How do you buy whisky as a gift? Part 1

A little while ago we had a post by the name of, how doyou select wine? in which I expressed my dismay at how hard it can be to choose what wine to buy from your local supermarket. I contended that there is just too much choice.

As a result of that, it occurred to me that while I can’t provide much advice to you on buying wine, I might be just the right person to help a novice select a nice bottle of whisky, and with Christmas approaching, there has never been a better time to cover this subject.

Many is the time that I’ve seen a lost soul perusing the whisky section at Tesco, obviously trying to buy a gift for a whisky-loving or whisky-curious loved one but sadly having no terms of reference or idea of where to start. They’re aware that there are good and bad selections, but they don’t know what they are and are reluctant to make a mistake. Well, I’m here to help you out. You may be one of the people I’ve seen at Tesco already, so if you do want to buy your relative or special friend a nice bottle of whisky, take a sip of coffee and sharpen your reading eyes, this is for you.

Obstacles

There are two major obstacles facing the novice who wants to buy a bottle of whisky: variety and price, and how much help you need depends on what you know already – both about whisky and about the person you’re buying for.

Let’s do a role play. For the purpose of the drama, imagine you’re a lady (if you’re not already), you’re in Tesco, and you’re looking to buy your husband a nice bottle of whisky. I’m stood nearby and I notice you looking lost, but I don’t want to impose. You might think I’m trying to pick you up, but I’m happily married and not looking for a female whisky drinking companion. You look at me and can tell that I’m not necessarily there to buy. I’m just looking to see what they’ve got, and whether there are any offers I can’t refuse. I must know something about this subject.

You: It’s so confusing, all these different bottles.

Me: Eh? Oh, yeah I know. Are you buying a present?

You: Yeah, for my husband. I don’t suppose you could help?

Me: Aye, probably.

Pay attention here. I’m about to ask the important questions.

Me again: Is it whisky in particular that you’re after?

That wasn’t one. Just wait.

You: Yes. What would be a good one?

Me: That depends. What kind of whisky does he like?

You: What do you mean?

Me: Scotch, Irish, bourbon…

You: Scotch?

Me: Blended or single malt?

You: I don’t know…

Here you might ask what the difference is. If you did, I would say, “single malt refers to when a bottle contains whisky that was all made at one distillery, while a blend can contain whiskies from any number of distilleries and  50-60% of the contents are usually made up of grain whisky. Grain whisky is cheaper than malt whisky, and that is why blends tend to be cheaper than single malts. Single malt is usually considered to be better, though there are a number of premium blends for which you could pay well in excess of £100.

Me: What does he normally drink?

You: I’m pretty sure he’s had the Glenfiddich before.

Me: Ok, well that’s a single malt. If you’d said Bells or Teachers, those would be blends. Did he like the Glenfiddich?

You: I think so.

Me: The standard 12 year old is halfway decent, so if he liked it, you might want to step up a class and get the 15 year old. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s supposed to be better, though I haven’t tried it.

Here’s the next important question.

Me: What’s your budget, if you don’t mind me asking?

You: I was hoping to spend about thirty quid.

If you know how much he normally spends, it might be a good idea to spend a little bit more. That way you’re increasing the treat because you’re getting him something he wouldn’t normally allow himself to buy.

Me: All right. You can get something decent for that 30 quid. If you’re lucky, you can get a good single malt, but you’re more likely to if you go 35 quid and up – it just depends what they’ve got. Or you can get a very good blend. Some people are snooty about blends, but there’s no need to be because some are very good. So, first thing; the cheapest single malt they’ve got here is the Glen Moray Classic. See that? £18. Don’t get that. Now, you said you don’t know what kind of scotch he likes,  it would be easier if you did, but we’ll work around that. Does he like the strong flavours or the mellow ones?

You: I’m not sure.

Me: All right. You could just get the Glenfiddich 12. It’s decent and it’s cheap, but I think you ought to be a bit more adventurous. For future reference, the Glenfiddich 12 is still a good scotch for a novice to buy as a present. If it was me though, looking to buy a bottle of whisky as a present, I would be getting the Highland Park 12. It’s single malt, it’s always on offer, even at full price it’s a bargain, it comes in a funky bottle, it tastes great and it’s known for being a quality product.

You: Oh right. That’s under budget.

Me: You can get yourself something nice with the change.

You: Thanks.

Me: No worries.

 

Highland Park 12... a great gift

That’s one way the scenario could play out. Let’s look at some other eventualities though:

What if they haven’t got the Highland Park, or it’s not on offer?

