Whisk[e]y Ramblings

Ramblings of a musician on the "Elitist Whisky Culture."

It's because of people like Daniel Whittington, Rex Williams, and hours of watching their vault videos that I understand why the anti-snobbery movement is so important. Not that long ago, I used to not drink whisky at all. My opinions were solely as an outsider and were grossly uninformed. However, I consider myself always a student of my hobbies. I like to educate myself as much as possible in whatever area is my current fascination. It is my strong belief that education is the single most important thing we can do with our life. Schools and universities are great for very focused learning, but just going through life with an open mind will give you the best education possible. Be a student of life.

I got into craft beer a few years ago and it got so in depth that I was making craft beer at home with a complete all-grain brewing system capable of having up to about 55 gallons fermenting at any given moment. I was growing my own hops, obtaining local water table chemical reports, and treating the water with what was necessary to achieve maximum flavour out of the style I was brewing. What I've since found in the craft beer scene is that a very snobby, exclusive, elitist-like culture is starting to take hold. Craft beer drinkers point and laugh at people drinking Coors, Bud, etc. When I hear people say things about Bud or Coors drinkers, I tell them that I used to drink beers like that because it's what I could afford, and now I'm making barrel aged scotch ales. Instead of pointing and laughing at the bud drinker, why not buy him a beer? If they like Bud, buy them a Czechvar. It's a similar style, but it's got flavour and character that Bud can't touch. Start them on their own path of discovery.

Less than a year ago I started to get into whisky. It was a bit tough at first because I found the alcohol note to be quite pervasive. I stuck with it because I felt the same way about beer when I first started drinking. I started with what I could afford, but I wanted to start with single malt scotch because I used to think that blends existed purely as a method of producing whisky more cost effectively, and that blends were "cheap." I was the worst kind of snob possible; uneducated and stubborn. Now I understand the power and art involved in blending, and how it can be used to create a whisky flavour profile that is otherwise unobtainable. I now know that great blends can blow single malts out of the water, and have tasted some of these.

Now that I'm a bit more educated in the world of whisky (I have a long way to go) I sometimes find myself sounding a bit snobby when I see someone packing their tumbler with ice and what I would consider a "budget blend". I know better, but it's hard to turn off the snobby thoughts sometimes. So whenever I catch myself thinking those snobby thoughts, I turn it around and try to be inclusive. For example, my fiance's grandfather was drinking Ballantine's on Christmas Eve. I happened to have brought with me bottles of Bowmore 12, Suntory Toki, Glenmorangie Original, and Glenfiddich 12.  I gave him healthy pours, and the Bowmore nearly brought him to tears (it has that effect on me too). My dad likes to drink his whisky with a lot of ice so that it's cold, but then had to drink it fairly quickly so that it didn't get really watered down. So I bought him whisky stones for Christmas. This way, he can control the amount of stones that go into his drink to control its temperature, and control the amount of water that goes into his drink to prevent it getting watered down. I wanted him to experiment and try new things without taking him too far out of his comfort zone. I also bought him a bottle of Highland Park 12 to test the whisky stones in. I also turned him on to the idea of an infinity bottle, and he was so excited that we both started our own bottles on the same day.

I now understand that by being inclusive, encouraging, and generous to the people that I used to turn my nose up at, we have the potential to grow the tribe. The larger the tribe is, the more demand we create for new and wonderful whisky products. However, I also understand that if my fiance's grandfather goes back to Ballantine's and my dad goes back to lots of ice, all the power to them. The best whisky is the one you like and the best way to drink it is how you like to drink it. All I can hope to do is provide them with new experiences and to include them in the tribe. Daniel and Rex, if you're reading this, thank you for starting me on my whisky journey, and for all the work you do to create such a wonderful community. Sláinte to all you magnificent bastards!