What you drinking?: now with more hobo's cock

[The Liberal Media]

Allow me to introduce you to my current love:

Utterly gorgeous stuff.

As the name 'Kölsch' would suggest, this beer is native to Köln / Cologne and is a style unique to that city.

As clean and crisp as a lager, but not technically a lager at all (due to the fermentation methods employed) though give it to a non beer-geek and they'd swear it was a lager, and the most flavoursome one they'd tasted at that.

Like I said, unique to Cologne. The brand above is by far the one you're most likely to encounter over here; it's better fresh and on draught but the bottles are fine too. Just don't chill 'em too much as you'll miss some of the more subtle flavours. I'd drip this stuff over myself without a second's hesitation, but that would be like pouring nectar into the sewer. Just find it, drink it and thank me later. Amen.

Too right, i am amazed that mongs in the uk have to drink any lager at 2 degrees ala Wetherspoons
The Germans/Czechs wouldnt drink anything that was colder than 6c or 43 f, and even warmer like 8 or 9 c for the better stuff.The colder you drink it the more metallic and bitter the noble hops taste ( as a general rule)

Where can you find that stuff in UK? I would love to get some. its only available via websites "Dawnn sarf"

Sainsbury did a really good generic Kolsch ( that was brewed under license from Fruh if memory serves) and then they discontinued it about 2 years ago for poor sales.

some people have no taste.

Oddbins sells Kolsch by the crate, but its not as good as Fruh, i think they sell "Gaffel"
http://www.oddbins.com/product-details/gaffel-kolsch-case

 

[Shambles]

Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Me first drink for 2 weeks, so i should be catatonic soon !

DR Whisky states it best .....

http://drwhisky.blogspot.com/search/label/laphroaig

SUMMARY:

An absolute treat to drink. Full-on and not for every mood, but hearty as a good stew. A sweeter, softer, friendlier Laphroaig that still manages to fill every corner of the house of your senses with the medicinal peatiness in ways that only Laphroaig can. And should. And does.

I Laphroaig. Only ever the standard stuff you can buy for £25 in the Co-Op but that's about the limit of my booze budget at any time as it is so a rare treat. Do love the peaty whiskys though. Wish I lived near a Tesco cos their own brand, relatively cheap, Islay is lush. Especially for under £20. No idea if they still sell it though.

Currently drinking coffee but not very enthusiastically.

 

[The Liberal Media]

I Laphroaig. Only ever the standard stuff you can buy for £25 in the Co-Op but that's about the limit of my booze budget at any time as it is so a rare treat. Do love the peaty whiskys though. Wish I lived near a Tesco cos their own brand, relatively cheap, Islay is lush. Especially for under £20. No idea if they still sell it though.

Currently drinking coffee but not very enthusiastically.

I got this bottle of Laphroaig QC last nite at Sainsburys as its on offer for £22.65 of thereabouts.

I love the stuff, QC is better than the 10 imho, you get better bang for your buck as its 48% and you only need like half a teaspoon of water for each dram. I find the taste is richer as well, more oily almost like the cask strength Caol Ila which is equally as mindblowing.

Islayphiles are a rare species, but so passionate about thier whiskies

Shambles if your on a budget, Sainsbury does a good own brand 12 yr old islay, which is just rebranded Caol Ila 12 or Bowmore 12, depending on the time of year, and it tastes great and is like £19, and often on offer at about £15 :D

Asda does Talisker for £21 now as well

http://www.youtube.com/user/ralfystuff is a great site, for some reason this bloke remind me of an older version of Spade

 

[Shambles]

Thanks for the linky, TLM

I am certainly no expert on whisky but I know what I like, as they say, and what I like is Islay. Unfortunately living in the arse end of nowhere means my options are limited to whatever they sell in Co-Op and Spar. So that's just Co-Op then :D

They have a better range than I'd expect for such a tiny place but pricey as fuck (most real whisky is around £30 unless on offer ) and mostly just big, mainstream brands. At Xmess and the like they tend to get a few extra ones in which is when I get to try summat new usually. Need to check out some of the online places cos delivery would be the only feasible option out here in the sticks really.

