We Tried Converting A Bourbon Lover to Scotch 

Welcome to this episode of ‘invite TJ to your house and have him hate on your collection’. This could be its own channel!

People who don’t like Scotch are like people who don’t like seafood. No matter how much you try it doesn’t matter. Its a mental thing

I started off as a Bourbon guy, but my son wanted me to also like Scotch. He went to Germany and left me a couple of bottles and after about year, I still thought Scotch was useless. But, I wanted to do this for several reasons, so I did Not Give Up! Instead, I decided to study the issue methodically, watched a lot of videos, read a lot of articles, and I figured out that the fundamental mistake I was making was that I was looking for something similar to Bourbon but called Scotch. I changed my mindset and started approaching Scotch as a separate animal altogether. Picture it this way: you go to 2 restaurants where you are served hamburger on bread with tomato, onion, and cheese. Are you in an Italian restaurant eating a pizza or a burger joint eating a cheeseburger? Same ingredients, different preparations, seasonings, environment, 2 different tastes and experiences- but both are tasty! Once I made that change I started finding things I like about Scotch. The maritime, briny, ocean flavor that is in some Scotch reminds of the Gulf Coast. That malty/cereal flavor finally clicked with me and reminded me of some cereals I had as a kid. What assisted me in finally liking Scotch was that when I started all over, I began with the cheaper blended Scotch. Johnny Walker Red was actually the first Scotch I liked. My drinking today is probably equally split between Bourbons, Ryes, Texas Whiskeys, Scotch, and Canadian. I enjoy each one for different reasons...just like the foods and restaurants with different cuisines.

This guy has a fantastic collection! Him and I have very similar taste when it comes to scotch. To me, the big draw of scotch is that there is (in my opinion) a far wider range of what they can do with scotch than there is with bourbon. I have my fair share of scotch in the collection as well, but seem to always reach for scotch first if I’m going to pour something.

Really liked this episode and the interaction with Bobby and Josh. Thanks for letting Bobby walk through all of the scotches and whiskeys that he showed bc that was very educational and helpful.

I met Bobby at Spillway on the way home from a vacation in Nashville and I have to say Bobby was extremely friendly and well knowledged about Whiskey. My wife had to pull me out of the store to get back on the road. Did walk out with Starlight VDN and Crittenden’s Omarosa.

I enjoy all different types of whiskey and what they bring to the table. I love bourbon preferably but I also really enjoy Oban, Bunnahabhain, and even Powers for the Irish category. TJ is more than welcome to have preferences in his whiskey, he love’s fruit forward bourbon like Weller and BT products which is great because I don’t have to worry about him being another person buying up the shelfer Texas Bourbons, Irish Whiskey, and Scotch I’ve come to enjoy. Keep up with the good content my man!

Now that's what I call a wall full of peat, all those Lagavulins, Ardbegs, Octomores, Port Charlottes, Kilkerran, Springbank, Laphroaig, Compass Box not to mention Louis Armstrong in the middle of it all. Brewzle is missin out with all the nice Scotch.

I'm not a Scotch fan but I can apprecaite this gentelman's collection and knowledge. I need a room like that!

Hey TJ, I love the channel. I was excited to see you review some scotch on camera as someone who started drinking scotch then got into bourbon afterwards. I can see your viewpoints on the harshness and rubber band notes of some scotch. I myself am not a fan of Islay scotch. My go to is Highland Park 12 and if it's a special occasion Highland Park 21. When getting into bourbon I noticed I preferred under 100 proof whiskeys. Eagle Rare is definitely one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to win a raffle to buy a Pappy 15 at retail price and it was amazing. Although in the pappy line I think my favorite is still the Pappy 12 special reserve. I haven't been able to try 20 or 23 yr yet. Thank you for all you do and getting me even more interested into bourbon!

I can only dream of having an entire room dedicated to whiskey like that.

I started with both Scotch and bourbon almost simultaneously, and rye soon after, so I have never fully imprinted on any one style of whisky. If I had to pick a favorite style, single malts would come out on top, but I like all kinds. Glenlivet 18 was my introduction to single malts many years ago. I've since moved on to the higher strength, non-chill filtered ones. I like that pot still funk, and I like it to be concentrated. (Incidentally, I also like crafty pot still bourbons.) These days, I seek out cask strength single malts from Scotland and elsewhere. For people who are trying to get into single malts, but Scotch isn't working out, try single malts from elsewhere in the world. The stylistic range is enormous. Bourbon drinkers might prefer single malts with more barrel influence. Those from the United States might be worth checking out - Westland, Westward, and Stranahan's are the ones I've been drinking lately, and they are good. Ireland, England, Wales, continental Europe, Israel, India, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and many other countries and regions are producing single malts, many of which don't taste anything like Scotch. For Scotch other than single malts, I agree that blends are a great option for people who are new to Scotch. The Compass Box line is excellent, and many different flavor profiles are available. There is a lot of good booze in that collection. I would probably be all over the Ardbeg since I like the peat monsters, but I see a lot of other great stuff.

