I'm a bit of a pleb, Jamesons
Jameson is nothing to scoff at.
Uncle dan has a bottle waiting for me to pickup.
What you want is the favoured taste at the lowest possible price. If you like a low-cost drink = great success. You don't ever want to be one of those people with such fancy tastes that they are only happy with $150 bottles of whisky and $50 bottles of wine.
Also if you are a snob about drinks you are as much of an a-hole as people who reckon they are "foodies", as if everyone doesn't like food and wouldn't eat out as widely and frequently as possible if money, time and health weren't concerns. Alcohol in particular is entirely about personal taste and nobody can talk you into or out of a drink based on their own senses.
Personally I like Islay whiskies, particularly Bowmore for a lower-cost option. I like the smoke-peat and if you've ever been to the Highlands and Islands you can have pure joy just driving around sniffing the air whilst the locals are burning their peat stacks in cold weather. And for any newbies make sure you pronounce it "eye-la" and not "izlay" or "eye-lay".
My wife is from Scotland and I've been 4 times; the last time I was there for 12 weeks. We would have gone 2020 if not for COVID. Also if not for my children I would have visited more distilleries. Whisky in Scotland is, unfortunately, not any cheaper than buying it abroad due to the UK spirits taxes and the unpredictable exchange rate. Beer is FAR cheaper.
I probably have about 5 bottles on the go at any one time and swap them out when I get a little bored. Right now that is: Bowmore 12 year, Lagavulin 16 year, Highland Park 12 year (more for my wife), Talisker 10 year. I've also got a Drambuie regular and Drambuie whisky blend if my sweet tooth kicks in.
I knocked off a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter-cask the other year and it had enough flavour to take your face off, so I worked on it slowly.
If you like whisky and you are middle-aged like me, ask for them for gifts because it makes an easy and respectable purchase for any family member(s). And then you don't feel like a piss-head buying a case of whisky from Dan Murphy's or going all-in on a new product you aren't exactly sure about.
When not drinking whisky, honesty I love a bourbon and coke ever since my teenage years - regular coke and Maker's Mark is very smooth and sweet. Esp because I don't drink soft drink normally, so half a glass of coke is a kick in the tastebuds.
Also like a gin and tonic if I want an aperitif or to extend the session, as gin is hangover-friendly. Tanqueray for regular and Bombay Sapphire if I want something more floral, though the latter isn't aging on me as well as it used to.
