Whisky Forum - New to Whisky

Buzzly · Member Joined: 15 Jan 2013 Posts: 11 Location: Leeds

Hi everyone.

I am very new to single malt and certainly a complete novice. After really enjoying a dram of Dalmore that somebody bought for me I have begun buying and sampling more single malts.

So far I have purchased Laphroaig 10, Highland Park 12, Jura 10, Glenmorangie 10, Dalmore 12 and Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15.

I really enjoyed all of the above with the exception of the Jura which I find a bit sharp. The standout for me is definately the Glenfiddich.

I have a question though. I really cannot pick out the complexities that make up the nose, palate and finish. I can only pick out really strong infuences ie the peat in the Laphroaig.
I can taste huge differences between the drams but just cannot identify them at all.

Is this something I can learn over time or do I just not have very good tasting ability?
Is it worth going on a tasting course or to a whisky school?

I absolutely love the drink and hope my tasting ability can improve.

Just enjoying the solera reserve now and have picked up a bit of woodiness on the nose so maybe all is not lost!

TheWM · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:37 pm Post subject:

Hi there, welcome to the forum Smile

Have you tried your drams with any water?

If not, give it a go - all tasters do AFAIK to bring out more flavours and taste.

Quaich1 · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:08 pm Post subject:

Buzzly, welcome to the Forum. Appreciating single malts is really a learned behavior when it comes to detecting the nuances involved in nose, palate and finish through practice and experience. I found it helpful many moons ago when I started tasting to make taste notes routinely for every dram I had. The nose tends to be the easiest to perfect in that the olfactory sense readily picks up aromas quickly. It's learning to put a label on the aroma or smell that really is learned through experience. Vanilla, honey, all manner of fresh and dried fruit, chocolates of various types for example are things in our experience that one can nose in a dram and one has to decide what labels to put on them, taking time, letting the dram open and as mentioned adding for some a few drops of water. The Solera vat for example is a particularly good one to nose because it offers so much. Good luck.
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
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Mark · Master Of Malts Joined: 27 Sep 2006 Posts: 1664

Welcome to the forum and world of malt whisky. Quaich1 puts it very well,

William · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 11:58 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum Buzzly.

I totally agree with the others, your appreciation of the complexities of single malt whisky is something you will develop through practice and experience.

What type of glass are you using?

The glass you drink your whisky from is very important. Forget the traditional whisky tumbler, the ideal glass for tasting is a tulip shaped glass, this allows the whisky to be swirled around the glass without spilling it, and a tulip shaped glass will also concentrate the aromas in the neck of the glass. The Whisky Exchange has a selection of very good glasses such as the Glencairn glass and the long stemmed Single Malts of Scotland glass. Some like the dumpy Glencairn glass but personally i like a long stemmed glass but the shape of glass is essential to help you get the most from the whisky in the glass.
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There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

Big Mac · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:25 am Post subject:

Welcome Buzzly, William makes a good point about the type of glass you use to taste your whisky, if you are not using a tulip shaped tasting glass it will make a world of difference to the aromas you will be able to sense.

bifter · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 10:51 am Post subject: Re: New to Whisky

Brummie · Master Of Malts Joined: 08 Feb 2010 Posts: 661

You may find this page quite useful
http://www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/similar-tasting-notes.htm

It is a good rough guide to the style/flavour of most of the big distilleries.

Buzzly · Member Joined: 15 Jan 2013 Posts: 11 Location: Leeds

Thanks everyone for your great advice!
I am definately going to purchase a glencairn glass at the weekend as I currently use a Macallan tumbler. It does narrow towards the top but obviously it is not the best glass for the purpose at hand.
As all the malts I have are 40% I do not think I will be adding any water them. It just seems wrong somehow. Maybe with something stronger!
From what I have read on here so far I think the Ardbeg will have to be the next malt to add. Is it worth spending the extra and getting the Uigeadail rather than the 10 or is the 10 a good place to start?
Are there any other great beginners malts anybody could recommend or is that a topic for a new thread?

jcarrick · Master Of Malts Joined: 18 Apr 2011 Posts: 948

Both the Ardbeg 10 and Uigeadail are excellent and as you already like the Laphroaig 10 i am sure you will like Ardbeg, i would say start with the 10 year old and then the Uigeadail

James T · Master Of Malts Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 2968

Not sure you need a list of beginners malts Buzzly as you already have a taste for Laphroaig. As you obviously have a taste for big peated whisky here are some that i would say are must tries:

Lagavulin 16
Lagavulin Distillers Edition
Lagavulin 12 year old special release

Ardbeg 10
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Ardbeg Uigeadail

Laphroaig 10
Laphroaig 10 cask strength
Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Bowmore Tempest
Bowmore 12
Bowmore Enigma

Caol ila 12
Caol ila Cask Strength
Caol Ila Distillers Edition

and dont write of all Jura, the Jura Prophecy is very good.

Big Mac · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:42 am Post subject:

It is good to build up a selection of malts in the cabinet to choose from and once you get to know some more single malts you will develop a personal preference, everyones varies. My taste varies with my mood, sometimes i want a big peaty Islay malt other times a light lowland or a sweet complex Speysider or a big sherried malt. The choice is huge and the bottlimgs seems endless, welcome to the world of Scotch Malt Whisky.

albo · Master Of Malts Joined: 22 Mar 2011 Posts: 1888

I would say that you are doing all the right things, it does (unfortunately take time and practice to be able to pick out the different smells and flavours in a whisky and I'm sure that I and everyone else here is still learning and we continue to learn all the time. But what an enjoyable way to lean though Very Happy

I would agree that the glass you use is important for nosing a whisky so if you are serious, investing Â£5 to help get the most out of your dram is worth doing.

I have to pass comment about this though. . .