My favorite whisky? My next one!!! That said, I own a cabinet full of Speysiders with a Lowland or two thrown in for contrast. When I told the immigration officer at Edinburgh airport that having failed to drink all the wine in France and all the beer in Belgium, we had come to try drinking Scotland dry, he responded that Scotland would run out of water before it ran out of whisky. We carried on, nonetheless.
I must agree with you but I can identify my favourite distillery tour so far. Edradour. Wonderful whisky and a marvellous informative tour from the managing director himself. I’ve visited several lowland, quite a few highland bit haven’t made it to he isles yet. Had planned to go in 2020 but…. Hopefully sometime soon!
My Mother recently passed away (85 yrs old), and in her closet we found a bottle of Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta that she bought at the distillery during a visit to Scotland years ago - so we all had a dram and toasted her life with it. Salute! And now I'm a fan of Scotch single malt Whisky, way out here in West Texas.
Hey Bruce! I was raised in Prestwick and my Uncle Willy would share a wee dram of The Macallan for a toast to Rabbie Burns. Years later, after he passed, I learned that he would get a bottle of 25 year old Sherry Oak and it would last a good 4-5 years between him, my Auntie Mary and Uncle Andrew. They'd share the cost of the bottle and it was a real treat to get to go on a trip with Uncle Wille in his Mini Miner up to the Highlands. Funny thing, though. My Dad was strictly Salvation Army. He never touched alcohol and would have been mortified to learn that Uncle Willy was giving me a wee taste of Scotch when I was 6 & 7 years old. Even though he'd frequently bring back a nice single malt for a family friend. Then, being Salvation Army prohibitionist, as they still are to this day, he'd be preaching against "the evil drink" the next Sunday. Go figure. I had a go round with stomach cancer so my doctors and I have agreed that I am allowed one single Scotch per year with the caveat that it must be as old or older than me. So finding a sixty-something year old glass of The Macallan is one thing, affording it once I find it is something else entirely.
Man, after a story like that I hope you get to enjoy that Macallans!! And though I'm not drinking a Macallans, I've raised my glass to your good health my friend!! Cheers!! 🥃😊👍
Coming from Washington, PA: The home of the Whiskey Rebellion and a town where they still burn a Tax Agent (in effigy) every year and a portrait of the Bastard Hamilton hangs upside down over the bar of the local distillery, this was a great potted history! Thank you. My favorite memory of scotch is sitting in the bar of a hotel above Kirkwall Harbor, sipping a Highland Park 35 and watching the ships come in and out while we waiting to board the overnight ferry to Shetland.
My favorite whisky is some homemade apple brandy. It was distilled in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, unaged, not taxed. It's beautiful that the descendents of Scots brought this art of distillation to our area, and the tradition of telling the government they are number one is done illicitly.
YES!! This brings back memories when a friend gave me some moonshine he distilled back in 1992 (it's now 2021 and I STILL have some left!!). Smooth as silk!! 😊👍
I'm a Jack girl, had a dog named Jack Daniel's. My former husband said "That Jack Daniel ought to be paying us child support, on account of every time I drank it...well you get it. I like Maker's Mark neat and Buffalo Trace on the rocks. When I grow up in one month (60!) maybe I will try some Scotch, in Scotland, with a dude with a kilt. Stranger things have happened! Thanks Bruce, I listen to you quite a bit.! Sto lat!
While I'm far from a connoisseur of fine whisky, I do like a Glenlivet, but am currently working my way through a bottle of 12 year old Chivas Regal. Thanks for the 'distilled' history.
One of my favourite life memories is doing the Talisker tour in Carbost with a mate( our ladies wanted to see The Fairy Pools...carry on).After the tour we went to the pub over the road( The Old Inn?) where they,obviously ,had Somerset cider on tap (personally I find the two drinks compliment each other very well)...glorious sunshine,looking over the sea loch..I won't repeat what our dearly beloveds thought of the pished remnants they found in the pub garden a couple of hours later. Thankyou,Skye! Still not sure,,,Talisker or Laphroaig? A wonderful quandary...
