A beginner's guide to tasting Scottish whisky
A beginner's guide to tasting Scottish whisky
Learn about the many varieties of Scottish whisky.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
MATT: Gus.
GUS: Hey, Matt. Meet my friend, Jack.
MATT: Jack.
JACK: Hey, Matt. Welcome to the Duke of Perth.
MATT: Nice to meet you. Thank you. Gus has told me a lot about you. Is this your lovely establishment?
JACK: Yeah 30 years.
MATT: Wow.
JACK: This year.
MATT: I know nothing about whiskey.
JACK: Well, you've come to the right place to be educated.
We're ready for a wee dram. Let's give this man an education, here.
MATT: So what's this one?
JACK: This is Glenkinchie, here. This is a Lowland whiskey.
MATT: Lowland means the area?
JACK: Yeah. So, when you first come across the border from England to Scotland, this is the whiskey that they make in that area, the Lowlands of Scotland. To appreciate a good whiskey, there's three components that you're looking at. You're looking at the nose.
MATT: OK, so smell. You're smelling it. You're taking your time with that.
JACK: Oh, absolutely. You're savoring it.
MATT: OK.
JACK: And then, the next bit is the palate. You know, so you take a sip.
MATT: So little sip.
JACK: It should be long and smooth, and this is where you're picking up all the various notes. And then, there's the finish.
MATT: OK.
JACK: And a nice long, smooth finish is what you want in a nice whisky.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATT: Is it earthy? Is that a good way to describe it?
JACK: Well, actually, you know, earthy is when we start getting into the more advanced whiskies.
MATT: Oh, this is basic.
JACK: This is, yeah.
MATT: OK. So, what's this one? This is a--
JACK: So this is Dalwhinnie.
MATT: You mentioned Highlands.
JACK: Right. So now we've moved. We've moved up the A9, and we've come up, and we're passing on the left hand side of the road, is the Dalwhinnie Distillery. This is the highest distillery in Scotland. Well, you tell me when you think. So you look for the nose.
MATT: Yeah.
JACK: Tell me what you're getting in there.
MATT: Less than the first one.
JACK: OK.
MATT: So that makes me think it's going to be a little smoother.
JACK: No, not necessarily, no, no. I mean, you want a whisky that's got all of these components. You know, the whiskey you're going to like is going to have a big nose.
MATT: Right.
JACK: A full, rich palate, and then a long, long finish.
MATT: That's nice.
JACK: Here we go, some fish and chips. We've got to have some fish and chips to help this all go down here.
MATT: All right, here's our third one. What's with--
JACK: OK.
MATT: Tell me about this one.
JACK: This Cardhu. So now, we've come down from the Highlands into Speyside. Now, Speyside is the region in Scotland for whisky. These whiskeys, they say, are the most nuanced. In other words, when you're tasting them you should be able to pick out more--
MATT: Flavors?
JACK: More flavors, more influences. You know, all Scottish whisky is done in oak casks, and usually, they're old bourbon casks. So you might get a little bit of sweetness from the bourbon, a little bit of the oak from the oak casks. This should be a more complex whiskey.
MATT: It is. It's tough to figure out. Now where are we headed? What's the next one?
JACK: We're going to go into the islands. On the Isle of Skye, which is the biggest of the Inner Hebrides, there's a famous distillery called Talisker. On the west coast, what west coast is known about, is famous for is the peat. And Talisker is also known for its peppery palate.
MATT: So should I taste some pepper?
JACK: When you smell it, you should be picking up peat, your palate should have a lot of pepper about it.
MATT: This is the smokiest out of all of them?
JACK: Right. See, this is very different from all the other ones you've had, right?
MATT: Yeah, yeah.
JACK: You know what we've been missing? We've been missing putting the water in these. Just a few drops.
MATT: You said that makes a difference.
JACK: Yeah, it does.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATT: So this is our fifth one. So now, we've kind of experienced different whiskies from all over Scotland.
JACK: Now, this one's, kind of, an outlier. People who are into whiskies and really like peaty whiskies, and this is-- what did she say this was? This was the Lagavulin, did she say?
MATT: Yeah, you ask for a lot right Lagavulin.
JACK: Right, OK. So this--
GUS: Brace yourself, friend.
JACK: Right.
MATT: Really, why?
JACK: Well, it's very peaty.
MATT: So this will be more smoky?
JACK: That's right.
MATT: I could definitely smell that one I think that's? one I think I like that one the most.
JACK: Really? OK, well, that's great.
GUS: You're a whiskey drinker.
JACK: Some people take years to come to that conclusion.
MATT: Wow. Well, Jack, thank you. I can't thank you enough. I hope that you will always invite me back.
GUS: You need a little neck-wear, so come here.
MATT: I feel like I'm being knighted.
GUS: Yeah, there you go. The Illinois tartan tie. Look at that.
JACK: You look bonny, lad.
