Jenny Ha's, Old Town Edinburgh

[TomParsons]

I was on vacation this past July with my wife and daughter in Edinburgh- three Americans enjoying the hospitality of Scotland. My wife and I visited Jenny Ha's (on Canongate in Old Town) late one evening, hoping to learn our first real lesson in the art of Scotch whisky.

We had expected a large crowd and loud music, but instead found a fairly quiet, nearly-empty pub. I think that our arrival may have doubled the customer count!

I asked the young bartender for some help in choosing a good starting Scotch. He poured me a dram of Glenkinchie in a glencairn glass, and gave me a couple of tips on how to execute a proper tasting. As we chatted with the bartender, a friendly fellow joined us at the bar. It turned out that he was an epidemiologist with lots to talk about. We had an interesting conversation about (believe it or not) disease propagation, the decline in the joy of learning science by the wayward youth of today, and (almost forgot) whisky. He and the bartender conspired together to help me select my next dram, based on my request for something more smoky (having never tried a smoky Scotch, I thought I should see what it is like). I will admit that the Talisker they recommended did not please my virgin palate. I recall comparing it to a "house fire", A good data point for my research, though.

All in all, it was a much quieter experience than we had anticipated. But the people we met there were friendly and interesting-- and I got my first introduction to the world of Scotch whisky.

[William]

Hi Tom and welcome to the SMW forum.

I am pleased you and the family enjoyed your trip to Scotland.

Pubs can vary depending on which night of the week you go and August is generally the busiest time in Edinburgh. When the Edinburgh Festival is on in August i dont think you would find a quiet pub anywhere in Edinburgh.

Sounds like you had a helpful bartender and the Glenkinchie (also known as the Edinburgh malt due to the distillerys location) was a good introduction. As the bartender may have pointed out, Glenkinchie is a Lowland malt and generally speaking, Lowland region whiskies are mellower than whiskies from the neighbouring Highlands, and are very much appreciated by those new to malt Whisky and experienced malt drinkers alike.

The Talisker was a big jump, an excellent malt but maybe too much for someone new to the world of malt whisky, i hope it didnt put you off.

So did you take a bottle of something good back home with you. If you need any suggestions for what to try next i am sure the forum members could point you at something you may enjoy. You may also find this Scotch Malt Whisky Flavour Map useful.

www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/whiskyflavourmap.htm

Slainte

Willaim