I was set to tour the isle of Skye with a whole day set aside for the tallisker tour but then they had covid hit so tallisker actually sent a package with 6 200ml bottles for each person that was to be touring that day cause a very wealthy Icelandic man who's son is marrying my cousin reserved the distillery for "family" and cause my cousins marrying this lad we were included. Being born American leaves you feeling cheated when you visit your family in the UK and Ireland and return home to the USA.
I once got ratted on the stuff which vanishes as it is being processed at talisker...I have never tasted anything so foul nor have I ever had such a disgusting hangover as I had the mext morning. I have never drank talisker ever again, my gut rises to my throat thinking of it.
My introduction to whisky was during infancy in the 1950s, when our much-loved local GP was a Scot, who prescribed whisky as a cure all for pretty much anything. Many years later at university, I was caught by my tutor (who went on to be Moderator of the Kirk) with a bottle of Sainsbury's blended whisky. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to do better than that, even though there were occasions, he conceded, where the quantity of the whisky was more important than the quality. He then introduced me to Highland Park, which I have enjoyed ever since.
Lagavulin 16yr (Single Malt.) a peaty flavoured whisky, smooth as silk... My absolute favourite drink! Just discovered your channel sir and am really enjoying the content so thank you!
My own Pennsylvania single malt made with limestone spring water and Scottish peated malt barley and pale ale malted barley. Aged in a used bourbon barrel. Smooth and lightly peaty. My family hails from Islay originally, so it made me proud to do what my ancestors did so well.
It's Old Pulteney 12-year old single malt for me, I love it's smooth salty flavour, you can buy it in some UK supermarkets for around £24 for a 70 cl bottle.
I never knew this. My Granny said it was for pain. I thought it was medicine! I was 14years old when I was informed by my friends Dad that it was whiskey. Crafty old hag that I loved the bones of.
@@saidahamelin3118 my great gran gave it for everything when I was a babe. Toothache, fussy sleeping, bumped head... whatever ails you had, a bit of whisky did the trick.
Last one? The Famous Grouse. It’s my regular go-to blended whisky but my favourite single malt is Glenlivet 12 that I savour when the mood is right. Highland malts have the right balance of peatiness and sweetness for my palate. Great video Bruce! Slainté màith! 🥃🇨🇦😎
I had a wee mate when working in south africa who, like myself, was a macallan fan.When we visited, out would come the bottle and two overly generous drams would be poured...ten millilitres(two teaspoons) of water added then we would sit,sup and chat. Second and subsequent drams were in my house,Johnnie Red Label.In harry's house,Famous Grouse. Only one of the good stuff...led to a much greater appreciation of the whisky itself and of course, the price was quite steep in S.A. Nowadays,Monkey Shoulder and Singleton have both attracted my attention, so much so that I have a bottle of each on the go at the moment. Great potted history Bruce...guid yin.
Of currently available malts, its got to be Lagavulin. However, the nicest dram I ever tasted was a cask strength Rosebank, sampled in a fine hostelry in Leith nearly 30 years ago. It was so smooth it didn't even need the usual drop of water to round off. Other goodies are: All other Islay malts, The Balvenie, The Singleton of Auchroisk, Glenmorangie 18yo, Highland Park & Auchentoshan. For blends it has to be White Horse.
Have you tried anything from Limeburners distillery yet? They won the Best International Whiskey award in 2017. Try their Solera, you'll be impressed!! 👍
@@douglasherron7534 Limeburners make pretty small runs of whiskeys, which they mature in used wine barrels. Their whiskeys are very good and start at about £60 a bottle, but due to their popularity, will easily end up (so far) at about £200 a bottle as the run ends 👍
@@tim7052 I don't want to ruin you're access to supplies but, if it's not a problem, do you mind sharing where you get your's from? FYI: I would be looking in the UK (or do you access online & ship it in?).
