1- Tasting & Evaluating Spirits Flashcards
Prepare for tasting
- Good lighting, odor free, sufficient space, spittoons
- Clean palate, well hydrated (nasal aroma receptors dry, lose saliva as you spit), water available
- Glassware free of residue, rounded bowl, sides slope inward to conc aromas, have stem, ISO or Whisky nosing glass, always use same type
Tasting sample size
1.5 cL or 0.5 US fl. Oz.
Appearance
- Can’t determine type, quality, maturity, distiller can manipulate colour & intensity
- Note clarity, intensity & colour
Clarity
‘Clear’, ‘hazy’- can be fault or not chill-filtered, need nose & palate to determine if faulty
Aroma intensity
How much colour it has, look against white surface, 5-point scale :
- ‘Water-white’ - vodka, some rums, agave
- ‘Pale’- short-aged, no caramel colour, reposado Tequilas, Scotch Grain whiskies, bison grass vodka, can only see with sufficient volume
- ‘Medium’ - wood-aged
- ‘Deep’- bitters, rums, long wood-aging, maceration, caramel
- ‘Opaque’- cream liqueurs, advocaat
Colour
- Off still is ‘water-white’
- Post-distillation operations- oak-aging, botanicals, caramel, artificial colourings, oak & caramel used together frequently, cannot determine maturity or quality
- Oak maturation- ‘lemon’ (yellow), ‘gold’ (some orange or brown), ‘amber’ (orange, majority), ‘brown’ (orange & yellow faded)
- Botanical or artificial colour- ‘pink’, ‘red’, ‘orange’, ‘yellow’, ‘green’, ‘blue’, ‘purple’, ‘brown’, ‘black’
Other appearance observations
- ‘Louching’- when water added becomes hazy or opaque, some chemicals can only remain in solution if abv above a certain level
- Some gins have high conc of citrus oils- become ‘slightly hazy’
- Aniseed-flavored spirits- ‘cloudy & opaque’
- solids- deliberate gold flakes in Goldschlager
- Non intentional wood fragments from barrel
Nose
Quick, short sniffs (don’t overwhelm), no need to swirl (too much alcohol evaporates), dilute & assess again
2 reasons to dilute spirit
1- reducing abv- easier to taste many (palate fatigue)
2- helps open up aromas, reveal extra layers of complexity, easier to distinguish aromas, fruit spirits may become less clear
- 50:50 is highest level recommended, be consistent
Condition
- Faults rare with widely distributed spirits, more common with small distilleries with less experience
- Context- heads & tails removed in malt whisky in Scotland but Mezcal tolerates higher levels
- 4 common faults- ‘Group 1 fractions’’, ‘Group 3 fractions’, cork taint, out of condition
High levels of Group 1 fractions
Conc in heads, ‘headsy’, solvent aroma, can have shooting sensation in nose, gritty, drying, powdery/chalky texture
High levels of Group 3 fractions
Conc in tails, ‘tailsy’, cheese & plastic aromas, rough or coarse texture, form residue in still at end of 2nd distillation, cleaned out with heads the next time
Cork taint
Musty, damp-cardboard aromas, from production or packaging, cork a common source, low risk with high quality corks, can get from wood pallets & barrels
Out of condition
Bottle open too long, smells & tastes less fresh & complex
Aroma intensity
- ‘Neutral’- almost undetectable, main aroma is ethanol
- ‘Light’- if after sniffing still faint & hard to detect
- ‘Medium’
- ‘Pronounced’- immediately apparent when you insert nose into glass, even without sniffing
Aroma characteristics
- From raw materials, processing, oak &/or maturation, use groups to describe (prevents becoming overwhelmed, won’t overlook any)
- Multiple sniffs, use wide vocabulary & be precise, purpose is to describe to someone who hasn’t tasted- don’t use personal terms
Raw materials
- Raw material or combination
- Herbaceous- rhum agricole, agave spirits, pomace spirits, may confuse
- Compare samples to discern- grassy in rhum agricole, peppery, earthy in agave, woody in pomace spirits
Aromas from processing
3 groups- smoke, microbial, cuts
Smoke
Some Scotch whiskies, most Mezcal
Microbial
- Yeast- fruity yeast made esters
- Bacteria- less widespread, most obvious in some baijiu with pungent compost-like aromas
Cuts
Group 1 or 3 fractions in high levels, some can be a characteristic feature
Oak & maturation
- Contact with oak & prolonged oxidation
- New oak- vanilla & sweet spice, Bourbon
- Old oak- less obvious, Scotch, Calvados
- Previously filled- Sherry butts- dried fruit & orange peel
- Long oak maturation- wood polish, earthy, mushroom
Palate
- Take > 1 sip to assess fully, one component may mask another (alcohol & fruity aromas add to perception of sweetness, sharp alcohol may offset sweetness)
- 3 senses- taste, touch & smell
Taste
5: acid/sour, sweet, bitter, salt, umami, only sweetness & bitterness (added post-distillation) important
- Acidity- close to neutral
- Salt (sodium) & umami (amino acids) not present in spirits
Touch
Smooth or has roughness & sharpness
Flavours on the palate
Detected in nose, volatile chemicals through nostrils, pass to the black of your mouth & into nasal cavity
Sweetness
- ‘Dry’- no newly distilled spirit has sugar, ethanol has slightly sweet taste, discern the sugar added after distillation
- ‘Off-dry’- very small amount of sugar added, Cognacs, hint of texture (viscous)
- ‘Medium’- has a sweet taste, not defining characteristic
- ‘Sweet’- liqueurs, pastis, combinations like vanilla & fruity aromas give illusion of sweetness, some botanicals like liquorice taste sweet
Texture
- How it feels in the mouth, not just from effect of alcohol