I got into bourbon through scotch, it's very interesting to see perspectives from the other end of the journey! I still prefer scotch (but I love the high proof that bourbon often offers) but have grown to appreciate bourbon more in the past year or two, thanks in no small part to your videos. Keep up the good work! Side note, this chap's spare room is better stocked than most liquor stores in my area, certainly some envy to be had there...

So the West Indies is the Caribbean- Jamaica and PR are part of the West Indies. Still a nice pour but it's not a rum cask from the country of India FWIW. Great video TJ!

TJ, I have watched hours and hours of your videos and love them so much! I think I have a reasonable handle on your tastes, and want to make a couple suggestions for you which I really believe are better than what was presented to you here. More Sherry finish really seems like your tastes. Try a Tamdhu 12 years or Glendronach 15 year for wonderful sherry forward scotches. If you want to get some of the Peat / Smoke with the Sherry, try out a Bowmore 15 year or even better a Kilchoman Sanaig, but I don't think you will enjoy these as much. If you pick one, it's the Tamdu 12 year. Give it a go!

I would recommend Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 Year for the whisky drinker that doesn't normally like scotch.

If you only stick to bourbon, you're missing out on a lot of other good whiskeys. And if you like bourbon maybe you shouldn't go to Scotch first, try some Irish first. It's sweeter. Small steps. Don't go straight to heavily peated Scotch whiskey like Ardbeg or Laphroiag. Just drink what you like and don't judge other people on what they drink. Glad we're not all the same... it would be boring.

Thanks for all your educational videos, it’s a learning lesson every time. And now I have a new appreciation and also learn something new.

As a bourbon drinker, I think that Tamdhu 12 is one of the sweetest scotches I have tried and doesn’t have the maltyness of most scotches.

Speyside is in the Highlands. Macallan is a Speyside whisky. They simply state Highland on the bottle instead of Speyside. Essentially all Speyside whiskys are Highland whiskys but not all Highland whiskys are Speyside. In the end the regions have characteristics that represent the majority of the distillers but does not define all of them, especially these days.

It might just be a USA thing. I drink Scotch, Bourbon, Irish, Japanese, Taiwanese, Indian, English and all sorts of Whiskies. They're just all interesting for me. And I enjoy sharing my whiskies with anyone who is interested whether it is Scotch, Bourbon or any other whisky

Glenfarclas 105 is pretty good. It's cask strength and has a nice toasty note with a but of floral/fruitiness. It's similiar enough to Balvenie 12.

Talisker Storm single malt scotch whisky is one of my favorites, its very much like drinking a campfire with a little hint of BBQ

I diacovered your channel not so long ago but i do like watching your videos. Its really funny to see it really depends where you are from and what you started drinking in what you like and dislike. I am from The Netherlands and bourbon isnt really a thing here, i am really interested in trying it more and see if i do like it now or find a bottle i do like, but for now all my bourbons werent really my thing. Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey is really common here and i do like them really much, i also love Japanese whisky but never had any bourbon i liked so good i needed a bottle. Its also hard to find a store which sells good bourbon i supose.

It is all about what you like. Who cares where it is made. Does it taste good to you (right now)? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? I say right now because my tastes have drastically changed over the last couple of years, so what I ‘hated’ two years ago is a regular dram now. I know Brewzle does not like Malt Whisky (right now :) ) and I liked some Scotch and Irish, but did not like American Single Malt, but now, that is what I tend to reach for (Westland, Stranahan’s, Westward, Copperworks…) who knows what I will be drinking 6 months from now. Maybe a Brewzle pick, but those are tough to get :). Love the show. I am learning what I like and how it maps to what Brewzle does not like and what he does like… In fact, he has inspired me to purchase both the Ben Holliday Red as it sounded good and the Chattanooga 111 since he hated the malt taste, and since that is what I have been liking, I may love it. Either way, he has helped my purchase decisions. Keep up the great work!

Clynelish 14 is what got me started on Scotch. I don't believe it's peated and I haven't picked up any rubbery notes in it, just a lot of fruit and florals. From there, I went to Talisker 10. It is peated but has a lot of those fruit/floral notes riding over the smoke.

17:48 Japanese whiskey always coming in as a favorite 😂😂

I woulda picked a different line up of bottles. But I'm sure plenty of us Scotch drinkers are thinking about what line up we'd pour.

