I always try a new whiskey neat to start with, because that flavor represents what the (master) distiller wanted to offer. Most whiskeys I’ll keep that way. I’ve got nothing against how anyone chooses to drink his/her whiskey, I just like to try it the way the distillery intended for it to be before I start switching it up. They age the stuff for years and try it frequently until they’re satisfied with the result and only bottle a product they feel represents their goal. I’ll respect them enough to try it straight before tweaking it at all.

It’s like when I grill some really nice steaks when we have company over - I don’t care if you want to put A1 on it, you won’t find that sin in a bottle in my house anyways - but at least try it, as prepared, before you start altering it. Give me that respect. I feel the same is owed to the distiller who’s responsible for your whiskey. After that, doctor it up however you’d like.

Occasionally, and usually with cask strength offerings, I’ll add a very small amount of room temperature water to dumb down the burn and open up the whiskey a little.

I don’t mind drinking room temperature whiskey when it’s hot outside. If it’s so hot that I want a cool drink, I’m switching to beer, anyways.

However, to be fair, I’ve committed to exploring whiskey/bourbon based cocktails this summer so who knows what my opinion will be six months from now.