Caramel in Whisk(e)y? What is Caramel colouring anyway?!

What is the Caramel colouring in Whisky? Why is there caramel colouring in Whisky? anyways? You always hear about the E150a in Scotch. Is E150a a Caramel colouring? What is the Caramel Colouring in Whisky? The answer to this questions...

How do we smell and taste whisky?

I have been looking for some actual science that explains how we smell and taste whisky. How do whisky-chemicals interact with you brain.? I say brain because your brain is the end point. ps: if you replace whisky by whiskey,...

OCTOMORE OBA CONCEPT OBA/C_0.1, first tasting notes

I was reminding the Feis Ile 2016 Masterclass when Octomore Black Art was first presented. If you missed the introduction you can look at it here If you have not seen the introduction. Please take 10 minutes to watch the...

Westlands American Oak Whiskey vs Garryana 2/1

I have, finally, had the time to compare two WestLand Single Malt Whiskeys. Today I had a free hour and so I could sit down and have a moment with these two drams. Ok, I needed my Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones...

Oak Species Flavour Profiles

Different Species of Oak give different flavours to a wine, beer or spirit. We all know this. There are some general indications for the origin of the oak. These are "American Oak", "European Oak" and "Japanse Oak". To sort the...

Angels’ Share is Time, Humidity, Temperature, Chemistry, etc etc

I have always been interested in the actual Science behind the "Angels’ Share" phenomenon ever since I first heard the term. This phenomenon is currently mostly explained in simpleton terminologies. I am always glad somebody has actually done some science....

Whisky Droplets Create “Unique” patterns

I was pointed to a synopsis that investigates the origins of Bourbon Whiskey and Scotch Whisky by looking at how the "solids" in the Whisky for "coffee ring" when evaporating. The way this is done as meant to be yet...

DIN 10960:2000-06 Tasting glass for wine

In the past I have already blogged about other ISO standardised glassware, but quite by accident I came across another standard detailing the shape of a nosing and tasting glass. This time it is a tasting glass prescribed by the...

Old Black Bear: Two Faces Whiskey

The wonderful thing about whiskey is that it is made just about everywhere. It is made in Scotland of course and in Kentucky, but it's is also being made by hard working people from Madison, Alabama in the USA. I...

Definitive Science Shows Terroir influences Whiskey

I have been looking for any scientific articles on the actual effect of terroir on the actual whiskey, and this week I stumbled upon just such an article. This article is called "Assessing the impact of corn variety and Texas...

What is “Peat”?

I noticed that I have been blogging about "peat" for a while now, without actually knowing what it is. I have known for a while that peat is not the name of 1 particular plant. I did have a wee...

Islay Peat is not Orkney Peat

I had been looking for any research digging into the peat compositions. I had found a study but could not download it, so I asked the author if I could have a copy. I could. So I had my MacBook...