How to taste whisky

Tasting is the way to this delightful problem, and here I'll take you through the fundamental procedures used to urge your faculties into completely valuing the numerous features of a fine whiskey.

To start with things first

Whisky tasting glass and of course a whiskey brand of your liking.

The nose

This is maybe the most vital piece of accessing whiskey, as most specialists will state, tasting is essential to affirm what your nose has just let you know.

Water

Adding water to whiskey is an ideal way for you to taste whiskey, depending on your taste and consumption of alcohol holds the key.

So get your companions around and enjoy!

Choose a good glass. It is best to use one that has a narrow opening as this will channel and concentrate the aromas of the whiskey towards the nostrils.

Pour a reasonable amount of whiskey into the glass and swirl it around for a short time to allow oxygen to get to the liquid and evaporation to begin. Put the nose to the glass and breathe in, letting the aromas circulate the nostrils. 

Drink the whiskey slowly to savour it in the mouth to get the maximum flavour and benefit. Try to identify the obvious flavours that are present and repeat, trying to identify something new each time.

That seems to be a question not for us. Because when we sit with our gang, all we focus on is gulping down that first peg top to bottom and then laugh and scream hysterically. Elegance is so not us!
We then move to making neat pegs, share jokes, with all eyes on that whiskey bottle waiting for another peg. Basically, we don’t know how to taste whiskey, but yes, we know how to finish it!

Conclusion: There is no wrong way to drink whiskey. There is only one way to drink it- with happiness!

To taste whiskey, you should choose the right tasting glass. Instead of the wide glasses that are usually used for whiskey, a curved glass that narrows at the top works best. A snifter glass is the best option for whiskey tasting. Tasting the whiskey in a stemmed glass prevents the heat of your hand from warming it. Do not use glasses that are too deep. If you use, you won’t be able to get a true sense of the whiskey’s aromas.  Serve the whiskey at room temperature; it should be between 18o to 22o normal room temperature. Whisky can taste different when it is served chilled.

Add a small amount of whiskey to the glass. Roll the glass sideways in a complete circle, which helps draw out the aromas that are at the bottom. Before sipping or even smelling the whiskey, study its colour as it can help indicate its age. In most cases, the darker the whiskey, the longer it’s been aged. Shake the whiskey to look for bubbles. Pay attention to how long it takes for the bubbles to disappear. If it takes a longer time to go away, the higher the whiskey's alcohol by volume.

You should smell the whiskey before you sip it. When you have a good sense of the whiskey's scent, it is time to taste it. Take a small sip and hold the liquid in your mouth for about 30 seconds before you swallow it to take in all of its flavors. After you have tasted the whiskey neat, mix water into your whiskey. It is important not to add too much water to your drink at once, or you may alter its aroma and taste. Water can help tone down the alcohol taste of the whiskey and help bring out subtle flavors that you did not pick up when it was neat. In the end, you can easily know how much alcohol it has and its flavors. Cheers!

 Tasting whisky is actually an art. You need to arouse your senses while drinking it. There are many important aspects while drinking it - the right type of glass, the right amount of water to open up the aroma of the whisky, the age of the whisky, the smell - everything counts.

 Use a stemmed wine glass (don’t use the wide opened tumblers with no stems) to avoid the body heat and odour. Put a drop of water to open up the aroma and swirl, smell, sip and swallow it up. Feel the taste, try to feel what’s on your tongue and in your mouth. And yeah don’t add too much of water and destroy the whisky. Add just a drop or two. Don’t dilute it; just a drop is all it takes to unlock the aroma of the whisky.

Although tasting stimulates all the senses, it is not only about sensory pleasure. Whisky tasting is an invitation to move from the sensory sphere to that of analysis, which will help you identify the aromas of a whisky and understand it better.

First Stage - Hold the glass upright directly above your nose to allow the aromas time to rise. This enables you to experience the first aromas while allowing your nose time to adjust to the level of alcohol.

Second Stage - Turn the glass on its side so that it is perpendicular to your face. Now move the glass upwards in a straight line to assess the different aroma strata.

