Scotch to Bourbon?

[ebo]

I was just wondering how many of you on SB.com came to Bourbon from Scotch. Also, if you did make the jump from the "dark side" :grin: ... do you find yourself wanting Bourbon more and more over Scotch?

Myself, I was/am a Scotch drinker for 30 years. My move to Bourbon was for financial reasons. Scotch has just gotten beyond my ability to keep very many of bottles in the house. Even when I had the "extra" income to purchase Scotch regularly, I could never really afford much beyond 12 year old whisky... not that there is anything wrong with 12 year old whisky :grin: .

I decided to give Bourbon a try as a cheaper alternative to Scotch. I have to say that I'm very glad I did. I'm finding that I would rather sit down with a nice glass of Bourbon these days, than I would Scotch. I still drink Scotch... and I still love it, but I'm really drinking and appreciating Bourbon more and more. I own more Bourbon than I do Scotch at this time.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to find that Bourbon is starting to go the way of Scotch. It seems to be on the rise in price... and there are more Single Barrel and Limited Edition offerings coming out all the time. I would love to try Stagg, Pappy, WLW, etc... but I can't justify spending the money for them when I backed off of Scotch for the same reason.

Anyway, I just thought it would be nice to hear what brought some of you to Bourbon from Scotch.... or have you always enjoyed both?

[silverfish]

For me, it wasn't Scotch but Tennessee Whiskey.

I've been a JD drinker for years. I'd occasionally try something

else (at a friends house) but JD was my go to drink. A couple

years back, a friend gave me a bottle of Michter's (it was maybe

the US-1 Small Batch but I really don't recall) as a gift and the

taste wasn't half bad. I did the requisite internet search and

eventually ended up at a couple forums where I learned there

was a whole lot more to whiskey than JD (technicalities aside.)

JD is still a staple around here but my horizons have been sufficiently

expanded and my bourbon (& rum!) stockpile has grown to include

some wonderful selections. I do consider what I've missed out on

re: older stuff all these years but I have been able to try some

"golden oldies" so it's not like I'm dwelling on the past.

It just occurred to me that I probably should pick up a bottle of

Michter's since it was my "gateway" bourbon.

[TomH]

I was also a long time scotch drinker who came to bourbon when I discovered the GT Stagg was 1/2 the price of much of the scotch I was longing to buy. I am finding lately that I am buying more scotch than the last few years as I seem to find the prices of scotches I like holding still or coming down while bourbons are going up. I probably split my drinking 50/50 between the 2 (with an occasional night for rum), but if pushed to decide between the 2, I would probably come down on the dark side.

Tom

[Special Reserve]

Back before I was 21, I tried to keep a bottle of Scotch around because it was the cool thing to do.

After I turned 21, it didn't matter because I could go to the bar and get a glass of beer for 20 cents.

As a little time passed, if I didn't get beer in a bar it would be Scotch. Then I went on a business trip (business trips in the early seventies were punctuated with alcohol) and I rediscovered bourbon and have been drinking bourbon for nearly 40 years.

I have a few bottles of single malt Scotch in the pantry and enjoy them most watching the British Open. My wife enjoys them occasionally.

[sku]

Yeah, I drank Scotch first (and mostly Tequila before that). I now drink and buy about equal parts Scotch and American whiskey, with the occasional Irish or Japanese thrown in.

[MarkEdwards]

I never really had a preference. I kind of started out with single malt scotch because I heard it was pretty good, but I was also fond of gold tequila, gold rum and the occasional mixed drink.

One day, I tried bourbon and Irish and decided I liked both of those as well. I drink MOSTLY bourbon these days, but still like my old scotches and good Irish.

[flintlock]

I drank Scotch because I though I was supposed to like it. Men drink Scotch, right? Never mind that it didn't taste good...

Drinking something as delicious as bourbon (and I'll include Dickel here as well) feels almost like cheating.

[cigarnv]

Never have been a scotch drinker but always a bourbon drinker. I suspect more folks transition from scotch to bourbon then from bourbon to scotch?? I have several friends who were avid scotch drinkers that now focus primarily on bourbon.....

[ebo]

Never have been a scotch drinker but always a bourbon drinker. I suspect more folks transition from scotch to bourbon then from bourbon to scotch?? I have several friends who were avid scotch drinkers that now focus primarily on bourbon.....

[ebo]

I drank Scotch because I though I was supposed to like it. Men drink Scotch, right? Never mind that it didn't taste good...

Drinking something as delicious as bourbon (and I'll include Dickel here as well) feels almost like cheating.

[MarkEdwards]

I drank Scotch because I though I was supposed to like it. Men drink Scotch, right? Never mind that it didn't taste good...

I guess I was lucky not to have had any peer pressure (and not to care if I had). I did try things other people said were good, but never felt I had to "prove my manhood" by drinking it.

Fact is, I really didn't like even beer until years after I liked liquor.

[MarkEdwards]

Scotch is wonderfull stuff... and taste is very subjective.

I had heard someone say that people who like scotch don't like bourbon, and vice versa. But I agree with you - good stuff, just different and wonderful in their own ways.

[Brisko]

I liked bourbon from the first time I tasted it but after I turned legal I mostly drank beer. Then i went a few years wirthout drinking at all. I came back to bourbon a couple years ago, and then started on single malts. At the moment I definitely am back more on bourbon and rye but I still love scotch. Cost is a factor, too. A $70 bourbon is in a different league from most scotch in that range imo.

[mosugoji64]

I've been a bourbon lover for years, but never really appreciated the diversity until recently. Beers commanded my attention for a number of years and I explored the diversity there. For about the past year, I've been checking out the dizzying array of bourbons out there and have barely touched a beer. Beer is good, but bourbon is just so complex and fascinating.

I never could stomach Scotch. It always tasted like kerosene to me, no matter what brand/type, no offense to the Scotch lovers here. We're a diverse group. :grin:

[birdman1099]

, no offense to the Scotch lovers here. We're a diverse group. :grin:

None taken....:grin:

[ebo]

no offense to the Scotch lovers here. We're a diverse group.:grin:

None taken at all. I know many Scotch drinkers that absolutely hate Islay malts. I love the peat and smoke.. the more the better for me! :grin:

We are definitely a diverse group. It keeps things interesting.

[StraightNoChaser]

Yes. I started on JD but eventually moved to blended Scotch and finally Single Malt. I always considered myself to be a scotch drinker but the price of bourbon meant that I consumed way more of it. It took a while before I was exposed to some of the better bourbons out there and now I'm 100% bourbon (and maybe 10% tequila). I can't even really handle scotch anymore, the salty sea flavors get in the way of any real enjoyment. Macallan and Highland Park may be the exception to this rule, however.