sorry for the double post.
Yes. It is a great flavour to add to a meal. To try it in a simple recipe, try sauteeing scallops in butter and whisky (served over pasta) It makes an excellent sauce that just showcases the flavour of whisky.
I thought that the fact that it isn’t distilled in Kentucky means it isn’t bourbon.
Also, Micheal Jackson (not the child molester) wrote the book on whiskey called, Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide. I just got this book for the holidays, along with my choice of whiskey. That was one very nice gift.
Gentleman Jack is really wonderful…the double charcoal filtration makes it exceptionally smooth and delicious.
That’s like saying “Scotch isn’t amber colored, it’s amber coloured.” It really is the same word, just different spellings. Whiskey. Whisky. Many sub-varieties thereof.
Nonetheless, it’s considered proper to use the former spelling for Irish and American booze, and the latter spelling for the Scottish and Canadian stuff.
Sure, but to say “Scotch isn’t whiskey” really isn’t true.
I alternate between Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark.
Adding to Sapo’s suggestion, the other day, I sauteed some onions, mushrooms, and pork chop drippings with some bourbon. Great sauce. The whisky flavor was a great combination with the mushrooms.
Cooking with bourbon is a wonderful thing. I like to add a little to steak tacos. Yum.
I have a pork loin in the crockpot that I just added some Maker’s Mark to. The smell is wonderful!
I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek. Obviously I’m not that much of a Scotch snob.
You do need to be careful about terminology with some people, however. I was informed rather forcefully at a pub in Edinburgh that I’m “not allowed to call it Scotch.” Apparently in Scotland (and I have precisely one anecdote to support this–I do not pretend that this is conclusive) it’s “whisky” or “malt whisky”, never “Scotch”.
If you’re looking for an Irish, I can’t recommend Red Breast highly enough. It’s expensive as all get out and hard to find, but well worth it. Tullamore Dew is very good as well and so is Jameson’s Gold. I know it’s snobbish to say it, but if you’re going to drink an Irish Whiskey, don’t mix it with anything. Don’t shoot it. Just sip it and enjoy it.
Wouldn’t asking for scotch in Scotland be like asking for a chinese restaurant in China?
Barbarians! Basil Hayden is the only one to drink!
just kidding. Although I’d say that’s my fave, I do also enjoy Baker’s, Knob Creek and Woodford Revserve. Bourbon does it for me, served neat. I love how the aroma and flavors of maple, vanilla, leather and wood all interact. YUM!
I used to enjoy scotch more than I do now, but still every so often I go for an Oban. Taste the peat, the sea, the char.
Have fun exploring!
There is also a Welsh whisky. The Cornish and Bretons seem to be the only Celts not making it!
My favorite whiskys are Old Pulteney (Strathspey) and Bunnahabhain (Islay).
Jack Daniel’s isn’t a bourbon because they prefer to not market it as a bourbon, but as a Tennessee whiskey. From “The Bourbon Companion” by Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan:
Bulleit makes a very fine bourbon. It has become my new “sippin’ whiskey,” following a very successful year at hunting camp.
Smooth, tasty, and not horribly expensive. The NH liquor store sells it for about $21 for a 750ml bottle.
MY favorite bourbon is Blanton’s, a splendid single-barrel small batch.
Recently I acquired a bottle of Michter’s 10 year-old single-barrel straight rye, and I must say I’m VERY impressed. It’s almost good enough to make me give up Blanton’s, but not quite.
So now I alternate between the two. Good rye whiskey has a complexity to it that is fascinating.
So what do you do about Maker’s Mark?
You drink it, of course.
Of course you do, but look how it’s spelled.
I know, I was just being a smartass.
Maker’s Mark is one of my trusty standbys. My preferred brand is Woodford Reserve, but it’s a bit higher priced and I try to keep Maker’s on hand to curb my whisk(e)y spending.