When I moved to the UK, some of my Scottish relatives told me I needed
to get into whiskey tasting. Honestly, I was unsure. I had tried whiskey before,
but it was never really my cup of tea. As someone that is opening a brewery, I know that there's
a lot that goes in to creating whiskey. After all, they've kept this in a barrel for 10 years.
That's a long time to store something. I had to therefore go around Scotland and
visit the distilleries and see what makes this so special. And here's what I learned. For a
spirit to be called scotch whiskey, it needs to be made in Scotland. It then can only use malted
barley water and yeast. So they're quite simple ingredients, but they manage to change the flavors
through putting it in oak cast, adding different cereal malts to give it different colors.
They then have to barrel age it for a minimum of three years. And most whiskey distilleries
will do 10 plus years. You'll see some like going on 40, 50 years, which is insane amount of time
to keep some spirits in a barrel, but that's why they're worth a lot of money.
So then the spirit can either be a single malt or a blended malt.
So the distilleries can blend some of their different whiskeys together, or they might blend
it with another distillery. However, if it's been in the same barrel, it is a single malt whiskey.
Now that we know the basics of whiskey, you have to learn how to taste it. So if you visit any
distillery on your visit through Scotland, they will run you through how to do this like a pro.
Here's my basic run through for you. First, you need the glass wear. So it's kind of like a sherry
glass, but it doesn't have the stem. And this is so that you can swirl the whiskey and sniff the
whiskey. So it's designed perfectly so that you can get all the smells and aromas come through.
Also, it stops you like throwing whiskey to your next neighbor across or on yourself,
which is always a bonus. So at any tasting event, you'll generally find these glasses.
Now I'm no pro at tasting whiskey, but there are three steps. There is the smell,
palate and taste. So you start off with swirling your whiskey, smelling it,
and then taking a small sip, but keeping it in your mouth so you get the palate.
And then drinking it so you get the taste that goes down your throat. And through these
different phases, it should give you the journey through the whiskey. So think of the start,
middle and end through whole process. So the smell is the start, the palate is the middle
and the end of the story is the taste. You should be able to taste things like,
is it soft? Is it hot? Is it drying? So it has some tannins or is it refreshing or is it lively?
Can you pick up any of the sweetness? And then after swallowing the whiskey,
what are you left with? Is it short, medium, or long, dry or smooth? Are there new flavors
that you have tasted while swallowing it. Now that you know how to taste whiskey,
you need to grab a fellow enthusiast, travel companion of whoever is going on this Scottish
adventure with you to one of the whiskey regions. There are over 130 active distilleries in
Scotland, so there is a lot to choose from. There are five regions that produce whiskey
and these regions are Campbeltown, Speyside, Lowlands, Islay and the Highlands.
Sometimes you'll hear mention a sixth region, which is the Islands, but most of the time they
are wrapped into the Highland region. Where the whiskey is made, does have an impact on
the flavors. So the ones that are closer to the sea, you will get a bit more salty flavor.
The ones that are a bit more inland might be a bit fresher and it all plays a part in the whiskey.
So I have a Benriach and this is from Speyside. So Speyside is well known for a frugal peats and full
of fruity flavors. Think apple, pear, honey, with a bit of spice. And most of the whiskeys in the
region, I generally put into a Sherry cask. Sherry casks are like my favorite type of cask to put
whiskey in because I feel like it gives like that sweet flavor through. And I really dislike Sherry.
Today I'm trying a single malt whiskey from Benriach. It is a hidden gem from the area and
they specialize in classic unpeated, Highland peated and triple distilled. And they carve
flavors through the cask that they use. So you know that you're going to be drinking
something special here. It was opened by John Duff in 1898 when he bought the ranch farm
there. So yeah, it's been around for some time and definitely worth going to visit
And this cute little pack I got, they come with this tasting notes because I'm actually terrible
trying to get out what flavor has come through things. So here we're supposed to get nectarine,
honeydew, melon, vanilla and sponge through the nose, so when you smell it. And then in the
palette it's supposed to come through with kind of baked goods flavors, kind of think croissant,
dripped in milk, and drinking some coffee. And then the finish is nutty malt, vanilla
pods and apricot remains. It's actually really good tasting whiskey. I highly recommend this one.
The Lowlands are famous for their gentle triple distilled malts and lighter notes
that come through the whiskey. Things like lemongrass, ginger,
cinnamon, and toffee are some of the flavors that you could see for whiskeys in this region. Today,
I'm going to try the Glenkinchie, 12 year old single malt. It is an entry level whiskey,
and it won the Lowland Single Malt whiskey of 2014 and some other whiskey awards. So
I'm looking forward to this one. It's a little gem here.
Oh, I can like smell the saltiness in this.
