Wildcard Whisky

A big part of being a whisky hobbyist is tasting. It’s not as hard as it seems, but it does take practice and a lot of time. I’m no expert, but if I had any advice to newer whisky drinkers, it would be these three points: whisky is unique to every drinker, patience is crucial, and everyone was a beginner once.

WHISKY IS UNIQUE TO EVERYONE

What you taste in a whisky might be exactly the same as what the person next to you tastes. Or, it might be miles away, like you’re drinking two completely different spirits; that doesn’t mean that one of you is right and one is wrong. Rather, you’re either picking out different but coexisting aspects of a whisky, or you have different labels for similar flavors. Discrepancies in taste from person to person depend on exposure to flavors (do you actually know what heather smells like?), memories attached to those flavors (remember the coconut-scented sunblock your aunt always used at the beach?), circumstances you’re in at the time (is this the campfire or the whisky I’m smelling?), etc.

For example, take honey, a common flavor named in whisky. American drizzling honey in the little bear-shaped jars is not the same as thick spreadable honey that comes in tubs, which is also different from the designer floral honey you can buy on etsy. Each of those is a true representation of honey, but they’re different flavors, so two people may not agree that a whisky smells or tastes like “honey.”

However, tasting something different than another person doesn’t mean one of you has to concede to the other. A whole bunch of factors all dictate someone’s understanding of what’s in their glass, which is what makes whisky such an individual thing from person to person.

BE PATIENT

It takes time to develop smell and, by extension, taste. Until you’ve spent some time intentionally smelling and tasting whisky – or any alcohol, for that matter – all you’re going to get is a sharp alcohol (ethanol) punch; eventually, that will fade into the background. Think of it like the air conditioner coming on in a room you’re in: right away, it’s noisy and bothersome, but let some time pass and you’ll barely notice it. Just don’t breathe super deeply or quickly and don’t take huge gulps right away, or the alcohol will be overwhelming.

At the beginning, start with big words. “Sweet”, “smoky”, “bright”, “spicy”, etc. From there, try to dig into those – what kind of smoky is it? Is it dry campfire smoke, or thick barbecue smoke, or tinny liquid smoke? Is it warm baking spice, or hot peppery spice? Whatever you’ve got, see if you can break it down into smaller, more specific descriptions.

Once you’ve given that a fair shot, google whatever whisky you’ve got to find other people’s tasting notes. Try to see if you can identify the same things they’re calling out. This can help with your initial vocabulary, and even if you don’t get what they get, remember: whisky is unique to everyone. You’re not wrong for tasting something that a stranger on the Internet doesn’t taste.

As an aside, I have always found it super helpful to try multiple whiskies next to each other. Even if it’s just two, having one right after the other can really help provide context; similar-seeming flavors are often not that similar when put up next to each other.

The more you do this, the more you’ll start to build up patterns, and the more you’ll be able to pick out. Like any hobby, a lot of being “good” at tasting whisky is a matter of investing the time.

EVERYONE STARTED SOMEWHERE

Comparing your tasting abilities to others, especially online, can take all the fun out of tasting. Seeing someone rattle off five or six or seven flavors on the nose when you only got citrus and brine can be pretty disheartening, and it sometimes takes the fun out of tasting. If you can’t taste all the nuance that someone else can, clearly your palette isn’t very developed and you’re missing something because you’re no good at this.

But that’s ridiculous. Saying I can’t serve a tennis ball as fast as Maria Sharapova, or write a story as compelling as Brandon Sanderson, or flash a V15 like Adam Ondra is no excuse not to play tennis or write fiction or go bouldering during your free time if you enjoy it. Comparing your tasting abilities to others’, especially when it seems like they’ve been doing it forever, can be a huge barrier to entry. Your journey is your journey and not theirs, and ultimately, getting to know a whisky should be fun, not competitive.

OTHER TIPS

Some other bits that have helped me along the way:

• Take notes, and refer back to them in the future
• If you’re using a Glencairn glass (the tulip-shaped ones), hold the glass closer to vertical than horizontal when smelling while you’re still new to smelling/tasting.
• Breathe in a tiny bit through your mouth while you’re smelling.
• Move the glass around your nose when smelling. One nostril is usually more sensitive than the other.
• Taste with other people. See if you taste the same things. Whisky is almost always better when you have someone to share it with.
• Try whisky without water first, then add a tiny bit (a few drops) to see how it changes – it may or may not!

As I mentioned at the top, everyone’s journey is unique. Take what you find valuable from the above and leave the rest, tasting isn’t an exact science and not everything will work for you.

Be well team.
Cheers