Cultivating the Palette

@Billyboy05055, my advice in developing the palate in tasting whisky: practice makes perfect!

There really aren't any standards in whisky tasting, and all taste and its description is more of an art than a science. Even those who would like to make tasting into a science, by analysing the chemical composition, etc., will not be able to do anything approaching standardising the taste experience, since both the physiology of the individuals doing the tasting are unique, as are the intellectual cognitive and cultural overlays organizing and expressing the impressions received.

In my experience, there's no way to "practice" any other way than tasting many different whiskies. After a while, you'll notice how many whiskies share the same flavors and how many shared flavors have subtle differences between them. For instance, you might notice lemon in a Rosebank and a Glenmorangie, but the lemon in the Rosebank is more acidic and the lemon in the Glenmorangie is sweeter. You can come up with your own descriptors for that. For me, I would typically call that lemon zest or peel and lemon pie or meringue, respectively. The same could be said for many other flavors. Additionally, sometimes a whisky isn't that specific. You may only detect a spice note or an herbal note instead of a nutmeg and cinnamon note or a basil or bay leaf note. Some times (but not always), when a whisky is very specific, it's very good. It shows it's complexity. Compare my notes for the Macallan 12 year old Fine Oak and my notes for the Highland Park 30 year old. They are very different in terms of specific flavors.

Anyway, just taste lots of whisky. I don't think any of us here are experts. We are all learning as we go. I'd be skeptical of any "training exercises". The best training is nosing and tasting and being honest with yourself. If you taste something that sounds crazy to you, like apple pie drizzled with sea water and olive oil served with coffee ice cream, investigate further. If you really feel like you taste that, then write it down. If it's not contrived and you're being honest with yourself, then there's nothing wrong with that.

In short, I wouldn't worry. The beauty of tasting whisky is that everyone is an expert of their own glass.

And as if I wasn't long winded enough, don't be afraid to nurse a glass for 30 minutes or more. You may be surprised at how much comes out in that time. Rarely can I smell or taste much at all immediately after pouring a measure.

@Billyboy05055, and, though I didn't mention the desirability of sampling large numbers of whiskies in this discussion post (as @Dellnole has just posted), I have emphasized this need for a broad range of sampling repeatedly in the past. I call myself a 'promiscuous whisky sampler'. The more you experience, both in breadth and in depth, the better. Trust your perceptions and move forward in your understanding.

Hi Billyboy.

Very good discussion topic! Although I can't offer any tips as to developing your palate, I can offer my support in confirming that you are by no means alone. I would love to be able to detect the subtle aromas and flavours of whisky but like you, at this moment I can only really scratch the surface and usually only pick out the more obvious elements. By way of encouragement, I do feel that I am better at it than when I started out and to echo what has already been said, I think that practice is the best way to improve. To also echo others, don't be discouraged if you are finding strange tastes and aromas and combinations thereof. Just view some of my reviews to see what weird things I pick up! We're all different and theres no right or wrong answers. Cheers.

@Billyboy05055 Just re-read my post. I think it would be better to say that I do detect the flavours and aromas but have trouble identifying them. More practice needed for me I suppose, Hurrah!

Don't forget the grocery store ! @Billyboy05055 Like everyone mention so far, you need to taste different whiskies to get your tastebuds right. But, in my opinion, you also need the grocery store, restaurants and other types of alcohol. If your ever want to find apricot notes in your whisky, you need to have tasted it once in your life. The same goes for sticky toffee pudding, tobacco leaves, sultana raisins or whatever you might expect from the beloved spirit. So, I do buy different kind of food in relation to whisky. Once in a while, I buy a Sherry wine, a Demerara Rum like El Dorado or a Tequila Anejo. All this is, I think, helping me refine my tasting profile.

Before you worry to much, it is worth taking the time to read a number of reviews of the same whisk(e)y written by as many professionals and experts as possible. Fairly often you will find that different reviewers will find very different accents and nuances in the same expression. To me this just proves that everybody gets something a little different from each dram, so dont be to disapointed if you dont pick out everything that the professionals and experts do.

This is an edifying discussion, with ideas that I have thought about for some time. I agree with most of what has already been offered by these erudite Connosrs, and I would like to add a few thoughts:

I don't see any basic reason why whisky ought to taste like anything else but what it was made from: barley, peat, smoke, rye, wheat, bourcon, charcoal, sherry, etc. Why should whisk(e)y taste like vanilla, caramel, dried fruit, lemon, cininamon, cloves, chocolate, iodine and cleaning fluid? But of course and in fact, the overall result of the entire malting, distillation and maturation process appears to create taste sensations that are a sum of all the parts, and which are unnamed flavors, but which are somewhat similar to tastes associated with other sources, such as cherries, nuts, raspberries, leather, tobacco, etc. For example, a lot of good bourbons offer similar enjoyable flavors, which I feel are unique to the bourbon; but for purposes of communication, description and comparison, I will associate these flavors with the closest ones that we already know, such as vanilla, tobacco, cinnamon and leather. And finally, everyone's taste receptors are different.

