Excellent session Ralfy! I really appreciate your deeper dives into the variations and nuances of the Scotch palate. Your providing examples of more specific flavors and the bottlings and distilleries that represent them is SO helpful and interesting. My journey has brought me much more into the more unusual and complex flavor combinations, especially the “funkier” side or the more sour/tannic wine caskings. Please continue these deeper dives into the Scotch flavor wheel!
I’m not an expert in cask manufacture but from what I’ve read, you can get bitterness from a cask if the wood is flamed hard or otherwise exposed to high heat. The documents and charts I’ve seen say that to expose oak to 500-580º F (260-305ºC) for 2-3 hours will produce acridity (bitterness) in a whiskey. At the lower temperature ranges you’ll have more almond and toasty notes when the acridity begins, but the former two notes taper off and acridity escalates as the temperature increases. I figure if you want a really bitter whiskey, harvest the wood in the autumn as Ralfy says, then broil the wood staves at those higher temp ranges. So I suppose my point is that to make a bitter whiskey is very possible. If you want to go even further, finish the whiskey above in barrels that have aged IPA beers, especially those with higher IBUs like your imperial IPAs, to bring in the bitterness from hops. I’ve done that before, it works.
Finally someone that values bitter other than me. I grew up in an Italian household where bitter is a part of food flavors like endive and dark olives and herbs. I love Japanese green tea that has all flavors and umami. Ralfy is a Godsend.
I personally get a lot of bitterness of heavily sherried whiskies as well. I do agree that peat and bitterness go well together. You might like this one Ralfy, but I made a espresso martini variant. Its 1 espresso, 25ml Ardbeg 5 (or any other peated whisky), 10ml Baileys, teaspoon of brown sugar syrup (to ease of the bitterness if you like) with a big cube of ice in a waterproof container. Shaky shaky to cool, in the glass (without the ice) and add grated dark chocolate on top. Delish! more like a cappuccino whisky really
Ralfy, this was a very good extras video. I learned a lot from it. You did not hold back on your opinions, and it really came through. Some very interesting tidbits I have not heard elsewhere. You clearly outlined not only flavour profiles but also how one's whisky journey may progress over time. Quite an accomplishment in under seventeen minutes. Sadly, some of the distilleries/bottlings you mention are not available in Canada at this time, but hopefully that will change. You are a masterful munificent malt mate. I don't know if that qualifies as a malt mention, but if it does, please add it to the list. Thank you.
Thanks ralfy for all of the senses sharing on your channel. I'm having a great time slowly enjoying my single malts with all the different tastes and smells in a single bottle. It seems every dram is a little different.
i started with teeling and bunnahabhain, next bottle was edradour caledonia and absolutely loved it, soon followed by the 10y signatory, glen scotia, glencadam, mortlach. I never started with 40% whiskies, i got some for friends who have no experience in whisky and for cocktails. From early years on i always loved bitterness and sourness, love my coffee black, bitter beers and also bitter whiskies, sadly hard to find, coz mostly its bottled sweet vanilla, which are the most prominent tasting notes that turn me off. I want funk, and challenges, love me some good french oak, herbal, earthy, bitter. Very hard to get virgin cask maturation of it tho. Got a 11 year old rum, matured in ex cognac and virgin french oak, nose is nearly identical to a very good cognac or armagnac, on the taste its so heavy floral, earthy, bitter and sour, at the end the rum shines through, but not as a sweet banana rum, a floral rum, since its an rhum agricole. amazing stuff, not available anymore sadly. Whisky need to step things up a bit, for whisky funk enthusiasts with such maturations :D
I have a friend who said: I hate whisky, I tried some, all of them just taste like alcohol and I don't like that. So we gave him a peat monster (I don't remember which bottle), and he loved from the first sip. The lack of flavor in the cheap blends makes the alcohol more noticeable. For some people this is off-putting. For others, the strong flavor is. It depends.