Apparently it doesn't have any salt in it so I don't know. So the notes are light yet fragrant,
fresh cereal with grist of barley sweetness and nutty notes. I definitely got the nutty notes.
Is a very fruity with notes of Madeira. So I'm assuming it has been put in a Madeira cask, which
I do quite like a Madeira. A hint of calvados and tannic oat lining with the mouth. Yeah I mean,
it is quite a smooth whiskey with a medium strength notes of cereal and fresh greenness.
The Highlands is a diverse region and offers lots of flavors. You can get very light malted whiskeys
to ones that are influenced by the seas. So there is something for everybody palette in
the Highlands. I think that's probably why it's one of my favorite areas to go try whiskey out.
Expect subtle oak jams that express their dramatic coastline and [inaudible 00:07:51], whilst leaving
rich fruitiness, honey, and occasionally a bit of peat and smoke. Today I'm going to be trying
the Glengoyne, 10 year old single malt whiskey. They have a secret waterfall that they source
their water for their whiskey from. It was opened in 1833, so it's been around for quite some time.
So it's a part of the furniture. All right, swirl. Nose.
That's actually a very light whiskey too. So this has slightly herbal
smell, big bourbon influence. So I'm assuming it was put in a bourbon cask,
white milk bottle sweets with more creamy and fruity flavors.
Pallet is barley, rich, more bourbon influence, clean and dry. And then the finish
is long barley, rich, and a touch of hoisin. So I'm assuming, because I haven't got the
information up with me at the moment that this was aged in a bourbon cask and fun fact that America
only generally uses their cask once and then they send them over to Scotland because there's
rules and regulations between whiskey and bourbon. Expanding on the island. Most of the whiskeys are
tinged by the salinity of the seas and taste will vary from island to island. Take Talisker Skye,
this has a very honey and heather notes that come through and some of the other islands will come
through with nutty flavors and a middle ground between sweetness and smokiness. Going over to
Campbeltown, their whiskeys are varied and full of flavor. Think hints of salt, smokiness, fruit,
vanilla, and toffee. They're very robust and full of body.
I'm going to be trying a Glen Scotia whiskey today. This is a 15 year old single malt. Glen
Scotia is one of the smallest whiskey distilleries in Scotland, but it's a big name in Campbeltown,
so you definitely have to visit. The distillery maintains most of its original features. So the
stills and the warehouse dating back to 1830. Okay.
They're Glen Scotia so this has through the nose, lots of root fruits, apricot jam, satsuma segments
and apple pie. And then the palate is vanilla and fruit with ginger and cinnamon, bringing a subtle
dryness. It is definitely a little bit drier than the rest of them. The finish is quite long with a
continuing spice. I totally agree actually. Islay is famous for its fiery and heated whiskeys. Now
don't go butchering the name like I do. Sometimes I say Islay and that is totally wrong and everyone
makes fun of my pronunciations because I totally suck at it. So I do apologize if I've said
something wrong in this video, but definitely say ai-luh so you don't look like a fool, like I have
previously. So it's home to the very smoky flavors that come from the peat and on the south coast,
you'll find these more intense and going a bit more inland. On Islay you'll find that they're
not as intense as the ones on the south coast. Aerolite Lyndsay is the whiskey I'll be trying
today. And this is from the character of Islay whiskey company. They actually don't
distill their own whiskey. They get whiskeys from other distilleries and they create their
own whiskeys. So these can be blended whiskeys or single malt whiskeys. This is a 10 year old
single malt whiskey that I'll be trying. Their ambition as an independent bottler is a hard peat
for whiskeys and they draw their inspiration for creating whiskeys based on the island. So anything
to do with the island and the people involved, this is what makes their whiskeys so special.
Oh, I can already smell the peaty, smokiness that is coming
through. Hm.
Yeah. Nose, lots of maritime peat with notes of iodine, intertwined with honey sweetness, paprika,
salted caramel and old bookshelves. What does old bookshelves taste like? I mean,
that is such a weird like, well, I guess it's a smell. Old books do smell. And then the palette is
smoked with tan alongside mint dark chocolate, espresso and new leather with honey
and soy sauce mixed together. And then the finish is boiled mint, sweeties, licorice, bonfire smoke,
toffee, penny with a pinch of salt. I would say that yeah, this is
not my style of whiskey. It definitely is a lot stronger in the spunkiness
and kind of robust flavors. And I tend to go for the lighter sweeter whiskeys. So if you're into
this kind of whiskey, then Islay is definitely a place you must visit.
Now I realize how easy it is to taste and find good whiskey,
it's honestly become one of my favorite pastimes. If you're going to Scotland, make sure that you
take one of their tours and experience it for yourself. I'll leave links in the description
below of all the whiskeys I tried today. And I look forward to seeing you in this video.