Tips When Blending Spirits

In some respects, enthusiasts of craft beer have it better compared to connoisseurs of liquors. Of course, craft beer enthusiasts can make their own beers at home legally. If you are an aspiring home distiller, you don’t have such luck. You will have to be satisfied with limiting your passions to the glasses if you always dream of pine or whiskey over delicious brandy. For most individuals, this is fine.

Fortunately for you, we are here to help. If you are going to buy online spirits, we’ve got a couple of tips that you can use to properly blend them.

Have Fun

This is probably the most important tip. You should consider mixing various whiskey types together if you really want to get out there. You can combine Lowland Scotch whiskey and bourbon. You can also blend Puerto Rican light rum and cachaça with Rum Agricole. You can even try to blend together completely different spirit categories. Having fun while doing it is the most crucial rule in blending spirits. You can always ensure that whatever the results are will be one of a kind.

Taste and Smell

A lot of professional blenders dilute their samples down to 18% alcohol before sampling and smelling. This is especially true in the scotch industry. This volatilizes many fragrances and can make it simpler to take subtle notes that are sometimes covered by the higher alcohol percentage. To properly do this, you do not have to buy a very expensive alcohol meter. It is enough to combine together equal parts of water and spirits to get you in the 18% alcohol. This can be applied to almost every spirit. You can begin building the blend after you are done sampling and smelling.

Tailored Home Blend

It’s quite rewarding to blend your own spirits. You can create your own tailored liquor by mixing together various spirits. Obviously, you can go complete professional with pipets, graduated cylinders, and hydrometers. On the other hand, you can appreciate the heavenly mayhem of the infinity bottle.

However, before you even start. There are a couple of things you have to think about. First, you have to consider the form of spirit you want to make. Do you love funky Jamaican rums? Are you a huge fan of smoky single malt scotch? Then, you have to consider what really it is you want about those spirits. Answering these inquiries will help you look for the path for your blend. The ideal blenders imagine first the profile they want before they even combine together anything.

Next, you should look at your collection of spirits and taste through anything you believe may get you toward your last blend. For example, you can perhaps forget about the Ardbeg if you are planning to create a fruit-forward cognac. Always take notes and sample what you’ve got. You shouldn’t worry even if you’ve only got 2 bottles that you believe may work. Most delicious spirits have been made from 3-part or 2-part blends. Everything will differ in how you blend them.