Whisky
From a smooth Irish whiskey to an Islay malt that tastes of peat smoke and seaweed: whisky is the broadest category on the shelf. What exactly it is, what types there are, how to drink it and which glass to use.
The best-known whisky brands
Four bottles found in almost every bar, each representing a different corner of the category.
Johnnie Walker
The world's best-selling Scotch, with a colour for every occasion. Characteristically, there is a hint of smoke from the Islay malts in the blend.
About Johnnie Walker →The Macallan
The Speyside malt that rose to prominence in sherry casks from Jerez. Full of dried fruit, orange and chocolate, and meant to be tasted neat.
About The Macallan →Glenfiddich
The world's best-selling single malt, in the triangular bottle with the stag. Typical Speyside: fruity and light, with pear and apple as its signature notes.
About Glenfiddich →
Jameson
The three-times-distilled Irish whiskey from the green bottle, since 1780. Smooth, with vanilla and green apple, and the standard base for an Irish Coffee.
About Jameson →Every whisky listed by brand
19 brands and 63 flavours, each with its own page about flavour, cocktails and the right glass.
Grain, oak and time, and few other rules
Whisky is a distilled grain spirit that must mature in oak casks. That maturation is not a stylistic choice but a legal requirement: at least three years, and for Scotch and Irish whiskey, in the country itself as well. After that, the bottle must still contain at least 40% alcohol, otherwise it cannot be called whisky. Beyond that, remarkably little is regulated, which is precisely why two bottles bearing the same label word can differ enormously in flavor.
Whisky comes out of the still colorless. Everything you see in the glass and most of what you taste comes from the wood. A barrel that previously held bourbon imparts vanilla, coconut and gentle sweetness; a sherry cask gives dried fruit, orange and chocolate. Each year, some of the liquid evaporates from the cask, the so-called angels' share, and what remains becomes fuller and rounder. An older whisky is therefore not automatically better, but it is usually richer in wood flavors.
The smoke that many people associate with whisky is by no means always present. It comes from peat: dried bog that is burned beneath the germinating barley to stop the malting process. The smoke from that fire settles on the grain and remains in the glass as notes of campfire, iodine and seaweed. On Islay, that is the house style; in Speyside, most distilleries use no peat at all.
In brief
Four words on the label that make the difference
The distinction comes down to two questions: which grain went into it, and does the whisky come from one distillery or several?
Single malt
Made exclusively from malted barley, distilled in copper stills and sourced entirely from a single distillery. This lets you taste the character of that one house, from fruity and light to rich and smoky.
Blended Scotch
A blend of malt whiskies and smooth grain whisky from different distilleries. The blender aims for a flavor that stays the same every year; by far most Scotch sold is a blend.
Blended malt
Only single malts from multiple distilleries blended together, without a drop of grain whisky. Fuller than an ordinary blend, yet still smooth enough to mix. It used to be called vatted malt.
Irish whiskey
In Ireland, the spirit usually passes through the still three times instead of twice. This makes it lighter and smoother, with apple and vanilla and almost never any smoke. Note the spelling: in Ireland, with an e.
Grain whisky is the smooth grain whisky that makes up most of a blend and is rarely sold on its own. Bourbon and Japanese whisky have their own pages.
Vanilla, dried fruit and wood, sometimes with smoke
Vanilla & fruit
Vanilla and coconut from American oak, or raisins, orange and cinnamon when the whisky has been matured in sherry casks. With a peated whisky, you also smell campfire and sea air.
Sweet wood, then spicy
First a woody sweetness of caramel and honey, followed by pepper, cinnamon and dried fruit. Irish whiskey stays light and soft here, while an Islay malt develops into tar and iodine.
Warm and long
A warm, dry finish in which the oak lingers longest. The higher the ABV and the longer the maturation, the longer it lasts. Water opens up the finish even further.
Flavour profile of an average unpeated Scotch whisky. An Islay malt scores around 5 for smokiness, while an Irish whiskey scores around 2 for intensity and higher for fruitiness.
Three ways to drink whisky
Neat, lengthened or in a cocktail: whisky is one of the few spirits that handles all three equally well.
Neat, with a few drops of water
Pour 3 to 4 cl into a tulip-shaped glass and let it sit for a moment. Then add a few drops of water: this softens the alcohol burn and releases aromas you could not smell before. With cask-strength whisky, feel free to add a teaspoon of water.
Browse whisky glasses →In an Old Fashioned
Stir 5 cl whisky with half a sugar cube or 1 cl sugar syrup and two dashes of Angostura, over one large ice cube in a heavy tumbler. Squeeze an orange peel over the glass and drop it in. The cocktail that lets whisky stay closest to its true self.
Old Fashioned recipe →As a highball
4 cl whisky topped with 12 cl ice-cold sparkling water or ginger ale, in a highball glass filled to the brim with ice. Stir gently once and finish with lemon peel. A mellow blend or an Irish whiskey works better here than an expensive single malt.
Highball recipe →The best-known whisky cocktails
The classics behind the bar are almost all made with whisky. These are the four to start with.
Old Fashioned
Whisky, sugar, bitters and an orange peel. Older than the word cocktail itself.
Whiskey Sour
Whisky, lemon and sugar, shaken until frothy. The easiest way to talk someone around.
Manhattan
Whisky and sweet vermouth with bitters, stirred and served ice-cold with a cherry.
Irish Coffee
Irish whiskey, coffee, sugar and a layer of cream that stays afloat.The right glass for whisky
For on the rocks, you want a heavy glass with a thick base; for tasting neat, a tulip shape that directs the aromas towards your nose. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about whisky
Can't find your question here? Browse our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
To the cocktail recipes →