Third Stage - Hold the glass perfectly horizontal: your nose should be directly above the top of the glass, a centimeter from the rim.

Fourth Stage - Vary the rate of your inhalation throughout the tasting. By doing so, you will vary the detection of molecules (depending on their ability to bind to the olfactory mucus).

Fifth Stage - Sniff using one nostril then the other. The two nostrils inhale at different rates and one or other of them will therefore have a higher propensity to convey aromatic molecules.

Sixth Stage - Determine the aromatic families experienced by referring to the Aroma Wheel.

Seventh Stage - It is important to drink some very soft, neutral water at room temperature before beginning tasting (as well as throughout the process) to prevent variations in temperature and acidity affecting the palate.

Eighth Stage - You should taste only a tiny sip of a few milliliters at a time. The absorption of tiny sips also has the advantage of accustoming the palate to the strength of the alcohol. The whisky should be ‘masticated’ for at least 30 seconds to stimulate the salivary glands.

Ninth Stage - In order to optimize this retro-olfaction process, exhale deeply via the nose as soon as you have swallowed the sip of whisky.

Tenth Stage - Once you have finished tasting a whisky, cover the glass in order to concentrate the aromas of the non-volatile residues it contains.

To taste a whisky is art more than just gulping a large amount of liquid.
But it’s not so much hard as much as you think it is.
You only need two things.
Whisky and your nose.
There is also glass that plays a remarkable role in it, but anything else would work.
First, you need to pour the whiskey into the glass, which not should be wide much, cause
then the aroma would be fade way. Swirl the whisky so oxygen could reach into it and
evaporate.
Now imagine that whiskey must have trapped in that bottle for years and now the occasion
arise, to finally show its worth, the smell of it will tell you that how amazing it would be.
Now it could be like old wood, or fresh, or anything you remember while smelling it.
The taste of aroma could tell you the taste of whisky.
And when you taste it, make sure to reach it in every corner of your tongue, because it could
taste different in everywhere,
And in the end, when you take a sip and gulping it inside, the aftermath of that taste will be
the real element or feature of that whisky. The color also part of it.

Whiskey tasting is different from Wine tasting and if you are out on a whisky tasting tour, these tips would come in handy. It starts with choosing a snifter, glassware that looks like a wine glass but has a much thicker stem and a narrower mouth. The broader base allows you to swirl your whisky which lets out its aromas for you to smell from a distance and the narrow mouth captures the aromas together. If you can’t find a snifter, you can also try a wine glass but go no further than that.

Once the aromas have released, bring it closer to your nose but keep at a distance compared to wine tasting. Then move on to the next step, i.e. tasting. Take a very small sip, literally sucking from your glass and the rule is you either gargle your whisky softly or you allow it to roll in your mouth such that the whisky can release its different tastes. Once you think you have tasted the whiskey enough, you can now swallow it for the burning climax, something that defines the very reality of whisky.

DIFFERENT WHISKIES - WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT"

The main difference between whiskeys actually comes from their geographic region because the type of raw material and the distillation and ageing processes vary in these regions. Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, while bourbon is whiskey made in Tennessee, U.S.A. Scotch is made from Barley, whereas bourbon whiskey is a product of corn.

When in England you get scotch when you ask for whisky but in Ireland you get Irish whisky because of the difference in ageing process and thus the colour. The Tennessee Whiskey such as Jack Daniel’s is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal, a process called Lincoln County process which distinguishes it from Bourbon, filtered through new charred oaks, like the Jim beam.

The spelling of Whiskey and Whisky also vary with the Irish and Americans spelling it whiskey and the Canadians and the Scots spelling it Whisky.

On top of these whiskies is also the Rye whisky which is more commonly called the Amecian Rye whisky and requires 51% rye distillation.
 

Yeah, it is one of the drinks that people often used to prefer during the parties and during their other celebrations. Well, in my friend's circle. Most of them used to consume whisky when coming to the parties. But, however not all of them trying that because of its alcoholic content in it. Most of them are being treated after sharing the whiskies by sharing their personal life, happy stories and more. Some may feel it helps to relief from daily work stress. I must admit that this is the reason why people are showing interest towards whiskies. 

