Whisky aroma kits

[thelastdram]

I've been drinking whisky for about a year now, I like trying all variations to see what's out there and try experience different flavours and tastes

Right now I can only say wether I like the whisky or not

When looking at tasting notes I see people naming four or five smells they get from the whisky I'm lucky to find two and wondered if there's anything I can do to help my nosing and my tasting to pick up different smells and flavours

I've seen aroma kits and wondered if their any good and worth the money
I also know I can make ma own using orange peel etc in jars, tubs etc but wondered if this is as good as the aroma kits???

Also if any one can help with hints on getting the most out of the flavours

Any help much appreciated

[James T]

These aroma kits can be expensive and not really worth the money, many of the scents in the kits can be picked up from the herbs and spices shelf of your local supermarket such as nutmeg, cinnamon, Mixed Spice (fruit cake), vanilla and many more, just as good or better than the kits,

As long as you are enjoying your whisky I wouldn't worry what flavours others are getting and you are not. No two palates are alike, don't worry too much about what someone else is getting from a whisky and you aren't, too many tasting notes are written by journalists looking for a niche market to ply their trade and thay can be overly pretentious and not very accurately descriptive, for example implying they detect a wonderful array of tropical fruits which no other person really gets. Some of the online bloggers try to emulate these journalists.

William and a few of the members on here write some very good, descriptive and accurately rated tasting notes and reviews.

[thelastdram]

Thanks james that's a good little tip as the spices aren't expensive, ill pop into my local asda and stock up

Yeah I see some go on endlessly about smells and flavours and even the tasting notes from the distillery don't mention even a 1/4 of them

I shall have a look at some of the tasting notes and reviews as well

thanks for the advice

[opelfruit]

Do you use a particular type of glass? Please don't say a tumbler....they are awful for nosing anything from.

It's also just about time, practices and familiarity with different whiskies.

You don't really smell those things in whiskies but you smell scents in there that remind you of other smells, they are just chemical compounds that your brain detects and associates with certain other flavours. These other flavours and smells will be based on your life experiences, for example you'll never smell pineapple in a whisky if you've never had a pineapple - well, you'll smell the smell but you won't know what it is as you have nothing to compare it to.


....if that makes sense.


Also, you can only identify different whiskies by drinking different whiskies. You need to have a benchmark to put things against and that just comes with time. In fact, if you did a set of tasting notes now and then came back to it next year you'd find that you taste and smell something quite different, because what you have smelt and tasted in that year has developed you nose and palate.

And don't try to hard to get stuff, as James says, it doesn't matter. Sticking your nose in a glass and taking a big whiff with just numb your nose and you'll get nothing but booze. Hover your nose over the glass and let the smells come up to you, alternate between nostrils and just breath in normally.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[thelastdram]

Thanks for the reply opelfruit

i use a glencairn glass just now, tbh I used a tumbler when i first started drinking but now prefer the glencairn glass

yeah i understand what ur saying maybe just as you say in time ill pick up some more, i think just because right now im so varied in what i drink its hard fro a bench mark

i like sherried and peated whiskies which are at the different side of the whisky scale

ill give the tasting notes etc a try see how i get on and give it a few months and then try it again and write notes without looking at the older ones see how they compare

this all just gives me more of an excuse to buy and try more whiskys haha