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They usually drink the stuff in water anyway, so taste shouldn't be an issue for them. With an average 5/1 water/whisky ratio it breaks my heart when these places serve anything decent.
What I could not understand was why the distiller's (Ballantines) would allow him to visit their distillery at all then I found out that Suntory was buying large quantities of grain whisky from them and importing it to Japan to be used in their product. This was probably why it tasted OK.
Soon after this there was a furore in Scotland when they (Suntory) signed "Big Tam" (Sean Connery) to promote their products. For a while the guy was treated almost as a traitor here for doing this :)
I remember those Sean Connery commercials. Great stuff. Had them lining up to buy the stuff...literally.
When it comes to Ireland, I like the "Connemara" best, which "incidentally" is the only Irish Single Malt.
* We can thank Irish monks (sometime between the 6th and 12th centuries) for whiskey.
* We can forgive the Irish monks who brought their whiskey recipes while founding Scottish monasteries.
* We can blame the Scots (as we now do Americans) for strange spelling, strange pronunciation, and producing strange facsimilies of the true Uisce Beatha [water of life].
* We can note that Elizabeth I was quite partial to Irish Whiskey.
* We can note that the Scots used to bulk ship their knock-off whisky to Dublin to be bottled there as the much more valuable whiskey.
* We can note that the Irish pipes are condusive to a convivial evening in the pub while the Scottish pipes are ... not.
BDW taking adavantage of the anglophonically linguistically challenged is ... a damn good idea when it's the English in the cross hairs ..;))
One of my best friends was an very senior inspector of distilleries for the customs services in Scotland ..he preferred "Irish"..
My case rests ..
its like cognac and armagnac ;)..
I also like polish pure etc( nearest thing to moonshine or lightening or potcheen )..as long it evaporates almost as fast as one can drink it I like any white spirit with the correct formulation ..
(sometime between the 6th and 12th centuries)
the rest of Europe called it the "dark ages" ..
we called it " dont open the blouiddy curtins till me head stops hurtin " ..;)
Where to get it from?
What good names are there?
Man, I dont even know the difference of Scots Whiskey & Irish whiskey!
Bushmills is quite sophisticated. So is Connemara, which actually is the only Irish single malt (an therefore I would not recommend it for your occasion since people who like Irish Whiskey are usually not the ones who appreciate Single Malts).
As always with presents for parents in law (to be), don't overdo it! Have a look at the pricerange and select one from the lower-middle or upper-lowend region. Don't just go for themost expensive one.
But again - Irish Whiskey is a rather easy buy.
On a sidenote: can't you girlfriend just tell you the name of the most empty bottle in her fathers cupboard?
If more expensive = better a drink (except in Japan), then there's a bunch of droolling folk checking their bank accounts at the moment, yes?
<added>
Regarding pmkpmk's link to a pronunciation guide, has anyone gotten any of the files to actually play on their machine? I'm still curious as to how you pronounce "Laphroaig."
</added>
"La Froyg" rhymes with "Freud," as in Sigmund.
<pondering>
Is it a sin, given there's some Scottish blood in my veins, that my experience with whisk(e)y is limited to a couple of capfulls in my tea, in the colder months, to keep it "warm?"
</pondering>