Navigating a Whiskey List

As the whiskey boom rolls on, many bars and restaurants are starting to pay closer attention to their whiskey selection. Some are beefing up their whiskey lists to the point where they look more like the full wine list from a fancy steakhouse, complete with leather binding and eye-popping prices.

If you’re handed a spirits list that intimidates more than excites, here are some pointers for ending up happy.

1. Ask questions. If a bar or restaurant has a big whiskey list, the odds are good that somebody there knows a thing or two about the brown stuff. Tell your server about the whiskeys you know you like, and ask for recommendations if you’re looking to branch out.
2. Look for special releases. Well-curated whiskey lists often contain recent special releases that might not make it to the back bar of your local. Considering picking up a bottle of the latest Ardbeg Committee release, but not sure if it’s going to be worth the $100+ investment? Pony up for a sample at the bar. If it turns out you don’t care for it, that $15 shot is money well spent.
3. Take prices with a grain of salt. High prices don’t necessarily mean a particularly rare, or even a particularly good, whiskey. Our national patchwork of liquor laws means getting your hands on certain products might be easy in some states, and nearly impossible in others. Bars that don’t want to run out of, say, Hakushu 12-Year-Old before they can pick up more might temporarily overprice the expression to keep it on the shelf longer. Or, if a bar just got a great deal on a case of something special from their distributor, you might see lower-than-expected pricing.

Above all, don’t be afraid. At least in the world of whiskey, we don’t have to contend with the complexity of vintages, soil science, or Byzantine appellation designations (there are 635 in Italy alone!) the way those poor wine people do.