C.Q. to @Hockey Outsider and anyone else who wants to weigh in on this topic.
Currently circulating on the InterWebs is the "5 Whiskeys" challenge- select one for each category-
1. Daily drinker
2. Inexpensive mixer
3. End-of-week wind-down (wrapping up a rough work-week)
4. Impress guests
5. Special occasion
Ready? Go! [if you wish.]
Not a whiskey person (I like the stuff but I've met plenty of examples of what a "whiskey person" actually is and I'm not that), but here are my most appropriate answers:
1. Well, I definitely don't drink any kind of whiskey daily, or every second day or anything like that, but if I randomly decide to have a glass on a non-descript weekday, it would be whatever inexpensive bottle of scotch is taking up the "inexpensive bottle of scotch" slot in my liquor cabinet. I remember Bell's taking that space somewhat recently, of which a 750ML bottle is going for $31 on the Newfoundland Liquor Corporation Website right now, and I think my most recent bottle had a bird of some kind on the label, though it's skipping my mind right now. The slot is currently open and should be filled soon enough.
2. Ah, here's where I have a real opinion. Crown Royal, going for $32 for 750ML from NLC, is appropriate for just about anything you'd want to make, and that's my thing - making high-effort bar drinks. Jenny Engine is more of a "half a shot and a soft drink" type (being five foot zero minus something), and prefers Jameson for that (going for $34 for 750ML from NLC).
3. I really like Bulleit's bourbon. $42 for the 750 ML from NLC, so it's not really a big deal but on weekdays you might steer towards the stuff you have for three quarters of the price.
4. Really, we're circling back to the Crown here, and hoping you're impressed by my choice of fruit, soda, sugar, bitters and whatever else I'm putting together.
5. A more expensive scotch. Do I know what I'm getting? No. Will I try to remember one that I enjoyed particularly? Probably not, I don't do this often enough. Will I enjoy it? Yes. Will my friends enjoy it? They'll say they do, who knows if they're pumping my tires. Should I just be asking my friend Rob what to get in a certain price range? Yes.
A friend of mine once had a session at an upscale recording studio just outside of St. John's, which was also being used for an Alan Doyle (of Great Big Sea) solo album at the time. My friend told me he went to the on site kitchen and found an expensive bottle of scotch sitting next to the remnants of a Mary Brown's snack pack (East coast equivalent to KFC or Popeye's). The very definition of a Newfoundland millionaire's lunch.
Canada
