Practical cooking tips Whisky tasting for complete beginners

7. Put it on the map

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7. Put it on the map (Image 7 of 7)

Use a flavour map to help you pick out what the key characteristics of the whisky are and determine where you might like to go next on your taste adventure.

You can download a flavour map here. It places different whiskys across two axes, light to rich and delicate to smoky.

On the lighter edge are delicate whiskys that would work as an aperitif, with a crisp edge, growing gradually more complex with a fuller flavour as they head toward the 'rich' end of the scale.

Delicate whiskys have lighter, floral and fruity flavour notes and become stronger as they head up the chart with smoky whiskys at the top tasting of bonfires and smoky tea.

Try and use a cross section of the flavour map in your tasting, such as a light, delicate Glen Spey, via the rich Singleton of Dufftown up to a rich and smoky Lagavulin 16. You'll soon be nosing with the best of them.

Download the whisky flavour map

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