Nose, palate, finish
Three moments, in order. The nose is what you smell before you sip; the palate is what lands on the tongue; the finish is what stays after you swallow. Writing all three is what turns a bottle into a memory.
The journal
Every pour and every cocktail worth remembering, remembered. Nothing here is for sale — this is yours.
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What you've poured and mixed, newest first.
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The notebook
Plain-English notes. No jargon for its own sake.
Age statements
An age statement names the YOUNGEST whiskey in the bottle. NAS means no age stated — which is not automatically worse, just unstated.
What the cask does
Most of the colour and a large share of the flavour come from the wood. Ex-bourbon casks tend toward vanilla and caramel; sherry casks toward dried fruit and spice. A finish is a second cask at the end.
Proof and ABV
ABV is alcohol by volume. US proof is exactly double the ABV — 43% ABV is 86 proof. Cask strength means it was not cut with water.
A splash of water
A few drops can open a high-proof pour, releasing aromas the alcohol was masking. Try it neat first, then add water — you cannot take it back out.
Stirred or shaken
Stir anything that is all spirit — Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Boulevardier. It stays clear and silky. Shake when there is citrus, egg or dairy, because you need aeration and a fast chill. Shaking an all-spirit drink just makes it cloudy and waters it down.
Dilution is an ingredient
A properly stirred cocktail picks up roughly a fifth to a quarter of its volume in water. That is not a mistake, it is the recipe — it is what turns hot spirit into something you can drink. Ice size controls how fast it happens.
Two templates cover most of it
Spirit, sugar, bitters, water — that is an Old Fashioned, and a surprising number of classics are variations on it. Spirit, citrus, sweetener is the sour, which gives you the Whiskey Sour, the Gold Rush and the Paper Plane. Learn the two shapes and most recipes stop being memorisation.
Vermouth is wine
It oxidises like wine, because it is wine. Refrigerate it once opened and use it within a few weeks. A Manhattan that tastes tired is almost always tired vermouth, not tired whiskey.
Which bottle to mix
High-proof rye or bourbon holds its shape through ice and modifiers. A delicate older single malt mostly disappears behind vermouth and bitters — which is an expensive way to make a Manhattan. Save the subtle bottles for the Pour side.
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Your data
ESPOwhiskey stores every entry locally on this device. There is no account, no server copy, and nothing is transmitted anywhere. Export is free and always will be — take your drinks with you whenever you like.