Your favourite drink?

**Standard** · 27th January 10, 06:20 PM

While a good scotch is great, I'll go for a good stout anytime. My aboslute favorite drink bar none would have to be iced tea to tell the truth.

**Blackwolf** · 27th January 10, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by English Bloke

There are different whisky producing regions in Scotland, each producing a different style of product. You'll have to try a few to determine which one you like best.

Here's a few suggestions to get you going.

'The Balvenie Doublewood 12 years old'

As Speysides go, that's as smooth as you're likely to find. Great place to start. Save the peaty stuff for later on your journey into Malt.

'Old Pultney 12 y/o'

Another cracker for starting off with, distilled in the Highlands in Scotland's most northern distillery.

'Auchentoshan Classic'

A Single malt distilled in the lowlands, Glesga to be precise. There are some lovely whiskys produced here but this is the best (smoothest) starter from this distiller's range in my opinion.

Wait till you discover the peaty Islay's. Here's a good one, not the peatiest by a long way but a good introduction to the heavier, smokier flavours of these distilleries.

'Bowmore 12 y/o'

Try and get hold of a glass like this rather than a traditional whisky tumbler. Helps with the sniffing don't you know. And avoid putting ice in it. You'll kill it. Try it if you like, you'll see what I mean as all the character is lost. A splash of water is fine if you find it a bit fierce but try and avoid treated tap water. Bottled, non-sparkling mineral water is best.

Visit these websites for more info.

http://www.thebalvenie.com/

http://www.oldpulteney.com/

http://www.auchentoshan.co.uk/auth/

http://www.bowmore.co.uk/

There's a whole world of gorgeous out there.

http://www.maltmadness.com/ is another online resource where you can learn more about single malts.

Oh yeah. I like beer too... and Port...

Thanks a lot for that info. I had no idea when I first bought some on my tour of Scotland in 2002. I bought some bowmore legend there. I've been slowly working my way through it; I think it has gotten a more "peatie" flavor as time has gone by. My friends bought me some glenfiddich special reserve 12 yr old for my birthday that I will be getting into next. After that I think I'll try your suggestion of that Balvenie Doublewood 12 yr old.

**Seumas52** · 27th January 10, 07:05 PM

Make mine "MEAD"

**Raphael** · 27th January 10, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by Inchessi

Being a simple redneck, I tend to only drift towards the Wild Turkey, for celebrations, I really enjoy Rare Breed neat.

Wild Turkey is my favourite every day bourbon.

**derosa** · 27th January 10, 11:22 PM

I'm tossed between rum and brandy, but since I'm fussy about my brandy and I enjoy most decent rums I had to go with rum. Certain beers follow as does kool-aid but that wasn't a choice either.

**Paul** · 28th January 10, 05:18 AM

Originally Posted by NewEnglander

So you just moved ale to it's own category because you don't like it as much as other beers?

Well as far as I'm aware traditional ale doesn't contain hops.

**NewEnglander** · 28th January 10, 05:55 AM

Originally Posted by Paul.

Well as far as I'm aware traditional ale doesn't contain hops.

That's something I've never heard before. Hops have been used for centuries to counteract the sweetness of malt (ie bitter the brew) and also help preserve beers. But if by "traditional" you mean ancient, proto-beers like gruit then it'd be true, though the mixture of herbs used in those beverages had the same function as hops, which hadn't been domesticted yet, I believe.

Or it this just might be another case of differences in American vs British English...

**jkane** · 28th January 10, 09:11 AM

As an earlier beer geek wanted to say, but held his tongue ...

There are two types of beers. Ale's and Lagers. Ales are "top fermented" and Lagers are "bottom fermented". That is a description of where the yeast "flocculate" to. Ales are traditionally fermented above 65 degrees F. Lagers are fermented below 45. Ales are ready to drink sooner since the fermentation happens faster. They also will have a fuller and richer flavor profile as the yeast will leave flavor behind at higher temperatures. The word "lager" means to store and it traditionally meant to store at cool temperatures. The lower temperatures tend to leave less other flavors behind, which is why a Pilsner is the world standard description of a lager.

Beer contains 4 ingredients. Water, Malt, Hops, and Yeast. Any other ingredient is called an Adjunct. If it does not have one of those above ingredients, it can still be considered a beer in the modern world. Some places it would not. Just like kilts, some people accept canvas as a kilt material, some do not! The same with beer. A beer without hops is not a beer to many people. The German Brewing Law further defines Malt as only barley. There are also Belgians which use a bacteria in them in addition to the yeast. That is why they tend to have a sourness to them. But they are still considered beer!

However, in the highlands, hops were not common, and things like Heather tips and Juniper were used to bitter the beer. Hops are preferable as they also have preservative qualities. There are very few beers available that do not have hops. Brewing without hops is coming back in the past 10 years though. More so the past 2 years due to a world wide hop shortage.

Then you have things like "Romulan Ale". These things are made up by Hollywood and don't have real life meanings! To take this further, there are things like Grog and such that have a history of varied definitions, much like the stories we read on this forum about kilts!

Just to throw another wrench in this there are meads! Meads are part of the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) as it's own style of "beer" making some people confused. You would think they would be wines, and not beers! They are meads, not beers! But the wine snobs are stuck on fruit and refuse to accept that honey could be called wine. So the beer people, being the tolerant bunch they are, adopted the bastard step child that is mead and have taken it in as something they will love and raise as their own. It's not really a beer, but the same judges who judge beer get to judge mead also since the winers thumb their noses up at it!