Tasting Whiskey

[Bushman]

I have a great book called The Field Guide to Whisky and in it is a whole section on Tasting Whiskey. We really don’t have a section on the forum that goes into great detail on this subject so I will paraphrase each section and open it for discussion. The first section talks about the proper glass to use.

If your looking for flavor and aroma the type of glass suggested is:
Tapered on the top, rounded at the bottom. This glass is sometimes referred to a tulip or copita. With this type of glass whiskey can be well swirled, and the narrow opening prevents aromas from escaping too quickly. Pour about an ounce into the glass, swirl the whiskey slowly and take time to enjoy the color.

After a day my next post will be on How do you Nose Whiskey.

[Single Malt Yinzer]

Sub'ed in. A topic that needs more posts. Thanks Bushman.

Google "whiskey nosing glass" and you can see a bunch. All kinda similar to the style you noted. There's the Glencairn, Copita (kinda like a Glencairn with stem), Crazy stuff like the Norlan, etc. I have Glencairn and I like it but I probably am going to move to the Copita style with a lid - mostly for nosing purposes. It also allows you to hold the whiskey without heating it up.

[Bushman]

Sub'ed in. A topic that needs more posts. Thanks Bushman.

Google "whiskey nosing glass" and you can see a bunch. All kinda similar to the style you noted. There's the Glencairn, Copita (kinda like a Glencairn with stem), Crazy stuff like the Norlan, etc. I have Glencairn and I like it but I probably am going to move to the Copita style with a lid - mostly for nosing purposes. It also allows you to hold the whiskey without heating it up.

My book mentions the lid but I did not include it in the comments. I think if I post a different section about tasting each day this will be a great thread. I know that a lot of it members are already aware of but if you pick up one small tidbit to me it makes it worth the effort.

[MtRainier]

Wow, I hadn't seen the Norlan before. Might be the kind of thing to ask for as a birthday present.

I've got a big head, so I often feel like I can't really get my nose into a glencairn glass while drinking. I kind of prefer using a brandy snifter with it's bowl at the bottom and narrow top, but wider opening than the glencairn.

I'm looking forward to your next post on nosing. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to get my whole face in there.

[Irishgnome]

Subscribed!

I was gifted a set of “The Ultimate Spirits Glass”, and although I usually grab a standard Glencairn glass. If I get a bottle of something new, or if I’m going to sneak a sample to see how my products are aging. I’ll try it in the ultimate glass first. The glass seems to let out a few more notes, depending on what you’re drinking.

Thanks Bushman!

Cheers,
Irish

[GCB3]

Thanks, Bushman. This is a great topic. I’ve always felt like my senses must be dulled from years of whiskey and cigars. A few months ago I started watching the Whiskey Tribe on YouTube. While there is a lot of showmanship involved, these guys review whiskeys and give a lot of advice on tasting, plus, I think they’re funny as hell. Their position is that tasting and identifying flavors in whiskey is an associative brain skill that can be learned. Maybe there is hope out there.

Thanks again for starting this and looking forward to learning more. BTW, Amazon has a pretty nice set of 6 glencairn glasses for about $50-$60. Just received a set today for my son’s birthday later this week. ( his mother thinks I’m a bad influence )

[Bushman]

Wow, I hadn't seen the Norlan before. Might be the kind of thing to ask for as a birthday present.

I've got a big head, so I often feel like I can't really get my nose into a glencairn glass while drinking. I kind of prefer using a brandy snifter with it's bowl at the bottom and narrow top, but wider opening than the glencairn.

I'm looking forward to your next post on nosing. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to get my whole face in there.

Tomorrow’s topic might explain that you are doing it wrong

[MtRainier]

Tomorrow’s topic might explain that you are doing it wrong

I'm ready for and open to that possibility! Heh

[OtisT]

Subbed.

Otis

[nerdybrewer]

I have the Glencairn glasses, on my birthday I found my Amazon account had a bunch of rewards so I used them to buy a set of Norlan glasses.
They are very nice, but I wouldn't normally pay that much for a glass!
Made from borosilicate glass.

Norlan Whisky Glass

[Twisted Brick]

If you're looking for flavor and aroma the type of glass suggested is:
Tapered on the top, rounded at the bottom. This glass is sometimes referred to a tulip or copita. With this type of glass whiskey can be well swirled, and the narrow opening prevents aromas from escaping too quickly. Pour about an ounce into the glass, swirl the whiskey slowly and take time to enjoy the color.

