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National Scotch Day: How to Hold Your Own Scotch Tasting

With National Scotch Day coming up on July 27, we know it may be a spurious holiday cooked up by a marketing team somewhere, but who cares – what better time than this to host a scotch tasting? Whether you’re just getting into Scotch, or you’re enjoying rounding out your collection, there’s not much in the world that’s better than sampling great spirits with friends.

Four or five whiskies is generally the most you’ll want to taste in a single scotch tasting. It’s nice to mix up your regions and styles; try picking one from the Islay, Speyside, and Highland regions, plus another wildcard – Campbeltown? Island? Lowlands? Or, if you know you love one style or region way more than others, do a themed tasting – choose all sherried single malts, or a selection of blended malt.

National Scotch Day
Scotch whisky aging at Springbank (image via Springbank)

Glassware: Make sure you’ve got enough appropriate glasses for each guest to have one. Wash and dry them carefully so they’re crystal-clear. Be sure to give each guest a glass for water, as well as a dump bucket/cup if they need to reuse their tasting glass. If there are some bigger, stronger scotches in the mix, water and a dropper for dilution can be helpful for unlocking new aromas and getting through longer tastings without getting palate fatigue.

Snacks: Do pick up some snacks – drinking a lot on an empty stomach is never a good idea. Veer away from the highly spiced or aromatic (save your favorite roasted garlic-chili dip for another time), and be sure to have at least one bland food like crackers or bread available as a palate cleanser.

The format: You have two options here: blind, where guests don’t know what they’re drinking until after they’ve tasted it; or open, where the bottles are visible to everybody. Both formats have their attractions. Blind tastings can be really fun for savvy drinkers who enjoy the guessing game, but they’re a bit more work for the host. Open tastings are a little more casual, and can inspire conversation more readily.

The guest list: Scotch tasting is fun in a mixed crowd. Definitely invite your collector friend, but also invite your brother-in-law who only drinks vodka. He might be a scotch enthusiast in the rough! And if anybody’s peat-phobic, try slipping them this cocktail from Jordan Felix at the Multnomah Whiskey Library that was provided to us by Laphroaig – it’s pretty irresistible, even to the Scotch noob.

Tartan Collins

Ingredients

1 1/2 parts peaty scotch (try Laphroaig)
1/4 part Five-Spice Syrup (recipe below)*
2 dashes of Orange Bitters
Ginger Beer

Method: Pour the Laphroaig in a collins glass, followed by the five-spice syrup and bitters. Add ice, and top off with ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wheel.

*Five-Spice Syrup
Ingredients:
2oz bottle of Five-Spice Blend
64oz fine sugar
32oz water

Instructions: Combine all ingredients a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce until all ingredients are blended. Let cool for 2 hours and refrigerate before use.

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