How long to develop a Nose?

It's an interesting question. I have found that by far the greatest tool to aid in appreciating the nose of a spirit is the willingness to let your mind wander. Take your time when nosing. Free association if you will. When you smell, what does it remind you of? What are the first things that come to mind? Daydream a little. Often, you will find yourself describing a feeling moreso than a taste or actual smell. Something in the smell triggers a memory, and you get "musty, old books, library." "dying embers and freshly grilled meat."

Smell is powerful. Just the hint of something can awaken stong memories, which I feel are every bit as valid to the description and enjoyment of a spirit as the more potent surface odors of fruits, malt, and wood.

@Simewiz You know the old saying "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" Well, sometimes what's detected is in the nose of the beholder. I once had a person tell me they detected black shoe polish...far be it for me to argue with his nose. I tried, I really did, to find black shoe polish...just wasn't there for me. So, at your next tasting, make something up that is totally off the wall. I'll bet you'll get someone to say you're right. Also, to quote my wife. Single malt to her as one smell. Dirty socks. I've long given up trying to educate her on the finer points of single malts.

I would say for some, it develops rather quickly. For some it could take years. And for others... their ability to detect many of the harder to find aromas just may never get to the level they want to reach.

I can say that, as for myself, by now I may have developed my nosing skills to the point where I'm able to pick up scents the novice is not able to pick up. But I can also say quite confidently that I will never be as adept at nosing and reviewing as many, many others on this site. I think in many cases the ability to find aromas in a spirit and effectively label them for helpful and informative reviews is a skill that not everyone has, or is able to develop.

@PeterG7 - Great reply. I think I'll try "Surf detergent, as it smelled in the 1960s" or "Purina Dog Chow slathered with Chateauneuf du pape '65" next time I taste with friends.

@Simewiz - Nosing does take time to master, and I don't pretend to be a master. I just sniff away and report the findings. Getting past the alcohol smell was the biggest challenge and took the most time.

Add water. That's about the only useful advice I can offer. In the past several months, I find myself enjoying more and more whiskies neat, even a few cask-strengthers, and nosing continues to be a challenge with the strong stuff. I like to drink 'em neat, but I discover more aromas with water.

If I'm writing a review or personal tasting notes, I now pour a healthy neat dram for tasting and, in a separate glass, a wee pour with water for nosing. I use a mini-Glencairn glass for nosing, in order to get a greater concentration of aromas than I would from a full-sized Glencairn. I'll also have a sip or two with water to discover whatever palate changes water might elicit.

In general, you should enjoy whisky as you enjoy whisky. Neat or with water, don't let anyone else's preferences influence yours. But water may help you with your goals. Master blenders often dilute whisky down to as low as 20% ABV in order to smell what's going on. Water helps kill the booze burn and helps your nose discover the smorgasbord of fragrances therein.

As a final suggestion, keep your mouth open slightly. Try to take in about 80% of the aromas through your nose and about 20% through your mouth.

It does take time to get a knack for nosing. But it takes less time than mastering a golf slice, trust me. About five months vs. 15 years in my case.

P.S. - Make that "correcting," not "mastering" a golf slice. I had a slice mastered when I was 11.

A couple of more suggestions. Watch:

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...and:

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and:

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I couldn't say how long it took to get to where I am now. It's a number of years, somewhere between a few and several.

I think getting past the initial "alcohol burn" is an achievement for the beginner (as was already mentioned). When you can nose a freshly poured whisky and have the alcohol not even register, you're in business. I suspect that with enough practice and intention on smelling every aroma bar the alcohol, the brain eventually decides to auto-filter this before it registers (the brain is an amazing organ as neuroscience is continually revealing).

I struggled early on with my nosing until I "switched off" and stopped trying. When I let the aromas come to me, I was able to pick up a lot more and didn't stress myself out by taking it too seriously.

I found it helpful to use a nosing / tasting wheel, that way, you can test for aromas by inspecting them one by one as you go around e.g. do I smell any fruits? Oh good, are they fresh, or stewed? Are they sweet fruits, or citrus fruits? etc. After some time, the major aroma groups are cemented in your mind and you don't need a visual reference for them. If you struggle with particular aroma groups, just make sure to visit them in your mind when nosing to see if anything comes up. For me, it's the nuances of herbal / floral notes - which is why in my reviews sometimes you'll only see me list "floral" or "herbal" without defining any further. This is an aspect I'm still working on (and it involves stopping to smell things while I'm cooking e.g. oregano, thyme, cumin etc and smelling flowers and leaves whilst out and about).

Also, with practice, instead of grappling to put a name to a scent, it starts to come more quickly e.g. what could only be described as "sugar" a few years ago I can now confidently say "confectioner's sugar", "icing sugar", "sugar syrup", "maple syrup", "brown sugar" or "molasses" or even hybrids like "cinnamon sugar", if it fits!

I don't think I'll ever get to a point where I think I can't improve my sense of smell (or taste). Every now and again I nose a whisky and there's something there I can't put my finger on, something that lives outside of my nosing vocabulary - that's how I know I still have a way to go, and I'm glad, because it means I have many more nosing adventures to come!

Wonderful answers, thank you all so much.

@Onibubba I love the idea of daydreaming a little. Certainly something I will try, and perhaps a little easier by the second dram than the first!

@PeterG7 Watch out for my first review! And I have the same issue trying to persuade an intransigent partner of the glorious nuances of a fine single malt. I haven't quite given up!

@CanadianNinja I'm encouraged to hear that although I may never be a professional Nose, I can still make great improvements given time and practice (I'm looking forward to the practice!)

