All countries are different, tell me a fact about your country.

Hahahahaha

Me too, I didn't even like ice near the end. I should have already taken that as a bad sign, to be frank.

But if I was gonna drink whiskey, it was gonna be scotch and single malt. Not stinking bourbon.
 
blackbird9 said:
HSBC has their global quality of life report, which makes pretty interesting reading. Here is the one for 2024, I think the 2025 one hasn't been published yet.


Of course there are several other similar surveys which attempt to figure out where in the world you will have the best quality of life.

And there's the EIU global liveability index, you have to pay for that one but Forbes magazine has a digest here

www.forbes.com

The 20 Best Cities To Live In The World, According To A 2025 Report

Looking for the best cities to live in the world—including the best places to live in the U.S.? The new Global Liveability Index ranks cities on quality of life and more.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com

I've noticed over the years that melbourne, adelaide, vienna, copenhagen... always seem to be near the top!
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Five out of 20 are in Austrailia! Lucky them.
 
lost_in_c said:
Did you put coca-cola in it as well?
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Heresy!
lost_in_c said:
But if I was gonna drink whiskey, it was gonna be scotch and single malt. Not stinking bourbon.
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There can be good bourbon, but not the run-of-the-mill stuff.

And most interestingly, some other countries make good single malt. I was pleasently surprised by the Japanese one I tried, and there is some nice German one still on my cupboard. The aging process is quite different in the basement of an old castle compared to open air next to the ocean. Less sea weed, salt, but more from the forest around it. Ever tasted forest in spring and autumn at the same time?

Looks like I will see Venice soon, any suggestions?
 
Ist thou suggesting I'm am Italian?

I'm not surprised by the Japanese taking up anything and becoming top tier at it. As for castle storage, I have to believe it, because I once visited a dungeon-like room where a gigantic barrel had been holding rum for 80 years. By the time I left that room, I was piss drunk. But I didn't drank anything. But more to the point, the smell was one of the most exquisite things I have experienced. Rocks holding little mosses or whatever it is the smell echoing in on itself. I believes it.

Locale, imo, has more influence in terms of the soil, what the French call terroir. This is very noticeable in coffee as well, and chocolate.

Also cigars, now that I think of it, that is maybe where it is the most noticeable.

By the way, wasn't the original bourbon, what they called moonshine, essencially vodka? Isn't what potato whisky is is basically wodka?
 
For whisky, you really need to go to Scotland...
craft56.co.uk

Scottish Whisky | Small Batch Scotch Whiskies

Shop from our range of carefully selected small batch Scottish whiskies including blended and single malt Scotch. Order by 1pm for same day dispatch and next day UK delivery available.
craft56.co.uk craft56.co.uk

And Ireland...

Irish Whisky | Blended & Single Malt | House of Malt

Shop House of Malt's selection of premium Irish whisky today, from some of the more prestigious brands on the market. Free delivery on orders over £99.
www.houseofmalt.co.uk www.houseofmalt.co.uk
 
Talking about whiskeys and whiskies I'm a sort of a late bloomer in that regard. I thought that I can't stand any of them, no drink was making me sick like Jack Daniel's, so I was sticking with rakia, vodka, tequila or cognac. Only about age of 30 friend introduced me to Jameson, and I was surprised that not only I liked it a lot, but also could stand considerable amounts of it without any adverse effects. Being nerd and loving to know all there is about my poisons I educated myself about it, and whole new world opened for me.

Turned out, what I don't like and my body violently refuses are Bourbon's. IDK why, and it wasn't important because since I learned about Islay whisky and their beautiful smoky flavor, I'll have that or Irish whiskey.

BTW, word "whiskey" is Irish, to quote Wikipedia:
The word whisky (or whiskey) is an Anglicization of the Classical Gaelic word uisce (or uisge) meaning "water" (now written as uisce in Modern Irish, and uisge in Scottish Gaelic). ... Distilled alcohol was known in Latin as aqua vitae ("water of life"). This was translated into Middle Irish as uisce betha which became uisce beatha in Irish and uisge beatha in Scottish Gaelic. /q
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I for one am thankful to the Gaelic people for this great gift to the world 🙏
 