After a day my next post will be on How do you Nose Whiskey.

Here's a departure from the standard glen cairn glass that has come on the market. The N.E.A.T. glass was designed to dissipate the sharpness of a spirit's alcohol, thus allowing the subtle aromas to stand out on their own. https://scotchaddict.com/neat-glass-review.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Two years ago I worked a spirits competition (official pourer in between regular unofficial samplings of a dozen or so whiskeys) and afterwards got into a number of discussions with the inventor of the NEAT glass. I mentioned to him I was a fledgling home distiller and he gifted me half a case of his glasses 'to do cuts with'. He went into detail on the nuances of the glass dimensions, stressing that the performance of the glass warranted the patent it was awarded. I have to admit nosing this glass offers a different scale to the range of aromas found in a glen cairn.

[Irishgnome]

Twistedbrick

That’s the one I mentioned above. “The Ultimate Spirits Glass” by Neat.
I’ve seen them for around $20 for a set of two.

Cheers

[Irishgnome]

Probably added that bit to the name to boost sales.
I enjoy the glass to enhance the nose, but prefer a bit of a stem to hold onto.

[6 Row Joe]

I have a few Glencarin nosing glasses that work well. There is a local tasting club that is a lot of fun and informative as well. All spirits are sampled neat and a few drops of water to cool off hot spirits like barrel proofs in the 120+ range. Color, smell , taste, and finish are all important. The more you practice the more proficient you will become. Just a tasting tip, the front of your tongue tastes the sweet from corn based liquor. Have fun with it.

[Bushman]

I have a few Glencarin nosing glasses that work well. There is a local tasting club that is a lot of fun and informative as well. All spirits are sampled neat and a few drops of water to cool off hot spirits like barrel proofs in the 120+ range. Color, smell , taste, and finish are all important. The more you practice the more proficient you will become. Just a tasting tip, the front of your tongue tastes the sweet from corn based liquor. Have fun with it.

Tasting club would be fun (better than a book club). Stay tuned more info to come.....

[NZChris]

I've had NEAT and Glencairn glasses for a while now and only use Glencairn when doing cuts. For drinking, I prefer just about anything else, the NEAT being my least favorite as I don't like the speed the liquor races down the lip at, especially when there's not much in the glass.

[Bushman]

Part Two: How do I Nose Whiskey
Smell the whiskey by keeping your nose about half inch to an inch above the glass. Note the difference between nosing with your mouth closed and open. Take little sniffs like a rabbit, and breathe out through your mouth. A thorough sniff with your nose deep in the glass will cause the alcohol to anesthetize your olfactory receptors and you won’t taste or smell much for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

Occasionally give the glass a swirl to release more of those volatile compounds.

[Bushman]

Part three: How Do I Taste Whiskey
Have a tiny sip. Allow it to swirl over each corner of your mouth, don’t swallow immediately. You should recognize sweet, salty, bitter, and sour flavors, not all of the same intensity. You may want to take a sip of water prior to tasting this might help detect flavors and aromas but avoid the burn of the alcohol.

[GCB3]

I get a slightly different experience from each nostril. I typically check the “nose” by switching the glass from side to side. The cutting technique of evaporating a small amount on your hand and smelling the residue can also add data points. You can just cover the glass with your hand and do a quick tilt to deposit a few mls in your palm and then let it dry. One other way is to let the glass sit a few minutes after your last sip and smell the remaining residue after the alcohol evaporates.

[GCB3]

Part Three: This is the part I am really struggling with. Identifying individual flavors is beyond me currently. I’ve been working on it, but, it apparently takes a lot of practice. (Or so I’m telling my wife! )
When tasting anything “hot” or higher proof, I read that you should take a breath in before tasting and exhale through your mouth immediately after swallowing. This removes some of the alcohol vapors from burning your upper throat. It seems to work pretty well.
There is also a tasting technique called something like the “Kentucky Chew”??? It’s where you take a reasonably sized sip and let it sit in your mouth for up to 30 seconds. Instead of swishing it all around, you gently move it from area to area of your mouth by using sort of a slow chewing motion. It lets the whiskey fully interact with the various tasting areas of your palate. It’s a completely different tasting sensation from just throwing it back.

