Whisky Forum - What key nose/flavor elements appeal to you in a single malt

Quaich1

Clearly, we of the whisky aficionado clan, have favorite drams, based on region, age, etc. etc. However, certain nose /flavor elements can cross over distilleries and these elements awaken positive feedback from oneself. What are these elements for you? I'm not referring to all elements having to be in a given dram but elements that appeal to you across drams when they show up if even one at a time. Understanding the permutations and combinations of the mind of a whisky aficionado-:

I would delineate for myself the following elements that particularly appeal to me (among others):

-sherry trifle
-caramelized vidalia onions
-Black Forest cake
-roasted chestnuts
-sweet black licorice and Australian licorice
-pipe tobacco, tobacco leaves and various shades of smoke and fireplace essences
-Turkish delight
-peanut buster parfait
--crab apples
-cured salmon
-cream soda
-Tom Trot toffee
-lilacs
-espresso crema
-layers of peat in all its glory
-After Eight mints
-demerara sugar
-Neopolitan ice cream
-dark chocolate spectrum
-essence of Thai cooking

What are some of your own nose/flavor elements that attract you to a dram? Come up with your own elements from your own vocabulary/descriptors. Forget about region, just focus on specific nose/flavors that attract you to a scotch..
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

sorren · Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:35 pm Post subject:

Interesting topic Murray ..
I don't think I have individual scents I prefer but the package of old sherry cask whisky is something I adore, the musty old liquorice and spices, dried fruit, orange peel all I the mixing bowl ..

opelfruit · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:22 am Post subject:

I don't tend to focus too much on actual flavour or scent notes but more the balance, effect and feel of them.

I like whisky across a wide range of styles, from big peat, aged sherry and right through to light and floral. In these styles though I'm looking for the whisky equivalent of "umami" - that little something that gives the whole dram a lift but you can't quite put your finger on. It just seems to make the whole dram move into a 4th dimension.

Usually it's a taste or smell I feel I can only describe as "round" or "spherical" and it's really hard to pin down. What's wonderful about this is that is can be found in any style of whisky and at any age or price point, you know when it's there. A classic example of this would be something like Glencadam 10, a pretty unassuming whisky that sits at the entry level of their range and only around Â£30 a bottle, but there is "something" else it has to give. On the opposite side I've found it in a Lagavulin 12yo bottling before too and batches of A'Bunadh.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

TheWM · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 8:45 am Post subject:

I'm the same with Opel, it is all about the balance to me and how all the elements combine and come together - not one individual element.

If I could give an analogy it would be like a football team (say Manchester United pre 1992), which had all the raw ingredients for a championship winning side, but had yet to win the title. Add a catalyst (Eric Cantona) and get all these elements managed well (Alex Ferguson) and you can go onto greatness. But all things need to be in harmony with each other, as often you only find these things for a short period and often they then disappear (see Blackburn).

But football aside, I think a lot depends on mood and frame of mind / moon alignment. Up until last week, it had probably been 7 months since I went near anything peaty, and even if you had given me a Bowmore black, I might have said 'meh' to it. Fancied something peaty the other day and it went down a treat, as I've been having a few months on rum and sherried whiskies.

I may even crack open a bottle of Uigeadail soon to see whether the moons have aligned for me to enjoy as much as others do, as I don't like (or should I say haven't) liked peaty sherried drams previously.

ralfy legend · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:19 am Post subject:

Nuts, chocolate, but mainly the spices for me.

ralfy legend · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:26 am Post subject:

Nuts, chocolate, but mainly the spices for me.

Quaich1 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:36 am Post subject:

Quaich1 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:43 am Post subject:

5-12-1908 · Master Of Malts Joined: 22 Dec 2010 Posts: 307

Im not sure what attracts me with taste.
Perhaps someone can tell me why i like glenfiddich 15yo?
Oh and i like talisker too.

Dont think theres a connection but who knows.

ralfy legend · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:08 pm Post subject:

I'm the same as you bud, glenfiddich 15 solera and talisker I like so much, the talisker and it's spices which I'm tasting does it for me, I take it the solera was the 15 you was talking about ?

ralfy legend · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:10 pm Post subject:

I'm the same as you bud, glenfiddich 15 solera and talisker I like so much, the talisker and it's spices which I'm tasting does it for me, I take it the solera was the 15 you was talking about ?

CGRenn · Master Of Malts Joined: 09 Feb 2015 Posts: 684

IndianaBlues · Master Of Malts Joined: 16 Jul 2015 Posts: 457

Since I lost my sense of smell almost 4 years ago (and a chunk of taste along with it) I've found myself going towards the heavier peated or sherried whiskies by default as I can still get "something" from them. I'm not sure if my remaining senses are tuned enough to detect the various nuances in taste that others can, usually it's enough to be able to taste more than I can feel the alcohol. However, fully in agreement with Opel, I pick up something like A'bunadh, Glenfarclas 105 or even Bunnahabhain 12 and I know it's something special to me.