I would always recommend Redbreast 12 CS or 15 to a bourbon drinker. They also have those typical bourbon notes like vanilla and caramel. If you really want to try a good scotch that’s more in the bourbon direction you could try Balvenie 12 single barrel.

Love his set up and bottles. Envious of all those Octomores lol. So hard to find them by me. Missed Tale of Cake and it went quick and not anywhere in region. Would love to find state that has some. Have all you tried but the Tale of Cake and the Adictivo (not a tequila guy) I would have had you try an Octomore 13.1 as it is a bbq party in your mouth. More nice smoke and not bandaid or salty or ash. Love the Bunna. The 2022 Bunna 12 year cask strength limited edition is fantastic. I would say try the Midleton Very Rare.

I'm actually really curious what he would think of the Port Charlotte heavily peated 10. Even though it is extremely smoky, it tastes like delicious bacon with honey.

I started my whiskey journey @ 15 years ago with scotch. I remember liking some of the Glenmorangie & Balvenie releases, but as soon as I started to taste some decent bourbons like Eagle Rare, Wild Turkey 101, & Bookers, my appreciation for scotch waned. I’ll still have a pour every now & then, but I’m all in on bourbon these days. Cheers!

One of the better single malts that I had before I really got into whiskey was amrut fusion, it was fantastic. I need to go revisit it now that I am more knowledgeable

Hi Brewzle, try Jura 10 year scotch single malt, aged in Bourbon barrels. I bought one and its FANTASTIC, and I hate scotch just like you do. It has none of the horrid scotch flavor notes, but it has some caramel, cola, and is just a great sipper.

I quite liked the Macallan 12 triple cask! I'd definitely give the double cask a try.

Glenfiddich makes a 14 year scotch that’s finished in a American bourbon barrel. Good stuff, you should give it a try.

The Balvenie is my favorite Scotch by far. Started getting into some peats and the Lagavulin is awesome.

The bottles of Lagavulin on that top shelf on the left hand side of the room 😍

This was a seriously awesome video. Thanks for your time making this.

You could always start drinking American Malt whiskies, then move towards Scotch. My favorite scotch pick for you would probably be Balvenie 12 double cask, any Glendronach (12/15/18/21/etc) or Dalmore (12/15/18/etc)

Good to see some smart educated drinkers, love the content man

I am also a bourbon drinker that has disliked most of the Scotch that I've tried, but the couple that I actually liked were Balvenie Caribbean Cask, Ardbeg 5 year, and Octomore 13.1. Octomore was my favorite at 118.4 proof and tasted like a peppery smoked brisket.

My first bottle of whiskey I really enjoyed was Knob Creek 9yr. My first bottle of whisky over 40 bucks was Ardbeg Uigeadail. For the first couple of drinks I was indifferent, by the time the bottle was half gone I was in love, in both cases. Years later I still do really enjoy scotch, specifically Islay and Highland single malts, but my true loves are bourbon and rye.

I was convinced the Bunnabhain would the one since I love it so much. Brewzle must not like malted barley. I didn't think I'd like the corn taste of bourbon but I love it. I tried a Japanese rice whiskey and I didn't like the rice taste. I think he would enjoy the sweet taste of Johnnie Walker Gold and Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or.

Hey TJ, my favorite 2 scotches are sitting on the shelf just over your right shoulder in the video. #1 is the Oban Little Bay and #2 is the Oban 14. Both Highlands and both delicious. Give them a try.

Milk and honey pomegranate, and glenmorangie signet are bottles you should try, if he has it, nikka from the barrel as well

It sucks to chase the good Bourbons in TN. However there are a lot of good flavors that can be found some scotch’s. And not as many people chase them, so it’s easier to find goodness there. 🧡 Merry Christmas 🎄

Bourbon drinker living abroad here, so bulleit is the only option available. Try the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14. Aged in America oak bourbon barrels and finished in ruby port casks. It's chocolaty and excellent.

Had it been me, I would have started you off with a Glencadam 10, or Arran 10, which I did not see on the wall. Both of these are well made, and integrity presented. The Glencadam in particular would be a good one as it's just the spirit and an ex-bourbon barrel, no finishes, no peat, no color, no chill filtration. It's not a complicated recipe, but it's complex enough to keep your interest. If he knows someone who has either of these, I would try them.

1:20 - Early on with my channel we did a lot of interviews with master distillers from Scotland... the makers are the antithesis of the average Scotch Snob. One master distiller even admitted that his favourite way to drink his own Scotch was with ginger ale.

Man that collection is everything in life!! Wow!!