@WhiskyBee Some great ideas there. I'd read about the idea of keeping your mouth slightly open but haven't got the hang of that yet, as I either seem to breathe in entirely through my mouth, or else block off the mouth with my tongue rather than with my lips. It's quite alien to smell with your mouth! Will keep practising. I believe what I have is pretty much the same as your mini Glencairn. It's a glass I bought at The Glenlivet a couple of years ago and has a very similar shape to a Glencairn but is about half the size. So maybe that's one thing I'm doing right! I've also recently started adding a few drops of water, and revisiting all the malts I had previously only drunk neat. I still prefer them neat from a purely drinking point of view, but water certainly does open up the aromas. I like the idea of having a dram neat and another with a drop of water. Good plan. Thanks for the tips, and for the YouTube links which I will watch before my next tasting!

@systemdown Thanks for all your advice. I have a copy of the tasting wheel so that'll be by my side on my next tasting. I also love the idea of smelling lots of other things too, to give myself a kind of olfactory reference book. I agree the thing that always hits me "front and centre" is the alcohol, although just occasionally now I'll get vanilla first or, in the case of the Glen Dronach 21-year, port! But I'm really encouraged by yours and the other replies to hear that it's pretty much a matter of time, patience and practice, with some good practical tips to help things along. One thing's for sure: it's going to be a lot easier (and more fun) to train myself to smell better than to run the marathon!

For me it's less about how long but rather the method in developing the nose. The best way to get the ball rolling to nosing glory is constantly challenging yourself. Sit down with peated whisky and a sherried whisky and compare. Try an aged bourbon and a delicate Irish dram alongside of it. The sheer contrast is a good trainer. Introduce variables. Also read lots of reviews for perspective. Learning the language is very helpful.

@JJBriggs Many thanks for this, that's a good idea. Looks like I need to get a second nosing glass! As to the second point, reading the myriad reviews on here is really helping. As just one example, I read a review yesterday on the Aberlour A'bunagh batch 45, of which I have a bottle, which said that the reviewer had added a small amount of water, then left it for 20 minutes or so. I did the same thing last night and was immediately overwhelmed with marzipan whereas on my previous nosing I hadn't got past peaches. So much to learn, and so much pleasure in doing so!

There's really no substitute to learning from your peers. I came in to answer your questions and instead, as I read through the discussion threads, ended up learning a thing or two my self! So, thanks guys!

If I must contribute my 2 cents then here is what I do.

Get a tulip shaped glass with a stem. I prefer to slightly warm my dram using my cupped palm while using the other to cover the glass. I've noticed that aromas become slightly more pronounced if the liquid is brought up to room temperature or a touch above. The only scientific proof I have of that is that farts smell the worst in a hot shower. So it must be true!

When you see a nice amount of condensation near the top of the glass your malt is ready for nosing.

I prefer to nose it neat (luckily my brain bypasses alcohol immediately) especially those under the 50% ABV mark. Might not be a bad idea to add a few drops - DROPS ONLY - if it's a cask strength but generally I prefer to keep my malt neat.

The hardest part is describing what you smell so it's nice to keep a wheel with you and keep ticking off profiles that you recognize. However, one of the things I do quite regularly is a visual association. I saw this on Ratatouille (the animated movie about the rat!) - I close my eyes as I nose and if you keep your mind blank it will flash images in your head. You can actually SEE the aroma inside your head. I know it sounds weird but it works for me. Sometimes too well! That's when I have to stop my self from being carried away!

Anyway, I hope this helps! Happy nosing.

@tabarakRazvi Thanks, that's a great idea and one I will pursue over the weekend. It's a great excuse for another nosing session! (This implies that I need an excuse, which is incorrect!)

I enjoyed and learned from all these great responses. As @systemdown hints, improving your nosing ability is a direct result of paying attention to the world around you ("... stopping to smell things while I'm cooking e.g. oregano, thyme, cumin etc and smelling flowers and leaves ..," he said). Of the first Kilkerran Work in Progress Serge (www.whiskyfun.com) wrote "... 'clean wet dog' (not just any street mongrel ...." I guessed I hadn't gained enough experience washing dogs to know that scent.

I've heard ladies and gentlemen both say a smoky whisky transported them back to their grandpa's cigar or pipe smoking room, a pleasant, nostalgic association for which they had no other reference.

I often find a peach scent in a new-to-me Speyside whisky. I've come to force myself to decide whether it's a fresh, hard peach or rather a peach that's a day overripe and therefore offers more sweetness.

When I read a tasting note that includes "hay," I often wonder whether the writer has been exposed to a freshly cut field of alfalfa. It's different than cut grass. "Bakery bread" is as equally unclear. A German bakery is a different place than an American bakery. And on and on and on.

So my short answer to your question is this: a lifetime.

You could buy one of those really expensive nosing kits--about 250 scents in jars--and spend a great deal of time memorizing the exact smell of each jar's contents. Or you could simply live life, enjoy the fragrances you encounter, and when you find them in a future whisky, enjoy the memory of where you first discovered that scent. No matter how you "develop a Nose," make it fun and not a chore.

@two-bit-cowboy

I agree with you. While it's fun occasionally to dissect a dram, and when the Whisky club meets we do try to determine what we can smell, when I'm enjoying a dram while doing something else ( a conversation, a movie, a book, etc....) I want to just enjoy, be aware of all the smells and flavours (and mouthfeel), but not focus on each aspect.

@two-bit-cowboy Thanks for your great answer :) I will certainly ensure that developing a nose is never anything but fun!

@nozinan I certainly agree that one should always put enjoyment of the whisky itself above all else; but to me the enjoyment is enhanced by picking up an aroma (particularly a new one) and identifying it. I get quite ridiculously excited when I pick something out in the nose for the first time!