THERE'S PERHAPS A NO more intimidating spirit than Scotch. The word alone conjures images of tweedy, stiff-upper-lip types sitting in dusky, lamp-lit pub corners, perhaps with a pipe or worn newspaper nearby.
If wine and liquors like vodka and rum are the golden retrievers of alcohol—friendly, comfortable and universally liked—Scotch is like the Doberman, a beautiful and refined specimen, to be sure, but also seemingly aloof and necessitating great effort to wrangle.
Time to get over it, for peat's sake! Because, while the spirit does indeed contain a pleasurable depth and complexity, it's important to remember that, at its core, it's simply whisky made in Scotland—not some elite nectar that only a few have the capacity to unravel.
If you love wine, you're already a great candidate for Scotch appreciation,…
