How to Taste Whisky
This is how I do it anyway…
If you’ve read any of the reviews on Whisk(e)y & Life, you might be wondering: “What’s this guy talking about? How can you taste caramel, lemon or white chocolate in whisky? It doesn’t make any sense! All I get is alcohol burn…”
That’s alright. I was like that in the beginning. But I was amazed at how many flavours I could identify once I started paying attention to the experience!
In today’s article, I would like to take you through my process of tasting and appreciating a whisky.
But let me make a couple of important points first.
Firstly, this post won’t be about drinking whisky, it will be about tasting and evaluating what is in the glass. Each whisky has its own characteristics and flavour profile. You have to do some work to unlock those, but I believe it’s well worth your time if you are at all interested in the topic. I invite you to slow your pace and explore the aromas and flavours that go into a well-crafted dram.
Secondly, I’ll not be telling you how you “should” taste whisky. This is the process that I have developed for myself and that works for me. If there is one thing I hate in any hobby — it’s gatekeeping. You always get the snobs that put you down and tell you you’re doing something wrong. There should be no right or wrong. The point of this exercise is to find what’s right for you and to ultimately enjoy the experience.
So, pour yourself a dram and let’s begin.
#1 Preparation:
Before we even talk about approaching the whisky, it’s important to me that I am in the right frame of mind. I never have whisky when I am agitated, angry, or when I’ve had a stressful day at work. If I’m not in a good mood to enjoy what’s in front of me, I pass.
I do this because I don’t want the negative emotion to become my association with whisky and alcohol in general. Alcohol must be enjoyed in moderation and good company. Otherwise, it becomes a coping mechanism for day-to-day challenges. And that’s a bad idea.
Next, let’s talk about glassware.
While the common view is that whisky is drunk from a tumbler, there are arguably more appropriate glasses for the job. I suggest using something that resembles the glass in the picture at the beginning of the article. Or you can look at something called a Glencairn:
The reason for this is not so that you can look more fancy (although that’s a bonus). It’s because the Glencairn is designed to trap the whisky vapours in the glass for longer.
As we know, alcohol evaporates very quickly and most of the flavour is in those vapours. If you pour a whisky neat into a tumbler, most of the aromas will pass by you and you won’t have access to them. Using a tulip-shaped glass like those I mentioned above is more suitable for our purposes.
Pour your whisky into the glass and give it time to “open up”.
A good rule to remember is: “A year in the cask is a minute in the glass”.
Simply put, if you’re enjoying a 12-year-old scotch, give it at least 12 minutes in the glass before you try it. This gives the whisky a chance to release more of its aromas as it interacts with the oxygen in the air.
Another step in the preparation is to have a glass of water by your side. Alcohol dehydrates you, so it’s a good idea to drink plenty of water during your tasting. The water will also serve as a palate cleanser between sips. You can even add a few drops to your whisky, to release extra flavours.
So, we’re now actually ready to approach the whisky.
#2 The Appearance:
Your first impressions will come from the whisky’s appearance. Here, we are mainly looking at 2 things: the colour and the “legs” of a whisky.
Colour is the first and most obvious characteristic. If we assume that there is no colourant added to the whisky, we can get useful information about it from its colour. For instance, you can get an idea of the wood used in the maturation process. A Scotch aged 10 years in ex-bourbon American oak casks will be a lot lighter than the same 10-year-old whisky aged in European ex-sherry casks.
In general, I’d say don’t spend too long thinking about the colour to begin with.
The reality is that most mass-produced whiskies today are artificially coloured. This is done to ensure batch-to-batch consistency and also to feed the common misconception that a darker colour means more flavour.
This is not the case. I’ve tried many whiskies that are a pale yellow and are packed with flavour. Similarly, you can be fooled by the promising colour of a whisky, only to find out that there’s not much there.
Generally speaking, if a whisky is not coloured, it should say so on the label.
Alright, the colour is quite straightforward. But how can a whisky have “legs”?
Well, this is one of the terms used for the oily residue that remains on the rim of the glass after you swirl the liquid inside.
If the legs are thick and roll down slowly back into the glass, this is an indication of a “viscous” or “oily” whisky with a higher ABV percentage. If they are thin and don’t cling onto the rim for as long, then you have a thinner, lighter whisky which is probably around 40% ABV.