 

[The Liberal Media]

Thanks for the linky, TLM

I am certainly no expert on whisky but I know what I like, as they say, and what I like is Islay. Unfortunately living in the arse end of nowhere means my options are limited to whatever they sell in Co-Op and Spar. So that's just Co-Op then :D

They have a better range than I'd expect for such a tiny place but pricey as fuck (most real whisky is around £30 unless on offer ) and mostly just big, mainstream brands. At Xmess and the like they tend to get a few extra ones in which is when I get to try summat new usually. Need to check out some of the online places cos delivery would be the only feasible option out here in the sticks really.

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/ Is a great site, and they do £5 a bottle deliver, anywhere in UK.... it costs not much less than that much to take a bus/tube into town thesedays as a return.:D ( well in london anyways)

I just ordered a bottle of this again, its amazing stuff, shame it only comes in 50cl bottles
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-2928.aspx
All those reviews dont lie, its the best blend i have tasted, puts crap like Jwb black and Chivas to shame.

most scottish stuff is overpriced, apart from teachers there is no decent blend, the japanese really know how to blend stuff.

 

[Shambles]

Thanks again, TLM

Bookmarked after my heart made it back into my chest after seeing some of the prices. The lower end of the price spectrum is pretty reasonable though. To be honest, even with postage it's probably cheaper than Co-Op for most stuff. Would be looking for something a tad more interesting though. Only had Japanese whisky once. There's a bottle in my local all covered in dust that caught my eye. No idea what it's called but I loved the Japanese design so gave it a go once. Was really very good too. Must go back and finish it and ask for the bottle sometimes cos it was a nice bottle and not much left so even at £2.50 a shot I could probably help them declutter some time :D

 

[The Liberal Media]

Thanks again, TLM

Bookmarked after my heart made it back into my chest after seeing some of the prices. The lower end of the price spectrum is pretty reasonable though. To be honest, even with postage it's probably cheaper than Co-Op for most stuff. Would be looking for something a tad more interesting though. Only had Japanese whisky once. There's a bottle in my local all covered in dust that caught my eye. No idea what it's called but I loved the Japanese design so gave it a go once. Was really very good too. Must go back and finish it and ask for the bottle sometimes cos it was a nice bottle and not much left so even at £2.50 a shot I could probably help them declutter some time :D

I am amazed you dont like Teachers, try it again, i love it and it tastes better than a lot of single malts that cost twice the price.

and others ( who know more than me) agree ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yFhSat3u8Q Spade in future

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heX2ai9H5eY Spade in Japan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-y36kYimfE Spade just pissed


LULZ

This is the best writeup i have seen of Teachers ( that i agree with)
http://jason-scotchreviews.blogspot.com/search?q=teachers

Monday, August 17, 2009
Teacher's Highland Cream


I had heard about Teacher's Highland Cream as being an excellent blended scotch for years. Websites devoted to scotch had many threads devoted to this scotch. Personally, I was always skeptical mainly for two reasons. First, the price. It's not expensive at all. Secondly, its a blend. I would think to myself, "how can a blend be very good?"So, I bought a bottle. And what a bottle it was.

Serving
Single large ice cubeNose: scent of dulse, seaweed and salt air wafting up. Impressive! I visualize standing at a cliff face on a windy, overcast day in Scotland.

Palate
The taste is sea salt, smoke, very faint peat and iodine with a bacon/malt backbone. This is a heavy scotch in the mouth, and many enjoy rolling it around a bit before swallowing. Anise, black licorice and lots of malt round this blend out.

Finish
Lingering sea salt, dulse, malt and a faint echo of peat.Teachers is a complex dram that offers a lot of different flavours to consider. It will really grow on you as you become more acquainted with it. If you are new to scotch drinking and enjoy a dram and wanting to avoid peat monsters, well try drinking this with an ice cube or two. As the ice melts, it mellows out the drink and by the time you finish you will be very satisfied.Teachers has been around for over 100 yrs and is in the top five best selling blends in the world. I can see why.

