Why Is This?

[Geekboy]

Being a newbie to the world of whiskey help me to understand a few things. Why is it that bourbon and rye and even Irish whiskies are fine in coffee but not Scotch?

Would an Old Fashioned taste good made with Scotch? Irish Whiskey?

Are both Scotch and Irish whiskey more for drinking neat and not for cocktails?

That all being said, I would like to one day get to the point where I can drink whiskey (preferably bourbon) straight.

I would like to start with the sweestest tasting whiskies. What are some you could recommend? Please don't anyone say Southern Comfort.

[jburlowski]

Try Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel if it is available in your area. It is on the sweeter side (but noy offensively so) and is an outstanding value.

[barturtle]

There are a number of cocktails that include either Irish or Scotch...though for the most part they are now out of vogue, but that doesn't make them any less good than the bourbon and rye drinks that are now commonplace, just different. I would recommend picking up a drink book such as Old Mr. Bostons or similar, they still list the older drinks and with some experience and knowledge of flavor profiles you should be able to just read the recipes and know whether you'll like them or not.

As far as sweet bourbons, I've always considered Very Special Old Fitzgerald 12yo to be a sweet bourbon. However I wouldn't limit myself to just bourbon as I work my way into the more flavorful and intense whiskies, you may be quite happy starting off in the Canadian whiskies. I would recommend some of the Canadian Club products, for example the CC12 and Sherry Cask-both have a much softer and sweeter flavor profile than most bourbons while still carrying the same basic flavors, they make excellent beginner whiskies.

[NorCalBoozer]

I think Makers Mark would be a very easy one to tackle even though it's not really "sweet".

Jim Beam Black, Old Rip van Winkle 90 proof, and Van Winkle Lot B are all sweet and smooth.

Try to find a bar that has a good selection and try a few. That way you won't waste you're $$ on a bottle you may never end up finishing.

I would like to start with the sweestest tasting whiskies. What are some you could recommend? Please don't anyone say Southern Comfort.

[Jazzhead]

I'd certainly recommend a beginner to drinking "neat" start with an utterly smooth, balanced bourbon, but especially if he (or she) is coming from a beer background, I'd say skip the sweeter products and start with a dryer, truer bourbon profile.

The choice I'd recommend is Old Forester.

[elkdoggydog]

An Old-Fashioned made with Scotch is not a bad idea- it's mentioned in "The Joy of Cooking". A Manhattan made with Scotch is a Rob Roy.

In terms of bourbons, the advice you've gotten above is excellent. I echo the recommendations of Maker's Mark and Elmer T. Lee.

A trick to sipping whiskey, which I hadn't thought of but subconsciously follow, is to inhale before you take a sip. If you're inhaling while you sip, you'll get more of the alcohol burn in your nose, where you don't want it. I saw a friend explain it to a new whiskey drinker, and it helped a lot. Sniffing the whiskey is entirely different than inhaling it.

Also, be sure to get the whiskey on the tip of your tongue, where you taste sweetness. A lot of people tend to launch it to the back of their mouths, so they never get a chance to taste the full flavor.

[fogfrog]

I think that in general people buy scotch to taste the scotch but yes in here people drink bourbon because they LIKE bourbon but a lot of people use it as a mixer like Rum and Coke only they use Bourbon instead.... Bourbon has a deep warm taste like Rum and is good with Coke while scotch doesn't have that.