The Whiskey-Tasting Etiquette Rule You Probably Didn't Realize You Were Breaking

Think about a whiskey tasting event as performance art where storytelling plays as important a role as the booze itself, and you'll start to understand why there are so many rules around it. These are highly curated experiences. Good hosts make sure the session is both engaging and educational, with conversation flowing smoothly, and everyone at the table feeling included. From showing up late to monopolizing the conversation, there are several behaviors that are strictly frowned upon at guided tastings. And while most are obvious (don't get drunk, this isn't a boozy brunch) there's one etiquette rule people break without realizing it: Trash-talking the competition.

Whiskey-tastings are usually organized by specific brands as part of distillery tours but also as branding and marketing activity. While it goes without saying that one should not be criticizing the whiskeys that are part of the tasting itself, what's less obvious is that being too critical of the competition isn't appreciated either. As whiskey expert James Hastings told us, "You might think that disparaging a competitor's brand will get you on the host's good side, but that's rarely the case. In reality, you're more likely to be insulting their friends, or people they consider colleagues and contemporaries in the whiskey business." The alcohol industry is extremely close-knit. This doesn't mean you can't mention a competitor at all. As long as you're including other brands in an objective context, like comparing tasting notes or distillation processes, you're golden. 

While thinking of whiskey tastings as performance art helps you understand why there are rules, looking at them as part-classroom makes it easier to follow these unwritten rules. Tasting sessions are designed to be educational (yes, learning can be fun!), and, much like a classroom, the general rule is to not be a know-it-all. 

David Stirk, a whiskey historian who began his career in conducting tastings in the 1990s, describes this character as "the resident expert" in a blog on wattwhiskey.com: "I was at an incredibly prestigious tasting in London where a man decided he would finish some of the sentences of the very well-known host," he writes. "This became irksome for all attending until the host eventually stopped mid-sentence and introduced the gentleman as the new host for the tasting — at which point the know-it-all shut up, everyone cheered and a good time was then had."

Basically, don't be that guy. And don't go on about other whiskey brands too much, in a good or bad way. Let the host guide the conversation, give others a chance to speak, don't ask irrelevant questions designed to show off your knowledge, and don't interrupt others, especially newcomers who might feel under-confident. If you are that first-timer, you should also know that there's no reason to be intimidated, even at a vertical tasting. In fact, it's common to not be able to taste or smell the exact notes more experienced guests are getting. That said, you can easily brush up on some simple tips to help identify common flavor notes before your whiskey tasting. Just don't use this new-found knowledge to start criticizing other whiskeys while you're there.