Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
Today's video is all about whiskey and scotch tasting and how you can host a whiskey tasting
at home.
Drinking scotch or bourbon is a matter of choice and for some people, it's a pleasure
but it can also be quite intimidating if you are new to the subject matter if you don't
know what you're doing.
Good news is, you should drink what you like because that's all that matters.
There are thousands of whiskeys out there and unfortunately, it will be very costly
to try all of them so in order to refine your palette and to figure out what you like and
what you don't like, it pays to have a whiskey tasting.
That way, you find something you like, you can branch off and find similar ones that
taste like that one that is your favorite.
if you organize a whiskey tasting or be a part of one, it's a great way to have an evening
with friends in an intimate setting where you can crack jokes, enjoy whiskey, and have
a good time.
Today's video is brought to you by Flaviar, the world's largest clubs for whiskeys and
fine spirits for explorers at heart so what does that mean?
Generally, when you go to a well-sorted liquor store, they may have maybe 50 or 100 bottles
of scotch, same thing with a bar.
At Flaviar, you can get over 10,000 different whiskeys.
On the one hand, they offer subscription boxes that come right to you with different flavors
and it's all prepped so you can have a whiskey tasting in your own home that is fun and different.
On the other hand, you can order bottles of bourbon and scotch that are common or very
uncommon and buy them in bottles or in little tastings that you want that are very hard
to get otherwise because they are either very expensive or simply unavailable where you
live.
Before we go into whiskey tasting, it's important to know that whisky with just the Y is scotch
whiskey from Scotland and whiskey with EY can be whiskey from Japan, or Ireland, or
the US.
At the end of the day, bear in mind, it's just terminology and it really doesn't matter.
Drink what you like.
So what are your options if you want to refine your palette and get to know more about whiskey?
Number 1 is go to a local bar and check it out.
The advantage is you don't have to buy the whole bottle, you can just try whatever the
bartender recommends.
The disadvantage is usually they are quite limited in their selection and you just have
to make do with what they have.
In my experience, they can be rather costly because a regular bottle that cost maybe 60-100
bucks in store will run you about 20 bucks for a single shot.
Option number 2 is to simply just buy a few bottles at the liquor store and see what you
get.
The problem is, you have to buy the entire bottle and even though you get a bigger bang
for your buck than at the bar, you may end up with something you don't really like and
it's an entire waste of money.
Also, it does not make sense if you have a small group of just four people because you
end up with a lot of whiskey afterwards and if you don't like it, it's a waste.
Option number 3 is to go with a tasting service like Flaviar and they send you samples in
50ml sizes which is larger than a shot, which is great if you have a few people in your
tasting group, but is a lot less than a bottle.
Flaviar also curates the selection for you and provides a blind tasting opportunity so
if you get a card with A, B, and C, and your tasters don't know what they are tasting,
so it's a true experience and you can reveal what they were actually drinking.
So if someone brags that they can taste the difference of different ones, you can put
them on the spot.
What I really like about Flaviar is that you don't have to do the research because they
do it for you.
Also, once you find something that you like, they have a flavor matching algorithm that
finds bottles and whiskeys that are very similar to what you like.
Then you have the option to either get a sample that you want you or you simply order the
bottle and they ship it to you for free.
Best of all, if you like to have your buddies and friends over for whiskey tasting every
once in a while, you can sign up for their quarterly subscription box so stuff comes
right to your home.
You simply have to sign for it but it's and it's a really great deal so with over 15,000
spirits, the breadth and depth of the whiskeys they can get you is unmatched.
To learn more about Faviar and their subscription box service, simply follow the link below
where you can sign up.
Usually, it's by invitation only but they provided us with a link that allows you to
get on for sure and give it a try for yourself.
Of course, you can just enjoy your whiskey and talk about it but if you are a little
more serious or if you have a slightly larger group, maybe some connoisseurs, it pays to
offer pen and paper so you can have some tasting notes.
Once you're done with the tasting, you can compare them to the Flaviar tasting profile
so you see if you can taste the caramel or the citrus notes or maybe just taste like
honey to you.
If you have larger groups, it pays to break everything down into groups of 3-5 people.
That way, it's more intimate, it's fun, and afterwards, you can have panels maybe and
compare tasting notes.
if you've never hosted a tasting before, I strongly suggest you hire someone who is a
whiskey expert and can guide people through and talk about maybe the different regions
of the whiskey, where they come from, and the different flavors.
It's a lot more fun that way.
if that's not an option, Flaviar basically provides you with all the information you
need to host a tasting successfully.
At the end of the day, it should be tasting and fun and not intimidating.
In terms of glassware, the gold standard for whiskey tasting is the Glencairn glass.
It's like a snifter, it's perfectly a small size so you don't have people who are drunk
and hammered but it's enough to get the full flavors out with your nose and with your palette.
They're on Amazon shipped with Prime and they are quite inexpensive.
Normally, you should pour about 8th of an ounce per person which is just enough to taste
it and you won't need a spittoon because at the end of the day, it's expensive spirit
and you should drink it, enjoy it, and not just waste it.
if you want to bring your whiskey tasting to the next level, you can combine it with
maybe cigars, maybe some chocolate or other things to nibble on such as cheese with interesting
flavors that complement the whiskey.
Of course, you don't want to overbear the senses and so it pays to have some coffee
beans which help to neutralize your nose so you are always able to basically start at
zero when you have a new whiskey.
If you want your whiskey tasting to be special, send out a handwritten invitation that shows
people that you really put some work into it and they're excited to show up.
If you want, you can even set a dress code and make it a fun evening event.
if you have seen as on TV, you often see whiskey with ice but I suggest to skip the ice entirely
because it's too cold and it suppresses the aroma and the flavors in the whiskey so you
can't really taste what's going on.
One thing that I learned is that when drinking spirits, it really pays to add water because
that does not make them weaker but it actually opens up the flavor because just like ice,
alcohol at high alcohol levels can suppress flavors so by adding a little bit of water,
not only does this go further but you also get different flavor profiles of the same
dram of whiskey.
That way, if you have three whiskeys, you get 6 essentially different flavor experiences
which is a nice side effect.
In today's video, I'm wearing a double breasted 6*2 flannel suit with a wide window over pane,
it's a Vitale Barberis Canonico fabric, it's a custom made suit and pairing it with a white
dress shirt and I have a pair of red carnelian with Sterling silver cufflinks that I paired
with a malachite and sterling silver ring because red and green go well together.
I also have a slightly pinkish silk knit tie also from Fort Belvedere as well as a pocket
square in dark burgundy red with tones of green and blue because that goes well with
my suede shoes and the green shoelaces.
My socks are a two tone shadow stripe charcoal sock with turquoise stripes because they are
two tone, it works with the green in my outfit as well as with the grays, without being the
exact matching tone.
The shoelaces are green they go well with my ring and it's just a fun way to spice up
the look of your shoes and create an entirely new outfit.
As always, you can find these accessories in our shop here.
If you want to learn more about whiskey tasting, how to host a whiskey party, please check
out our in depth guide on the website.
And if you want to learn more about Flaviar, check out the link below.
Thank you.