@@CharlesOffdensen true, a friend of mine is not really into whiskies, way more into wine, he also drinks dirt cheap rum. He didnt like the easy sippers, but loved Elijah Craig barrel proof. He quite enjoys the sweet stuff, not so much the bitter/sour spirits, everyone is different^^
It was the corner shop for me when it was still L S D (in old money £sd) and Beef Broth when I was in a highchair 😉. The grown up me can now appreciate the full range and I guess my malt journey has arrived at the sweet, sour, savoury stage. Invaluable insight as always Ralfy....it just gets me wanting to delve into the whole box of flavour tricks - but patience is a virtue flanked either side by economic restraint!
Ralfy, if people want to enjoy bitter I suggest they buy some black walnuts. They have a naturally bitter background flavor but they are far richer than other walnuts. A must try.
Trying Amaro liqueurs (Cynar - the one with artichoke, Ramazotti, Amaro Nonino, even Jagermeister and other herbal liqueurs like Becherovka), but also Campari, could train the bitter taste tolerance. Aperol could be the one to begin with, because there is more dose of sweetness to counteract the bitterness. Also, drinking IPA beers would be a good way to train bitterness tolerance. Some New England IPAs are extremely bitter, extra dry (or rather there is not enough malt sweetness to counteract bitterness).
Thank you Ralfy, enjoyable and informative as always. Have encountered the salt with Pulteney, not being possessed of a palate that does sweet, enjoyable. Must try and find a Mortlach down here in NZ. Hat tip re Ledaig, it's beautiful, the first whisky I can pour a dram of, and spend the next hour nosing and tasting as it develops. Begs you to spend time. Palate evolves, slowly, getting there :)
Ralfy I'm not sure if we can thank you enough for all your knowledge. Most of the people watching your videos will tell you the same thing, every time you learn something new. Thank you from bottom of my heart
Over time I've learned, that you can play around with these flavours to a certain extent. If you play your water, time, temperature right, you can get some sweet and tangy notes out of bitterness, and so on
Glencadam in general has that bitter/sour thing going. Which would be fine, but they also tend to have a bit of astringency (heat). Which is why I’m not a big Glencadam fan, can’t get past that especially for the US prices.
I have something with a fiar amount of bitterness in it in my glass now. Its Starward Nova, you recognize its a young malty whisky, this nougat/malteser note. But its matured in australian red wine casks and really profit from the tannins. Clever way to include some of these notes. Overall not quite there yet, but a clever approach nonetheless.
Ralfy,please cpuld you review Seaweed, eons ,digging and fire 10 yo 40%? I am intrigued from the undisclosed distillery on Islay, I wonder if you can mayne attempt from where o comes from?
oh and you mean "planning" in bruichladdich in: lets make expensive bottles, be famous and sell high. it seems they shift towards ardbeg style, to maximize profits
Bruichladdich Octomore 12.2 Single Malt Scotch USD $460, Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2011 Islay Single Malt Scotch USD $ 310, Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky USD $65. This bottler is HIGH END.
Mr malt Here in sweden ther is nooo way we can get a indipendent bottle of whiskey, it would be nice if you could do a vlog of the best affordable bottles for the intermidiet malt mate
Poor quality casks also add a bitter taste to whisky..A recent batch of JW green label has had a very noticeable bitter taste running through it.. Disappointing really as I'm a big fan of the Green label.. I fear we will be seeing more of this in the future as Distilleries put new made spirts into substandard casks.. The bitterness I'm referring too is the unpleasant, dull, acidic taste you associate with spent casks that are way past there best..
I dare say Glen Garioch 12. I just can't drink this thing, I am into sweets, and I don't like bitter. This might be one of the whiskies I enjoy the least, and I have tried all the cheap blends, rye whiskies and what not. It just has no sweetness whatsoever. The Glen Garioch is the opposite of what I personally want in a whisky. But there are many people who enjoy it, because it is so unique.
I had a friend try a standard Glenlivet alongside the Illicit Still version to see the difference of NCF. We easily preferred the IS version over the standard and even an 18yo Glenlivet. And it wasn’t close.
Talking bitters, what is your opinion on a good Italian Amaro or even Campari? I am an absolute fan of them and it made me pick out specific flavours in whisky too. Would love to see you review them in one of your rapid reviews. PS Love a good Negroni!
I don't know much but I've been drinking the standard Loch Lomond 12 for a couple weeks and it goes for under $50. Too fruity for me but you might like it.