I’d always recommend going with an Islay malt. They’re among the most interesting and you can usually get a decent one in the under £35 price range – the Laphroiag 10, the Caol Ila 12, Bruichladdich… I even got the Lagavulin 16 for £35 once. If it says Islay on it, it’s probably going to be good. The only drawback is that some people really don’t like the Islay malts, but I think it’s worth the risk.

As I say, you can always fall back on the Glennfiddich 12. Some like the Glenlivet 12 or the Aberlour 10 – they’re classy enough, but a little generic for me.

Can you give me some general things to look for?

It’s a gift, so generally look for a single malt unless you know your target doesn’t like single malt. If you don’t know, go for it.

Always go for one with an age statement, and make sure it’s at least 10 years. Some younger whiskies are excellent, but you don’t know enough to take the risk. Some without an age statement are good, but ages are impressive – it’s psychological.

If it comes in a box, that also suggests quality. That’s not necessarily the case but again, this is a gift, so boxes are good. Something that comes in an interesting bottle is also good. Again, it doesn’t say anything about the quality, but with gifts half the battle is presentation.

What should I avoid?

Definitely avoid the Glen Moray Classic. That’s just from personal experience. Horrible. When I see people buying that, I want to ask “Have you had that before? Cos if you haven’t, don’t”. My personal feeling is to avoid anything that is too pale in colour – there are exceptions to that, but we’re talking generalities. Also avoid Jura – it’s always on offer, so a very popular gift, but in my opinion it’s not so good.

Now, just because I say ‘avoid the Glen Moray Classic’ that doesn’t mean all Glen Morays are bad. Similarly, you can pick up a no age statement Ledaig from some supermarkets that isn’t good. I consider the 10 year old to be very good though.

Don’t get Jack Daniels – unless you’re buying for a very young adult. That’s not to say it’s bad (I actually like it – very nice mouthfeel), but many scotch drinkers are a bit snooty about it, possibly because it is so commonly mixed with coke.

Definitely don’t get Southern Comfort. This is not whisky – and I’m not being facetious here; it literally isn’t whisky. It’s a peach liqueur with whisky flavouring. It’s surprising how many people don’t know that.

If you know your target is a seasoned whisky drinker, your task might be more difficult because their standards can be quite exacting, but don’t worry; I’ll be offering some advice for buying whisky for the more discerning drinker next week. Remember, when someone receives a gift though, they want to be pleasantly surprised, not slightly disappointed. For this reason I’d avoid brands that are a bit too obvious (and that the novice might have heard of or seen on average drinks menus in restaurants) – for me, the Glenlivet 10, Balvenie Double Wood, Glenfiddich 12 and the basic Glenmorangie are a bit too obvious, but you could definitely do worse.

What if your budget is more modest?

I would aim to set your budget around £30-35 because you can definitely do the job for that. Anyone who likes whisky is going to know you spent £30-35, and they’re going to be all the more grateful for it. I understand though, that if you’re buying a gift for a friend, £30 might seem a little steep. You might have been thinking £20. If you were, don’t panic, just don’t be thinking about getting a single malt – unless you want to buy a 35cl bottle. That’s perfectly acceptable. The recipient will still appreciate the effort – and of course, it means you can get something even more special.

However, don’t be scared of going for a blend. A lot of basic blends are good, but if you can just go up one step to the next level, you’re going to be more likely to get one that your target hasn’t tried, or that is a little more interesting. Grants, Whyte and MacKay, Ballantine’s and Dewar’s all make decent, reasonably priced blends, and there are many more obscure ones that are worth a pop. Even a whisky aficionado can find a use for a basic blend. I always keep one for the times when I just don’t feel like getting the special stuff out, or as a precursor earlier in the evening. If you can chance across one that they haven’t tried before, you will have done very well because at least that’s one they can tick off their mental list. But don’t get the Johnnie Walker Red, Bells, Teachers, Famous Grouse or anything that says “bottled for [insert supermarket]” on the label. Not that there’s necessarily anything particularly bad about any of those, but you are buying a gift.

Conclusion

That at least, would be my advice. People all like different things, and there are no right and wrong opinions when it comes to whisky. Personally though, I think some whiskies exist just because people don’t know what to buy, so they all make sales to some degree. I don’t know – would a business be able to survive on that principal? Surely you have to rely on repeat customers. As I get more into whisky though, I find I seldom buy any bottle more than once because there’s always more to try. Caol Ila does well out of me, because I’ve bought four of their expressions so far, and I always recommend it to friends. In fact, usually when I like a whisky, I remember it as one to possibly buy as a gift for a friend, rather than one to buy again for me.

