Whiskey Flights at Cornelius

With our focus on wine, its not often that we get a chance to try other sorts of alcoholic drinks. We enjoy the occasional cocktail or beer. But with a college buddy in town, Tina stayed home while we went out to try something I've had my eye on for a while--whiskey flights at Cornelius.

At Cornelius, the back bar is stocked with a wide range of whiskeys. A chalkboard calls out the availability of flights; a trio of one ounce pours of single malt, Irish, or bourbon, selected by the bartender. We had a lot of catching up to do, so we ordered a flight of single malt, then a flight of bourbon as we sat and chatted for a few hours. It was a good way to enjoy some whiskey over a long night. When just hanging out, it always seems like a couple of fingers of scotch goes down easily, and can end up making for an expensive evening, an often a rough morning the next day. Sipping from the flights was a little more casual, and let us add in a discussion on what we thought of each drink, in addition to our more serious topics.

I'm fond of whiskey in all its various forms, but I've never taken the opportunity to compare different styles like this. Usually I purchase a bottle at a time, or order a glass of something I am already familiar with for a digestif. With the flights at Cornelius, I had a chance to get a more direct comparison, and get a better idea of the similarities within a style of whiskey, and of the difference between Scotch and Bourbon. Three tastings is not a very in-depth study, but from what we enjoyed that night, I'd say that the Single Malts were peaty, smoky, and aggressive on the alcohol, while the Bourbons were sweeter and woodier.

Now I just need to wait for my buddy to visit again, so we can do more research.