Still Spirits Smokey Whiskey essence, what it does

What you get out of it

Smoke is the thing people either love in a whiskey or can't get near at all, and there's not much middle ground about it. Still Spirits Smokey Whiskey is a spirit flavouring that puts that smoky character into a clean neutral base, so you get to find out where you sit without buying a bottle of something expensive to test the theory.

Nothing here involves running a still. You're flavouring a spirit you already have, which is legal and quick, and about as far from a distillery as you can get while still ending up with a whiskey you made yourself.

How it sits against the Peat Smoke bottle

We hold both and they aren't the same job, so read the two packs before you pick one. The pack tells you whether the bottle is a complete profile or something meant to sit on top of another flavouring, and that's the difference that decides which one you want.

What I'd say either way is to use one of them at a time. Running both into the same batch on your first go leaves you no way of knowing which bottle did what, and smoke isn't a flavour that forgives a heavy hand.

How much, and what to do if you overshoot

Work to the rate on the bottle. If you're new to it, go under the rate rather than on it, because smoke keeps building for a week or so after you add it and the batch you taste tonight isn't the batch you'll have next Sunday.

If it does come out too smoky, you're not stuck. Blend it back with more of the same neutral base until it lands where you want it, which costs you a bit of volume and saves the batch. That's much easier than trying to take smoke out, which you can't do.

What to drink it with

It sips well neat and it stands up in anything where the whiskey is meant to be the loudest thing in the glass. It gets lost under a sweet mixer, so if that's how you drink it, a plain whiskey essence is the better buy.

Shop related products

• Still Spirits Smokey Whiskey 50ml. This is the bottle the post is about.
• Still Spirits Peat Smoke 50ml. Check the pack on this one to see which of the two suits your batch.
• Still Spirits Top Shelf Whiskey Essence 50ml. Start here if you want a whiskey profile with no smoke in it at all.
• Still Spirits Oak Cask 50ml. Add cask character underneath the smoke once the smoke is where you want it.

Did you know we also hold Sam Willards oak soakers and bourbon barrel chips in the shop, and they never make it onto the website. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.

Where to go next

The homebrew range has the rest of them, and Brewhilder will talk you through what suits the spirit you are making.

Worth reading next: How to flavour a spirit at home with essences and Still Spirits Mellow Oak, what it does and how to use it.

Smoke is the flavour I'm always confident I've pitched right, until somebody else tastes the batch.