I have wee argument with a colleague at work over the pronunication of the name of a certain whisky.
I said it's LAPHR-OY-G....because it says so on their own website, but she says it's LAPHR-AY-G.
She's Scottish and said people would laugh at you if you ordered LAPHR-OY-G in Scotland.
What gives?
New to this single malt...found that I lean towards the smokey side of things and have enjoyed Laphroaig and just recently Ardbeg (where's the colour gone?).
While I wouldn't argue with a native, this might be of some help:
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this page has tiny sound files in *.WAV and *.AU formats to demosnstrate how to pronounce the names of all the malt distilleries in Scotland.
It's from one of the oldest Malt Whisky websites on the net. The home page is
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Welcome to the world of whisky and the conversation!
You've already found some of the smokiest, peatiest whiskies around. Since you're starting at the top of the mountain or near it, most of the whiskies you find will be less smoky/peaty, but that doesn't mean they wont be enjoyable in their own right. For other smoky ones, look for Lagavulin, Bowmore, Caol Ila, and Talisker. As a rule of thumb, a broad generalization, the younger ones will have more intense smoky flavors while the older ones will have more depth and complexity. There are other peaty whiskies that are a little more expensive and a little less widely available, but the ones above are a good place to start looking.
Lagavulin seems to be the next one to go for...seems to get a lot of mention in this ng.
As an aside, do you find that most of your, let's say acquaintances, avoid spirits, or avoid whisky....which is fantastic...means you never have to share it!
Just because a person is Scottish doesn't guarantee they know a lot about whisky - she ought to have enough humility to accept the company's website as an arbitrator. That said, you'll get laughed at for pronouncing a number of whiskies correctly because people assume that the way most people say it is correct.
I just can't bring myself to say Ledaig as Ledchig as it says on the side of bottle - even though I'm sure the bottle is right - I'm just convinced that I'd get laughed at.
I would certainly add Longrow (heavily peated, double distilled malt made at Springbank) to the recommended list. The most recent 10 year old ('95) is particularly good, but if you like sherry with your peat, you might still be able to find some of the Sherry Cask Longrows ('91 and no vintage) around. All the expressions are good, but try the 14yo before buying it. It has more creosote than some people are expecting.
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