Warming a whisky

No idea about the microwave, but personally I cant think it'd help. Maybe just lower the glencairn over a glass or pot of boiling water and dip the base of the glencairn in and leave it there for a few seconds? Personally I just use my hands to warm the glencairn up as for me I love seeing how the whisky will evolve. I think that when I pretty much catch everything that the whisky is about in the first 5 or so minutes that I tend to be disappointed, unless it does the simple things VERY well.

@rigmorole are you taking the piss?

Sitting with a couple of friends in front of the chimney while listening to some fine Mark Knopfler and we want to take a nice dram.

"Hey guys I am going in the kitchen to get the microwave working this stuff up"

Well, that's at least not my story...

Regarding warming in general, I've been meaning to post this question; is warming preferred? I've noticed for example, when watching Ralfy, his method is quite the opposite. He's always in his noticeably lower temperature room. As well, on occasion he has provided suggestions on methods for not allowing the whisky to get too warm if drinking in a warmer climate.

So again, is it better to warm the whisky or maintain a cooler temperature?

@rigmorole Yes, the microwave is one of the premier tools for the connoisseurship of fine whisky. No nasty side effects at all. In fact, I use an old plastic milk jug to zap my whisky (on high, 5 minutes) before decanting into a clean, sterile Glencairn, and I find it brings out a range of desirable aromas and flavours.

I hear Richard Patterson keeps a stainless steel Panasonic in his sampling room.

You could also hand warm your whisky. Takes about 2 minutes.

@TheConscience I'm dying here, and Paterson just broke his nose laughing. But isn't warming your whisky one of the things he'll "kill you" for? I don't pay him much mind, what with all the caramel coloring he pours into Dalmore.

Murray, on the other hand (no pun intended), suggests your hand-warming method. Works well!

@CanadianNinja Alcohol can suffer heat shock/light shock, etc. So generally speaking I store my beer (cuz I dont have enough fridge space) and whiskies in a cooler dry area of the house that tends to sit at a fairly consistent temperture so as to not damage the spirits. So storage wise a wine cellar can be totally awesome if you have the space as you don't have to worry about huge temperture changes.

That being said when drinking whisky and other spirits warmer is better as it'll release more aromas and flavors. Think of a nice stout or big dark belgian strong ale, you probably drink those in a goblet where your hand can warm the beer and release more flavors and aromas. Conversely the opposite is true. The colder a spirit or beer is the less flavor that will typically come through. Think Corona or Budweiser, you serve those ICE cold because you really don't want a lot of flavor coming through where as a nice IPA, Stout, etc etc all have those recommened serving temps where more aromas and flavors come out. So one of the nice things about the glencairn or if you drink brandy, the snifter, is that the hand warms the spirit releasing more aspects to the whisky.

Okay, so here's the whole story: I had friends over last night and one of them swore by the microwave technique.

I told him it would ruin the whisky and I consequently refused to let him heat the glass of OP21 I had just handed to him. This caused an argument that my other friends found amusing. I refused to cave in, blocking his access to the microwave, and so my friend ended up not drinking the OP21, and leaving my house in a huff.

I felt a little bad afterwards, even though my others friends got a good laugh from both of us fighting about a microwave oven.

Thank you for your answers. Now I feel more or less validated.

@two-bit-cowboy Ah, you're right. I should have thought that one through before writing. I like the JM hand warming trick (along with my microwave, of course) even if I run the risk of attracting Paterson's murderous rage.

@rigmorole Sounds like a more or less true story...........

@TheConscience...besides, I see nothing but tragedy occuring at a TV station near you when, after Paterson talks up (attempts to pick up? can never quite tell with him...) the lovely young hostess, he removes his Glencairn from the steel Panasonic microwave (re-logoed with in-laid mother of pearl deer antlers), swirls the whiskey and then does his usual whisky tossing flourish...that's gonna leave a mark on somebody.

@Pudge72 Haha. Indeed, Paterson's crazy theatrics keep the local burn units well stocked all year round.

I love the Dalmore inlay imagery. Lesson 1 on how to class-up your whisky microwave.