Perhaps one day I will have tried nearly everything (in my price range), and will just want to buy something I like with my money. There was a time when I bought different beer every time I bought a pint or some cans. Now I just buy what I like – though I have gotten into trying IPAs recently. I’m a long way off reaching that point with whisky, so we’ll just have to see how and when things pan out.

So, now if you find yourself at Tesco, and if you can remember any of this, you’re going to do all right. You could also have a look at the Whisky Exchange for specific brands but remember; you’re not going to be able to find most of those in your local supermarket. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask if another customer looks like they know what they’re doing. It might be me, and even if it’s not, anyone who is enthusiastic about whisky is going to be delighted to be able to share a bit of the knowledge.

Good luck, and don’t forget to come back next week when I’ll be considering how you can buy with confidence for the whisky enthusiast in your family.

Postscript

Last Sunday my whisky advice fantasy almost came true. It was shopping day in the Cake household and, feeling a bit down, I thought adding a trip to Tesco to the regular Aldi shop in order to pick up a cut price Grant’s Sherry Cask Edition that I’d seen on offer the day before might cheer me up. A quick preparatory glance through my wallet and on the fridge revealed that we had £7 in vouchers – though we had to spend at least £40 to recoup one of them. Also in my favour was that I’d stashed £10 away in my booze budget, and then found a farewell fiver in the back pocket of my favourite jeans. I say “farewell fiver” because it was during that shopping trip that they developed a split in the back and threatened to show more and more bum cleavage every time I had to reach down to a low shelf…

Well, as you know, Christmas is approaching and Mrs Cake thought maybe she could get some whisky for her dad and brother… that sounds bad; they aren’t the same person. Yes, I would be delighted to help with that.

Mrs Cake isn’t really one for taking advice. She has her own mind you see, so it wasn’t as simple as me offering a suggestion and her taking it, but in the end she did follow my recommendations despite battling me all the way.

The Highland Park 12 was on offer, and I persuaded her that that would be a good choice for her dad, because it’s “excellent”. He doesn’t like peaty whiskies, and of the ones available in this price range, this was definitely the best choice in my opinion. He had said previously that he likes a 16 year old Glenmorangie, but they didn’t have that (it doesn’t seem to exist), and I doubt the price would have been anywhere near comparable (if it did exist).

Buying for the brother was a little trickier since I remembered he had wanted to drink the Crown Royal Black I took to his house a couple of years ago… with coke. So I maintained that we should get him something he can mix, and that meant a blend. Mrs Cake wanted to get something they wouldn’t be able to get in Canada, but in Tesco there isn’t really anything you couldn’t get in Canada. I advised her to go for the Grant’s Ale Cask Edition as that was on offer too. I don’t actually know what that one is like yet, but it is a step up (price-wise) from the standard Family Reserve and therefore makes a slightly better present than a standard cheap blend. I don’t think Brian is all that knowledgeable about scotch anyway, so we didn’t need to stress to much about it… though I suppose that remains to be seen. Perhaps I’ll follow up this post after Christmas and let you know how we did. To be fair, I probably won’t know how we did for the father-in-law until next year when he sends the bottle back hoping we won’t notice it’s the one we bought him. And if that happened… I would be delighted...

Booze Snobbery - Drink it how you like it, or drink it how you’re told?

People can be quite snobbish. Especially people who like fine food and good liquor. You know, some people insist that having your steak well done is a travesty. Some tell you that you shouldn’t keep your chocolate in the fridge, and some tell you that you have to put the milk in last when you make a cup of tea. In this feature I’ll be discussing the abhorrent practice of booze snobbery, and encouraging you to drink it how you like it. And that goes for tea, too.

For this first instalment, I’m going to tackle the biggie; the ultimate conundrum: how should you drink scotch whisky? Do you need a specific type of glass? Should you add a little water? Should you be berated for drinking it over ice?

Now, I don’t want to offend anyone with this segment; I know there are a lot of people who know a lot more about this than I do, but the whole point of this blog is to encourage enjoyment of alcohol, not to tell you what you should or shouldn’t think, or what you should and shouldn’t drink. You’re right in the end (unless you’re drinking white spirit). So, if you feel particularly strongly about anything I say in this post, feel free to add a comment, but you know; be cool. It’s not about you, it’s about me. Just kidding: it’s about everyone. And after this one, maybe I can go on to discuss some more fun things, things that aren’t so divisive.

I just wanted to add that little disclaimer there because when I started this blog, I didn’t realise how deeply I would have to get into information, opinion and facts. I was just going to ramble on about stuff, tell you about experiences, make suggestions and comment on stuff. I realised though, that if I was going to ask a question, I was going to have to think about answering it. If I was going to talk about something, I was going to have to find out a little about it. You can’t say, “I don’t know why…” when all the information in the world is at your fingertips. You can’t say, “I don’t have any information about that” when it’s all right there. Because if you do say that, someone’s just going to click on that search button themselves, so why should anyone bother reading your blog?

