Learning how to taste whisky using the WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) gives beginners a structured, reliable way to assess appearance, aroma, flavour, and finish. For spirits lovers, this tasting method is a great way to expand their knowledge and understanding of the subject through practical application. This whisky tasting guide for beginners breaks down each step of the WSET spirits tasting method, showing you how to practise the Level 2 SAT using an example to help you understand better.
What Is the WSET Level 2 SAT?
This method teaches students to taste different styles of spirits using a structured approach. It:
- Guides tasters through the appearance, nose, palate, and finish of a spirit.
- Helps recognise aroma and flavour clusters, and assess intensity, quality and balance.
- Enables a confident start to your journey into the spirits world, allowing students to link taste and quality to production choices.
How To Apply WSET Level 2 SAT?
1. Appearance: Start With What You See
Hold your glass against a white background and look for clarity (clear/hazy), colour (lemon, gold, amber) and colour intensity (pale–medium–deep).
What you’re actually learning:
At Level 2, appearance gives early clues about maturation and cask influence. A very pale whisky may suggest limited time in oak or the use of refill barrels. A deeper amber colour may indicate a longer time in wood or heavily charred casks. Spirits are normally clear, so clarity also helps identify faults, dilution, or infusion.
2. Nose: Your First Structured Impression
Bring the glass to your nose and take a gentle, short sniff. Identify the intensity of aromas and focus on broad aroma families: malt/grain notes, fruits, oak-derived notes (vanilla, coconut), spice (cinnamon, clove), or smoke.
What you’re actually learning:
Level 2 doesn’t expect you to find very specific aromas. Instead, it teaches you to group what you smell into broader families. This develops recognition and consistency, the key to building aroma memory.
Learning to nose in a structured way prevents sensory overload. It helps avoid guessing and instead follows a clear system that builds discipline, accuracy, and confidence with every tasting.
3. Palate: Structure, Texture, and Flavour Characteristics
Take a small sip and allow the spirit to coat your tongue. Identify flavour families (similar to the nose), and assess sweetness, body, alcohol level, and overall balance. Notice whether the flavours confirm what you smelled earlier or reveal something new.
What you’re actually learning:
This step teaches you how to break down a whisky into its building blocks:
- Sweetness comes from maturation choices, cask influence, or any added sugars (if permitted).
- Body helps you understand texture, light, medium or full.
- Alcohol level shows whether the spirit feels warm, smooth, or harsh.
- Flavour families reveal how aromatics translate on the palate.
4. Finish: How the Flavours Evolve
After swallowing, note how long the flavours last on your palate; that’s the finish. It can be short, medium, or long. Also observe what flavours remain dominant.
What you’re actually learning:
Finish shows how well the flavours are integrated and whether the whisky has depth. Spirits with better quality or longer maturation often have more persistent flavour.
5. Connecting Tasting Notes to Production
Next, take a moment to link what you tasted with how the whisky was made, malting choices, cask type, peat influence, distillation style, or maturation climate.
What you’re actually learning:
This step builds the bridge between theory and tasting. You begin to understand why a whisky smells smoky (peat), tastes sweet (first-fill barrels), or feels warm (higher ABV).
Practising WSET Level 2 SAT
To practise the Level 2 SAT, pour a small measure of Woodburns Whisky and start with appearance, you should see bright clarity and a deep amber colour that hints at warm-climate maturation. On the nose, look for medium to pronounced smoke, toasted oak, spice and sweet malt, which come from the mix of peated and unpeated malts and charred barrels. On the palate, expect medium sweetness, a smooth yet full body, flavours of smoke, spice, vanilla and dried fruit, and well-integrated alcohol. Notice the medium-to-long finish with lingering smoke and warm spice, a great example of how production choices directly shape flavour and quality in Level 2 tasting.
Ready to Train Your Palate Like a Professional?
Give your career the solid foundation of knowledge that it truly deserves. Enrol for WSET Level 2 in Spirits at the Sonal Holland Academy now. Click here to check out the dates for our upcoming batches.
