Aside from basing your tasting around the whisky regions of Scotland, there are several other themes you could use to both educate and entertain your fellow whisky lovers. These are only suggestions, but hopefully it will help provide some new ideas to those who are trying to move beyond the basics.
Vertical Tastings
The Idea: Gather several "expressions" of the same whisky, preferably in a range of ages. For example, you may wish to try a Glenfarclas 10, 15, 21, and 25 year old, noting the similarities and differences you find. To augment a vertical tasting, you could use both distillery bottlings and independent bottlings of a whisky from the same distillery (again of varying ages) if you want more variety. For some whiskies that are a bit pricey at higher ages (e.g. The Macallan), mixing some independent bottlings in your vertical tasting should give you enough variety without completely breaking the bank.
Educational Value: Can help to demonstrate the effect of aging on the whisky, or in some cases show how the character of a whisky can change based on evolving practices at the distillery. If independent bottlings are also sampled, you may see some significant differences even in whiskies of the same age, because such bottlings are often based on single casks, whereas distillery bottlings are generally vatted to maintain a consistent character.
Blind Tastings
The Idea: Have your guests try several whiskies without knowing which is which. After assigning each whisky a number, pour them for your guests without letting them know what they will be nosing. Describe them (colour, nose, body, palate, and finish) and perhaps assign each a rating. Try to identify the (a) region, (b) distillery, and (c) age of the whisky. Once the tasting is complete, reveal the whisky. If you want to truly participate, it may help to have a non-drinker pour the drams in another room before bringing them in.
Educational Value: Once you have built up a but of a repertoire, blind tastings can help refine your palate. Besides, they make the evening a bit more fun. Essentially, you (and your friends) are free to describe the whisky as it appeals to your senses, rather than based on past experiences or received notions about how the whisky "should" taste.
The World of Whiskies
The Idea: Though Scotland is famous for its whiskies, great whisky is made all over the world. If you'd like to see what some other countries have to offer the whisky drinker, gather several whiskies from some of the major whisky-producing countries and see if you can notice any distinct national "styles." Among others, you could try whisky from the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Japan. Try to be aware of the diversity within each of these countries, as your selection may not give the best impression, but it should be a fun tour regardless!
Educational Value: Depending on your choices, this type of tasting may help give a better understanding of what makes Scotch unique.
Malts, Blends, and Grains
The Idea: The term "Scotch whisky" is actually not a very specific term, despite its geographical specificity. First of all, most Scotch sold around the world is blended Scotch, which refers to a mixture of malt whisky (made exclusively from malted barley and distilled in pot stills) and grain whisky (which is made using a more industrial type of still called a patent/continuous still). The Famous Grouse, Chivas Regal, Bell's, and many others are in this category. Second, of course, there are single malts, which are made from a single distillery (if you need an example of these, you're on the wrong site). Third, there are vatted/pure malts (now starting to be called "blended malts"), which are a mixture of single malts without any grain whisky included (Johnny Walker Green is a good example). Fourth, there are single grain whiskies (grain whisky from a single distillery, such as Invergordon). Fifth and finally, there are blended grain whiskies, which include no malt whisky (Compass Box Hedonism is an example of this type).
Educational Value: Can help to show what makes single malts unique from the rest of the Scotch landscape.
Blended Scotch Break-Down
The Idea: Though not all blended Scotch makers are keen to release their recipes, a bit of digging (or perhaps a distillery tour) allow you to learn a few things about what goes into a blended whisky. The Famous Grouse, for example, includes (among other whiskies), the single malts Tamdhu, Highland Park, the Macallan, and Glenturret, and the grain whisky North British. Try tasting the blended Scotch (in this case Famous Grouse, but it could be anything), then several of the malts/grain whiskies that are included in the blend, returning to the blend to see which of the whiskies you can identify through nosing and tasting.
