hutcho wrote:Just came across this thread. I am still developing my taste for whiskey. I didn't have the time to read 5 pages yet. What are some recommendations for something to try? My wife bought me a bottle of crown xr when we got married and it was excellent. And recently my dad has got me hooked on makers. Aside from various cheap brands that's kind of the best of my experience. I always drink it on the rocks, actually an ice ball but you get then point. Lastly what exactly constitutes a glass being a whiskey glass? Thank you redone for starting this thread! Hopefully one of these years I will be able to make Ouray again and we can share a bottle!
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Haha! If you can muscle through my first post, I think I do I pretty good job of a succinct primer on whiskey.
Shag gives sound advice on the swag packages. For starting out developing a whiskey pallet, some of my low cost high quality favorites are:
Jim Beam Straight Bourbon (as a base-line)
Evan Williams Straight Bourbon (good example of a sour mash)
Johnnie Walker Red (excellent introduction to Scotch, too peat-y for Irish/Bourbon fans, not peat-y enough for Scotch fans)
Redbreast 12yr (My favorite Irish, and priced right too!)
Midrange price high quality favorites:
Wild Turkey 101 (some think the higher proof means you should mix with water, but it loses a lot of flavor with more than just a small splash)
Red Bush (it's Redbreast aged in used Muricun' Bourbon barrels! Irish doesn't require new barrels for aging, Straight Bourbon does)
Leopold Brothers Straight Bourbon ( made in Denver and may not be available outside CO)
What I consider expensive favorites:
Bookers Cask Strength Straight Bourbon (for me, this is everything whiskey is supposed to be)
Stagg Jr. (130 proof vs 143 for actual Stagg. It's one you just dip your tongue into until it's gone. Flavor disappears instantly if you add even a drop of water, but even lower than original Stagg, a mountful at 130 feels like a punishment rather than a reward!)
As you've seen for yourself with Makers, there's a ton of great whiskey that's not on my short list so it's not all-encompassing. I would suggest that for developing a whiskey pallet, that you avoid "Canadian Whiskey" and "American Whiskey". There's great whiskey in these catagories, but a LOT of them have artificial flavors added to them. While developing a taste for whiskey, I would just try to avoid developing a taste for something ADDED to a whiskey that isn't actually whiskey.
EDIT>> To add a random thought on a whiskey glass. When I was a kid, my parents had these depression era glasses. They were thick and ungodly heavy amber glass with big knobs on the sides. I'm always on the lookout for some just like 'em, but I've yet to find any.