One thing I have heard rather often over the years as a whisky enthusiast is a collection of supposed “truths” about how whisky should or shouldn’t be drunk. The classic scenario goes something like this: a curious newcomer has been told they must drink this or that style for this or that reason — otherwise they clearly have no idea what they’re doing. Sigh.
What tends to happen instead is that these curious newcomers discover they actually enjoy a wide range of whiskies when given the chance to explore freely (without the expert’s imposed rulebook). This usually comes as quite a surprise to the partner, friend, or self-appointed expert who has spent the evening “educating” them about what they should like. It got me thinking about the whisky prejudices I encounter most often — where they come from, and what I (entirely subjectively) think of them.
1) “I don’t know anything — I just like whisky.”
I hear this quite often from beginners. In one sense it might be true – but not really. What the newcomer usually means is that their opinion shouldn’t be taken seriously because they don’t know the difference between a bourbon cask and a sherry cask. They might not recognise a single distillery name. Fair enough, I probably shouldn’t ask you which grain distillery in Scotland is the newest (I don’t know the answer myself). But trust me: your tasting experience is at least as interesting to me as that of any connoisseur. Perhaps even more interesting. After all, you don’t yet have a mountain of prior knowledge getting in the way of simply saying the whisky smells like old two-stroke oil or Hawaiian Tropic. When I’ve worked at whisky fairs, discussing flavour impressions with curious newcomers has often been the most rewarding part of the job.
2) “I’ve drunk whisky for years. I know everything.”
Well, perhaps you do. I so, congrats. But I have yet to meet a whisky expert who truly knows everything. What I have met are extremely knowledgeable people who would never dream of claiming such a thing. The handful of people I’ve encountered who “knew absolutely everything about whisky” have, in the next breath, asked whether Bunnahabhain is a well-known blended whisky. So if you ever feel slightly intimidated by your friend Per who always tells you what to drink and why, I would recommend investing in a decent pair of earplugs the next time you share a dram.
3) “Real men drink peaty whisky / unpeated whisky is for women.”
A modern classic — about as frequently used as Ron Jeremy’s crown jewels. I have yet to meet a single person who can scientifically confirm this rule, because in reality it always comes down to personal taste or social norms. There is no biological programme in the womb that determines whisky preferences based on gender. Otherwise ultrasound technicians could inform expectant parents while counting fingers and toes. You are free to enjoy whatever style of whisky you like, regardless of what equipment you happen to carry between your legs. It isn’t the part of your anatomy you use to drink whisky anyway.
4) “If it tastes good, it must be expensive.”
Sometimes true. Quality often costs money. But good whisky can absolutely be found at reasonable prices. More importantly, taste is subjective. When it comes to whisky there is another type of quality worth considering: experience quality. Strip away the price. Strip away the status. What remains is your personal experience. What do you actually think of what’s in the glass? If you’ve already decided that good whisky must cost a certain amount, you risk missing excellent whiskies both above and below that price point.
5) “The older the whisky, the better it is.”
You may already suspect where I stand on this: it’s all down to personal taste. Older whisky often tastes different from younger whisky. It may have been produced under different conditions or matured differently. All of this can influence flavour. If you happen to enjoy those characteristics, older whisky may indeed taste better to you. But things were not always better in the past. Younger whisky matured in high-quality casks can easily outshine older whisky aged in tired ones. The best advice is simply to try everything with an open mind.
6) “There’s no such thing as good NAS whisky.”
This debate has become something of a battlefield. On one side you have expensive Non-Age-Statement whiskies that people shout about enthusiastically – sometimes helped along by clever marketing and flashy names. On the other side you have glorified “geek whiskies”, where radical transparency and minimalist design encourage us to pay good money to know everything about the spirit – including the exact minute of distillation and the master blender’s star sign. However you look at it, NAS whisky is here to stay. I have tasted both excellent and disappointing examples from both camps. So I tend to approach NAS whisky as a kind of blind tasting.
Two simple questions remain:
A) Do I like it?
B) Is it worth the money?
7) “Chill-filtered / coloured / diluted whisky is rubbish.”
The whisky world has its fair share of snobberies – and yes, I have probably been guilty of a few myself. Chill filtration and reducing whisky to the minimum legal strength can certainly make it feel thinner. Colouring may seem unnecessary, even if we’re told it doesn’t affect flavour. But dismissing a whisky purely for these reasons can be risky. Good whisky can still exist despite them. Take Laphroaig 10 as an example: chill-filtered, coloured and reduced to 40%. Yet still rather lovely on a stormy autumn evening. Know what these practices might do to your whisky – but form your own opinion first.
8) “Scottish / Japanese / Swedish whisky is superior (or inferior).”
Most of us have preconceived ideas about whisky from certain countries. That’s only natural, our experiences shape our expectations. But impressions rarely stay fixed forever. If a famous whisky nation gradually lowers its standards, you might keep believing it produces the best whisky while quality quietly slips. The opposite can also happen: countries once dismissed as whisky outsiders may now produce truly impressive spirits. Keeping an open mind can sometimes lead to gold.
9) “Mixing whisky with ice, cola or soda should be a crime.”
Many people certainly seem to think so. But the question I hear most often is whether one should drink whisky neat, with water, or with ice. If you should do anything at all, it is probably to try them all. Mix a cocktail with your favourite whisky if you like. Pour it over ice. Add soda. If you adore rosehip soup, try that too — although personally I’d rather not. The basic rule is simple: if you bought the whisky, you are entirely free to do whatever you like with it.
10) “First-fill casks are always best.”
Cask types are endlessly fascinating, and the whisky industry currently seems determined to experiment with every possible variety; Madeira casks, wine casks, beer casks and more. At the same time, casks are sometimes reused rather more often than they probably should be. Many years ago someone explained casks to me like teabags: the first infusion releases lots of flavour, the second somewhat less, and by the fiftieth brew the effect is fairly negligible. If you enjoy strong cask influence, first-fill maturation can be wonderful. But refill casks have their advantages too, especially when you want the distillate itself to shine. Personally, I’m always happy to encounter a twenty-year-old sherry bomb that tastes almost more like the cask than the spirit. But just as often it’s delightful to find a whisky that lets the distillate speak for itself. So yes, first-fill can be delicious, but it is not automatically better than refill.