Educational Value: Helps develop your ability to discern different aromas and tastes in a blended whisky, gaining some insight into the art by which a master blender creates a balanced whisky.
Cask Character - Maturation
The Idea: In order to be called "Scotch whisky," distilled grain spirits in Scotland must be aged in oak casks for a minimum of three years, though much often the aging is even longer in practice. Over that time, the whisky takes on some of the character of the cask in which it was aged. Though some single malts are aged in new barrels, the vast majority are aged in either ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casks, the latter being most common. For this tasting, you could try tasting a whisky aged exclusively in ex-bourbon casks (like Scapa 14 year old, Balvenie Single Barrel 15 year old, or Glenmorangie 10 year old) accompanied by a bourbon of your choice. In the next flight, move on to a whisky aged exclusively in sherry casks, like the Macallan 10, 12, or 18 year old (NOT the fine oak version), along with a glass of sherry. Decide for yourself what effect the cask might have on the character of the whisky. Certain whiskies have been exclusively aged in a variety of other casks, including ex-port pipes, rum barrels, and barrels used for a variety of wines, so your imagination is the limit with this one. Be aware, however, that many whiskies are matured in a variety of different casks in order to lend a mixture of elements to a vatting of a single malt, so sticking to those that are exclusively aged in one type of cask is crucial for this tasting. Also be aware of the various "finishes" out there, which can be the subject of another tasting.
Educational Value: Whiskies are frequently described in reference to the casks used for their maturation. This tasting should give you a better idea of what it means for a whisky to taste "sherried."
Cask Character - Finishes
The Idea: As alluded to above, the cask in which a whisky is matured may have important effects on the final product you end up with. Can the same be said for a cask in which a whisky is aged for less than a year after spending more than ten years in another type of cask? Regardless of your own opinions on the matter, "finishes" have been very much in vogue in recent years. Glenmorangie and Edradour have a particularly wide variety of finishes, so proceeding through 3, 4 or more of these finishes in an evening should give you a pretty good idea where you stand.
Educational Value: You might find that this one will enable you to "cut through the hype" associated with wood finishes, or you may just find a new favourite - "Can I have a chardonnay with my single malt?"
Famous Drinkers
The Idea: Find out what the big shots drink, and emulate accordingly. Mock if necessary, or bow down before the masters of cool. Here's a list of a few Scotch drinkers you may have heard of, with their favourite listed accordingly:
Prince Charles - Laphroaig 15 YO
James Bond - Talisker 18 YO
Winston Churchill - Johnny Walker Red
Dean Martin - Dewar's
Sean Connery - Laphroaig
John Mayer - Lagavulin 16 YO
Ron Burgundy - The Glenlivet
Educational Value: Nil. Fun, though.
Well, hopefully this will be a good start! Another list of ideas will be posted shortly. In the meantime, feel free to comment and add suggestions.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Monday, 21 April 2008
Hosting a Scotch Whisky Tasting
On the internet, there are a couple of places to learn how to host a whisky tasting, several of them quite informative. However, none of these "how-to" guides goes beyond the basics of the tasting process, leaving a bit of a gap for people aiming to host a series of tastings to increase their knowledge of whisky with friends. Today we'll just cover some of those basics, and provide links to other sites where you can boost your knowledge. In the next posting, we'll try to provide a new resource by exploring a series of potential "themes" for whisky tastings.
For any tasting, there are 3 basic requirements: a variety of whisky, proper glasses, and water. Other extras can really add to the experience, but are not critical to organizing your first couple of tastings.
The Right Whisky Glass
First, the glasses. Throughout the twentieth century, whisky has most commonly been served on ice mixed with a carbonated beverage of some sort. Accordingly, the "rocks glass" is often associated with whisky. However, the rocks glass is not designed to capture and focus the aromas of whisky for a discerning single malt drinker, who wouldn't fathom adding ice to dull the flavour of a fine whisky. As such, many professional tasters and master distillers/blenders have long used tulip-shaped sherry copitas for tasting ("nosing"). In recent years, however, several companies have come up with specially-designed whisky glasses. There are arguments to be made in favour of each of these new designs, but the Scottish-made Glencairn Glass has done quite nicely for our purposes.