- Harsher texture from fusel alcohols, fatty acids, esters
Rough, harsh, sharp
- High levels of alcohol induce ‘pain’ response, burning sensation, gritty or astringent
- Bourbon, Armagnac, inexpensive vodkas
Smooth, silky
Absence of roughness, mouthfilling sensation, often created by addition of some sugar
Mouthfilling, full
Water does not linger, add sugar & opposite true, viscous, alcohols, oak congeners, additives add to mouthfeel
Watery, thin
Rare due to high levels of alcohol, rarely positive
Warming
Glow of warmth, positive, most noticeable on finish, assoc with alcohol, can have mix- some start mouthfilling d/t sugar but end watery & thin
Flavour intensity & characteristics
Same flavors as aromas, warms in your mouth so some chars may appear more or less apparent
Finish
How long positive flavours persist, simple or complex
Length
- ‘Short’- pleasant flavours disappear within a few seconds
- ‘Long’- for intense, complex spirits, flavours can last a minute or more
Nature
Whether flavours persist & for how long
- ‘Neutral’- Vodka
- ‘Simple’-a single flavour dominates
- ‘Some complexity’- variety of flavours but they quickly become generic, lose distinctiveness
- ‘’Very complex’- flavours persist, fruits, florals, wood, rancio flavours remain distinct & identifiable for some time, outstanding XO Cognac
Conclusions: Assessment of quality
4 key criteria: balance, length & intensity, complexity, expressiveness
Balance
- Aromas, tastes & textures work better when contrasting or complementing, each is well integrated into whole, no single element dominates, balance of aromas from raw materials, fermentation, oak & age
Length & intensity
- Balanced, pleasant, flavour lingers & evolves for many seconds, aromatic intensity on the nose & aromatic persistence on the palate appear together, some vodkas are intended to have short, neutral finish so consider their precision & purity
Complexity
More is an indicator of a better quality spirit, some vodkas are clean, some fruit spirits are pure & more complexity is undesirable
Expressiveness
Express something about their raw materials, how fermented, distilled or matured, looking for precision & clarity in flavours & textures
Quality
Steps: decide what criteria to prioritize based on style, apply criteria, use assessments for each criterion to reach conclusion
- ‘Poor’- comments mostly negative
- ‘Acceptable’- lacking in some combination of balance, length/intensity, complexity or expressiveness
- ‘Good’- balanced, positive & negative balanced
- ‘Very good’- balanced, extra level of length, intensity, complexity or expressiveness, but something is lacking
- ‘Outstanding’- left without any important negatives
Identification
Identify aromas, tastes, textures & relate to previous tastings & knowledge, ex. American rum & whiskies can be confused d/t forward oak aromas but if sweet rule out whiskies because sugar is not added
Aromas from raw material
- Agave, sugar cane juice & pomace- all colourless, herbaceous, focus on differences & similarities
- Bourbon, some rum- toffee & caramel aromas
Aromas created during production
- Smoke- rare, some whiskies & Mezcal, if it has aromas of cereal & oak don’t assume it is from peat, some craft distillers use wood-smoking techniques distinct from peat, smoke in Mezcal always in combination with earthy aromas of agave
- Fermentation esters- American whiskies & rum have pronounced fruity aromas
Aromas of oak & maturation
- Narrow down spirits with lack of oak, some now use oak in previously unoaked categories (vodka, gin)
- Determine what kind of oak aromas present, long or short aging?, previous contents? Sherry barrels give dried-fruit aromas, vibrant new oak with cereal aromas points away from Scotch & to American whisky, extended oak can change & diminish aromas so rum, whisky & Cognac can have more in common than when younger
Sweetness & textures
- Sweetness not added to all, sugar used in Cognac, Armagnac, some rums, aniseed-flavored spirits & liqueurs
- Cognac & Armagnac- never more than off-dry
- Sweetened rums- medium
- Aniseed- flavoured & liqueurs- sweet
- Sharp texture- Cognac, Armagnac, Bourbon
- Smooth- Scotch whiskies
Corn
Butterscotch, sweetcorn, corn bread, popcorn, caramel, burnt sugar, toffee, menthol
Malted barley
Husk, porridge, barley, malt, flour, oatmeal
Rye
Rye bread, gingerbread, peppercorn, allspice
Grape
Grape, fig, prune, raisin, sultana, citrus, elderflower, orange blossom, rose, violet, perfume, lavender, lilac, dried flowers
Agave
Agave, peppercorn, root vegetable, olive, capsicum, herbaceous
Sugar cane
Grass, herbaceous, caramel, burnt sugar, toffee, treacle, molasses
Fruits
Apple, pear, apricot, peach, plum, cherry, marzipan, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, orange, lemon
Botanicals
Juniper, citrus peel, root, earthy, cumin, peppercorn, aniseed, fennel, liquorice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon grass, mint
Smoke
Peat, medicinal, smoked fish, smoky, seaweed, smoke, iodine, char, charred vegetables
Esters
Banana, apple, pear, floral, pineapple, melon, mango, pear drops, nail varnish
Heads
Pungent solvent (prickling sensation on nose), vinegar
Tails
Plastic, cheese, feet, burnt rubber
Oak
Vanilla, toasted bread, coffee, cedar, char, spice, sherry, sawdust, coconut, coffee, nuts
Age/rancio
Fruit cake, candied fruits, leather, tobacco, wet leaves, mushroom, forest floor, meaty, gravy, yeast extract, wood polish
