The Essential Guide For Whiskey Beginners

so i think it's high time the whiskey tribe puts together the essential whiskey guide for beginners now we have narrowed it down to what we think are the five key areas to really start out on the right foot we're going to dive into those right now but we're also going to need your input in the comments because it's not going to be possible for us to be comprehensive in a single episode so you can consider this to be kind of like a jumping off point a highlight reel broad strokes of all the main things you want to be thinking about as you get into whiskey right now you and i are fortunate enough to be the host of whiskey channels on youtube it's great it's awesome massive community who helped us launch a crowdsourced distillery and they've sent us a lot of bottles to taste and review along the way there's really five key areas where if you're getting getting into whiskey it could go off the rails if you aren't really sure of like the context of everything that's happening right now the first one budget budget you don't need to be rich to explore whiskey the reasonable amount of money that's going to change a bit based on the whiskey category yeah but we're going to start with say 30 bucks 30 bucks somewhere around 30 yes gets you choices it's not fireball right so you do need to be prepared to get past the dollar jello shot priceline right but yeah if you're willing to set aside a reasonable amount of money to explore a new and interesting category sure this is absolutely attainable i think i would start with three things okay so i'm going to say four rows of small batch around the 30 range yeah and i'm mixing it up a bit because we normally would just say wild turkey 101 well our community would say well yeah yeah it's a great whiskey and it's a great bourbon right sazerac rye is a great ride we picked this one and a true classic by even whiskey fanatics still go back and drink this and appreciate it yeah but still accessible probably closer to the forty dollar so we're like 30 bucks you can get the get your foot in the door with something that's really worth pouring and exploring a little bit 30 bucks for the ride right and then about 40 ish once you get into scotch because current so we just established that for a hundred bucks you can have three whiskies that you wouldn't be ashamed of even in a whiskey crowd they would be grateful to drink asterisks but we won't get into the asterisk yeah yeah but there are people who consider themselves serious about whiskey about dropping money on whiskey and money equaling value uh right and so it's possible it's stolen someone going like well until you've tried a port ellen right which this is a half bottle of port ellen yeah this cost two thousand dollars yeah and and this is what happens someone will say oh if you're just getting into it you should try and then you go look at what they suggested you try and you're like i can't afford 500 on a bottle i'm not even sure if i like whiskey there is a point of diminishing returns absolutely so don't don't feel like man i can't afford 250 per bottle and they're talking about how amazing this is don't worry about it it's not going to be a 250 difference between that and then something that's going to be you know a more entry-level price point we've done a lot of episodes about every angle of whiskey in the description we're going to have these five key areas that we're going through we're going to be listing our own videos that we think can be really helpful in the comments other episodes from even other channels that you think would be really good free-for-all absolutely do it link to the episode and then why you think it's going to be a worthwhile episode one more good tip thing to keep in mind regards to your budget yes the deeper you get into whiskey the more expensive it's going to be but that expensive rent that mortgage you're paying that could easily be used somewhere else quite frankly in your whiskey collection and there's free shelters all over the place it's safe secure surprising amount of privacy too oh yeah interesting nose [Music] next big area where you kind of need to get pointed in the right direction glassware and technique of consuming the whiskey yeah we're talking about the specific way that you approach a whiskey in a glass because a lot of this sounds fuzzy some of it is science but when you have to explain it people's eyes glaze over right so first when it comes to technique the glass that the whiskey is in it makes a difference it does but let's not let the perfect be an enemy to the good enough so let's start with you put out a budget you bought three bottles you took them home you watched online and you saw all the whiskey people yeah using these fancy glen carrying glasses and they're doing neat pours which means without any ice it's just the whiskey by itself let's assume that you're new to hard liquor in general not just whiskey when you go to smell it yes the alcohol and ethanol in that glass is going to overwhelm your nose and sort of like shut down your ability to smell anything past ethanol right now there's nothing for that but time but there are a couple of shortcuts the first is open your mouth let the air flow through your nasal cavity instead of building up in your nasal cavity you're basically breathing through your nose in your mouth at the same time now