How to Drink Whisky

Everyone who enjoys whisky will have their all time favourite dram, whether it be fruity like Dalmore or Peaty like Laphroaig there is a whisky out there for you. However, you may have been drinking it wrong all this time and have been missing out on some of the incredible flavours hidden away, or you’ve tried a different whisky and it wasn’t quite good enough. The technique you use to sip your whisky could mean the difference between enjoyment or disappointment. 

To start your journey into better flavours you first need the right glassware, (Click here to read our separate article dedicated to glassware). The whisky glass we suggest is the Glencairn glass, it is the perfect shape for nosing, as well as directing the liquid onto your palate.

Once you have poured your selected whisky into your selected glass, the first thing you must do is what is known as 'nosing'. Comparable to an appetiser for a meal, it works your senses, gets you warmed up for the main course. The best technique to nosing is to firstly swirl the whisky around the glass, this releases the aromas which you should carefully bring to your nose. Try to relate these scents to something - a bonfire perhaps, maybe Christmas or even a memory. 

Now it's time to drink, but dont drink it like you would water or a soft drink. Take a sip, feel the texture on your tongue - you may get an oily feel coating your palate, it's all part of the pleasure. Now swill it around your mouth, almost chew on it. The whisky needs to take over your whole mouth and the aromas will affect flavour as well as the taste, all taste buds need to be utilised to get the full effect.

You will find different whiskies will have different textures, heat and flavours. Does the whisky have a start, middle and end? Sometimes the end (Known as the finish) is the best part as you get a final blast from the whisky to please all of the senses and it can even linger giving you even more satisfaction.

Finally, you can change the flavours by simply adding a couple of drops of water - Water can open up all of the flavours and take the bitterness out of the alcohol. It is believed that in doing so, this can destroy the natural flavours, which can be true if you add too much, however it is known within the industry that using a pipette to add the slightest amount of water can potentially make the experience better. Remember if you are going to add water you need to repeat the above process to unleash the flavours.

 President of C.Gars Ltd and co-creator of Stalla Dhu whisky Ron Morrison has a few more tips on how to enjoy your whisky:

1.  Enjoy slowly - so you can get all of the textures and flavours

2.  Smile - You won’t enjoy it if you’re not happy

3.  With a cigar - The cigar can enhance the flavours of the whisky and indeed the cigar too.

4.  With friends - Having an incredible time with friends can really change your opinion of whisky.

5.  While sailing - Drinking while out at sea can chill your whisky to the point where it seems like the water has been added already.

Written by Oliver Partington