Whisky Tastings: How much in the glass?

[BigShing]

I'm helping out at a charity-run museum that's thinking of putting on various spirits tastings combined with museum tours, kind of an interesting building to do this sort of thing at, but at the moment we're just trying to figure out the logistics/budget of the thing (because obviously we're a charity so the money is REALLY tight) and I was hoping it would be OK to ask for feedback from members who have experience with whisky tasting sessions a question.

What do you feel is the typical amount of whisky you find in each pour at a simple testing/masterclass f, say 4-5 whiskies? In my experience you don't get a "UK" single pour of 25ml, but not sure if as low as 15ml is considered too little?

I'm thinking specificaly a tasting of four entry level whiskies in the £15-£45 price range per bottle. IMO 20ml per pur is probably a good amount, but I'm aware that for the average non-enthusiast drinking 80ml of whisky within an hour might be a bit much?

It's a bit hard to gauge really as I'm thinkng a 60-90min tasting session followed by a 75min museum tour, and you don't want to get the visitors too sozzled to appreciate the tour!

[JKD]

As it is for charity i would say 15 ml pours would be fine.

[Quaich1]

[BigShing]

Thanks guys, is 25ml/0.8oz typical for whisky tastings to you? I've not been to many in fairness, but from my memory I would say the pours were in the 25ml range.

It's basically just two factors I'm thinking about: Can I get away with buying 20cl bottles and not ending up with excess whisky (10 people per tasting session would mean 20ml would be achievable provided I don't spill any! :D), and would, say, you average person like a small lady 5ft 2, under 10stone, be OK downing 80-100ml of whisky in about an hour.

It's funny because when the museum managers mentioned they were thinking about spirit tastings I thought it would be a very interesting venue for experimenting with how ambient sensory inputs (smell, sound, sight) could affect your response to whisky, as this is a victorian building with completely untouched metal workshops that have a very metallic odour and machinery that makes very interesting and dissonant sounds. Alas we probably won't be allowed to drink in the actual victorian workshops though because of the protected status and cramped conditions, but that would have been an interesting experiment to see how the whisky tasted under those conditions!

[Whisky Rogue]

I woulld say 15ml would be fine but 20ml measures would be much better to inroduce people to each whisky, remember to have plenty of water to hand to cleanse the palate between each pour and perhaps even some oatcakes.

[webdunk]

I'd say it very much depends on your audience. As a regular whisky tasting attendee, I'd suggest anything less than 25ml for up to 5 drams would be unusual.

10/15ml pours tend to kick in at Whisky festivals (where a LOT of whisky may be tried), where the drams are very old and rare or for a set tasting in the 6-10 dram range.

If your audience are less interested in whisky, then a smaller pour would be pretty normal - 15ml. But I'd be asking myself why I was offering a whisky tasting to a 'not that interested' audience?

Have you considered asking whisky brand ambassadors to deliver tastings for you? As you've observed, stumping up for the bottles yourself means you have to balance costs and that can feel constraining. Many brands would likely consider running your tasting for you for free (especially if they feel they are accessing a 'new' audience), allowing you to charge a small fee/charitable donation and adding some nice industry / process backstory into the bargain.
_________________
Inverness Whisky
@in5tadram

[BigShing]

If I'm being honest about the museum I think they want to bring in more the local inner-city 20-30s audience more than the whisky enthusiast, so it's more an artisan spirits + museum tour vibe they would ideally prefer (hence why they favour Gin, but whisky IMO has more draw for this sort of thing).. They are open to something a bit more serious whisky-wise but I have absolutely no experience in putting on somethign like this so my kinda plebian thought process is to think that a brand ambassador to the Scottish distilleries would be asking for a decent chunk of change for their arrival. I mean, to set up a mini festival would be ideal, I think that would have more impact than a tasting for certain. Maybe it is doable though? Definitely something I need to look into.

Where I'm coming from is basically volunteer there and huge whisky nerd, so I could run a beginner's guide to whisky taster just to test the interest in the area in whisky. I figured four drams, buy four 20cl bottles, which two to three tickets sold would cover, the charity gets takes home the money for the remaining 7 tickets. A nice earner for a good cause. 4 bottles with 25ml pours means 35cl bottles, which is still doable, I'm just worried about getting folk a bit tipsy for the tour, it's an old victorian building with wonky flooring and metalwork machines that could crush limbs, so I'm just a bit mindful of that.

I think the charity would love to host a mini festival with a handful of whiskey brand in the courtyard and just open the gates for visitors to come in, drink, enjoy and take on a few tours here and there. That's definitely something to build up to. I do wonder if we've missed the opportunity to that in 2022 though with the weather, as the it's an open courtyard. Maybe with gazebos.

In terms of audience, typical visitors to the museum are from all across the world and quite a few youngsters. Definitely more women come through our doors than I see at typical whisky festivals in the city. I dunno, maybe it would offer a fresh audience for brands.

Definitely food for thought, so maybe I should drop some emails and see. Thanks!

BTW 15ml pours at festivals? I need to get up to Scotland, although I'm not sure I'd hit my usual figure of 45 drams at that volume! I'd say down here I typically get 7-10ml pours with the odd 15ml if the exhibitor is feeling generous (and definitely not of anything more than £60 a bottle, although there was that one time on the Old Pulteney stand when a wee lass who clearly had never been to a whisky festival before was pouring everyone full 25ml shots of OP 12-21, until her manager spotted her! Good times! :D)