The gift giving season is on top of us and some people (like me) have waited until the last minute to buy gifts. Now I don’t know about the rest of you but, for the exception of the children, I’m bringing all of the adults liquid cheer.
For the friends I have that are just starting the whisky trail, I’m getting sampler packs or a good starter bourbon. Some distillers, like Johnnie Walker and Glenmorangie for example, sell a gift box with a selection of their whiskies. The former is an example of a blended scotch selection, while the latter is a selection of single malt scotches.
I like gifting bourbons to beginners because, in my opinion, it is the “gateway” whiskey. The alcohol by volume (ABV) of bourbon is very similar to scotch whiskies, so you can start getting used to ABV right away. Since many people have tasted some sort of corn product in their life (i.e. corn syrup, kettle corn, corn-on-the-cob) it’s easier for a novice to pick up the tasting notes. Bourbon is also significantly less expensive. You can get a fairly high-end Bourbon for $40, whereas a comparable high-end scotch will cost you $125 and higher.
For the more experienced drinker and I don’t know their tastes, I try to look out for whiskies that haven’t been out on the market very long. Many enthusiasts maintain a selection of the whiskies they enjoy, and don’t vary too far from that selection. Something untried/untested is a nice change of pace and helps round off their collection a little bit. Personally I find that there are a lot of spirits I would like to try, but am unsure whether the experiment is worth the price. If I get to try something new and I didn’t have to pay for it…I’m a happy man*.
For the experienced drinker that I do know, I try for special or rare bottling’s of things they already have. Many, if not all distillers, have the product they mass produce and a selection that is their high-end product. Glenkinchie, Oban, Lagavulin, Cragganmore, and many other scotches have a “Distiller’s Edition.” This means that they took their normal production spirit and altered it a little, usually finishing the spirit in a different kind of cask for some time to impart additional character for a modest increase in its price. If I visit a friend and see a bottle or two of Talisker (for example) on the shelf, he or she might enjoy the distiller’s edition of it as a gift.
This year’s gift for a majority of my pals is the Jameson’s Select Reserve Black Barrel Irish whiskey. It is aged for a few years longer than their normal product (twelve years instead of seven), its availability is limited (this year's supply has only been distributed to bars and liquor stores in New York), and at roughly $45 a bottle stays within my holiday budget.Whiskey tip: For those drinkers whose friends always buy you whiskey, but never seem to get what you like, I suggest purchasing a bottle of sour mix. I might not be crazy about some of the bottles I get, but I never “re-gift” them. Instead, I put an ounce of the offending spirit in a glass with three ounces of sour mix and enjoy a whiskey sour.
Happy Holidays,
Pat
* It should be noted that I’m always a happy man when I’m not paying