First I want to say how much I enjoy your videos. You have a way with your stories, to make history come alive again. I have loved anything to do with history, since I was a child. My favorite whiskey, comes with a memory of when I was visiting Scotland. I was lucky enough to have a exchange student in my last semester at college. We became good friends. She said about coming to visit her in England. So I did that fall. I ended up going to Edinburgh Scotland as side trip. I love the city. I visited a distillery. The whiskey I sampled there was so good. I forgot the name of it. I was around 24 at that time. What made it the best was just being in Scotland and on the Royal mile. So much history around me. The beauty of the old part of Edinburgh. I was in love with Scotland. I could go on, but won't. I'm now 50, hard to believe. But I have never opened up the whiskey I bought there. When my friends are all together soon. I plan to open it and toast to our friendship. We have known each other since, we were 13. We are part of history now. Of course a toast to Scotland as well. Because I still want to go back to Scotland. I left part of myself there. I left Edinburgh to visit the countryside of Edinburgh. My time in Scotland was not enough. Just one last thing. I saw your video on your DNA. I have ancestors from there, I'm still working on where exactly. Keep on making videos. I'll be watching.
I' m a novice but,have just sampled and really enjoyed a couple glasses of 12 year old Cardhu! & very nice it was too.thank you for a gr8 presentation it was wonderful.
My first ever Scotch was Bunnahabhain 18 but couldn’t find it here anymore (plus $). I like The Balvenie Caribbean cask and Doublewood. I’ll try some others recommended in this thread.
I am partial to a wee dram or three of Islay whisky myself. Ironically, the best selection of whiskys I have ever seen was in Spain, in a small village near El Vendrell, Catalunya. They specialised in hard to get wines and spirits and I was stunned at their range. Even the more common brands featured a much wider selection than I had seen even in my14 years of Scotland. The best ones were sold in cut glass decanters, inside silk lined wooden caskets and priced at £500 minimum, with some nearly 2k. And this was over 30 years ago. Needless to say I didn't buy the dearest, but I did buy as much as my duty free allowance permitted of whisky from the owner, including many I had never tried before. Absolute heaven.
My favourite is a lagavulin 16 year, love the peat! Worked in a restaurant that stocked it in the high end dining room. Before service we'd sneak out for a quiet dram. Buy it for special occasions but my everyday go to is the Singleton. Honey and apples ❣️
We where in Edinburgh 2019 for a Whisky tours. We were just in time when Holyrood had just opened. Covert19 had stopped us from returning. My favourite is a single malt highland Whisky. Can't wait to return and have you as our tour guide. Till then your video's will have to suffice. Thanks Garry 🇭🇲
The last distillery I visited was Tallisker on Skye, there’s is a peaty flavoured whisky (uisge-beatha). My first was Glenturret back in the early 90’s. Memories
I used to run a wee brewery in Andrew Usher's old basement in Edinburgh along with a Whisky blending section. I even brewed some of the old beer recipes.
Got a shelf full of various whiskies but when out will go to Macallan at least once of the pub has is. Mostly as it means I can do a wee private toast to Neil Peart everytime. Macallan was his favourite whisky after all
Any Campbeltown whisky is peek whisky for me! Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world having over 30 distilleries. Also big up Campbeltowns Springbank distillery for being the only distillery that publicly came out in support of Scottish independence!
30 odd years ago I was on detachment to Machrihanish as the runway at Kinloss was being re-laid. A mate of mine picked up a wooden crate of six, old fashioned milk bottles containing a clear liquid, he swore it was a young Springbank? Never again! It's still one of the single malts I won't touch. And yes, I have tried their ten year old single malt.
