How to throw a Single Malt Scotch Tasting Party

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By dwwilkin
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A bar full of Single Malts

Want to try your hand, er Nose and Tastebuds, at a more refined drink? Scotch is not for everyone but once mastered, it will provide years of enjoyment.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Drinking Glasses
Friends
Hors D'oeuvres
6 Single Malts
A pitcher of water

Step 1

A classy way to achieve success is to send out invitations. You can of course do this informally, but I find that a printed invitation, and in this day and age, especially since you are reading this on a computer somewhere, making an invitation should be pretty easy.
Step 2

With the invitation, as you the host will be providing the scotch for your friends enjoyment, having each of your friends bring an hors d'oeuvres is a fair trade off. These should be palette cleansers. Light, cheese, crackers, vegetables, salami, dips, fruit.
Step 3

A good tasting glass

Be sure you have prepared everything in advance. Clean the glasses, have the water ready before the guests arrive, chilled is best. Have the scotch out and ready to hand. A place set up for the hors d'oeuvres.

For Scotch choices, an Islay amongst your selection would be a good balance to Highland and Speyside choices. Often a Lagavulin or Laphroaig, with a Glenmorangie and either a Glenlivet or Glenfiddich, and perhaps a cask strength too.
Step 4

Having a noted authority to help out is preferable, and since they are few and far between, Michael Jackson, now the immortal as we lost him a few years past, but he will live on as his Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch remains in print, or one of Jim Murray's books to augment the tasting will be just as good.
Step 5

Sample Tasting Notes sheet

Supply each of the tasters with a pen and a sheet of paper that has the names of the nights scotches, their years, any special notes and places for the following:
Scotch Tasted
Age
Colour
Nose
Body
Palette
Finish
and Score
Step 6

Here as an introduction, you may wish to discuss the steps of distilling whisky.

Malting
Mashing
Fermentation
Distillation
Maturing
and Bottling
Step 7

Now the fun begins
Pour a little, 1 fingers worth into our tasters glasses. (You don't want to give out too much, these people will have to drive after the party.)
Step 8

Nose the scotch. Stick your proboscis right in there and take a big whiff. Think about it.
Hold the glass up to the light and look at the color, think is it amber, or gold, or light, or dark.
Swirl the liquor around the glass and look at its legs. Fancy, expensive wine is not the only thing with legs, nor a hot model in a ZZ Top music video.
Step 9

Write down your impressions because now you are getting ready for the first sip, but don't swallow, at least not too quickly. Hold that first taste onto your tongue.

Hold it.

Hold it.

And then when you think you should swallow, hold it for just a little longer, and then let it go down, and now you can comment on the Palette and the Finish from your first sip.

But before the second and your wanting to finish the taste of this whisky that you are trying, add the water and repeat the nosing and the tasting, for water provides an entirely new dimension to the flavors.
Step 10

Now that you and your guests have each tried the Whisky (you know that only Whisky from Scotland has no 'e' and is called Scotch?)

Compare notes, talk about the different flavors, and when you think you have exhausted all you could think of, open up Jackson or Murray, or some other notes that you wish to refer to and see what the experts had to contribute. You will be pleasantly surprised by what you find in contrast and what you discovered that they agree with also/
Step 11

The last step before starting the next tasting, is to cleanse the palette and here is where the hors d'oeuvres come in. Get up and mingle and eat some finger food. Clean out the tasting glasses in preparation for round two, three, four or more, and socialize with your friends before returning to the serious study of usquebea, the water of life.

Sláinte!

Comments

DavidWisehart said

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on 2/15/2009 Great article. I love single malt scotch, but most of my friends don't. Maybe I should throw a single malt scotch tasting party and invite them over. Delicious! Thanks.