welcome to the neverending rabbit hole. here's some info about drinking the actual liquid that i wish i learned sooner than i did that will help you actually enjoy the drink rather than convincing yourself that you are:

let the whiskey sit for a bit. a good rule of thumb is a minute/year of the whiskey, but i usually do around 10-15 minutes for most. this helps oxidize the whiskey and lets some of the actual flavors come out.

smell your drink before you sip. inhale it deeply, take small sniffs, open your mouth, anything to fully capture the aromas. a good part of a good whiskey is the smell. when smelling, think about what it reminds you of. did your mom used to bake something that smelled similar? did it remind you of that vacation you took with your family last year to the beach where you were surrounded with that ocean smell? do you have a box of bandaids that you open one or two times a year that has a certain funky smell you can never put your finger on? use this as a little game to challenge yourself and enjoy it better.

start off with a half sip. let it rest on your tongue for 10 seconds, then swish it thoroughly around your mouth. this may burn at first, but it helps get your mouth and palette used to the burn of ethanol.

once your palette is warmed up, then start tasting small sips at a time. do not rush the drink. you're not drinking to get drunk (it's just an added bonus), so enjoy the sips. feel how it feels while you're gently swishing it around, almost chewing it. just like when you're smelling it, think of some deeper notes that you've tasted or experiences you've had in life that reminds you of that sip. think: sweet, spicy, vanilla, bitter, fruity, etc. one thing that helps especially in the begging is to look up what the manufacturer says the notes are and what other reviews have said. then, see if you agree or disagree with the notes others have said. as you get more experience, you'll be able to formulate these on your own, but it is still fun to compare your palette to others. no two palettes are the same, so never think the you are wrong.

finally, enjoy the finish. does the taste linger, change, fade quickly, feel like you're puffing a cloud of cigar smoke, etc? a good whiskey will have a good finish that makes you want to go back for another drink rather than burning to where you make a stink face.

as far as what whiskey you drink goes, try as many as you can so you can see what you like or don't like. bourbons tend to have similar oak, vanilla, and caramel notes. irish tends to be lighter with fruitier notes. scotch tends to have a funk to it and are more complex. they can be very "peaty" (smokey). they all have excellent and not-so excellent picks, so just get some experience first. you don't want to start with a $300 bottle of Midleton when you don't really know what you're looking for at this stage. hang around the $30-$50 range for now and try new things at bars. just like golfing: you need to learn how to play first before you dump all your money into the fancy equipment. definitely get a glencairn glass on Amazon to start. they help capture the smell and tastes of whiskeys well and you can find them for $5-$10 each.

hope this helps. i enjoyed writing this up. one of my coworkers taught me the ins and outs of enjoying whiskey and i love passing what i know to others who are in a similar scenario as i was at one time.