second one is if you pick it up and it burns you're too close back it off and back it off in small increments until it stops being ethanol heavy right that it turns out is the right place for both your nose and this glass usually if somebody's coming from a background where they don't really have a lot of experiences like in college you get you know a container with alcohol and you shoot it back not talking about shots we're talking about how to best take it apart and explore a whiskey in a way that helps you better understand what's going on in that bottle and then that glass a lot of times people throw back things and then what you get is this blast of evaporation right and it's like oh oh that burns ah it's hot they go and you would your brain would think that if you drank it slower it would be even more burny but it's not right because if you just take a sip and i always say about like you would drink really hot coffee and then you just swallow it gently you're actually letting things sort of gently spread across your tongue the evaporation's a little bit more mild and you're opening up things in that whiskey now the goal of both of those things is to get your brain to tell you what it thinks it's experiencing yeah and the easiest way to do that is ask yourself what does this remind me of and then a lot of people suggest that you hold that in your mouth for a bit let your mouth acclimate to that alcohol and then slowly just let it spread across one of the things that you can do in which whiskey aficionados will do is add just drops of water to that whiskey not a ton actual drops now this is an area where people can get very very opinionated very very quickly it's like well the type of water and the minerality content in the water and all this other stuff like if you could just get some bottled water that's it you're good enough but the main thing that does make a difference to a surprising surprising degree is once you add that water how much it changes the whiskey even with just a few drops but what happens is you sort of start to push some of the oils of that whiskey to the top the water sort of unlocks things in that glass yeah and all of a sudden it'll smell and taste a little bit different one of the next things you can do if the nose is too aggressive just use a bigger glass that's true because what happens in a bigger glass which by the way is what you're more likely to get at a bar the difference between something like this and this night and day yeah it's very rare that a bar has glen cairns or everyone smile you'll get something like this which has happened to me more than once no it's more common than it should yeah the reason why you even want to mess with like nosing the glass it seems kind of fuzzy but it does give you a different angle on that whiskey and you're looking for like the layers and and the notes specifically what kind of flavors can you find in that whiskey and that's what the nerds are going to talk about like i got some graham cracker and toasted marshmallow and grassy and all this other [ __ ] but this you can go exploring something like this uh you really have to be digging deep and then a big old glass that's not gonna help you one of the best ways without truly watering down your whiskey is to get a single big rock in your glass yeah so it doesn't melt too quickly but it cools down the temperature of the whiskey and adds water incrementally which will soften the effects of the ethanol and it will sometimes actually open up new things in that whiskey there's so many tips and techniques and suggestions again in the comments if you see some other creators videos that are really worthwhile for technique when it comes to whiskey there's another episode on our channel called tin whiskey hacks where it's things like you get a few drops on your hand you rub them together and that is a really great way for you to be able to pick apart the specific layers those flavors without getting punched in the nose by the alcohol right but if you are trying to understand that whiskey the ice will dilute it over time pretty quickly and it's going to drastically change the flavors that's why most people start with they can eat pour and then do whatever the hell you want especially with a lot of small ice cubes so i think the biggest tool that you're going to have in tasting will be the glass and it does matter but don't again let the perfect be an enemy to the good enough here's what you got and then we all used to say the best whiskey glass is one that has a hole on only one side so there's a lot of tasting techniques nosing techniques out there one of the most fun things to do is to try and create your own right now i'm experimenting on a brave new nosing technique using our nosing and tastings i mean we're going to see if we get a nice aerosol of this whiskey as he pairs it with a beautiful cigar can't wait to see what happens we recently got a sponsorship offer from hellofresh that's america's number one meal kit now before we take on any new sponsor per usual we have to try it experience it and like it ourselves i've actually had halo fresh before my brother made it but i've never made hellofresh myself so i had dan order me a few meal kits from the hellofresh there first of all it's delicious we've made three things so far every single one of them was great and they offer a ton of recipes for you to