Tasting and collecting

How to taste whiskey properly

2 minute read · The Blending School

Tasting is a skill, not a gift. Anyone can learn to notice more in a glass in a few weeks, and the method is simple enough to fit on a card.

The glass

A tulip-shaped glass that narrows toward the rim concentrates aroma; a Glencairn is the standard. A rocks glass works but throws the aroma everywhere. Pour about an ounce. Room temperature, no ice for the first pass; cold suppresses aroma and numbs the palate.

The nose, twice

Bring the glass toward your nose slowly with your mouth slightly open; alcohol vapor is less harsh that way. The first impression is usually just "whiskey." Come back after ten seconds and look for categories, not words: sweet, fruity, spicy, woody, grainy, smoky, floral. Naming the category is enough; the specific word ("dried apricot") can come later or never.

The palate

Take a small sip and hold it. Notice where it hits: sweet at the front, spice on the sides and back, bitterness late. Then notice texture: thin, oily, drying, coating. Swallow and breathe out through your nose; that exhale is where half the flavor lives.

The finish

How long the flavor lasts and how it changes. Short and clean, long and spicy, warming, drying. A long finish is what "complex" mostly means in practice.

Then add water

A few drops, swirl, repeat. Water opens aroma and reveals flavors the alcohol was hiding, especially in anything over 100 proof. For a blender this step is the useful one: it shows you what the whiskey would contribute at a lower proof, which is how it will actually behave in a blend.

Building a vocabulary

Do not memorize a wheel. Instead, taste two whiskeys side by side and describe only the differences: "this one is sweeter, that one is drier and more peppery." Comparisons build vocabulary faster than solo tasting, and they are what blending is anyway. Then write notes that will still mean something later.