With spring and summer on the doorstep, I thought I ought to share a couple of my favourite Whisky BBQ recipes. I’m going to start out by writing a series of 4 articles with one recipe in each, starting with a Whisky burger, then moving on to a delicious whisky marinade (for steaks), followed by my very own Whisky Caramelized Bacon recipe (snack/burger topping) and finally a whisky based desert! I guarantee that these recipes will make for one of the best barbecues you’ve ever had.

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I was recently asked by one of my blog readers to give advice on good whisky or two for students – that is, a suggestion that won’t cost too much yet offers good value and taste. After having thought about it for a while, I’ve come up with a couple of names. Oh, and I should mentioned that the suggested budget was about £20, though I took the liberty of making this £20-25 in order to offer a better variance.

Whisky 1 – Macallan 10 year old Fine Oak – Speyside – ~£25

Not quite as good as the more expensive 12 year old fine oak, but definitely not bad for its price. Suitable for those who enjoy a nicely balanced and quite fruity whisky. Nicely malted, too.

Whisky 2 – Auchentoshan Classic – Lowland – ~£23

Unfortunately not as good as the more expensive expressions from the same distiller, it does come across as ‘not quite there’ if compared to its older siblings. That said, it is a fine whisky indeed and with a limited budget it makes for a good purchase.

Whisky 3 – Bowmore Legend – Islay – ~£22

For the peat and smoke lovers, this is the obvious choice! At £22 it offers fantastic value for money, and in honesty it is my favourite of the suggested whiskies.

Whisky 4 – Aberlour 10 year old – Speyside – ~£25

Well balanced and quite sweet, this is an outstanding whisky for beginner drinkers and, of course, students.

Those are the 4 whiskies that, off the top of my head, offer the best value for students. If I had to pick two of them, I would go for 3 and 4, though the others are well worth the money as well. Apart from being good value for money, they’re a great way to introduce yourself to the regions they are from and prepare your palate for the more intense flavours of their older expressions once you’re out of university and earning the big bucks!

You may have heard of them before, a little distillery called Ardbeg on the coast of Islay. As I was talking to my dear friend a day or two ago, I mentioned that I was writing a review of Ardbeg Blasda. A good memory being one of his finer qualities, he asked why I’d chosen to review Renaissance and Blasda, but not the more common 10 year old expression. The thought hadn’t really crossed my mind before, but when he mentioned it did seem rather obvious that I ought to. So let’s take a look at it, shall we? It certainly does deserve it.

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Johnnie Walker is a firm favourite of many novice and intermediate whisky drinkers alike – though I haven’t come across many whisky enthusiasts who hold it as a favourite. Personally, I find it to be a perfectly good every day whisky and one which I’ve had on more than one occasion. In the same price category, though, I generally prefer the Whyte & Mackay 13 year old.

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Having previously reviewed two of the cheaper expressions from the Buffalo Trace Distillery, I thought it about time to give some attention to my favourite; Blanton’s Original Single Barrel. While you can find some general distillery information in the Ancient Age post, I don’t think any review of Blanton’s would be complete without the mention of its own historic bragging point – it was, according to their website, the worlds’ first single barrel bourbon. Not bad, aye? Still but a whippersnapper compared to most of our fine old Scotch malts (seeing as it was introduced in 1984), but impressive none the less!

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You will notice that I’m going to cut down on my incessant babbling for most of these recipes. Unless there’s a particularly interesting history behind the drink, or some other anecdote, I will try to be fairly to-the-point. As any visitor to Scotland will be all but too aware, keeping things short is an exercise in extreme self control to most Scotsmen.

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