Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dram Whisky: TenWordTastings – a new way to talk about Scotland’s national spirit

Whisky columnist Andy Clark has discovered TenWordTastings.

When it comes to whisky, life really isn’t complicated.

Nose, palate, finish. That’s it.

Sweetness? Richness? Fruit? Smoke?

How would you describe your favourite dram?

With a few choice words? With a smile and a sigh? Or with every flowery phrase and overblown description you can possibly think of?

Too often, whisky writers (sadly, including me!) get carried away with the rubbish they talk. ‘Rich and sweet’ becomes ‘charred sugar with honey dripping off the hive’. ‘Coastal and smoky’ is turned into ‘barbecue on a summer campfire among the dunes, with a sense of salt blowing on the breeze’.

No, I think it’s time for a change. It’s time for a bit of simplicity.

 

So imagine my delight when I came across a new way of talking about whisky – no fuss, no fluff, just straight to the point. And in just ten words!

TenWordTastings has just been launched on Twitter, and it’s starting a new conversation about our favourite drink.

But how much can you say? Can you capture the essence of a dram in fewer words than the age of an average malt?

Have a look at these ten examples and decide for yourself … or better still, why not try to describe your favourite dram, in just ten words!


Ardnamurchan AD/07.21:05

Fruit. Honey. Salt. (Smoke).

Spirit as spectacular as its birthplace.

adelphidistillery.com


Tamdhu Batch Strength 005

Sherry. Strong! Sheer rich indulgence.

Nuts, fruit … fun.

Unforgettable dram.

Tamdhu.com


anCnoc Peatheart

A symphony of sweetness and spice … with smoke. Seriously good.

ancnoc.com


Glen Moray 2010 Peated PX Finish

Jam, honey. Burnt caramel, chocolate.

Amazing BBQ in the woods.

glenmoray.com


Macallan 12-year-old Double Cask

Smooooooooth!

Dried fruit. Cream, spice and citrus.

I’m in love.

Themacallan.com


Highland Park Cask Strength Batch 2

Powerful stuff, but classy mix…

smoothness, smoke.

True Northern spirit.

Highlandparkwhisky.com


White Heather 21-year-old

Rich, earthy, fruit, soft smoke.

Superb.

The ‘blend’ in s-blend-id!

whiteheatherwhisky.com


Ledaig 10-year-old

Half a year’s work.

Best of Mull … with peat.

Excellent.

tobermorydistillery.com


Darkness 8-year-old

Shovelfuls of sherry. Powerful punch.

But smooth, sweet.

More please!

Darknesswhisky.com


Speyburn 10-year-old

Spectacular, citrusy simplicity.

Sweet. Sweets! Smoke, spice.

True session treat.

Speyburn.com


For more from Andy…