The Art of Scotch Whisky Tasting: A Guide to Developing Your Palate

Tasting whisky isn’t as complicated as people might make it out to be. Yes, whisky can be very expensive and if you’re going to spend that money on a high-quality product then you want it to be enjoyed in the most optimum way. However, as long as you’re enjoying the drink, you are getting your money’s worth.

This is all to say that if you’re getting into whisky then you shouldn’t worry too much about the tasting method. Try to find some products that you love the taste of. Try and search for the variety, the region, and even the country that produces some of the best whisky for you. Even though it is Scotch there are other countries that make that style!

Despite all of these caveats to the pre-tasting process, As it is Scotch that we are focusing on, there are some fundamentals when it comes to tasting. We will run through some guidance on how to improve your love of whisky - though some of us definitely don’t need any help! We will run through how to best enjoy it and what it means in real terms to develop your palate.

whisky has got a bit of a reputation for being a bit of a stuffy drink. This definitely does not have to be the case, though there are a plethora of producers out there making products for passionate whisky lovers to enjoy. Whisky is often made in a layered and complex way, best to be enjoyed by you.

What Does ‘Developing Your Palate’ Mean?

We often hear references to the palate when it comes to food and beverage discussions. What does your palate actually refer to? This is a term that refers to your sense of taste and how good it is at deciphering flavor. For example - if you’ve ever eaten a dish and wondered what on Earth tastes so interesting in it, a well-versed palate would be able to find that answer.

How does one get a palate that is refined, how can I develop my palate, and how do I tune my palate to whisky you might be wondering. A developed palate can be instinctive and you might have a natural ability to extract some information from tasting a dish. However, without knowing what tastes like what, ie tasting a lot of different foods and drinks, your palate will have a limit on its capabilities.

That is all to say that you should be adventurous with your eating and drinking. What a chore, right? By enjoying new foods and drinks, being able to make links between experiences, you will be able to learn and develop.

In terms of whisky, there are certain parameters you can learn a bit more about to be able to develop your palate in terms of whisky. There is the type of grain involved, the production process, the region, and the aging process. Each of these will have an impact on the taste of whisky. The best part is that they are learnable flavors!

Check Out - Fun Facts About Whisky

How To Develop Your Palate?

The long and short of this is to drink lots of whisky. That’s the good news! We will break down what it means to start developing your palate with a deliberate mindset. This is a quest to uncover new flavors, to practice tasting and learning what certain processes do, and much, much more.

In the context of Scotch, start with some simple products. Find yourself some affordable but delicious scotch and learn it well. Once you’re familiar with it, you can start to incorporate tasting techniques. Try drinking it from a snifter glass instead of a regular glass. Try adding a cube of ice, or a splash of water, or both. See what that does.

Once you have learned these basics, you can try new products and see what you like and dislike about them. If you think that the journey the first Scotch went on when combined with a cube of ice will apply well to this new one then go for it! You’ll start to be able to learn when a bottle is tight and needs to be opened up, or when a bottle is too delicate for ice.

There are, of course, rules. If you’re using stellar Scotch in the first place then you will want to avoid too much experimentation. The higher-quality Scotch bottles should just need an opportunity to open up before drinking. Use a simple method and enjoy these!

Experimentation

Once you have learned what you like, you can dive a bit deeper. There are so many little inflections that producers add to their Scotch production that create this wide, vast, beautiful landscape of Scotch whisky.

Things like Barrel strength Scotch for the higher strength lovers. There are companies that age their liquor in different barrels such as wine, port, and more. This creates an added, unexpected fruity profile. There are so many potential additions to be made that can either throw your palate off or delight it!

Also Read - The Ultimate Guide to Different Types of Whiskey

We hope you have enjoyed reading a bit about how to develop your palate as a Scotch lover. Remember, there really is no end to the learning! Why not reward yourself with some guided education by going on a Scotch tour/tasting? Test your knowledge with industry experts to help solidify information as well!