Classification of Single Malt Whiskies by Flavour David Wishart Department of Management, University of St. Andrews,
St. Katharine's West, The Scores, St. Andrews KY16 9AL, Scotland Email: d.wishart "@" st-andrews.ac.uk Website: www.whiskyclassified.com We describe the cardinal flavours that are found in single malt whiskies, and
explain how the production and maturation processes influence these flavours. To simplify the comparison of malt whiskies, a standardized profile of 12 cardinal flavours was developed from around 1000 tasting notes and over 500
whisky terms. The principal malt whiskies from all the Scottish distilleries were then profiled and classified by flavour (Wishart, 2000). This helps answer questions like – (1) My store offers a bewildering
selection of malt whiskies, so what should I buy? (2) Dad drinks Macallan but I want to give him another malt that's similar in flavour which he will also enjoy? (3) Can you suggest six malts for my cabinet that illustrate the
range of single malt whiskies? Whisky Classified: Choosing Single Malts by Flavour
is the first book to classify single malt whiskies by flavour. It does not rate whiskies by marks-out-of-ten for quality, or describe them by regional styles. It is a consumer–friendly guide that takes the confusion and guesswork out of whisky–buying, and aims to help the novice or present–buyer make the right purchase of Scotland's national drink. It is also an interesting application of classification methodology for a non-technical readership, and arguably the most widely sold book derived from a product segmentation.
This paper extends the previous work by developing TypeAnalyst, a retailing aid to identify the appropriate cluster and nearest neighbours of new whisky expressions. The presentation concludes with a taste of
Tutored tasting sponsored by Aberfeldy 12yo, Aberlour 10yo, Auchentoshan 10yo, Balblair 16yo, Benromach 18yo, Bowmore 12yo, Bruichladdich 10yo, Glen Deveron 10yo, Glen Garioch 10yo, Glengoyne 10yo, Glenlivet 12yo, Glenrothes
1989, Highland Park 18yo, Laphroaig 10yo, Macallan Cask Strength, Old Pulteney 12yo, Speyburn 10yo, Strathisla 12yo and Tamdhu 10yo. References
LAPOINTE, F-J., and LEGENDRE, P. (1994): A Classification of Pure Malt Scotch Whiskies, J. App. Stats, 43, 237-257. WISHART, D. (2000): Classification of Single Malt Whiskies. In: H. A. L. Kiers, J-P. Rasson, P.
J. F. Groenen, and M. Schader (Eds.): Data Analysis, Classification and Related Methods. Springer, Berlin, 89-94. WISHART, D. (2002): Whisky Classified: Choosing Single Malts by Flavour.
Pavilion Books, London, UK, 2002 and Trafalgar Square Books, Vermont, USA, 2003: www.whiskyclassified.com Keywords
clustering whiskies, flavour profiling, marketing, retailing, segmentation, TypeAnalyst, whisky classified
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