How to drink a single malt whisk(e)y?

There are three ways to taste a single malt, of course you could come up with others more, but these three are among the most recommended.

Pure (Neat): All you need is a glass. Nose and then chew the liquid before swallowing: this will give you the chance to really feel all those flavours.

You can use a tumbler whisky glass, but if you want to get the most hidden flavours, it’s best to use a glass in the form of a tulip bulb (it can be also a cognac glass). Most people use the Glencairn glass, which is like the symbol as far as whisky glasses go, I personally use a Villeroy&Boch crystal whisky glass, I like the look of it better than the Glencairn one, but this is just my preference.

Simple(Water): This means adding water, fresh water, ideally spring water, can really open up a single malt whisky. Add water bit by bit, and see what works for you.

Smooth(Ice): Do not drink a single malt from the freezer nor warm. You can cool the glass a little if you really need it. I don’t really use ice in the glass either. Yes, you can put ice in single malt scotch but not too much. Put one or two cubes in your whisky, it will chill it slightly, melt into water, and then help release all these wonderful aromas and flavours. But if you really want to have it chilled, and don’t want to dilute it, best way in my opinion is to use sipping stones, they don’t dilute the whisky and they chill it pretty well. Leave the ice for other beverages and forget about coca-cola or energising drinks, that’s actually a sacrilege in the single malt whisky world 🙂 , you can drink some flat water instead, if you really have to.

It’s good to have eaten for at least half an hour before and keep away from onion, garlic, quick burn. Most single malts are digestive and very few go as aperitifs.

Other external odours can have a negative impact, like: solvents, fresh paint, polish, room deodorants, but also your own perfume or after-shave, but that’s taking it a bit too far if you ask me. I always enjoy a good cigar with my whisky, which is something that can influence your taste, but this is just to create the perfect environment to be tasting a single malt and getting every bit of flavour as you can. Normally you don’t have to do all this, just enjoy it as you best can, this is just something you can do if you want to do it by the book.

While tasting a single malt you use all the senses: the sight – for the color (here the spectrum can range from white vinegar to black coffee) or for its corporeality, after the drainage arcs; smell, taste, touch, and pain (when you feel burning or pain if you do not dilute the single malt to your liking); and why not hearing, when cracking open that cork which lets you know good things are coming 😉

The smell and taste are personal experiences and you will discover green or dried fruits, vanilla, custard, floral, salted, peppery or smoky. You will discover each one yourself and associate them with previous experiences.

The last thing to keep in mind is the finish or the post-taste that will give you the verdict on the single malt you tried.

If you caught the experience of these steps, you can repeat it by adding a splash of water, this will lower the alcoholic strength and wake up the flavours that have not been fully revealed.

In order to enjoy everything a single malt can offer, you have to give it a little time – it had patience for years (decades even) to be revealed to you.

Ultimately, what really matters is the feeling that you have after tasting a good single malt, starting with the rush you get from the burn when you get the first sip up until the flavours form the post-taste fill your mouth, it’s like a party in there !

Respect and enjoy the single malt!

Oh and don’t forget: please drink responsibly!

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Andrei Muresan

My name is Andrei, Andrei-Paul Muresan. I’m an IT professional, born in the wonderful year of 1982, in the heart of Transylvania (for people who don’t know, the heart of Transylvania is a city called Cluj-Napoca, located in Eastern Europe, in Romania to be more exact). Here’s a photo of me, just to put a face to the name 😉 I mentioned Transylvania because most people are more likely to know where Transylvania is and not where Romania is 🙂 oh and by the way, vampires, they’re just ghost stories, sorry to disappoint everybody. As you might expect, given my profession, I’m passionate about technology and everything that surrounds it, but I am also a great spirits fan, and when I say spirits I mean scotch, whisk(e)y and cognac, and I also enjoy a good cigar (I never say no to a good cigar). I like to mix all that with a good tune and also a good game, I own a couple of game consoles. I am, by no means, an expert in the scotch/whisk(e)y/cognac/cigar world, but I am keen on learning everything there is to know about it, so I’m launching an invitation to you, to join me in this virtual journey as we learn together.

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