Appearance Aroma

Aroma (Straight)
Swirl the whisky in the glass and sniff it cautiously. If it has been bottled direct from the cask it may be as much as 63% alcohol, and too powerful a sniff can anaesthetise your sense of smell for a short time.

Different whiskies cause slightly different physical effects, especially when they are at cask strength (i.e. un-reduced prior to bottling): experts refer to phenomena such as 'nose prickle', or 'nose drying', or even ’nose burn'.

The cardinal, characteristic aromas of the particular whisky will be present - you should note them down, if you can identify them - but they may well be 'closed': subdued, spirity and vapourous.

Aroma (Dilute)
Now add a little water.

In Tasting Room conditions, professional tasters reduce the spirit to 20% alcohol - in other words, a fraction over the same amount of water as the whisky in standard UK bottlings.

Be very careful, however, with very old (over 20 years, say) or very sherried whiskies. They can be 'damaged’ by too much water; the aromas 'break up' and the flavour becomes flat.

In ordinary circumstances such whiskies are likely to be drunk as digestifs, and often, like fine cognac, no water is added: in effect, your saliva acts as the dilutant.

Peaty and very spirity whiskies can take a lot more water. The answer is to experiment: add a little water - nose - taste - add a little more - until you feel the whisky is giving of its best, aromatically.

Spirits are evaluated more by nose than taste, unlike other drinks. Indeed, professional noses don't taste at all. They get all the information they need from sniffing.

Take a couple of deep sniffs of fresh air, then plunge in again.

Take further notes - as whacky as you like: it is very difficult to put words to smells, but great fun when you let go. You'll find that when you come up with an accurate descriptor, the rest of the company will respond immediately and enthusiastically!

Rest from time to time: with continued sniffing, the intensity of the aromas you perceive will fade quickly - so it is pointless to nose a single sample for too long.