Whiskey Cast 236

In Whiskey Cast 236 Mark Gillespie leads a panel discussion which begins by lamenting that there are some really good whiskeys out there that no one knows about. Without disagreeing with any of the reasons provided to the panel here is my own take.

Whiskey is a luxury product, combined with the huge selection it is only natural that the connoisseurs who taste everything will find diamonds in the rough. But for the average consumer they either aren’t available or they simply don’t have the time or the inclination to find them.

While everyone drinks not everyone drinks at a “high level” of appreciation. I believe that most people are happy with whatever the bartender puts into their drink. For the rest of the work there is somewhat of a triangle. At the bottom are the amateur or hobbyist connoisseurs and at the top are the Mark Gillespies of the world. (This is probably true of any hobby.)

I think the key factor as to why they are so many great but “unknown” whiskeys is that enough people simply don’t have the time to invest in finding and tasting them all. I don’t know why this is a bad thing or something to be lamented. The beauty of the internet is that the people at the top of the triangle can pass along these finds to the rest of the world. I have enough on my plate to taste and appreciate the dozen or so whiskeys I have, I can’t complain that I don’t have access to the hundreds of “excellent” whiskeys out in the market.

Perhaps this leads into the constant argument over “collecting”. Is it better to have several dozen or even several hundred open bottles or just a handful?