Does mood alter the taste of whisky? Do you taste with your eyes more than your mouth? I recently dwelled on this after trying to develop some whisky tasting notes for a Johnny Walker Green Label.** I found myself being quite critical with the J.W. Green on first tasting, but the ensuing evening I thoroughly enjoyed it? The only difference was two glasses of red wine before the second nights dram. Could the wine have impacted my senses, or merely put me in the mood for whisky?Here are some other thoughts on circumstances where mood affects my whisky enjoyment:
(1) I guess the story above raises the question: Does whisky taste better as a digestive? Or in other words, is whisky more difficult to enjoy straight up? This could be an experiment. Instead of drinking whisky straight up when writing tasting notes, maybe it should be indulged after beer or wine and dinner? A comparison for the ages, digestive versus aperitif. I have no doubt some whiskys more than others are more palatable first up.
(2) Camping and the campfire: Easter this year I went away with some friends on a camping trip. Included in our supplies was a wonderful bottle of Macallan Elegancia 12yo. Whisky and the campfire, what a combination. I have read that this is not an ideal scenario for tasting, the smoke from the fire confusing the taste buds, which are unable to discern whether the smokiness is arising from the whisky or the fire. However, I found it an amazing synergy, particularly with the chill in the air. Maybe a campfire is not ideal for a formal tasting, but socially with friends it is sublime.
(3) Does packaging and the 'look' of a whisky affect your enjoyment? Clearly this must be true otherwise distillers wouldn't add caramel colouring to 'enhance' the appearance of whisky. We perceive a 21yo to have a deeper/bolder finish in the glass than a 12yo. Depending on the cask used in maturation, this may actually not be the true appearance. For example, a whisky aged in bourbon casks will not continue to darken, it will reach a peak and stop.
Taking this idea further, does a bottles shape, design and packaging affect its taste? For example, I am not a huge fan of the Glenmorangie bottle shape. Has this prejudice transcended into me also not enjoying The Original and The LeSanta tasted? One would hope not, but stranger things have happened.
(4) Whisky tastes better with company? I think we all know the answer to that one. Obviously consuming whisky with an educated group of fine up-standing individuals dedicated to the expansion of whisky knowledge leads to a better dram experience!
Keep truckin'
* The Distant Thunder Whisky Club is dedicated to bringing our member's whisky experiences to the online community. From reviews, to tastings, to tales, to links...each member bring his own voice to the blog. For more information please click here.
** for those interested, J.W. Green is a 15yo vatted malt, not to be confused with a blended malt . The links will explain the importance of this difference.
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4 comments:
1) not for me.
2) enjoy it how you like it I say.
3) yes. coke in a can is horrible compared to classic bottle.
4) yes and no. depends if whisky is the topic. I find it annoying sometimes listening to people telling me what they're tasting. and it can be misleading for your own tastebuds.
This is desperate when you're adding whiksy blog content to your own blog.
Jeez Pen- I take offense to that. It's cross promotion!
I say that because I did the same. Then again- my blog is desperate for content.
Then to follow on with Clint and Dave's theme- my responses:
1. I totally understand the conundrum. Maybe my love of peat comes from the fact I am normally ingesting whisky after a few drinks already? I need something with flavour?
2. The lure of whisky might be the only thing that could make me go camping.
3. Given my beer bottle collection, i think it is fair to say that packaging (and colour) has an impact.
4. Refer to Dave's comments.
Mood definitely plays a role, otherwise how do you explain one's preference for different drinks at different times? i.e. Gin is fantastic after a terrible day, but beer is preferable when I'm in a jovial mood.
And another take on your camping experience. In Tokyo recently, I had the pleasure of drinking a wide variety of sake. I found I appreciated it more 1) after a couple of introductory beers and 2) when drunk over yakiniku, or japanese bbq. I'm surely the aroma of burning coal and sizzling meat had SOMETHING to do with it!
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