Where to get good liquor?

jackspratt wrote:O/T I have suspected for years that many wine, and now add single malt whisky, reviews are written by the critic typing with only one hand.

I will leave it up to your imagination where the other hand is.

Mines holding the glass. Where's yours Jack.Bit of a wooly "tail" aye?

jackspratt wrote:I don't write pretentious reviews Val.

If I was invited to review, I would classify wines as either:

- very nice, or
- quite good, or
- crap.

To some extent I tend to agree with you Jack especially where whisky is concerned. The latest example as posted by OT.
If I really wanted to enjoy the flavour of a lemon pie, I would bake one , not open a bottle . The problem seems to be in classifying the distinct aroma and taste that single malts have, they tend to go overboard with the prose . The funny thing is that most of that distinction comes from the water or the wood used in its distillation rather than the alcoholic content .
As for the wines, well here in Thailand I am forced into using expensive, cheap or vinegar when grading them .

trubrit wrote: most of that distinction comes from the water or the wood used in its distillation

OT heard the same thing from an old chap down the pub who lives on malt whiskey. He told me that certain malts have a peat taste because of the source of the water that goes into making the rocket fuel. And I suppose if you left anything in an oak barrel for long enough it would taste of the oak. I hate to think where the water came from if the whiskey tastes crap.

OT...................

old-timer wrote:

trubrit wrote: most of that distinction comes from the water or the wood used in its distillation

OT heard the same thing from an old chap down the pub who lives on malt whiskey. He told me that certain malts have a peat taste because of the source of the water that goes into making the rocket fuel. And I suppose if you left anything in an oak barrel for long enough it would taste of the oak. I hate to think where the water came from if the whiskey tastes crap.

OT...................

With an 'e'. Not Scotland for sure .

Made my first visa run today and did some shopping at Duty Free. Picked up the following 1 liter bottles...
Glenfiddich 15 yr old - $41.00
Glenfiddich 18 yr old - $58.00
Glenlivet 18 yr old - $65.00
Balvenie Doublewood - $50.00

For comparison, in the US I was paying ~$78.00 for the 750 ml 18 yr old Glenfiddich, and $54 a bottle for the 750 ml Balvenie Doublewood. The only one of these I have bought in Thailand was the 18 yr old Glenfiddich, and IIRC, it was ~$67 for 750 ml. So the general confusion and inefficiency of going over the border and back was at least made up for by being able to bring back some excellent Scotch.

Hope it helps some decide if the hassle is worth it.

KB

OT picked up a litre of Southern Comfort last night. In general I'm not a lover of anything stronger than beer and the odd shooter at the weekend. However I had a couple of doubles of southern comfort with a couple of chunks of ice and it was delightful. No headache or anything this morning. One thing the WFB pointed out is that I was over talkative about complete rubbish after my first glass. I put it down to starting to get old or starting to get p1ssed.

OT....................