After reading these seven questions, I finally know how to get started with whisky!

I believe that everyone who drinks whisky has such an experience: when I first entered the world of whisky, I was faced with a vast sea of whisky, and I didn’t know where to start. thunder”.

For example, the whisky is expensive to buy, and when you buy it, you find that you don’t like it, or even choked tears when you drink it. There are countless examples of this. will also quench his passion for whisky.

Do you want to buy whiskey for dozens of dollars?
For our workers, at the beginning, we definitely wanted to try whiskeys with lower prices as possible, such as Red Square, White Jimmie, Jack Daniels Black Label, etc. We can start with a few dozen yuan, which is very exciting.
If it is to save the budget, then it is no problem to drink these, but if it is to cultivate our interest in whisky, then we have to buy carefully, just imagine, let a friend who is not used to drinking whisky/spirit come up Drinking these whiskeys, in addition to feeling “strong” and “rushing”, I am afraid it is difficult to feel any other tastes.

Generally speaking, this kind of whisky that is too “entry-level” tends to cause the raw wine’s jerky feeling and alcohol pungency due to insufficient aging time, and the overall balance is relatively poor. Although there are Irish whiskeys (such as Tullamore), which are very “clean” and “balanced” after triple distillation, more of them are Jack Daniel’s Black Label, which is very rough and smoky. Significantly” low years.

In particular, I remember seeing before that some friends got into the pit because the “big guys” said how rich the taste of whisky is. Because there are many fruits and desserts in various wine reviews, they mistakenly think that whisky is very “fruit wine” , while completely ignoring the fact that it is a spirit with an alcohol content of 40 or more.
Just imagine holding these expectations, open a bottle of red square, and there is no fruit in one mouthful, it is all smoky, and by the way, you are also frightened by the strength of the spirits, and there is a high probability that you will be directly persuaded to quit.

It takes a while to taste the flavor. When we get used to drinking, we will naturally learn how to “filter” the flavor of alcohol to “enjoy” those flavors, but at the beginning, our attention is often completely absorbed by the alcohol. It’s just that relatively speaking, cheap wines are drier in body and may be difficult to enter, the fruity aroma is more suppressed, and it is more difficult to get positive feedback that “I drank this delicious taste”.

Would you like to try barrel strength?
Although barrel-strength whisky is the favorite of many enthusiasts, I personally think that barrel-strength is a wine with too obvious personality, and it is not recommended for Xiaobai to try it easily.
Cask strength refers to whisky with the alcohol strength of the original barrel. This kind of whisky is finished in oak barrels after being matured, without dilution with water, it is directly bottled with the alcohol strength in the barrel. Because of its high alcohol content, the aroma of the wine will be more intense, which is highly sought after by everyone.

Take the well-received Springbank Genting 12-year-old barrel strength as an example. Its alcohol content of around 55% gives it a smooth creamy and fruity taste, and it also has a good mild peat smoke. balance. However, the higher alcohol content also reduces the ease of drinking of whiskey accordingly, bringing a higher “threshold”, which is not very friendly to Xiaobai.

In addition, if the whisky tasting system has not been established, it may not be able to distinguish so many subtle flavors at once.
If you meet a friend who is interested in peat whisky and choose Laphroaig’s 10-year barrel strength, the personality is obvious, and the strong peat flavor through the high alcohol barrel strength, your tongue may be affected by the strong peat flavor And suppressed by the stimulation of high alcohol itself, it is impossible to distinguish the layering of the peat smell.

Do you want to buy a “well-known” high-priced wine?
Since it is not recommended to buy whisky that is too cheap, can I buy some well-known high-priced wine?
On this issue, if your funds are relatively abundant, then this is of course no problem, but if your financial situation does not allow you to buy and buy without any scruples, then you may have to think about this issue carefully.
Some high-priced wines are super smooth in the mouth, and can be drunk out of its “high vintage” no matter what grade. But there are some high-priced wines that people love because of their unique flavors, or because they are so inclusive and diverse. As mentioned before, for Xiaobai, the level-jumping may be too great, and it is impossible to distinguish a blended wine with a high vintage/well-mixed wine.