Equally, I don’t want to come across as some kind of know-it-all. I don’t even want to know it all, and I don’t want anyone to think that my opinion is gospel. Yours is just as valid. And mostly, I just want to enjoy alcohol, and share a bit of that enjoyment. And I don’t want it to get serious. So let’s give it a go, shall we?

The whole need to address this issue arose when I tried to write a short piece about this:

 

It’s Bruichladdich Rocks, a single malt whisky, weighing in at 46%. My future brother-in-law gave me a small bottle (20cl) for Christmas. Let me first say that I’ve been enjoying it enormously. I think it’s very tasty. I’m no expert, and I don’t want to become one of those people who go on about tasting vanilla and cloves and all that stuff, but I found the flavour fascinating; sweet, then sour, then a little smoky. If you want the official version, go here http://www.bruichladdich.com/shop/classic-single-malt-scotch-whisky/classic-bruichladdich/rocks.

I’d done a little research beforehand, and it was suggested that it had been created to be enjoyed with ice. I knew though, that single malt isn’t really supposed to be taken with ice, and having tasted it, I thought it was far too enjoyable and full-flavoured to risk watering it down, so that seemed at odds with the very little I knew and the even less I took seriously about drinking scotch – ice destroys the flavours, right? And why doesn’t the website say anything about ice? Why doesn’t it say so on the bottle?

Nevertheless, as I said in the introduction, I realised I had to look into it a little further if I was going to write about it. And I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKYNYFhT3wY

in which Jim McEwan, Bruichladdich’s master distiller, confirms that it indeed was conceived to be enjoyed with ice (though in the video he adds water to it instead(?)), and goes on to give instruction on how whisky should be tasted, as well as asserting that young whiskies should be enjoyed early in the evening, while older ones should be enjoyed later... 

He says that all professional tasters add water, and that you should let your own sense of taste decide how much to add – as well as that it depends on the age of the whisky, as different ages react on a different part of the tongue. The science is all very interesting, but he doesn’t say what effect you are trying to achieve – beyond the whisky ‘opening up’. I can see that I’m probably going to have to try it, if I’m going to investigate this properly, but I don’t really want to. I actually enjoy it neat.

Now, I can hardly argue with him though, can I? He clearly knows a thing or two, and he has made at least one very nice whisky (I’m guessing he’s made a few more, too). But a lot of his assertions for me signal the beginning of taking things too far. You don’t want to be thinking, ‘it’s past 10 o’ clock now, and this whisky’s far too young to be up this late’ or ‘my bottled spring water is foreign compared to the spring water that was used to make this whisky, so I don’t want to tarnish the experience by adding this to it…” do you? And I certainly don’t want to have a bottle of water to accompany each whisky in my family…

So I started looking at other websites that have addressed the question of how scotch should be drunk. Before I go on, let me just say that several address the issue, but they all disagree with each other to some degree. So let’s just look at what they say.

This website http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/ArtDeBoire_EN.shtml has a lot of useful information. It does point out that there is no rule, but it does go on to imply that if you follow its directions [they’re a bit like rules], you can enhance the experience of tasting whisky. 

It mentions that there’s an ideal type of glass, and that you should never put ice in whisky [that sounds like a rule]. It also addresses the issue of adding water, saying that it causes a chemical reaction, and that the whisky will “open itself”. I’m just going to have to try that one, and see if I can figure out what it means.

This site http://www.maxriffner.com/parlor/know-how-to-drink-scotch provides very specific instructions on how to develop a liking for single malt scotch, by a progression of degrees. It does however, say that you can drink your single malt with a water chaser, but not mix them together. This disagrees with what I’ve heard previously from several sources, including the revered Jim McEwan. The author also favours the ‘on the rocks’ term for ‘with ice’, implying you’re a moron if you don’t use ‘on the rocks’, but that’s another matter for another time.

The Scotch Whisky Association (http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/swa/93.html) says this:

                [how scotch whisky should be drunk]…  depends entirely on your individual taste and on the occasion. Scotch Whisky is a versatile drink. Served on its own, or with a little water, it can also be a refreshing drink with ice and a mixer. Scotch Whisky presents a whole range of flavours which can be extended by the addition of soda or mineral water, lemonade, ginger ale or other mixers. Scotch Whisky is also an excellent cocktail drink.