Lagavulin - my Papa’s favourite dram. My Dad was always happy with his blended - Teacher’s or The Famous Grouse. Me personally, a first generation Canadian, I’d have to say almost all the single malts - especially on a cold winter night. Scapa is my favourite, followed closely by Oban, Jura, The Macallan, Highland Park, Loch Lomand, ….. The whole family knows if they are coming for a holiday they best bring the Water of Life from the Glasgow duty free!! Sainte Mahth (Slange-Var)!! From Canada😁🇨🇦🇨🇦🏴🏴
I have Aberlour now but also love liqueurs like Drambuie and my sample of Amarosa I purchased at Edinburgh Castle. I'm sampling to find my favorite...Jameson was my go to for years.
Really interesting film, thank you. I generally buy a bottle of whatever single malt the Co-op has on offer that month. Had some lovely highland whiskeys and also one or two terrible ones. By far the worst was David Beckham branded Club Haig Single Malt, absolute pish as you might say over the border.
The last time I let Whisky pass my lips was for a wee dram 25 years ago. It was Johnnie Walker Black Label, neat, in a pub in Philadelphia. Whisky has been a helper and a curse for my family for a great while. Before the modern age, whisky was the medicine of choice when you suffered. All my ancestors suffered, and whisky was what dulled the pain.
Great video as usual Bruce. I loved reading the different views on favourite drams. I was introduced to Whisky as a 10 yr old in 1963. We were in the Yorkshire Dales surveying. My dad gave me a coffee laced with whisky. I needed it. It was January in thick snow. Been a whisky fan ever since. I like the Balvenie Single Malts, but i am no millionaire. I have also lived in Thailand for 18 years, so I am restricted to blends, such as Ballantine's and even a Jameson (its ok, i am part Irish as well as Scottish). The Islay and Skye Malts are also superb, if you like a peaty dram, but I cannae find em in Thailand.
Thank you, the great thing aboubt Whisky is, you always can learn somthing new, even in a 10 min crash course. I cannot tell you my favorite Scottish Whisky at all, because I love the great variety of Whisk(e)y ;-) Depending on the season, the weather, the day and my mood, I may prefer heavily peated, sherry sweetness, oak spiciness or any other possible taste of whisky in it's endless combinations. Slàinte Mhath!
What a great history lesson on Scotch, Thanks. My current favorite is- Bruichladdich Bere Barley. Although not that easy to find here in Southern California. Their Islay Barley is tasty too
Glenturret became my favourite Whisky in the late 80s, then Glenmorangie in the 90s. Always good to have a couple of favourites to mix things up,and no not with anything other than ice lol.
No shit, there I was. Sitting in the Crown & Anchor in Monterey CA. It was 2004. I randomly selected the Oban 14. To this day, I still remember that drink.
Bruadar single malt liqueur w/honey and sloe berries. Never was much of a Scotch drinker. Enjoyed Irish whisky. Discovered it on a trip to Scotland a few years ago. Bruadar is so smooth and the burn so warm and comforting. We order it from Morrison's and are never without. It cost about the same to ship it as the whisky cost but it is worth every cent. It is as marvelous coating a clean glass as it is going down. If you're offered a dram at our house you know you are a true friend. It is not shared with everyone.
Glenmorangie is my current favourite whiskey. But I’ve got a nice Canadian Rye Whiskey made by a distillery in Ontario owned by Wayne Gretzky that is very smooth. It’s called 99! No surprise there. Cheers.
Love your videos. Thanks for making them. Also thanks for tackling the issue of who can be Scottish and talk about it. You add, what to my ears, is a few gaelic words here and there and I don't always catch what is being said and what it means. Still love hearing the language though. Would much appreciate it if you would consider creating a few videos on casual gaelic pleasantries. How to say them, what they mean, when to use them. As a New Zealander descended from Northern Ireland Scots escaping the famine. I'm going through all your videos and I'm hoping to come across something about them. Again. Thankyou.
@@ScotlandHistoryTours Wow!, thank you! As soon as I can scratch some coins togethor I'm going to support your channel. This is such important work. I know you humbly say, just a baw bag with a cam and tripod but its you who brings the stories alive. Well done!
