Ever wanted to train your nose like a bourbon pro? Let’s talk about how to make a bourbon sensory kit from your pantry! You don’t need fancy gadgets or expensive kits to get started—you can create your own sensory kit with everyday items from your pantry. Smell, taste, and truly experience bourbon in a whole new way!
1. The Essentials: What You’ll Need
Building a sensory kit doesn’t have to be complicated. You likely have most of what you need already! Start by gathering the following items to represent common flavors and aromas found in bourbon:
- Vanilla Extract – Bourbon is often aged in oak barrels, giving it rich vanilla notes.
- Cinnamon Sticks – A spicy kick reminiscent of bourbons with a warm finish.
- Honey – Bourbon often has a sweet, honey-like undertone.
- Brown Sugar – For earthy brown sugar and molasses flavors in richer bourbons.
- Caramel – That creamy, sweet sugary nose with just slightly toasted sugar scents
- Tobacco – Gather some pipe tobacco for easy access to rich tobacco flavors.
- Nutmeg or Cloves – Great for identifying those earthy, spicy notes.
- Dried Fruits (Raisins, Apricots, Cherries) – Bourbon often carries dried fruit undertones, especially in older bottles.
- Orange Peel – Fresh, zesty citrus aromas are common in bourbon’s profile.
- Chocolate (Cocoa Powder or Cacao Nibs) – Dark chocolate or cocoa notes show up in bourbons with a longer finish.
- Black Pepper – often detected in spicier bourbons and ryes, it’s a key savor note to identify.
- Wood (Wooden Matchsticks or Toothpicks, broken) -to give you a hint of what fresh wood smells like.
- Coffee Beans – While you won’t regularly find coffee notes in bourbon, coffee beans can be used to reset or clear the nose after you’ve been tasting and smelling for a bit.
- Nuts – peanuts, pecans and walnuts are often detectable in whiskey.
- Grains – Corn, wheat, rye, either whole or milled
2. Assemble Your Kit
Place each item in its own small container or dish. Label them clearly so you can reference each scent or flavor as you go through your tasting experience. Small glass spice containers or inexpensive makeup travel containers with lids work perfectly. And it’s even better if you have a small label maker to use.
When you have your kit ready, it’s time to put it to work!
3. Train with your Sensory Kit
Get out your sensory kit and train your nose. Remember, 80% of your sense of flavor comes from your sense of smell.
Step 1: Initial Evaluation
- Smell each item in your sensory kit. See if there are any you can identify without looking at the label. Take your time to focus on each aroma.
Step 2: Practice with the Hard Ones
- For the ones you can’t identify right away, take a few moments to linger over them and concentrate on the memories or associations that float up as you nose them. Take note of what your associate with each. Those memories may float up more readily than the exact name fo the aroma at first.
Step 3: Graduate to Nosing Blind
- Open the full kit and nose each item as blind as you can. If you can make all the containers the same and are unable to see inside them, you’ll be able to truly test if you can identify blind.
4. How to Use Your Sensory Kit
Now, here’s the fun part—pour yourself a glass of bourbon and start exploring! Before you taste, use your sensory kit to “warm up” your senses.
Step 1: Nosing Practice
- Smell each item in your sensory kit. Take your time to focus on each aroma. Then, nose your bourbon. Can you pick out the same scents from your kit in the bourbon? Is there a hint of vanilla, cinnamon, or citrus?
Step 2: Sip and Compare
- Take a small sip of bourbon, letting it coat your palate. Now, compare the flavors to what you’ve smelled and tasted from your kit. Notice how the honey, dried fruit, or brown sugar comes through in the whiskey. Think about what you can easily identify, then think about the less apparent aromas.
Step 3: Expand Your Palate
- As you taste more bourbons, continue using your sensory kit. Over time, you’ll refine your ability to pick out subtle flavors, like oak, leather, or dark cherries. You’ll be able to differentiate between orange peel, orange sections, navel, tangerine, mandarin, blood orange and more.
5. Customize Your Kit!
Want to take your kit to the next level? Try adding these pantry finds:
- Maple Syrup – For bourbons with a rich, syrupy sweetness.
- Peppercorns – Helps you detect spicy, peppery notes.
- Herbs like Mint or Basil – Found in some bourbons with fresh, herbal undertones.
- Toasted Nuts – Almonds or pecans mimic nutty, toasted flavors from charred barrels.
- Dried Flowers (Rose, Marigold, Lavender) – a small amount of dried flowers, or a floral tea bag can help you identify light floral notes in spirits.
- Dill – Very helpful when nosing rye whiskies or more savory bourbons.
- Dried Banana – either banana chips or dried mini bananas can be used as a shelf-stable solution to nosing for banana notes.
- Dried Toasted Coconut – to pull out those “toasted” flavors easily when nosing.
5. Share Your Sensory Journey!
The best part of making a sensory kit is sharing it with friends! Host a bourbon tasting, and let everyone build their own kits to explore the aromas and flavors together. It’s a great way to bond and sharpen your senses at the same time.
Bottom Line: Your Pantry = A Bourbon Treasure Chest
You don’t need to be a whiskey expert to appreciate all the layers bourbon has to offer. With a few simple ingredients from your kitchen, you can build your own sensory kit, deepen your tasting experience, and impress your friends along the way. So grab a glass, open your pantry, and start nosing like a pro!