Your the best mr malt, i learn soooo mutch about whisky from your vlogs, keep up the brilliant job your doing, greetings from Sweden
Excellent session Ralfy! I really appreciate your deeper dives into the variations and nuances of the Scotch palate. Your providing examples of more specific flavors and the bottlings and distilleries that represent them is SO helpful and interesting. My journey has brought me much more into the more unusual and complex flavor combinations, especially the “funkier” side or the more sour/tannic wine caskings. Please continue these deeper dives into the Scotch flavor wheel!
Forget turning lead into gold, whisky making was/is the real alchemy. Thanks, mate, for another wonderful class at Ralfy Univerity!
Type of whisky advice and lesson that people pay money to hear...free gift from Ralfy.
I’m not an expert in cask manufacture but from what I’ve read, you can get bitterness from a cask if the wood is flamed hard or otherwise exposed to high heat. The documents and charts I’ve seen say that to expose oak to 500-580º F (260-305ºC) for 2-3 hours will produce acridity (bitterness) in a whiskey. At the lower temperature ranges you’ll have more almond and toasty notes when the acridity begins, but the former two notes taper off and acridity escalates as the temperature increases. I figure if you want a really bitter whiskey, harvest the wood in the autumn as Ralfy says, then broil the wood staves at those higher temp ranges. So I suppose my point is that to make a bitter whiskey is very possible.
If you want to go even further, finish the whiskey above in barrels that have aged IPA beers, especially those with higher IBUs like your imperial IPAs, to bring in the bitterness from hops. I’ve done that before, it works.
Finally someone that values bitter other than me. I grew up in an Italian household where bitter is a part of food flavors like endive and dark olives and herbs. I love Japanese green tea that has all flavors and umami. Ralfy is a Godsend.
I personally get a lot of bitterness of heavily sherried whiskies as well. I do agree that peat and bitterness go well together. You might like this one Ralfy, but I made a espresso martini variant. Its 1 espresso, 25ml Ardbeg 5 (or any other peated whisky), 10ml Baileys, teaspoon of brown sugar syrup (to ease of the bitterness if you like) with a big cube of ice in a waterproof container. Shaky shaky to cool, in the glass (without the ice) and add grated dark chocolate on top. Delish! more like a cappuccino whisky really
Well done Ralfy. Great advice for any alcohol consumer. A similar video could be made for wine with the same basic notes.
Ralfy, this was a very good extras video. I learned a lot from it. You did not hold back on your opinions, and it really came through. Some very interesting tidbits I have not heard elsewhere. You clearly outlined not only flavour profiles but also how one's whisky journey may progress over time. Quite an accomplishment in under seventeen minutes. Sadly, some of the distilleries/bottlings you mention are not available in Canada at this time, but hopefully that will change. You are a masterful munificent malt mate. I don't know if that qualifies as a malt mention, but if it does, please add it to the list. Thank you.
Does anyone else dare try to teach us this? No, only Ralfy. The G.O.A.T.
Sweet/bitter/savory is my favorite. Rare to find, but it gives off a lot of subjective flavors.
The gems continue to be the extras. Never disappoints. Thanks, Ralfy.
Alex in New York.
Thanks ralfy for all of the senses sharing on your channel. I'm having a great time slowly enjoying my single malts with all the different tastes and smells in a single bottle. It seems every dram is a little different.
i started with teeling and bunnahabhain, next bottle was edradour caledonia and absolutely loved it, soon followed by the 10y signatory, glen scotia, glencadam, mortlach. I never started with 40% whiskies, i got some for friends who have no experience in whisky and for cocktails. From early years on i always loved bitterness and sourness, love my coffee black, bitter beers and also bitter whiskies, sadly hard to find, coz mostly its bottled sweet vanilla, which are the most prominent tasting notes that turn me off. I want funk, and challenges, love me some good french oak, herbal, earthy, bitter. Very hard to get virgin cask maturation of it tho. Got a 11 year old rum, matured in ex cognac and virgin french oak, nose is nearly identical to a very good cognac or armagnac, on the taste its so heavy floral, earthy, bitter and sour, at the end the rum shines through, but not as a sweet banana rum, a floral rum, since its an rhum agricole. amazing stuff, not available anymore sadly. Whisky need to step things up a bit, for whisky funk enthusiasts with such maturations :D
I have a friend who said: I hate whisky, I tried some, all of them just taste like alcohol and I don't like that. So we gave him a peat monster (I don't remember which bottle), and he loved from the first sip.
