The Whisky Tasting Wheel: Your Guide to Describing What You're Drinking
When I first started exploring whisky seriously, I struggled to put words to what I was tasting. "It's... nice?" wasn't exactly helpful tasting notes. "Sort of sweet, maybe some fruit?" was only marginally better. I knew there was complexity in the glass, but I couldn't articulate it. Sound familiar?
This is where the whisky tasting wheel comes in — a tool that's genuinely useful once you understand how to use it properly.
What is the whisky tasting wheel?
The tasting wheel was originally created in 1978 by Pentlands Scotch Whisky Research (now the Scotch Whisky Research Institute) as a way for the distilling industry to categorise and describe flavours. In the early 1990s, whisky legend Charlie Maclean simplified it for us mere mortals, publishing a more accessible version in Whisky Magazine. That version became the template for most tasting wheels you'll see today, including the one I use.
It's essentially a flavour map. The wheel is divided into eight main sections, each representing broad flavour categories. These then branch out into more specific descriptors. Think of it like this: if you taste "fruit," the wheel helps you narrow down whether it's citrus fruit, stone fruit, or dried fruit. Then you can get even more specific — is that citrus more lemon or orange?
The eight sections explained
The wheel splits flavours into two main groups based on where they come from in the whisky-making process:
From fermentation and distillation (six sections):
Fruity: Everything from fresh citrus to dried raisins
Floral: Heather, rose, perfumed notes
Cereal: Malty, grainy, biscuity flavours
Peaty: Smoky, medicinal, earthy notes
Feinty: This is where things get funky — meaty, leathery, sulphurous notes
Sulphury: Struck matches, rubber, cooked vegetables
From maturation (two sections):
Woody: Oak, vanilla, coconut, spice from the cask
Winey: Sherry, port, wine cask influences — dried fruit, nuts, chocolate
Understanding this split is actually quite helpful. If you're tasting something fresh and fruity, that's coming from the spirit itself. If you're getting vanilla, caramel, or dried fruit, that's the cask talking.
How to actually use the tasting wheel
Here's how I use it when reviewing whiskies, and how I'd suggest you approach it:
Don't overthink it at first - Pour your dram, nose it, taste it. What's your immediate impression? Start broad. Is it fruity? Smoky? Sweet? Don't worry about getting specific yet — just find the general section of the wheel that feels right.
Work from the centre outward - Once you've identified the general category, move outward on the wheel to more specific descriptors. If you've identified "fruity," ask yourself — is it fresh fruit or cooked fruit? Citrus or orchard fruit? This narrows it down.
Use it as a prompt, not a checklist - This is important. The wheel isn't a list of flavours you should be finding. It's a vocabulary aid. If you're struggling to describe something, scan the wheel for words that might fit. "Ah yes, that's what I'm getting — it's like baked apple, not fresh apple."
Trust your palate, even if it's unconventional - When I reviewed Benriach 12, I got rich maple syrup on the nose. That's firmly in the "woody" section of the wheel, coming from the cask interaction. But I also got forest fruits — blackberries and blueberries — which is clearly "fruity." One whisky can hit multiple sections, and that's fine. In fact, that's what makes whisky interesting.
Don't force it - If you're not getting something, you're not getting it. I've read reviews where people list ten different flavour notes, and I wonder if they're tasting the same whisky I am. Be honest about what you're actually experiencing. When I reviewed Aberlour 16, my palate note was fairly simple: "lighter than expected, with some pepperiness and plenty of oak." I didn't invent complexity that wasn't there.
The reality of flavour identification
Let me be honest: finding specific flavours in whisky is hard. Really hard. Especially when you're starting out.
I can usually identify broad categories fairly easily now — fruity versus woody, peated versus unpeated, sweet versus dry. Getting more specific? That takes practice, and even then, I'm not always confident. Is that really "baked orange" I'm getting in the Benriach, or am I just reading too much into a general citrus note? Sometimes I genuinely don't know.
And here's the thing: everyone's palate is different. Your sense of smell is tied to your personal memories and experiences. That "workshop smell" I mentioned in my grandfather's shed? That's my reference point, not yours. The tasting wheel gives us a shared vocabulary, but our individual experiences of those flavours will vary.
When the wheel is most helpful
I've found the tasting wheel most useful in these situations:
Writing tasting notes: It gives you a vocabulary bank to draw from when you're trying to describe what you're tasting. Much better than "nice and sweet."
Comparing whiskies: When I'm trying to articulate how Glendronach 15 differs from Aberlour 16, the wheel helps me pin down that Glendronach leans more heavily into the "winey" section with its sherry influence.
Learning your preferences: After using the wheel for a while, you start to see patterns in what you enjoy. I've noticed I'm drawn to whiskies with strong "woody" characteristics — vanilla, oak spice — balanced with "fruity" notes. Less keen on the "feinty" or heavily "sulphury" profiles.
Expanding your palate: The wheel introduces you to flavours you might not have considered. Before I started using it, I wouldn't have thought to look for "floral" notes. Now I can pick them out.
When the wheel isn't helpful
When you're just enjoying a dram: Sometimes you just want to drink whisky without analysing it. That's fine. The wheel is a tool, not a requirement.
When it constrains your description: If the flavour you're getting isn't on the wheel, describe it anyway. If your whisky tastes like Christmas pudding soaked in brandy (looking at you, Aberlour 16 nose), say that. Don't force it into a wheel category.
When you're new to whisky: Honestly, if you're just starting out, don't worry too much about the wheel initially. Just drink whisky, notice what you like and don't like, and develop your palate naturally. Come back to the wheel when you want more precision in your descriptions.
My advice for using the tasting wheel
Start simple. Really simple. For your first dozen whiskies, just try to identify:
Is it sweet or dry?
Is there smoke?
Can I taste fruit?
Can I taste wood/vanilla/spice?
That's it. You don't need to identify whether it's "baked pear" versus "fresh pear" on your third-ever dram. Build your vocabulary gradually.
Keep a notebook or use an app. I wish I'd done this from the start. Write down what you taste, even if it's basic. Over time, you'll see your descriptions become more sophisticated. You'll also start to see patterns in what you enjoy.
Don't compare yourself to professional reviewers. Those people taste whisky for a living and have phenomenally trained palates. If they're getting fifteen different tasting notes from a dram and you're getting three, that's completely normal. You're not doing it wrong.
Use the wheel as training wheels, not a crutch. It's there to help you develop your own tasting vocabulary. Eventually, you might find you need it less and less as you develop your own way of describing whisky.
The bottom line
The whisky tasting wheel is genuinely useful, but only if you use it as a guide rather than a rigid framework. It gives you a vocabulary to describe the complexity you're experiencing, helps you compare whiskies, and trains your palate to pick out specific flavours.
But don't let it intimidate you or make whisky less enjoyable. At the end of the day, the best tasting note is the one that helps you remember whether you liked the whisky or not, and why. Everything else is just detail.
If you want to dive deeper into understanding what you're seeing in your glass, check out my posts on whisky coloursand chill filtration — they're all part of building a fuller picture of what makes whisky tick.