Masterclass
Meet The Professor
Christian Ridout is the ‘Spirits Guide’ of Blind Barrels, hosting our Whiskey Masterclass, moderating our virtual tastings, and curating our tasting boxes. His goal is to help you better understand your taste and flavor preferences through our Blind Barrels program.
Christian dove head first into the whiskey hobby a decade ago, falling in love with America’s native spirit, and has since developed a passion for educating others and sharing its history. In 2016 he founded the Ventura Whiskey & Spirits Society, a local spirits group that focuses on exploring, learning and enjoying whiskey as well as expanding into a variety of spirit categories. In the last few years, Christian has become passionate about the bourgeoning craft spirits industry here in the US and is excited to share the stories of these distilleries producing high quality spirits from grain to glass.
Course Contents
Welcome to the Blind Barrels Masterclass, where you’ll learn how to taste whiskey, discover whiskey’s recipe and the role in that taste, and the history behind it all.
Intro To Whiskey Masterclass01:04
Tasting whiskey is a whole different ballgame than merely drinking whiskey! We’ll break down what to look for in every aspect of each dram.
Tasting Basics02:20
Phase 1 - Color
04:49
Phase 2 - Aroma
03:46
Phase 3 - Taste
03:16
Phase 4 - Finish
02:13
Sometimes thought of as a “recipe”, the mashbill is the breakdown of grains that goes into making your favorite whiskey unique! Think of it as the start of the DNA for each bottle.
Intro To Mashbill5:00
Bourbon Whiskeys
03:01
Rye Whiskeys
02:48
Wheat Whiskeys
02:43
Malt Whiskeys
03:11
Straight vs. Blended Whiskeys
03:58
Advanced Whiskey Nomenclature
02:51
Like many tasting notes in fine whiskey, Whiskey History is deep and nuanced. We’ll start with the Irish monks who discovered it and journey through the rise in early American history, its decline in the 20th century amidst Prohibition and The Great Depression, and its rebirth in the 21st century.
The Origin Of Whiskey02:04
The Birth Of American Whiskey And Its First Boom
05:06
Whiskey's Dark 20th Century
04:08
The 2nd Whiskey Boom - The 21st Century Revival
13:49