“Simplicity Is The Ultimate Sophistication
-- Leonardo
da Vinci
Promoting the simple and responsible enjoyment of
whiskey/whisky is a core activity of the Irish Whiskey Society of America and
my related company, All About The Craic...
“Simplicity Is The Ultimate Sophistication
-- Leonardo
da Vinci
Promoting the simple and responsible enjoyment of
whiskey/whisky is a core activity of the Irish Whiskey Society of America and
my related company, All About The Craic, Inc. We’ve done that with hundreds of
people at dozens of tastings in the past few years. By “simple,” I don't mean
uninteresting whiskeys or cute, bland or dumbed-down information. Attendees
actually learn that whiskey is less about which is the “smoothest” or “best”
and much more about variety and complexity. They also get a good idea of the
myriad permutations in style and flavor that come from grains, stills and wood.
We welcome whiskey newcomers as well as experienced
whiskey/whisky drinkers and even non-drinkers (as "Pioneers"). We can get into phenol counts, still reflux, warehouse
rotations all sorts of other ephemera for whiskey wonks when relevant. But
we’re also relaxed about the things that can make the whiskey world confusing,
confounding or intimidating to would-be whiskey drinkers.
Our Ireland v. Scotland duel matched Black Bush against Johnnie Walker Black Label (blends), Connemara against Bowmore 12-year-old (peated single malts) and Green Spot against Glenlivet 12-year-old. Ireland came out the winner that night.Tasting notes and ratings are a good example. Either can
be a helpful guide or they can be a distracting barrier. Nobody wants to spend money on what might be a “bad” or “not-as-good” whiskey. And they don’t want to
look foolish just because they can't smell or taste toasted almonds, cardamom,
sultanas, pixie dust or Cú Chulainn’s wet dog in any given whiskey. Aside from
variations in individual tastes, your sense of taste can shift with time,
place, mood, body chemistry and drinking companions. Geography matters too. For
example, most Americans think of “Christmas cake” not as the tasty treat common
in the UK and Ireland but as a dry, dense, unsatisfyingly sweet bread riddled with
walnuts and candied fruit.
Accounting For Taste
At the tastings we’ll give a combination of notes from
distillers, reviewers and our own experience when introducing a whiskey, describing nose, taste and finish. Each attendee
has their own sheet on which we encourage them to make notes that mean something
to them instead of following a specific form. Sometimes they leave their notes behind so we save them to study the
reactions. The observations range from
basic, to more-standard wording, to colorful and inventive, to what is best
described as “unique.”'
By the way, we give each attendee a pipette and
distilled water to explore how a whiskey/whisky changes with just a few drops.
Here are some of the more interesting examples:
-- At a 2011 Irish whiskey tasting, one person described
Bushmill’s 10-year-old single malt as “smooth overall” while another noted that
it “opens up with water, creamier with water.” At a 2012 tasting, one person
said that the Cooley-made private-label Kellan Irish whiskey was “better
without water” while another wrote “like with H2O.”
-- Not everyone takes notes while others are sparse in
their observations. At a February 2013 Irish whiskey and chocolate pairing, one
person managed to do both. They wrote “good” in their notes for the pairing of
Jameson and Mo’s Dark Chocolate with Bacon (the favorite combo of the night). Next to the other five pairings
they simply wrote the word “notes.”
-- Some combine notes with their own rating system. At a tasting of Island single malt Scotches
earlier this year, one person described 4 of the 6 age-statement whiskys as
“good,” (Arran 10, Jura 10, Talisker 10, Tobermory 10) one as “shit” (Laphroig
10 Cask Strength) and another as “best” (Scapa 16, which was the overall
favorite of the evening). Another used a
system reminiscent of a 80s-era men’s magazine that ranked pornographic videos
using graphical representations of male genitalia. I’m not sure but I think he
had Laphroig Cask Strength and Scapa 16 tied for first.
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