Tasting notes / FILM 12 / 38 SECONDS
Your Palate Is Memory
Your tasting notes have a history of their own.
By Old Treasure · September 7, 2026
From our recorded conversations at The Pearl.
BEHIND THE CONVERSATION
Your tasting notes have a history of their own.
Crème brûlée means more if you’ve tasted it. Lilac means more if you know the smell. Larry talks about finding words for whiskey through the experiences he already carries, including childhood memories of sassafras and root beer.
Your references may be different. That gives you something to talk about. A tasting note can name a flavor, or take you back to a place, a person, a kitchen. Start with what you recognize.
Read the full film transcript
Your palate is just memory, right? You're never going to pick up crème brûlée if you've never tasted it before. You can't, right? You're never going to pick up lilac on the nose if you've never smelled a lilac. It's always a memory. When you find those other floral notes, those other fruit notes, I love it whenever a whiskey has, like, sassafras. Even if it's like so much that the sugars play into it and you get, like, a root beer, but it reminds you of a root beer float from when you're a kid, you know? I love when things are nostalgic and those are my favorite parts of bourbon.
Story adapted from the accompanying filmed conversation.
