Am Thinking About Becoming An Alcohol lover....

[slavablueberryjam]

...any advice on what whisky is good for its taste and smell?

Are these any good?

Glen Breton 10 year old Rare Canadian Single Malt Whisky​

whistlepig?

Bushmills 16 year old Irish Single Malt?​

 

[Lutherf]

Are you planning to drink your whisky's neat or mixed?

I don't drink a lot of Irish or Canadian whiskeys outside of "Irishing up" a cup of coffee so I can't really give you good advice on those. The Bushmill's, I know, is aged in sherry casks and I've had both good and bad results with. The sherry tends to mellow the whisky a little, giving it a little buttery sweet front end but I've run into a LOT of such whiskeys that are WAY better on the nose than they are the pallet. More often than not the result is more of a muddled taste than anything distinct.

Your Scotch whiskeys fall into two main categories (technically four categories but, for the sake of convenience, I'm going to avoid the Speyside/Highlad/Lowland discussion). Basically you have Islay scotch and scotch that isn't Islay. The signature flavor of Islay scotch is peat smoke while the others lean a LOT more heavily toward grain flavors.

American whiskeys generally fall into the bourbon and rye categories. Bourbons are corn heavy and Ryes are, surprisingly enough, Rye heavy. The rye tends to give a spicier note than the corn does. Within those two broad categories there are about a million different factors that go into taste.

Brandies and cognacs are grape distillates. Usually they are a LOT more sweet than whiskeys.

Gin is a neutral spirit usually flavored with Juniper and often some other aromatics.

Vodka is an unflavored neutral spirit.

If you really want to learn to appreciate spirits I suggest that you try a few basic bottles to get an idea of what works for you and what doesn't.

Bushmill's and Jameson are basic Irish whiskeys. No sense in getting too fancy right off the bat.
Crown Royal is the classic Canadian whiskey.
Try Maker's Mark for a wheated bourbon and Four Roses for a high rye bourbon.
Sazerac rye should be pretty easy to find. High West Rendezvous Rye is, to my taste, a good bit better but a few bucks more.
Brandies and cognacs can get crazy expensive but Hine Rare is a really good VSOP cognac that won't break the bank.
For Scotch whiskeys, Bruichladdich Classic is a good Islay that will give you a good idea of what that type of whiskey tastes like without throwing you into the Laphroaig peat bog.
Any Macallen or Glenmorangie UNFINISHED whiskey will give you an idea of what Highland or Speysides are all about. Heck, Johnnie Walker Black will get that job done and it's really not a bad drop at all.

 

[slavablueberryjam]

Are you planning to drink your whisky's neat or mixed?

I don't drink a lot of Irish or Canadian whiskeys outside of "Irishing up" a cup of coffee so I can't really give you good advice on those. The Bushmill's, I know, is aged in sherry casks and I've had both good and bad results with. The sherry tends to mellow the whisky a little, giving it a little buttery sweet front end but I've run into a LOT of such whiskeys that are WAY better on the nose than they are the pallet. More often than not the result is more of a muddled taste than anything distinct.

Your Scotch whiskeys fall into two main categories (technically four categories but, for the sake of convenience, I'm going to avoid the Speyside/Highlad/Lowland discussion). Basically you have Islay scotch and scotch that isn't Islay. The signature flavor of Islay scotch is peat smoke while the others lean a LOT more heavily toward grain flavors.

American whiskeys generally fall into the bourbon and rye categories. Bourbons are corn heavy and Ryes are, surprisingly enough, Rye heavy. The rye tends to give a spicier note than the corn does. Within those two broad categories there are about a million different factors that go into taste.

Brandies and cognacs are grape distillates. Usually they are a LOT more sweet than whiskeys.

Gin is a neutral spirit usually flavored with Juniper and often some other aromatics.

Vodka is an unflavored neutral spirit.

If you really want to learn to appreciate spirits I suggest that you try a few basic bottles to get an idea of what works for you and what doesn't.

