Being a Certified Bourbon Steward means that I have a responsibility. If I make a recommendation, it’s based on my listening skills, critical thinking and being honorable towards the spirits and the time, talent and treasure it takes to create it. So when people who seldom drink, or who are only accustomed to beer or wine ask me how to get started in whiskey, I don’t think about someone who already has a palate for it. I think about friends of mine who turn up their nose as the mere whiff from a bottle, for whom that whiff can be most related to kerosene, or oven cleaner. I’m sorry, but advising someone who’s never been a whiskey drinker to start their journey with Wild Turkey 101 is ridiculous and irresponsible.
So, where should you start?
There are two barriers to entry when it comes to drinking whiskey, and understand, when I say whiskey I’m talking about everything that falls under that tent, which includes bourbon, rye, Canadian, Japanese, Indian, Irish and Scotch whiskies. Those barriers are the smell and taste, which I lump into one barrier because they’re closely related, and the burn of the alcohol, which is substantially higher than a drinker of wine or beer might experience.
Let’s start with the latter first, the alcohol burn. The amount of alcohol a person consumes in a beverage is measured by ABV, or alcohol by volume, which is notated as a percentage of the drink. A beer has about 5% alcohol by volume on average, with that volume measured in the normal single serving of that beverage, which is normally 12 ounces. A glass of wine is, on average, measured as a 5 ounce pour, and the average ABV percentage is around 12%, although it tends to wildly fluctuate, depending on whether the wine is white, red, commercially available or a craft wine from a local vintner.
By contrast, where a beer is typically 5% ABV and wine is typically 12% ABV, a single 1.5 ounce serving (a shot) of the lowest proof whiskies starts at 40% ABV (80 proof) and goes up from there to 45% ABV (90 proof) and up to 62.5% ABV (125 proof) or even higher in some cases. That’s quite a jump, so it’s no wonder the burn can turn off a new whiskey drinker. But that can be tampered with pretty easily by increasing the volume of the beverage that contains the whiskey, therefore lowering the ABV of the drink overall. For instance, if you combine 1.5 ounces of whiskey with 10.5 ounces of some type of cola, clear soft drink, or even a fruit juice, you’re now at the same ABV as a 12 ounce can of beer. It’s math.
Another way to defuse the burn of whiskey is to add ice cubes. Ice does two things, in that it cools the drink down which tends to mute the flavors, and it dilutes the drink as the ice cubes melt. This leads me to the other barrier, the flavor and the scent, otherwise called the palate and the nose.
In researching my post, I saw a remark online that amused me: “Booze punches you in the face as soon as you smell it.” Indeed, the new whiskey drinker might be turned off by the strong sense of ethanol that is present in many whiskies, as well as almost a sour, bitter scent, which probably represents the mash bill (ingredients). The smell of whiskey may be all it takes to set up a hesitancy to try, or even a sense of dread, like cresting the hill of a roller coaster.
If you don’t like the aroma or flavor of whiskey, the first question I have would be, “then why do you want to drink it?” It’s not cheaper than beer or many wines, and it’s not as widely accepted in social circles as beer or wine. So, why? If you’re like many folks, you’re interested in whiskey because you’re interested in variety, you’re interested in mixology, and yes, you’re being influenced by cultural trends and pop culture. Hollywood makes whiskey really sexy. You’ve seen it in movies like John Wick, and every western ever made, and you’ve seen it on the small screen in shows like Mad Men or Entourage. It’s shown as a drink of prestige, courage, strength, wealth, and power, whereas wine is portrayed as fragile and complicated (the movie Sideways) or in the domain of older women on the prowl (tv’s Cougar Town) and beer is now more of a cultural rim shot in the movies (The Hangover) or on tv (The Simpsons).
Nevertheless, you want to try to drink whiskey, and my job here is to facilitate that wish. If the burn and scent of whiskey is a turn-off, you’ll have to dip your toe in slowly. First, choose a lower-proof whiskey so your barriers to entry are smaller. Using an 80-proof whiskey will give you the lowest ethanol burn, although, some whiskies have more “bite” than others, even at only 80-proof. My video will walk you through some options. Also, mixing your whiskey with a cola or clear soda or fruit juice can lower that burn, as mentioned elsewhere, but it can also help you lessen the flavor of the whiskey, depending on the volume of whatever else you’re adding to the beverage.
As I show in the video below, mixing a low proof whiskey with 7-Up is often a good way to know whether you can stomach the taste of whiskey. Mixing Seagram’s Seven with 7-Up, or even Black Velvet or Jim Beam (80 Proof) will give you a decent idea of the flavor of whiskey, while also sweetening it and tamping down the heat. As your palate for whiskey improves, you can start to get closer and closer to neat, if that’s your ultimate goal. Otherwise, continue to experiment with bourbon cocktails (I highly recommend visiting www.mrbostondrinks.com to find some really excellent whiskey recipes, from the classic Manhattan or Old Fashioned to more sophisticated drinks like the Boulevardier or Kentucky Kiss). The bottom line is that you should enjoy what you drink, so drink what you want the way you want to drink it, and of course, always bear in mind the amount you’re drinking so you can make it to your next cocktail safely.
“¡Salúd!” 🥃