Caramel. Vanilla. Dried crushed cherries. Floral. Woody. Very oaky. Tobacco. Mint. Cinnamon. Fresh cut hay or grass. Earthy. Chocolate covered cherries. Almond. Nutty.
The list goes on and can be as varied and descriptive as one can make it.
One thing you will notice from a lot of whiskey geeks/nerds is that they talk about their whiskey and how it smells and tastes. They will describe how it feels in the mouth and what kind of after taste they get. Is it pleasant, knock your socks off great, so-so, or a real disappointment. You might hear someone say “…this tastes young.” Meaning it hasn’t aged very long, and its likely less than four years old. Quite possibly less than two years old. Don’t forget, there is no requirement for how long a whiskey has to age to be called “Bourbon”.
I hear from people who are new to whiskey that they don’t know how to describe it, and that
they don’t want to be wrong in describing it. Well, the issue with that line of thought is that how it tastes to one person is likely to be different than how it tastes to another person, so you are not wrong in describing how it tastes to you. Especially when you are comparing your thoughts and opinions to an experienced whiskey taster. You might taste a whiskey and only pick up on a few flavors or memories (taste can often elicit a memory). Whereas an experienced whiskey taster might go on and on about the taste and get very specific.
Women and Men also taste very differently. Believe it or not, women are often much better than men when it comes to tasting. “In fact, research from Yale University has found that women actually have more taste buds on their tongues. About 35% of women (and only 15% of men) can call themselves "supertasters," which means they identify flavors such as bitter, sweet, and sour more strongly than others.” March 26, 2015. My wife happens to be a supertaster. She can pick up a smell or a taste of a certain flavor far before I can. If I put green peppers and onions on one half of a pizza and not the other half, and then bring her a slice with nothing on it but Canadian Bacon, before she even gets it to her mouth, she will recoil in disgust and say “you had green peppers and onions on the pizza didn’t you?!?” I have to sink away in shame cause she found me out. It’s amazing and maddening at the same time.
Some supertasters can’t get past certain smells. Again I reference my wife. She can’t get past the ethanol in the whiskey. It’s too overpowering for her. Even an 80 proof whiskey.
For many, it’s a learned skill, being able to verbally describe what you're tasting in terms of other items. You have to train your taste buds (pallet) to look for certain flavors and describe thoughts and memories.
One of our Executive Producers, Kirk is a great example. Recently we were filming at 45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond Minnesota. We were tasting through a bunch of whiskey’s and then we tasted a whiskey that was finished in a Cognac barrel. The first words out of Kirk’s mouth were…”This takes me directly to the lake…” with a big smile on his face. The whiskey took him on a journey. That’s what really great whiskey does.
When tasting with people new to whiskey I usually start off with do you do like it or not? Regardless of the answer, the follow-up question(s) will lead a person to describing why or why not. And, whatever their answer, it’s not wrong. The tastes and smells that one person gets might be totally different than another person. That’s part of the fun and beauty of whiskey. You describe as best as you can. Use a tasting wheel to help. Listen to others describe it and see if you agree or if you can pick up the flavors they are. And if you can’t, don’t get discouraged. They are your taste buds and it’s how you experience the whiskey.
You be you, and describe it how you want.
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