Sensory Evaluation

When starting your journey of distilling craft spirits, you are almost guaranteed not to get a perfectly balanced and delicious liquor on your first run - and that's the beauty of the craft! Even seasoned distillers have batches that go awry occasionally, which could result from many reasons. Perhaps there was a yeast contaminant during fermentation, the temperature in your still wasn't ideal for the different boiling points, or there was an issue with the barrels you chose for aging. Whatever the complication may have been, sometimes it takes a few experts to diagnose this problem through what we call an Organoleptic, or Sensory, Evaluation. This is where professionals in the distilling industry with a trained palette for spirits use their skills to taste, sniff, and analyze a spirit sample. This process can and will identify off-notes and inconsistencies, ultimately diagnosing where your problem lies within your entire production run.

This is where Moonshine University comes into play! Our staff has an entire panel of sensory experts, and we have fine-tuned our process for distillers and entrepreneurs like yourself. Your job is simple: Send us samples of whatever spirit you're experiencing discrepancies with, give us an overview of your production process, including your mash bill and proof, and let us know your objectives with the service. We'll take it from there. Our panel will first review your spirit on the nose and palette, then fill out a ‘tasting sheet' where we will identify the main sensory notes. This can include how much of your mash bill comes through or how floral, sweet, and spicy the spirit is. If any major off-notes come through, we will consult with our connections in the industry, who are trained in whatever part of the process that your spirit hit a bottleneck. For example, if we taste or smell a strong sulfur note, we can assume that something went sour during fermentation. All of these findings will be sent back to your team for review, where any and all feedback is welcome. 

If our Sensory Evaluation services are something you're looking for, contact us today so that we can get to know you and your business, and you can learn more about our process and competitive pricing. Overall, we want your distillery to be as successful as possible. There is always more to be learned in this industry, which is why Moonshine University remains the industry's one-stop for consultation, sensory evaluation, and, above all, education.