Graduating from Beer to Whisky: 10 Facts You Need to Know

Submitted by ryan on

When you think of whisky, what images and thoughts does the word conjure up?

• Cowboys knocking back shots in a western saloon bar?
• Scottish highlanders taking a wee nip while gazing across a beautiful loch?
• Grandpa’s medicinal nightcap to send him off to sleep with a warm glow?
• Or a hobo swigging from a cunningly camouflaged bottle nestled within a brown paper bag?

Still, one thing is for certain; the scenarios you envisage around the drinking of whiskey are going to be markedly different from how you imagine drinking beer. Beer is a casual, social drink. Knocked back in bars and homes alike, to wash down a burger or to help lubricate cheering on our favorite team.

Beer is the people’s drink.

Whiskey on the other hand is seen as a hard drink. It is a drinker’s drink. The sole preserve of men. It’s serious. It is the opposite end of the spectrum to fruit-based neon-coloured liquids sporting little paper umbrellas.

So when you are ready to graduate from beer to whiskey, there are some things you need to know.

Know Your Whisky

First you need to know your drink. Knowing the difference between types of whisky will prevent inevitable embarrassment when confronted by a know-it-all.

Whiskey is an ancient drink made from fermenting grains, and that includes everything from the product of old Grandma’s moonshine all the way through to the finest Scotch. In olden times it was called the “Water of Life” and we have our Middle-Eastern friends to thank, via the Celts for the drink we know today.

There are many popular types of whiskies now and the differences can be important to your enjoyment. Each have their own flavor, character, aroma and taste.

Although the names usually derive from geography, there is more to it than where the whisky was made. For example a whiskey being called Scotch says more about it than just that it originated in Scotland. There are actual British laws that demand how the product is made, and the ingredients used, even down to the alcohol content of the finished drink.

In general most whisky drunk is some kind of a blend, but the connoisseurs and snobs will always go for “Single Malt”, which is made purely from just malt and no other grains, and tends to be seen as more upmarket and therefore more expensive.

The most commonly drunk American whiskey is Bourbon, the name taken from the county it was first made popular, and is made from rye and barley. People often confuse Jack Daniels with being Bourbon, but in fact it is more accurately called a “Tennessee” whiskey.

Top 10 Whisky Drinking Tips

Here are ten facts to set you on your way to becoming a whiskey drinker:

1. Trust your own tastes – Real men know their own minds and that means not being told that your tastes are wrong. Only you can decide if you are a Bourbon man, a fan of Messrs Daniels and Beam, or if you are a single malt type of fellow. Experience will tell you, don’t be swayed by the snobs.

2. Buy on more than price – You can’t tell a whiskey from a label or from how much it costs. A high price does not even necessarily equate with quality. It might impress your friends but won’t always improve your experience. Pricing where whiskey is concerned is a lot like the wine industry, they will charge whatever people are willing to pay and some people are willing to pay a lot. We are talking anything from a few dollars for the cheapest drink right up to a mind boggling $10,000 for a one-off bottle of Crown Royal that was specially created as a gift for the Queen of England by the distillery in Ontario, Canada. The most expensive bottle every sold went for £100,000. It was a bottle of Irish whiskey that was the last remaining of a batch from the 19th century.

3. Don’t ask their age – Just because a bottle is old doesn’t mean it is better either. Age is not a good indicator of flavor – If you like an older Whisky, look for something in its teens but not much older.

4. How it is made is as important as ingredients – The grains, the method, where it was made, all goes into what makes the drink what it is. Even the wood used to store the drink changes the taste. Some people like the way these things affect the taste and others do not. So when you try whisky for the first time, don’t be put off if you take an instant dislike, it could be just that particular whiskey.

5. It’s not just alcohol that makes it a hard drink – Allegedly so many chemicals go into the process, from the barrels to the ingredients reactions when they mix, that a mere few sips could get you feeling light headed.

6. Ice or no ice, it’s up to you – I think Scotch goes well on the rocks, but others vehemently disagree. In fact there are folks who say certain blends go better with ice than others. Either way, go light on those cubes, one or two ought to do.

7. Have it your way – If you like soda or coke with your whisky, go for it. It’s your drink. A JD&Coke can be a refreshing addition to a night out at the club.

8. Don’t be afraid to dilute to taste – Some experts even believe a little water is good for a whiskey drink, so don’t feel watering your whiskey makes you less of a man

9. Expand your horizons – While your well-known brands might be your first tentative experiments in the world of whiskey, go boldly and seek out others, there is a whole world of choice to explore. You can sample the whiskies of the world, from USA and Canada, through to Ireland (north and south) and of course Scotland, French Cognac, but did you know there are whiskey distilleries in New Zealand, Tasmania, and even India?

10. You don’t need fancy accessories – In the movies you would often see stuffy gents genteelly decanting their whiskey at the gentleman’s club into posh crystal whiskey glasses, but all this is not necessary to enjoy the simple pleasures of the drink. Just pour it straight from the bottle into a tumbler. Connoisseurs with a trained palette from years of experience might be able to tell the difference but you probably will not. If you do want to buy the gadgets, glasses with a wide base and narrow top are best to fully enjoy the aroma, which is the first sensation that hits you.

Summary

So now you can impress your friends with your extremely encyclopaedic knowledge of hard liquor, but the most important thing is to find a whisky that you actually enjoy drinking.

Get out and sample some, find a friendly store or barman who is willing to give you some tastes and advice, and find the right drink for you.