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The reason water is added is because it brings out the aroma in the spirit. Putting one's nose in to sniff can cause irritation if not done right. The followin

The reason water is added is because it brings out the aroma in the spirit. Putting one's nose in to sniff can cause irritation if not done right. The following is a very comprehensive writeup as far as tasting whisky goes. http://www.whiskymag.com/nosing_course/ http://www.whiskymag.com/nosing_course/

bugsy 16y ago
There's every chance that article has been written by the world's greatest whiskey expert. He still gets it wrong. He says to sniff. Don't sniff. You don't breath through your nose. As I said before, place your nose above the glass and then gently breath in with your mouth. Your mouth will just breath in normal air, but it will create a draft through your nose that pulls in the vapours that are evaporating into your nose without creating eddies in the glass, and without quickly sucking the most delicate and lightest of the vapours past your nose's sensing cells and into your lungs, which misses the most interesting parts. Don't take my word for it, try it instead. Seriously, try the expert's "sniff with nose" method and compare to the two-orifice with nose close to the glass edge method I have described. You will detect much more of the bouquet with the two-orifice method. Perhaps I have invented it, I don't know, that seems unlikely, but for some reason the so-called experts don't know about this and aren't doing it right. Just try. You'll see, it will be really clear. You can use the direct sniff too if you like to get the heavier vapours.
- kscaldef 16y ago
  It's odd that it's not mentioned explicitly in either article, but I have certainly had it stressed before that when smelling wine, or whisk(e)y, or coffee that you should have your mouth open. Also, the "sniff" is not as if you had the sniffles, but a gentle inhalation. So, even if they are not saying so in the articles, I suspect the experts are doing something rather similar to what you describe.

bugsy 16y ago

There's every chance that article has been written by the world's greatest whiskey expert. He still gets it wrong. He says to sniff. Don't sniff. You don't breath through your nose. As I said before, place your nose above the glass and then gently breath in with your mouth. Your mouth will just breath in normal air, but it will create a draft through your nose that pulls in the vapours that are evaporating into your nose without creating eddies in the glass, and without quickly sucking the most delicate and lightest of the vapours past your nose's sensing cells and into your lungs, which misses the most interesting parts. Don't take my word for it, try it instead. Seriously, try the expert's "sniff with nose" method and compare to the two-orifice with nose close to the glass edge method I have described. You will detect much more of the bouquet with the two-orifice method. Perhaps I have invented it, I don't know, that seems unlikely, but for some reason the so-called experts don't know about this and aren't doing it right. Just try. You'll see, it will be really clear. You can use the direct sniff too if you like to get the heavier vapours.

kscaldef 16y ago
It's odd that it's not mentioned explicitly in either article, but I have certainly had it stressed before that when smelling wine, or whisk(e)y, or coffee that you should have your mouth open. Also, the "sniff" is not as if you had the sniffles, but a gentle inhalation. So, even if they are not saying so in the articles, I suspect the experts are doing something rather similar to what you describe.