It is a challenge to see if you can find what others say they taste, but it is more fun to let you imagine take over, and report whatever comes to mind. On this website, I have seen Connosrs hilariously report notes of rhubarb, zuchini, smoked kippers, road tar, rubber, asparagus, bramble, poached peaches, Matzah and old sofas. These are not only fun, but can often be highly descriptive to the reader !

And as for practice ... the more existing tastes that you experience, such as marzipan, creme brulee, apparagus, dried fruits, etc., the more flavors you will have in your taste palate, to associate with your dram. And don't forget that taste works closely with smell, as evidenced in the association with rubber, tar, seaweed, smoke, peat, etc. So, take a bite of your old sofa, and remember the experience, so you have one more taste note to associate with your next sample ! :-) Whisky tasting can really fun ... and don't take it too seriously !

Terrific thread. I'm reminded of Serge's notes for the first release (2009) of Kilkerran Work in Progress: "...whiffs of 'clean wet dog' (not just any street mongrel)...."

I'm quite sure I can't tell the difference between raisins and sultanas or between peat and smoke, but I like what I like. One game I enjoy is tasting two single malts one night and the same two the next night but reversing the order. Both malts offer different flavors the second night. Not that I can tell you what those flavors are, but I can tell you they're different.

Gents, thank you all very much for the input I really appreciate it.

One more quick question, has anyone ever had any experience with George Dodd's "The Scotch Whisky Aroma Nosing Kit" developed in conjunction with ScotchWhisky.net?

Ah ... the fragrance of "clean wet dog" in a nosing kit bottle ... for those who do not have man's best friend :-)

I have a few very specific recommendations. First, my tasting skills have advanced most when I sample at the same time two similar drams, one nosing and one tasting right after another with just a small sip of water in between to clear my palette. I'll go back and forth between each with several small sips. It only makes sense in my mind to pick two relatively similar products (e..g, two lightly smoky blended Scotches like Black & White and JW Black Label, two classic Bourbons like Buffalo Trace and Elijah Craig 12, two Ryes like Rittenhouse and Bulleit Rye, or say two Islay Single Malts like Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig 10). These pairings force me to focus on the nuanced distinctions between the two similar, yet different, products. If I don't try them at the same time, I tend to not be able to focus so much on the distinctions. I am not sure why this is not done more with whisky tastings, it certainly is done with wine.

Second, I agree with AboutChoice that taste and smell are tightly linked. If something smells crappy like wet old musty sofa, even if it tastes like creme brulee, your taste buds cannot get past the bad smell. Somtimes I find it valuable to hold my nose together so I cannot smell and then sample a whisky, it forces me to be a bit more honest with my taste, it's kind of like listening to music with your eyes closed so that your ears have the undivided attention of your mind.

Third, try new spices and foods. Force yourself to try a cuisine you have not tried before, make a new recipe, go a little wild and get out of your boundaries, buy some lamb liver at your local butcher, get 5 new spices at Penzeys, etc. The more your palette and sense of smell are advanced from food, the more they will be able to experience whisky in my mind.

Finally, have tastings with other people and share your observations and force yourself to really describe the drink like you were focusing on a work of art at a museum. While my wife does not drink much whisky, she will sample things and we try to dissect the nuances

Something that nobody has mentioned, but that you may very well already be aware of, is the impact that the way you taste your whiskies has on the amount and level of aroma and taste that you pick up.

This is covered (better than I can do) in a lot of places, but to get the most out of whisk(e)y:

1; Use a good nosing glass. Many people find that a Glencairn glass is best, if you dont have one then a red wine glass makes a decent stand in.

2; Allow the whisky to "open" before tasting. Basicly this just means pour it and leave it before tasting. Most advice I have seen is to leave it for 10 - 20 minutes. If you can use something to cover the glass during this time, to retain the aromas and avoid bugs in your favorite dram!

3; Nose the whisky at least three times in a reasonably short period of time. The first nosing will mostly give you alcohol, and with each nosing you will pick up more subtle notes.

4; Try different expressions with different amounts of water, always being very carefull to add water in very small increments.

I do not claim to be an expert by any stretch, but for me these are things that can make a big difference in what you get out of a whisky.

@Billyboy05055 I think the nosing kit is a bit pricy at $200+ USD, I thought seriously about it a few years ago and if I could have shared the kit with a couple of other people I would probably have gone for it for the novelty value alone.. I still think about it occasionally but then I'll find a new indie bottle of Ardbeg, Laphroig or Brora and my whisky budget is gone for a while...

What I found to be the best plan was to find a reviewer who likes what you like and is consistant in their terms.. for me that was Michael Jackson .. and read his or her reviews while tasting and try to match what you taste to what is described.

That being said I know a couple of wine freaks who have bought wine kits in the thousand dollar range with many more samples and they swear by them..

Well, at 200 USD, the nosing kit seems kind of pricey. I would like to see the list of fragrances it includes ... and if it included clean-wet-dog and old-sofas and road tar, I just might consider it. Otherwise it would be cheaper to just buy a used dog from a kennel and a used sofa at a resale shop. And you can probably find your own road tar. Gee ... maybe there's a market for an alternative nosing kit !