How to like Scotch. Step one: Drink a little bit. Scotchy!

Each week in this space we answer your questions about grown-up drinks. What would you like to know more about? Email your topic suggestions and questions to amcdowell@postmedia.com. Better yet, post a photo on Instagram of a beverage you’d like to know more about and tag it #fixmydrink.

This week’s question We recently moved to Glasgow from Canada and to get acclimatized to our new home, we feel the need to learn more about Scotch. We don’t know the first thing. How should we get started? — Stephanie Bosch and Jennifer Drobot

And the answer First things first: how to drink whisky produced and aged in Scotland, a.k.a. Scotch. Smell it neat (that is, plain), then take a sip, then add a bit of spring water (not ice!) to release flavour that’s been chemically trapped. Smell and taste again. Savour. Meditate. Add more water if desired, and repeat.

Like all whisky, Scotch is grain alcohol aged in oak. Lacking convenient forests to produce the barrels, the Scotch industry uses secondhand casks, principally ones that originally housed bourbon or sherry. Over time, the Scotch sucks flavours out of the wood. Which wood do you prefer? Let’s find out. Head to a whisky bar where you can try things a serving at a time. Order The Glenlivet 12 or Glenmorangie Original. Now inhale the vapour of Scotch aged exclusively in bourbon barrels. I imagine this just smells Scotchy to you, but eventually you might learn to detect bright, sunny aromas — see if you can smell cream, pineapple, vanilla or banana.

For a taste of sherry now, try Glenfiddich 15 or GlenDronach (any age). A different aroma appears, a deep sweetness of figs or raisins, and winter spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. That’s what aging in a sherry barrel does. Most Scotch is actually aged in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, with the proportion differing between brands and even among different whiskies from the same distillery.

Now to try variation on a different axis: peat versus no peat. Peat is a substance that’s sort of transitioning from dirt to coal; it abounds in boggy Scotland. Certain distilleries use peat fire to malt (toast) their barley, giving it a funky, smoky, medicinal vibe that you’ll either love or hate. For a manageable dose, try Highland Park or Springbank. If you dig the smoke and crave a stronger hit, Laphroaig offers bourbon-flavoured peat, or try the cult favourite Lagavulin 16 if you enjoyed the sherry flavours earlier.

So far we’ve been talking about single malt whiskies, which are generally expensive. It’s also useful to find a favourite blend for affordable weekday imbibing. Sample sunny Ballantine’s, sherried Famous Grouse and smoky Black Grouse.

Most importantly, don’t be intimidated by long whisky lists or man-splaining barflies. Staff at a specialty whisky bar can suggest brands for your palate. Becoming a Scotch connoisseur can take years and shouldn’t be your goal. Just find a few favourites and become a Scotch lover: that takes minutes.