How do the experts appreciate a good malt

A.� The key to appreciating - and enjoying - a good Scotch is sniffing or 'nosing' the whisky. Generally, experts concur malt whiskies nose and taste better than blended whiskies. Blends differ most strikingly from malts in the structure of their flavour - a good malt releases more odours as it evaporates, giving underlying smells for quite a long time. Malt whisky, with its flavour, subltely and complexity, is made from malted barley and no other grain, and tastes better than blends.

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The best whiskies derive more than half of their flavours from the oak casks they are matured in, with different types of wood leading to very different flavours.

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Q.� What are the flavours that stand out when you taste whisky

A.� The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the first and only holder since 1791 of a private licence to distil whisky, has devised a flavour wheel, comprising around 40 odours.

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Whisky lovers can also use the nasal effects of their Scotch to help them appreciate its subtleties - is your malt nose warming, nose drying, pungent or prickling And does it leave your mouth watering, coated or dry.

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Five whisky tastes:

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Smoky, this is the easiest to detect and is found in whisky made from heavily peated malt. This acquired taste is the worst offender for masking other tastes, especially in young whiskies. The trick is to give the nose time enough to accustom itself to the peat, then other smells will appear.

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Fruity, this is developed during fermentation, and the aroma of apples, pears and bananas develops as soon as the whisky has been poured. It indicates an unpeated or lightly peated whisky which has been well-matured in a good cask and is not found in whisky that has laid for a long time in a near empty bottle.

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Cereal, this is associated with an immature spirit and is characteristic of feints. When whisky is described as feinty, it means it has cereal odours.

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Musty, this comes from a variety of undesirable sources, including bad wood, poor bottling practice and bung cloth disintegration which give it an off-taste.

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Nutty, these flavours are quite common, particularly almond and coconut overtones.

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Q.� What's the correct procedure for whisky tasting

A. You just need some whisky, glasses, a water jug and a spitoon. It's a very simple approach - first nose the whisky without water. Then add half as much water as the whisky and nose again, before swilling it around your mouth.

In general the spirit should not be swallowed, but spat into a suitable receptacle. Spitting helps determine the aftertaste of a good dram.

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By Katharine MacColl