I do declare, I am in love with whisk(e)y and I am officially shouting it from the mountaintop. From the moment Don Draper took a sip of his Old fashioned, we have become obsessed with whisk(e)y-based cocktails. After Mr. Draper inspired a new generation of brown liquor lovers, the Japanese swooped in and bought up whisky distilleries from Scotland all the way down to the whiskey distilleries in Kentucky. Vodka lovers declared their love of scotch, gin drinkers began walking the bourbon trail, and it has become commonplace to see a classy woman replace a ‘cosmopolitan’ with a whisk(e)y cocktail.
There is still good in this world.
[pullquote align=”right”]We use the term ‘Whisk(e)y’ because of the variation in spelling between the different categories. It’s whiskey in America and Ireland, and Whisky in every other country that produces it.[/pullquote]My love affair with whisk(e)y is more recent than I care to admit. I’m a tequila lover, and I’ve always had a great experience with it because I learned how to drink it the right way. When it comes to whisk(e)y, the reason I wasn’t on the train had more to do with the fact I hadn’t tried any of the good stuff yet. I always fell victim to the one guy at the bar who would force multiple shots of bar-rail rye on the crew, and I would wake up with the worst hangover in the world. My impression was that bourbon and rye made you aggressive, and scotch was for old men, so I stuck to tequila because it made me fun.
For years, I failed to notice whisk(e)y’s gorgeous features. Those caramel notes, the wood finish and peat in scotch that tickles my nose. I love that there are times that I barely notice the cask strength because of how effortlessly it goes down. In short, with each glass, there are a thousand reasons your palate should learn to love whisk(e)y.
Here are some of my recommendations if you want to warm up with a nice glass of whisk(e)y and begin your education.