Teachers can be distinguished from other scotches because of its unusually high single malt content that runs a mimimum of 45% of the content. Scotch blends are a combination of grain and malt whisky. The latter contributes flavour while the former softens a flavour that otherwise would be very rough and biting on the palate. Accordingly, more flavour if you have more malt content.

Teachers has a rich flavour and grain whiskeys that soften it sufficiently such that it doesnt have the cheap bite that some whiskeys often have.

Another great point to consider is price. I have drank many more expensive blends and single malts that cannot hold a candle to a tumbler of Teachers. So, don't be put off by the low price. Part of the reason the price is reasonable is because the whisky's core is comprised of two single malts (Ardmore and Glendronach) that by themselves are not particularly interesting (nor popular, hence most production is for this blend) but when blended in this bottling produce a very memorable flavour profile.

Sometimes, a blend is comprised of expensive single malts and that causes the price of the malt naturally to be expensive. Johnnie Walker Green label is an example, as one of its key ingredients is Talisker that enjoys high prices and wide spread popularity as a single malt. If you like some peat and some smoke balanced out with some sherry notes then this will do the job. Looking for a gift for your father, brother, son, this is the ticket! They wont be disappointed.

Cheers!

© Jason Debly, 2009. All rights reserved.

 

[Shambles]

Hehe. Teachers is drinkable, for sure. Unlike Bells and so on. I like the triangle bottle too

I do hanker after something a tad more exotic though which is where sites like the linky you just gave me come in. I tend to drink blended whisky like water but a bottle of Islay gets treated with respect. Partly due to the cost and (for me) rarity of having a bottle but mostly due to savouring the flavouring cos I the taste. Single malts definitely vary a lot and some are vastly overpriced for what is basically a very average whisky at best. A good one at a reasonable price is a thing of beauty to be savoured though

 

[The Liberal Media]

Hehe. Teachers is drinkable, for sure. Unlike Bells and so on. I like the triangle bottle too

I do hanker after something a tad more exotic though which is where sites like the linky you just gave me come in. I tend to drink blended whisky like water but a bottle of Islay gets treated with respect. Partly due to the cost and (for me) rarity of having a bottle but mostly due to savouring the flavouring cos I the taste. Single malts definitely vary a lot and some are vastly overpriced for what is basically a very average whisky at best. A good one at a reasonable price is a thing of beauty to be savoured though

If you like the Islay profile but cant lay down £20 plus a bottle look for "White Horse" its the blend that Lagavulin makes, and you can get it for like £12 in London, meaning its probably in Tenner in your parts

Teachers is amazing, its my go to dram... weekends and business scmoozing I go to the Japanese Scotch ( Nikka or Yoichi) or stuff like Lagavulin , Port Ellen or Dalmore

 

[Shambles]

Ha! Would probably be £25 in these parts cos they seem to whack at least a tenner on the price of anything that isn't Bells :D

Have heard of White Horse but not seen it for sale round here. Next time I'm in one of the actual towns in the area I'll make a point of checking out some of the decent offies though. They have some good stuff in Aberystwyth last I looked. Decent prices too. Probably cos it's full of students :D

I don't mind paying £20-30 or so for a bottle of summat nice cos it lasts longer than a bottle of average blended stuff and goes down a treat. It's mainly lack of variety available here that's the problem. Those Japanese ones you linkied sound good though and at reasonable price. Well, reasonable if they put an extra 20cl in the bottle

 

[The Liberal Media]

If your near a lidl , they do an awesome 8 yr old blended malt( ie vatted malt) for £12, its called " Glen Orchy" IIRC
some expert on youtube blind tasted it with glenmorangie 10 and they couldnt tell the difference , lol

 

[Shambles]

There's a Lidl in the nearest town (which isn't very near at all but I digress) and I always get a bottle or two of summat nice when I'm there. Don't think I've tried their malt but am very fond of their Bourbon. Can't remember the name but only £9 a bottle, delicious and an absolute bargain. Do some great stuff in Lidl. Shame it's such an arseache to get there really.

