Thread: Entry level whisky

Jameson 12yr .. tastes like caramel to me.
see if you can find whiskeys with similar flavors as your favorite beers. obviously wont be the same taste but its somewhere to start.

i mainly drink bourbon because of its sweetness

I have a pretty descent whiskey collection and lean towards scotches primarily. Since you aren't sure what you are looking for I'll give you a couple good entry points for different types of whiskey:

Bourbon: Elijah Craig 12 year old.
$20-25 This is an exceptional bourbon. Nice and caramel sweet and extremely smooth. Better than most of the more mass market bourbons and as good as many bourbons twice the price.

Blended Scotch: Johnnie Walker Black
$30
JWB is easy to find and is the standard for what a blend can be. There are better blends to be sure but they cost more and you can do a lot worse.

Single Malt Scotch: The Balvenie 12 year old Double Wood
$45-55
If you only try one single malt start here. This is a sherried scotch that is low on peet and nice and honey sweet. Not much more expensive then Glenlivet or Glenfiddich and infinitely more interesting. (Glenlivet and Glenfiddich are great for what they are I own and drink both, but are poor representatives for what single malt scotch really is).

Smokey Single Malt: Talisker 10 year old
$60-65
This is an entry into highly peated (smokey) scotch. It is not for everyone but those that like this style love it. Also a major component of Johnnie Walker Black.

Highland Single Malt: Clynelish 14 year old
$50
This is a nice salty, sweet, and sour scotch well worth a try. It is in a lot of blends and is delicious.

Irish: Bushmills Original
$20
Irish whiskey is all about being light and smooth. For the price Bushmills does this very well. If you like this there are many potstills such as Redbreast 12 year old which you can explore.

Canadian & Japanese I didn't give options on these because I'm not a fan of mainstream Canadians (they tend to be low on flavor) and don't know about the higher end stuff. As for the Japanese they are harder to find and tend to be as pricey as single malt scotch. If you are interested let me know and I can give some recommendations.

Hopefully this list doesn't overwhelm. If anyone has any questions or wants more recommendations feel free to flash me a PM.

+1000 on Jameson. Absolute mana from heaven. You could do much worse than Maker's Mark too.

Excellent single malt Scotch at $40 or so is the Dalmore. Not their Cigar Malt, which isn't bad, but I prefer the basic 10yo (or is it 12?)

As suggested in one of the other threads:

Try and get a bunch of small "airplane" bottles!

I would suggest a bourbon, scotch, and an irish. They are pretty easy to tell apart:

Bourbon suggestions:
Bulliet
Knob Creek
Makers Mark


Scotchs:
Johnnie walker black
Famous Grouse
Dewar's

and or single malts:

Sweet:
Glenlivet
Speyburn 10
Highland Park 12

(I'd leave the Islay region whiskies until you know you like smoky ones!)


Irish:
Bushmills or Jameson (the latter is my preference)


If you double down on a few, do so in the bourbon and scotch categories, they will be easier to tell apart.

Man, Have FUN!

-Rob

Throwing my vote for Crown Royal.

I think Crown and Johnny Walker Black are two great suggestions. You will figure out fairly quickly if you like sipping Whisky(ey) for not a lot of money. Both are a relatively good, consistent product. You can drink them neat, with a splash, on the rocks or even (perish the thought) with water and get a sense of how you like them best. This will serve you well as you move into single malts if you go the Scotch route.

If you don't like either one of them you can keep them in your bar to mix with Coke for your friends and not have broken the bank.

I have consumed too much Johnny Walker Black for my own good. I've moved on to single malts and like the Highland Scotches. There is NOTHING wrong with a 15 y.o. Glenfiddich or Glenlivet. It's not ALL about peat. My current favorite is the 15 y.o. Macallan.

Having said that, I'm buying a good Islay next.

--David

Blanton's single-barrel bourbon is worth a try. I've found it for around $35. BevMo has it for $49.

If you can locate a sampler - such as the "Six Classic Malts of Scotland" http://www.awa.dk/whisky/clasmalt.htm you can get a taste of several different whiskeys (single malts) without blowing your wallet (I found this mini-sampler at a local liquor store for about $25 a few years ago).

All are good suggestions, as for a "starter" what is that ? whats is a "starter " beer? for that matter.

alcohol is a drug to be sure but the term you use sounds straight from some drug csar " cannibus is a starter drug leads to heavy smack use kinda thing.

but then you did start with beer and now you want to go stronger, careful before you get a taste for absinthe. ( which tastes like rubbish imho )

Just go to a bar or two and order some shots that is the cheapest way to know what you like or dislike . just don't drive afterward.

Originally Posted by ajs349

I'm looking to get into whisky, could anyone suggest a good starting point? I'm looking for something that's isn't going to blow me away with a high proof or blow my budget if it turns out I don't like it. Any easy drink to start with?

Almost all whiskey is going to be the same proof.

I suggest you find a better than average liquor store
that has mini bottles and purchases a selection.

Try two at a time --- three is TOO much.

Pour half of one mini bottle in a rocks glass
with one ice cube and taste.

Do the same with the second whiskey in a clean glass.

Then go back to the first finish it and then the second.

The vast majority of good whiskey and scotch can
be had in mini bottles.

This is not true for many top shelf whiskey but
by working your way through the basics you can
discover if you like oak or maple, scotch, corn whiskey,
rye whiskey....

The other tip is to find a designated driver then
find a bar with a tasting night.
A fifty dollar bottle of scotch that you do not like
is fifty bucks badly spent. Scotch whiskey has
the largest range of smoke and wood flavors.
Some I love, some I appreciate, and others are
fine and dandy for company.