If you like your liqueur cool I can only recommend real rocks - no ice cubes - small granite cubes that you put in the freezer, that's where whiskey on the rocks comes from - no water in whiskey!!
Apparently, from what I've been reading, some are better with a little water in them, or ice. I've tried the stones before and they do a horrible job at cooling drinks. Even small amounts.
I have the opposite experience - but even if so, I drink mine slowly thus the last bit is just to watered ... thats why I can and will not use ice in my drink ^^
I've also not had a great experience with actual stones for cooling. They just don't really do the job well. I personally like bourbon or rye on ice. Just sort of try a bunch of different stuff until you find what you like. It didn't take me long to find some things that I really appreciate.
There are some amazing subtle flavors in scotch that get released with just the right amount of water/ice. Scotch is a funny topic as with most things has its fanboys. Recommend midlevel blended and single malts to start and work out from there. You will find some cheap scotch is acceptable and vice versa some of the high end premiums to be garbage. When you find a brand that you like look around in the same class and run the cheap to premium.
Impossible to do so factoring in tastes. I guess for blended cheap Dewer's White label / J@B practice the water/ice add. Single malt is a whole nother world. Glenlivet This is were bars come in handy as you only paying for one drink.
Depending on how old you are appears to make a difference to some degree on whether or not this is something you may like. Rums/beers at 20 Bourbons/vodkas/gins at 30 Scotch/handcrafted beers at 40 for me
Cheap 5yo crap - Jameson (Irish), Jack Daniels (Tennessee), Jim Beam (Burbon). All cheap stuff, but I consider it better than the rest of the cheap stuff... 12+YO stuff: Chivas Regal... Just... get Chivas. It's really good. People seems to adore Glenfidich, i dislike it, but that is personal taste, so you may want to try it. Glen anything is a nice try in general. In Scotland there are like a 17 billion GLEN something whiskeys... Jack Daniels Single barrel... The pure smell of it is amazing... If i think of something else i will add it up...
ClanMcGregor is a cheap rail here. Passable for watering down.
Single barrel Jack is mostly just nasty. Kerosene would be an apt description Gentlemen's Jack is my preferred with a twist of lemon.
I was at an industry night when they first came out with that. Imagine a Rep with single barrel spit all over him. I have drank a Few types of Jack. He even tried to play it off like i had no class or taste.
See, there is the difference... From the two I prefer the Single Barrel... On the other hand i love Gin (Sapphire to be precise), so there could be some truth in the kerosene comparison.
Yeah... You really should go to a quality bar or even a restaurant and try some of those, before getting an entire bottle...
lol First impression that stuck to the point i recommended to Bars i worked for to not stock unless there was a large demand. I like some gins but mostly in Martinis bruised to the point a small sheet of ice reforms at the top and dirty. Very dirty not only shaken but shook very hard.
Anyway ? At the end of they day, a person has the explore and experiment to find stuff the suits their taste. Funny thing is " your tastes will change " so it is a never ending process. Imagine my amazement when i discovered deep fried dill pickles.
Having been to Kentucky, I can tell you that the prices are incredibly inexpensive all except Jack Daniels! Unbelievable as it seems the locals in Kentucky prefer JD even though they have bourbons available to them that are hard to find anywhere else, and at very cheap prices. If you ever saw the movie The Hustler Paul Newman always drinks a bourbon called J. T. S. Brown. I found it for the first time in Kentucky for $8 a Liter. It's one of my favorite, and not found where I live.