Not a knock, just a suggestion.....when you have shots of you walking across the screen, make sure you leave the shot completely first before you cut to the next one. Makes the transition more pleasing. Loved the history of my favorite type of drink to have a good time with!
I had a whisky tasting of Highland Park whisky (out of Glasgow?). The modern one, I really didn't like, but their traditional whiskeys, I did. Yum! It really surprised me because I don't usually drink much other than wine.
One of my current favorite scotch is Highland Park Cask Strength (from Orkney, not the highlands)… like any cask strength, it’s a bit ethanol forward. But, that’s almost no issue due to the most robust flavors you’ll find in any whiskey out there.
I was very happy to see that you recently assisted Max and José on their long-anticipated trip to Scotland. I am sure you blew their minds. I follow Max’s channel Tasting History, and as soon as he mentioned the trip, I mentioned you, but I think he already knew. Favourite whisky? Impossible. But my Dad RIP introduced us to a variety, and I was fond of these. Lagavulin (Islay) Laphroaig (tarry old ropes. Delicious!) Highland Park (Orkney) Jura (guess) For a budget blended I usually choose the Famous Grouse but I don’t know why. I doubt I could tell the difference between that and its friends.
too many Single malts Whiskies sampled but....still too many left to try! My latest single malt is a delicious Campbeltown = Glen Scotia "Victoriana" Cask Strength. Wonderful!!😋
Fav scitch whisky: Bunnahabhain, hands down. last scotch I had was Talisker two days ago. I like Springbank as well. However, when i visit Scotland, I will taste any others you suggest 🥰
Och, I'm obviously getting old because I can take or leave a Malt Whisky these days...BUT... Chivas Regal has been my go-to since the early-1970's...😎 Oh, almost forgot, here's a shout out for the Japanese. Suntory is an excellent wee dram.
I was introduced to island whiskey. I've spent time in Achmelvich (Assynt), cut dried burned and cooked with peat. In return for help farming and gardening I was taught to stalk deer and properly drink whiskey. My friends had a real taste for peat, and I developed a bit of it too. Also I like to be in the highlands enjoying the golden countryside as I sip on a dram. I take it with a splash of water straight from the tap (well water) just a splash. Read great stories on how stills were hidden back in the day.
The last whiskey I drank was Jack Daniels and that was 20 odd years ago. My great uncle snuffy as he was called; was a whiskey runner back in the day. He also had a still lol.🇺🇸🌹🦋❤️☮️😊
I am a whiskey novice, but I will always remember stopping at the Edradour distillery during a driving tour of bonny Scotland. It seemed to me to be the perfect setting for a wonderful taste of that magical liquor.
Being American I started on buttons, Jack Daniels, or Johnnie Walker. I have moved to Jameson's Irish whiskey, being a bit Irish and all. I'm wanting to up my game and get a real single malt scotch.
last whiskey I drank was Green Spot... not much of a fan of Sotch, but I am a big fan of a whiskey made in the Scotch tradition, which is Hibiki Japanese Harmony. Edit: last scotch was Springbank I think
I have some Shieldaig Speyside for a smooth dram; Laphroaig 10 year for smoke: Redbreast 12; Masterson Rye and Buffalo Trace for sipping and old fashioned. Slàinte!
I don't drink anymore and haven't for a long time, but in my younger days was well acquainted with Glenfiddich. Last one I drank was probably Bowmore which my father was very partial to.
A fun fact, the Macdonald's of Glencoe were masters at distilling there own whiskey on the hills of Glencoe, our family today still serve in the copper industry today making stills for most of the distillerys in Scotland
A Kentucky Bourbon 🥃! Latest is Maker’s Mark 101 - note the distillery pays homage to 🏴 by labeling it as whisky vice whiskey. My favorite scotch whisky is a highland malt. Slainte!
