Are You Out There — Out There
Whiskey: Myth-Busting & Recommendations
I’ve covered in-depth the difference between Scotch and Bourbon, since this is one of the most common questions and comparisons made in the whiskey world. Here I cover some myths and presumptions I’ve come across many times, and provide some personal recommendations.
Whiskey: Myths & Assumptions
“(I’ve heard) Japanese Whiskey is the best Whiskey in the world”
No, it’s not. There’s no such thing. While this must be a sour point for some ardent admirers and lovers of it, the truth is no whiskey is the best whiskey in the world. The titles that some win are the opinions of those awarding bodies and whilst they are wholly entitled to their own opinion, the only one that should truly matter is the one of the person who is drinking it.
The price of Japanese Whiskey is not indicative of its quality. The Yamazaki 12 Year, for example, originally retailed at around $50. Now, it is over twice that amount. The price you pay is the original cost, plus inflation due to demand. The product in the bottle is still the same as it was then.
Whether you’re happy to pay for something originally less than half its value for exactly the same liquid, is a question you have to ask yourself, as the cost of it now is comparable to an 18 year old Scotch. For the same money, you can either get that or a whiskey 6 years its junior.
It’s difficult to justify paying twice the price for something that remains the same and the only embellishment it receives is in its marketing. Are you buying it out of desperation, investment, or curiosity? Personally, if the notes of the Yamazaki 12 Year, for example, entice you, but the price tag is an off-put, the next best, if not better, is something like a Balvenie 12 Year Doublewood. It’ll cost you less than half and is classic Speyside character, the type the founder of Nikka wanted to emulate himself.
By saying one is the best in the world, it undermines and overshadows all the other wide and wonderful ranges of whiskies out there. It immediately places them in ‘leagues’ and rankings and enforces presumptions and prejudices about other brands and country products before they have even been tried.
You may come across a lesser known distillery bottling that may just be your personal favorite. Don’t dismiss them. Keep the mind open.
“If I leave a 21 year old bottle in the cellar for four years, it becomes a 25 year old.”
No, it doesn’t.
Unlike wine, whiskey doesn’t mature for longer when it’s bottled. The maturation length is determined and dictated from the period at which it enters the cask to the moment it is poured from it.
Maturation year is therefore only related to how long the spirit sits in the cask. Once it is bottled, maturation stops.
“(I thought) only the Scots can make whiskey”
Wrong.
Scotland can only make Scotch whisky but isn’t the only one that can make whiskey, per se. Scotch Whisky and Whiskey are not directly and mutually related in terms of region of production.
Many countries can produce whiskey and are in fact doing so. India, Taiwan, Sweden, Australia, and Italy are but a few. So long as they follow the laws dictated in their country (which differ very minimally) they can also produce it.
“Whiskey X is the smoothest whiskey ever”
You’re likely to hear this one amongst some salespeople. First time whiskey drinkers, or those buying whiskey for whiskey drinkers, will often use the term “smooth” to refer to how well the whiskey goes down. This is a key factor in their decision making when buying one for themselves or another, and salespeople tend to hone in on it.
Unfortunately, what is ‘smooth’ for one person, may not be so for another. It is therefore impossible to know if one particular bottling will be smooth for everyone who tries it, so if a salesperson tells you that, it’s likely a tactic to bag a sale, and so take it with a pinch of grain.
The best thing to do if you’re scouting for a present for someone or yourself? Try it for yourself (ask for a sample if they have it open), or go by the tasting profiles. They will give you a good indication of the whiskey. As a general rule of thumb, however, avoid peaty and cask strength whiskies. Stick to ex-bourbon or ex-sherry ones in the Speyside or Lowland regions, bottled at 40% to 43%, either NAS (young with no age statements on the label) or 12 years, and you’re on relatively safe ground. If you’re playing loose with your budget, the 15 years and single cask ones tend to amp up the flavor and offer interesting nuances.
“Single Malt is better than Blended Whiskey”
I can wager a good 90% of the people who say this had a bad experience with a bottle of Bells or Famous Grouse and have held onto it since. This assumption is not true in the slightest.
Unfortunately, this presumption has stuck with the name and the word “blended” is seen with scorn or shaken heads. If you offer a whiskey drinker a blended whiskey, they’ll either think you’re cursing them, you’re being cheap, or just simply lacking taste. Many would rather see it be used as paint thinner.
Technically, all Single Malt whiskies are blended anyway, just at that one distillery (hence the name ‘single,’ unless labeled Single Cask, ie. bottled only from one cask — in which case they would state this on the bottle.)
Blended whisky has provided many distilleries with the financial lifeblood it needs to keep themselves in business, as most don’t bottle their own. It may surprise some Islay fans to know that a lot of what Caol Ila produces actually goes into Johnnie Walker Black Label (since they are both owned by Diageo) and they also provide the Scotch scene with variety and capital. This stereotype needs to be changed. It’s short sighted and ignorant.
The fact that blended whisky mixes from more than one distillery alone bears no relation to whether it is inferior or not. The product speaks for itself.
Many people get into trying whisky after picking up a cheap bottle of blended whisky from their supermarket. Because these are young, mass-produced whiskies, they often have a less developed and harsher flavor, however, there are many great blended whiskies out there. One just has to be open-minded. Some of my personal favorites are blended whiskies themselves (see the bottom of this article.)
In my experience, there are great Single Malts as well as terrible ones, just as there are great Blended whiskies as much as there are terrible ones. But to paint one with the same brush is ignorant and misguided.
“My friend is looking to get into whiskey. Should I recommend a peaty one?”
Unless you want to put them off whiskey for life, I wouldn’t go about doing this to start with.
More of a poor recommendation than a myth, this one may have some shock factor attributed to it, as peated whiskies are Marmite (ie. You’ll either love them or hate them.) I for one, love them. They are the reason I got into whiskey and my personal favorite distillery is Laphroaig (who pride themselves on their whisky’s divisiveness.)
Known for being very medicinal, tarry, and smoky in aroma and flavor, they obtain these characteristics when the barley is dried over peat smoke. Peat is the precursor to coal and was used on the Isles many a decade ago for fuel to warm people’s homes. The aroma is only released when it has been burned, and this is subsequently imparted into the barley before it is malted.
Peated whiskey is one I would never recommend to a first timer to begin with however, and only comes into conversation after they are willing to try it after first sampling unpeated whiskies and are looking for something different. If one is on a tasting event lineup, you will often find it placed at the end.
And with that, here is a quick list of my personal favorite whiskies. Be sure to head over to my website to see reviews (some of those listed here may not be present on my website but will be added over time.)
Whiskey Recommendations
Favorite Blended Whiskies:
Favourite Scotch Whisky/Whiskies
Favourite Irish Whiskey
Favourite Welsh Whiskey
Favourite Japanese Whiskey
Favourite American Whiskies
- Bourbon: F.E.W. Bourbon
- Rye: Bulleit ’95 Rye
Favourite Canadian Whiskies
Heard any other myths? I’d love to discuss them and set the record straight.
I frequently write reviews about whiskey on my personal website, which you can visit here.
The writer is not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned in this article and bears no responsibility for the content of third-party links. Remember to drink responsibly and follow the rules and regulations in the state or country you reside in. And as the Scots say, Sláinte.
