitier/sweeter malts that they hope will be taken up by less experienced tipplers. Bruichladdich's entry in this category (or their first one, anyway) was ROCKS.

Of course, that doesn't mean that us old guys can't drink them or won't like them. I drink and like ROCKS. It's just a bit pricey for me.

not quite, Ardbog is a limited release bourbon and sherry barrel finished malt. At ~$120US it's probably out of the realm of most 'starter' (ie younger) Whisky drinkers budgets, not to mention it's very limited release.

ith: