"Pro Tips"

[smokinjoe]

Pro Tip:

if you haven't already, as part of the bourbon enthusiast community, you will at some time make it to the SB Gazebo Table in Bardstown or be involved in a multi-person "bring some bottles to share Gazebo style" meet-up somewhere.  At these things, there can be from dozens, to hundreds, of bottles all squished on a community table for sampling.  That's a great thing!  The problem lies when you go to retrieve your bottles when you have to head home...Which ones are yours?  If you brought a 4R PS, there may be 10 other 4RPS bottles out there!  For that matter, just finding a singular bottle in a sea of bottles is tough after a night of tasting.  Solution is to put some sort of Identifying Sticker on the top of your bottle(s), so you can make a quick sweep through and pluck yours out with ease.  

 

PS:  It doesn't hurt to write a note on which bottles you brought and shove it into your pocket, so you can refer to it to help you remember what ya brung.  Memories can fail depending on the hour...  

Edited November 8, 2017 by smokinjoe

[T Comp]

Pro Tip: If you go to Bardstown, don’t leave your bottles in Joe and Jimmy’s room...unless you’re a Bourbon Supreme fan ????.

[Gentleman Racer]

On 11/5/2017 at 3:07 PM, smokinjoe said:

You don't have to be a "pro", or even very experienced in our hobby to contribute here.  We all have something we know, do, have experienced, etc., that someone else here should learn.  My pro tip is:

Arm & Hammer with baking soda toothpaste.  Most minty toothpastes funk out the palate, resulting in not the best bourbon tasting experience.  A&H just cleans without leaving any breath freshener residue to taint ones palate.  

 

So Fellow bourbonians, got any pro tips for us?

Big fan of this.  I can have a drink right after brushing, no problem.  Never thought of mentioning it here.  But I heartily second this and recommend it unreservedly.  

[Kpiz]

On 11/7/2017 at 4:54 AM, smokinjoe said:

Pro Tip:

When hosting a tasting with several people and/or several pours, one of the most tedious parts of setting it up is getting small, even, and accurate pours into multiple small drinking vessels without splashing, spilling and dripping booze everywhere.  To make this process go infinitely faster, cleaner, and easier, get yourself one of those pour spout doohickies like in the pics below.  No runs, no drips, no errors...

 

21 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Great tip! Some also come with a specific amount that they pour (1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, 3/4 oz etc). Very useful for pouring multiples pours although they take a little practice as you have to hold them just so to get a fairly consistent pour. Just be sure to rinse (and dry) well in between different whiskies.

 

I second these recommendations. I use the 1oz regulated pour spout for my group's tastings, which usually consist of 6 whiskeys (plus whatever random bottles we pull off my shelves to try).

 

My pro tip for using the regulated pour spouts is to point the bottom of the bottle all the way up (bottle almost completely perpendicular to the ground) when pouring. If you try to pour normally, the mechanism won't work and the liquid will keep flowing.

[PaulO]

Another hunting type of tip - it's starting to be that time of year.  Holiday gift boxes will be showing up in stores.  Don't expect super rare unicorn bottles.  You can expect all the regular mainstream stuff: WT 101, MM, JD, EW, and others.  I have seen free glassware and a deal price at the same time.

[flahute]

16 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

Memories can fail depending on the hour...  

 

Especially when that hour is pushing 3am.........

Oooofff......The Gazebo takes no prisoners.

[lcpfratn]

Especially when that hour is pushing 3am.........
Oooofff......The Gazebo takes no prisoners.

Ain't that the truth...even though I don't think I lasted quite that long.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[smokinjoe]

18 hours ago, Kpiz said:

 

 

My pro tip for using the regulated pour spouts is to point the bottom of the bottle all the way up (bottle almost completely perpendicular to the ground) when pouring. If you try to pour normally, the mechanism won't work and the liquid will keep flowing.

This is great, as it's 2 tips in 1!  First, it teaches us how to properly dispense measured pours of our own whiskey, and second, it teaches us how to beat the system for pouring extra with other places whiskey!!!  I love it!!  Kyle, you're brilliant!!!  

[Kpiz]

2 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

This is great, as it's 2 tips in 1!  First, it teaches us how to properly dispense measured pours of our own whiskey, and second, it teaches us how to beat the system for pouring extra with other places whiskey!!!  I love it!!  Kyle, you're brilliant!!!  

Happy to help, Joe. Just be sure to look perplexed as you walk away with your glencairn filled to the top! 

[smokinjoe]

Pro Tip:

Keep a partitioned liquor or wine box/case in your trunk so that you can securely store multiple bottles purchased at multiple stops, for safe transport until you get home.  No rolling around in the car and possibly leaking or even breaking. This is particularly useful if you are traveling overnight, like on a business trip, so you aren't forced to either leave the bottles in plain sight in the passenger compartment or have to take into your hotel room.  

[dcbt]

17 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

Keep a partitioned liquor or wine box/case in your trunk so that you can securely store multiple bottles purchased at multiple stops, for safe transport until you get home.  No rolling around in the car and possibly leaking or even breaking.

Similarly, I have found out firsthand that children car seats hold an amazing number of bottles very securely, even if they are resting on top of each other.  Just make sure your child isn't with you first. 

[Guss West]

"No, sir.  You may not leave your toddler here while you 'run home quick' to drop off your likker." 

 

Everybody gets so uptight when I ask.  Geez. 

Edited November 10, 2017 by Guss West

[WhiskeyBlender]

Wow, what a great topic, thanks for posting this! I'd like to post a few "pro tips" that are used by industry professionals, but can also be used by connoisseurs to enhance their enjoyment. 

 

1.) Use high quality glassware with a tulip shape, and preferably with a stem. For professional work, I either use a Glencairn sherry copita, a Riedel Cognac Hennessy Vinum glass, or a Stolzle tulip glass with a stem. The stem helps to keep the glass from warming from the hand, which can add unwanted volatility, and also keeps any aromas away from the glass, such as soap, that might still be on the hand. NEVER use a bulbous Cognac snifter for ANY kind of spirit. The French call this glass "the liar," since it does nothing more than force volatile and aggressive notes into the nose, without any sort of finesse or delicateness. 

 

2.) When nosing, put your nose towards the top of the glass, rather than from the middle or the bottom. Towards the bottom, there will be a lot more volatility, fusel oils, etc., but from the top, you'll get more gentle, pleasant aromatics. You'll also get a truer reading of aromatics of the bourbon. 

 

3.) Like is often the case with our eyes or ears, most people perceive aroma better out of one nostril than the other. With the eyes or ears and other body parts, this is known as contralateral sensory perception, meaning that, for example, the sight out of your right eye is connected to the left side of the brain. With the nose, you have ipsilateral sensory perception, so that the right side of your nostril is connected to the right side of your brain. To experiment with this, take a glass of bourbon (in some sort of tulip shape) and roll the glass from the right to the left side of your nostrils. You'll probably notice that one side is more dominant than the other. or that some aromas are more pronounced on one side than the other. A few people are "ambidextrous" with this. At any rate, experimenting with this can enhance your experience. 

 

4.) Whenever I analyze barrels or prepare to blend, etc., I don't brush my teeth until I'm finished. Morning time is usually best for analysis, when your senses are at their peak, although that obviously isn't a good time for most people to do so if you aren't in the industry. Even so, be careful about using scented aftershaves, deodorants, soaps, toothpaste, the scent of laundry soaps, etc. Also, be careful about eating spicy food, garlic, onions, etc., as this will affect how you are able to smell and taste. 

 

5.) Besides just looking for specific aromas, which is more of a descriptive analysis, which looks at particular aromas, think about things from the viewpoint of structural analysis, which looks at depth, length, structure, complexity, balance, finesse, and delicateness. 

 

6.) If you are doing some sort of descriptive analysis, then aromas can be broken down into 8 or so basic constituents, such as fruit, floral, herbal/vegetal, spice, smoke, sweet (i.e., vanillins, caramel, toffee, etc.), oak (i.e, tannins), and oily/nutty/fatty. Once you can find these, then you can develop your analysis to determine if fruit means orchard fruit, stone fruit, citrus, and from there, what kind of citrus, or fresh fruit vs. stewed or candied fruit, etc. This kind of analysis isn't necessarily that important on a professional level, but it certainly does enhance the experience as a connoisseur. 

 

Happy nosing and tasting! These are just a few thoughts, but there are so many more. I look forward to hearing nuggets of wisdom on this thread. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

 

 

 

[flahute]

3 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

2.) When nosing, put your nose towards the top of the glass, rather than from the middle or the bottom. Towards the bottom, there will be a lot more volatility, fusel oils, etc., but from the top, you'll get more gentle, pleasant aromatics. You'll also get a truer reading of aromatics of the bourbon. 

Did not know this! Just tried it both ways and wow what a difference.

[Kane]

4 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

 NEVER use a bulbous Cognac snifter for ANY kind of spirit. The French call this glass "the liar," since it does nothing more than force volatile and aggressive notes into the nose, without any sort of finesse or delicateness. 

