I’ve been on a quest to learn to appreciate different spirits. So far I’ve dipped my toes in tequila and gin, I’m now onto whiskey. I started with some Maker’s Mark and thought it was horrid. In discussing it with my boss he said he saw me as more of a scotch person - so I’ve started dabbling. I bought a bottle of Glenlivet 12 because I saw a discussion online that listed that as one of the best places to start. Today I was in the grocery store looking at their small scotch assortment and ended up with a bottle of Macallan 12. Is that any good? (Doesn’t taste bad at all.)
Tell me about scotch. Be as detailed as you like, I’m truly clueless.
Rule 1 with scotch: remember it’s whisky. The word is actually the English version of an old Gaelic phrase for “water of life”, (“uisce”, water). Scotch is never spelled “whiskey”.
:dubious: What is the link between the spelling and etymology? And “Gaelic” refers to no language in particular. Yes, it’s from “uisce beath,” but that is Irish and in Ireland they spell it “whiskey” with an e. Scottish is “uisge beatha.” Neither of those implies the spelling.
As a rule:
US bourbon, Irish whiskey = Whiskey
Scotch, Canadian “rye”, Japanese = Whisky. Other countries are generally here.
One thing to note about Scotch is that the taste can be dependent on where it’s from (similar to “terroir”). Scotches from Islay get a “love it or hate it” reputation and are rather smoky. Laphroaig is usually the one cited here as strong tasting. Speyside whiskies are IIRC the most popular, and include both “the” Glenlivet and Macallan. Also included is Lowland, Highland, Campbeltown, and also islands like Orkney.
Either you like them or you don’t. To my taste buds, I will drink your Maker’s Mark and pour the scotch down the drain (not really), although I should probably keep on trying them and maybe it will stick. I had some smoky cheap one awhile back (Johnnie Walker?), and it was okay and relatively gag-free, but still took some getting used to. It feels like I have a mission.
The Glenlivet and Macallan are tremendous ‘first choices’ for someone who’s new to Scotch with, in my estimation, The Glenlivet pretty much the best value for the money (unlike, say, Glenfiddich, which might well be described as tasting like salt-free piss with a butterscotch Lifesaver thrown in! ;))
Unless you’re a masochist or have tasted them already (on someone else’s dime, let’s hope) and found you actually like them, I’d stay away from the so-called ‘Islay’ scotches (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, et al). Basically they taste like burnt, out-of-date, 1920’s style cough medicine. The same (and more/worse) applies to Talisker, an Island scotch.
On the other hand, as was mentioned above, the Speyside scotches (Glenlivet, Macallan, Cragganmore, Cardhu, and many others) are safe bets for a beginner - typically smooth, mild, with nice butterscotch-like “finishes” (i.e. the taste continues, and changes, even after you’ve swallowed it).
If you want to be a wee bit more adventurous, and have a few extra bucks left after Christmas, I would highly recommend you try some of the Highland scotches. Typically (IMHO) more complex in their taste and thus harder to characterize, these are my favourites, with Oban (albeit outrageously priced nowadays) leading the pack. Dalwhinnie is a super Highland scotch that is unsurpassed in smoothness and is, I think, probably the single best single malt scotch for a neophyte to start with.
Do any bars in your area offer “Scotch flights”? That is, a set of small shots so you can taste a variety? If so, that’s a cheaper way to find what you like than buying bottles.
I’m not much of a whiskey/whisky drinker (a shot or two of Powers with my Guinness on St Patrick’s day) but did go through a Laphroig period, years ago…
I am an occasional scotch drinker, with Bourbon really being my drink of choice and scotch working as a change of pace. That said, the advice that I was given when I was learning about scotch was this: Learn about a region not a scotch. Treat it like wine at first. You have had two Speyside scotchs already with The Glenlivet and The Macallan. Try Glennfiddich, it’s also a Speyside and easy to find and pretty good. It was the drink of choice of one of my favorite old Welshmen.
Then move on to Highland scotches and try a couple. I like Glenmorangie, you will get other suggestions to go with it (I see mad monk recommends Oban, a good choice).
Then move on to Islay, give Laphroaig a shot. These are the three major regions and all have different characteristics. There are others, but start here and figure out what you like then move on to the less common stuff.
Speaking of what you like, what didn’t you like about Makers? It’s fairly low on my list of Bourbon choices, so depending on why you didn’t like it there might be something a little more up your ally that you can be directed towards.
Coming back to this thread to defend bourbon. Try Woodford Reserve, it’s a very nice sipping bourbon that I prefer to Maker’s Mark. Also, there are some really nice ryes out there now, it’s not as sweet as bourbon if that is what you didn’t like about bourbon.
