Name your poison: the generic whiskey preference poll

bourbon: at the top of the ballot for a reason

bourbon just ahead of rye

scotch. there are few things more evocative than a good peaty malt.

HURRAH

scotch, but can dig irish or bourbon, no taste at all for any rye i've ever tried.

rye in mixed drinks, single malt scotch when friends are over, bourbon until I die

be more specific about the no of shots involved in that last one pls

and if we're doin it like that:

irish in hot whiskey/coffee
scotch for sippin
bourbon if i'm mixing (shut up sometimes you gotta)
poitin for when you absolutely positively have to kill every last motherfucker in the room

hurrah for all kinds whiskey!
but in order of preference

scotch
bourbon
rye

everything other than canadian and american blended

darragh is poitin what we call poteen?

welsh whisky

I have a strong preference for peated whiskies, so scotch. I drink quite a lot of Irish too, though.

Rye.
Bourbon's too sweet, Scotch is too expensive for a proper alcoholic jag.

pedant in me points out that bourbon need not be from kentucky.

voting bourbon obv.

rye in mixed drinks, single malt scotch when friends are over, bourbon until I die

― Inconceivable (to the entire world) (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Wednesday, November 7, 2012 5:59 PM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is a good post. rye totally owns in drinks.

Scotch.

In addition to being fine drinking on occasional nights, a nip here and there has been a blessing to me when I suffer bad insomnia. Mmmm.

Scotch, no hesitation. I like the really peaty shit.

Scotch, no question. I've got to learn more about bourbon.

Laphroaig is my jam

And if I'm mixing a cheap scotch is better than anything else, as I find bourbon too sweet. Prefer rum or gin for mixed drinks though.

xpost - love Laphroaig!

I bought mr veg a bottle of laphroaig for christmas but it was just as much for me as for him, lol

Scotch, no question. I've got to learn more about bourbon.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, November 7, 2012 6:45 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i would humbly offer to chat bourbon w/you anytime

I supposedly have my name associated with the title to 1 square foot of Laphroaig's peat. A promotion they were running in 2004 IIRC.

I did exactly the same for my dad when I was still living with him in my early twenties. Only he didn't always know I was drinking it.

xpost

scotch is interesting to me. it's like i respect it but i don't viscerally love it--all the barrel finishes and peat and stuff seem fussy to me. when i got my bonus last year i went to a shop that was known for scotch and asked for something as straight-up as they could give me--no peat, no sherry, cask strength--just some fucking scotch. the result was a 16-yr old bunnahabin distilled in '88--it's gorgeous, wonderful stuff but it cost a fortune and i don't really find myself reaching for it very often.

So, to revise my vote, with no budgetary constraints, it would be MacAllan 12 for guests, and Laphroaig 10 for intimates. So Scotch it is.

I don't mind irish whiskey, feels like a nice cousin of scotch.

bourbon I have a harder time with, I don't like the sweetness so much. But I've only had crappy bourbon so that's probably why.

something as straight-up as they could give me--no peat, no sherry, cask strength

Unless it's really fucking rich and boggy I don't find there to be a huge taste difference between a £12 bottle and a £30 bottle, TBH.

it's interesting to me when ppl describe bourbon as too sweet--like, it's sweet but all i get from some scotches is honey and vanilla and sweet fruity notes.

chap that may well be true, honestly it was worth it to pay for cask strength cause 80 proof spirits don't really do it for me most of the time

bourbon, but to be honest it's the only one I've taken the time to educated about.

japanese btw

Bourbon straight and mixed, rye in drinks.

bourbon I have a harder time with, I don't like the sweetness so much. But I've only had crappy bourbon so that's probably why.

VegemiteGrrl, spend a few bucks for any of the MOR standards - Knob Creek, Maker's Mark, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey 101 - and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The flavor components of bourbon are really complex and diverse though almost always yummy. The cheap stuff is where it gets sweet, and that's not a coincidence.

To be frank I base my dislike of bourbon on JD, which I'm sure isn't fair in the slightest. I haven't felt the need to experiment because all the delicious scotch comes from a couple of hundred miles north of us.

Yeah, basing preference on the cheap stuff always throws of perspective.

The various Wellers are good bargain places to start, too, though maybe not in Europe, where bourbon prices are high.

Buffalo Trace is reeeeeally good IMO.

Oh, shit, forgot BT! Yeah, great value. All the stuff from that distillery is awesome.

Also Bulleit -- both are pretty spicy, BT more so.

For the price Bulleit is pretty much unstoppable.

Want to say Bulleit is almost $10 more than Buffalo Trace. However, it is pretty rye-forward, I want to say, which makes it pretty versatile.

irish, then scotch

like higher-end bourbons ok but overall not that into it, prefer bourbon and rye in a cocktail if at all

canadian whiskey is nasty

bulleit is cheaper than buffalo trace around me. haven't tried the bulleit rye yet.

irish is vile. i drink scotch more frequently but prefer bourbon.

darragh is poitin what we call poteen?

yep

Rye for mixing and sipping
Scotch for savouring
Irish for drinking from the bottle round the camp fire

hurrah for all kinds whiskey!

this is me - I will drink all the amber colored liquors

Where do you all stand on brandy?

tbh I always forget there are tennessee whiskies other than JD/Dickel

iirc the distinction b/w bourbon & TW has to do w/ the oak barrels in which TW is aged having charred interior surface, no?

filtering post-distillation

rye is nasty

Whenever I hear someone say "gin is gross," or "tequila makes me sick," or "rye is nasty," that usually means the person has either never had a drink with those ingredients that was prepared properly, or is flashing back to college when all that was available/purchased was the cheapest swill equivalents of the aforementioned, typically then just dumped into a jug of juice or something.