You’d think an organisation going by that name would know what it was talking about, wouldn’t you? It even presents some cocktail recipes, though I suspect they may be trying to promote sales of scotch whisky by appealing to all markets – something your purists are less concerned about.

This site http://scotchnoob.com/2011/03/09/water-ice-or-neat/ actually seems to me to have the most sensible approach, and conforms more tidily to the Drink it How You Like It philosophy, offering advice and encouragement based on personal experience, and for me – for now – that’s what it’s all about but, you know; it’s up to you. Make your own mind up, and don’t let anyone tell you different.

So, it’s Friday and this brings me to this weekend’s activities. I still have most of that bottle of Bruichladdich Rocks left, so tonight I’ll be trying it as its creator intended – early in the evening with some ice, or ‘with the rocks’ [that’s the right term, isn’t it?]. Tomorrow I might pick up some spring water and try it with water. I may also try my Aberlour with that; it could do with ‘opening up’ a little, I think. So I’ll be letting you know how all this turns out in due course – currently I drink things I’m particularly partial to neat, and anything less so ‘up the rocks’ or whatever that term is – with ice.

Also this weekend, I’ll be starting some research for a new feature on budget brands, by having Brenda do a blind taste test of Bailey’s Irish Cream and Aldi’s budget alternative, Ballycastle. So look out for the results of that; I expect to be putting them up on Monday. Later next  week, I should also be posting the first part of my Booze Tourism feature which, as I mentioned earlier in the week, will focus on Venice.

I’d like to finish here by encouraging you to visit and explore all the sites I used in the making of this post, but mostly I’d like to encourage you to enjoy your booze, and Drink it How You Like it.

Booze: the more you drink it, the better it tastes - but why is liquor so fascinating?

Here you go; I was thinking for a while. What would be the best subject for my first actual post? I’ve found the answer: why is alcohol so fascinating? You know; why isn’t tasting all the different varieties of cola as stimulating as trying the different varieties of whisky? I like cola, but I LOVE whisky. It can’t all be down to the alcohol, can it? 

I don’t believe I’ve ever tried alcohol-free beer; I don’t see the point. But why? I once remarked to a co-worker who said he didn’t drink beer because he didn’t like the taste when I was 21 or 22 that ‘if you don’t like beer, you haven’t drunk enough of it’. And that’s true. Because you don’t like it at first. Do you? 

So what is it? Is it the alcohol content? With beer, yes; the buzz is important, I think. But what about whisky? Vodka? Rum? Brandy? I really like the flavour of those drinks – the subtle differences. Sure! I like the buzz as well, but I feel like I like the flavour so much that I’d maybe drink them if they were alcohol free!

But would I? I’d probably not get into them if there was no alcohol. Has anyone ever made an alcohol free whisky? I guess it wouldn’t be the same, would it? I read recently though, that alcohol is flavourless, so couldn’t you make a drink as subtly flavoured as a fine whisky without it being alcoholic?

Ok, well I’ve decided that the point of this blog isn’t to answer all these questions, but maybe just to make you think about them. So I’m not going to trawl the internet finding out whether alcohol is particularly prone to absorbing flavour from oak barrels, or… just whatever. I’m sure there are loads of possible factors. I suspect that part of the fascination with alcohol is chemical – our brains like the sensation, and encourage us to indulge, perhaps by convincing us that it tastes nice.

Anyway, I did do a quick internet search for alcohol free whisky, and this is what I came up with:

http://whiskey-store.co.uk/index.php?type=page&pageid=2&mid=3

Perhaps I’ll try it… um, one day…

Look at this, though: “Black ZERO non alcohol whisky tastes and looks exactly like traditional Scotch Whisky.” What does that mean? Scotch whiskies all taste different!

No reviews (at time of writing):

http://whiskey-store.co.uk/eshop/products.php?reviews&whiskey&osCsid=77203780892baf6c5ed2187a96e48112

Hmm… it turns out alcohol free whisky raises other issues [that I don’t want to get into]:

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2011/11/row-over-alcohol-free-whisky-deepens/

Anyway. It's time for a picture - let's call it "Booze Porn". Here's the whiskies I have to choose from at the moment.

 Left to right you've got the standard Crown Royal (Canadian rye), Aldi's finest blended 8 yr old Highland Black (a personal budget favourite - I'll probably write more about this at some point), Gibson's 12 yr old (another Canadian whiskey), the Aberlour 10 yr old single malt, and a small bottle of Bruichladdich Rocks which, depending who you listen to, is supposed to be drunk with ice. Or isn't - I don't know; I haven't opened it yet.

The Whisky Exchange is an invaluable resource for a boozehound, so here are some links:

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-1380.aspx

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-140.aspx

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-11265.aspx