Down in one? I think not...

Not everybody may agree with me, but is there a more satisfying tipple than a whisky? The aromas, the warmth, the flavour, come to think of it, there are few drinks I would rate more than a good scotch. Whilst its taste is acquired and occasionally referred to as a kin to petrol by philistines, this makes it even more rewarding when you begin to appreciate it, yet despite these points, perhaps the best feature of whisky is its versatility. Whisky is great for mixing as well drinking neat, bourbon and coke, has a far more complex and enjoyable taste than its vodka alternative and any kind of whisky (preferably nothing too expensive) with ginger ale is also highly agreeable. On top of that, the drink is fairly good value compared to its distant cousin brandy for equivalent qualities.

So where to begin? Well, there are three main groups of whisky: Scotch, from Scotland of course, Irish and American, mainly in the form of bourbon. Irish and Scotch whiskies tend to be malt based, where as bourbons are made from rye and must be distilled in Kentucky (surprisingly, despite the common misconception, Jack Daniel’s is not a Bourbon) and whilst Scotches are usually the most subtle in flavour, Bourbons have a far more intense taste due to the rye, making it more suitable for mixing. Then there’s the whole blended/single malt distinction to deal with. In short, a single malt is made from a single distillate, where as a blended whisky is a combination of two or more single malts. Blended whiskies are cheaper to make than single malts when producing a drinkable whisky and are usually cheaper as well in the shops, though some of the dearest drams around are also blended too, e.g. Chivas Regal and Johnny Walker Blue Label. There isn’t any single bourbon as they are too fiery by themselves.

What makes a good whisky? I’m not a connoisseur, so I’m probably not the best person to ask. Personally, the single most important thing I look for in a whisky is how smooth it is, i.e. lack of burning when tasted, ease of drinking etc, this is one thing that cheap whiskies tend not to do that well. Another quality to have is a long finish (not aftertaste; that gives the wrong connotations), where one can still taste the whisky after drinking as if it were still in their mouth. This isn’t the most important feature of a whisky though; Maker’s Mark, a nice, smooth bourbon, has a remarkably short finish. A good thing to remember is that if you’re lumbered with a bottle of whisky you’re not too keen on, you can use it for mixing, though to do this to a single malt is seen as sacrilege.

Teacher’s Highland Cream:

Cheap and nasty. On the rare and depraved occasion when I have drunk this, I could not clear my mind of the image of an overweight Glaswegian wearing a soiled and frayed wife beater’s vest stirring a massive steaming cauldron of the devil’s sweat. With a rough and foul taste, my humble advice is to resist the temptation of a cheap drink and avoid.

Johnnie Walker Black:

Whilst at the bottom of the Johnnie Walker family tree, this is a perfectly acceptable blended scotch. Highly intense and a tad fiery, it’s probably best to add a dash of soft mineral water to dilute and bring out the flavours more so. Look out for the red label; it’s made especially for mixing by having high rye content.

Glenfiddich 12 years old Single Malt:

In short, it’s the commercial single malt. Smooth with a nice, easy drinking taste. Perhaps not the most distinct of scotches in flavour, but it’s still enjoyable to have and is sold at just at about every outlet with usually the lowest price tag of the single malts. The adverts are too similar to Marlboro Man ones for my liking though.

Glen Moray Single Malt:

A very mysterious scotch, mainly in that there’s no sign of its age on the bottle, yet despite this, I’d still recommend it. It could be marginally smoother, though it does have a pleasant and light flavour. If you feel like treating yourself, you can buy a bottle of this stuff in Oddbin’s for £18, which is very good value.

Laphroaig 10 year old Single Malt:

Very nice. In fact very, very, very. nice. Joking aside, this scotch has a very distinct, rich flavour with an incredibly long finish and is extremely smooth. Quite simply, it’s brilliant. Apparently it’s also Prince Charles’ favourite dram too.