Recently on this blog I discussed the pesky question I often get, “What’s Your Favorite Wine”? This week I’m doing it again: what goes through my mind and comes out of my mouth when I get asked about my favorite whisky.
First thing is what KIND of whisky? To name a few are we talking single malt or blended scotch from Scotland, American/Japanese/Indian whiskies, rye or bourbons? Whisky – the word – is a category, so I have no clue what you are looking for unless you can be more specific. Which leads me to…
To be more specific, you would have to ask my current favorite based on my personal mood, what I had for dinner, what my palate may be craving, what I think your palate might appreciate, etc. For instance, if I’ve just had a bourbon-based cocktail I may want to finish with bourbon alone. If I just had a great rye I may want more, or I may want to switch it up with a scotch. So, there is no one favorite. But, unlike my article on the wine question, I will give you my current favorites in all kinds of categories:
From Denver, Colorado, I judged a blind sample of a Stranahan’s American single malt whiskey in a competition that I later had to search out to find: Blue Peak with a Solera finish. This is special to me as I had given it the highest score, noted the number it was assigned, and was thrilled to discover that my fellow judges had just the same feelings about it.
Virginia Distilling Whiskey was a new discovery for me, another American single malt, and my favorite was the whiskey finished in a gingerbread stout (beer) barrel. I don’t see it currently offered via their website but take a look at the others in the “Brewerie Coalition” page. For me, a beer, wine, sherry, even a used tequila cask adds another layer of flavors to any whisky.
I often refer to this one as a gateway whiskey, or a gateway rye, for people (I won’t say ladies but you know who you are) that aren’t drinking whiskey: Middlewest pumpernickel rye is amazing. I’ve reviewed it more than once and it never fails me. I’ve also never come across another pumpernickel rye to date, another reason it’s special to me.
The Dalmore port wood single malt scotch is close to my heart as one of the bottles I have that will remain unopened for as long as I can stand it – as it is signed by Master Blender, and the best whisky storyteller I know, Richard Paterson. So, though this scotch is amazing, The Dalmore has some killer aged whiskies I can enjoy even more.
Finally, I want to shout out to some distributors and brands that I’ve come to respect over the years for having the bests portfolios: Barrel picks and hard to find bottles that founder Charlie Prince brings to our local Drammers club meetings, Impex Beverages has a wide range of spirits and notably some fine Japanese and Indian whiskies represented most often by president and managing director Sam Filmus and vice president Chris Uhde, bottler Gordon and MacPhail for whiskies older than me, Compass Box uniquely blended whiskies, independent bottler Boutique-y Whisky Company, Spey single malt scotch Whisky because I tasted some in Scotland and have yet to find any here, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottles are selected straight from the cask and have member clubs in Edinburgh and London, much-awarded Scotch whisky bottler and blender Brave New Spirits, and of course everything that the Universal Whisky Experience brings to the Wynn Ballroom for their annual tasting every April.
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards since 2022 (submit via https://proofawards.com) Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. Follow on Instagram and Facebook.
