Uisge Beatha
Uisge Beatha (oo sa ka - be le) is the Gaelic for "water of life". And what might Scots say this would be... Scotch of course. So, in preparation for the Whiskey Tasting, a small article on the finer art of the tasting would be in order. Having now participated in one tasting, many questions arose from the whole experience. What should I be looking for in a Scotch? What should I actually be doing- sipping, smelling or looking at the color? Many questions that I am sure many of you reading this might be aware of the answer. But, I hope those novices out there will take some of this to heart and try it out. There are several quite informative websites out there on how to actually go about this:
The first of these websites provides links to the others. But if you type in the phrase "how to taste whiskey" into your favourite search engine you will note there is an endless supply of links and enthusiasts.The information presented through these sites all seem to indicate that I should have a good glass, sherry glass, a nice tumbler or snifter perhaps. Then I needed to follow the following steps:
- Pour a dram
- Tilt and turn the glass coating the edges.This will allow for greater evaporation and hence aroma.
- Nose: Basically, I need to get my nose right in there without feeling the burning effects of the alcohol.
- Ask myself " what do I smell? "
- Add water if I like depending on my taste and the strength of the brand.
- Agitate or swirl the whiskey a little. This will release more of the aroma.
- Take a sip, large enough to coat and be able to swirl it around a little over my tongue, holding long enough to figure out all those flavors.
- Swallow!
- Then repeat as many times as I please.
Now while I am performing all this I need to have my trusty score card and be looking to grade my selection on the color(darkness, clarity), aroma (flavorful, smoky, musty, light and pungent), feel or texture (does it warm the tongue or is it spirity), and finish (does the taste linger). I should also be evaluating one characteristic at a time based on my own scale. If you taste with a bunch of people, you might want to establish your scoring system quickly before you get started!
This article is by Jennifer Cassar, Editor of The Journal, the Newsletter of the St. Andrew Society of Montreal, September, 2008 edition. Other Journal Editions can be found at St Andrew Society of Montreal.
The Montreal Whiskey Tasting takes place in the fall of the year, normally October.