Water
While some would say that water isn't a necessity for a whisky, having a bit of Scottish spring water on hand is always a good idea, especially when dealing with cask strength whiskies. Adding small amounts of room temperature water to your whisky will help to open up aromas not often noticeable under the predominance of alcohol at full strength. All in all, the question of water is highly personal, some people preferring to "unleash the serpent" (i.e. add water) only for certain whiskies, while always leaving others "neat." If hosting a tasting, though, provide the water in a small pitcher that enables delicate control of the quantity of water being added to the whisky - you wouldn't want to ruin a dram of 25 year old Highland Park by adding too much water!
Other Nice Extras
In addition, oatcakes or shortbread are a traditional and tasty way to cleanse the palate between each whisky tasted during an evening. Ideally, these will be homemade (if you're lucky), but several companies such as Walker's do a pretty good job with pre-packaged stuff. Depending on the theme of your tasting, you may also offer chocolates matched with each whisky, cheese, or seafood, but a good general rule is to leave anything that might interfere with your senses of smell and taste until after the whisky tasting is complete. Aside from food, a couple of other accessories that would improve any tasting session include: napkins, note paper and pens (for recording individual tasting notes), a single shot thimble measure (to ensure people will be able to make it through the tasting, among other things), and a couple of copies of whisky "nosing wheels" or other handouts to allow inexperienced tasters to better identify what they are experiencing with each whisky. Such resources are available from some of the links identified below in the "Nosing" section.
Choosing the Whisky
Choosing your selection of whiskies will be the subject of our next post, which will be dedicated to exploring a number of exciting and educational themes for whisky tasting sessions. For starters, you should generally aim to have at least 3-4 whiskies for any tasting session. In the initial stages of developing your abilities, you could try exploring one whisky from each of the main regions of Scotch whisky production: Speyside, Islay, Highlands, Lowlands, Campbeltowns, and Islands (which is a subdivision of the Highland region). After that, you could move on to exploring several whiskies from the same region to note the differences and similarities that can be identified. Beyond the basic regional themes, things can get a bit more exciting.
Nosing the Whisky
Once you have your whiskies chosen, you can move on to the actual tasting of the whisky. Several websites already have excellent guides to the process of "nosing" whisky; evaluating the colour, body, nose, palate, and finish. Among the following sites, Whisky Magazine's nosing "course" is perhaps the most comprehensive, but each has its own unique advice to offer!
This should be enough to get you started. As with wine tasting or any other similar activity, the nosing whisky takes time, experience, and a desire to learn. Don't be put off by the flowery language of some of the professional whisky writers and brand ambassadors - start out by using words and tastes you already know. See what your friends think, too - disagreements are common, but the resulting conversation will simply have you enjoying the whisky more than ever.
For any tasting, there are 3 basic requirements: a variety of whisky, proper glasses, and water. Other extras can really add to the experience, but are not critical to organizing your first couple of tastings.
The Right Whisky Glass
First, the glasses. Throughout the twentieth century, whisky has most commonly been served on ice mixed with a carbonated beverage of some sort. Accordingly, the "rocks glass" is often associated with whisky. However, the rocks glass is not designed to capture and focus the aromas of whisky for a discerning single malt drinker, who wouldn't fathom adding ice to dull the flavour of a fine whisky. As such, many professional tasters and master distillers/blenders have long used tulip-shaped sherry copitas for tasting ("nosing"). In recent years, however, several companies have come up with specially-designed whisky glasses. There are arguments to be made in favour of each of these new designs, but the Scottish-made Glencairn Glass has done quite nicely for our purposes.
