Please keep this guide to whiskey advancement
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I believe that when everyone just enters the pit whisky, they will start to drink from the basic of each brand. The flavor structure of this kind of wine is relatively simple and clear, which is easy for newcomers to exercise their taste and will not discourage them. And once you've drunk enough to begin to recognize the similarities and differences between different flavors, congratulations, you can start to think about understanding more about whiskey's breadth. The so-called advanced, not only limited to wine, understanding the relevant theories, as well as the similarities and differences between different brands of technology, it is also conducive to a more comprehensive evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of a wine. Of course, there are many twists and craggies along the way, such as the belief that single casks and casks of strong wine are above all else, or that peat is the preserve of epicures, and that the older the wine, the better. So in this article, we are going to take a look at some of the areas worth exploring and some of the pitfalls to avoid on the way up the whiskey ladder, and we are also going to include some suggestions for your reference.
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01 Explore the difference between barrels
The importance of oak barrels to whisky goes without saying, and every distillery has its own experience in the use of oak barrels. Glenflower, Glendona, Macallan and other distilleries have won many fans for their signature Sherry barrel matured whiskies. Today, wineries are not limited to the use of a single barrel type, type of oak barrels. First, the cost of oak barrel is increasing day by day, and high-quality oak barrel is more scarce. Second, a variety of oak barrel combination to make the product flavor more diversified, but also to make up for part of the shortcomings of the oak barrel itself. In the advanced stage, we need to pay more attention to the differences between different oak barrels, so we may prefer to drink some whisky matured in a single oak barrel, the reason is also very simple, only matured in the same type of oak barrel, its flavor can better represent the characteristics of this type of oak barrel. Even the same kind of oak, because of its use is different, also can present a different flavor, and with the use of time, the flavor is abate, the winery will make division cooperage digging bucket, toasted barrels, even in different wine (including whisky, sherry wine, beer, brandy, etc.), let the old barrel life again. However, due to the different level of barrel makers, as well as the brewery's own cost considerations, some old barrels and reroasted barrels may have a heavy bitter bottom, flavor characteristics are not prominent defects, in the purchase should also pay attention to. While exploring oak barrels, the theoretical knowledge of oak barrels can also be understood, in addition to the simplest classification, such as the characteristics between different wood, the difference between different baking degrees, the scene suitable for different sizes and so on. For example, Karma LAN winery in Taiwan Province of China is a cliche example. The higher environmental temperature accelerates the maturation of the liquor, and it can have a stronger flavor in a short time, but it also brings defects such as a strong sense of alcohol. This kind of wine can also refer to the Meiger winery, part of the original wine is stored in the limestone warehouse, the average temperature is about 10℃, the maturation speed is slower, making the wine more round. Similarly, there is a huge difference in wood. For example, common American oak and European oak, the content of lactones and tannins in American oak is higher, so American oak is easier to smell the coconut aroma, but it will also make the astringent taste more obvious. European oak covers a variety of types such as French oak and Eastern European oak. At present, Eastern European oak is more favored because of its price competitiveness, moderate aroma concentration and high tannin content, which is suitable for making large capacity oak barrels. French oak barrel can be roughly divided into two kinds of tree species without a handle and with a handle. The content of oak without a handle is high in esters and phenols. After baking, the spice smell is obvious, the oak with a handle has few pipes, the aroma is light, and the 'angel sharing' is low, so it is suitable for long-term storage. In addition, the quality of oak in different production areas is also greatly different, and the effects of different baking degrees and other technology, the results can be described as varied. The above is just a brief mention, oak barrel knowledge is very interesting, involving geography, history, biology, chemistry and other disciplines, in spare time to understand, is more conducive to grasp the differences and similarities between different whiskies, and even different wines.
