On Oct 16, 2011, at 2:22 AM, Christopher Byrne wrote: > Hi Michael, > > Ice I agree should not go into a Single Malt, the idea of on the rocks is > exclusively used for the blend I feel. However, Single malt whisky is a room > temperature drink. Like many fine wines each malt is unique and releases its > maximum flavour at a precise temperature. Occasionally a drop (I mean a > single drop) of H2O can be added to some fine peat whisky's to release > flavours overwhelmed by the peat. But before you chill down a single malt > please drink at room temperature first, you might find you like it better. > Some recommendations for the Christmas in terms of Single malts is the > Dalmore 15 (Fruit pudding in a glass, strong nose of toffee and spice) and > the Jura 16 again strong spice lots of toffee not too peaty. > > Sorry for interrupting the thread but Whisky and Wine is what I do for a > living! >
My advice is like Michael's, try it both ways, but there is no "right" way to drink anything. OK, I will draw the line at my friend Dean's insistence he mix Courvosier with Coke, but that's an extreme case. Single malt is not a "room temperature" drink. It's a drink any way you like it, and I prefer mine over ice. I laugh when I hear that. It's simple, back in the day when the stuff was invented, they only had ice during the winter and who the hell wanted anything cold to drink when it was freezing outside? Over ice/on the rocks is a modern invention (unless you were Caesar and had runnings bringing you boxes of snow and ice from the Alps during the summer). If you'll notice, a lot of "purists" give a glass of single malt a "splash" of water (ideally spring water); so much for drinking it straight. Me, I like the way the flavor unfolds on the tongue from cold to hot as it warms. I've had them both straight up, and over ice. What I prefer about ice the most is that it holds back some seriously strong esters on the nose that can often overwhelm the more subtle nuance on the pallet. There is a lot of volatility on the nose of sprits, and sometimes there can be too much; more so with whiskey than with brandy or cognac, which carries a lot more overt notes. The nose of a whiskey can be very subtle. ---- www.crydee.com Never attribute to malice what can satisfactorily be explained away by stupidity.
