Best whisky for beginners trying a delicious dram for the first time
Think of whisky, and chances are, you’re imagining a Don Draper or Sean Connery-type in a dimly lit back room somewhere, reading a book or twiddling a cigar.
It’s the spirit used to seal deals and wet babies' heads, associated with old-school masculinity and feels cloaked in elitism. Often shown as a neat drink with only an ice cube or a splash of water to ease the firey flavours within, it can be an intimidating world for newbies.
But a world worth cracking into. Whisky has a history that stretches back more than a thousand years, and much like wine, is thought to have been invented by Christian missionary monks who made do with fermenting grain and barley in Scotland when they couldn’t pick fruit from the vineyards that were plentiful on the Continent.
From once being stored in fish and meat-containing barrels (thank heavens for the eventual switch to sherry and bourbon casks) to being used to pay rent on Highland farms, whisky has undergone an epic evolution through the centuries to become the spirit we know and love today.
