whats your fav whiskey?

[deivi]

w/o getting into expensive ones I'd have to say Maker's Mark is #1 for me, pretty smooth for being 90 proof and nice flavor, Wild Turkey is nice too for a cheaper brand.

[Tristam]

I drink Jameson, and I love this topic.

[Popeh]

JD all the way!

Whiskey imo, but some people refer bourbon as not a whiskey.

[Bebopaloo]

That one that gets me drunk.

[Intense]

That one that gets me drunk.

Sounds about right. :]

[Koga]

Tall Kamikaze on the rocks.. o wait.

[MF Perm]

Whiskey makes me violent


Rum and Tequila for me

[Krandor]

Whiskey makes me violent


Rum and Tequila for me

Last time I drank Tequila I ended up walking around the party with no pants, never again.

[Daydreamer]

Maker's mark if I am going cheap. Woodford reserve if I want something a little nicer.

JD all the way!

Whiskey imo, but some people refer bourbon as not a whiskey.

I think it's funny you say this...because JD isn't a bourbon...

[Alyriel]

Crown Royal, or if I'm feeling cheap, Wiser's. I've no idea on either of thier availabity in the US, as they are both Canadian whiskeys.

[Norelco]

Depends on the occasion:

JD + Coke (although I appreciate Gentleman Jack)
Jameson with Irish Car Bombs
Bushmill's on the rocks, aged 16 years

[Meilyn]

Bushmills

[Hitoshura]

Easily Jack Daniels. Anyone here ever drink Scotch?

[Koyuki]

Crown Royal, or if I'm feeling cheap, Wiser's. I've no idea on either of thier availabity in the US, as they are both Canadian whiskeys.

Easy to get Crown Royal down here

[Popeh]

JD all the way!

Whiskey imo, but some people refer bourbon as not a whiskey.

I think it's funny you say this...because JD isn't a bourbon...

Oh?
Ah well, it's verrrrrrrrry gewd!

[Fallso]

J&B is quite nice, but gotta say JD is probably the best

[Tristam]

What's the difference between bourbon and whiskey? I honestly don't know.

I've drank bushmills once, it was at a bar and one of my buddies started talking to these two girls. Turns out they were at the bar with their brothers, both large irishmen who played rugby. They loved bushmills, so that's what we drank! Ended up being a great night, that family was one of the nicest bunch of random people I ever met.

[Aeromyth]

Fireball

[Daydreamer]

What's the difference between bourbon and whiskey? I honestly don't know.

I've drank bushmills once, it was at a bar and one of my buddies started talking to these two girls. Turns out they were at the bar with their brothers, both large irishmen who played rugby. They loved bushmills, so that's what we drank! Ended up being a great night, that family was one of the nicest bunch of random people I ever met.

Warning. LONG but informative post ahead. I will try to bold the highlights...

Whisk(e)y is classified under four categories: Irish, Scotch, American, and Canadian. The American type can be further broken down into Bourbon, Tennesse, Rye, and Corn. The reason I spelled it Whisk(e)y is because Scotch and Canadian are spelled Whisky, and American and Irish are spelled Whiskey. There is no real reason or law for this. Infact, Maker's Mark uses Whisky on their label for some reason, but generally the rule is followed.

I could give huge descriptions of each, but I will try to keep it short.

Irish
Contains mainly barley and rye. These ingredients are malted to help produce a chemical which will change the starch in the seed to a sugar, which is then converted to alcohol. This processes is halted before all the statches are lost by drying the malt. It goes through some other processes and bam, Irish Whiskey

Scotch The EXACT SAME as Irish except one crucial detail. During the drying stage mentioned under Irish whiskey the Scotch is dried over a peat-fuled fire. The fires smoke comes in direct contact with the malt and is what is responsible for the smokey flavors of Scotch.

American With the founding of America came the processing of corn. That is why American whiskey is different. All American whiskey is made with a "mash" of grain that is ground or crushed before being steeped in hot water, and then fermented. There are two types of mash, but we won't get into that here. The important part about this mash are the grains inside. Varities include...

Bourbon must contain at least 51%-80% corn, anything above that is considered "corn" whiskey. The rest of it is made up of either rye or wheat (with just a hint of barley to help fermintation). The choice of rye or wheat as the leftover does make a taste difference. If interested try Maker's Mark (which uses wheat for the rest) and Jim Beam (which is rye) side by side. Jim beam is suprisingly good for the price, the difference in taste really comes from the rye and not the fact that it is cheap.

Rye must contain at least 51% rye. The rest of the mash is made up of barley and corn. Like all American whiskeys, it is aged 2 years in charred oak barrels. Kinda cool story behind this. The reason our whiskey is dark in color and not clean like it was at first is because people put the whiskey in storage in the said oak barrels before they shipped them on the Mississippi. By the time it got to it's destination, it had a new color and a much better flavor, so we have been doing it ever sense.

Tennessee is pretty much bourbon except that before the whiskey goes into the barrels for aging it slowly filters through ten feet of sugar-maple charcoal. It takes about 10 days to two weeks for a batch to pass through the charcoal. That's probably what makes it taste slighty sweeter (at least to me). There are only two makers of Tennesse whiskey: Jack Daniel's and George Dickel. Well ok, there are more, but it's VERY VERY local.

Canadian whisky is much harder to categorize. It often uses rye, but doesn't have to. This is why many people think it is the same thing as a rye whiskey...it's not. Honestly I think it tastes closer to Irish whiskey, but it really dpeends what brand you buy.


Hope I didn't bore you guys too much.

[Tyche]

Not exactly cheap, but Crown is ftw as others before have pointed out.