I'm of the rather uncultured opinion that it all tastes like turps, so I shall happily avoid the Japanese knockoff version. I've never quite understood how describing something as 'peaty' - ie, like rotten plant matter - would be considered a valid selling point...
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Fri 4 Mar 2011, 12:01, 1 reply)

It's
the smell/taste of the turf/peat fire they're referring to. Some of the peaty whiskeys are rather excellent. Some are overpowering and taste like tar.

A good whiskey is like good wine. The best ones cost a fortune but are worth it. The main difference between good wine and good whiskey is that you can, occasionally, find a great wine that costs buttons. That's never the case for whiskey.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 4 Mar 2011, 12:10, closed)

Hrm... I would have said, if asked, that I'd tried 'expensive' (or at least, not ultra-budget blended rubbish) whisky, on the grounds that 40 quid seems quite a lot for a single bottle of decently aged, single malt Oban, Speyside, Glenmorangie/fiddich, etc. However, given that a quick google suggests you can pay upwards of 20k for a dram, it seems I've been drinking the crap stuff.

But I'm not spending 20k on a dram. That's croissant territory.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Fri 4 Mar 2011, 12:26, closed)