The lack of flavor in the cheap blends makes the alcohol more noticeable. For some people this is off-putting. For others, the strong flavor is. It depends.
@@CharlesOffdensen true, a friend of mine is not really into whiskies, way more into wine, he also drinks dirt cheap rum. He didnt like the easy sippers, but loved Elijah Craig barrel proof. He quite enjoys the sweet stuff, not so much the bitter/sour spirits, everyone is different^^
It was the corner shop for me when it was still L S D (in old money £sd) and Beef Broth when I was in a highchair 😉. The grown up me can now appreciate the full range and I guess my malt journey has arrived at the sweet, sour, savoury stage. Invaluable insight as always Ralfy....it just gets me wanting to delve into the whole box of flavour tricks - but patience is a virtue flanked either side by economic restraint!
Ralfy, if people want to enjoy bitter I suggest they buy some black walnuts. They have a naturally bitter background flavor but they are far richer than other walnuts. A must try.
Wow, nearly missed this one Ralfy . Just the tutorial I was waiting on and you’d already done it.
Much respect to you my Whisky “Sensei” . 🙇
I can't agree more on your explanation-opinion about bitterness and how awesome it is. Great educational video. Slainte!
Love it when you take us to the classroom👍😊
Trying Amaro liqueurs (Cynar - the one with artichoke, Ramazotti, Amaro Nonino, even Jagermeister and other herbal liqueurs like Becherovka), but also Campari, could train the bitter taste tolerance. Aperol could be the one to begin with, because there is more dose of sweetness to counteract the bitterness. Also, drinking IPA beers would be a good way to train bitterness tolerance. Some New England IPAs are extremely bitter, extra dry (or rather there is not enough malt sweetness to counteract bitterness).
Thank you for this extras. Very good review, Ralfy, great job, well done.
Thank you Ralfy, enjoyable and informative as always. Have encountered the salt with Pulteney, not being possessed of a palate that does sweet, enjoyable. Must try and find a Mortlach down here in NZ. Hat tip re Ledaig, it's beautiful, the first whisky I can pour a dram of, and spend the next hour nosing and tasting as it develops. Begs you to spend time. Palate evolves, slowly, getting there :)
Ralfy I'm not sure if we can thank you enough for all your knowledge. Most of the people watching your videos will tell you the same thing, every time you learn something new. Thank you from bottom of my heart
Over time I've learned, that you can play around with these flavours to a certain extent. If you play your water, time, temperature right, you can get some sweet and tangy notes out of bitterness, and so on
Thank you good Sir, for another free and invaluable lesson.
Thanks again rally, I got a lot out of this xtra. You are always spot in, glenfiddich 12 and Jamieson were my go to for my start to my whisky journey.
I find Glencadam 21 to be bitter/tart as an example from a distillery bottling. Great extras Ralfy! Very informative
Glencadam in general has that bitter/sour thing going. Which would be fine, but they also tend to have a bit of astringency (heat). Which is why I’m not a big Glencadam fan, can’t get past that especially for the US prices.
This would be a wonderful whisky class with tastings as you go. Cheers!
Fantastic vid Ralfy, very informative.
I love black bitter coffee and dark 90% chocolate, but I hate bitter whisky. Interesting video. Cheers.
Old school master class, thank's for this mate!!!
I have something with a fiar amount of bitterness in it in my glass now. Its Starward Nova, you recognize its a young malty whisky, this nougat/malteser note. But its matured in australian red wine casks and really profit from the tannins. Clever way to include some of these notes. Overall not quite there yet, but a clever approach nonetheless.
I love French and German Pear and Apple brandy. Yes I do add sugar to it or apple cider. Delicious.
Ralfy, I for one do not miss my old school days. However, I’d gladly go back to school if you would teach Maltology!
We have a very tough time learning to like phenolic whisky.
