Temperature
How Cold, How Warm
Temperature is the single biggest thing most people get wrong. Too cold and you kill the nose; too warm and the alcohol dominates. Four serves, four windows.
18–22 °C
Neat, at room temperature
The default for any serious tasting. Warm enough for esters to lift out of the glass, cool enough that the alcohol doesn't scorch. Never chill a whisky you want to nose properly — cold mutes aroma.
14–16 °C
Lightly chilled cask-strength
For 55%+ ABV monsters on a warm evening, a very brief chill of the glass (not the whisky) tempers the alcohol burn. Keep the bottle at room temp; chill only the vessel.
4–8 °C
On the rocks
Use ONE large clear cube or sphere — the small ones melt too fast and water down the dram. Best with young, spicy or bourbon-style whiskies. Never for peaty Islays; the cold kills the smoke.
2–6 °C
Highball / long serve
Japanese style: two parts whisky, five parts ice-cold soda, over a tall column of ice. Stir once. The dilution is the point — it turns a bold whisky into a light, aromatic aperitif.
Glassware
The Right Vessel
- Glencairn
- Serious tasting. Concentrates the nose at the rim. The default.
- Copita / Nosing glass
- Same job as the Glencairn, a touch more elegant. Distillers use these.
- Rocks / Tumbler
- Casual sipping, on-the-rocks serves, cocktails. Wide rim means less nose.
- Highball
- Tall, straight-sided. Japanese highballs live and die by the shape of this glass.
- Snifter (Brandy Balloon)
- AVOID for whisky. Too much surface area — you'll get a nose full of ethanol.
The Ritual
Five Small Acts
01
The pour
A standard measure is 25 ml (a UK pub single) or 35 ml. For proper tasting: two thumbs' width in the base of a Glencairn — roughly 30 ml. Enough to swirl without slopping.
02
The rest
Pour and wait 60 seconds before nosing. High-strength whiskies especially benefit — the harshest alcohol vapours dissipate first, leaving the aromatics.
03
The swirl
One gentle swirl to coat the sides. Watch the 'legs' — the slow drips down the glass. Longer, thicker legs suggest higher ABV and a more oily texture.
04
The water
Still, room-temperature, ideally soft. A pipette gives you 3–5 drops of control. Cask-strength (55%+) almost always opens up. Try before, add, try again. Never add more than you've tasted first.
05
The finish
After the last sip, don't wash the glass immediately. Come back to it after ten minutes — the residue in an empty glass tells you as much about a whisky as the first pour did.
Storage
Keeping the Bottle Right
- Standing, not lying
- Unlike wine, whisky's high ABV eats corks. Store bottles UPRIGHT.
- Cool and dark
- 15–20 °C, out of direct sunlight. UV degrades flavour — that's why bottles are tinted.
- Sealed and steady
- Once opened, a bottle with less than a third left will oxidise noticeably over a year. Decant into smaller bottles to slow it, or drink it. (We recommend the latter.)
- Never the freezer
- Storing whisky in the freezer is a bar-trick for bad vodka. It thickens the spirit and hides both flaws AND virtues.
Ready to mix? Head to the Cocktail Masterclass.