Why Whisk(e)y

Welcome to Tasting Tactics, where we’ll dive deeper into the stories of how we came to love both wargames and whisk(e)y, teach you how you can start your own collection, help you become fluent in reading a label, and offer suggestions for venturing off to undiscovered edges of the map to find new bottles to treasure. We’ll give you the steps to organizing and facilitating a successful blind tasting, planning the perfect wargames and whisk(e)y evening, and occasionally even offer ways of impressing your friends with artfully crafted whisk(e)y-based cocktails.

If you’re new to whisk(e)y or new to collecting, start small. It’s better for your wallet and you can fit more on your bar cart. © 2026 WargamesandWhisky.com

First, let’s start with an introduction and a note. Why whisk(e)y? Note: It’s whisky if it’s Scotch or Japanese, and whiskey with an e if it’s Irish, American, etc., we’re going to use “whisky” for simplicity.

Wargames and whisky is not just alliterative- it’s a natural pairing. Wargames are some of the most complex games you’ll ever play, and whisky is one of the most complex spirits you’ll ever savor. Every bottle of whisky represents years - and sometimes even decades - of advanced planning- getting all the right resources to the right places to make a delicious dram in 3-20 years. Gazing into an amber glass while plotting your next wargame move reminds you how important it is to be patient and persistent as you plot your victory. It’s not something you can make overnight, on a whim. Just like the forces you’ll lose to skirmishes and battles, you’ll lose quite a bit of volume to the evaporated angel’s share, and a decent quantity to the devil’s cut, absorbed deep into the wood grain of the barrel. The amber elixir that survives, deepens, ages, and evolves- the liquid that ends up in your glass- it’s like the surviving army that leads you to victory in battle. As someone certified in Scotch whisky, I can wax as poetic as I choose.

Like many others, our first steps into the the world of whisky were Scotches, and above you’ll find some of our favorites. But the whisk(ey) universe is just as wide as the spectrum of wargames- you can make whiskey just about anywhere on the planet, and even in space. You might think there’s only Scotch and Irish whiskey and Japanese whisky and bourbon, but there are new players entering the whisk(e)y game every day. From Swiss distillers, to New Zealand labels, to the corn-heavy Mexican entrants, and the tropical flavors of Taiwan, the whiskey map is immense, just like a sprawling wargame map. You’ll find unique flavors from Peru and Argentina, to Finland, to South Korea. If Scotches are not your favorite, there’s dozens of other flavor profiles to sip your way through.

Of course, we realize that a whisky collection is not a small investment. The main thing to remember is price does not always equal quality. The most expensive bottles are not for enjoyment- they’re for bragging rights, and sitting in a climate controlled environment as an investment meant to dramatically increase in value. That’s why we only recommend bottles meant to be opened and enjoyed, and that gives us immense flexibility. There might be a fantastic $40 bottle of bourbon, and a terrific $80 bottle of Scotch, but we’ll also give you tips for starting small, like working your way through the $2-5 mini bottles at your local store to taste your way to the flavors, noses, and finishes that resonate most with you and your wargame group. And remember, at W&W, we’re committed to tasting our way across the map, but we only recommend what we’ve personally sipped, savored, and added to our collections. We’ll never recommend something we haven’t tasted- guaranteed.

So how do we decide on the wargame and whisky pairings? Sometimes we’ll connect the whisk(e)y with a theme, like the sea salt notes that match a wargame about piracy or naval combat. Other times, we’ll link the whisky through national origin/geographic setting, or if the history of the distillery crosses paths with a wargame’s historical time period. In all cases, we strive to suggest whiskies that are generally widely available and moderately priced. We recognize that neither wargames nor whisky are thrifty hobbies, and we strongly urge moderation in all things.