Does your palate get 'fatigued' ?

I have this in two cases. The obvious is when I have a cold; I am sure, you know about that one.

The other case is when I am overanalysing and oversipping a dram. When I take a small sip and I keep it for more than 30 seconds or even only 20 seconds and if I don't make it swirl in my mouth and on my gum but indeed keept it directly and only on my tongue, I get a bitter note out of the sweetess whisky and some unfortunate build up on my tongue.

So simply put, I keep it for too long at the same place on my tongue. I think that what you call palate fatigued happened with what I would call a palate overload.

The ability to pick up scent and taste definitely differs from time to time for me aswell! Some nights I feel like a dog picking up subtleties and nuances everywhere and some nights I just get "whisky". I think it depends much on mood aswell as warming up and cleansing your palate. I just try to roll with it. Who knows what you'll pick up in the sourness..

Oh and a dog as in dogs have superior sense of smell...

I WISH

that I could have fatigue after the second or third dram Aside from the odd tasting (and it's hard to say because those are less controlled conditions), I'm lucky if I can get one dram in once or twice a week.

I have never labelled it that but yeah, I understand what you are saying. I find some days are better for tastings than others and it is not always easy to define why. What I do if I have "palate fatigue" is to not worry about doing a "tasting" as such and just enjoy it for what it is. Take a step back, analyse less and just enjoy the drink.

@Jules I've tried toast with butter, crackers, dark chocolate, black coffee and find they work. But something works better for me. That is sipping water while whisky sampling.

My palate definitely gets fatigued, usually when I hit the 4th or 5th spirit in a session. I'm usually working hard trying to pull notes out (and, usually, I'm swallowing only a fraction of what I taste.) My palate just feels tired and it's harder to pull out some of the notes, and, frankly, that's usually when I hit my wall of effort, too, and just want to get on to the business of enjoying the stuff or doing something else.

When that happens, I just end my session and figure that I'll taste whatever I didn't try another time when I'm eager to do so. It's not going anywhere!

Stopping and waiting for another day is fine for personal tasting. Even when I have people over for a formal tasting I often skip some of the drams if I've had them before or if they are mine, more because I don't like the buzz, but also because of palate fatigue.

But what if you're at a a tasting elsewhere or something like a festival, where there are things you've never tried and you won't likely get another chance? I know, prioritize...but how to maximize the experience?

spit @Nozinan

My palate gets fatigued for sure. Water in between samples and an un-salted soda cracker usually helps cleanse my palate. There have been days where we are tasting 15 different wines in 2 hours, then move right into 6 different whiskies, all done blind. There are only so many flavours you can pull out after a whole day of tasting. Most sessions I have attended have paid attention to the order the samples are served, but not all are attentive to stronger bodies or flavours being served After the lighter ones.

@bourbondrinker

Though I am much too polite to spit, I get your point. That might work to prevent the buzz, but I don't think it will spare the palate...

@Nozinan It is actually proper to use a spittoon at a tasting seminar, not rude. It is impolite to "get a buzz" at a formal tasting and the affect of alcohol will cloud your judgement of the aroma characteristics as you continue tasting different samples. (Now on that note when our private group gets together, we are all having a dram in good company, and are looking for personal preferences as apposed to the actual characteristics within the aromas and palates)

@SafetyPylon

I was kidding about the "polite" bit. I know it's OK to spit. But I still don't think it prevents palate fatigue.

@Nozinan, I'll vouch for that. I spit a lot of what I taste, but my palate still gets fatigued. It's just the general use and focus. I've never compared whether I have less fatigue with lower proof spirits, but I suppose that it is a possibility.

@numen

Does spitting change the experience? I know there are no tastebuds in my oesophagus, but it seems to spit would change the way the finish feels...

@Nozinan, yes, a little. You lose some of the benefit. Even if the esophagus doesn't have taste buds, it seems to contribute to the richness and some of the retrolfaction. So, I often start with a small sip to coat the palate and swallow that. Then I'll spit some subsequent sips, unless I feel like I'm really missing something - and swallow just one or two more sips. Just my habit for tasting