Our selection of Scotch Whisky
Introduction
|
Here, at Feng Shui House, we pride ourselves on the quality of the food and drink that we offer our guests and so we are pleased to bring you some excellent Scottish whiskies for your enjoyment.
Scotland has over 80 distilleries scattered across the land. And it is the characteristics of the land and water that are the main factors in giving the whiskies their different scents and flavors.
Clusters of whisky distilleries are grouped together with a regional name – like a family – sharing the same soil and water qualities. This can give you a rough idea about what to expect in terms of quality and taste. The main regions you might come across are: Speyside, Islay, Islands and Highlands.
Our range comes from a variety of whisky regions and includes single malts and blended whiskies.
 |
Single malts
get their name from the fact that they come from a single distillery and are not mixed, or blended, with whisky from another distillery. They can be blended with whisky from other batches from the same distillery including whiskey distilled in previous years. so when you buy a single malt that says it is 10 years old this is the age of the youngest whisky in the mix – there may be whiskies a lot older in the bottle.
And yes, a 10 year old Scotch Whisky has spent 10 years sitting in a huge cask, (in a bonded warehouse!) maturing before it goes for bottling.
Blended whiskies
are just that, whiskies from different distilleries and years are blended to produce a specific set of characteristic tastes and smells.
Our prices range from £2.00 a glass for our cheapest blended whisky to £8.00 for our best 30 year old single malt. Because its worth it!
Great whisky takes time and you know what they say .... time is money - just think of all those years sitting in a bonded warehouse paying rent for the space, the security systems and the manpower to look after it.
Whisky tasting
Whisky tasting is an enjoyable hobby and an exacting profession. Blenders and tasters use their own jargon to describe the smell, taste and textures of a whisky in the same way that wine tasters talk about the differences in wine.
The main aromas are:
- Cereal - malty, yeasty smell
- Esters - fruity or solvent
- Feinty - tobacco and leather
- Floral - grass and flowers
- Phenols - peat and smoke
- Sulphury - gas and rubber
- Winey - sherry and nutty
- Woody - vanilla and toast
If you have ever seen tasters, you might have noticed that they use tulip shaped glasses to concentrate the aromas in the neck of the glass and that they often add a little water to release the aroma.
You can start by swirling your whisky around in the glass and then gently sniffing to see what scents you can identify. If you are a complete beginner you might want to have 2 glasses of very different whiskies and concentrate on noticing and describing the difference between them.
Adding ice or chilled water to your whisky will stop the aromas and flavor releasing fully so you don't get the full potential of the whisky. And again, you might want to add a little still, or mineral, water before you start so that your taste buds don't get dulled by the anaesthetic qualities of the whisky.
Take a sip of your diluted room-warmed whisky and gently swirl it around your mouth. Is it sweet or bitter, salty or sour?. How does it feel in your mouth - dry, fizzy, oily? And finally the finish - does the flavor vanish instantly or is there an echo or aftertaste?
Now that you know what to look for have a look through our whisky list and see if any tempt you to taste them. Enjoy your drink..
Islay whiskies
The Island of Islay is one of Western Isles and is host to several wind and sea swept coastal distilleries. Islay is covered by extensive peat bogs coloring the water brown and producing a strong peaty flavor. Add to this the brine from years of being saturated by salt spray, driven inland by stormy weather, and you can understand why Islay produces some of the strongest flavoured of all malt whiskies. You tend to either, love them, or loathe them.
As well as the aromas of tar and smoke some say that you can often find delicate mossy scents with a hint of spice.
Further inland and to the north these qualities are not so strong and the whisky is less smoky and lighter.
Auld Reekie
distilled by: Duncan Taylor : £3.00
Auld Reekie is a 12 year old bottling of Islay Malt whisky has a pungent smoky smell that grows on you – although some unkind folk have said it reminds them of medicine.
Often described as crisp and salty with a clear smoky flavor.
Not, perhaps for the timid.
Bruichladdich 30 year old
distilled by: Bruichladdich Distillery : £8.00
Bruichladdich is one of the northern Islay distilleries originally built in 1881 by the Harvey family from Glasgow. The distillery uses spring water and there is very little contact with the peat and so it has a much milder and lighter smell and taste from the whiskies produced by the coastal distilleries.
Mossy flavored with a hint of seaweed and almonds with a slightly oily texture.
Very Young Ardbeg
distilled by: Ardbeg Distillery : £3.50
Ardbeg is one of the southern distilleries (said to have been a hideout for smugglers in the 18th century) using heavily peated malt and the e island's brown peaty water at every stage in the distilling process. As a result Ardbeg claims to be the peatiest Islay whisky
A robust and vigorous whisky packed full of peat smoke, well balanced with a sweet centre and a hint of citrus. One for sipping at bedtime.
Speyside whiskies
Speyside produces over half of Scotland whisky and what was was thought of as part of the highland region produces so many variations that it now thought of as region in its own right
Oddly enough very few of the Speyside distilleries use water from the river Spey tending to get it from nearby springs and rivulets.
Speyside whiskies are often described as having a smell like peaches or nail varnish some are highly scented and are said to smell like roses or carnation and even bananas. Part of this might be explained by the fact that they are matured in sherry wood casks.
Glenfiddich 21 year old
distilled by: Glenfiddich Distillery : £6.00
Very sweet with a hint of smoke and toffee. Go easy on the ice – better yet drink it straight and savour it slowly.
Glenlivet 12 year old
distilled by: Glenlivet Distillery Ballindalloch : £2.75
A nice light, soft and mellow whisky with hints of wood and citrus.
Highlands whiskies
The Western Highlands distilleries include Oban and Ben Nevis and the island distilleries on the Isles of Jura, Mull and Skye.
They tend to have a smoky, peppery flavor that is quite light. The flavors become more intense with age and also owe a great deal to the wood they are stored in before being bottled
West Highland malts have much less peat than Islay whiskies and have just a whiff of smoke with a sweet start and a dryish, peppery finish.
Glenturret 18 year old
distilled by: Glenturret Distillery : £6.00
An aroma of oak and lavender with an explosion of honey an oak on the tongue leaving a hint of coffee and citrus
An enjoyable, light bodied whisky with a creamy malty taste
Glenturret 21 year old
distilled by: Glenturret Distillery : £8.00
A fruity honey taste with an undercurrent of malt and cocoa. A lingering taste of oak and honey
A beautiful smooth and complex whisky.
Islands
 |
The island distilleries are on Jura, Mull and Skye).
They are not as strong as Islay malts and share a smoky, peppery tang which increases with the age of the whisky.
Isle of Jura Superstition
distilled by: Isle of Jura Distillery : £3.50
Jura is mild, pale and delicate and is the mildest of the West Highland malts. You get immediate peatiness with nuts and young grassy smoky feel. Definitely one to try
Blended
 |
Arthur Bell was one of the first to recognise the potential of blending malt and grain whisky. He reasoned that the single malts were, and still are, an acquired taste and that more people could enjoy whisky if the different malts were blended to be less fierce and distinctive.
There are now many, many famous blends including Bells, Grouse, Johnnie Walker and Teacher's.
Bailie Nicol Jarvie
blended: £3.00
Mellow fruity aroma with hints of vanilla and apple blossom. A zesty taste with hints of citrus and almonds at the core leaving a soft juicy after taste.
A superbly balanced blend. a must try !
Bells
blended: £2.00
Famous Grouse
blended: £2.50
A moderately sweet slightly spicy whisky with delicate aromatic hints of fruit and very soft peat with a hint of linseed oil.
Medium bodied with a warm caramel aftertaste - a satisfying dram for everyday.