 

Why not, never say never! I actually find it quite fun to try spirits with a snifter at least once -- well, this is mostly forced because I run out of clean Glencairns, but still... Sometimes it is interesting to see the aggressive side of a delicate spirit, and it enhances some low-shelvers with muted noses. Can be painful with >100 proof, though.

[WhiskeyBlender]

Hi Kane! Of course, you're free to use whatever kind of glassware you want and to try it out for yourself. I'm just saying that from a production and QA/QC point of view, the snifter is seen as a joke, and a bad one at that. It tends to accentuate nothing but aggressivity and volatility, and masking all the things you want to look for in a spirit. Even when just enjoying spirits at the end of the day as a connoisseur, I bet anything most people in production wouldn't get near the things! LOL

 

And what you say about "pain" is very true with these types of glasses, as they tend to really accentuate pain as well. Actually, that leads me to another point: when you are doing professional analysis and you're checking a spirit for possible defects or faults, you want to also think about how the spirit might affect the pain sensors in your face. These are known as the trigeminal nerves. So, for instance, if a spirit has sulfur, or is tainted with acrolein, or some other sort of microbial contamination that resulted from a faulty fermentation, you should notice that those type of defects will cause your eyes to water, your ears to hurt, etc., even if you have a partial anosmia (odor blindness) to smelling those notes. Thus, for those that want to get deeper into nosing, it is a good idea to practice not only with sensing different aromas, but to think about how they affect your body. It gives you a more complete picture of the spirit. 

 

....but I digress. I'll wrap up by saying that for this kind of analysis, you still want to use a tulip shaped glass, as that will give you the most accurate type of reading. But by all means, experiment with a snifter if you want! :-)

[flahute]

2 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

Hi Kane! Of course, you're free to use whatever kind of glassware you want and to try it out for yourself. I'm just saying that from a production and QA/QC point of view, the snifter is seen as a joke, and a bad one at that. It tends to accentuate nothing but aggressivity and volatility, and masking all the things you want to look for in a spirit. Even when just enjoying spirits at the end of the day as a connoisseur, I bet anything most people in production wouldn't get near the things! LOL

 

And what you say about "pain" is very true with these types of glasses, as they tend to really accentuate pain as well. Actually, that leads me to another point: when you are doing professional analysis and you're checking a spirit for possible defects or faults, you want to also think about how the spirit might affect the pain sensors in your face. These are known as the trigeminal nerves. So, for instance, if a spirit has sulfur, or is tainted with acrolein, or some other sort of microbial contamination that resulted from a faulty fermentation, you should notice that those type of defects will cause your eyes to water, your ears to hurt, etc., even if you have a partial anosmia (odor blindness) to smelling those notes. Thus, for those that want to get deeper into nosing, it is a good idea to practice not only with sensing different aromas, but to think about how they affect your body. It gives you a more complete picture of the spirit. 

 

....but I digress. I'll wrap up by saying that for this kind of analysis, you still want to use a tulip shaped glass, as that will give you the most accurate type of reading. But by all means, experiment with a snifter if you want! :-)

I love the simplicity of a rocks glass. I know that's wrong for a lot of reasons but it's where I fall most nights.

[NYCBourbon]

16 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

Wow, what a great topic, thanks for posting this! I'd like to post a few "pro tips" that are used by industry professionals, but can also be used by connoisseurs to enhance their enjoyment. 

 

1.) Use high quality glassware with a tulip shape, and preferably with a stem. For professional work, I either use a Glencairn sherry copita, a Riedel Cognac Hennessy Vinum glass, or a Stolzle tulip glass with a stem. The stem helps to keep the glass from warming from the hand, which can add unwanted volatility, and also keeps any aromas away from the glass, such as soap, that might still be on the hand. NEVER use a bulbous Cognac snifter for ANY kind of spirit. The French call this glass "the liar," since it does nothing more than force volatile and aggressive notes into the nose, without any sort of finesse or delicateness. 

 

2.) When nosing, put your nose towards the top of the glass, rather than from the middle or the bottom. Towards the bottom, there will be a lot more volatility, fusel oils, etc., but from the top, you'll get more gentle, pleasant aromatics. You'll also get a truer reading of aromatics of the bourbon. 

 

3.) Like is often the case with our eyes or ears, most people perceive aroma better out of one nostril than the other. With the eyes or ears and other body parts, this is known as contralateral sensory perception, meaning that, for example, the sight out of your right eye is connected to the left side of the brain. With the nose, you have ipsilateral sensory perception, so that the right side of your nostril is connected to the right side of your brain. To experiment with this, take a glass of bourbon (in some sort of tulip shape) and roll the glass from the right to the left side of your nostrils. You'll probably notice that one side is more dominant than the other. or that some aromas are more pronounced on one side than the other. A few people are "ambidextrous" with this. At any rate, experimenting with this can enhance your experience. 

