How to Celebrate World Whisky Day - Saturday, 18 May 2024
World Whisky day is upon us and I have just what you need to celebrate. From recommendations on what to drink and how to drink it, to your fun whisky facts and educational resources to better your understanding of world Whisky.
What is World Whisky day?
World whisky day is the time of year when whisky lovers are brought together to enjoy a glass of their favourite whisky together. But it’s not just for whisky lovers and whisky connoisseurs. World whisky day is a time for people who may not have experienced whisky to try it out.
Encouraging people to try new whiskies, share what knowledge and recommendations they may have and maybe even find some new whisky lovers.
Usually, this evolves worldwide tastings, events and gatherings. This year of course, its due to be a little different. But that doesn’t mean you can’t join in. This year world whisky day will be going online. All details on how to get involved can be found on the world whisky official website here.
You can also find out more about world whisky day and how it started here.
When is World Whisky day?
The big question: when is world whisky day? World whisky day is held on the 3rd Saturday of May every year, this year marks an extra special occasion as it will be the tenth anniversary of World Whisky Day.
The official date is the Saturday, 18 May 2024 However, whisky celebrations will be going on throughout the whole weekend.
World Whisky Facts
If there's one thing I enjoy, it's a good bit of somewhat useless trivia. World whisky day is the perfect opportunity to brush up on your world whisky knowledge. Here are 13 fun facts about whisky that you can use to impress the next time you find yourself in a whisky jam.
1. Bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States, not just Kentucky. However...
2. 95% of all bourbon whisky is produced in Kentucky.
3. A 30-year-old cask of Macallan set a new world record in 2019 for the most expensive whisky cask ever sold at auction. $572,000.
4. The co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson, demanded whisky on his deathbed but was refused it.
5. John Jameson, the founder of Jameson’s Irish whisky was Scottish.
6. Charles Joughin, the baker on-board the Titanic, trod water for three hours before being rescued. He claimed he hadn’t felt the cold due to the amount of whisky he had drunk prior to the accident, while the ship was sinking.
7. Glenturret’s distillery famous cat, Towser the Mouser, is believed to have caught 28,899 mice in its 24-year lifetime, which begs the question: who was counting?
8. Jack Daniel’s is Tennessee whiskey, not bourbon.
9. Whisky in Gaelic reads ‘uisge beathe’, which means ‘water of life’.
10. Victorian Illustrator, Tom Browne, drew a picture of a striding man on a menu during lunch with Lord Stevenson, one of Johnnie Walker’s directors. This eventually became the striding man you see on the bottle today.
11. Approximately 2% of whisky gradually evaporates through the barrels each year. This is famously known as the angel's share
12. Many distilleries store casks of whisky belonging to other brands and distilleries in their warehouses. This way, if a fire or catastrophe occurs, they won’t lose all their stock.
13. Both the “Whisky” and “Whiskey” words are correct. Whiskey is specific to Irish, and Whisky is Scotch.
View full list of 30 whisky facts
Understand different Whisk(e)y
Below is a brief some up of the different styles of whisky and how they are made, along with some of my favourites in each category for you to try yourself.
Scotch Whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky that has been made in Scotland. Generally, Scotch is great for sipping straight or mixed with soda water. Generally the flavour of Scotch tends to be on the peaty/smoky side.
Rules for Scotch whisky include being aged for a minimum of three years in oak barrels. This spirit can either be a blend from several distilleries, known as blended scotch whisky, or single malt, which is a malt whisky from a single distillery. As for the age statement, that must refer to the youngest blend in the mix.
Generally, Scotch is broken up into 6 regions of Scotland: Highlands, Lowland, Speyside, Islands, Campbeltown and Islay. Each region has slightly different flavours given by the fact location has such a big impact on the aging process.
The difference between blended and single malt whisky:
Blended scotch whisky:
Blended Scotch Whisky is a blend of grain and malt whisky that comes from multiple scotch whisky distilleries.
My top recommendation for blended Scotch whisky is Chivas Regal Mizunara.
Single malt whisky:
Single Malt Scotch Whisky is still technically a blend, but it is a blend of malt whisky produced in just one distillery
My top recommendation for blended whisky is Laphroaig.
Check out the full Scotch whisky guide here.
