What are some tips for tasting and appreciating whiskey?

Question

Ryan Mills · Answer

What are some tips for tasting and appreciating whiskey? Well, it really boils down to three different things. Taking your time or having the time, having the right glassware, and really understanding your senses. So speaking of time, taking your time or having the time to sit back, relax and enjoy a nice pour of whiskey is a lot better than what we've all kind of been trained to do and just shoot it all back. Having a two ounce pour, taking the time to allow it to hit the palate correctly, swallow and retrohale through your nose will allow you to pick up different types of flavors and notes. Another thing is to have good glassware, something a little tulip shaped like a Glencairn glass here, that will trap ethanol vapors, but also allow your flavor notes to travel up through the tulip directly to the nose. And again, taking your time, smelling at different levels, seeing what you get from that whiskey. And lastly, it's just being attuned to your senses or training your senses. When you're eating food or drinking drinks, take your time with those and understand what you're getting. If you smell a bed of roses, try to remember, get that muscle memory ready for what roses smell like. That way, when you come back to your whiskey, you'll understand exactly what you're getting from it.

Devin Ershow · Answer

What are some tips for tasting and appreciating whiskey? One of my favorite things to do in the world is lead whiskey tastings to help people enjoy or appreciate whiskey maybe for the first time ever. Now, the first thing you're gonna do when you're tasting whiskey is you're actually going to smell it or nose it as we like to say. Now, don't shove that glass right into your nose because you're gonna send your nostrils, you're not gonna smell anything for the rest of the day, right? Whiskey is not wine, it's not beer. So you need to slowly bring that glass up to your nose and try to leave your mouth open. Not only is that gonna help with the circulation of the aroma through your system, but it's also gonna soften the alcohol abrasiveness as well. Now, when you go to taste whiskey, I suggest that you take a very small amount to start. Hold that on the front of your tongue, slowly let it wash over your whole tongue so all of your taste buds get to enjoy this whiskey. And then finally, when you do swallow, exhale right afterwards. Okay, some of that alcohol is going to evaporate inside your body. By exhaling, you release it out into the world rather than having it get stuck in your chest, which can be a very uncomfortable experience. Now, when you're trying to evaluate the aroma profile or flavor profile of whiskey, I like to keep it really simple to start. Don't immediately try to jump to this is creme brulee or this is apple pie. Just think, is this whiskey sweet, spicy, savory, earthy, or like a textile, something man-made? Once you've narrowed it down to one of those broad categories or maybe two of those categories, you can start to slowly pick it apart until you have something much more complex for your aroma and flavor profile. And now, if you take that very first sip of whiskey and it's still pretty abrasive to you, especially if that's your first sip of alcohol in the day, do not be concerned. That is a normal human neurological response to drinking alcohol. I suggest that you try that method of slowly appreciating the flavor two or three times as your brain gets used to it and you will start to really, really enjoy your whiskey. Hope that helps.

Kevin Rose · Answer

What are some tips for tasting and appreciating whiskey? Well, the first thing I would say about tasting and appreciating whiskey is drink with a small group of friends. Share tasting notes together, share the whiskey together, share the experience together. You will learn something every time you do this. Some of your friends are going to pick up on nuances and flavor profiles in a whiskey that you might have missed. But guess what? You're going to be able to tell them things that they might have missed too. It's a really good time. Secondly, be adventurous. You may have your favorites, you may have your daily drinkers, but be willing to branch out. There is a wide spectrum in the spirits world. Don't miss out on something that it has to offer to you.

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"What are some tips for tasting and appreciating whiskey?"