I am surprised to see anybody repping for Japanese whiskey. I haven't had a Japanese whiskey that I'd prefer to any inexpensive Irish blend like a Bushmill's.

Josh otm, and I assume that people who rate Canadian so low are basing their judgement on unfortunate Canadian Club experiences

hah, or the fact that Black Velvet has dumped "canadian whiskey" on middle america for a few decade

The tastable differences between Tennessee Whiskey and Bourbon are a lot smaller than those between, say, any two fancy-ass gin brands.

Very true. People don't differentiate between gin styles well, though, and there's definitely fewer categories.

the rye i tried was recommended from the ilx whiskey thread, and iirc i tried two or three different of em.- at quite a hit to my wallet and enjoyment of my evening. rye irs naaaasty.

try them in a manhattan, imo

Very true. People don't differentiate between gin styles well, though, and there's definitely fewer categories.

― under minnesota shakedown (mh), Thursday, November 15, 2012 11:29 AM (33 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

in america the rules governing gin are pretty loose, there are some gins out there that really should be called something else

92% of thread voters can't be wrong

Good scotch isn't for mixing with anything but water, won't even work in a hot toddy ime. Maybe rye does!

countertop disinfectant, pinecone air freshener, etc xp

I still can't stand really peaty scotch, just seems nasty

i feel like drinking it about once a year but it's kind of a drag

i tend to avoid the very peaty stuff myself, laphroaig is just too much, for instance

that would be the one that definitively turned me off, yes

re: japanese, 10 year yamazaki is my favourite (tho i don't get it often), and quite clearly superior to a standard bushmills/jameson imo- tho standard japanese malts probably aren't as good as either of those

that yamazaki might well be my favourite full stop, i mean, better than even yr redbreast or glenfiddichs

I'm mentioned it before, but I have blended Scotch and peaty stuff on hand just for these:

Penicillin

2 oz. any favorite single malt or blended scotch (lighlty peated)
1/4 oz. Laphroaig

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz honey-ginger syrup (1:1 honey and water + large slices of fresh ginger, reduced)

Garnish with candied ginger

Combine ingredients in shaker with ice, serve with large cube

had a 'scottish blazer' in L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (london cocktail week yo): 18 yr old macallan, port, orange peel, served hot. amazing.

Thanks darraghmac, I will try it. I don't remember the various kinds I tried but the prevailing internal feeling was "why am I drinking this instead of some delicious shochu"

The Penicillin is my favourite whiskey-based cocktail and is the part that Laphraoig was born to play

hey that pencillin sounds like good timez

The Penicillin sounds SOOOO good.

srsly does, but tbh it's 5pm and everythin sounds good right now

I am surprised to see anybody repping for Japanese whiskey. I haven't had a Japanese whiskey that I'd prefer to any inexpensive Irish blend like a Bushmill's.

― in an English way (flamboyant goon tie included), Thursday, November 15, 2012 11:23 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah the ones I've had have been very 'polite'

I love the peatier malts, insert yr dealwith.gif here.

Will happily drink bourbon or Irish but don't think I've ever knowingly tried a rye. Any suggestions?

rittenhouse or one of the newer willett bottlings to start.

old overholt is the classic, available pretty much everywhere rye and i think it's pretty good, especially to mix with.

Not really sure I would drink either of those ryes straight, tbh. Maybe the new Knob. I mostly mix with rye. Bulleit, I understand, is a very "rye-forward" bourbon, so it might be a good place to start.

(ri)1 is good for cocktails, and enjoyable straight by people who like the idea of rye but reality has been too harsh so far. I think it's fine stuff, won't get macho about it.

Is (ri)1 still a thing? I felt like it has been less of a presence on store shelves. I bought some when it was discounted from some normally ridiculous price (I think I got it for $28?) but have no impulse to normally buy

it's def been de-emphasized but not sure beyond that. with the big push for knob creek rye, beam doesn't really need to keep it around.

It's still being made (it's a Beam product). I don't own any, but I live in Europe and get a locally (Austrian) made rye that's quite nice -- but I'd have a bottle of (ri)1 in my bar set-up if I lived in the States in addition to a more old fashioned rye.

How is it particularly different from an old-fashioned rye?

Less spicy, very smooth, slightly sweet without being sugary/liquory.

ri1 is about as old-fashioned as it gets other than the name!

i don't even know if it's aged more than old overholt

I was going to say, it tasted like many other ryes I've had, just with novelty branding

I've never had the anchor distillery vintage-styled ryes, though. Don't they make different varieties that are supposed to correspond to time periods?

yeah, i've never been able to pull the trigger on one of them.

Beam says it is; it's a blend, the youngest of which is 4.5 years -- OO is 4 years.

No ice. No stirrer. No glass. We're redefining how whisky can be enjoyed. Introducing The Glenlivet Capsule Collection #noglassrequired pic.twitter.com/F4MGErsfZM

— The Glenlivet (@TheGlenlivet) October 2, 2019

I predict this new product, however weird and silly it may seem to fans of Glenlivet or scotch whichey in general, will not prevent traditional Glenlivet drinkers from purchasing and drinking Glenlivet as they have done in the past, which is probably why it doesn't matter to the Glenlivet management that this idea gets ridiculed as weird and silly. All they care about is expanding their market and their profits. It might do that, but who knows?

congrats to glenlivet for inventing the nip

they're just trying to appeal to hip millenials who favor tide pods

lol

*sips Old Forester and shakes head ruefully*

i had the tide pod thought!

what an awful awful piece of footage