Tasting whisky can be enormous amounts of fun especially after you’ve has 2 or 3 the confidence and charm starts to show as does the glow on your cheeks.

Try your whisky with anything you want but take it from us it’s best tried neat to begin with and preferably with a clean palate. The glass you drink your whisky from is extremely important in fact one of the number one tips we can give you about whisky drinking.

The tumbler – fine for mixing drinks and adding lots of ice, especially good for cola and lemonade or a long drink but for aroma and taste it’s not the best glass to use.

The Glencairn Glass – this glass has been specially designed to help create the perfect conditions for whisky nosing and tasting. The glass is usually tulip shaped or it looks like a still. You are able to swirl your glass without liquid escaping, and the aromas of the whisky should gather at the neck of the glass. This glass is stylish, charming and also easy to handle.

The Denver & Liely Glass – a new Australian Designed glass which when put to a recent test came out top on many categories. It;s contemporary, looks stylish and it’s designed in a way to well as their slogan suggests ‘makes whisky taste better’. The glass is the turning point between a heavy tumbler and a glencairn glass.

The Speyside Glass – a smaller glass than the past three and very small measures with a design which is tulip like but in a minature scale. There is not stem on this glass and it is very light and delicate.

Wine Tasting Glass – This glass has all the qualities of a great whisky drinking glass, it has a tulip effect and also has a large stem. It’s not as large as a wine glass and possibley used more for sweet wines but perfect for whisky drinking. It’s affordable and sturdy which makes it popular for whisky tastings and whisky shows worldwide.

Let’s talk about ice…..

Ice is very enjoyable in any drink especially on long hot Australian summer days or the warn eveneings we so often experience. Ice however is not good for the tastes and aromas of whisky. Some whiskies take very well to ice Glenmorangie Signet, Highland Park Origins and Arran Aged 12 Years do adapt well to ice being added but it is generally a bad idea to add ice as you will lose the full complexity of a whisky and prevent you from taking satisfaction in all the flavours it has to offer. it also determines the glass you will need to use.

There are three stages of whisky tasting. Nosing, tasting, finish then doing it again but with a few drops of water.