As a result of the other whisky thread I’m curious as to how you ‘enjoy’ a glass of whisky.

Always relegated to something I mix with coke and chuck down my throat on a night out, I’m now rather envious of you lot who can sip a glass and enjoy the flavours.

So without breaking the bank, where do I start?

Aberlour would be a good start IMO. 10 yr old on e will do just fine.

Also worth buying a shot of Dalwhinnie and Bunnaharbhain (if you can find it)

Highland Park

speyside

I’d try a few at the pub, or if you can find a tasting session or class, even better.

For a bottle, inoffensive stuff as above.

Tobermory is drinkable and not too overpowering.

There are plenty of decent dram shops to offer tastings, only you will know what you like.
Get someone to go with you so they can drive and taste your socks off. I have found some gems that I wouldn’t have looked at otherwise.

Juru Origin is calm and soft enough not to offend, but complex enough to intrigue IMO.

How to drink. This could start an argument, but the accepted starting point would be with 50% again of cold water. resist the urge for ice, unless the whiskey is from a warm room, in which case let it melt, in place of the water.

Sip.

Speyside is quite soft, Islay tend to be quite smokey. Myself I’m very fond of Dura Superstition, quite peaty but not OTT.

Do not mix single malt with coke, or men will come for you in the night and give you a punishment beating.

very complex subject, but as a beginner i’d steer clear of the Islay malts which can be very peaty and smokey. Don’t discount decent blended types even – the blenders deliberately blend in different types to give a rounded, easy to drink character, which might be a lead in to a basic flavour type.

And to release the true flavours, add in about 1/5 – 1/4 as much water again. Tends to reduce the alcohol kick and allow you to taste the real flavours better.

Other than that – try a few and don’t get obsessive about which / how to drink it. A scottish colleague of mine who has forgotten more about the subject than i’ll ever know told me that he couldn’t give a toss if you add water, ice, coke, lemonade, ginger ale……. as long as you were drinking scotch and supporting the industry as opposed to Irish or American

weatherspoons believe it or not have a good varied selection that wont break the bank. They even have some basic tasting notes to let you figure out what it is you actually like.

i said speysides as generally they are the more milder.

Peaty island whiskys can be a bit overpowering for a beginner – it took me a number of years of enjoying speysides and looking for that bit more to get into them.

Highland Park, though the suggestion of just working your way round Wetherspoon’s offerings is a good one

edradour is a very nice easy sipping malt.

As I sat in my back garden on saturday night taking in the super bright full moon, I thought I hope STW has a whisky thread soon…. I had an amaretto in my hand and I knew it was sooooo wrong 😳

So the ones mentioned above can I get any of them in sainsbury’s?

I reckon Glenlivet is a good one for starters – a gateway whisky!

I find The Macallan fairly easy to drink

Auchentoshan.

Not too strong, quite sweet, reasonably priced. Very drinkable for someone new to whisky.

Balvenie Doublewood would(!) be my suggestion. It’s smooth and subtle and very drinkable. Once you move away from it to try tasting others you will then appreciate quite how good a tipple it is. Ice and any other mixers are a no no and depending on the tot about a table spoon of water only.

Jura (the normal one) and Auchentoshan are a good place to start. They are both reasonably priced, enjoyable and widely available.

Some of the others above, like Balvennie Doublewood are great but a bit more pricey.

Blimey, enough recommendations to fill several drinks cabinets!

I stood in asda for quite a while last night, but the older whiskies were around £30 and seemed a waste if I didn’t like it. Did nearly buy a bottle of monkey something or other tho!

I like the idea of a tasting session, I thought that only really happened with wine. There is a wetherspoons opposite my office so I may pop over one evening and see what they do.

Pick two or three different bottles and stick some music on. Use a wine or brandy glass. Warm in hand, swish about, observe the colouration and viscosity and breathe the fume; no rush to drink it.

Some like to add a little soft water, but I don’t. I love munching crumbly shortbread after each glass and then drink a glass a water to clean my palette. You don’t get drunk this way.

The best mixer is friends.

My nursery slope whisky recommendations would be Macallan, Glengoyne, and Edradour – the 10 year old version of any of ’em. Of the three, Macallan is likely to be the most readily available in your local supermarket.

