A Guide To Whisky Flavours

Key whisky flavours & styles

The flavour of whisky can be broken down into five main groupings – sweet whisky, fruity whisky, floral whisky, spicy whisky, and smoky whisky, 

Sweet whisky

All whiskies have sweetness but ones that are described as such are often indulgent, rich, and luxurious. They are honeyed (think of runny honey or honeycomb, and then manuka honey for older whiskies), confected (imagine white or milk chocolate, marshmallow, and cream soda) or sugared (something like muscovado sugar, fudge, toffee, butterscotch, and caramel).

Fruity whisky 

This style of whisky can be split into three categories – are you tasting fresh fruit, dried fruit, or cooked fruit? From this the flavours can be sub-categorised into orchard fruit (think of apple and pear), stone fruit (such as peach, apricot and plum), citrus fruit (imagine lemon, orange, lime, and grapefruit) and tropical fruit (something like pineapple. mango, banana, and papaya).

Floral whisky 

The lightest style of all. These elegant whiskies can be described as delicate, fresh, vibrant, uplifting, bright and finessed. Floral flavours can be sweet (think of honeysuckle, jasmine, and elderflower) or blossom-like (such as citrus or cherry blossom).

The category also encompasses green and grassy notes – imagine herbal, leafy, freshly mown lawn or dried grass and hay characteristics.

Spicy whisky

There are two main categories here – hot and fiery (think peppery, ginger or chilli-like) or warming and aromatic (this includes baking spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg or wood spices like oak, be it freshly sawn or toasted). Nutty flavours can also be included too, especially when toasted – imagine almond, hazelnut and walnut.

Smoky whisky

Smoky or peaty whiskies can feature soft and gentle smoke with a woody influence (such as charcoal, bonfire, and ashy embers) or be medicinal and acrid (think damp earth, moss, seaweed, bitumen, and tar).

Smoke can sometimes be confused for savoury flavours such as old leather, cigar box or earthy notes, especially in older whiskies.

The impact of maturation

Around 75-80% of the flavour of any whisky comes from its time maturing in oak casks. Various factors are at play to determine the final flavour profile of the spirit.

Scotch whisky casks legally must be made of oak, but the type of oak can heavily influence the resulting flavour. American oak is most common and gives honeyed, sweet, and vanilla notes. European oak gives spicy, earthy, and nutty characteristics.  

The cask type and size are important. Smaller casks have a larger ratio of wood surface area for the spirit to interact with. Therefore, they give more intense and expressive result in the short term. Larger casks offer the opposite and are often used to develop subtle characteristics or for longer maturation periods.

Whether a cask has been used before and what liquid has previously been inside both contribute to flavour. Alternatively, a new cask (called virgin oak) exposes spirit to fresh compounds in the wood that would otherwise have gone into the previous liquid, such as bourbon or sherry. 

Other influences include the heaviness of any toasting or charring on the inside of the barrel (more makes the wood crack, exposing more surface area to allow more natural compounds from the wood into the whisky) and length of time spent maturing – longer time scales give increased exposure and influence by the oak.

How many times a cask may have been used is a factor. First-fill barrels, meaning the first time that Scotch whisky has been matured inside, have more to give to the spirit. Re-fill casks can be filled up to three or four times. Each time they are filled, the wood has less influence, but this can be used to develop more subtle notes.

The location and style of warehouse also have an impact on how a cask matures and the flavours it produces. Traditional dunnage warehouses with thick stone walls and earthen floors tend to be more humid and fluctuating in temperature than modern facilities. Equally, a coastal warehouse will have a different microclimate to one located inland, be it in a valley or on a mountain.

Finally, the skill of the Master Blender comes to the fore. It is their job to combine each of these factors to create the whisky that they want to be bottled and sold.