So you have a friend or spouse or relative who loves whisky but you don’t want to go the usual route of getting them a bottle of scotch (or bourbon or some other regional variety of whisk(e)y). A bottle in a nice bag can be nice but you want this gift to stand out, you want them to look at it for a few minutes, appreciate how thoughtful it was, and enjoy it.

What can you do?

Why not build them a whisky gift basket? Who wouldn’t want to get a gift basket or gift box filled with whisky and whisky accessories?

Pick a Theme

The best gift baskets follow a theme and while you might think “whisky” is the theme, fans will know that there are a lot of sub-plots within whisky.

Do you want to build an Scotch whisky after-dinner basket? Buy a bottle of Aberlour and then air it with their neighbor, the Walkers and their shortbread cookies.

How about an Irish whisky gift basket? Consider pairing up some Jameson’s Irish Whisky with some candy or chocolates from Ireland, like chocolates and caramels from Ireland (Butler is a candy company from Dublin, Ireland).

It’s all about the theme!

Filling the Basket

My approach to building a gift basket is to find one or two centerpiece items, whether it’s 375ml bottles of scotch or a large box of cookies or candies, and then build around it.

Let’s say I want to build a Speyside themed basket (nice a broad, I know!), I’d start with a 375ml bottle of Glenlivet 12 YO as my centerpiece. As my secondary centerpiece, I’d pick up a Glenfiddich branded Whisky Cake, made by Walkers; a set of whisky stones, and set of two Glencairns.

Total cost of the contents is around $70.

If your budget is higher, just buy more gourmet foods to include! (or more bottles!)

The Basket

Next, you need to find yourself a wicker basket that can hold your gift’s items and match the theme of the basket. You can usually get these at your local hobby or crafting shop, like a Michael’s or a JoAnn Fabrics. You’ll want one that is sturdy enough to hold the contents of your gift basket, so confirm it’s strong enough. (if you want to get fancy, you can always go with a chest or a hardwood box!)

You will also want to pick up a large sheet of cellophane, which you’ll use to wrap your gift basket, and a bow, which will be used to close the top. If you get a basket with a handle, you can get away without the cellphone.

Finally, pick up some paper you can use to pack into the bottom of the basket. This will provide support and help you arrange the contents.

Arranging the Basket

Once you have everything, arranging it isn’t very difficult as long as you follow a few rules. First, search for gift baskets online and just look at a few photos. It should give you an idea of how they’re organized.

Now, think about your elementary school class photos. Taller kids in the back, shorter kids in the front (seems like I was always sitting on the ground!). Any taller or wider boxes should be in the back, with smaller items in the front. You want to be able to identify each item just by looking into the basket, so the taller items in the back should be visible.

Next, makes sure you line the bottom with tissue or some other padding so items don’t shift around and so that you can line the items up nicely. You’ll probably put this in your car, it’ll get jostled, make sure there’s enough padding to keep things organized. If you wrap it in cellophane and tie it in a bow, it’ll be tough to move things back into place if they shift.

Some item specific tips… if you do buy a bottle of something, put it in the center if there’s only one. If there are two, I prefer to put them to the side, together, and balance it out on the other side with something large, like a box of biscuits or maybe a book. Or, separate the two bottles and put them to the side as “bookends” to the rest of the items. If you get a book, put it towards the back with the title visible and put smaller items in front of it, like crackers or chocolates or pralines.

Honestly, as you arrange them you’ll get a sense of what you like and what you don’t. In the end, your friend will love it no matter how it looks and will appreciate the effort you put into making it!

Anyone who drinks alcohol will always have a “type” that is their favorite. Whether it’s India Pale Ales or vodka or scotch, there is always going to be a type that resonates.

For me, it’s Scotch.

Or more generally, it’s whisky (or whiskey!).

My first encounter with whiskey was something a lot of college kids first meet – Mr. Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels is a far cry from scotch. Jack Daniels is sour mash, which is mostly corn with a bit of rye and barley malt. It can be harsh, often mixed with a Coca Cola, and very rarely do you see Old No. 7 drank neat. I’ve actually never seen anyone drink it neat.

Eventually, as I got older, I started enjoy nicer whisky. At first it was blends, like Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal, but also Canadian and Irish Whiskey. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered single malt Scotch and found that it resonated most with me.

I’m not one of those people that “looks down” on any whiskey that wasn’t produced in Scotland – far from it. I’m willing to try anything and everything, I just find myself returning to Scotland when I’m by myself.

