Taste is subjective, but a handful of traits separate a genuinely good whiskey from an ordinary one: complexity of flavor, quality ingredients, the distilling method, smoothness, and age all play a part in what makes a whiskey “good”. In the end, though, the real answer to “what is a good whiskey?” is simple: it’s the one you enjoy drinking.
Let’s look at the factors that turn a single sip of whiskey into something worth savoring. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be well equipped to answer the question “what is a good whiskey?” for yourself.
Table of Contents:
What is a Good Whiskey?
Flavor Complexities
Complexity of flavor is often what separates a good whiskey meant to be sipped neat or with a splash of water from one that’s better suited to a cocktail.
A highly complex whiskey can still go into a cocktail, of course, but doing so means missing out on the subtleties that were carefully built into every batch.
Many things contribute to the flavor profile of a truly good whiskey.
What are the flavor families of whiskey?
Whiskey has 8 recognized flavor families, each with its own subcategories. Knowing what they are makes it much easier to pick out notes of complexity in a glass. Here are the families and their subcategories:
- Fruity – Cooked Fruit, Dried Fruit, Fresh Fruit, Citric
- Winey – Oily, Nutty, Chocolate, Sherries
- Sulphuric – Sandy, Vegetative, Coal/Gas, Rubbery
- Peaty – Kippery, Mossy, Smokey, Medicinal
- Cereal – Yeasty, Cooked Mash, Husky, Malt Extract
- Woody – Vanilla, Old Wood, New Wood, Toasted
- Floral – Leafy, Hay-like, Green House, Fragrant
- Feinty – Tobacco, Sweaty, Plastic, Leathery
Some of these descriptors don’t sound appealing on their own, but offbeat flavors can blend together into something delicious.
It’s completely normal to start out favoring fruitier whiskeys and steer clear of the more intense ones. As you explore what makes a good whiskey for your own palate, try a range of flavor profiles — but remember, it’s always about what you like.
Get to know the Top 11 of The Best Scotch for Beginners.
The Devil in the Grains – Defining a Flavor Profile
The flavors above are notes you can find in whiskey, not the ingredients that make it. Whiskey is produced by fermenting grain mash, which may or may not be malted.
Malting is the process of soaking grain until it germinates, which creates maltose, a type of sugar. It lends the finished whiskey a richness similar to butter or chocolate.
Sometimes the line between a good whiskey and an ordinary one comes down to the grain bill, since different grain ratios produce very different flavor profiles.
Want to know more about this? Check out our article on What is Whiskey Made of!
Some of the grains used to make whiskey are as follows:
Barley
Barley is used mainly for Scotch whisky and packs quite a punch. It’s often malted and dried with peat, and the bite of barley whisky is usually mellowed by aging in old sherry or port wine barrels, which add fruit and spice notes to the natural smoky earthiness of Scotch.
Rye
Rye gives whiskey a rich, nutty, spicy flavor. Used on its own, it produces rye whiskey — which, to carry that name, must be aged in American oak barrels and contain at least 51% rye mash.
Rye can also be blended with other grains to create different styles, including bourbon.
Wheat
Wheat whiskeys are almost exclusively made in the United States. They’re crowd-pleasers thanks to their smooth, subtly sweet character.
Expect flavor notes like toffee, vanilla, and honey. Once less common, wheat whiskeys have become increasingly popular for exactly those sweet, smooth qualities.
Corn
Corn is the main ingredient in Bourbon — to earn that name, a whiskey must be made in America from a mash that’s at least 51% corn.
Corn is another easy-drinking grain, contributing notes of honey butter, cream, and even toasted marshmallow.
Some whiskeys blend these four grains in different ratios, some use only one, and some use all four. Keep the flavor profile you’re after in mind, and pay attention to the grain bill when choosing a bottle.
Types of Barrels and the Imparting of Flavor
When it comes to answering “What is a good whiskey?”, the barrels it ages in are a big part of the conversation. Most whiskey barrels are made of oak, whose oils seep into the liquid over time.
Sometimes whiskey — Bourbon in particular — is aged in brand new barrels. Other times it goes into barrels that previously held something else, and that “something else” is what gives the whiskey its distinctive flavor by the time it’s bottled.
New Oak Barrels
New, virgin oak barrels haven’t yet held any spirit, so the flavor of the wood itself comes through more strongly in the whiskey. New oak barrels are used to age Bourbon.
Ex-Bourbon Barrels
Once a virgin barrel has aged a Bourbon, it can be reused to age other whiskeys, such as Scotch. These barrels impart fruity, vanilla-like notes carried over from the Bourbon that came before.
Ex-Port Barrels
Barrels that previously held port wine impart flavors intrinsic to that wine — usually dried fruit notes like fig or raisin. The exact flavor shifts depending on the port in question.
Ex-Sherry Barrels
Sherry barrels contribute a dried fruit character similar to port barrels. Sherry tends to be drier than port, so whiskey aged in these barrels often picks up a correspondingly drier note.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of barrel types used to age whiskey, but it gives you the idea: whatever spirit a barrel previously held will leave its own unique mark on the whiskey that ages in it next.
Aging Whiskey and its Impact on Flavour
We’ve covered the types of barrels used in aging — now let’s look at the actual method of aging itself. Is age really the key to what makes a whiskey good?
Many people assume that older whiskey is automatically better quality, and it’s true that longer-aged whiskeys tend to cost more. But age alone doesn’t guarantee better quality.
During aging, the oak barrel expands and contracts with temperature changes, which draws oxygen into the spirit.
That process can add a range of flavor notes. If the whiskey is aged in charred oak barrels, the char acts like a filter, softening harsh alcohol notes. Over time, the color deepens to gold and the whiskey develops a smoky, caramel body.
The Bottom Line
Plenty of factors go into making a whiskey “good”, but the one that matters most is simple: you like it, and you’ll drink it.
“What is a good whiskey?” is a question worth asking — and now you have the tools to answer it for yourself.
Once you’re ready to go further, whether it’s picking a brand, learning about different whiskey styles, or digging deeper into what makes a whiskey good, head over to the whisky blog to keep exploring!