Tasting whiskey can be as simple or as complex as you care to make it. The point of drinking whiskey is to enjoy the taste of the whiskey and the company of friends – it’s a social experience. Each person has their own palate, and will arrive at a different conclusion as to whether or not they like a particular whiskey. There is no right or wrong answer… a good whiskey is one that you enjoy.

With that said, you may want to have a quantitative mechanism for assessing the taste, so that you can evaluate and compare one whiskey vs. another. Whisk(e)y Points is based upon such a system; and I’ll try to provide the basics here.

If you’re just starting your whiskey-tasting journey, it will probably be a challenge for you to come up with a reliable, quantitative rating. So, until you’ve tried many whiskies, and can get a comparative sense of what you like, your initial scores will most likely be inconsistent. Don’t worry about that. It’s a fun process to develop your whiskey tasting skills over time.

Initially, I suggest focusing on what characteristics you like / don’t like about the whiskey. What aromas, flavors, lingering sensations, and how it makes you feel are more important than any numbers you can assign.

Just like with wine, it is common for whiskey reviews to evaluate a whiskey based upon a number of parameters; and I have chosen Nose, Palate, Finish, and Balance as the key parameters, which I explain below.

For tasting, I like to use a tasting glass, such as The Glencairn Whisky Glass, a specially-designed glass that facilitates optimal visualization, nosing and sipping.

Visualization

To begin your tasting experience, tilt the glass to 45 degrees; gently rotate your glass one full rotation; and then return it to vertical. This will coat the glass and enable you to get a sense of the viscosity and alcohol content as the liquid drips down the side of the glass.

  • Alcohol By Volume (ABV):
    • Thin legs = Higher ABV
    • Thick legs = Lower ABV
  • Viscosity: Oilier spirit => more flavors (both good and bad)
    • Slow drip = more viscous … Retained many oils during distillation. A full-bodied whisk(e)y.
    • Fast drip = less viscous … Less oils were retained. A light whisk(e)y.

Nose

Nose is what you sense when you first smell the whiskey. I like to use a 3-step approach:

  1. With your mouth slightly open, and nose an inch or so away from the rim of the glass, inhale gently.  Don’t take a deep snort, or you may get a burning blast in your nostrils. The first smell enables your olfactory senses to adjust to the alcohol. Don’t make any assessment of the aroma from this first whiff.
  2. About 5-10 seconds later, put your nose up to the glass, and with your mouth still open, inhale a little more deeply, and note what it smells like…your first impression…don’t over-think it.  Is it Sweet?  Smoky?  You are primarily sensing the aromas contained in the distilled spirit that are a result of the distillation process.
  3. Then, 5-10 seconds later, take a third sniff. Try to hold that scent in your mind. In addition to the raw spirit, much of this aroma comes from how the spirit was matured…how long in a cask, what type of cask, where the cask was stored. Does it bring back a familiar memory?  Vanilla? Caramel? Chocolate? Raisins? Burnt toast? Seaweed? Leather? Cinnamon? Apples? Fresh-cut grass? Allow yourself to be creative. Don’t feel constrained by labels… char-grilled steak? Sure. Dirty sweat socks? OK. Lemon tarts? Why not? It’s OK to just say “sweet,” “dry” or “smoky.” Whatever works for you.

Try to think about whether or not you like what you’re smelling. And, think of a word or two to remember the aroma of the whisky.

Palate

Palate is how the whiskey tastes in your mouth. Much of taste is also related to your sense of smell. So, please make sure you breathe when tasting!

To assess the palate, I like to use a similar 3-step approach:

  1. Take a small sip, swirl it around in your mouth, and then swallow it. Don’t attempt to assess the flavor from this first sip. Your taste buds and your nerves are reacting to the initial shock of being hit with alcohol.
  2. Wait 20-30 seconds, and take a second, slightly larger sip. With this sip, chew it for about 5 seconds, allowing it to coat your tongue. Then, swallow it; and think about the sensations you get from this. Is it viscous? sweet? creamy? smoky? Do you get different sensations in different parts of your tongue? Just like with the Nose, you are sensing the nature of the spirit.
  3. Wait 20-30 seconds, and take a third sip. Chew this for about 5 seconds, too, letting it coat your tongue and other parts of your mouth. Then, swallow it. What flavors do you get? Do you sense different flavors in different parts of your mouth? In this third sip, you may detect other flavors that you hadn’t earlier. These may be more influenced by the maturation of the whisk(e)y.

Just like with the Nose, try to think of a word or two to remember the taste of the whisky.

Finish

Finish represents the flavors and sensation that linger after you’ve swallowed the whisk(e)y. Some things to think about:

  • Is the finish long or short? Do the flavors stay in your mouth for a few seconds? A few minutes? Longer?
  • Is the finish smoky? Sweet? Bitter?
  • Is the finish pleasant or unpleasant?
  • Does it leave a viscous coating on your tongue?
  • Does it burn (either pleasant or unpleasant)?

Balance

Balance is the overall “gestalt” of the whisk(e)y. Do you think that they did a good job making it? How does it make you feel? … good? warm and fuzzy? disappointed? Does it evoke memories of good/bad feelings or familiar places?

Scoring Whisk(e)y

My whisk(e)y ratings (i.e. the Whisk(e)y Points) are comprised of a sum of scores for the Nose, Palate, Finish and Balance. Each component can receive from 1 to 25 points; so, the maximum point value for a whisk(e)y is 100. I typically start with 20 as a baseline for a component score, and go up or down from there. Therefore, for me, an average whisky would have a score of 80.

Cheers! / Slainte! / Kanpai!