In Part 1 we looked at the colour of
whiskey and discovered that whiskey is aged in essentially two types of casks,
namely ex-sherry or ex-bourbon casks. These not only affect the colour but also
the taste of the whiskey. The industry also uses other oak casks such as those
that previously held port, rum, wine etc. and each give a distinct flavour to
the whiskey. Now onto part two.
In Part 2 we move to the nose.
We have four major tastes we
experience on our palate plus 3 minor ones. The four major senses are sweet,
sour salt and bitter. We sense over 96 million different smells with our nose.
The nose is the real sensual organ and allows us to experience the wonderful
world of taste fully. This is why you always spend time smelling your whiskey
before sipping.
The Nose Test
To truly experience this
revelation that your nose is the taster on your face, add some cinnamon powder
to sugar in a teaspoon. Pinch your nose and close it tightly between thumb and
forefinger. Pour the sugar and cinnamon mixture in the teaspoon into your
mouth. It is a sure thing that all you taste is sweet sugar and no cinnamon.
You will not taste the cinnamon until open your nose. Release your nose and once
your nose is open the explosion of cinnamon is immediate and intense.
Photograph property of Mark Backhouse - if you copy and use this photograph please refer to source as Mark Backhouse - http://beankeeper.blogspot.com - The Whiskey Notebook.
How do we smell whiskey?
Do not swirl the glass like
you do wine. Wine is at 14% ABV while whiskey and other spirits are 40% or more.
Tilt and spin the glass to roll the spirit as high up the side of the glass as
possible then bring the glass back to an upright position. Leave the glass to
stand for 10-20 seconds then sniff the whiskey. This way you will smell the
whiskey notes and not just spirit. More importantly, you will have started the
legs!
The Legs & Some Party Trick
One of the first things you
notice after you swirl the whiskey up the side of the glass and place it back
down on the table is ‘legs’ - streams of liquid clinging to the side of the
glass and flowing back into the whiskey. Generally ex-bourbon aged whiskies ‘legs’
are thin and ex-sherry cask whiskies ‘legs’ are thicker. Ex-bourbon casks leave
a small meniscus line at the top of the swirl and thin legs flowing down the sidewall
of the glass. Ex-sherry casks legs are much thicker. This has nothing to do
with sugar as whiskey measures zero on the glucose index table and is the
reason Doctors safely suggest whiskey as the only alcohol a diabetic may drink.
The thickness of the legs is
important to remember. Fact: we re-use our whiskey casks, for ageing whiskey
in, you may imagine that whiskey aged in ex-sherry casks that have been used
four times before appear similar in colour to whiskey that was aged in
ex-bourbon casks used for the first time. The thickness of the legs will give
you a clue as to which cask was used to age the whiskey and knowing this will
save you on many occasions.
Before you smell the whiskey,
check the legs, if the legs are thick, you know the whiskey was aged in
ex-sherry casks, and that you will smell toffee and caramel – the whiskey will
be sweeter. If the legs are thin, the whiskey was aged in ex-bourbon casks, and
you will smell vanilla – the whiskey will be drier.
What kind of smells can you expect?
Generally, when you sniff
these whiskies, the first smell you get after the cask smell is as follows: American
bourbon smells like over ripe bananas. Scotch whiskies smell different by
region: Speyside Single Malt whiskey first smell is natural honey; Highland
Malt whiskey first smell floral and summer fruits; Islay Malt whiskey first
smell is smoke and medicine; Lowland Single Malt whiskey is light and winter
fruit and Irish Whiskey first smell is pure pot still, wood, winey and barley
notes.
Adding Water To Whiskey!
We then add water to the
whiskey? The amount of water versus whisky is important. 45ml whiskey to 15 ml
water is perfects for smelling and tasting whiskey. This is not how it is
prescribed to be drunk but is best for a whiskey tasting. The type of water is
also important. If you have great local supply in your tap (faucet), pour some
tap water into into a jug and let it stand for 30 minutes so that the chlorine
dissipates. After this it will be fine to the whiskey.
Photograph property of Mark Backhouse - if you copy and use this photograph please refer to source as Mark Backhouse - http://beankeeper.blogspot.com - The Whiskey Notebook.
The smell changes rather
dramatically after we add the water. If you failed to smell the first smell
before we added water, you will absolutely get this smell after we add the
water. Some people still don’t get this first smell until they take a sip. Many
new flavours come through after you add water.
American bourbon whiskey new
smells after adding water includes hazelnut and almonds. In the case of Jack
Daniels the next smell after adding water is dust. Yip Dust! If you do not have
Jack Daniels in your drinks cabinet, then when next in a bar, order a Jack
Daniels. So here’s the first party trick: in
future, when someone asks you to nose a whiskey and the first smell is banana,
you know it’s a bourbon and if you add water and you get dust, you know it’s
Jack Daniels.
In the case of Speyside
Scotch malts the next smell after water is more honey, floral and rich. In the
case of Islay whiskies the smell reeks of smoke, phenolic, salt and seaweed. In
the case of Lowland whiskies the notes are green grass and barley. These are general
notes and vary vastly from product to product but in general are the top notes
when talking through these types of whiskies.
In the case of Irish whiskey the next smell is
moist raisins sweet melon and, marzipan. Irish whiskey is a lighter nose
compared to American and Scotch whiskies. Impress your guests. See you in part
3
I came across an awesome Jameson long drink which was the signature drink for the night. Jameson Whiskey, Ginger Beer and a slice of Grapefruit with ice. It is my new long drink.
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