I was a scotch drinker first. For years, everytime I tried a bourbon, I hated it.I think in large part because I wanted it to be scotch and didn't want to vary from that flavor profile. But a couple months ago I bought a bottle of blantons and slowly worked my way thru it, sometimes just the bourbon, sometimes in an old fashioned or manhattan. Now that I've gone through a couple bottles of different bourbons, I've developed a taste for it. I still like scotch better (had a very healthy pour of Aberlour last night) but I do enjoy a good bourbon from time to time.
I guess I mention that to say that with me anyway, it just takes some time to develop the tast for these things. It's like I had to train my tastebuds what I liked in it. My scotch tastes have changed a lot as well. For years I LOVED the heavily peated scotches. Laphoaig was a favorite. But once I started trying more of the other scotches, my tastes drifted away from those in a big way. I have almost a full bottle of ardberg at home that I don't think will ever get finished - I just can't stomach it anymore. But bottles of Aberlour or The Gelnlivet never seem to last very long in my house!
Good luck with your journey down the scotch road. I think trying new things will help - I think finding the one that clicks with you then exploring that style to in turn help you enjoy others, much the way it did with me and bourbon.
I generally stick to Port and beer (both of which offer a massive variety
