Kevin Peterson

ooh, this black licorice kind of throws some people, but maybe that's what makes it interesting.

ooh, this black licorice kind of throws some people, but maybe that's what makes it interesting.

Well, I guess kind of taking that jazz note idea. So all the aromatics in an old-fashioned are pretty harmonious. If you're using, say, a darker sugar, those aromatics go nicely with the bourbon or the whiskey notes. A lot of bitters are more baking spice forward. And like all of these different components kind of have a fair amount of overlap with each other.

Well, I guess kind of taking that jazz note idea. So all the aromatics in an old-fashioned are pretty harmonious. If you're using, say, a darker sugar, those aromatics go nicely with the bourbon or the whiskey notes. A lot of bitters are more baking spice forward. And like all of these different components kind of have a fair amount of overlap with each other.

But then when you make a Sazerac, you're essentially making an old fashioned, but you're putting in a little bit of that black licorice note through the absinthe. And so it's almost like, you know, you had your like, kind of normal, whatever harmonious thing. And then you said, what if I make this one note, do this. I like that. Yeah. And now all of a sudden it's like a lot fewer people like it.

But then when you make a Sazerac, you're essentially making an old fashioned, but you're putting in a little bit of that black licorice note through the absinthe. And so it's almost like, you know, you had your like, kind of normal, whatever harmonious thing. And then you said, what if I make this one note, do this. I like that. Yeah. And now all of a sudden it's like a lot fewer people like it.

I mean, there's certainly a genetic component, how sensitive you are, literally which olfactory receptors you have. There are a few hundred and not everybody has the same ones. But there have been some studies done, which I can't necessarily cite you the paper on the fly here. But what people have found is that as you train your sense of smell, you are not necessarily getting more sensitive or...

I mean, there's certainly a genetic component, how sensitive you are, literally which olfactory receptors you have. There are a few hundred and not everybody has the same ones. But there have been some studies done, which I can't necessarily cite you the paper on the fly here. But what people have found is that as you train your sense of smell, you are not necessarily getting more sensitive or...

You don't learn to pick things out at a lower threshold, at a lower concentration. What you learn is how to describe them better.

You don't learn to pick things out at a lower threshold, at a lower concentration. What you learn is how to describe them better.

Okay. You make better verbal connections. You have a more rich vocabulary of description. So yeah, you watch a sommelier pick a part of wine and they're doing all these one weird motions, but then they're saying, oh, I get tennis balls and I get warm weather and I get garden hose and this and that. And you're like, You smell the same wine and you're like, this just smells like wine.

Okay. You make better verbal connections. You have a more rich vocabulary of description. So yeah, you watch a sommelier pick a part of wine and they're doing all these one weird motions, but then they're saying, oh, I get tennis balls and I get warm weather and I get garden hose and this and that. And you're like, You smell the same wine and you're like, this just smells like wine.

It smells like wine, yeah.

It smells like wine, yeah.

Yeah, and I think another part of it too is your expectations get refined.

Yeah, and I think another part of it too is your expectations get refined.

where now I've read enough about whiskey that I know, okay, these notes come from the barrel. These notes come from the grain. These notes come from this and that. When I'm smelling a whiskey, it's not like my mind is a blank canvas and somebody's just putting something up there and I'm trying to pick it apart. I'm looking for a green apple note. I'm looking for a nutmeg note.

where now I've read enough about whiskey that I know, okay, these notes come from the barrel. These notes come from the grain. These notes come from this and that. When I'm smelling a whiskey, it's not like my mind is a blank canvas and somebody's just putting something up there and I'm trying to pick it apart. I'm looking for a green apple note. I'm looking for a nutmeg note.

I'm looking for a cinnamon note, which maybe not in a conscious way, but I've been primed through years of drinking whiskey to say like, oh, is this a rye, is this a wheat, is this a whatever?

I'm looking for a cinnamon note, which maybe not in a conscious way, but I've been primed through years of drinking whiskey to say like, oh, is this a rye, is this a wheat, is this a whatever?