chuffer

Just had a look online at Dalmore and the description says: Dalmore 12 is aged for the first nine years in American white oak ex-bourbon casks, before half is transferred to ex-oloroso sherry casks for the final three years. The result is a whisky with a combination of sweetness and rich, sherried flavours. This would tally with my description above, particularly the bourbon smell - colour looks similar to - i.e more tangerine than gold

Well I've purchased the Sainbury's own and had all three lined up (15ml shot of each in separate glasses - small, I know but it's a school night!) for said experiment. All measures were neat with no ice added. I had a separate glass of cold water to take between sips and also to "cleanse" between glasses. The verdict: Glass 1 - Highland Park 12 yr (£33 from Co-op) Pale colour, has the strongest and most pleasant fruity aroma of the three, taste is rich and fruity with a hint of smoke/peat that doesn't appear in the others - there's a lingering taste that Glass 2 doesn't have but it's less powerful/complex than Glass 3, probably describe it as the smoothest of the three. a sip of water and the smoke/peat flavour lingers Glass 2 - Aldi Highland Black 8yr (£12.99) Has a similar pale colour to Glass 1, very slight aroma - taste is sweet but can't identify any other flavours coming through. A sip of water does nothing to bring out anything noteable afterwards.....that said, when i came to finish the glass at the end of the session it's taste seemed to have improved - this could be that it gets better with sips or that my tongue/pallete had been tainted by the others! Glass 3 - Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Highland Single Malt (£18) Has a darker colour than the other two glasses, aroma is stronger than glass 2 but not as pleasant as glass 1 - smell reminds me of a bourbon (which I'm not really a fan of), thankfully it doesn't taste too much like a bourbon but it has much more complex and rich flavour than the other two, not so much fruity or really peaty - can't really put my finger on what flavours are coming through but I quite like it. My order of preference would be 1-3-2. It was a close call between 1 and 3 for my fave - 1 was smoother and had the best aroma/rich flavour but I thought 3 had a stronger taste and was the most interesting. Given the price difference I'd say the Sainsbury's is definitely the best value for money - it would be interesting to find out what it actually is

It'll be better than that Aldi stuff you've got!..... Glenfiddich probably suffers a similar fate to Highland Park in that it's around and popular so much that people think it's standard fodder....but it's pretty decent imho....this was another one where I got a gift box sample pack of minis - 12, 15 and 18 yr and I remember they got progressively better the older the sample (as you'd normally expect)

Last Xmas the missus gave me a gift box containing samples of the glenlivet 12, 15 and 18yr..Think all of them were decent IIRC

Well I picked up a bottle of the aldi highland black 8yr up while doing the food shop and thought id try a cheeky sample before putting it away with the rest if the Xmas booze stock. Id say its a little disappointing given all the rave reviews, tastes like bells IIRC...not much of an aroma, sweetish taste but thin and no other flavours coming through other than industrial alcohol....tbf though, it was £12 so yeh, unsurprising really. Might get the sainsbury's own soon and line up this, the highland park and the sainsbury's in a comparitive tasting exercise

Is that the Highland Black 8yr? I read that it's won awards on a par with much more expensive stuff. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11645568/Aldi-12.99-whisky-wins-top-medal-at-drink-awards.html I have to go to Aldi tonight so might be tempted to get one in "for the xmas drinks stock"

Can't knock it, it's probably the 1st whisky I tried as a young man that I actually didn't dislike. Not that I mean to damn with faint praise but what I mean is that, up until that point, all whisky that I'd tasted I disliked - this was the first that "converted" me, so to speak, as I could appreciate it for the smell/ flavour rather than the burning sensation in my throat that I'd previously assumed was all that whisky could deliver. Still enjoy it now, it's the kind of whisky you might get given as a present at Christmas by friends/family and I'm always more than chuffed to receive

Sky Arts showing the Pixies live in Belfort. Sweet.

Jura tastes like pish

At my mum's and her boyfriend got out some caol ila 12 yr...initially thought it was ok, a little peaty for my palette but it improved with every glass. We finished off with the bunny heaven 12 yr though and there is no comparison....the latter is in a different league

tbh I think that's why I've never previously bothered but yes I'd have to agree!

Gave this a whirl tonight...impressed. Nice rich sweet fruity flavour to it, right up my strasse

After reading a post Bostik Bailey made in the tax credits thread, I couldn't help but be reminded about this little beauty: The chords and riffs are just filth

It was pretty good - the cinematography was great but am a little concerned it's more style than substance. The Guardian weekend had hyped it up to be as good as Cracker (but it wasn't)... it was promising though and I'll definitely tune in next week to see if it follows up well

Jealous.....enjoy!

Cheers, might give that a go

Eeeewwwww.......that's enough to put you right off your stroke

My mum's Scottish boyfriend cracked open a bottle of 18yr old Bunnahabhain last weekend.... Lovely stuff, like a cross between the peaty flavours of Islay and the sweeter flavours of Arran...unfortunately I reverted back to drinking red wine after he put the bottle away (there was no way he leaving that out with us when he went to bed!) and so I was ruined the next day

Cant believe they killed off shireen

Lol

Looking forward to the human centipede 3

MMOTHS Atmospheric, soulful electronica from a young Irish chap

Looking forward to Game of Thrones starting again tonight.....similarly to Breaking Bad, I initially resisted watching this due to the hype but I have to say, after a couple of episodes I was hooked and now have several seasons to catch up on!! It really is epic in terms of characters and plots and the violence is brutal.....it's great the way it seems to have resurrected lots of random British actors and launched the careers of new ones too

Ian Rankin's Strip Jack, half way through, not bad so far....just finished Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength as my new years resolution was to join a gym, not so much to "get buff" but certainly to sort myself out with a view to maybe having another bash at low level, amateur RL again one day

I have a mate who only faps off to blondes, perhaps he also qualifies...