Do any of you notice a change in the taste of a scotch when it's allowed to grow colder? Living in Michigan, while I sit on my porch, it can get quite cold. As my Lagavulin or Laphroaig cools, it seems to grow a bit mellower. (I drink it neat, so no yelling about ice!).
Any thoughts????
-Mark
I've always thought "store it cool, let it warm while drinking" is the way to go. Kind of like (real) beer, you don't want to overchill it for serving or you don't free up the aromatics critical to getting the flavors. Seems to me that a hand cupping a snifter does a good job of heat transfer to the Scotch, and even if not, well, that's the way it should be handled anyway...
That is what I do too. I let it warm in my hands for a while and inhale the goodness. Once I think it has been sufficiently warmed I'll take a few sips.
Tim
Mark,
A good question and one that I too have pondered. Like you, I drink my Scotch neat and won't pollute it with ice. I tend to drink more Scotch in the winter (though I have been known to crank up the air conditioning in August just to help me enjoy a glass) and have found that for my palate, 65 degrees is about right . Over 65 degrees and I tend to taste the alcohol too much, much lower and the flavor is scarified. 65 seems right to me, but I am sure it will be different for others.
Rick
When something is warm, we can detect more flavors from it. If you compare warm ice cream with cold ice cream, the former will taste a lot sweeter.
Yes, certainly.
The volatile aromatic qualities are diminished when the whisky is chilled, as is any harsh spiritiness, the so-called alcoholic "burn".
With the best singles, you probably want them at a reasonable room temperature in order to enjoy all their subtle nuances. But you can put the diminishment of volatiles to work for you by chilling a young harsh whisky in the refrigerator and making it more drinkable and enjoyable.
In Texas the ambient temperature thing is reversed: in the summer, (hell, for most of the year) a proper room temp malt will quickly heat up too much if consumed out doors. Whisky on a picnic needs to be chilled or you'll need ice.
If you put a whisky in the freezer it will become noticably thicker and more viscous (but generally will not freeze due to the alchohol content). You lose alot of flavor but it can make a cheap whisky refreshing in the summertime, without having to add ice. And if you drink slowly, it will achieve its optimum temp before you're done.
Bart
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