Single malt whisky has long carried an air of intimidation. Walk into a well-stocked bar, glance at a menu packed with Scottish, Japanese and Indian labels, and it's easy to feel like you should pick the most expensive whisky on the menu.
However, truth be told, ordering the most expensive whisky doesn't always mean its the best whisky out there. Knowing how to order and what to order is as important as actually enjoying what you drink. And that's where most people make the mistake.
If you thin not wearing a three-piece suit and holding a cigar between your lips is the problem, you're wrong. While the traditional image of man wearing suit to drink his whisky is imprinted on our minds, very little attention is paid to debunking myths and mistakes around whisky.
Have you noticed the man standing next to you at a bar and ordering a peg of whisky with coke. You might think, 'oh, he really knows what he wants'. But really, not every whisky tastes the best when ice or water or drowned in coke. To know when to order ice or water, you must first know how the whisky tastes.
Most malt whiskys are made with tremendous dedication, over a long period of time to bring its malted barley taste which also features different flavour profiles including vanilla, smoky, oak and more. Knowing what flavour profiles are paired to make the malt is something you must inquire about before deciding whether or not you want your peg to have water, ice or coke.
It is a classic mistake that many do: ordering the most expensive whisky because you think its the best. Well, the truth is the price of the whisky isn't always the right metric to tell you the taste and quality of a whisky. An expensive bottle may be priced on a higher side because of the number of years its been aged or even good brand image. It can taste harsh because of over-ageing and being over-oaked. So, don' jump the gun at the sight of an expensive bottle, ask for more information from the expert behind the bar counter.
You'll always find differences of opinions wherever you go. Even at a bar. Even when it comes to how one can enjoy their whisky. You should know there are no rules when it comes to drinking whisky the right way. Whether you like it neat, add some warm water or simply enjoy it with lemonade, you do you. You don't need to change your ways of enjoying your own peg for someone else as its all about preference. As long as it tastes well and the flavour profiles are balanced, you're good.
Like they say, age and wisdom don't go hand in hand, so is the case for whisky. Ideally, a 10 to 12 years of aged whisky bottle is considered premium. However, age is just a number and drinking a younger whisky is no going to spoil you taste. The reason why many whisky collectors run after old bottles is because they're rare to find and not necessarily because they're most tasteful.
Never understood why one would want to gulp down whisky like a vodka shot when you can savour it. But then again, we are not to wince twice over the same thing. You do you. However,as purists, we'd recommend really enjoying the drink to taste the flavour profiles.