MATT: Perfect.
JACK: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
GUS: Cheers.
MATT: Cheers.
GUS: Hey, Matt. Meet my friend, Jack.
MATT: Jack.
JACK: Hey, Matt. Welcome to the Duke of Perth.
MATT: Nice to meet you. Thank you. Gus has told me a lot about you. Is this your lovely establishment?
JACK: Yeah 30 years.
MATT: Wow.
JACK: This year.
MATT: I know nothing about whiskey.
JACK: Well, you've come to the right place to be educated.
We're ready for a wee dram. Let's give this man an education, here.
MATT: So what's this one?
JACK: This is Glenkinchie, here. This is a Lowland whiskey.
MATT: Lowland means the area?
JACK: Yeah. So, when you first come across the border from England to Scotland, this is the whiskey that they make in that area, the Lowlands of Scotland. To appreciate a good whiskey, there's three components that you're looking at. You're looking at the nose.
MATT: OK, so smell. You're smelling it. You're taking your time with that.
JACK: Oh, absolutely. You're savoring it.
MATT: OK.
JACK: And then, the next bit is the palate. You know, so you take a sip.
MATT: So little sip.
JACK: It should be long and smooth, and this is where you're picking up all the various notes. And then, there's the finish.
MATT: OK.
JACK: And a nice long, smooth finish is what you want in a nice whisky.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATT: Is it earthy? Is that a good way to describe it?
JACK: Well, actually, you know, earthy is when we start getting into the more advanced whiskies.
MATT: Oh, this is basic.
JACK: This is, yeah.
MATT: OK. So, what's this one? This is a--
JACK: So this is Dalwhinnie.
MATT: You mentioned Highlands.
JACK: Right. So now we've moved. We've moved up the A9, and we've come up, and we're passing on the left hand side of the road, is the Dalwhinnie Distillery. This is the highest distillery in Scotland. Well, you tell me when you think. So you look for the nose.
MATT: Yeah.
JACK: Tell me what you're getting in there.
MATT: Less than the first one.
JACK: OK.
MATT: So that makes me think it's going to be a little smoother.
JACK: No, not necessarily, no, no. I mean, you want a whisky that's got all of these components. You know, the whiskey you're going to like is going to have a big nose.
MATT: Right.
JACK: A full, rich palate, and then a long, long finish.
MATT: That's nice.
JACK: Here we go, some fish and chips. We've got to have some fish and chips to help this all go down here.
MATT: All right, here's our third one. What's with--
JACK: OK.
MATT: Tell me about this one.
JACK: This Cardhu. So now, we've come down from the Highlands into Speyside. Now, Speyside is the region in Scotland for whisky. These whiskeys, they say, are the most nuanced. In other words, when you're tasting them you should be able to pick out more--
MATT: Flavors?
JACK: More flavors, more influences. You know, all Scottish whisky is done in oak casks, and usually, they're old bourbon casks. So you might get a little bit of sweetness from the bourbon, a little bit of the oak from the oak casks. This should be a more complex whiskey.
MATT: It is. It's tough to figure out. Now where are we headed? What's the next one?
JACK: We're going to go into the islands. On the Isle of Skye, which is the biggest of the Inner Hebrides, there's a famous distillery called Talisker. On the west coast, what west coast is known about, is famous for is the peat. And Talisker is also known for its peppery palate.
MATT: So should I taste some pepper?
JACK: When you smell it, you should be picking up peat, your palate should have a lot of pepper about it.
MATT: This is the smokiest out of all of them?
JACK: Right. See, this is very different from all the other ones you've had, right?
MATT: Yeah, yeah.
JACK: You know what we've been missing? We've been missing putting the water in these. Just a few drops.
MATT: You said that makes a difference.
JACK: Yeah, it does.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MATT: So this is our fifth one. So now, we've kind of experienced different whiskies from all over Scotland.
JACK: Now, this one's, kind of, an outlier. People who are into whiskies and really like peaty whiskies, and this is-- what did she say this was? This was the Lagavulin, did she say?
MATT: Yeah, you ask for a lot right Lagavulin.
JACK: Right, OK. So this--
GUS: Brace yourself, friend.
JACK: Right.
MATT: Really, why?
JACK: Well, it's very peaty.
MATT: So this will be more smoky?
JACK: That's right.
MATT: I could definitely smell that one I think that's? one I think I like that one the most.
JACK: Really? OK, well, that's great.
GUS: You're a whiskey drinker.
JACK: Some people take years to come to that conclusion.
MATT: Wow. Well, Jack, thank you. I can't thank you enough. I hope that you will always invite me back.
GUS: You need a little neck-wear, so come here.
MATT: I feel like I'm being knighted.
GUS: Yeah, there you go. The Illinois tartan tie. Look at that.
JACK: You look bonny, lad.
MATT: Perfect.
JACK: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
GUS: Cheers.
MATT: Cheers.