Some whiskies hold your hand and lead you gently through an orchard of soft fruits and honeyed delights. Others might shove you into a bog, slap you round the face with a kipper, and set fire to your boots for good measure. If the latter sounds more intriguing than terrifying, then you’re in good company, as Kami Newton explains.
It cannot be denied that whisky has a well-founded claim to being ‘The Most Exciting Sensory Adventure in the World’. Within this realm of discovery, single cask whiskies vigorously wave the flag for obscure, unusual and enigmatic flavours. Hence, at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, celebrating such peculiarities is at the very heart of what we do.
But it doesn’t necessarily make sense. The excitement of sampling sweaty socks, tasting tar or even sipping silage would certainly seem to fly in the face of evolution. After all, natural selection has gifted us with reflexes that spontaneously reject such corrupted odours with the universal expression of disgust. So why the love?
One of the more unique challenges for the SMWS Tasting Panel is how to present such filthy nuances as welly boots, rotting vegetables and parmesan cheese in a positive light.
Reeking cheese, fermenting cabbage or how about the alluring waft of cat urine in your sauvignon blanc? Scotch whisky may not be standing alone in this leftfield, but it undeniably leads the charge by some margin. Before we delve into why we love to sniff the farmyard whiff, let’s address how such malodorous marvels end up in the glass in the first place.
What are often regarded as ‘off-notes’ in whisky stem from a complex interplay of raw materials, fermentation, distillation and maturation. Many of these characteristics originate at the earliest stages of production, including peat smoke. For instance, microbial activity during fermentation can lead to the formation of funky and sulphury compounds, which can contribute to aromas reminiscent of farmyards, cheese or even sweaty socks.
Sulphur compounds themselves, which are frequently associated with off-notes like burnt rubber, struck matches and cooked cabbage, can be reduced during the distillation process as they react with copper. But taking the ‘spirit cut’ too late into the distillation run can result in higher concentrations of ‘feinty’ characters – those earthy, leathery and sometimes meaty notes that appear.
Maturation further shapes the pong through oxidation, esterification and interaction with the wood. The breakdown of fatty acids and aldehydes can lead to rancid or musty notes. Even metallic flavours can result from the toasting of oak. It’s in the cask that many off-note changes occur, as the spirit develops into mature whisky.
Many of these ‘off-notes’ shouldn’t be pleasant but somehow are. Petrol, marker pens, antiseptic wipes – notes that, in theory, should send you recoiling rather than revelling. How about thick engine grease, chimney soot or creosote? Venturing into the world of industrial machinery may not embrace the idea of ‘scrumptiousness’ quite like a hot apple pie, but they are nonetheless flavoursome. Why?
Familiarity seems to play a significant role. Familiarity with an unpleasant odour can enhance the perceived enjoyment of it. In addition, more familiar aromas are easier to identify than unfamiliar ones, and unpleasant food odours are detected faster and more accurately than pleasant ones. In simple terms, stinky odours are easier to detect and describe, plus in time, we can learn to enjoy them – hence we often have acquired tastes.
If all this talk of industrial grease, maritime funk and cheesy delights has you intrigued rather than horrified, then you’re exactly the kind of whisky drinker the Society was made for. There’s a world beyond the smooth and easy, beyond the honey and vanilla. A world where challenging flavours aren’t mistakes but marvels. Where every dram tells a story that isn’t just pleasant – it’s exhilarating.
Whatever your proclivities, single cask Scotch whisky is an adventure that offers the most fascinating journeys into flavour and sparks conversation. So next time you pour yourself a funky Society dram and find your nose recoiling at an initial whiff of rubber or manure, don’t back away. Lean in. Because that, dear whisky adventurer, is where the journey begins.