Tasting whisky is an art according to the makers of this fine golden liquid. Most people associate tasting whisky as being similar to how wine tasting is done, but whisky tasting is different. For starters, whisky tasting requires different glassware compared to wine glasses. Though the glass looks similar to how a wine glass looks, it is built differently for a technical reason.

The whisky tasting glasses are called snifters. The stalk or the stem of the glass is thicker than a wine glass while the mouth is much narrower compared to the same. The reason behind the thick stalk is that it gives a better grip while swirling your whiskey and the narrower mouth allows to retain the aroma of the whiskey.

Unlike wine where you smell the aroma by bringing your nose really close to the mouth of the glass, you smell the aroma from a distance because the alcohol content is so high and your head may get an unbearable hit. This is also where the smaller mouth helps.

The next step is where you take a very small sip of your whisky and allow it to roll in your mouth for the whisky to break down into its finer flavours and constituents. You can now take it to the end of your throat and gargle it. Swallow it once you think you have been able to find all the flavours in your whisky.

For the next tasting, wash your mouth with water.

Start by drinking some! Ok, Jokes apart, whisky tasting is no easy job and requires the experience of years together to be able to discern one taste from another, leave alone other qualities.

For a beginner, you need proper glassware something known as a snifter. It is a glass much similar looking to a standard wine glass but has a narrower mouth and a much thicker stem. The thick stem is for the ease in swirling the whiskey while a narrower mouth makes sure the aromas condense at the opening to be smelled from a distance.

After smelling it, you then take a small sip and allow the sip to roll around in your mouth. You could also gargle the whiskey a little and once you think all the flavours have been broken down and identified by your tongue is when you swallow the whisky.

Tasting whisky like a movie star may look pretty easy in your daydreams, but is definitely not a piece of cake, especially if done without a good deal of practice.

Tasting whisky like a pro isn’t that difficult either. All you need is some good tips and patience. Here’s how I do it-

1. Examine it carefully with your eyes

Scrutinize the whisky first and appreciate its finer nuances! For example, appreciate the color the whisky has got from the wood.

2. Check out the Mouth-feel/viscosity

Swirl and admire the legs streaking down the glass. The thicker the legs, the more voluptuous the mouthfeel.

3. Now it’s time to Shake the glass

All you need to do is cover your glass with your hand and shake the whisky. Examine how much time it takes for the resultant bubbles to disappear. The longer it takes, the higher the ABV. Now you need to rub your hands together and smell the barley from which the whisky was made.

4. Its time for some more sniffing

While keeping your mouth open, move your glass towards your nose while taking short, sharp sniffs

5. Finally, take a good sip of your whisky.

Taste comes from the tongue while flavor comes from your nose, so breathe to aid your sense of smell. Take in the texture and swallow.

Whisky should always be served at room temperature, that is somewhere between 18° and 22°C (64° and 72°F). Tasting favors quality over quantity. This means that you will need at least a few centiliters (ounces) of whisky, approximately 2 to 4 centiliters (/¾ to 1½ ounces maximum) in your glass.

Now, slightly and slowly tilt the glass sideways and rotate it to make a complete circle. You must have seen this bit quite a lot in Hollywood flicks!

This way you ensure that the whisky is well distributed over the whole inner surface of the bowl. Now take a few sniffs and understand the aroma. Finally sip it and try to appreciate and decode its taste.

“Tasting” isn’t the same as “drinking.”
The goal is to evaluate and enjoy the whiskey, not get smashed. Sip a little bit at a time (no shooting!) and consider using a spit bucket, just as you would for a wine tasting.
• Ditch the wine glass.
• Observe the color.
• Give it a smell, gently.
• “Sip small and savor.”
• Don’t forget the finish.
• Add water or ice, if desired, and repeat.

Now, go ahead and try some of the best whisky in India.