‘THIS is fresh cut grass, this is spice, this is solventine and this,” gleefully, “is decay.” Getting your tongue round the vocabulary required for whisky tasting really is as simple as that. At least, so says George Dodds, the creator of the whisky aroma kit, which is promising to provide previously-uninitiated enthusiasts with smell recognition skills and the language to distinguish, in eloquently aromatic terms, between a Glenmorangie, a Laphroaig and a Macallan.
The secret, fittingly enough, lies in a bottle. Or 24 bottles to be precise (and there are more on the way) – little glass vials each containing the natural aromatic essences which can be found, in various combinations, in different malts.
Dodds, a bearded Dubliner with a life-long obsession with smells, has used his expertise – he trained as both a perfumer and biochemist – to capture the scent molecules in everything from carnations to peat.
As a result, he hopes whisky enthusiasts will no longer need to guess whether the smells they detect rising from their dram are the same ones described in a book about malts. All they need to do is dip an “aroma strip” into one of the kit’s little brown jars and they’ll know exactly what is meant when a Scotch is described as peaty, buttery or with a hint of caramel.
“Whisky aroma connoisseurs and experts are made, not born,” insists Dodds.
It’s a simple, but immensely appealing idea. Sadly, most of us are wandering about in the dark (as it were) when it comes to our sense of smell. It is our neglected sense. So impolite is it to mention anything but the most pleasant aromas, that not only do we frequently fail to pay attention to smell, but we often seem to forget about its existence altogether, which perhaps explains the widespread and continued assumption we distinguish flavours with our mouths rather than our noses. In fact, just five of the myriad flavours we are capable of enjoying are recognised by the tongue; the rest are distinguished by our noses.
While this is well known in the industry – last month it was reported that a Dutch winemaker and taster had insured his nose for 5 million (about £4 million) – it is not so in wider society.
“We don’t live in a smell culture,” says Dodds, somewhat mournfully. “Most people are unconscious of many of the things they are smelling, but actually it’s just a question of paying attention.”
Little wonder then, that when it comes to the likes of whisky tasting, so many of us are at something of a loss when it comes to words to describe and interpret what we are sensing.
It is not, of course, that your average whisky drinker couldn’t happily distinguish between the sweet green smell of a newly mowed lawn and the acetone tang of nail-polish remover in the appropriate settings, it’s just that when you mix them together and swirl them around in alcohol, it can all get a bit confusing.
Then add to that the pressure of self-proclaimed connoisseurs waiting for you to make your pronouncement, before twitching a condescending nostril as you pronounce which aromas you think you may have detected and it’s no wonder many enthusiastic whisky-lovers find their confidence evaporating like the angels’ share when it comes to talking about whisky notes in company.
“I was appalled when I first discovered what happened with whisky. You’d be asked to stick your nose in a glass, with all that alcohol flooding around, and then be supposed to smell oranges – crazy,” says Dodds, shaking his shaggy ponytail in exasperation.
The thing is, unlike golf – that other Scottish tradition so beloved by rich Americans and Japanese businessmen – with whisky, knowing you’ve got it right isn’t as simple as watching a wee white ball roll into a hole with a satisfying plop. Yes, you can read whisky books and take a good snifter of variousmalts, but how do you really know that what you thought was the “medicinal” iodine aroma of the product of one of Islay’s sea-swept distilleries wasn’t, in fact, something entirely different?
This is why I’m feeling a bit nervous when Dodds opens the whisky aroma kit. I had something of a close working relationship with whisky at one point in my past and like to think I have a reasonable understanding of the drink. But what if for all these years I’d been getting it wrong? What if I’m revealed to be a total fraud who doesn’t know my Ardbeg from my Ardgour? And then there’s the fear he’s going to open one of these little bottles and I won’t be able to smell anything at all. What if I have the nasal equivalent of severe colour blindness?
“All of us have a multiple smell blindnesses. It’s normal,” says Dodds matter-of-factly. He explains that each person’s sense of smell is unique, which means of the hundreds of different smells we encounter every day, some will pass you by quite undetected, while other people can be strongly aware of them. I don’t feel very reassured.
Thankfully when Dodds removes the stopper from the bottle containing citrus, I can smell it quite clearly. In fact, it’s lovely. As is the sweet fresh grass, and the floral (carnation), the sugary caramel, the butter, which smells like it’s melted and reminds me of making pancakes – ah yes, not only is my nose in perfect working order, but I am revelling in these sensory reminders of just why I like whisky so much.
Then, suddenly, I am assaulted with the rotten cabbage, old bin stench of “decay”. Dodds is quite delighted with himself as I recoil, disgusted.
“That’s what whisky smells like when it goes off,” he explains, adding that while we’re used to sending back corked wine, we are not all aware of what happens when whisky goes bad.
“I can just imagine the faces of barmen across the country as customers suddenly start telling them their whisky’s off,” he grins mischievously.
I’ve recovered the citrus-smelling strip and am wafting it in front of my nose in an effort to expel the offending stench from my abused nostrils. Thankfully, the rest of the smells are far more pleasant.
By the end of the session I feeling more confident in my abilities to distinguish between different whisky aromas than ever before and am keen to start combining the different aroma strips to further test my nose.
And this is only the start. There are, says Dodds, around 250 separate aroma terms, which would have to be learned and recognised for a master of whisky to make the necessary distinctions.
“You’ve got to work at it,” says Dodds. He is planning to bring out new kits with a further breakdown of scents – for example, citrus would be divided into orange, lemon, mandarin and so on – to allow people to expand their aroma recognition and vocabulary.
The kit has been welcomed by whisky experts. Leading whisky writer Charles MacLean, says: “It’s a brilliant idea. Hugely entertaining and also useful.”
He acknowledges that the combination of aromas in whisky is “extremely complex” and says: “By breaking those down into pure aromas, it makes it much more simple for people and gives them the building blocks to start with. I think whisky clubs might be very interested in this. It’s a great training tool and I hope the industry takes it up.”
So, it seems Dodds is right to be proud of himself. “Nobody inside of the whisky world would have come up with it,” he suggests. “It’s very rich in traditions which means people can be reluctant to do new things, but being an outsider, from a perfumery background, I came at it from a different direction.
“Now a lot of people are saying, ‘I can’t believe it hasn’t been done before.’”
Having just expanded my own aroma vocabulary massively in only a couple of hours, I’m asking the same question.
Useful websites•
www.aromasciences.com•
www.scotchwhisky.netHere’s your chance to win a whisky aroma kit. Just answer the questions below and send your entry marked Whisky Competition to Features Department, The Scotsman, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS. Alternatively, e-mail your answers to
Scotsmanfeatures@scotsman.com. The first correct entry out of the hat will win the prize. Closing date is April 18.
1 “F____ and Whisky gang thegither!” The Author's Earnest Cry and Prayer (1786) Robert Burns
2 Name the smallest whisky distillery in Scotland
3 Ardbeg ten-year-old single malt whisky is famous for its ____ aroma
4 What is the scientific name for the dominant alcohol that is found in Scotch whisky?
5 The Immature Spirit Act of 1915 (as amended) states that whisky has to be matured in casks for a minimum of how many years?
6 The smoky aroma in single malts is associated with which class of whisky aroma molecules?
7 Name the four main whisky-producing regions in Scotland
8 When was The Scotch Malt Whisky Society established?
9 Jim McEwan is the production director and promotion expert for which recently re-born island distillery?
10 “But tell me whisky’s name in ____”, The Author’s Earnest Cry and Prayer, Robert Burns
The full article contains 1637 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
