Tip Dude doesn’t drink very much, but has been known to enjoy a wee dram once in a while. That’s because he spent his formative years in Scotland, where they make the stuff. Whisky (or whiskey) derives from the Gaelic word for “water”. The Gaelic term actually means “Water of Life,” underscoring the drink’s cultural significance. The drink is featured in almost every movie about the Old World. Haste Ye Back!

• Understand That There Are Two Kinds of Whiskies: Single Malt, and Other - Single malt whiskies are made entirely from malted barley and distilled in a single distillery. Other whiskies are blended products of multiple distilleries and contains both grain and malt whiskies. Malt whiskies must be distilled at least twice, in smaller batches using the traditional method, whereas grain whiskies are made in a continuous process of fractional distillation. Local folklore suggests that fractions and batches that are not used for the distillery’s own single malt label can find their way into the cheaper blends. For all of the above reasons, single malts are much more complicated to manufacture, and therefore, much more expensive. The single malt bears the distillery’s name and thus may imply a greater degree of care. While this is mostly folklore, it should be understood that the locals and connoisseurs vastly prefer single malts over the blended kind. In any case, the distinction is important, and you should probably try both and decide for yourself. Single malts include Glenmorangie, Dalwhinnie, Tomatin, Balvenie and Glenfiddich. Blends include The Famous Grouse, Bell’s, Dewar’s and Grant’s. In general, any whisky you would find in mainstream advertisement is a blend; smaller distilleries cannot produce sufficient volume to justify mainstream advertising, and sometimes it can even be difficult to locate specific single malt due to shortage of supply.
• Sip, Do Not Gulp - Whisky contains many flavors derived from the complex ingredients that go into its making. Malted barley and the local water used in production has a taste, as does peat, and the oak or sherry casks used in maturation add their own flavor to the drink. The finished product is the culmination of many years of work by the master distillers faithfully following secret recipes. Each distillery uses slightly different processes and ingredients, and has a distinctive and recognizable taste. It is said that the average whisky contains as many as 200 different flavorful components. Whether you like that mixture of tastes or not isn’t something that can be determined by gulping it down. If you like gulping alcohol and don’t care much for the taste, try grain alcohol.
• Just Add Water - Some of the flavor compounds found in whisky are volatile, and the smell is part of the experience. To release this flavor, it is necessary to add a little still water - just a little, perhaps one or two tablespoonfuls to a shot. The water will also dilute the concentrated spirit somewhat, allowing you to taste the complex flavors more clearly without the burn from the strong spirit. Of course, there is no right and wrong way to drink whisky, but this is the way to truly appreciate the drink as it is intended.
• Do Not Add Soft Drinks - Having just gone to great lengths to explain the taste of whisky, it goes without saying that you wouldn’t want to ruin years of work by a master distiller with a 99-cent shot of synthetic syrup manufactured in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. Worse still, the syrup often masks the taste of whisky. If you don’t like how the whisky tastes, it’s probably because you’re drinking a cheap blend that they probably give to the distillery dog on Christmas Eve. Either that, or you just don’t like whisky, in which case stick to the grain alcohol. As a rule, if you have to add syrup to whisky to make it drinkable, try a different whisky.
• Do Not Add Ice - The trouble with the ice is that it makes the flavor compounds less volatile, and therefore you can’t really smell it, masking part of the tasting experience. There are liquors you should probably have “on the rocks;” for example, Bailey’s Irish Cream is really quite good with ice, but don’t bother with ice in a single malt whisky.
• Understand That Tennessee Whiskey And Whiskey Liquors Are Not Whiskies - Tennessee whiskey, such as Jack Daniel’s, and whiskey liquors, such as Southern Comfort, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Drambuie (from Scotland), are whisky-derived drinks that are not to be enjoyed the same way you would a single malt whisky. In whisky liquors, the infused non-whisky flavors are part of the experience and you should not consider these drinks in the same category as you would a single malt, for which the whisky flavor is the primary focus. Tip Dude does drink Southern Comfort with Coke or Sprite (it tastes like candy), particularly when on board Amtrak trains; and Tip Dude does really like Drambuie. But just remember when drinking them, that these are not whiskies.
• Find A Good Whisky Bar - So, how do you find all those different whiskies? In the U.S., a bottle of good single malt can set you back $80 to $200, which is beyond Tip Dude’s idea of a trial-sized budget. Tip Dude continues to be disappointed by the selection of whiskies available in U.S. whisky bars, but many places will carry at least five single malts, which represents a good try-out selection for beginners. In New York, The Whisky Ward on Essex Street has a standard selection of the most popular malts. For rarer whiskies, you may need search hard in Irish theme pubs or in traditionally Celtic immigrant neighborhoods, such as South Boston in Boston.
• Try Out Miniature Bottles - Contrary to popular belief, the miniature whisky bottles sold by distillers intended as gifts or for collections actually contain drinkable whisky identical to that sold in larger bottles. These are frequently sold in gift shops in Scotland (so if a friend is visiting, point them in that direction); they can also be found in a variety of gift shops and British-themed stores in the U.S. In Tip Dude’s collection are a miniature bottle of Balnavie, a bottle of Tomatin and a bottle of Oban (amongst others). It is possible to find some rare whiskies at reasonable prices this way. Oh, and do not buy them at cut-price places in Chinatown or in dollar stores - a whisky isn’t a perfume.
• Take a Whisky Tour - If you become frustrated with the selection of whiskies available in the U.S., you should consider touring the land where they make the stuff. A variety of distillery tours are available, some focusing on the Lowlands of Scotland, others focusing on the Highlands and Islands. The tours are generally informative and give you a chance to see the distillation process up-close, and will give you a deeper appreciation of the art involved in its making. It will also be interesting to see the positive economic impacts the drink has had on an otherwise remote region, and the new technology processes that have been developed and infused while preserving traditional methods. The Scottish Tourist Board will have more information, and some distilleries have information about their tours on-line.
• Become More Educated About Whiskies - Tip Dude hopes this primer serves as the introduction to the new whisky connoisseur, but there is much more to be learned than can fit on a single webpage. There is a large body of information (most of it fairly accurate) available on Wikipedia about Scotch Whisky, and about different kinds of malts available. There are also a variety of trade association sites containing more information. Of course, each distillery also puts out their own propaganda. Learn what you can and you will be much better equipped to appreciate the drink that is the water of life and an entire region’s livelihood.

Tip Dude reminds you to drink responsibly, and not to drink and drive; if you’re drinking, take the transit system instead. Of course, if you follow these whisky appreciation tips, you probably wouldn’t drink that much anyway. If you’re drunk, you won’t be able to properly appreciate all of its 200+ subtle flavors!

How do you enjoy your whisky?

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