This is not necessarily indicative of the quality, rather than of the character of the whisky. Some distillery styles are more suited to lighter drams with thinner legs. Others are at their best when the whisky is thick and oily. The legs give you hints about what to expect in terms of the texture (or mouthfeel) of the whisky. Essentially, this is a preparation for the tasting.
But before we take sip, there is one more important step.
#3 The Nose:
Most industry experts would argue that the aroma of the whisky, or the “nose” is the most important part.
Indeed master blenders judge a whisky almost exclusively based on the nose. They rarely drink the whisky. And if they do, they proof it down to as low as 25–30% ABV so that the alcohol doesn’t overpower the palate.
As a beginner, nosing a whisky may be overwhelming. You might just get alcohol burn and not much more. Don’t panic! With time, you can train your nose to pick up a lot of nuanced information about what is in the glass.
At first, I suggest approaching this exercise one sniff at a time. Hold the glass far enough away from you so that you can still smell the whisky, but don’t feel the alcohol burning your nose.
It might be a good idea to approach this with a more general concept and then dig deeper as you go along. Start by identifying 2–3 dominant notes. It’s alright to just go for something as broad as “sweet”, “salty” or “fruity”.
Once you have your basic notes down, try expanding a little bit. If it’s sweetness you are getting, what type of sweetness? Is it sugary as in caramel or a cake or some type of pastry? If it’s fruity, is it fresh fruit (apples, pears, citrus fruits) or is it dried fruit (dates, raisins, etc.)?
Keep in mind the question “What does it remind me of?”. Go off of your first instinct. Don’t try too hard to pick everything apart. We are not interviewing for the master blender position at a fancy distillery. We’re just enjoying what’s in front of us. And anyway, over time, your vocabulary of notes will naturally expand.
Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. The beauty of this process is that every person has their own olfactory memory. One whisky may evoke completely different associations for two different people. It’s almost a certainty!
So, take your time with the nosing. Identify your core notes and with those in mind, let’s taste the whisky.
#4 The Taste (Palate):
It’s commonly said that the palate just confirms what the nose has already picked up. For the most part that’s true, in terms of the flavours in the glass. However, there are a few more details to consider.
Take a small sip. I tend to swirl it around my mouth a little bit to try and get a feel for the texture (or mouthfeel) of the whisky.
Here, I am looking to answer the following: Is it watery and does it go away quickly? Or is it more creamy (oily), and does it cling to the palate? Some whiskies are so viscous, you can almost feel like you are chewing them as you swirl them in your mouth. I seek those out. It’s a much more satisfying experience.
After the first sip, I go for another sniff, to see what has changed. This can often reveal more of the notes in the whisky.
Again, start broad. Is the whisky sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savoury (umami), or a combination of those? For example, a lot of bourbons and beginner-friendly malts are sweet. You tend to get notes like caramel, vanilla, honey, almond, marzipan etc.
As you try more whiskies, you will get different flavour profiles and unlock the other tastes as well. The interesting (and sometimes challenging) experiences come from whiskies that combine more than one of the basic tastes: sweet-sour/salty-sweet, etc.
For the specific flavours, you can look at your nosing notes. But expand those a bit further. Don’t rush it at first. With time, your senses will open up to more. And again, it’s not a contest. Just enjoy.
And with that, we have one more important question to answer: “What feeling does this whisky leave you with?”
#5 The Finish and Aftertaste:
We typically describe the finish as short, medium or long.
As you take your sip and the whisky goes down, you can consider the following questions:
How long does the whisky linger? What is the aftertaste? Is it sweet? Is it okay? Is it drying? Is it mouth-watering? Is it creamy?
Broadly speaking, what does the whisky leave you with? What were your overall impressions?
And most importantly: Did you like it?
If the answer is yes, then you must have done something right!
So, that’s my quick guide to getting started on your whisky-tasting journey.
If you’re new to this and you are willing to give it a go, please do! Let me know how it goes. Did the process enhance the experience? Did you get more out of the whisky? Did you learn something new?
And keep in mind that it’s not about what you “should” do. It’s about enjoying the experience.
Cheers!