 

4.) Whenever I analyze barrels or prepare to blend, etc., I don't brush my teeth until I'm finished. Morning time is usually best for analysis, when your senses are at their peak, although that obviously isn't a good time for most people to do so if you aren't in the industry. Even so, be careful about using scented aftershaves, deodorants, soaps, toothpaste, the scent of laundry soaps, etc. Also, be careful about eating spicy food, garlic, onions, etc., as this will affect how you are able to smell and taste. 

 

5.) Besides just looking for specific aromas, which is more of a descriptive analysis, which looks at particular aromas, think about things from the viewpoint of structural analysis, which looks at depth, length, structure, complexity, balance, finesse, and delicateness. 

 

6.) If you are doing some sort of descriptive analysis, then aromas can be broken down into 8 or so basic constituents, such as fruit, floral, herbal/vegetal, spice, smoke, sweet (i.e., vanillins, caramel, toffee, etc.), oak (i.e, tannins), and oily/nutty/fatty. Once you can find these, then you can develop your analysis to determine if fruit means orchard fruit, stone fruit, citrus, and from there, what kind of citrus, or fresh fruit vs. stewed or candied fruit, etc. This kind of analysis isn't necessarily that important on a professional level, but it certainly does enhance the experience as a connoisseur. 

 

Happy nosing and tasting! These are just a few thoughts, but there are so many more. I look forward to hearing nuggets of wisdom on this thread. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

 

 

 

This was super illuminating, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a detailed and interesting post!

[fishnbowljoe]

29 minutes ago, NYCBourbon said:

This was super illuminating, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a detailed and interesting post!

I agree. Thanks for your very insightful input Nancy.

 

Cheers! Joe

[WhiskeyBlender]

44 minutes ago, flahute said:

I love the simplicity of a rocks glass. I know that's wrong for a lot of reasons but it's where I fall most nights.

And that's perfectly fine. I do that a lot myself when I'm just enjoying something at the end of the day and don't want to think too hard about what I'm tasting. 

[RWBadley]

16 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

 

 

6.) If you are doing some sort of descriptive analysis, then aromas can be broken down into 8 or so basic constituents, such as fruit, floral, herbal/vegetal, spice, smoke, sweet (i.e., vanillins, caramel, toffee, etc.), oak (i.e, tannins), and oily/nutty/fatty. Once you can find these, then you can develop your analysis to determine if fruit means orchard fruit, stone fruit, citrus, and from there, what kind of citrus, or fresh fruit vs. stewed or candied fruit, etc. This kind of analysis isn't necessarily that important on a professional level, but it certainly does enhance the experience as a connoisseur. 

 

Happy nosing and tasting! These are just a few thoughts, but there are so many more. I look forward to hearing nuggets of wisdom on this thread. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

 

 

 

 

Great Post! This number six is a great way to narrow down the general direction of aroma, flavors and component groups, then define further. A fun exercise figuring out exactly what is that aroma/flavor. Starting with the broad range and then classifying into subsets is the ticket!

 

Cheers,

RW

Edited November 11, 2017 by RWBadley
...

[Kane]

5 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

Hi Kane! Of course, you're free to use whatever kind of glassware you want and to try it out for yourself. I'm just saying that from a production and QA/QC point of view, the snifter is seen as a joke, and a bad one at that. It tends to accentuate nothing but aggressivity and volatility, and masking all the things you want to look for in a spirit. Even when just enjoying spirits at the end of the day as a connoisseur, I bet anything most people in production wouldn't get near the things! LOL

Hehe, yeah I can see that it isn't exactly a good fit for a more professional setting, or otherwise appreciating what a spirit has to offer. Actually, we used to joke that using a brandy snifter is a gentleman's way of doing whiskey shots, turning a fine spirit into a punch in the face

[HoustonNit]

Nancy a very informative and interesting read. It's interesting getting this information from someone who does this for a living.

[DeepCover]

On November 10, 2017 at 7:12 AM, dcbt said:

Similarly, I have found out firsthand that children car seats hold an amazing number of bottles very securely, even if they are resting on top of each other.  Just make sure your child isn't with you first. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one doing this!

[smokinjoe]

Pro Tip:  

If you are fortunate enough to get enough people together to select your own barrel of bourbon, it is an absolute must, IMO, that you go to the distillery to do it, and not select from sent samples only.  The money and the time that you spend to be there at the distillery is more than offset by the entire experience and the hospitality shown by these distilleries.  Smelling the rickhouse while you're tasting the whiskey as it is thiefed from the barrel and directly sloshed  into your glass is about as good as it gets!