What to Drink: Scotch, bourbon or whiskey?

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November 2, 3:14 PM

by Stile E. Coyote, Men's Style Examiner

 

 

On the Rock (Photo by try to touch)

Whiskey, Scotch, and Bourbon — it makes the man. But what's the difference and how do you order it? Well, it's much like judging a wet tee-shirt contest at the Playboy mansion. There really aren't any losers, just some bigger... barrels.

When the holidays come upon us, Stile likes to sip some bourbon from a glass like I'm a yearling suckling a teat.  It makes the time with the Coyote pack a little more tolerable.

Some whiskeys, though, are right for drinking neat and some are best left for making cocktails. Here's a quick guide on what to order and how. 

Whiskey 
Whiskey (or Whisky if you live in Scotland) distilled spirit made from grain, water and yeast. This is the general term. Where it's made and how it's prepared, however, will tell you if it's Scotch whisky, Tennessee Whiskey, or bourbon. 

Scotch Whisky — the true, the original — is, obviously, made in Scotland and comes in two general forms: grain and malt. Grain whisky is made by mashing wheat or corn with water and stays in a still throughout its distillation process before moved to wooden casks. You'll find grain whisky to be used mostly in blends. Malt whisky on the other hand, is made with barley malt, which is dried over a peat fire. You know that "smokey" taste you get from drinking a nice malt scotch? It's from the peat fire used. Malt Scotch is also usually distilled twice before being place in casks. Whether grain or malt, the whisky is must be kept in barrels for three years or more before being bottled. 

Now here's where it can get even more confusing. Malt Scotches can be either single malts or blended. You may know some the Glens and others: Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan and Stile's favorite single malt, Talisker, are all single malt scotches. This means one special thing: they come from only one distillery at one age, whereas blended Scotch contains whiskeys from different distilleries all mixed up. The popular brands here are familiar to many: Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, Cutty Sark, J&B, and Dewar’s are all blends. These are great for cocktails and sometimes on the rocks, while the individual flavor and character (and expense) of a single malt gives them their uniqueness.

A few more distinctions: Irish whiskey is distilled three times, and no peat is used to dry the malt, thus its more light, sweet taste and of course is produced in Ireland. Canadian Whisky is also similar, but uses a minimum of 51% of rye grain, as does the US rye whiskey, though there is no law for the Canadian varietal.  

Bourbon
Bourbon is an American whisky, which uses corn (at least 51% but no more than 80%) instead of barley, is distilled once, and then aged in new, charred oak barrels for at least two years or longer. All Bourbons use what is called the sour mash process. Jack Daniels, though though to be a bourbon is really a Tennessee Whiskey, which is a subset of  bourbon, where it must also be filtered through a 10-foot thick layer of maple charcoal. Stile's favorite bourbon is Basil Hayden's (from the same makers of Knob Creek, which is also a bourbon).

Have an: Old Fashioned

• sugar cube
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• club soda
• 2 oz. rye whiskey
  

Place the sugar cube (or 1/2 teaspoon loose sugar) in an Old-Fashioned glass. Wet it down with 2 or 3 dashes of Angostura bitters and a short splash of water or club soda. Crush the sugar with a wooden muddler, chopstick, strong spoon, lipstick, cartridge case, whatever. Rotate the glass so that the sugar grains and bitters give it a lining. Add a large ice cube. Pour in the rye (or bourbon). Serve with a stirring rod. (recipe from Esquire.com)

Also: Try some of Colorado's finest: Stranahan's whiskey (right down the road from the Examiner.com HQ, which may be in fact why we're so tipsy all the time.  This fine bottle is so amazingly good it's sick. Why? Because while it's aged the same time as Scotch, it's done so in new casks like bourbon, hence it's smooth and unique flavor. And besides, they put sexy-hot pinups on their posters. We had some recently (the whiskey, not the pin-ups) and it went down so smoothly the bottle was gone within a week. Hiccup! 

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