Blue Label

[Fragony]

I was kinda joking, naturally, as if I would ruin my cola with whiskey, inconceiveable. But what is wrong with blended, Dimple or Chivaz easily outclass many a malt, unless you go for the 50 euro+ ones

[Hosakawa Tito]

I'm not that fond of Blue Label, especially at that price. I'll take Crown Royal, Jameson's, or Jim Beam any day.

Gimme Cognac, Remy Martin 1738 please.

[Kagemusha]

Im a friend of Islay whiskey´s like Lagavulin and Laphroaig. Most blended whiskey´s taste just plain bland compared to these strong smokey whiskey´s. Once you go Islay there is not coming back. No need to drink mixture of bland tasting whiskeys when you can get strong flavoured and rich ones at the same prize. If i want my booze to taste neutral then i just drink vodka.

[Fragony]

They taste smoky because of the wood, has nothing to do with being blended or not.

[Ser Clegane]

They taste smoky because of the wood, has nothing to do with being blended or not.

Obviously you could also create a blend with more character - the point is that the main brands do not do it ... probably to appeal to a broader taste - most people will not like the strong flavor of the Islays when they first taste it (but as Kage said - once you got into it it is hard to go back)

[Fragony]

Obviously you could also create a blend with more character - the point is that the main brands do not do it ... probably to appeal to a broader taste - most people will not like the strong flavor of the Islays when they first taste it (but as Kage said - once you got into it it is hard to go back)

And despite it not being blended and thus dependant on season, weather conditions, poor/bad harvest, it's consistantly good no matter what? Achohol has no real taste it's the wood it riped in that gives it the flavour. More care to the riping proces makes a good whiskey good, not a particular grain-sort that only grows on middle-earth.

[Ser Clegane]

And despite it not being blended and thus dependant on season, weather conditions, poor/bad harvest, it's consistantly good no matter what? Achohol has no real taste it's the wood it riped in that gives it the flavour. More care to the riping proces makes a good whiskey good, not a particular grain-sort that only grows on middle-earth.

Sorry, but that is almost entirely incorrect. It is not the wood of the barrel that is exclusively (or even primarily) responsible for the flavor of the whisky. You are giving way too little credit to the actually distillation process if you think it is just about distilling alcohol (alcohol is just an excellent carrier of the ingredients that give the actual flavor). Where do you think the flavor of an Obstler comes from? Certainly not from a barrel.

The flavor of a Single Malt will indeed change when you compare batches from different years - nevertheless you will see that the products from a given distillery usually have a certain "base character" - this does not mean that I will like any Single Malt, but the Islay whiskys tend to have a character that I definitely prefer over other (a certain saltiness, usually very peaty).
The challenge of a good blender is to deliver a very consistent product by blending together a broad range of Single Malts that do not have consistent quality/flavor each year. IMHO, most (even expensive blends) lack the character of an Islay that I appreciate - the basic blends of e.g. Johnny Walker or Chivas are way too generic IMHO and lack any characteristic flavor.
Of course you will not get a proper Single Malt for the same price either - call it snobbish if you like, but either I spent some more money on something proper (same with wine) and drink less (or simply stay with a beer).

[Fragony]

No your wrong, destilation is bringing it to the temperature where alchole veporates, 78 degree celcius exactly. You can make whiskey from strawberries if you want, just don't mix it with the recidu. It won't taste exactly the same but close enough, the taste comes from the barrel they pour it in, Jack Daniels is famous for torching the barrels, his way of speeding thigs up.