Ever wanted to hold a whisky tasting for friends or work colleagues? It is a great and fun activity but can be a little daunting if you have never hosted one before. It can be easy to get stressed or hung up on the details, but the most important thing is for you and your guests enjoy the event, the time together and the whiskies. So, what do you need to consider when hosting such an event?
Select the Whiskies
The whiskies are the stars of the show. The correct selection can instantly make your tasting more interesting and diverse. It is important to not choose too many whiskies – 3, 4 or 5 are a good number. Less than this and it may feel a bit stingy. More and palates will start to struggle. Plus, there is the danger of people consuming too much – this should not be the aim of any whisky tasting and you should consider responsible drinking when organising and pouring.
But how to choose correctly? Picking a theme can help with the natural flow of the event. Do you want different styles of whisky? They could be from different regions of Scotland or different whisky producing countries such as America, Ireland or elsewhere. Maybe different cask maturation? Or, whiskies of a similar style such as smoky or peaty? Do you want all well-known brands or lesser-known ones? There is plenty to consider.
If you feel that you lack the knowledge to make informed choices, then do not worry – people are out there to help you. Check our advice for Buying Whisky as A Gift and follow the same principals.
Taste the Whiskies Correctly
A whisky tasting is really about analysis rather than drinking. The whiskies are there to be sipped and savoured. The physical process of tasting whisky is simple and about preparing your senses to get the most out of each whisky. This is covered in our in-depth How to Taste Whisky guide.
Another consideration is the type of glassware that you use. A tulip-shaped glass with a tapered rim, such as a Glencairn or copita, is best. When sampling, it is crucial that you taste the whiskies in the correct order. Start with the lightest and move through to the heaviest or strongest. This is the same principal as in wine tasting, where you start with white before moving to heavier red or sweet dessert wines. If you taste stronger flavours first, they will taint the palate and the subtleties of any lighter whiskies will be lost.
Most importantly – get to the whisky. It is easy to do a long introduction but most of your crowd will just want to try the whisky in the glass. The chat can evolve as the tasting progresses, and you can cover everything that you wish too without stacking it all at the beginning.
Do Your Research
A few interesting facts or stories about each distillery or brand can make a lot of difference. People should leave having learned something on top of sampling nice whiskies. Once you have selected your whiskies, then do some research about them. Spend time on this – it is enjoyable and will enhance your tasting.
There are many good whisky resources online and a plethora of whisky books that will supply you with such information. This can be a bit of history or information about the distillery, brand, or bottling – this is useful especially with limited editions or single casks – or nuggets of interesting information. These ‘pub quiz facts’ will stick in your guests’ heads and bring the event to life.
Make It Interactive
Nothing is more boring than listening to someone talking non-stop for an hour or two. A whisky tasting should be informative but interactive. Guests should be encouraged to ask questions, make comments, and discuss the whiskies between themselves. This often leads to interesting stories, anecdotes and tangents that can effortlessly guide you through the event.
Another way to do this is by allowing people to express their own tasting notes and get them thinking about what they are tasting. This encourages conversation, rather than dictating to them what aromas or flavours that they should be finding. This will make the event more interesting for both you and your tasters. This can be slow to begin with but do not worry – after a couple of whiskies your guests will loosen up. They always do.
Other Considerations
The tasting is not just about the whisky. You will need some or all the following items to help your event go smoothly. Water should be readily available for both cleansing the palate regularly and diluting the whiskies when required. Still bottled water is perfect, but filtered tap water is also perfectly fine. Avoid anything carbonated and make sure the water is at room temperature rather than chilled or with ice – this will inhibit the aromas and flavours and make analysing the whisky more difficult.
Another thing that helps to cleanse the palate between samples are oatcakes or thin water crackers. You may wish to include other food snacks such as chocolate or cheese during the tasting – this can lead to discussion about food and whisky pairings. This is a hot topic in the whisky world and information can be found on numerous websites.
A spittoon or similar vessel is also a good idea, as some of your guests may not wish to drink everything, especially if they are driving – having some small sample bottles to hand can help here also as they can then drink their whisky when convenient.
