I think that is the important distinguisher here…you do it professionally. Most people…and by most I mean the overwhelming majority…do not. They don’t buy a certain vodka that tastes terrible to them but comes highly recommended.
So in the case of a common person it is absolutely always about how they find it enjoyable. And that is also not even always about taste…it could also be price points. I’ve had some great tasting bourbon and scotch…but I could never go buy a bottle of it because I simply couldn’t justify the cost. That plays into for some too.
I like a nice, sweet, smooth Glenmorangie (especially that one they age in port barrels) but also really love Lagavulin and Laphroiag for different reasons. Any favorites, yourself, as a Scot?
Oh I dont buy vodka. Thats what rep samplings are for. Or friends who do like vodka. And since I dont currently work much with liquor, I’m safe.
But substantially I do this for things that I dont have a professional (or current professional) interest in. Because i want to understand things.
I read books I dont like. And almost always finish them. And sometimes reread them. If I have a food I don’t like. I work on learning to like it (current project raw tomato). Movies, music etc. Always pulling them apart, testing them out. If i have a major personal preference its to understand things.
Which is why I’m trying to stress that if your interest in whiskey is knowing about it genuinely. Understanding it, as fully as possible. A real enthusiast interest. You should be doing it this way. And through that hardline ideas like never ice start to seem foolish.
If your interest is instead in impressing people by looking like you know what your talking about. Or making a big deal out of consuming something purportedly expensive. Or because of some cultural connotations. Well then go buy something overpriced from Johnny Walker and go hang out with guys who constantly reference that quote about glancing at a bottle of vermouth. Prescriptivist ideas are usually more about proving something about their holders than anything practical.
I’m all in on Speyside. I think it’s the purest, most central essence of whisky/whiskey, with priority on subtlety and balance. Among those, I have a political preference for non-corporate distilleries (good list here Independently Owned Scotch Distilleries - The Whiskey Wash), which leaves very few (although there are some new, small ones popping up), of those, Glenfarclas, and of theirs, the 17. It’s the only one I’ll buy, but people do bring others around
ETA: Ha, just noticed the post Ryu put up while I was typing that. We sure do have different approaches, eh?
I generally find Speysides to be the least distinct, most generic form of Scotch. They’ve got the basline style all scotch has. But nothing neccisarily special or distictive on their own. Training wheel scotch.
That said there are some really good Speysides even if it doesnt get me going as a catagory. I’ll second the Glenfarclas reccomendation. Everything they make is amazing. One of the best whiskeys I’ve ever had was a Glenfarclas 1972 rare bottling. A $50 glass of whiskey that was worth every penny. Which was nice. Cause I could only afford the one.
Glad we cleared that up Although, I take your approach on beer, or something like hot sauce, prefer some styles to others but always trying different kinds. Steakhouse, though, it’s always a New York, just on the medium side of medium-rare, kosher salt and fresh black pepper.
There’s ‘peaty’ and there’s ‘smoky’, and usually with Laphroaig and the other Islay malts the smokiness is the overpowering part. There’s also an iodine flavor (like @Kevin_Slattery alludes to).
Bunnahabhain has not much smoke or peat, so it’s kind of an outlier among the Islay single malts. It’s also just on the edge of my price range, so although I like it I might only buy it once every few years. If you like Laphroaig (Christ, I can never spell that right) then most of the Islay single malts you will probably like: Bowmore, Ardbeg, Talisker etc.
(For the record, although it was the Islay whiskies that got me hooked on Scotch in the first place, I don’t actually prefer them anymore. My comment about Ardbeg being “The Best Whisky In The World” was more of a joke. I typically drink Glenmorangie or Speyburn, would drink Oban if my pocketbook would allow it.)
To be entirely honest, I drink any of these when someone else is giving me a glass these days, because I’ve been priced out of the Scotch category for the most part. Some are still decently affordable (Glenmorangie, bless them) but Laphroiag, Lagavulin, Talisker, Ardbeg, and Oban are in the “wished-for Christmas gift” category these days.
Yeah. . . there was a period where I was drinking very cheap blends, some of them pretty cruddy (I’m embarrassed to say I used to buy that $10 Trader Joes blended Scotch-- the only plus being that it made other blends taste pretty good.)
At one point I was considering trying this experiment:
I get the feeling that despite all the talk about enjoyment in the ad text, this is all just for looks. Whoever buys this is preening to look more badass*. It isn’t for any actual savouring. Even the images of the model, the hands made to look like the guy has motor oil in the creases, speaks volumes.
*Note: actually being a badass is not guaranteed, and often not the case.
I have to admit, the rules surrounding bourbon do not appeal to me: especially the rule about the barrels, as I really like my whiskeys to come from old sherry casks.
Er.
That said, I do have to give a shout out to Jameson’s Cask Mates. It might be my imagination, but I did detect a hint of hops in the whiskey, and it was pleasing.
These lists are drool-worthy (that Buffalo Trace Tornado Survivor sounds awesome) but I wish they wouldn’t consistently list Heaven Hill as the best mass-market bottom-shelf bourbon; it’s great stuff but can only be purchased in Kentucky in the area around the distillery – not exactly easy to get ahold of. My vote for best cheap bourbon easily goes to Evan Williams Bottled In Bond. Terrific whiskey that’s worth twice its $15 price (don’t tell them I said that).