Ralfy,please cpuld you review Seaweed, eons ,digging and fire 10 yo 40%? I am intrigued from the undisclosed distillery on Islay, I wonder if you can mayne attempt from where o comes from?
2022 Whats a chalkboard? Is it from Microsoft? Is there an open source version?
It's the upgrade from the stone tablet & chisel.... Personally, i still prefer using the clay tablet!
Thanks Ralfy!
Ralf dear! Please give us malty mates some examples of sour/bitter/salty malts (whether OB's or indies), for better or worse 😲.
Glenfiddich 12 was the first whiskey I ever had.
How would you describe the sensation of a sherry finished whisky? Sweet/Sour and Savoury?
oh and you mean "planning" in bruichladdich in: lets make expensive bottles, be famous and sell high. it seems they shift towards ardbeg style, to maximize profits
Bruichladdich Octomore 12.2 Single Malt Scotch USD $460, Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2011 Islay Single Malt Scotch USD $ 310, Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky USD $65. This bottler is HIGH END.
🥰🥰🥰🥰 from GREECE you are the best
"Macallan ha, that'd be the last one on ma list"
Ralfy Mitchell - 2022
😄🥃
Lots of little slips in this one, at one point Ralfy even bumps his head into the chalk board 🙂
Please review glenfiddich orchard experiment !!!
Pleasure listen to you. Waiting for you reviewing non age statement single malts
Cheers to you. ...
You must like a Manhattan cocktail the sweet bourbon with bitters
Mr malt
Here in sweden ther is nooo way we can get a indipendent bottle of whiskey, it would be nice if you could do a vlog of the best affordable bottles for the intermidiet malt mate
😻😻😻 thanks Ralfy
Is there whisky umami flavor?
. . . in whisky, yes.
Poor quality casks also add a bitter taste to whisky..A recent batch of JW green label has had a very noticeable bitter taste running through it.. Disappointing really as I'm a big fan of the Green label..
I fear we will be seeing more of this in the future as Distilleries put new made spirts into substandard casks..
The bitterness I'm referring too is the unpleasant, dull, acidic taste you associate with spent casks that are way past there best..
Any official bottling of the last category?
I dare say Glen Garioch 12. I just can't drink this thing, I am into sweets, and I don't like bitter. This might be one of the whiskies I enjoy the least, and I have tried all the cheap blends, rye whiskies and what not. It just has no sweetness whatsoever. The Glen Garioch is the opposite of what I personally want in a whisky. But there are many people who enjoy it, because it is so unique.
@@CharlesOffdensen many many thanks
@@lxiaspb Glen Garioch is like honey after some time opened. One of the best 12yo official bottlings.
@@budzogan that means, if I understood well, that this whisky doesn't belong to the last category (sour, bitter, salt)
Nevertheless, a good whisky, I suppose
Wouldn't Clynelish have been a good example for a quite bitter standard? Maybe I remember it wrong. Cheers, ralfy.
. . . waxy, not bitter.
Well, I like very hoppy IPAs, so I must have grown out of the sweet phase. :) Oaky bitterness in bourbons and ryes are just fine with me.
I had a friend try a standard Glenlivet alongside the Illicit Still version to see the difference of NCF. We easily preferred the IS version over the standard and even an 18yo Glenlivet. And it wasn’t close.
Talking bitters, what is your opinion on a good Italian Amaro or even Campari? I am an absolute fan of them and it made me pick out specific flavours in whisky too. Would love to see you review them in one of your rapid reviews.
PS Love a good Negroni!
. . . If local Italian produced, all the better.
Vlog tip
Top 10 budget single malts for us the poor who cant pay 100 pounds for a good malt
I don't know much but I've been drinking the standard Loch Lomond 12 for a couple weeks and it goes for under $50. Too fruity for me but you might like it.
Not sure why but I don't like the taste of Glenfiddich at all. I don't mind Glenlivit but Glenfiddich just tastes strange somehow.
inchfad is pretty bitter for my personal exp.
You talk so beautiful, mate!🙂👏
❤
👍❤️🥃
Third! Happy Tuesday, Ralfy!
Well, not third,... But nevermind, thank You for this x-tras!!!!