Ever pop open a bottle of whiskey, and the first glass instantly bedazzles all the senses in the body? The very sublimity of the spirit carries you away to another, higher plane of existence. A few days later, the second glass – amazing. Eventually, a couple of weeks later and at the midpoint of the bottle the delicacy of the gods turns into a burning, bland rotgut. Conversely, the first glass or two of a bottle feels boring or somehow lacking. Then toward the bottom of the bottle an epiphany strikes and suddenly this particular whiskey always finds itself stocked on the shelf. It’s these very possibilities that raise the question for whiskey judging: glass or bottle?

Certainly, drinking an entire bottle of whiskey over a number of weeks allows the imbiber the fullest picture of said whiskey. One day, that cayenne pepper sandwich may have muted the taste buds for a day and nothing comes through. Or an illness or bad day at work colors everything grey and pointless. Maybe some really good news came through, and anything else that day simply feels amazing. Perhaps you just really wanted to like a particular whiskey. As a result, you give it high marks until the cognitive dissonance becomes untenable. Any of these scenarios can occur and cause a less than impartial view of a particular whiskey.

Reviews

This can even occur with whiskey reviews such as those done at Whiskey Rising. Best case scenario for each and every whiskey would entail a month long retreat in a log cabin with the bottle (personal chef included). This would allow for complete and utter attention to the whiskey only. However, this simply isn’t ever going to happen for reasons of reality. As a result, Whiskey Rising attempts to explain the glass of whiskey as in depth as possible so even the if the final grade isn’t amazing the particulars may still endear themselves to certain readers.

Beyond distractions, commonality potentially plays a role as well. It’s no secret that the average whiskey drinker and aficionado alike know Kentucky bourbon. Consequently, they understand the general profile and the qualities. On the other hand, a peated four grain whiskey aged with banana peels may initially cause some confusion and need time to acclimate itself. Of course, that same well known profile such as a Kentucky Bourbon may result in a level of boredom. It just all depends.

The reason for writing this article is to help the reader remember that whiskey is ultimately subjective. The experience may be warped by external factors. At Whiskey Rising, we base our reviews on a single tasting. Of course, we reserve the right to alter the review if we have access to an entire bottle and our opinion changes. For example, we provided a tough grade to Virginia Distillery’s Courage & Conviction. That was based off of one tasting. It’s entirely possible that after working through a bottle, the grade could change if something pops out that we missed. (Although at $75 a bottle, it seems unlikely that we’d go for it.)

Final Thoughts

As a whiskey review site, Whiskey Rising needs to deal with volume – simple fact. Unfortunately, that’s a reality and as a result decided to write reviews based on one tasting. (As mentioned earlier, we do reserve the right to go back and change a review should we need to.) However, just keep this article in mind if you ever open a bottle and the first glass is less than amazing. Remember, whiskey judging: glass or bottle – make sure to take note for yourself.

(Editor’s note: this article is part of a series looking at different ways to drink whiskey. These include, on the rocks versus neat; bottle versus single glass; intimate or group setting; and in cocktails.)

Here is an overview of our proprietary Rating System. Please share your thoughts below, or a story that whiskey has told you by reaching out to us on our contact page.