Think of easily recognisable objects from the world around you – golds, ambers, yellows, the sun-burnished skin of a ripe peach… These can be evocative, even poetic: ‘The flaxen-blonde hair of the girl who ignored me in lower sixth,’ or ‘the sun-bathed bark of an English oak on an October afternoon’ are simply more compelling than ‘yellow gold’. What does it look like? Quick tip: don’t write ‘whisky’. What next?Īppearance – it’s not everything but it’s worth noting none the less. So you have a glass, a selection of drams and your wits about you. We even have our very own version of the classic whisky tasting glass, as well the alternative Riedal whisky tasting glass. Shaped like an elongated sherry glass with a stubby stem, it allows you to swirl, sniff and sniff again without covering your compatriots in whisky. You know that obviously, but wait! There’s an industry standard shape found at whisky tastings the world over, glasses specifically designed to capture the congeners and direct them towards your expectant nose. You’ll also need the right whisky glassware. There is no better, and more cost-effective, way to quickly expand your knowledge than exploring our selection of drams, either picking ones you fancy from our substantial list or opting for a whisky tasting set, which comes complete with notes from our own experts.

Have a look at Ardbeg Uigeadail to see how we organise ours. So it’s vital you write everything down – all the details about the bottling you can find, and a set of tasting notes to go with them. You might think you’ll remember that simply splendid Royal Brackla you had in 2006 bottled by… er… damn! But, as you can see, this is unlikely. Tasting is the key to this delightful conundrum, and here we’ll take you through the basic techniques used to goad your senses into fully appreciating a fine whisky tasting session.īut first, notes! Notes are all-important. What you need is a guide, and who better than your good self to help you discover the drams you’ll love…with a little help from the chaps at Master of Malt of course. Whisky – there’s a lot of it, and it can be hard navigating a tasty and satisfying way through the amazing choices on offer.

Whiskey hunting s tips