Never trust someone who is only able to describe bourbon, or any whiskey for that matter, as “smooth.”

Smooth isn’t a flavor, it isn’t a texture. It’s what you say when you can’t actually determine any flavors or viscosity. Bourbon shouldn’t be ‘smooth.’ Vanilla milkshakes are smooth. Bourbon has alcohol and oak – these are not smooth experiences at all. If you find your bourbon easy to drink – say it hides the proof well, or it goes down easy, or the burn doesn’t attack my palate.

If you are someone who can only describe bourbon as ‘smooth’, I really encourage you to spend some time learning about flavor profiles, doing some research online about the producers intentions, and really challenge yourself to pick out some notes from your favorite bottles and see if they compare to what others are saying about the pour.

Not everyone is good at tasting things, but you could at least try.

Every time someone on this page asks someone about a bottle, 80% of the comments are “I like it, it’s smooth.” It truly accomplishes nothing. It provides no insight into the whiskey.