Descriptive's

[MauiSon]

Leather is also a good one that I can relate to smell,but actually a taste,maybe it feels leathery in the mouth ,I can go with that,but not so much as a taste.I mean I guess unless your into some strange things,(Which there's nothing wrong with that,to each his own) what does leather actually taste like, I really dont want to know. But what I can tell you is that I just bought a bottle of 4rsy, never had it before... and it tastes like..... well ..I want another one!

I guess you never chewed on your mitt while waiting for some action in the outfield, eh?

[mfxr]

One that always makes me laugh is the writeup for Talisker Storm on the Masters of Malt website:

Initial brine, but not as abrupt as the 10 Year Old, quite creamy by comparison. Banana. Banana angel delight? Window putty, hint of sticking plasters and barbecues, citrus. White pepper develops towards the bottom of the glass.

Window putty and sticking plasters?!

It gets more amusing if you read further down to the customer reviews:

My personal favourite:

Not really my cup of tea, nose is reminiscent of monkey arpit with a hint of juniper and a slight sprinkle of Brut 22. Palate was interesting enough as it suggested traffic wardens insole mixed with lime and rubber gloves. Finish was a little to gangbang for me and overall just a bit too Michael Jackson.

I really don't know what to say to that

:grin:

[squire]

He's either announcing a rather unusual lifestyle or saying he didn't like it.

[sailor22]

"Wet pavement"....... whatever that is...lol. How does one know what wet pavement tastes like in order to use it as a descriptor? :shocked:

[squire]

Indelible lesson I'm sure but you wouldn't lick it on purpose.

[smokinjoe]

Our buddy Troyce pulled out the "Sheetrock Mud" descriptor one day during a tasting, upon which I called BS. However, it was I who was full of it, as i learned with more time with the drink, that his description was spot on.

[squire]

Anyone who's sanded sheetrock will know the taste and it's honestly acquired. I'm still trying to figure out what compelled the first person to lick a rock. A childhood dare perhaps? Then how would the others know? Is this something endemic in the British Public school system?

[dSculptor]

Our buddy Troyce pulled out the "Sheetrock Mud" descriptor one day during a tasting, upon which I called BS. However, it was I who was full of it, as i learned with more time with the drink, that his description was spot on.

The power of suggestion,the brain works in mysterious ways.

[smokinjoe]

I'm sure that during the blind tasting that's scheduled for the GBS meet-up on Saturday, some knucklehead will pipe up with the ever popular, "hint of anise", which will of course commence our transformation into a giggling group of 12 yr olds, for which we're all guilty of...and relish.

If we stay true to form, Troyce will again be the instigator...

[Gillman]

Anise just means licorice but there is a time and a place, and a lengthy recitation of qualities doesn't really fit some occasions. If you're hanging, then hang, dang.

But stepping back from such a context, for people not used to analysing the sensory qualities of a product, "flowery" descriptions may sound odd. But in fact they have always been used starting in industry circles with its "flavor wheels" and so forth. E.g. I have noticed that some contract whiskeys are slightly deficient, some have a "farmyard" taste, slight but detectable, some a touch of "humid basement", some a little hot, etc. I believe the producer must be aware of that and has identified it by some term or other (else how could they do their work) and so the product goes out to be sold by someone else. Obviously not all or even most contract whiskey is of this type, but some is IMO.

So the bourbon community took its cues from technical talk like that - they call it organoleptic analysis I think - or consumer writers did and the various consumer or enthusiast groups followed. Every trade or community has its ways of talking, and spirits has a way now that has been accepted for some years in informed circles.

Gary

[Flyfish]

Our buddy Troyce pulled out the "Sheetrock Mud" descriptor one day during a tasting, upon which I called BS. However, it was I who was full of it, as i learned with more time with the drink, that his description was spot on.

A couple years ago I noticed something in BT that I described as Play Doh, the stuff popular with our grandkids. It was probably Troyce who suggested that sheetrock mud was a more manly descriptor. Thanks for that.