I’d recommend a trip to Wikipedia get a familiarity with the history of scotch whisky and the differences between malt or grain and single malt vs blended and why it’s different from Kentucky burbon like Maker’s Mark.
I would concur. Both are good “starter scotches”. If a bar carries scotch, it’s usually those two and Johnny Walker.
I’m not particularly knowledgeable outside of that. But we have a number of scotch bars in NYC I frequent from time to time. The bartenders are usually pretty helpful with helping pick different scotches to try. It helps if you can give them a baseline like “do you have something in a single malt like Glenlivit but peatier”. Even if it’s bullshit, it’s better than saying “please pick me a scotch at random from your selection of 50.”
Also, IMHO you should drink good scotch “neat” (no ice) so as not to water it down.
Yes and no. I agree on the “no ice,” but water should frequently come into play. With good blended Scotch, you should dilute to 35% from the start.
With single malts, I think you should play around between neat @40% and 35%. A great pleasure of drinking good whisk(e)y is discovering how water does or doesn’t open and change its profile. For instance, one of my favorites is The Balvenie 12 year double wood. It still amazes me how adding a single drop of water opens and changes that whisky.
But never ice. It’s melting means your whisky changes between every sip. Too soon you’ll pass the 35% threshold and end up with whisky-flavored water.
OP: watch some stuff by Richard Patterson. It’s remarkably informative.
I was lucky enough to stumble upon a maltcon (a secret science fiction subconvention dedicated to tasting single-malt scotch) and got a good basic lesson and tasting. They were using the various brands of McClelland’s to give you an idea of the differences:
Lowland – Basic, plain taste. Like Drambuie without the sweetness.
Highland – A little more complex, with a slight aftertaste.
Speyside – Much more complex flavor with a delicious aftertaste. My favorite
Islay – Like Highland, but with the taste of peat. Not strong, but if you don’t like it, you won’t be won over.
I’d say try a lowland first. If you don’t like that, you probably won’t like the rest. McClelland’s is relatively inexpensive for a single malt (about $25 a bottle).
I also seems likely that the Lowland, Highland, and Islay are all bottled from other, pricier distilleries owned by the same conglomerate (Auchentoshan for the lowland, for instance). Whether this is the same stuff with a different label, or if it isn’t quite the highest quality as the label, I’m not sure.
Try to find a tasting somewhere where they compare the various single malt regions. I really gained an appreciation from that experience.
Once you’ve got a handle on the differences you can decide which one you like best and that will guide your future purchases. Also, as others have alluded to, single malts give you the distinct differences, whereas blends are just that - blends. You may prefer those.
This would be my recommendation, too. There’s just a lot of flavor territory when it comes to scotches, and it would be best to explore whiskys by region to get an idea of what sorts of flavors you like. For example, I like the peatiness of Islay malts, but it can be quite a disagreeable flavor for some people. Glenlivet 12 is exactly where I started with scotch whiskey when I began to explore on my own. The Macallen 12 would probably be a good next step–it’s a good bit richer and aged in sherry oak (although there is also a Fine Oak series that is aged in a mix of sherry and bourbon barrels.) I would also at least have a taste of Laphroiag at a bar just so you can identify the peat flavor, which is an important component to many scotch whiskies (and, who knows, maybe like me you’ll take to it.)
And if you do want to try a blend, in my opinion the best value is Johnny Walker Green. It’s actually one of my favorite scotch whiskys period.
Of course, one of the best uses for Laphroig is bacon.
Cook up the bacon, setting it aside until all cooked.
Put back in the pan, throw in a shot of Laphroig, cover with lid to steam the bacon.
I’ve also been known to cut up beef jerky (simple peppered is best), put in a container, pour in a shot of Laphroig and let the jerky soak it up.
But overall, scotch is an acquired taste. Which means you can acquire a taste for it. I still drink most of mine cut 50% with water (I know, I’m a heathen), but do occasionally knock back a shot of straight up cask strength.
I really don’t think scotch is any more an acquired taste than any other straight-up alcohol. Well, maybe the Islay malts are, but the sweeter stuff from Speyside doesn’t have that steep a learning curve. I don’t recall any sort of pause the first time I had the Glenlivet, say.
I really enjoy scotch, but I have to be in the right mood which happens only a few times a year (my go-to drinks for Canadian Whisky and Pepsi or Gray Goose and Redbull).
My go-to scotch is Glenlivit 12 year, it’s much smoother than Glenfidich. My favorite scotch is Balvenie Sherry http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-7214.aspx. It was a gift when my daughter was born (7 years ago) and I still have half a bottle. It was a little on the expensive side (I think it was about $120CAN) but very good.
My wife gave me a set of these a couple years ago:
