Thread: Beginner's whisky

Always wondered what a beginners whiskey was, never found a bottle with training wheels attached. For me it was what was in my parents house and that was Adams Antique rye. After that the world is your oyster, just dive in and find a few that you like. Enjoy.

Bob

Originally Posted by Ezekiel81

Dixon, I think they might well be more to your liking if you're after a bit more flavour and longer lasting after taste. Have you tried adding a drop of water? Not a lot, just a teaspoon or two. It dilutes the alcohol just enough that it doesn't numb your taste buds and mellows out the burn a little. It also helps release flavour compounds that are bound to the alcohol molecules which gives you a lot more interesting flavours. The taste even changes and develops if you add a little water and sip it over a long time. It's worth trying if you haven't already.

I was doing the spoon drop method i was told, dipped the spoon in water let it drip off, tried different amounts ect?

That sounds about right. I'm sure you'll get on well with the more flavouful whiskies. Miniatures could be a more cost effective way to try some different ones than bars. My experience is like yours, whisky bars tend to be a bit pricey. If wherever you buy your whisky doesn't stock them they might be able to order some for you.

My go-to suggestion for a reasonably-priced malt is the 10yo Aberlour. It has been quite a while since I've had a Glenfiddich so my thoughts on a comparison won't be worth much I'm afraid. It's about $50 here in Ontario. I don't know how that compares to its price in Alberta, but I imagine it's close. Well worth a shot.

Edit: further to Ezekiel's suggestion of adding a touch of water and your past experience, Mr. MacLean does a great job explaining the effect of water, ice, and glass here. If you don't have a glencairn glass, even using something like a brandy snifter or a wine glass that concentrates things at the top of the glass can make a big difference: