Starter package.

I’m sort of doing requests at the moment to get the blog up and running at full speed and someone has asked me what they as a relative beginner should buy to start a collection of drinkable whiskies so I thought I’d give you all some advice.

I’m going to assume you like whisky and you’re not a total novice so what I’m going to do is select three bottles of Scotch that are easy to get hold of and not too expensive.
As I like to keep these blogs to the point I’ll say now that there are so many different types and styles of whisky that it would be impossible to go into all the variations here so I’m going to suggest a peated blended whisky a young Single Malt and maybe something a little bit off piste.
Not everyone likes peaty whisky but I think you should try a bottle and as I’ve said before you can’t really go wrong with Black Grouse. It packs a huge peat flavour and nose with some hints of spice and all for under twenty pounds, sometimes you can find this as low as fifteen pounds which is cracking value and because it’s a peated whisky you don’t get the same cheap grain taste you get from a standard bottle of Famous Grouse.
Next up let’s talk about a Single Malt that’s offering something exciting and isn’t going to break the bank.  I’m going to suggest the fabulous Aberlour ten year old. There is no such thing as a bad Aberlour and this ten year old offers exactly what you should be looking for. Matured for a decade in Bourbon and sherry casks you get a real feel of warm sweetness with a hint of uncooked Christmas cake which is never a bad thing. You’re getting this for under thirty pounds if you look and for my American readers the use of Bourbon barrels might be a good start for drinking aged Scotch.
Now I’ve been mulling over this for a while thinking about something interesting to start you off with and so I’m going to suggest Johnnie Walker Gold Label. The Gold Label is a blended malt with no grain and is superb, yes it’s just under forty pounds but trust me if this was a Single Malt you’d be paying twice that. Bursting with character this eighteen year old blend is filled with sweet fruits and honeycomb flavours, go on give it a punt you’ll love it.
The Captain.

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