Your first whisky - 5 bottles for a good start
You stand in front of a shelf full of whisky and have no idea where to start. Hundreds of bottles, strange names, prices from a few to several thousand. It is the moment when many people either give up or buy a random bottle, end up disappointed and shelve whisky for years. Yet a different approach is all it takes. Instead of looking for one perfect, expensive bottle, it is far better to get to know several different styles and discover which one suits you most. This guide proposes five bottles that together form a small, complete course in whisky.
Why five styles, not one bottle
Whisky is not one flavour but a whole family of very different worlds. A mild, fruity Irish whisky and a smoky whisky from the island of Islay are extremely different experiences, even though both are called whisky. By buying one bottle you get to know only one point on a vast map, and it is easy to land on a style that simply does not suit you.
That is why the best starting strategy is to take one bottle from each of a few main categories and taste them side by side. This way you will quickly see whether you are drawn to sweet, fruity notes, to vanilla and caramel, or perhaps to smoke and peat. It is a path through comparison, not guesswork. I cover how to approach whisky without being put off in how to fall in love with whisky.
Bottle one: mild Irish whiskey
The best starting point for most people is Irish whiskey. It is usually triple distilled, which gives an exceptionally smooth, soft and approachable spirit, and is rarely smoky. It is a whisky that does not attack with sharpness but invites you in with gentle notes of grain, honey and light fruit.
Irish whiskey is the ideal first step, because it will not scare off anyone who associates whisky only with burning alcohol. It lets your palate get used to it calmly before you reach for more demanding styles. A classic, inexpensive choice to begin with is a standard blended Irish whiskey. I cover the category itself in Irish whiskey.
Bottle two: fruity Speyside single malt
The second step is a Scottish single malt from the Speyside region, the heart of single malt production. These whiskies are famous for their elegant, fruity-floral profile, without smoke. Typical notes are apple, pear, honey, vanilla and a light malty sweetness.
Speyside is a great introduction to the world of single malts, that is whiskies from a single distillery made only from malted barley. It shows how clean and refined this style can be. A classic Speyside single malt commonly recommended to beginners usually ages for twelve years in ex-bourbon barrels, giving delicate notes of citrus, honey and vanilla. I cover what the terms single malt, blend and grain mean in single malt, blend, grain.
Bottle three: sweet American bourbon
The third bottle is bourbon, that is American whiskey from at least fifty-one percent corn, aged in new charred barrels. It is a completely different pole of flavour: sweet, round, with clear notes of vanilla, caramel, and often spice and a peppery note from rye.
Bourbon is great for beginners, because its sweetness and softness are very friendly, while at the same time showing how big an influence the barrel itself has on flavour. Milder wheated bourbons, where rye is replaced with wheat, are smoother and rounder still. A classic, balanced bourbon at an accessible price is an excellent third reference point. You will find more about this style in bourbon explained.
Bottle four: lightly smoky whisky
The fourth step introduces a new dimension: smoke. Before you reach for the extremely peaty monsters of Islay, however, it is better to start with a whisky of moderate smoke, where the campfire note is clear but not overwhelming. This lets you tame a flavour that for many is initially shocking.
A lightly smoky whisky teaches that smoke in a spirit can be appealing rather than off-putting, if it is balanced by sweetness and fruit. Only once you come to like this moderate level is it worth moving on to heavily peated Islay whiskies. I cover where the smoky, campfire flavour comes from in the first place in why whisky tastes like a bonfire.
Bottle five: rich sherry-cask whisky
The fifth bottle shows a different kind of richness: whisky aged in casks that once held Spanish sherry wine. Such whiskies have a deep, dark profile with notes of raisins, dried fruit, chocolate, nuts and warm spices. It is a completely different experience from a light, fruity Speyside or a sweet bourbon.
The sherry cask is one of the most important ways in which wood shapes the flavour of whisky. This bottle closes your little course, showing how huge an influence the type of cask has on the final character. After these five styles you will already have a pretty good idea of the breadth of the whisky flavour map.
What to avoid at the start
A few simple rules will save you from disappointment. First, do not start with the strongest cask-strength whiskies over sixty percent, because the alcohol will dominate the flavour before you have learned to read it. Second, do not spend a fortune straight away: expensive, collectible bottles will teach you no more than well-chosen mid-shelf classics. Third, do not start with the most peated Islay whiskies, because that is a flavour for a more practised palate. And fourth, do not be guided only by the age on the label, because an older whisky does not automatically mean a better one.
How to read the label when buying
When choosing these first bottles, it helps to understand a few label terms, because they will save you mistakes. A number with the word years, for example twelve, is the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle, not the average. Older whisky can be milder and more complex, but not always better, because too long in the barrel can dominate the spirit with wood. The absence of a number means a whisky with no age statement, which does not rule out quality at all.
Pay attention too to the strength, that is the alcohol percentage. The standard forty percent is a safe, friendly start. Values above fifty percent are cask-strength whiskies, strong ones better avoided at the start or heavily diluted. It is also worth checking the region and type: single malt, blended, bourbon, Irish. These few words on the label will tell you more about the expected style than a pretty picture or a high price. I cover the details in how to read a whisky label.
How to taste these five
With five bottles in hand, set up a home comparative tasting. Pour small samples into similar glasses, ideally ones that narrow towards the top to concentrate the aroma. Start with the mildest Irish, through Speyside and bourbon, to the smoky and the sherry, moving from gentle to intense. Smell for a long time before you taste, and after each sip add a drop of water, which often opens up new aromas. I cover whether water and ice ruin whisky in does water or ice ruin whisky, and the home tasting format itself in how to host a whisky tasting.
How to remember it all
The best way to get the most from these five is to note your impressions of each glass. In GustoNote you record the style, flavour notes, sweetness, smoke and your rating of each whisky, and after going through the whole five you will see in black and white which direction draws you most: mild and fruity, sweet and vanilla, smoky or rich and spicy. It turns random buying into a deliberate journey and suggests which bottle to buy as your sixth. You will find a full overview of the world’s whisky styles in whisky of the world.