Enough of this nonsense. Get yourself a Lagavulin and train yourself to like it. Do not pull faces as you drink it. Congratulations, you are now a man.

A bottle is quite a bit investment if you’re not sure you’ll like it.

Miniatures are ace – you can get about 8 for the price of a bottle and taste them in parallel so you can really compare them and see what you like.

If you’re anywhere near Skipton this shop is amazing: http://www.wineandwhisky.co.uk/

For starters, Id try something from each of the main regions (Highlands, Islay/ Islands, Speyside) and take it from there.

Enough of this nonsense. Get yourself a Lagavulin and train yourself to like it. Do not pull faces as you drink it. Congratulations, you are now a man.

First two malts I had foisted upon me were Laphroaig and Lagavulin. Couldn’t believe how evocative they were – it was like an instant flashback to a Hebridean beach I’d never been on. Still like the odd drop of a peaty Islay monster but my tastes mostly run to the other end of the spectrum now.

If you need to mix then mix it with warm water … just a little bit. I am not keen on ice or cold water mixed.

I’ve always struggled to enjoy whisky, but I have found mixing it with water (never ice, which kills it)to really bring out the interesting complex smells and flavours. To me, it’s this that makes it drinkable and without the added water it’s just a nasty alcohol burn taste.
Minitures are a good idea, as are tasting sessions at the local shop which usually happen around xmas time.

very complex subject, but as a beginner i’d steer clear of the Islay malts which can be very peaty and smokey

First Single malt i had was Lagavulin, the very peaty smoky flavour was what turned me on to whisky.

I suggest it depends on your taste buds as to which whisky you’ll like.

Any one for Glengoyne ?

Highland Park and Jura are excellent ‘gateway’ whiskies IMHO.

Miniatures are a great suggestion, the last thing you want to do is spend £50 on a bottle you hate.

A brandy glass or wine glass is a very good suggestion; much of the flavour is in the vapours, which will be lost in a regular tumbler. If you find you get on with whisky, consider a Glencairn glass.

Do -not- put anything in the glass other than whisky until after you’ve tasted it several times.

Adding water will make a huge difference to the taste, some whiskies explode with flavour and some just die on their arse. If you’re going to add water, add it, literally, a drop at a time. You can add more, but you can’t take it out again.

the last thing you want to do is spend £50 on a bottle you hate.

We should set up a whisky swap shop. If anyone’s got any bottles they’ve opened and didn’t like, I’m sure we could find people on here who’d be very happy to help create space in others cupboards!

Isn’t the correct number of whiskies also n+1?

Classifieds subsection?!

stuff it its a school night but im in the mood for a balvenie when i get in 😀

+ 1 for Dalwhinnie or Dalvenie.

Has anyone mentioned Glenmorangie yet? Some of their port cask finished nectar is great.

Dalwhinnie is often called ‘the ladies whisky’ although that’s probably just put you off 🙂

As for mixers…I’d agree totally with cougar although I’ve always worked on the formula of adding water (no ice, it just gets in the way) as per the alcohol percentage….so a 40% whisky get 40% water…and so on…and make sure it ‘good’ spring water too…not from the tap…all the additives the water board put in will ruin the whisky.

And here was me planning on not having anything to drink till the weekend…a wee dram on a Tue night…oh, go on then 😉

I’ve just got back from my local Coop who have got Macallan 10 year old on clearance for £15 (and Laphroaig for £20 but thats not really a beginners whisky)

anything that has whiskey printed on the label

The Monkey Shoulder that you nearly bought is a really nice smooth and rounded flavour. Nothing too in your face. A blend (which it is) might be a good place to start as they tend to have more subtle flavours.

Balvenie and Higland Park are great choice to start with.

My local supermarket has Caol Ila at 32 eur a bottle 😀 (orders trailer from CRC)

Sainsburys had 350ml glenlivet for £11, so i picked up a bottle. I also have some famous grouse lying around so I can compare.

I’ll finish tea and settle down for a taste

Grouse is for marinating steak.

My local supermarket has Caol Ila at 32 eur a bottle (orders trailer from CRC)

A Sound Dram! 😆

IGMC

Monkey Shoulder is a good choice, I also like Talisker and Bruichladdich. I’m no connoisseur, but like a wee dram.