LET’S SOUND COOL WITH OUR BEGGINER’S GUIDE TO WHISKY TASTING VOCABULARY
Here is some of the more often used terms used to describe nuances in the whisky.
| Bland | Lacking in personality. |
| Body | The amount of appropriate product character, usually used in conjunction with qualifiers such as ‘full bodied’, ‘lacking in body’. |
| Clean | Free from off-notes from any source. |
| Dry | An overall impact of astringency. |
| Green | A preponderance of aldehydic at an acceptable level. |
| Heavy | Possessing a high total intensity of delectable aroma and flavour. |
| Light | Possessing an adequate intensity of aroma and flavour, but tending to be delicate in type. |
| Mellow | A condition associated with good maturation, whereby alcoholic pungency is suppressed and the effect of hotness reduced to a pleasant warming. |
| Neutral | Lack of aromas, other than that of ethyl alcohol. |
| Rich | Implies a high intensity of character; may also mean a preponderance of sweet associated aromatic. |
| Round | A good balance and intensity of aroma and flavour notes. |
| Robust | A high aroma intensity and flavour; powerful character. |
| Sharp | Imparting nose or mouth prickle. |
| Soft | Where the alcoholic pungency and other aromatics are suppressed. |
| Thin | Lacking in the aroma and flavour which it should have; watery |
