Do any amount of research on any brand of whiskey and you will find people on both sides of the argument. Some love the brand and swear by it. Others detest it and call it a drain pour. Needless to say, whiskey geeks / nerds / enthusiasts are passionate about their whiskey and what they think is great or horrible.
So, it’s always a bit difficult if you are standing in a store, looking at the selection of whiskey’s on the shelf and wondering to yourself if the brand that’s in your hand is any good. Should you spend your money on it? Will it be great or will it suck?
It starts with knowing what you like in a whiskey and what you don’t. Do you enjoy wheated whiskeys? Do you enjoy a high Rye content? Do you enjoy higher proof? Or Lower proof? What about age? Or the flavor notes of Caramel or Vanilla, or Oak? All of these things matter in your enjoyment of whiskey.
And, you will certainly find someone or many someones who passionately argue that a particular expression of whiskey is just not worthy of your tastebuds. If you haven’t already figured it out, whiskey drinkers can be very opinionated (or passionate) about what they think of whiskey. I think that’s a good thing.
The trick, I think, is to find a few whiskey people that you trust, whether that be professional tasters or not, that you can follow that seem to have similar tastes as you when you are tasting a whiskey. If someone loves the taste of Oak and it’s just not to your liking, then relying on that person to give you input on what a whiskey tastes like, and thereby what to buy is probably not a good thing. So, You are most likely going to struggle to like the whiskey that they like. For example, I don’t like the heavy oak or woody taste. It’s just not to my liking.
Plus, keep in mind, many of these professional tasters have been doing this for years, so their opinions and taste buds are going to have a different slant. Not saying they are wrong or right, but you have to take it with a grain of salt.
Whiskey drinkers can be extremely passionate about their whiskey and what they think is a worthy pour versus what they think isn’t worth cooking with. Sometimes, when they are explaining their thoughts, they can come off rather harsh and angry. And even sometimes seem a little mean spirited. But I think it comes from a place of passion and commitment. Keep in mind whiskey drinkers like to describe, in detail what they think of the whiskey, what it reminds them off and can bring up memories. Good or bad.
Ultimately it comes down to your taste buds and what you prefer and like in a whiskey. Just because someone doesn’t like a particular brand, or style doesn’t mean that you won’t like it. You might not even be able to taste the things they tasted that caused them to either like it or dislike it. I’ve tried many whiskey’s that someone eviscerated and thought, “...you know this is pretty tasty. I like it”.
So the next time you hear or see someone who is going to town on a whiskey, remember they are just passionate about their whiskey. Somewhere, it brought up a memory that really struck a chord. However, it’s your taste buds and what you determine you like that is the main factor in deciding if it’s worth stocking on your bar. So don’t be afraid to try it.
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