Everything You Need to Know to Start Drinking Scotch Whiskey
If you’ve never researched this before, drinking whiskey can be intimidating. Deciding which whiskey to try first is a big decision. And once you decide whether to put ice on? Drink straight? Try it with water? And how can you taste all these crazy scents that they say you pick up when you sip on them?
Depending on who you are talking to, you will receive many different answers. I recently spoke with Charlie Whitfield, Macallan Brand Education Manager, about getting started “right”:
What drink
“It depends on how much money you have in your wallet or purse, and what whiskey you choose to taste your first drink,” says Whitfield. “I’ve met some people who said the first Scotch whiskey they ever tasted was a 25 year old Macallan, and at first I was impressed, but then I thought, ‘Wow, you kind of set yourself pretty high bar “. a bar for all the future whiskey you will drink. “
A fact that is probably true for most things: if you start out with expensive items, you might like it, but you also set yourself up to be disappointed later when someone gives you something less expensive.
“Mixed tape is our more affordable,” says Whitfield. “Single malt whiskey tends to be a little larger, but it obviously demonstrates the character of a single distillery,” he says.
Look at the color
“A lot of people will grab a glass and start drinking right away,” Whitfield says. “I always recommend that people look at the color of the whiskey first.”
While many people will tell you that the older the whiskey is, the darker it will be, Whitfield is actually not always the case.
“This is actually not true. It depends on the type of oak the barrel is made from, ”says Whitfield. “So if you see a slightly lighter color in Macallan, you would probably expect this whiskey to be produced from an American oak barrel. American oak is less porous and has fewer tannins, which means less penetration of whiskey into the oak during maturation, hence less color extraction. “
For Macallan, a darker color indicates a different barrel.
“On the other hand, the European oak that dominates our classic Macallan sherry oak style, which is our 12, 18, 25 European oak, is much more porous and has more tannins. in oak. It allows the whiskey to penetrate better into the oak during maturation, therefore it is better to extract color, so if you notice a darker mahogany color. “
The first time you look at the color of a whiskey, it will probably be pointless. Over time, after looking at several whiskeys, you will begin to notice the differences.
Nose
The next important step is sniffing, which is just a fancy way of saying “sniff the whiskey.”
“I always recommend not sticking your nose directly into the bottom of the glass as you do with wine, obviously because of the alcohol strength. When you do, you can kind of burn all the hair in your nose, you probably won’t be able to sniff anything for the rest of the day, because you just feel the alcohol burning right in your nose, ”says Whitfield.
To begin with, he recommends that you slowly bring the glass to your nose and smell, and then remove it and let your nose rest. Then, gradually bringing it to your nose, trying to catch new aromas. He also recommends keeping your mouth open while drinking through your nose.
“It sounds crazy, but it actually helps blood circulation and makes it a little easier to release some of the aromas that the box or bottle might suggest them to catch, be it dried fruit, vanilla, honey, coconuts or whatever,” he says.
If you still can’t get any of the purported scents, Whitfield recommends trying the hand trick I wrote about a few weeks ago, where you rub whiskey into your hand to the point of rubbing off all the alcohol.
How to drink
Whitfield says that while there is definitely a lot of snobbery in the whiskey industry about the “right” way to drink whiskey, the best way to do it is in some way how you like it.
“A lot of people ask me how best to taste whiskey. Can I drink it neat? Do you drink water? I always recommend starting by trying it neat – neat, straightforward, ”he says.
While you should start out gently, that doesn’t mean you need to stay the same.
“You will notice these little jugs on the grates in Scotland, and they are actually jugs of water. It sounds crazy, but all you have to do is if you add a couple of drops of water to the whiskey, it will open up the aroma molecules in the whiskey and make it easier to understand, select and evaluate tastes and aromas. ” He says.
He says adding water to the whiskey makes it easier to get the flavor and aroma of the whiskey. Ice, on the other hand, will dull some of the whiskey’s flavors, making it difficult to pick up some of these nuances, but also make the whiskey more refreshing.
“If you are new to drinking Scotch whiskey, perhaps an ice cube – ideally a large cube, or better yet, an ideal sphere of ice is best because it has a smaller surface area, it will chill the whiskey without diluting it, so it definitely a good way, ”Whitfield says.
As for how to drink it, Whitfield recommends putting some in your mouth and then chewing.
“I know it sounds crazy if you almost like chewing it around your mouth. The reason is that your tongue has different receptors for sweet, citrus, and sour on the front, back, and sides of your tongue, and if you chew it well for five or ten seconds, this will allow your tongue to truly appreciate all the different flavors. whiskey, ”he says.
“There is another way that people will actually inhale while they are drinking and then hold their breath on their tongue for a bit and then exhale after they have swallowed the whiskey, which I think should reduce some of the burning of the whiskey, which is good. advice for those new to Scotch whiskey. “