Since it looks like more than a couple of readers are whisky aficionados I thought I'd bleg for help on a little curiosity. From time to time I see a whisky referred to as a being a fine "breakfast whisky" and yet I have no idea what the qualities of such a drink are. I don't know much about the practice of drinking whisky with or before breakfast, though I do suspect it is rather bracing. I know of two early textual sources where such a practice is referenced. The first is Dr. Samuel Johnson's A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. In the Autumn of 1773 Johnson visited the the Hebrides, or Western Islands of Scotland, with his trusty sidekick Boswell. Johnson writes that the men of Hebrides would have a dram if whisky followed in short order by breakfast. Johnson notes that the Scots were not drunkards, and that "no man is so abstemious as to refuse the morning dram." I've seen this variously called skalk and scatch. The other reference is from Boswell's Life of Johnson. On the same trip Boswell has a bit to much fun on the night of Saturday September 25th. Apparently after Johnson went to bed Boswell felt obliged by social honor and the good nature of his host to stay up until five in the morning passing the bowl. Waking at close to noon the next day Boswell was plied with a dram as bit of hair-of-the-dog.
If anyone knows anything about the practice of having a dram before breakfast I'd like to know about it. I'd also be interested in the qualities to look for in breakfast whisky. The relevant quotes of Johnson and Boswell are below.
It has been a while since I posted some tasting notes, so I thought I'd post about one of my favorite standards, 
Drinking a single malt scotch has a lot in common with drinking wine. Both are produced by a craft process and both have a lot of aesthetic elements to be enjoyed. If you've ever been to a wine tasting you'll find a lot of similarity with scotch tasting. The biggest difference is that you don't want to spit your scotch! One of the reasons I enjoy drinking scotch is simply a drink but an experience. A cool evening, gathering of thoughtful friends, and a bottle of scotch, makes for a splendid occasion. Such occasions have a special resonance for me because, unlike other spirits, whisky connects me to my Scotch-Irish heritage and a long line of bootleggers. If you're at a bar they'll usually try to serve you whisky in a rocks glass, but if your sampling a scotch for the first time ask them to pour it in a brandy snifter. The curved sides of the glass gather the aromas so that you can nose the bouquet. The first thing you want to do is consider the appearance of the whisky. Is it golden, flaxen, straw, copper, red copper, etc? Next you'll want to nose--take a couple of short sniffs--the scotch. Your looking for the feel, which is the sensation at the back of your nose, and the aroma. You may need to add a splash of water to really release the bouquet, but try and get a nose feel first. Is there a prickly or burning sense? Sniff both above and below the rim of the glass to get the full character of the scotch. You might note aromas of Algae, Almond, Ambergris, Apple, Banana, Bergamot, Blackcurrant, Brownsuger, Orange, Cinnamon, Clove, Coconut, Geranium, Ginger, Hay, Hazelnut, Heather, Iodine, Juniper, Lemon, Liquorice, Mango, Narcissus, Nutmeg, Peat, Peony, Pepper, Pine Resin, Plum, Quince, Raisin, Rose, Sea Weed, Vanilla, Verbena, and Wild Mint, just to name a few. A well balanced bouquet usually means the scotch will have a smother taste. Of course everyone's sniffer is a little different. Some people have more sensitive noses and can distinguish a greater range of scents. Given time and practice most people are able to move beyond detecting the basic elements. All this and you haven't even taken a sip yet. 
Now you'll want to see how those nose features mesh the palate. Take a sip to see what the mouth feel is like. Is is warming, furring, coating, etc? Next what is the primary taste? This is really a balance of your four taste regions--saltiness, sourness, sweetness, and bitterness--that you can link up with dryness or creaminess. Take another sip to get the overall flavor of the scotch. You might notice some of the same notes that you found in the bouquet, but it's likely that there will be some transition. I find that I pickup floral notes on the nose and earthy notes on the tongue. The important thing is that the flavor match the promise of the aroma, and that the two do not clash. Finally, savor the finish that remains after swallowing. Finishing lengths vary but you should generally notice some change in flavor. You can well imagine that there is a lot more that could be said about tasting. This is just a rough introduction. The above may sound like a lot to consider, but it needn't take more than a couple of minutes. 
