How to compare two whiskies meaningfully

Two glasses side by side can teach you more than a long tasting note read in isolation. Differences in aroma, texture and finish often become easier to recognise when you have an immediate reference.

The key is deciding what the comparison can actually tell you. Comparing two whiskies is straightforward. Explaining why they differ requires more care.

Start with one question

Choose a question narrow enough to answer. Do you prefer the fruitier or smokier whisky? How do two bottlings from the same distillery differ? Does a little water improve your enjoyment of this particular release?

A question gives the tasting structure and prevents the session becoming a search for as many flavour words as possible.

It also helps distinguish description from preference. One whisky may be more aromatic, another more enjoyable. Greater intensity is an observation; superiority is a judgement that needs its own explanation.

Match the conditions you can control

Use clean, identical glasses with similar pours, served at a similar temperature. Avoid scented washing-up residue, strong room fragrances and food aromas competing for attention.

Label the samples clearly and keep track of additions of water. If one whisky has been diluted and the other has not, that may be a useful comparison, but it is a different question from comparing both as bottled.

There is no need to turn a social tasting into a laboratory. A few consistent conditions make your observations easier to interpret and repeat.

Compare in stages

Begin with aroma. Move between the glasses using gentle sniffs, then note the most obvious difference. 'A is fresher and more citrus-led; B is richer and more woody' is already a useful result.

Next compare small sips. Consider flavour, then texture, then what remains afterwards. This sequence prevents a forceful alcohol sensation or an impressive first aroma from deciding the whole comparison.

Pause, drink water and revisit in the opposite order if appropriate. You may discover that the first impression depended partly on which whisky came before it.

Avoid attributing everything to one detail

Imagine comparing a 12-year-old whisky at 40% with an 18-year-old single cask at 55%. Age, strength, cask history and batch composition may all differ. The exercise can establish a preference between those bottles; it cannot isolate the effect of six additional years.

Even two single casks filled at the same distillery on the same day are not perfect controls. Their wood and storage histories may differ. Those differences are part of what makes cask comparisons interesting.

Use cautious explanations: 'This sample seems drier and more oak-led' is defensible. 'The extra age caused the dryness' needs information the tasting alone may not provide.

Try a more controlled comparison

To explore dilution, divide the same whisky between two glasses and add a recorded quantity of water to one. You have reduced the number of differences between samples, although dilution still changes several sensory variables together.

To explore expectations, taste two coded samples before revealing their identities. To explore cask influence, select releases with closely matched production details and acknowledge the differences you cannot control.

The strongest conclusion is often a modest one: 'Under these conditions, I preferred A because its fruit remained clear and its finish felt less drying.' That gives you something practical to use when choosing your next bottle.

Discover whisky tasting experiences at Milroy's, or visit the Soho whisky bar to discuss bottles you would like to compare.

(https://milroysofsoho.com/pages/tastings-experiences)

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