Also, a lot of folks say a couple of drops of water will “open up” a whiskey and noticeably change the profile. I can’t speak to this because I just can’t tell a difference currently.

Again, thanks for starting this Bushman. Hope this info is useful.

[Bushman]

Also, a lot of folks say a couple of drops of water will “open up” a whiskey and noticeably change the profile. I can’t speak to this because I just can’t tell a difference currently.

I have also read and been told adding a little water (haven’t heard a couple drops).

[6 Row Joe]

Yes a bit of water dilutes the spirit, tones down the harsh alcohol taste and will make the other flavors more noticeable. A barrel proof bottle may need it depending how much of the heads is used. The cheaper the bottle the more heads are used normally and sometimes all the water in the world won't tone down a hot sip. We use a soda straw. It's easy to control the amount. Who likes a watered down drink.

[OtisT]

Also, a lot of folks say a couple of drops of water will “open up” a whiskey and noticeably change the profile. I can’t speak to this because I just can’t tell a difference currently.

I have also read and been told adding a little water (haven’t heard a couple drops).

I was told at multiple scotch tastings in Scotland to add “a few drops”, but the tastings were not full shots, so I wonder if for a full glass a proportional amount added would be called for? Maybe not. It would be interesting to know if there is more to this than just proofing it down. From my limited experience tasting my own stash that there is more to it than just proofing it down, in which case a few drops no matter the volume could work. I guess more experimentation is needed.

Otis

[MtRainier]

Lemme do a bunch of practice tonight and let you know how it worked out tomorrow.

[MtRainier]

Also, a lot of folks say a couple of drops of water will “open up” a whiskey and noticeably change the profile. I can’t speak to this because I just can’t tell a difference currently.

I have also read and been told adding a little water (haven’t heard a couple drops).

At "Whiskeyfest" a bunch of the big scotch distilleries were there with little dropper bottles of water that you could use to add to your tasting in your Glencairn glass. I got to go to a class given by John Glaser of Compass Box where we tasted 6 of his whiskies. It was awesome.

[Twisted Brick]

I have always added just a wee drop of water to my whiskies in order to 'open them up'. This has been described as 'decreasing the viscosity of the surface molecules', thus liberating the aromas (guaiacol) up and into the glass, what 6 Row Joe alluded to. Further, it seems that the amount of water one adds to affect the release of guaiacol is different above 45%ABV vs below 45%ABV.

I do know that since I started distilling, I am now fond of just a few drops of water in my barrel-proof samples because of the rich flavors and the sweet over-the-top aromas.

In this video Ralfie shares his thoughts on adding water to younger vs older whiskies.

[Bushman]

Part four: How Many Flavors and Aroma’s can be Detected
Experts have detected hundreds, but they are divided into ten main groups
Flowers, fruits, malt, vanilla, smoke, wood, honey, nuts, spices, and medicinal. Most only recognize the first five. Most people cannot distinguish the different aromas and flavors but the important part is if you like it or not.

[GCB3]

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Redbreast 12 and trying 3 drops of water tonight. While I “think” it has a slightly different tongue feel and taste, I just can’t be certain at this point in the journey. I saw one guy who says it is such a significant “thing” that every time he tries a new whiskey, he adds water until he discovers the exact amount he wants in that particular whiskey, takes notes and repeats it each time he drinks it. I am SO not there yet!

Another guy was talking about training yourself to recognize the 4 or 5 “typical” flavor notes for each style of whiskey. Bushman has identified above the overall typical whiskey notes. Apparently, part of the nose/taste training process involves training your brain to identify these flavors and knowing what to expect in a particular whiskey style. Then it becomes a question of quantifying those notes for a particular whiskey. Has anyone ever found a reference that describes what those typical notes are by style (i.e., pot stilled Irish Whiskey vs blended grain Irish Whiskey, Islay scotch vs Spayside scotch, and on and on and on...........). I think it might help those of us wanting to improve these skills.
OK, I’ve ventured deep enough down the rabbit hole for tonight.

[WillieP]

Subbed

[HDNB]

Bush, do you have a flavour and aroma wheel, so you know what to look for and what class it is in?
they help me when i'm trying to ID something.