 

[The Liberal Media]

There's a Lidl in the nearest town (which isn't very near at all but I digress) and I always get a bottle or two of summat nice when I'm there. Don't think I've tried their malt but am very fond of their Bourbon. Can't remember the name but only £9 a bottle, delicious and an absolute bargain. Do some great stuff in Lidl. Shame it's such an arseache to get there really.

Ralfy likes as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0TFfKG5UIc

 

[Shambles]

That's the one. Really nice stuff - easily as good as JD, Jim Beam and the like and less than half the price. Win

Liking that fella's reviews too :D

PS: Funny he mentions a suspicion that it may be Jim Beam with a different label cos I thought exactly the same thing when I first tasted it.

 

[Myshkin]

Where can you find that stuff in UK? I would love to get some. its only available via websites "Dawnn sarf"

Sainsbury did a really good generic Kolsch ( that was brewed under license from Fruh if memory serves) and then they discontinued it about 2 years ago for poor sales.

For some reason, Manchester has several bars who stock it, though Sandbar is the only one to have it on draught. I'm sure you'd love that establishment actually. Plenty of German goodness.

Aside from that, the Arndale Centre Market has a bar / beer shop where you can buy it (amongst lots of lovely US beers) and there are two branches of a wine merchant called Carringtons which usually stocks it.

You're right about Sainsbury's though; they used to have some really fine stuff sold under their label at a fraction of the price. Sadly they expanded the range but only as far as pasteurised British 'ales'. Scandalous.

 

[The Liberal Media]

For some reason, Manchester has several bars who stock it, though Sandbar is the only one to have it on draught. I'm sure you'd love that establishment actually. Plenty of German goodness.

Aside from that, the Arndale Centre Market has a bar / beer shop where you can buy it (amongst lots of lovely US beers) and there are two branches of a wine merchant called Carringtons which usually stocks it.

You're right about Sainsbury's though; they used to have some really fine stuff sold under their label at a fraction of the price. Sadly they expanded the range but only as far as pasteurised British 'ales'. Scandalous.

Its criminal...

Just went out and got a bottle of J&B(Crap blend i know) , A Shiotload of ice ,and some corona's

why?

Just downloaded " American Psycho" on HD

 

[The Liberal Media]

That's the one. Really nice stuff - easily as good as JD, Jim Beam and the like and less than half the price. Win

Liking that fella's reviews too :D

PS: Funny he mentions a suspicion that it may be Jim Beam with a different label cos I thought exactly the same thing when I first tasted it.

pretty sure its just rebranded Jim Beam at 50% less the price.

Tastes identical to me.

 

[Myshkin]

I actually like J&B. It's an acquired taste, but there are some pretty sacred notes in there. Blends can be beautiful.

I also like te way Truman Capote could only ever ask for it as 'Justerini & Brooks'. Makes me smile.

 

[The Liberal Media]

I actually like J&B. It's an acquired taste, but there are some pretty sacred notes in there. Blends can be beautiful.

I also like te way Truman Capote could only ever ask for it as 'Justerini & Brooks'. Makes me smile.

Some blends will knock you sideways. They are so good

The new version of Ballantines is FAR better than premium blends, or single malts
Whisky Bible 2011: Scotch Blend of the Year (NAS); 96 Points

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-419.aspx


For £18, i would rather buy Ballantines , than some crappy low end single malt, or crap blend that spends all its money on adverts like chivas or JWB.

J&B Is decent enough , and the guys who originally sold it ( brooks bros in bond st) make some awesome cognac.

 

[tribal girl]

Bloody hell, I was off on a rant about how snobby I am about spirits, went to post a pic and got myself a trojan virus. Think I kicked it's arse though so.

Anyway, currently drinking Zywiec beer. However, I won't be linking to a pic of it as initially intended.