Why do I enjoy Scotch? (and these also apply to many other whiskies) There is so much depth and character in all the various distilleries and it shows in the product they produce. There is so much variety that you couldn’t possibly drink every single expression from every distillery – it’s just not possible. There are almost a hundred different distilleries in Scotland, there are only six in Ireland.

Variety is the spice of life, right?

I do enjoy beer from time to time but whisky, and all distilled spirits, simply has less volume! I don’t mind cracking open a beer when I do yard work but for relaxing after a long day, I prefer to leisurely sip on my glass of Glenkinchie.

As for rum, vodka, gin, and all the rest? I enjoy them but rarely do I drink them by itself. I’ve sipped some high end rums and tequilas, they’re certainly very tasty, but it’s not something I see myself enjoying time and time again. Maybe it’s too many bad memories with bad rums, vodkas, and tequilas…

Why do you enjoy scotch?

I have a weekly call with a few internet friends of mine and one of the lives in the Portland, Oregon area. For the last few weeks, there has been a buzz around town about the Multnomah Whiskey Library that opened up on October 8th. It has 1,500 bottles of liquor and all the images on pdx.eater.com look absolutely amazing. 1,500 bottles, not all of which are whiskey but many of which are, is a lot of bottles and one day I will go there!

The closest thing we have here is Birds of A Feather in Baltimore and it’s set up more like a small neighborhood bar. I’ve been a few times and they have a very extensive collection of single malts, definitely a great place to visit.

Image is from the pdx.eater.com website courtesy of dinaavila.

There is no right answer to this question. Some whisky snobs will say that you should enjoy it as the distiller intended, with no ice and no added water, but I’m not a snob. You’re paying good money for that drink, you should enjoy it however you like. Personally, I don’t add anything (with very few exceptions) because I like to enjoy it as it is. I like my scotch neat. I totally get that some people prefer to add ice or water.

I will offer up this advice – you can never remove water or ice, but you can always add it in later.

When you add a drop of distilled water to your whisky, it lowers the alcohol content of your drink and it can open it up for your other senses. If you’re not used to drinking a spirit that’s 40-43% alcohol by volume, trying to discern flavors from either your nose or your palate can be very difficult. A drop of water will open up the whisky so that you can find the subtler flavors. When I started drinking whisky, I added a drop or two of water just so I could find some of these flavors. I don’t anymore.

Adding ice is a little trickier. The problem with ice is that it’s a lot of water. It also drops the temperature of your drink while adding a lot of water, which dilutes it far more than you probably want. If it’s a drink you don’t particularly enjoy the flavor of, ice may help it go down better. 🙂

Nowadays, I only ever add a drop or two of water to cask strength whiskies because cask strength is simply too high of an ABV for me. I never go with ice unless it’s in a cocktail, like a Manhattan, and then it doesn’t really count.

Are you a bad person if you add water or ice? No, of course not. Don’t be silly.

My advice to you, if you are new to whisky, is to try it neat first. If you find that it’s too strong for you to enjoy, try a drop of water or two, then try it again. If you feel like you really need some ice, consider whisky stones before water ice cubes (you get the cooling and none of the water). If you don’t like it chilled, you can always wait! (and if you don’t have any handy, then add a cube and see what happens)

Enjoying whisky, or any spirit, is about experimentation and learning what you like. Try things a bunch of different ways and you’ll settle on what you truly enjoy. Don’t let other people tell you want to do!

(Credit: alexbrn)

I’d never seen it before but Devin Leonard saw a $2 up-charge on his bill after he ordered his whisky neat. The argument was that by not putting in any ice, the bartender was putting in more whisky. As someone who has ordered scotch neat on numerous occasions, I’ve never seen an up-charge on my bill. Now, if the bar just added $2 to their normal charge and not said anything, I wouldn’t be the wiser but no one has explicitly included one.

That made me wonder, would they put more whisky in a glass if it had no ice? I’ve always understood places to use liquor pourers that controlled the amount of liquor that came out – precisely one shot (1.5 oz). If your order called for a certain number of shots, how much did $2 represent? Was it an extra shot? Did you get 4.5 oz. in your drink at $6 and now get 6 ounces for $8? It just doesn’t seem to add up in my mind.

Personally, I think it’s just a money grab. Maybe the bar doesn’t have the proper controls in place (they’re not using pourers, they just eyeball it), in which case they’re just passing their laziness onto the customer. If they want an extra $2, just charge $2 more. I’m not against bar owners making money, I’m against this type of overcharging because it’s unfounded.

Heck, they should take off five cents because you didn’t ask for ice!

(Credit: Jeremy Brooks)