Another reason is that Xiaobai will not be able to judge the premium level well, and is more likely to buy impulse buys after seeing the results of marketing because he does not know the “price” that these wines “should have.”

Moreover, because it is a familiar wine, Xiaobai is more likely to rely too much on the evaluation of others. Although the evaluations of many Wei friends are relatively objective, but in the final analysis, these are subjective comments. Any whisky, only after drinking it personally can you know whether it is suitable for you.
If you listen to what everyone says, spend a lot of money on an expensive bottle, and find that you are not so satisfied when you take a sip, then this sense of loss may become an obstacle to buying a bottle of whisky.

Want to try sharing bottles?
Among whisky lovers, many people will try to share bottles. Is it suitable for Xiaobai?
Here, I personally think it is applicable. After all, it takes a long time to drink the whole bottle of wine. If you encounter something that does not meet your taste, it will take longer. If we choose to share the bottle, we will need less start-up capital, and even if we step on thunder, we will not feel so distressed.

Especially those well-known high-priced wines mentioned above, if you really feel that “because I haven’t drunk the names and types of wines that passersby are familiar with, so I’m embarrassed to say that I’m learning to drink whisky”, then I’m accumulating After gaining some knowledge of whisky, go get a bottle of sharing bottle, and experience for yourself whether these high-priced wines are worth the price, how much money is paid for brand marketing, and then you will know whether this wine is worth it or not. Buy the whole bottle.

Should I give up this distillery when I drink a whisky I don’t like?
In many cases, the many products in a winery’s product line are always related by some “blood”, so there may be a large degree of similarity in flavor. However, a winery may also have multiple different product lines, or very different results due to the different blending ratios used.
For example, the taste of several product lines under Buchlady is very different.

Laddie is just like the color of the bottle, very small and fresh, and although port charlotte and octomore are high peat, the high grease of Portia and the peat on the face of the peat monster, the feeling of entrance is very different.
Similarly, Laphroaig 10 years and Lore, although they can taste their blood relationship, but the feeling brought by the entrance is completely different.

So I personally suggest that friends don’t give up a winery because they don’t like the taste of a regular wine. You can give it more opportunities through sharing bottles or tasting sessions, and treat it with a more open mind, so as not to miss a lot of beautiful flavors.

Is it easy to buy fake whisky?
Traditional counterfeit wines are mainly refilled with genuine bottles, or imitations of wine labels from the inside to the outside. Personally, I think the situation with fake wine is much better now. Although it does not mean that there is no, but some major whisky sales platforms are still very strict in terms of channels and fidelity.

But there has also been a new limelight in the past two years, that is, “fishing in troubled waters”. The first to bear the brunt is the pseudo-Japanese. Due to the provisions of Scottish law, single malt whisky can only be exported after bottling, not in oak barrels or in bulk, but blended whisky is not limited to this, so some distilleries import Scottish or Canadian whisky. Whiskey in bulk, blended in Japan and bottled, or aged in flavor casks, then put on the Japanese whisky cap.

What can Beginners drink?
Personally, when we are just getting started, we can choose some basic single malt whiskies that are highly rated by Wei friends to get started, such as the light and floral Glenfiddich 15 years old, and the Balvenie 12 years old double barrels with rich dried fruits, sweet and fragrant. The rich Dalmore 12 years, and the rich and hot Taisca storm.

These four models are very smooth, comfortable to enter, and at the same time affordable, so I personally think they are very suitable for beginners.

The first three are famous for their sweetness, softness, rich layers, and long aftertaste. Even friends who are not used to drinking spirits can appreciate its richness and ease of drinking.

Tasca Storm is the representative of smoked whisky. Although the smoked peat sounds a bit hard, it smells like smoke and spices, but the entrance is very smooth. I believe that when you drink it, you will immediately drink it. experience.

In fact, having said so much, the most important thing for whisky novice is to learn more about whisky, listen to the relevant experience of other whisky lovers, and have a persistent and courageous heart to explore (of course, some money is needed), the so-called The daughter-in-law of many years has become a mother-in-law. As a little white, you will one day become a big boss who is familiar with whisky!
I wish you a happy drink, cheers!