Crivens said:
Looks like I will see Venice soon, any suggestions?
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When I went in 2005, it was OK to feed the pigeons in St. Mark's square. But when I went hunting for a photo to show that, I discovered that since then, that got banned by the city, because hey, those birds are wildlife...
1757259033314.png
 
astyle said:
When I went in 2005, it was OK to feed the pigeons in St. Mark's square. But when I went hunting for a photo to show that, I discovered that since then, that got banned by the city, because hey, those birds are wildlife...
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When I went in late 80s st marks square was flooded, they had planks set up as walkways balanced on piles of bricks. I remember the paintings in the Doge's palace were pretty good, and the promenade.
 
astyle said:
I discovered that since then, that got banned by the city, because hey, those birds are wildlife...
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They are. And feeding them keeps them close to humans, and that gets into all kinds of problems. Have you ever seen someone who got seagull crap in his eye? There is a reason why some places have €5000,- fines (yes, 5k) for feeding them. That might be an interesting fact for anyone who wants to visit the coast here. Don't feed them. They can do that on their own.
 
Crivens said:
They are. And feeding them keeps them close to humans, and that gets into all kinds of problems. Have you ever seen someone who got seagull crap in his eye? There is a reason why some places have €5000,- fines (yes, 5k) for feeding them. That might be an interesting fact for anyone who wants to visit the coast here. Don't feed them. They can do that on their own.
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Pigeons lived in Venice since Roman times easy, and now all of a sudden we're scared of random poop? Just buy a few more tableside umbrellas, Coca-Cola or Budweiser will be grateful for a few extra square yards of advertising space.
1757265693720.png
 
vmisev said:
Talking about whiskeys and whiskies I'm a sort of a late bloomer in that regard. I thought that I can't stand any of them
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Same here though much later in life. I only had a beer at company gatherings cause everyone else had one. And then I'd sip it, leaving half a glass. Then I'd go home and crash cause it made me so tired. I am such a light weight.

Nowadays I've found a fondness for whiskey and other drinks as long as they are sweet but don't let me drive home after two. I like a nice cabernet sauvignon with dinner but only one glass.

The only real reason we have vodka and whiskey and the like at home is cause I like to cook and I use them in some dishes. If I decide to imbibe at home, I tend to drink up the bottle (over time) but then don't replace it (or drink any) till I need it for cooking again.
 
drhowarddrfine said:
Same here though much later in life. I only had a beer at company gatherings cause everyone else had one. And then I'd sip it, leaving half a glass. Then I'd go home and crash cause it made me so tired. I am such a light weight.

Nowadays I've found a fondness for whiskey and other drinks as long as they are sweet but don't let me drive home after two. I like a nice cabernet sauvignon with dinner but only one glass.

The only real reason we have vodka and whiskey and the like at home is cause I like to cook and I use them in some dishes. If I decide to imbibe at home, I tend to drink up the bottle (over time) but then don't replace it (or drink any) till I need it for cooking again.
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If you prefer lighter variants, try Bushmills White and Tullamore Dew. Mind you, they are "lighter" only in taste, not a strength! Maybe there are some others from Scotland, but I'm familiar only with Islay (and that's anything but "light") – don't have much of the choice here as in Western countries.
 
Of course here we have Irish Potcheen/Poteen, which used to be illegal for sale in England, I'm not sure about nowadays, but certain pubs would sell it to you if you knew the right person to ask. It's very strong. I used to see it when I lived in the north of england years ago but have not seen it being sold in the south where I am now, then again I haven't gone looking for it! I seem to remember there were health risks with it, you had to be careful because some of it was contaminated (with methanol). From reading this wikipedia page perhaps it is now properly regulated. Though I expect you can still get illegal poteen if you try.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitín
 
blackbird9 said:
Of course here we have Irish Potcheen, which used to be illegal for sale in England, I'm not sure about nowadays, but certain pubs would sell it to you if you knew the right person to ask. It's very strong. I used to see it when I lived in the north of england years ago but have not seen it being sold in the south where I am now, then again I haven't gone looking for it! I seem to remember there were health risks with it, you had to be careful because some of it was contaminated (with methanol). From reading this wikipedia page perhaps it is now properly regulated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitín
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I would like SO MUCH to try this! 😋 Also, I never had Irish Single pot 😭
 
My state (not my country) only allows hard liquor sales in state-owned shops. Approaching them to get some Bulgarian cognac seems a bit hopeless, although I am intrigued.
 
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