HOSTING A HOME WHISKEY TASTING // WHISKEY PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT!

What better way to kick off 2015 (and also show this weather who’s boss) than with a home whiskey tasting? Good friends, good spirits, and good conversation will never do you wrong. Our beloved Tasting Table member & Editor of alcoholprofessor.com, Amanda Schuster, shows us all how to do it right.

In kindergarten they taught us to share, and sometimes the best part of the whiskey experience is sharing it with your friends. Or even better, gathering your friends to share their stash with you!

This a great time of year to have a whiskey-themed party. You could just get a few bottles together and let everyone help themselves while they sit around and chat about the ways of the world. However, it’s a lot more fun if everyone is tasting together and there’s a progression of styles to sip from.

There are several ways to go about this. The first step is deciding how many people to gather and then how many whiskeys to try. If everyone is tasting at the same time and then commenting, it’s usually best to keep the group small - a dozen or fewer - to stay organized and allow the experience to be one communal conversation.

Then there’s what kind of whiskey to pour. You can choose a theme (more on that ahead) or simply decide on a few simply because you like them. Either way, a few rules of thumb:

• How many bottles? Each taster should have a flight of at least 5 whiskeys for variation and probably no more than 8 or risk palate fatigue. The pours should only be about ½ an oz each, or roughly one finger. In terms of liquid volume, you probably won’t need more than one bottle of each whiskey, unless you expect a lot to be consumed or it’s a large party. The general rule of thumb is two full bottles per 10 thirsty people. As a host, depending on your budget and state of your collection, you could provide all the whiskey yourself or have people bring their own to add to the mix.

• What kind of glass is best? How many should be on hand? Some whiskey enthusiasts swear by using only snifter or Glencairn style glasses to taste effectively. However, rocks glasses or even wine glasses with smaller to medium bowls will do the trick nicely. You also don’t have to give everyone more than 2 or 3 glasses at a time. Either dump out (or better yet, finish!) the first set of tastes before moving on and you’ll save on glassware, not to mention dishwashing duty.

• Should I have water available to add to the whiskey? Yes. Allow people to taste first without water, then give them the option to add a couple of drops to see if that affects the tasting experience. It’s a good idea to provide liquid droppers (you can often find them at a pharmacy) or straws for that purpose.

• What about water to sip? YES! Very important that in addition to the whiskey, everyone gets a water glass and is encouraged to use it throughout the event. Hydration is key, friends!

• Is there a proper progression for presentation? What to start with? What to end with? The best way to progress through a tasting is to sip the lightest whiskey first and end with the richest and/or most heavily flavored/smokiest. As a host, it’s a good idea to taste everything yourself first to be sure you have the right order. Lighter in color does not necessarily mean lighter in flavor. Some of the most astringent whiskies, such as Laphroaig, are a pale straw color!

• Should people write down their tasting notes? It certainly can’t hurt to make sure your friends all have the Distiller app installed, where they can add the whiskeys you’re tasting to their own collection as well as add their own notes and ratings! (Paper works too, we suppose.)
  

• Should I serve snacks? By all means, yes! As with wine, whiskey is terrific with cheese and charcuterie, hummus and most party dips. It also pairs beautifully with chocolate and nuts. Just don’t serve anything with a lot of hot spice or anything too herbal or it will conflict with the tasting experience. (Doesn’t matter how good your recipe is or how easy it is to serve it to a crowd, chili is definitely not recommended.) 

What about themes? A few ideas:

• All one region or style. All bourbon or all American, all rye, all scotch, all Irish, all Canadian, all Japanese, etc. Or you could do all single malts - either from Scotland or a selection from different parts of the world. Or Compare world whiskies such as those from India, Tasmania, Taiwan and Japan. Lots of possibilities here.

• All one age. For instance, see what 12 year old bourbon, such as Elijah Craig, is like compared to 12 year old Irish single malt, such as Knappogue Castle, or 12 year old single malt such as The Irishman, or 12 year old Scotch such as Old Pulteney, etc. The age-based possibilities are numerous.

• All one flavor profile. You can serve peated and/or smoky whiskies all from one place, like Scotland. Or make it global. For instance, try something like Lagavulin compared with Connemara peated and Corsair Triple Smoke and Hakushu 12 Year. Or a tasting of whiskies with wine finishes (We’ve talked about wine finishes). Or a tasting of whiskies with other spirit finishes, such as rum cask.

• Compare prices. Ever been to a whiskey event and someone says, “Let me taste the most expensive thing on your table”? Find out if the most expensive one on offer really is better than something at a lower price range. This would be a good one to do blind (more on that later).

• Vertical tasting. If you’re lucky enough to have access to (and be willing to share) different marks or ages all from one distillery, do a vertical tasting and compare expressions.

• Whisky Battle Royale! Have a regional smackdown. Let tasters decide if that Brooklyn whiskey really is as good as or better than something from Kentucky. Or if Japanese whisky really does hold up to scotch. Or Canadian rye vs. American. Just be prepared for some fightin’ words!
  

• What about a blind tasting? One of the best ways to impress the group is to cover the bottles and number each whiskey. Let everyone reference the whiskey only by the number assigned to it, and then reveal them at the end. Ta-da! Again, not necessary, but it’s a really fun way to taste, and also train your senses for further research. This tactic often has surprising results.

So many great ways to share whiskey with friends! Have fun with it and let us know what you taste! Cheers!