choose from each week it arrives at peak freshness and flavor also saves tons of time my wife really like this it cuts out all the stressful meal planning also the pre-portioned ingredients mean there's less prep and less wasted food so you can skip the grocery store and get chef curated meals with pre-portioned ingredients delivered to your door and is flexible you can add extra dinners or lunches to your weekly order and easily change your delivery days or food preferences or skip a week whenever you need to but there is one fatal flaw anybody can get those meal kits they're fresh they're affordable they're convenient and as a big deal youtuber i should only be eating michelin stars from secret menus dan order me some ambrosia big deal pretty sure you're like a small to medium sized deal you've heard of ambrosia i mean the food of the gods yeah yeah tell hello fresh i want the ambrosia meal kit how exactly are you a big deal look at my hat you drive a 2012 ford focus i was recognized at home depot once ordering now oh hey look it's already here it must be that super fast youtuber delivery all right read me the instructions step one is clearly a burnt offering is this right step two you gotta sacrifice a virgin i'm not a virgin hush now super virgin and finally feast upon the ambrosia there's nothing in here dan you do know the box is the ambrosia right just sent me the good stuff this is tinder you can tell you seen this marbling dance make sure you get the the yeah you got it this is really what the best cut is yeah oh yeah you're doing it you're doing it seasonal recipes and fresh pre-measured ingredients delivery right to your door hellofresh makes cooking at home fun easy and affordable go to hellofresh.com and use code whiskeytribe 14. to get 14 free meals plus free shipping [Music] so the next area that you really want to get a good grasp on is health so we went and found the healthiest member of our distillery team it's not me or daniel no it's really not she's working though first things first look give up shots so well basically if you if you're trying to get into the whiskey scene and you're exploring whiskeys shots aren't going to do anything for you yeah yeah no they're just going to eliminate how much more whiskey you get to try later on purpose a big part of this conversation is going to be personal like knowing yourself your body your schedule and then even like genetically there's a component to people getting into issues with substance abuse i know if it's in your family you could be predisposed to having a problem with alcohol so keeping that in mind and then also pay attention how much you're drinking each night and honestly if you're a part of our tribe and you're a part of the newsletter yeah then you'll always be notified when we do our quarterly dry week yep which is our chance for our entire community to take a week off of alcohol just to sort of keep tabs on how we're doing the main situation you don't want to fall into is if it becomes so automatic that you don't even think about it that's where it becomes a slippery slope it's just i walk through the door i'm going through the motions this is my habit this is my routine i'm pouring some hard alcohol that's when something can become a dependency issue because there's no thinking that goes into it there's no intentionality so this is why we as a tribe have really prioritized several times a year checking in on how much we consume what it's really good [Laughter] one more helpful tip about health a lot of times it's hard to weigh that ideal balance between good times and living a healthy lifestyle fortunately your fitness center often has room for water bottles and nobody said it had to be full of water and you can combine the experience of whispy tasting and exercise all right daniel this next area is something that we're very big advocates of because it's so so common for somebody to get into whiskey find a brand that they really like and then they just stop and they become advocates for this brand is the best whiskey in the world and there's like an entire like ocean full of options so this is almost to me the second phase of what we talked about earlier about finding your whiskey budget yeah because this is also a way to expand your whiskey budget yeah without expanding you know blowing your wallet yeah so we're talking about exploring whiskies yes don't just limit yourself to a single category it's great to find favorites but there's always a next great whiskey that you couldn't imagine what was in that bottle in that glass and there's a few different ways to go about doing this option one is you know buy budget or affordable whiskey so you can expand your whiskey selection without going broke yes a really good thing that you can do is just google people's bang for your buck whiskey list whiskeys that are punching well above their weight and there's a lot of them out there you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get something that's really nice in a glass but beyond just kind of whatever your budget reality happens to be there's other things you can do make some whiskey friends and then you get access to their budget of whiskey now we're talking about mooching yeah it's very very much in my wheelhouse it's real and it had to be mentioned yeah going to bars with friends whiskey tastings there's whiskey events whiskey events are