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If you’re like a lot of guys out there, you probably think tasting whisky is drinking it
straight out of the bottle and going bubbles up as opposed to mixing it with your favorite
carbonated beverage. If you’re not among this classy group, congratulations;
you’ve been paying attention to what we’ve been telling you. Still,
there’s a significant portion of the population that doesn’t know that you can
taste whisky in much the same fashion as you taste
wine. These are the guys who think Wild Turkey and Jameson are the same, the guys who
think it’s a shot anytime a small portion of whisky is placed in front of them. Regardless of how you’ve enjoyed it in the past, the best way to enjoy whisky is
to savor it, the way you might a very good wine. We’re here to help you take the first
steps into a broader world by instructing you on how to set up your own whisky tasting. To help us present you with the best information possible on how to set up your
own whisky tasting, we contacted Ian Millar (Master Distiller of Glenfiddich) for some
tips and pointers. While Glenfiddich is a single blend Scotch and we’re talking
about whisky, Ian explained to us that: “whisky’s a generic name for many
things because within whisky you get bourbons, you get ryes, you get Canadians, you get
blended Scotch, but you also get single malt Scotch.” Whatever your poison, luxury
whisky or otherwise, the steps you’ll need to take to set up your own whisky tasting
are the same.
What you’ll need
-Friends, because it’s no fun to drink alone.-A variety of
whiskys, because the more the better. You could even check out the whiskey barrels for sale in Ohio if you wanted to go all out.
-Tulip-shaped glasses, because they best
contain the aromas.-Room-temperature spring water, because tap water contains
chemicals that intrude on the flavors and aromas of the whisky.-Unsalted
crackers to cleanse your palate between different whiskys.
What you need to know about whisky
Before we get into the steps to take to set up your own whisky tasting, you should know
what to look for as a novice whisky taster. “Primarily, it’s about taste
accessibility,” says Ian Millar. While taste and flavor are important, it gets a bit
more complicated and you’ll be looking for “three or four different notes
[and] things like complexity of flavor, things like its finish. … So, the nose is
very important and the flavor is extremely important, but the complexity of flavor and the
long finish are what people are looking for.” While there are plenty of
variations of whisky, as a novice, “the No. 1 thing you would need to know [about
them] is the difference between one and the other and maybe something about their heritage
as well; know about the different categories and the kind of flavors you’d expect
from one or the other.” However, because blends are often complicated due to their
constitution, “a safe introduction to whiskey is to choose from the single malt
category.” Get into setting up your own whisky tasting…