As you know, I have been learning about bourbon as much as possible. So far, I have learned about what bottled-in bond means, whiskey versus whisky, types of barrels/casks, fun facts, and now, the proper way to taste it. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions, thoughts and ideas to take me further along this intriguing journey.Pick a glass like a Glencairn. A Glencairn is rounded at the bottom and tapered at the top. This allows for enough room to get a good-sized pour, but the aroma can rise.
After your pour, look at the color. General rule of thumb, the darker the color, the deeper the flavor.
Now smell the bourbon. What do you smell? Oak? Caramel? Vanilla? Everyone smells something different. There are no wrong answers here! A lot of what we taste is influenced by what we smell. So, as it’s often said, we should be “nosing” our whisky. Nosing is actually retronasal breathing. You breathe through your mouth, close your lips and hold in the breath for a minute, and then breathe out through your mouth. This helps the taste and can help with the burn we sometimes get from bourbon.
Last, let’s sip. Take a slow, small, sip. Hold it in your mouth and let your palate get used to the flavor. Then you sip again but with a slightly larger amount. Each time you take a sip, you will get new flavors that explode on your tongue.
NOW, lets talk about a couple of don’ts.
Don’t swirl your bourbon. Your whisky will smell well enough that you don’t need to “release aromas” like wine.
Don’t sip water after you sip. You will clean your palette and miss out on all the finishing notes and aftertaste.
As someone who is still on their learning journey, I sometimes get nervous about the bourbon and the burn I may have. It sometimes skews my perception. After learning these techniques, I will definitely have a better experience.
What shall I learn about next week? Got any ideas?
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