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02 Advanced wine selection
What can I get you to drink, cute or gourmet? Became one of the most vexing questions of all. Whether it's the home wines of various wineries, the new season's offerings, or exploring the individual bottlers, or even the private casks of some drinkers, there are so many options to choose from that it's much easier to find a direction. How to define advanced wine? It is not simple IB, OB, limited single barrel and conventional wine, high age and low age wine, and so on. Granarich single barrel Granarich single barrel Let's change the way of thinking and think back to the many basic styles we drank when we first started. Except for the strong flavor of teska, Abel, Laferge and other wineries, the basic styles of most wineries have made some adjustments for newcomers. Such as the reduction or removal of pungent flavours such as smoked peat, and the use of refills and multi-barrel bottling to make it more drinkable by reducing flavour and alcohol content based on cost and acceptability. The above examples are not limited to single malts, but are also applicable to many grain whiskies and blended whiskies. In the base section, many wineries sacrifice their characteristics to ensure a higher acceptance and low cost. After sorting out this point, the so-called advanced wine refers to that part of the wine is more able to reflect the characteristics of the winery, technology, oak barrels, wine age and so on. For example, when exploring bourbon, rye and other grain whiskies, I gradually found that different grain ratios had completely different characteristics, such as adding rye to make the wine more spicy and angular, adding corn to make the wine sour and creamy, adding wheat to make it sweeter, etc. With this direction, in the selection of wine can be targeted. In the advanced stage, if you want to understand the changes brought by wine age, you can choose different wine ages under the condition of ensuring the same winery and barrel type, and explore oak barrels and wineries, which is the classic 'control variable method'. At this time, you can pay attention to some large IB brands, such as Kederham, Gordon McPhail, SAN Flei and so on. Such brands are easier to find interesting wines due to their large stock of original wines and relatively open wine details. Of course, the OB of each winery is also worth knowing. In addition to the regular series which can be tasted step by step, its flavor barrels and small-batch wines also contain many places worth exploring. For example, Alan's flavor barrel collection includes classic wine barrels such as Amaroni, Sauternes and Porter. STR Red Wine Barrel and Gum Lake series of Qihoumen; And grangoni's Barrel Strength series, each batch will change a part of the original wine ratio; Genting wines and so on. Sharing a bottle or buying a single glass at a bar is a quick way to find out if you're not sure if that's what you like. Establish a comprehensive evaluation system How to define a good or bad whisky has always been a matter of contention among many whisky lovers. Due to the high degree of freedom in whisky tasting, there is no recognized evaluation system in the industry for the time being. However, as a lover, you can still summarize some things from the process and long-term tasting, so that each wine has a suitable position in the heart, and can be referred to by others. The most important part of evaluation is the description of flavor. Although 'delicious' is the most simple and powerful praise, it lacks certain reference value. In this case, a detailed and appropriate description of flavor becomes a very effective way. For example, 'citrus, plum, chocolate, caramel, pepper aniseed' and other flavor words, not exactly the same taste, but the wine in the similar flavor and common raw materials in daily life combined, so as to easily trigger resonance. Just as the words cheese, croissant, gooseberry and maple syrup are often used in wine reviews in the U.S. and Europe, it would be a case of trying to imitate someone who is out of touch with life. Flavor description is more a question of proficiency, and analysis of its advantages and disadvantages is the core of evaluation. The so-called merits and demerits lie in individuals as well as objective factors. Personally, it means that certain flavors in wine, such as astringent mouth, excessive acid, peat, etc., exceed the threshold value of personal taste and cause discomfort. No flavor is 'exclusive to experts', so it can be safely and boldly pointed out. The so-called objective factors, refers to the process of defects, such as insufficient barrel ageing time bring excessive alcohol taste, milder of partial old oak barrels or bitter end, as well as the improper control of fermentation and distillation, the fusel above, phenolic solvent smell, rotted rice smell, etc., to identify the type of defect is some combination of theory and practice, If you do not have a thorough understanding of this point can be skipped to avoid fallacies. To sum up, the establishment of the evaluation system is to be familiar with the flavor of wine, combining with their own taste experience to describe and distinguish, and according to the actual tasting experience and related wine information, summed up the likes and dislikes in flavor, and analyze the causes of related processes. To do this, you have fully stepped into the door of whiskey. Of course, there are many points worth summarizing along the way, such as the similarities and differences between wineries in different periods, how to judge the direction of the market, the differences brought by different equipment and so on. The more you go into it, the more you feel it is broad. From the flavor, to the technology, to the cause, or the history, market, design concept and so on, it makes people dizzy. This article is only a sample of some of the universal and representative views, for the use of a brick to attract jade, the real beauty is waiting for you to discover. It is not difficult to see that whiskey advancement is a process of gradual progress in continuous dialectical learning and practice exploration, both of which are indispensable. The lack of theoretical research makes it difficult for us to find the correlation and uniqueness between drinking styles, and the lack of practical drinking makes it difficult to understand the points pointed out in various discussions. But for the lovers themselves, experiencing the fun is the prerequisite for advancement. If they are too obsessed with the mechanism and forget the purpose of drinking, they might as well finish the wine first and find out the answer.
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