Great episode! I’ve been hoping you’d do more scotch episodes! It’s funny- your description of most scotch drinkers is how I describe most bourbon drinkers! Huge fan of both scotch and bourbon and also a huge fan of your channel!

I would have like to see inside the humidor to see what cigars they pair with the whiskey

I am a Scotch drinker by choice, but Irish, bourbon, tequila, and other spirits are enjoyable based on my mood. McAllan 18 yo sherry cask aged is my favourite whiskey of all time. I just can't afford it anymore. I started with it in the early 90s it was $45 a bottle. Now it is $300 or more a bottle. As many people have said, "The best thing to drink is the beverage you like."

Should try those octomore line!!! But you are definitely not ready for it 😂😊

As a bar manager, when someone is trying to get into scotch, I always recommend the Compass Box Hedonism, Compass Box Orchard House, and Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie. Usually the favorite of the bunch is either the laddie or the orchard house. Super fruity notes in the orchard and really clean flavors in the laddie, neither of them are super peated and super tasty.

I have been branching out into scotch alongside bourbon and have been enjoying it. Last bottle of scotch I bought was Balvenie 14 Caribbean so was stoked to see you trying it in this video!

This guy is so nice and has a great collection for someone who likes scotch, but I would like all the shelfs but filled with Bourbon

Please please try Glenmorangie Signet! I get it Scotch is not for everyone, but I guarantee the Signet will taste like no other Scotch you’ve ever tried

Honestly the regular glenmorangie 10 year is pretty great. And it’s a cheap bottle usually. If I’m out at a bar and there’s no interesting bourbons but they have that, I’ll take that over most low end bourbons

Dalmore 12 and Balvenie Double Wood , as a bourbon lover, got me to come over to the pinky up side.

The Penelope Architect French Oak is my personal favorite

I would think you would like an Oban 18yr. Edit: There are some excellent caramel notes, a good amount of vanilla, plenty of oak, and some slight warming/winter spices that come through quite notably. That said, it still in underproofed given the types of bourbons you drink. There will never be a scotch that will be barrel strength equivalent due to the taxes that are levied against alcohol in Scotland/the UK. It would be cost prohibitive to make a barrel strength which would make the cost of the bottle untenable.

I’m new to whiskey and bourbon. I need to find someone like them that can just let me try different things. I have so many questions and nobody to ask… honestly. So here I am just buying bottles just to be disappointed. lol. I’m in SE Wisconsin if anybody is local…. I’m not afraid to drive🤣

Favorite daily drinker is Balvenie 12. The (14) carribean cask is their worst . My lineup for him to try would have contained - MaCallan 15 or 18, Balvenie 17 or 21, Dalmore 15, Oban 14. Probably wouldn't give him anything peaty.

To me, Talisker 18 is the finest readily available scotch before prices get silly. Although, owing to price gouging by Diageo it sells for a lot more than it should. Excellent stuff. Lagavulin 12 is another to try. The Maccallan is all about marketing, not particularly good whisky. For Irish, Redbreast (especially cask strength ) is an absolute must try. At end of day, it's down to personal taste.

I only like one scotch too Belvanie 17 is one of the best whiskeys I’ve ever had but mitchers bourbon is my favorite whiskey of all time

For scotch, I like Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve and Dalmore 12, 15, and 14, also Tullibardine Aritsan and 12 year.

Struggling here. I love both Scotch and Bourbon. "Harshness" is not a word I would ever associate with Scotch. Bourbon? Absolutely. And I love that in a bourbon. Scotch is a light, sweet, honeysuckle and citrus for the most part. Unless we're taking Islay. Then it's BBQ.

Oban 14...a little smoke, a little malt and a little sweet. It may be just complex enough for you to like.

Great collection. Jamaican and Puerto Rican Rums are also West Indian Rums... Unless geography has changed since I last studied it.

His paintings were wild the dog in the suit 😂

Campbeltown isn’t an island. It’s on the Kintyre peninsula which is still mainland Scotland. It’s a region itself because there used to be over 30 distilleries in Campbeltown alone. Now there is just 3 (with a few more on the way soon).

I haven't had a whole lot of Scotch, but the one I fell in love with was Glenkinchie.

If given the same chance, I would have started with Compass Box Spice Tree, Glengoyne 15, Deanston12 or 18, Arran 14, Balblair 12, Longmorn16, Dewar's 32... things along these lines. If you have an independently bottled Royal Brackla or Longmorn at a decent age(15~) and cask strength, that would also be a no brainer. None of these are peated at all(Bunnahabhain is peated very slightly, and Glen Scotia is peated a bit more).

