Navigating The World of Whiskey A Four-Part Blog With Advice For The New Whisk(e)y Enthusiast

Part II

1 May 24

I’ve had a few people ask me how to get into whiskey.  I think this is a good plan:  Buy a fifth of good, mid-shelf bourbon.  Jim Beam, Jack Daniel’s – perfectly acceptable.  Take a month and enjoy it.  Neat, on the rocks, with water – up to you.  Try all three ways and see what you like.  Then buy a bottle of mid-shelf Irish whiskey  (Jameson or Bushmills – wonderful).  Take a month to enjoy that.  Then buy a bottle of mid-shelf scotch (Johnny Red, Dewar’s etc). 

Don’t buy the cheap, bottom-shelf stuff because it’ll turn you off and you’ll never give that type of whiskey a chance again.  Once you’ve gone through those bottles, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what each type is like and you can go from there.  Canadian whisky often has a high rye content.  Japanese whiskey is light and good for new folks.  You’ll have a reference.

We’re in a wonderful whiskey heyday.  Because the demand is so high, many people are getting into the distilling business and there’s a lot of great experimentation going on.  So if you’re shocked by the prices, just think about all the new whiskies that are coming out such as last week’s Whiskey of the Week:  Angel’s Envy Rum Cask Finished Rye.  You’re living in a great whiskey era.

How would you recommend someone get to know whiskey?