Scotch Whiskey & Scotch Tasting

With the upcoming Scotch tasting I thought it would be a good time to give you a little info about Scotch.

Essentially, Scotch tasting is done through the nose. A handy tool for tasting is a tulip-shaped glass or Scotch snifter that will enhance the taste by allowing the aromas to gather at the bottom and drift to the top. Adding a little water will open up the flavor by releasing the whisky’s aromas.

Four categories of Scotch: single malt, pure malt, blended and single grain. Single malt and blended scotch are the most popular. Single means that a Scotch is from a single distillery, while blended means that the product is composed of whiskies from two or more distilleries.

The flavor of every Scotch is affected by a variety of factors: the type of wood barrel it is stored in; the water and type of stone it flows over; and the aging process. Some Scotch’s even get aged in two different types of wood barrels.

A smooth-flavored Scotch means that the high alcohol content is not obvious at first taste, and the initial harsh bit is missing. Scotch is usually drunk at room temperature with a touch of water, no ice. This lets the Scotch whisky release it flavors to a maximum. As always, the golden rule of Scotch drinking is that since you pay for it, you should enjoy it anyway you want.

(Parts of this article comes from Dwight Dehl, Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits, Waterloo, IA)