Hosting a whisky tasting party at home is a great way to spend an evening with friends. the whole idea of a whisky tasting evening is to invite your friends over, and ask them to each bring a different type of whisky.
Then, have everyone taste each whisky and vote on their favorite. Finally, declare a winner and enjoy the rest of the night! While that is the basic principle, there are some tips that you may need to make the night go smoothly.
Here are a few tips to make your whisky tasting party a success!
1. Make sure you have enough glasses for everyone to taste the different types of whisky
Using whisky glasses is always a good idea. These glasses are designed to allow you to get the most from the smell of the whisky and enjoy the perfect taste. Make sure that you have enough for everyone but if you don’t, perhaps ask your friends if they are able to bring their own.
If you don’t want to go out and buy new glasses, then don’t worry. Just enjoy your whisky tasting session in any regular glass. It’s all about enjoying your night and enjoying the whisky.
2. Have some snacks on hand to cleanse your palate in between tastings
It’s good to have something to eat which not only lines your stomach but also helps to cleanse your pallet between tasting different types of whisky. The likes of sesame sticks, pretzels, and peanuts are a great option. Many people also see cheese as a great compliment to whisky so having some crackers on hand along with it is another good idea.
3. Keep track of which whiskies everyone tasted and liked the best so that you can declare a winner at the end of the evening
The fun part about having a whisky-tasting session is rating your whiskies so that you see which one comes on top. There are several ways you can do this depending on how seriously you want to take it.
Having everyone discuss their scores can cause some bias and therefore a good idea is for everyone to have a piece of paper, jot down their scores, and then compare notes. At the end of the night, you can see which whisky had the best score.
Of course, you could take a more casual approach. Pour everyone a glass, taste it, discuss it and move on to the next whisky without giving any scores. It’s up to you.
4. Most importantly, relax and enjoy yourself!
You create a scoring system, work out a rota of whisky drinking and have the whole thing precisely planned. The thing is, you’re inviting a bunch of your friends around to your home to drink some whisky, while they may start off on board with your plan, it may all go south after a few drams.
If it does, don’t worry about it. You’re there to enjoy yourself, and enjoy the whisky. It can be frustrating at first if people aren’t taking it seriously but if they don’t, forget about it! Just have fun.
Whisky Tasting Party – Final Thoughts
The best part of a whisky tasting party is everyone bringing their own whisky and to enjoy your mutual love of this fine drink. We hope your whisky tasting party goes as well as possible and you have a great night!