The Beginner's Guide to Whisky
Elena Marchetti, Head of Curation · 8 min read
Grain, water, yeast and oak. Everything you need to start drinking whisky with confidence.
What actually is whisky?
Whisky is a spirit distilled from fermented grain mash and matured in oak. Scotch must be aged at least three years in Scotland; bourbon must contain at least 51% corn and rest in new charred American oak; Irish whiskey is typically triple-distilled for softness.
Start with three styles
Buy one gentle Speyside single malt, one sweet Kentucky bourbon and one smoky Islay malt. Tasting them side by side teaches you more in one evening than a month of reading.
Age is not quality
An age statement tells you the youngest whisky in the bottle, nothing more. Cask quality, warehouse position and climate matter enormously. Some of the finest whiskies carry no age statement at all.
How to serve it
Neat first, in a tulip-shaped glass. Add a few drops of still water to open the aroma. Ice mutes aroma but is perfectly acceptable if that is how you enjoy it.
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Bottles to put the theory into practice
Speyside · Scotland
The Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak
18 Years · 43% ABV · 700ml
Kentucky · USA
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon
8 Years · 45% ABV · 750ml
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Fundamentals
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