![]() ![]() Tequila can only be made from blue agave, but mezcal can be made from any variety, so you get a lot of flavour variation. Over ice? Nothing, except maybe some lime. If you pick a highland tequila they’ll be more floral lowland ones will be more vegetal. Añejo is aged from a year to three, so it’s more intense. If you like whisky, maybe a reposado, which is aged for up to a year. If you like gin or vodka, try a blanco, which is unaged. Where to start: There are three classifications of tequila. ![]() Unadulterated vodka tastes like a dare rather a pleasure. I find this way too harsh to drink on its own. If you’re spending less than £40, go for Vestal more than £40, and I recommend Absolut Elyx. A chaser helps, too, such as a small shot of champagne. Next level: Over time, try to enjoy vodka at room temperature. Over ice? Serve it chilled or with one big cube of ice. Wheat vodkas tend to be smooth with anise and hints of pepper potato vodkas are more buttery rye vodkas deliver nutty, spice and sweet notes grape vodkas are much more citrusy. The raw material used will determine this to a huge extent. Where to start: Vodkas are all different and have different characters. Olly’s verdict: I’ll happily drink an old fashioned, but for some reason I found neat bourbon unpleasantly sweet. At 40% alcohol it will start to rot the cork fairly quickly on its side. Next level: Pappy Van Winkle is probably the most in-demand bourbon in the world – try its Old Rip, if you can find it. Over ice? No, you won’t be able to taste the full flavours. Glass: Stick with all the same rules as for whisky, but do so with an American accent. Try an Evan Williams, which is premium-ish. You get a lot of those sugary, vanilla flavours coming out – maybe toffee and coconut. Where to start: Bourbons tend to be a bit sweeter than Scotch, which is in part because of the grain that’s going into it, and the oak used in the barrels. A Glenlivet is a surprisingly easy drink. Olly’s verdict: Having always thought I didn’t like whisky, I now learn I just don’t like the peaty ones. Pro tip: If you’re after that peaty flavour, look for – as a broad rule – a whisky from Islay. Next level: Try a Springbank 10, which is a little sharper. A little water will open up the flavours. Over ice? Ice will be refreshing, but if you cool it the flavours start to depreciate. Use a ‘Glencairn’ – a tulip-shaped glass, because the shape focuses the smells. Glass: Not the Mad Men-esque heavy tumbler, surprisingly. It’s very fruity and easy-going, so good for people who think whisky can be overpowering. ![]() Where to start: A Glenlivet 12 is a classic. We spent an afternoon with some of London’s best bartenders, who held our hands as we entered the world of drinking spirits straight up. Not that cocktails don’t still have their place (if Don Draper could drink old fashioneds, so can we), but because drinking straight spirits is a useful weapon in our armoury when we’re aiming for an extra level of sophistication. For Olly Richards, that time is nowīy the time he hits his 30th birthday, any man should know how to appreciate a spirit in its naked form, not just as something to be mixed with juices, something fizzy, or with a wedge of fruit stuck in it. There comes a time in every man’s life when he must reverse his aversion to drinking spirits straight. ![]()
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