The World of Whiskey

I am a vodka girl. Always have been; always will be. So much so that I once referred to myself as Vodka, a nickname which (thankfully) only stuck for a short period of time. However, after reading this article about the image your drink of choice gives you, I decided to branch out.

Last night was the much-anticipated opening of a new (to Lansing) bar called The Black Rose. According to the background information on their menu, the bar itself was first built in Ireland in 2004, from where it was transferred to Grand Rapids, MI, and now has come to rest on Washington Square in Lansing. It's on the small side, which to me translates to cozy, and it has a slightly upscale atmosphere. Overall, I've got a good feeling about this one, and I hope it works out!

Anyways, I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to try whiskey. The combination of the Irish-themed bar and the article got to me. He suggested I start with Johnny Walker Black, neat. I compromised and ordered it rocks. This was not a good start to my whiskey-drinking career, let me just tell you that.

At this point, a colleague stepped in and introduced me to The World of Whiskey, as he put it. He explained that there are several types of whiskey, each with different characteristics. We reviewed Irish whiskey, scotch, bourbon, and Canadian whiskey. His thoughts and my observations on each:

1. Irish Whiskey (Bushmills) - Triple-distilled and aged in reused oak barrels. - This one was by far the smoothest, and to me, the best-tasting. I ended up finishing this one on the rocks once the lesson was over.
2. Scotch (Glenfiddich) - Twice distilled, the grains are roasted over peat fires. - Oh my god, no. No, no, no. No wonder I didn't like the Johnny Walker - too much of a smokey aroma for me.
3. Bourbon (Woodford Reserve) - Distilled once and aged in fresh oak barrels. - Ok, I really liked the flavors of this. Very robust. However, it was not smooth by any means. It was just too harsh for me, but I'd like to try it with soda sometime.
4. Canadian Whisky (Canadian Club) - Grains are blended before barrel aging. - This was my second favorite. It just had a more complex flavor, almost hinting at amaretto.

Overall, I think whiskey is something I can get used to drinking. In the meantime, I may need to refer to this article about 4 steps to drinking whiskey neat, but I think I'll get there!