ADVENTURES IN WHISKY
What the funk?
Some whiskies hold your hand and lead you gently through an orchard of soft fruits and honeyed delights. Others might shove you into a bog, slap you round the face with a kipper, and set fire to your boots for good measure. If the latter sounds more intriguing than terrifying, then you’re in good company, as Kami Newton explains
PHOTOS: MIKE WILKINSON
It cannot be denied that whisky has a well-founded claim to being ‘The Most Exciting Sensory Adventure in the World’. Within this realm of discovery, single cask whiskies vigorously wave the flag for obscure, unusual and enigmatic flavours. Hence, at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, celebrating such peculiarities is at the very heart of what we do.
But it doesn’t necessarily make sense. The excitement of sampling sweaty socks, tasting tar or even sipping silage would certainly seem to fly in the face of evolution. After all, natural selection has gifted us with reflexes that spontaneously reject such corrupted odours with the universal expression of disgust. So why the love?“
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF DISGUST
One of the more unique challenges for the SMWS Tasting Panel is how to present such filthy nuances as welly boots, rotting vegetables and parmesan cheese in a positive light. Although it should be noted that the now infamous bottling of Cask No. 66.28: Whisky-flavoured condoms & skunk road-kill quite clearly avoids any efforts to gloss over the facts.
FROM TUG BOATS TO OFF-NOTES
What are often regarded as ‘off-notes’ in whisky stem from a complex interplay of raw materials, fermentation, distillation and maturation. Many of these characteristics originate at the earliest stages of production, including peat smoke. For instance, microbial activity during fermentation can lead to the formation of funky and sulphury compounds, which can contribute to aromas reminiscent of farmyards, cheese or even sweaty socks.
Sulphur compounds themselves, which are frequently associated with off-notes like burnt rubber, struck matches and cooked cabbage, can be reduced during the distillation process as they react with copper. But taking the ‘spirit cut’ too late into the distillation run can result in higher concentrations of ‘feinty’ characters – those earthy, leathery and sometimes meaty notes that appear.
Maturation further shapes the pong through oxidation, esterification and interaction with the wood. The breakdown of fatty acids and aldehydes can lead to rancid or musty notes. Even metallic flavours can result from the toasting of oak. It’s in the cask that many off-note changes occur, as the spirit develops into mature whisky.
ABOVE: Anyone for some ‘funky rancio’ from distillery 44?
THE GRUBBY, THE FUNKY AND THE DOWNRIGHT FILTHY
Many of these ‘off-notes’ shouldn’t be pleasant but somehow are. Petrol, marker pens, antiseptic wipes – notes that, in theory, should send you recoiling rather than revelling. How about thick engine grease, chimney soot or creosote? Venturing into the world of industrial machinery may not embrace the idea of ‘scrumptiousness’ quite like a hot apple pie, but they are nonetheless flavoursome. Why?
Familiarity seems to play a significant role. Familiarity with an unpleasant odour can enhance the perceived enjoyment of it (Ferdenzi et al, 2014). In addition, more familiar aromas are easier to identify than unfamiliar ones (Kärnekull et al, 2015), and unpleasant food odours are detected faster and more accurately than pleasant ones (Boesveldt et al, 2010). In simple terms, stinky odours are easier to detect and describe, plus in time, we can learn to enjoy them – hence we often have acquired tastes.
On this note, our sensitivity to certain flavours changes throughout life. Children are far more sensitive to bitter tastes than adults, for example. It makes evolutionary sense to avoid bitter toxins and seek sweet, high calorie foods in the developmental years. But here’s an interesting idea.
In a world where our senses are commonly overstimulated from the everyday hustle-and-bustle, perhaps such powerful and easily identifiable pongs cut through the noise and excite our senses more easily than their perfumed counterparts. There’s another factor too.
Sensation seeking, with regards to tasting extreme flavours such as chillies, has been linked to personality traits. In particular to thrill-seeking personality types who enjoy rolling the dice of life now and again. It’s a connection that is also shared by novelty seeking, whereby some people pursue flavour experiences that are unique, unusual, and remarkable. Which brings us neatly back to the SMWS.
GET OUT OF YOUR FLAVOUR COMFORT ZONE
If all this talk of industrial grease, maritime funk and cheesy delights has you intrigued rather than horrified, then you’re exactly the kind of whisky drinker the Society was made for. There’s a world beyond the smooth and easy, beyond the honey and vanilla. A world where challenging flavours aren’t mistakes but marvels. Where every dram tells a story that isn’t just pleasant – it’s exhilarating.
The underlying question is this – which would you find more memorable and talk-worthy: an uneventful stroll through an orchard, or riding an incontinent Highland cow up Mount Vesuvius in wellington boots? As is often the case in life, it’s the imperfections that make things interesting, and therefore, ironically, in their own way – perfect.
Whatever your proclivities, single cask Scotch whisky is an adventure that offers the most fascinating journeys into flavour and sparks conversation.
So next time you pour yourself a funky Society dram and find your nose recoiling at an initial whiff of rubber or manure, don’t back away. Lean in. Because that, dear whisky adventurer, is where the journey begins.
