well i drink bourbons ,american ryes and irish.
haven't seen any references to tullamore dew, an excellent irish... smooth, tasty and expensive... but worth it if you lov e irish

Recently tried the Crown Royal, very good!
I noticed the last trip to the local ABC they are stocking the Wild Turkey Rye which JP turned me on to last year, excellent IMO (I am partial to Rye when I can find it). I typically pick up the Jim Beam Rye (which one of the three local ABC's regularly stocks) when I'm in the mood for it, but in the fall they stock the WT Rye here in VA. I've asked about Van Winkle Rye (highly recommended by JP) which they tell me they can order.

Bushmills over Jameson, but for pure ease of drinking It is always a canadian blend like Canadian club or classic 12 or Seagrams 7 or VO or Black Velvet

Growing up in Canada, Canadian Club was always the whisky of choice, but it was mostly mixed with coke or ginger. Now a days, I never mix anything except a drop of water, but CC has remained my favorite everyday Canadian. I had a couple bottles of Black Velvet reserved which was an 8 yo Canadian that was quite nice, but have not seen it locally for a while. I will drink Crown when someone else is buying but don't find it is worth the price otherwise.

I have not partaken of Irish whiskey for quite a while, but if memory serves Jamesons was usually my choice, possibly just because it was easy to find vs the other brands. My econ professor in college was a big Jamesons fan and I think that is where I got introduced to it. I have only been drinking bourbon for a few years so far, and Makers Mark is a safe, easy to find choice when I do. Don't like JD, Wild Turkey is pretty tasty and I do buy it for a change from time to time.

I'd take Bushmills over Jameson any day. But I have a question for you American bourbon lovers: do you have any recommendations? Of course, I'm familiar with Jack Daniels and Four Roses, but that's about it from your side of the pond.

I had a look at the site of a well stocked whisky shop over here and here are some of the American whiskeys they offer: (ri)¹, Blanton, Baker's, Colorado Stranahan's, Eagle Rare, Elijah Craig, George Dickel, George T. Stagg, Hancock's Reserve, Hirsch, I.W. Harper, Johnny Drum, Maker's Mark, McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt, Noah's Mill, Old Potrero, Parker's Heritage Selection, Pure Kentucky, Ridgemont Reserve 1792, Rock Hill Farms, Rowan's Creek, Sazerac Rye, Wild Turkey and Woodford.

Sorry for the long list, but that is about half of what they have in stock (I excluded the cheapest stuff). I'm curious to try some "premium" US whiskey or at least some of the "good stuff". I'm not up for paying a few hundred euro for a bottle, but don't mind the price of a typical bottle of decent Scotch as a bottle usually lasts me for at least a month.

I've heard that Jameson and Bushmills and in fact all Irish distilleries except for one are now owned by non-Irish companies/entities. I can't remember what their name is though for the life of me, they make a few different products.

All in all I am biased towards American styles (bourbon and rye mostly), but also enjoy Jameson from time to time as well as scotch (recently tried Highland Park 12 which was fantastic). Each has something different to offer.

I don't think I've ever had canadian whiskey, is Canadian Club a good place to start?

Believe me I've tried them all! It's Canadian for me. Northern Light for everyday, good quality, low price.
On special occasions Forty Creek or Pendleton. That being said this calls for a special occassion! Like last night, St. Emmeloord Day in Holland. Sure I made it up but the wife doesn't know that!

For my money on canadian whiskey it has to be Tangle Ridge, don't know about the availability down south or across the pond but it sure is smooth for a rye blend and great vanilla notes.

St. Emmeloord Day,,,as in Noordoostpolder, Netherlands?,,,,

Thanks for the recommendations, Bruins. You gave me a good starting point for my next trip to the whiskyshop!

Falconer wrote:

Like last night, St. Emmeloord Day in Holland. Sure I made it up but the wife doesn't know that!

Hilarious! As someone from Holland it is especially funny.

My all time favorite is Jack Daniel's but I only drink it every once in a while because it's kind of expensive. I have friends that drink a lot of Jameson and Bushmill's so I tend to drink a lot of that. When I'm home, I drink mostly Evan Williams because it's cheap and it tastes good. The only Canadian I have tried is Black Velvet and I just don't like it.