Water
While some would say that water isn't a necessity for a whisky, having a bit of Scottish spring water on hand is always a good idea, especially when dealing with cask strength whiskies. Adding small amounts of room temperature water to your whisky will help to open up aromas not often noticeable under the predominance of alcohol at full strength. All in all, the question of water is highly personal, some people preferring to "unleash the serpent" (i.e. add water) only for certain whiskies, while always leaving others "neat." If hosting a tasting, though, provide the water in a small pitcher that enables delicate control of the quantity of water being added to the whisky - you wouldn't want to ruin a dram of 25 year old Highland Park by adding too much water!
Other Nice Extras
In addition, oatcakes or shortbread are a traditional and tasty way to cleanse the palate between each whisky tasted during an evening. Ideally, these will be homemade (if you're lucky), but several companies such as Walker's do a pretty good job with pre-packaged stuff. Depending on the theme of your tasting, you may also offer chocolates matched with each whisky, cheese, or seafood, but a good general rule is to leave anything that might interfere with your senses of smell and taste until after the whisky tasting is complete. Aside from food, a couple of other accessories that would improve any tasting session include: napkins, note paper and pens (for recording individual tasting notes), a single shot thimble measure (to ensure people will be able to make it through the tasting, among other things), and a couple of copies of whisky "nosing wheels" or other handouts to allow inexperienced tasters to better identify what they are experiencing with each whisky. Such resources are available from some of the links identified below in the "Nosing" section.
Choosing the Whisky
Choosing your selection of whiskies will be the subject of our next post, which will be dedicated to exploring a number of exciting and educational themes for whisky tasting sessions. For starters, you should generally aim to have at least 3-4 whiskies for any tasting session. In the initial stages of developing your abilities, you could try exploring one whisky from each of the main regions of Scotch whisky production: Speyside, Islay, Highlands, Lowlands, Campbeltowns, and Islands (which is a subdivision of the Highland region). After that, you could move on to exploring several whiskies from the same region to note the differences and similarities that can be identified. Beyond the basic regional themes, things can get a bit more exciting.
Nosing the Whisky
Once you have your whiskies chosen, you can move on to the actual tasting of the whisky. Several websites already have excellent guides to the process of "nosing" whisky; evaluating the colour, body, nose, palate, and finish. Among the following sites, Whisky Magazine's nosing "course" is perhaps the most comprehensive, but each has its own unique advice to offer!
This should be enough to get you started. As with wine tasting or any other similar activity, the nosing whisky takes time, experience, and a desire to learn. Don't be put off by the flowery language of some of the professional whisky writers and brand ambassadors - start out by using words and tastes you already know. See what your friends think, too - disagreements are common, but the resulting conversation will simply have you enjoying the whisky more than ever.
Warm Welcomes
We're a group of students at Oxford University, studying subjects ranging from philosophy to medical oncology, but we share a growing appreciation for great whisky and conversation. While we tend to focus on single malt Scotch whisky for its incredible quality and diversity, we are open to the wide world of whiskies.
Our group was formed in early 2008 following a couple of distillery tours during a weekend trip to Scotland. Since then, we have been holding regular tasting/nosing sessions, expanding our knowledge and generally having a good time. If you're a student at Oxford who enjoys a dram of peaty Islay malt or perhaps even a lighter Lowland Scotch, feel free to join!
In the near future, watch this space for information on our tasting sessions, Society news, and anything else that we (and hopefully you) may find interesting.
Slainte mhath!
Our group was formed in early 2008 following a couple of distillery tours during a weekend trip to Scotland. Since then, we have been holding regular tasting/nosing sessions, expanding our knowledge and generally having a good time. If you're a student at Oxford who enjoys a dram of peaty Islay malt or perhaps even a lighter Lowland Scotch, feel free to join!
In the near future, watch this space for information on our tasting sessions, Society news, and anything else that we (and hopefully you) may find interesting.
Slainte mhath!
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