So I picked up a bottle of “Knob Creek” whiskey, which at $26 seemed to be a cut above the plastic jug of Ralph’s whiskey.
I got it home expecting it to go down real smooth and leave all kinds of fantastic aftertastes floating around in my mouth.
But it tastes the same as the bottle of cheapo Canadian Mist I just finished off. Can any of you whiskey experts tell me what I should be looking for? Perhaps “Knob Creek” isn’t really all that great and I should be spending $100 on the really good stuff.
Please educate me about the fine art of whiskey appreciation!
The Knob Creek you were drinking was probably 100 proof, not 80 proof like most. This will give more bite to its character. Did you let it sit on the rocks for a minute before drinking? Remember that Bourbons are not aged excessively, like whiskys. Their rather young character is more robust and the sour mash gives it a kick that is properly absent in most scotch.
For a nice mid-price whiskey, try Ballentine’s scotch. It is a rather blond liquor that has little of the after effects (read; hangover) that low-end whiskeys like Canadian Mist, Scoresby or Segrams is going to have.
Price, Quality , and Quaffability are not very dependent on each other. At the mid range you are talking about you may well be paying for higher than usual proof, or a smaller disstillery (and hense a different flavour) without the flavour actually being better or the quality being higher. At the very lowest prices you are buying floor wash, so don’t go there. Arround $10.00 to $20.00 you’ll be getting common name standard whiskeys, usually blended. There is nothing wrong with that, and there popularity is because they are blended to a particular taste to please as many people as possible. In this range I find Jamesons Irish Whiskey, which is for me the most quaffable of all whiskeys (you can drink it any way, or mix it, and it allways tastes good). Higher than $20.00 you get into the less major market whiskeys, the high proofs, and the small distillarys and the single barell (single malt) whiskeys. In this range thae taste from one product to the next varies far more, and the characters of whiskys from different locations becomes evident. You will find some whiskeys here that you disspise, some you love, you’ll learn from trying. So it is sertainly not unlikely that you can find whiskeys seem worse than the cheap stuff (from my own esstimate I would say about 70% of whiskey in the $20-$50 range is less enjoyable for me than Jamesons), but the good stuff (the stuff you like, not what others tell you to like) is very good and well worth the extra money. Once you know what you like in this range, it may be worth experimenting with the premium priced whiskeys (either older versions of the standard $20-$50 dollar whiskey, or more sellect distillers from a region whose whiskeys you generally enjoy). These are never really worth the money, but then again, if there is money available they are fantastic.
Personally I am usually a Scotch drinker, using American whiskey only as a drinks mixer. My choices by price would be
Low price : Jamesons, or Wild Turkey for mixing
Mid Price : Tallisker
High Price : Old Macallans, or Cask strength Talisker.
Hmm, whiskey Ok, mid range whiskeys. Not that many that I really like. I do love WoodFord Reserve from Labrott and Gramm for about 26. Around that price is old whiskey river, which I think is just ok, but my husband loves. If you have a costco membership, you can get Crown Royal Reserve for 32, which is very smooth. It retails for between 40-50 regular. At the $50 price mark, my fave is Blantons Single barrell But I ration it to myself, since it is the most expensive booze I buy I can’t wait till I can afford more expensive alcohol.
Oh, and one more thing. IMO, which in whiskey is mroe subjective than in many places, knob creek and makers mark are little better than mouthwash hooch.
For bourbon, if I’m not gonna get the Blanton’s, which is like heaven in a glass, I like Baker’s, or Basil Hayden’s. Both are single barrel bourbons, and mighty good drinking.
Scotch is another matter- there are so many different varieties, with different appeals- if you like the peaty flavor, you can go in one direction, e.g. Laphroag (one of my faves), and if you don’t, you can go in another direction.
Ok, mid range whiskeys. Not that many that I really like. I do love WoodFord Reserve from Labrott and Gramm for about 26. Around that price is old whiskey river, which I think is just ok, but my husband loves. If you have a costco membership, you can get Crown Royal Reserve for 32, which is very smooth. It retails for between 40-50 regular. At the $50 price mark, my fave is Blantons Single barrell 
I can’t wait till I can afford more expensive alcohol.