My grandpa was a scotch drinker he always had johnnie walker red label.

Buna is lightly peated, and Glen Scotia is a Campbeltown, not an Islay. Ardbeg Corryvreckan is a great high proof Scotch. May not be to your taste, but it is a great quality whisky.

I think it depends on where you start. If you start with bourbon and favor the softer, sweeter characteristics, then Scotch may simply not be your thing. I started with Scotch and found it difficult to enjoy bourbon, as I found much of it seemed a bit bland in comparison. I eventually discovered Wild Turkey Rare Breed, which I love… probably because the extra proof amps up the flavor, but it has a nice mouthfeel I associate with good Scotch. I didn’t see it on the shelf in this video, but Glenfiddich is a good Scotch for beginners. The Glenfiddich 15 is not harsh on the palate and has strong notes of apples and pears that one might enjoy. It’s a sweeter Scotch that I think a bourbon drinker would enjoy. The Springbank 15 on the shelf would have made for an interesting addition to the samples. While I don’t know if TJ would have loved it, it would have presented a different challenge to his palate. Unfortunately all Springbanks are getting more difficult to find, as demand is outpacing supply.

Good video. Whiskey Tribe vibes

You should have tried the balvine 12 American oak. It's my favorite but the Caribbean is a close 2nd

I would also choose the cake🎉 I already have the Cake, just tried it in parallel to the video, that’s how you increase the fun

I personally like the glenlivet 15 better than the 18,but my depth on scotch is very limited.

:45 i love the painting behind him!!!!

Upon watching the full video, here's the recommendation, everything he's got you won't like. You might like the dalmores as most bourbon people seem to like those, but those are all softball drams. He should let you try the springbank. But those are hard to find and those are probably his only bottles. But the majority of his collection is exclusive release Islay and general sale Islay. He has alot of speyside but very easy drinking low proof sherried speyside, none of which are bottled with any integrity (low proof, added colour, chill filtered, mass produced) Aberlour abunadh batch 71 or 75 if you can find it, glenallachie 10 yr cask strength, arran sherry cask, glenfarclas 105, craigallachie 13 or 17. I know he doesn't have any of those. But those are what you should look for. I give you credit for trying the bottles, I'm personally the same way with bourbon, can't stand it. I like eagle rare and rare breed is my favorite, other than that, it just doesn't cut it. That said love the channel, hopefully you don't give up on scotch.

I do like the adictivo whiskey finished in the extra anejo barrels (believe it’s an MGP distillate). BUT - you really do need to try their extra anejo tequila. Won’t solve your scotch dilemma, but it’s great tequila.

I have a bottle of Macallan 12 year double cask and it's very good.

Brewzle you should try some Japanese Whiskeys, I feel like those would be more up your alley

Signet is an incredible whiskey!

Personal favorite table scotch is Talisker 18; great price for an 18 and really tasty. Their 10 is good for a 10; 100% drink it all day. I don't like any of their storms or other weird stuff.Macallan no.6 is also really good. Favorite scotch ever is Macallan R&F blue label (30 yrs); but I'd never buy it myself.

I like bourbon a lot more but some scotches are pretty good. Try the Johnnie Walker 18 year gold bottle. It’s one of the ones I’ve found that my bourbon only friends seem to like.

Try Johnnie walker blue label. It's a blended scotch and I find it quite smooth and tastes like vanilla. Also I'm not a huge fan of drinking any whiskey other than Irish neat. And I also find with scotch if it's too harsh mixing it with a bit of coke helps and sometimes brings out some different flavors. That being said I also have a massive sweet tooth 😂

I couldn’t stand Scotch until I tried Ardbeg Uigeadail. Then Lagavulin 16. It may be smokey but the layers of flavors are outstanding. And I’m like you, I don’t like the Scotch taste. Tastes like flat soda. But there’s something beyond the smoke that I love in those peated Scotch’s. Worth trying.

I love bourbon, but after trying ardbeg and laphroaig I was hooked on islay scotch. Still love bourbon, but islay scotch are my favorite whiskey. Love the smoke. Good luck, great vid thanks

This was really helpful for me to get a gauge on your palette. Because if THAT is what you get from Bunna 12… then I can just watch for entertainment and not recommendations

Should’ve tried the Ardbeg! One of my favorites

Should’ve tried the Springbank.

Aberlour 12. It’s what got me into whiskey

You need to try some stuff from Montana. Hauted Waters from the Lolo Distillery is amazing!

You need to try a Westward Cask Strength! It’s an American single malt that is awesome!

Just based on watching TJ's other videos, I would have suggested Ardbeg Corryvreckan or Aberlour A'bunadh (and/or A'bunadh Alba).