[zillah]

I have noticed that some contract whiskeys are slightly deficient, some have a "farmyard" taste, slight but detectable, some a touch of "humid basement", some a little hot, etc. I believe the producer must be aware of that and has identified it by some term or other (else how could they do their work) and so the product goes out to be sold by someone else. Obviously not all or even most contract whiskey is of this type, but some is IMO.Gary

Interesting that you mention this Gary, as I couldn't quite put my finger on what this flavor was. It was something I sometimes found in bourbon and definitely some sherried scotches, but always found in bottom shelf commodity American blends. At that point though, they were so rife with this note that it was almost nauseating. I let it pass sometimes if it showed up in my bourbon - I would call it resinous oak...closest I could come up with - but sometimes it would become so prevalent that I could only connect it with a memory I had of my Dad's dusty, saw dust ridden, greasy basement workshop in the summer time. Can't exactly put that note down - as no one else would know what I am talking about except me.

[Brisko]

Anyone who's sanded sheetrock will know the taste and it's honestly acquired. I'm still trying to figure out what compelled the first person to lick a rock. A childhood dare perhaps? Then how would the others know? Is this something endemic in the British Public school system?

You should hang out with geologists some time. They use taste to identify rocks fairly frequently, I'm told.

As for me, I don't know if I've used the "wet slate" or "wet pavement" descriptor (knowing my tendencies, I would bet that I have), but for me that would be an aroma only, not a flavor descriptor. I don't go around putting rocks in my mouth. Sheetrock mud, on the other hand, after a day mudding a humid room, you can taste that. It hangs in the air. The dust is something else entirely, but it has its own flavor.

[Gillman]

Well (Zillah) also it's a question of different qualities, not just "deficiencies" as such. Maybe a given profile requires not to be "woody" beyond a certain amount, or not too sweet or something. There has to be a way in distilleries to classify all these tastes, I doubt it can be done just by chemical analysis. And sure some great whiskey can go out in contract form, maybe the producer has more than he can sell, or contractor has stipulated for that, etc. I am not trying to draw any general conclusions but just to note that I have detected flavors I believe have been spotted by a taste panel, and there has to be a vocabulary to describe all this. There is in the beer world, so why not spirits? Just the other day on a historical beer site, terms (this from the 1920's) to describe beer flavors used by a company for in-house purposes included "two sweet", "casky", "too bitter", "going off", "sour". Okay fairly basic but that is almost 100 years ago and since then terms have gotten more precise, but it is the same process today except consumer groups get in on the act via blogs, online rating and enthusiast groups, etc.

[zillah]

A shame they don't have that type of precision with spirits. Beer and wine certainly do - companies (such as this) aim to train you for it.

The only reason I could think of is that spirits are too volatile and more complex. It is hard to judge just what a deficiency or off note is and whether or not something is truly appreciated. Peat is the most popular example that comes to mind.

[squire]

You should hang out with geologists some time. They use taste to identify rocks fairly frequently, I'm told.

All the geologists I know drink scotch.

[HighInTheMtns]

All the geologists I know drink scotch.

I know two... One of them pretends to like wine but always leaves his bottles unfinished, the other likes crappy beer more than anything but appreciates good beer and bourbon... Not so much scotch.

[squire]

Well, if you're going to pretend wine will do. With nothing more than the internet and some spare time you can learn to talk a good game.

[Restaurant man]

Well, if you're going to pretend wine will do. With nothing more than the internet and some spare time you can learn to talk a good game.

Works with bourbon too. (Pass the pappy). As far as the descriptors in the original post, 'swamp piss?'

Do swamps piss? What color? :laugh:

[smokinjoe]

As far as the descriptors in the original post, 'swamp piss?'

Do swamps piss? What color? :laugh:

I don't think they do, Kevin. But, I'm pretty sure they fart. Which can also be used to describe in some whiskies, that "hint of Anise"...

[squire]

I actually have some knowledge of swamps but prefer the term stump water.

[393foureyedfox]

I prefer the term stump water.

thats something else entirely around here.....

[B.B. Babington]

seems to me stump water is rotten, more earthy than silage, sort of like silage that's been buried and then dug up next month. whereas swamp piss has more piquant flavor, sometimes fishy depending on the swamp. grappa anyone? well, some grappa more like straight kerosene.

[squire]

The nuances of stump water are dependent on the make of tree which gave rise to the stump.

[B.B. Babington]

The nuances of stump water are dependent on the make of tree which gave rise to the stump.

I hadn't thought of that, but makes perfect sense when ya think of difference when liquid sits in white oak vs limousin oak.