Today I did something a bit different and I thought I would share the tale. A couple of friends and I bought a bottle of Bunnahabhain 26 yr old from Lady of the Glen between us. We decided to open the bottle and do the tasting in environment with the least distractions. There have been other topics about smells, food, music, etc so just for a bit of fun we decided to take this a little further.
Being based in the Cotswolds we are blessed with being in a particularly beautiful, rural part of the UK with rolling hills, thousands of years of human history evident at virtually every turn and "picture post card" villages. Walking past the site of one of Europes largest Roman mosaics, up the Cotswold Scarp close to Iron Age Burial sites ending up at an unused quarry/mine. This has been left unused for for well over a hundred years and is one of many local, small scale, stone producing under-ground quarries that produced stone for so many of the areas historic buildings.
We donned helmets, torches and descended into the darkness. Following the ancient tunnels, over boulders, under low ceilings and ending our journey in a large chamber. It was here we set up our little camp. The idea was to do this tasting in total darkness, with no sounds other than our own, with no smells of food or other distractions.
It was really interesting nosing and tasting Whisky in this environment and I do think it sharpens the senses. The worldly distractions that surround us are stripped away.
Does it make the Whisky taste better? No. Does it allow you to smell and taste things you might otherwise miss? Probably not. Was it a fun day out with good company, great Whisky and an excuse to go for a pub lunch afterwards? Absolutely. I do think there was merit in doing this but it is hard to quantify.
I do think it was worth trying and would recommend it. I would be interested to hear about any other tasting experiments, locations or rituals.
Today I did something a bit different and I thought I would share the tale. A couple of friends and I bought a bottle of Bunnahabhain 26 yr old from Lady of the Glen between us. We decided to open the bottle and do the tasting in environment with the least distractions. There have been other topics about smells, food, music, etc so just for a bit of fun we decided to take this a little further.
Being based in the Cotswolds we are blessed with being in a particularly beautiful, rural part of the UK with rolling hills, thousands of years of human history evident at virtually every turn and "picture post card" villages. Walking past the site of one of Europes largest Roman mosaics, up the Cotswold Scarp close to Iron Age Burial sites ending up at an unused quarry/mine. This has been left unused for for well over a hundred years and is one of many local, small scale, stone producing under-ground quarries that produced stone for so many of the areas historic buildings.
We donned helmets, torches and descended into the darkness. Following the ancient tunnels, over boulders, under low ceilings and ending our journey in a large chamber. It was here we set up our little camp. The idea was to do this tasting in total darkness, with no sounds other than our own, with no smells of food or other distractions.
It was really interesting nosing and tasting Whisky in this environment and I do think it sharpens the senses. The worldly distractions that surround us are stripped away.
Does it make the Whisky taste better? No. Does it allow you to smell and taste things you might otherwise miss? Probably not. Was it a fun day out with good company, great Whisky and an excuse to go for a pub lunch afterwards? Absolutely. I do think there was merit in doing this but it is hard to quantify.
I do think it was worth trying and would recommend it. I would be interested to hear about any other tasting experiments, locations or rituals.