I was recently invited to participate in a whiskey tasting/seminar, and being of strong intellectual curiosity, I was persuaded to attended (someone must do it!). It turned out to be quite interesting and cleared up some questions I have had for years. So, let’s see what we found out!

The tasting was of three quite different whiskeys:

• From Japan, Kikori, a rice whiskey
• From the U.S., from the Hirsch distillery, The Horizon, a straight bourbon whiskey
• From Scotland, Old Pulteney, a single malt scotch whiskey

Firstly, there are a few simple things to know regarding some terms in the whiskey world. For example, a single malt is simply a malt whiskey from a single distillery, while a blended is a blend from two different distilleries. One might believe that a single malt might be “purer” in the sense of having a consistent taste, but the taste can vary based on a number of factors, such as the outside temperature. A hot or cold year impacts how the wood of the barrel expands or contracts which affects the taste.