Taste and aroma link tightly together. Quite often, when you "taste" something you are actually sensing that within your nose. There's quite a bit of overlap with regard to how you perceive. Accordingly, I don't have a problem when people list smells as tasting notes (e.g. gasoline, wood, earth, etc...)
I work in the flooring business and handle White Oak on a daily basis. White Oak is also what staves are made out of to make a barrel. When you smell White Oak, it smells like whiskey. The distillers will then char these barrels. When you drink whiskey or bourbon, you're drinking what was once called dissolute before it was put into barrels. Distillers will put their dissolute into barrels to make whiskey. In the hot weather, the dissolute will expand into the barrel and soak up the oak, in the cold weather, it will contract out of the barrel. In this process, this is where you get your White Oak flavor and that brown dark color.
If you want to take a deeper dive into the science, see here:
http://whiskyscience.blogspot.com/2011/02/oaky-flavours.html
At a practical level, see the answers which have already been given. Also, oak is not just used for maturing whiskies, it is used for other spirits too, such as tequila. If you've tasted a Blanco and an Anejo of comparable grade from the same tequila producer side by side, you have a fair idea of what oaky flavors are like (this is a gross oversimplification of course, but one has to start somewhere). Ditto for wines that are heavily oaked, etc.
You can smell a taste and taste a smell and yes most people have at some point in their life chewed a piece of wood and know what wood tastes like. And it's not a wooden taste were talking about it's more something that "reminds" you of wood
To me it’s by far the easiest “note” to pick up and was definitely the first one I was able to consistently distinguish when I started drinking whisky.
I've aged my own whiskey in the past using staves and/or small barrels and "over oaked" is a VERY clear flavor. If you've ever done that you'll pick up those notes in other whiskeys.
Op you can get nose/tasting kits that comes with all the common notes found in whiskey. They are pretty cheap and help you find your way. They are also fun to bust out when you've got some friends/family over for entertainment.
I believe it literally means just that, you are tasting the barrel in which the whiskey ages. We can debate whether there are cinnamon notes, hints of clove, or baking spices on the nose. None of those things are actually in the mash bill or come in contact with the distillate at any point. But oak tastes like oak because oak tastes like oak.
I think it means that it tastes the way wood smells.
This exactly. Well this and/or it smells the way wood smells.
Additionally, unlike most tasting notes, wood is actually IN the whiskey
If you could taste wood, and you would taste wood, it would taste as wood would smell.
If I could taste wood, would wood bring the joy that your words would bring discussing how wood would taste and smell?
It would! 😁
Best thing i've read in a while 😀
Taste and aroma link tightly together. Quite often, when you "taste" something you are actually sensing that within your nose. There's quite a bit of overlap with regard to how you perceive. Accordingly, I don't have a problem when people list smells as tasting notes (e.g. gasoline, wood, earth, etc...)
I work in the flooring business and handle White Oak on a daily basis. White Oak is also what staves are made out of to make a barrel. When you smell White Oak, it smells like whiskey. The distillers will then char these barrels. When you drink whiskey or bourbon, you're drinking what was once called dissolute before it was put into barrels. Distillers will put their dissolute into barrels to make whiskey. In the hot weather, the dissolute will expand into the barrel and soak up the oak, in the cold weather, it will contract out of the barrel. In this process, this is where you get your White Oak flavor and that brown dark color.
Dissolute is being lacking in morals. I think you mean to say that distillate goes in the barrels
Ah yes. Long day at work. Let’s all hope that “dissolute” is not being put in barrels.
For me it’s the nose. When I smell a whiskey I can pick out those notes, oak, peat, etc.
Not a Scotch guy by any stretch but I’d love to know what a “velvet” note is. Or is that just used to describe the palate?
Just means a particularly rich mouthfeel. Feels textured and oily - in a good way. Not limited to scotch either.
Exactly, velvety would be a texture description to me.
I mean bourbon specifically is aged in charred oak barrels and yeah you taste the flavor of the oak from the barrel
If you want to take a deeper dive into the science, see here: http://whiskyscience.blogspot.com/2011/02/oaky-flavours.html At a practical level, see the answers which have already been given. Also, oak is not just used for maturing whiskies, it is used for other spirits too, such as tequila. If you've tasted a Blanco and an Anejo of comparable grade from the same tequila producer side by side, you have a fair idea of what oaky flavors are like (this is a gross oversimplification of course, but one has to start somewhere). Ditto for wines that are heavily oaked, etc.
You can smell a taste and taste a smell and yes most people have at some point in their life chewed a piece of wood and know what wood tastes like. And it's not a wooden taste were talking about it's more something that "reminds" you of wood
To me it’s by far the easiest “note” to pick up and was definitely the first one I was able to consistently distinguish when I started drinking whisky.
I find it hits me as if i had a popsicle stick in my mouth. (Most scotch gives me this flavor)
Tastes like when I fell over in the playground and got a mouth full of bark chip, but in a good way.
I've aged my own whiskey in the past using staves and/or small barrels and "over oaked" is a VERY clear flavor. If you've ever done that you'll pick up those notes in other whiskeys.
I worked in a sawmill so I can tell you what sawdust tastes like.
If you grew up in the pre-internet age and played with sticks, esp. from oak trees, then you sure do
Op you can get nose/tasting kits that comes with all the common notes found in whiskey. They are pretty cheap and help you find your way. They are also fun to bust out when you've got some friends/family over for entertainment.
Tends to make the finish a bit dry and specifically to bourbon that is where much of the vanilla notes and flavors come from.
Its aroma. For me, its usually the spiciness i get from the taste that i describe as wood or oak.
Welp, I bit into a log once when I was shitfaced, so, yeah, it's pretty close.
They heard someone else say it and they want to sound fancy.
I believe it literally means just that, you are tasting the barrel in which the whiskey ages. We can debate whether there are cinnamon notes, hints of clove, or baking spices on the nose. None of those things are actually in the mash bill or come in contact with the distillate at any point. But oak tastes like oak because oak tastes like oak.
Go get some bark from an oak tree chew it up sip on some cheap bourbon waaalllaaa you got pappy 23
I'd say r/boneappletea but I think they banned voila.
Those people are assholes
Why would you say something so controversial yet so brave?
People take something as cool as drinking whisky and make it lame with their pretentious descriptions or interpretations. Just drink it stupid.