Beginner’s guide to buying the right whisky

KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — For the uninitiated, buying the right whisky can be pretty daunting.

At The Singleton’s second mentoring session last Friday at co-working space and service offices Colony KL, Diageo Malaysia invited brand consultant and bartending expert Ben Ng to take Scotch lovers on a taste journey with three of their variants: The 12 Year Old, Signature and Signature Sherry Cask.

Here are some pointers we picked up from Ng on how to buy the best whisky and of course, how you really should be tasting them.

What you should know when buying whisky:

1. If it says Scotch whisky, it has to come from Scotland

If it’s not made in Scotland, you can’t call it Scotch whisky. Scotch whisky refers to malt or grain whisky produced in Scotland. Whiskies made in other whisky-producing countries such as the US, Japan, Taiwan and Ireland are known generally known as whisky. Did you know Scotch whisky is a registered geographical indication (GI) in Malaysia?

2. What single malt means

“Single malt means it’s produced in one particular distillery,” says Ng who co-owns Penang cocktail bar Mish Mash. Malt refers to barley, the key grain used to make Scotch whisky.

3. Generally, the whisky name indicates the distillery

For example, The Singleton of Glen Ord, available exclusively in Asia, is made in a distillery located in the Scottish Highlands called Glen Ord. It has been around for more than 100 years. “It’s one of the few distilleries around in Scotland today that still malts its own barley,” revealed Ng. In Scotland, there are only eight distilleries that malt their own barley. By controlling the quality of ingredients, distilleries are able to control the quality of their whisky.

Ng demonstrates the right way to nose and taste whisky.

4. Sometimes, age is only a number

It’s easy to gush over a 40- or 50-year-old rare whisky but Ng says you don’t necessarily have to buy an old whisky to enjoy good whisky. “It’s not about how long you age whisky but how well,” Ng explains. “If you have a bad cask or barrel, you’ll get a bad whisky even if it’s been maturing in there for 40 years.”

For example, The Singleton Signature and Signature Sherry Cask have no age stated on the bottle – these are known as No Age Statement (NAS) Scotch whiskies.

5. 12-, 15- or 18–years represent the youngest whisky in the bottle

Let’s say you’ve picked up an 18-year-old whisky. This doesn’t mean all the whisky in there is 18 years old. Before whisky is bottled, whiskies from various casks are blended. “There's a chance there are older Singletons in there,” said Ng. A master blender may use a 21- or 25-year-old whisky in an 18-year-old whisky. The age on the bottle indicates the youngest whisky used in the blend.

How to taste whisky?

1. Don’t nose whisky like it’s wine

Bring the whisky close to your nose and breathe normally — don’t take a deep breath. The first hit is always a piercing fiery aroma. If it’s too fiery to handle, Ng shares two tips for a better nose test: a) move glass away from nose and swing it from left to right and breathe gently or b) place the glass slightly above your nose and breathe normally.

Following Ng’s tips allowed us to identify the sweet honey notes of the Singleton of Glen Ord 12 Year Old.

“It’s 40 per cent of fun (alcohol) in here so if you nose it like you would with wine, you might not get through the fourth or fifth glass – nosing is very important because it allows us to enjoy one part of the whisky,” said Ng.

Never judge a whisky just by one sip.

2. Never judge a whisky just by one sip

Ng recommends breaking down the taste test to a few sips. The magic number here is three. “Take a small sip. You’ll find that on the first sip, generally for tasting any whisky for that matter, you’ll find that it’s a little spicy on the palate and quite fiery but somehow it makes you want to drink a little bit more,” he said.

3. Second sip is when the whisky reveals itself

On the second sip, the drinker gets more clarity in the flavours of the whisky. With the Singleton 12 Year Old, there’s a toffee-sweetness on the front of the palate followed by fruity pear and apple flavours in the middle and a smooth oaky finish.

4. Third sip helps determine if you like the whisky or not

“The third sip is going to tell your mind how much you’re going to enjoy this whisky,” said Ng. This stage lets you taste the finishing of the whisky such as the lingering raisin sweetness one gets at the back of the Singleton 12-year-old. “This is the difference between tasting a whisky and drinking a whisky,” said Ng.
The Singleton second mentoring session was held at the beautifully designed KL Colony co-working space.