For some reason I have a real craving for whiskey at the moment.

No idea why, but interested in suggestions for a whiskey for beginners if you like. Nothing too expensive but something that’s not too bad to taste.

Thanks in advance

Glenmorangie’s my go to treat, when it’s on offer mind.. Normally £35/70cl. Can often get it for £25.

Abrachan from Lidl’s is alright at £18. Not as bland and ineffective as Whyte & Mackies/Grouse etc. Not a patch on Glenmorangie though.

Auchentoshan is my usual recommendation for a beginner. Not too strong, quite sweet. Nice neat or with water/ice. Very reasonably priced

Try here for suggestions.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/whisky-for-non-whisky-drinker

Mine would be Highland Park, very drinkable and easy to get on with.

Go for Jamieson if it is Whiskey for a newbie…;-) If Whisky, then maybe build up to the islands’ single malts…Glenfiddich is nice as a wee drink whilst pouring over paperwork of an evening…although I still find Lagavulin to be my preferred whisky (but I hardly drink the stuff these days).

Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold would be my recommendation

None of the above are Whiskey as that’s all Irish. Whisky is the Scottish stuff. the Aldi own brand speyside is an award winner and a nice soft intro, other go to favourites are Macallan and Aberlour.

Avoid Islay, Skye or Western Isles Malts as they tend to be very smoky so not as good to start on. The older it is the smoother it gets.

Best to have it in a nice heavy whisky tumbler try a sip, then add a (small) drop of tap water. Don’t put ice in. It just locks all the flavour in and dilutes it at a rate you can’t control

Can’t go wrong with Highland Park 12yr

Glenmorangie 10 Year Old ‘The Original’ was where I started and I would thoroughly recommend it as a first Whisky. It’s not overly ‘anything’ to be too overpowering but there’s enough for it to be interesting. Worth coming back to when you have a few different drams under your belt too. Highland Park 12 is very good too but for a first Whisky I’d go with the Glenmorangie.

As mentioned Whiskey is Irish tat.

Scotch Whisky; Port Charlotte is very moreish. Glenfiddich IPA is my current fave, don’t tell everyone though. 🙂

PS ignore the above re water, never put it in unless it’s above 48%

Slanj!

See so new didn’t even know there was a difference!

Thanks so far.

Scotch whisky can only be labeled ‘Scottish whisky’ if it was produced and matured in Scotland. … Scotch whisky is distilled twice, while Irish whiskey undergoes triple distillation. Scotch whisky uses peat-smoked, wholly malted barley, while Irish whisky used kiln-dried, raw and malted barley.

…one of the best Whiskey/Whisky i’ve ever tasted was irish bushmills 16 yo.

Glenmorangie or smith’s Glenlivet

possibly the best whisky for a starter.
smooth, lightish tasting…..stunnibg

+1 for Highland Park 12yr

Taste a few, taste many, find a whiskey tasting even and go along to that. It’s such a varied and complex area that it needs a lot of practice
These are always interesing

Look for subtle things too like what the cask was, Sherry or Port can be hugely different even with the same base spirit.

For the kick off though avoid cask strength 🙂

Miniatures are a good way to try a few different ones when you’re beggining.

Nowt wrong with starting with a cask strength provided you dilute it

To a point, but it’s probably going to be a bit of a waste to start with. A quick google shows a lot of good UK Whiskey bars, again a great place to start if you can get a good one with good staff to talk about the flavours you like etc. saves you having that bottle sat there you don’t like.

My current favourite I’d never even heard of the distillery until we were up in Aviemore a couple of years ago, went on a tour and tasting and came away with a couple of bottles courtesy of my wife. Just about finished the last of my supply so need to get an order in!

Whiskey is Irish tat

Somebody needs to try more whiskeys!
And maybe be a bit more open-minded??

No Scottish whisky is shit…

Think less about where you make it and more about how.
The surprise of the year for me was Johnnie Walker Blue – well worth trying if you can.
After that There are some lovely things that will set your taste buds on fire (in a good way) coming out of this end of the world.




All of these are Australian on the top shelf (lower 2 are 95% Aussie Gin and mostly Tasmanian)

These are independent bottling of Tassies good stuff (though at Cask Strength)

Some of the most interesting stuff going on around the world

Wild Turkey

OP…I’m the OP of the ‘other’ non-whisky thread.
Seems we are starting from a similar viewpoint.
I’d tried a few and established the island ones generally are peaty and disgusting to my palette anyway, but I like MacAllan Gold and Glenmorangie.
After being recommended some ‘beginner’ whiskies here I opted for Auchentoshan American Oak.
Only had a large measure with ice so far but I found it quite enjoyable.
Was £20 at Tesco last weekend so not a massive ball ache if you end up not liking it.
Another on the shortlist was Aberlour 10.

HTH

As the above notes there are hundreds of choices based on person preference (mine would be a benromach 10 or)

Best thing to do is find a good local pub that stocks a selection of whisky and try a wee dram of each from the whisky map shown above

Japanese whiskeys are pretty good for starters but myself I love Lagavulen but that is not good for a starter.

Merak – Member
As mentioned Whiskey is Irish tat…

Nothing wrong with Irish whiskey. It’s excellent for cleaning windows. 🙂

Bruichladdich my first choice

Highland Park 10YO Is a good shout.

It’s a expensive way to buy, but if you are just starting out and don’t want to commit to a full bottle, try a selection of miniatures first?

Jura 10 year old is a good place to start I think. A friend that wasnt mega into whiskey had it on a Scottish snowboard trip with a bit of water in it. They drink whiskey now!

PS ignore the above re water, never put it in unless it’s above 48%

Ignore that. Drink it in whatever way you enjoy it. I do drink it without water (unless it’s cask strength, so over 50ish%) but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to put any in.

Dalwhinnie Winter Gold is about £25 in supermarkets and a good place to start. So’s Highland Park 12 yr old, which is also on offer in Asda just now.

What I’d probably do is go to a pub that serves all sorts of whisky and try a few drams, that way you’ve spent £20 finding something you definitely like (unless you’re unlucky) rather than £25 on a bottle you think tastes like rubbing alcohol.

I was given a ‘Drinks by the Dram’ advent calendar and it is brilliant. A little 30ml of something different every day so you get to try stuff you’d never have bought a full bottle of.

Just had to google so I got the name right. They aren’t cheap, I wouldn’t have bought for myself 😯 Bloody excellent present to have received.

As above, miniatures are the way to go. A full size bottle is quite a big outlay, especially if you can’t stand it.

I love whisky (and whiskey) but I’m no connoisseur, I can’t afford to be, so I buy big bottles of cheap stuff that is drinkable (Grouse, Highland Earl, and kind of Bourbons) and ask for miniatures/nice bottles that I like for gifts.

I don’t like smokey peaty ones, and I’m a big fan of spirits, other people love them, it’s really personal.

TL;DR – Get little bottles, try as many as you can, buy more of what you like most. Don’t buy Teachers.

My advice is: try as many as you can! You might find the smoky one’s difficult at first but persevere and they will seem like the biggest flavours you have ever tried! Not all blends are the same either. Compass Box for example make incredible blends. Just do some reading yourself. It’s a really amazing world of whisky these days.

I’m not a big whisky drinker, but Mackmyra is very nice. Not smokey, nice and mellow.