becoming very very popular these there's two things with whiskey events that are really amazing one you can go to a whiskey event a liquor store and oftentimes they're free or you can go to specific whiskey events where they've curated hundreds of distilleries into one room that's pretty amazing exploration and speaking of exploration and retail stores like the gold standard the unfair standard by which all the other liquor stores and retail stores can now be judged is the episode we did it with ireland that is like the explorer's dream come true i'll let you it'll be linked in the description below but it's the top eight things people hate about liquor stores and my god is she doing some amazing things in her store because she's catering to the whiskey explorer there's one final one i think which is whiskey trails oh yeah this is growing yeah the kentucky bourbon trail is famous and their kentucky bourbon trail experience is astounding i think right now runner up closing in fast as the texas whiskey trail it's a good one that we've been a part of for a long time now yeah it lets you go to distilleries and if you're a member joe for free yeah and get a tour and try some things or get access to so there's a ton out there for you to explore the opportunity to experience things in a glass that's the most fun for us yes i actually while we're exploring a few other good options worth mentioning are taking up new hobbies like kayaking looking for financial opportunities all of the drugs or you could go straight to the source and join the cartel if you want to simplify things a little bit you can sit down and explore your feelings with a good buddy [Music] why are you smiling hey buddy so how are we feeling today leave the bottle so the the fifth key area you really want to be aimed in the right direction this is navigating opinions because my god this is such a gate like a a stopper for people who are even thinking about getting interested in whiskey as they tiptoe into it yeah and the world is so aggressive with people who consider themselves to be experts with strong opinions right and they just sort of slowly back out of the room so there are a tremendous number of people who uh see themselves as gatekeepers into the world of whiskey and you can only pass if you prescribe to these you know certain preferences yeah and you'll never just are all over the place you'll never know until you step on it there's a video i think that would be very very helpful for you to watch it's called the tasting truth snobs don't want you to know and we sat down with a a wine sommelier and we were talking about the subjectivity of taste and how even the masters the most experienced experts celebrated experts in the world can be totally tricked and fooled by simple reshuffling of glasses and expectations with blind pores so to go into this thinking that there is a true and pure standard by which all other whiskeys can be judged and this is the correct and proper way to do anything that's a subject of reality and you got to come to terms with that when you get to the expert the real experts like the people making the whiskey people blending the whiskey they are as a whole gracious and kind and open-handed open-armed and love good questions yeah and if you aren't going to like an in-person event if you're online if you're going to like social groups and enthusiast clubs and affinity groups so basically what these are look and see if they have a frequently asked questions section because a lot of people will show up in there they'll just ask the same questions over and over and that can become tedious for people that are there regularly even the people who are nice it's like oh again but most of these groups will have an faq and that faq will do a tremendous job in getting you up to speed with the conversation at large because this is an evolving conversation things from month to month year to year that the priorities that the whiskey community at large are discussing it shifts and evolves the main point is to just have fun don't take it too seriously there's a lot of people that are trying to get you to take it way way too seriously but the purpose of whiskey is to have fun and as far as we're concerned the the main goal with a whiskey pour it's the experience that you want to have around that bottle around that glass with really fun interesting cool people yeah where you are and who you're drinking with far more important than what you're drinking so as you know navigating the opinions of the internet can be tricky and the whiskey tribe rule number one is the best whiskey's list you like to drink the way you like to drink it let's see what the internet has to say about my favorite whiskey [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Whiskey Tribe

Views: 243,289

Keywords: whiskey vault, whisky, whiskey, distillery, whisky tips, rex and daniel, whiskey 101, the best whiskey, whiskey guide, whiskey tasting, how to get into whiskey, whiskey guidance, best whiskey for beginner, whiskey advice, beginner whiskey, how to taste whiskey, whiskey guide for beginners, whiskey tasting guide, whiskey for dummies, whiskey help, bourbon, alcohol, how to drink single malt, how to drink, how to drink bourbon, how to drink scotch, how to drink whiskey, rye

Id: ZeG0KbDZxwE

Length: 20min 52sec (1252 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 24 2021