Bushmill's and Jameson are basic Irish whiskeys. No sense in getting too fancy right off the bat.
Crown Royal is the classic Canadian whiskey.
Try Maker's Mark for a wheated bourbon and Four Roses for a high rye bourbon.
Sazerac rye should be pretty easy to find. High West Rendezvous Rye is, to my taste, a good bit better but a few bucks more.
Brandies and cognacs can get crazy expensive but Hine Rare is a really good VSOP cognac that won't break the bank.
For Scotch whiskeys, Bruichladdich Classic is a good Islay that will give you a good idea of what that type of whiskey tastes like without throwing you into the Laphroaig peat bog.
Any Macallen or Glenmorangie UNFINISHED whiskey will give you an idea of what Highland or Speysides are all about. Heck, Johnnie Walker Black will get that job done and it's really not a bad drop at all.

I like to drink without it being used in a cocktail. Just flush it straight down.

 

[Minerva]

I like Bushmills.

If you would like to try a bourbon that is lower to mid price but punches up try Even Williams "Bottled In Bond".
It's 100 proof but sips like a lower proof to me, very little to no burn.
I am not a connoisseur by any means. I usually buy my own stuff so I drink what I like and can justify the price points.
I'm not spending 2x the amount for a product that I really cannot differentiate from another product.

Scotches are different. I don't care for a real "peaty" single malt. Glenfiddich is my go to.
My sentimental favorite is Teelings Irish Whiskey. Have taken a wonderful tour of their facilities. It is the only Irish Whiskey distilled and aged in Dublin. Others are distilled there but then moved out to warehouses to age. Something that is cool for trivial pursuits but you would never taste in the product.

 

[SenorXm/Sirius]

1792 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon..​

It's good and not expensive...

 

[Ganondagan]

Are you planning to drink your whisky's neat or mixed?

I don't drink a lot of Irish or Canadian whiskeys outside of "Irishing up" a cup of coffee so I can't really give you good advice on those. The Bushmill's, I know, is aged in sherry casks and I've had both good and bad results with. The sherry tends to mellow the whisky a little, giving it a little buttery sweet front end but I've run into a LOT of such whiskeys that are WAY better on the nose than they are the pallet. More often than not the result is more of a muddled taste than anything distinct.

Your Scotch whiskeys fall into two main categories (technically four categories but, for the sake of convenience, I'm going to avoid the Speyside/Highlad/Lowland discussion). Basically you have Islay scotch and scotch that isn't Islay. The signature flavor of Islay scotch is peat smoke while the others lean a LOT more heavily toward grain flavors.

American whiskeys generally fall into the bourbon and rye categories. Bourbons are corn heavy and Ryes are, surprisingly enough, Rye heavy. The rye tends to give a spicier note than the corn does. Within those two broad categories there are about a million different factors that go into taste.

Brandies and cognacs are grape distillates. Usually they are a LOT more sweet than whiskeys.

Gin is a neutral spirit usually flavored with Juniper and often some other aromatics.

Vodka is an unflavored neutral spirit.

If you really want to learn to appreciate spirits I suggest that you try a few basic bottles to get an idea of what works for you and what doesn't.

Bushmill's and Jameson are basic Irish whiskeys. No sense in getting too fancy right off the bat.
Crown Royal is the classic Canadian whiskey.
Try Maker's Mark for a wheated bourbon and Four Roses for a high rye bourbon.
Sazerac rye should be pretty easy to find. High West Rendezvous Rye is, to my taste, a good bit better but a few bucks more.
Brandies and cognacs can get crazy expensive but Hine Rare is a really good VSOP cognac that won't break the bank.
For Scotch whiskeys, Bruichladdich Classic is a good Islay that will give you a good idea of what that type of whiskey tastes like without throwing you into the Laphroaig peat bog.
Any Macallen or Glenmorangie UNFINISHED whiskey will give you an idea of what Highland or Speysides are all about. Heck, Johnnie Walker Black will get that job done and it's really not a bad drop at all.

Woodford Reserve on the rocks for bourbon, and Powers for Irish whiskey

 

[Lutherf]

Woodford Reserve on the rocks.

Woodford is fine but, IMHO, there's a TON of bourbons out there that are as good or better in that price range. For a ryed bourbon it's light on the rye for what I tend to like.

 

[Daisy]

Just give me a glass of Rock N' Rye or Southern Comfort on the rocks...actually, I'm havin' Southern Comfort as we speak...

 

[Decypher]

Redbreast for Irish. Macallen for Scotch. I don’t drink American so can’t recommend anything.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Try Alberta Premium Rye Whiskey.