Irish Whiskey
Irish whiskey shares somewhat similarities to Scotch. The history of Irish whisky is a very interesting one indeed, which in fact, contrary to popular belief pre-dates Scotch whisky.
For more on the interesting history and guide to Irish whiskey, check out my full guide here.
My top recommendation for Irish Whiskey is Redbreast 12 Year.
Bourbon
Bourbon is a type of American whiskey, a barrel-aged distilled whiskey made primarily from corn. On 4 May 1964, the United States Congress recognized Bourbon Whiskey as a “distinctive product of the United States.” following which are a set of rules and regulations that must be followed to earn the name bourbon. They are as follows;
must be made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.
must be distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume).
must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.
may not be introduced to the barrel at higher than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon which meets the above requirements and has been aged for a minimum of two years, may (but is not required to) be called Straight Bourbon.
Bourbon aged for a period less than four years must be labelled with the duration of its aging.
If an age is stated on the label, it must be the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.
Only whiskey produced in the United States can be called bourbon.
As for brands, I always have and always will recommend Woodford reserve. For something more prestigious I also recommend Willet's Pot.
Japanese Whisky
Japanese whisky has easily become the largest growing whisky category in the world. 5 years ago words like Hibiki, Suntory, Yamazaki and Nikka were just gobbledygook. Now, every man and his dog has an opinion on Japanese whisky.
The father of Japanese whisky is a man called Masataka Taketsuru. Taketsuru moved to Scotland to study whisky in order to start Japan's very first quality whisky. In 1924 he developed that dream and became the master distiller of Yamazaki before eventually setting up his own distillery Nikka.
The whole story of Japanese whisky is like a romcom/drama, Filled with Scottish love and business partner riffs. The history of Japanese whisky is in fact one of my favourite spirits in history.
Check out my full guide on everything Japanese whisky here.
As for my top picks on Japanese whisky? The list goes on and on but to keep this article from confusing you, here are what I would class as my top 3 for variety.
One thing I would note, is that due to the increased popularity of Japanese whisky, its never on the shelves for long, so if its still available when you’re reading this. Get it.
Other world Whisky
It's worth noting that other countries also make bloody good whisky. America, Scotland and Japan may be the big fish, but they are certainly not the only ones.
Here's a few recommendations for other Whisky that are worth checking out.
How to choose the perfect whisky for you
With whisky being such a large category, it can be somewhat difficult to narrow down a whisky you love. The last thing you want is to try a whisky that doesn't suit your palate and get turned off every whisky type because of it.
That being said, first things first, if you think you don't like whisky, maybe you just haven’t tried the right one for you?
To pick your favourite whisky, the simplest thing to do is use the above guide of understanding whisky to choose one that you like the sound of. Want something smoky with big flavour? Scotch is for you. Want something subtle that you can mix? Try a bourbon
Once you’ve read through that understanding of whisky types and found one you like the sound of, the next thing to do is, well, try it! Buy a bottle, pour a little bit out and have a swig.
Beginners guide to tasting whisky
Tasting whisky is somewhat of a performance. From having the perfect glass to preparing the palette. If you’re new to whisky tasting, you don’t need to know all that. Sure, tasting whisky the “proper way” is always good fun and can be somewhat eye opening to seeing whisky in a new light.
But if you’re new to the category, you just want to find your bearings before overwhelming yourself.
Pour out a serving of whisky in a glass (at this point, don't worry about the glass) Have a smell, see what you think. Then add a small dash of water, about half the measure of the whisky you added. This is going to soften the flavours and make it easier for you to taste, it will also open up the aromas. Have another smell.
Now have a taste. Too strong? Don’t worry, it is straight whisky after all. The first taste is really to just open up the palette, have another taste. Still too strong? Try adding another measure of water.
At this point you should be able to gauge whether this is something you want to mix and bring down the ABV, or if you want to drink it straight, maybe slightly diluted with the help of ice. Both are perfectly fine despite what a pretentious whisky drinker might tell you.
Whisky and soda is a good mix if you don’t have the palette for straight whisky. It allows the whisky to be the forward flavour with nothing getting in the way.
Whisky and ginger ale works beautifully if you really like the idea of drinking whisky but the flavour is still to strong.
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