Whiskey ... is like art

I am pleased; so, so pleased to learn I like ORDINARY whiskey. I found a couple of websites where whiskey drinkers list their favourite brands and then describe in detail how much they enjoy the flavours.  There are things like hint of vanilla, smokey palette, and peaty nose! Then I started reading how different people rated some of the best known and most expensive brands. It was amazing to see that so many whiskey snobs have differing opinions on the SAME brands… the same EXPENSIVE brands. I’m talking about stuff that runs at $200 a bottle. I’ve never spent that much. I have purchased $100 whiskey… One was Oban and the other was Talisker. I have to admit I like the Oban better, even though the Talisker is made on Skye, close to my ancestral home.

Obviously everyone’s taste is so different. Just because one guy likes a single malt, it doesn’t mean EVERYONE is gong to like it.

So here’s the thing. I have tasted some brands that people just get all excited about and I think, blah. No big deal. I mean, some expensive whiskies are fabulous … while others are just ho-hum. That’s me and my taste. I don’t add anything… sometimes a piece of ice. But when I make ice I used filtered water.

Recently, a friend bought me a bottle of Ballantynes as a gift. Now this whiskey is an old favourite for so many people because it is a blended whiskey. It has been around for years. I wasn’t sure that I had tried it before, only because when I try something new, I like to try something a bit more expensive. The Ballantynes is always on the bottom shelf.

Well I finally the cracked the Ballantynes and I was absolutely delighted. The bottle design is a bit old-fashioned, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this stuff is very nice, very smooth and I like the flavour, which is a tiny bit sweet, with honey and caramel. Of course, I had to have a second glass.    So, I guess whiskey is like art. To each his own.