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Whisky tasting is done principally with the nose - a far more
acute organ than the tongue, although the two interrelate
as the sample is swallowed.
While there are only four primary tastes, there
are 32 primary smells. These are aromatic volatiles, which
are detected by a small fleshy bulb called the Olfactory Epithelium,
located at the back of our noses and having a direct link
to the brain.
As well as registering the primary tastes, the tongue also
detects what is termed 'mouthfeel' - the viscosity, texture
and smoothness of the fluid we are swallowing - and 'pungency'
(which is essentially an evaluation of pain - from irritation
to unbearable - and is also picked up by the nose). In whisky
tasting, pungency is particularly apparent in very strong
spirit, which may sting your nose and tongue and induce numbness
(temporary anaesthesia). So you have to be careful when nosing
whisky at full strength - i.e. as it comes from the cask.
Is a combination of three factors: smell, taste and feeling.
Our noses detect scents - nuances of flavour
from volatile aromatics - and pass this information direct
to our brains. Our sense of the smells that surround us are
recorded unconsciously, yet smells probably trigger memories
more effectively than sounds or sights: they are the most
evocative of experiences. With a little practice you can soon
learn to break smells down and identify their constituent
parts. Putting names to them is more difficult, and will be
explored later in this section.
Primary tastes are registered by little sensory
receptors on our tongues and palates. These are broadly arranged
so that sweet flavours are picked up on the tip of the tongue,
sour and salt flavours by the sides and middle and bitter
flavours at the back. The time it takes to stimulate the different
areas of the tongue varies, with the bitter receptors taking
the longest, so it is important when tasting to hold the liquid
in the mouth and to make sure it coats the tongue thoroughly.
The first and final link in the chain which produces Scotch
Whisky. It gave birth to the peat and the water and it nurses
the spirit through the winters, springs, summers and autumns
of its maturation. Incredible as it might seem it is in fact
the perfect natural complement to maturation; and attempts
to mature the raw spirit elsewhere in the world have met with
considerable difficulties.
Peat is vegetable matter - largely heather and mosses - decomposed
through the centuries and partly carbonised. It was extensively
used in the Highlands as a fuel, being hand cut and dried
in the summer in sacks. It burns with a sweet aroma of a varying
character and intensity depending upon the composition and
in turn the area in which it is cut. In that variation connoisseurs
believe they have an important clue to why malt whiskies vary
so much in taste.
The Scots are never far from the water be it the sea, loch,
river or stream. For their whisky the water comes from natural
springs or the purest burn source. Softened by its passage
through peat and granite, it too is found in subtle variety
and each distiller guards his supply jealously. In a country
noted for its high rainfall it is interesting to observe that
drought has occasionally posed problems.
At one time all the grain required for the making of Scotch
was grown in Scotland. The scale of production is now so great,
however, that a proportion has to be imported from other countries,
including North America. The prime requirement, whatever the
source, is quality, with the malt whiskies being made entirely
from barley and the grain whiskies being made barley and maize
in varying proportions.
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