At Home Scotch Tasting Party

Five months after moving, we finally had a small housewarming party at our apartment with friends coming up from the city. Since I love a theme though, I pulled out all the stops, calling it my Scotch & Sauce party. I made my dad's long pasta sauce, which takes about six hours to do.

For activities, I also set up a Scotch tasting of different whiskeys and created a homemade DIY photo station.

At-Home Whiskey Tasting:

On a separate table, we set up a Scotch station with five bottles of single malts and tasting notes. You can compile tasting notes by going to each brand's website or simply grabbing some key descriptors regarding smell and finish at WhiskeyNotes for each Scotch you are trying.

Each guest then received two poker chips to vote for their favorites. The one bottle with the most poker chips at the end won. I went with hard Vegas-style poker chips like you'd get at a casino, not the cheap plastic ones.

I had a splash from each whiskey already poured into mini red plastic cups and shot glasses for sampling.

Once the sampling and voting were over though, it was a free for all! Everyone could pour from their favorites and into Glencairn Glasses for those who like it neat or a real whiskey tumbler. For this, I also had Scotch Rocks already chilled and large whiskey sized ice cubes in trays in the freezer available.

Counting up the votes, the winners were:

1. The Macallan, 10 year Fine Oak -7 chips
2. Yamazaki, 12 year - 5 chips
3. Glenmorangie Lasanta, 12 year - 4 chips
4. Highland Park, 12 year - 3 chips
5. Ardbeg, 10 year  - 1 chip

It was hard to vote for my favorite, but I was surprised at how smooth The Macallan Fine Oak aged 10 years was. In fact, I kept drinking it throughout the night with a splash of water. The Yamazaki from Koyoto, Japan was also a hit with my friends, but Japanese Whisky, who knew? Glenmorangie is a regular of mine, but the Lasanta is aged in sherry casts, which I don't particularly like. This was the first time I actually tried any variety of Highland Park (love the look of their bottles) or the Ardbeg from Islay, which was way too peaty for me, it literally smelled like smoke.

Do-it-Yourself Photo Station:

Utilizing a blank section of one of our walls, I hung the below sign, found an antique large gold frame and removed the glass, and ordered some hipster props and photo sticks. Take a look at the resulting whimsy:

Decor & Whiskey Props:

These Whiskey Makes Me Friskey Cocktail Napkins made for a fun conversation piece and an additional photo prop too!



We also had the right sipping and tasting glasses handy including Glencairn glasses and fun whiskey stones and ice balls for those who wanted the additional water or chill to their drinks.

Going to Work the Next Day?

Hopefully, you can do your party on the weekend, if not at least Scotch doesn't have the hangover that sugary drinks do. You can also try Flyby pills. Also, if you have party-goers worried about passing urine drug tests go to this page.