WSET® Level 3 Award

Study Guide
in Spirits

wsetglobal.com
Study Guide

WSET® Level 3 Award

in Spirits

wsetglobal.com
Wine & Spirit Education Trust
39–45 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF
wset@wsetglobal.com
wsetglobal.com

© Wine & Spirit Education Trust 2020

Issue 2, 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any
information storage or retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the
publishers.

Designed by Paul Barrett

 iii

Contents

Introduction v

Section 1: An Introduction to Tasting 1–13

1 How to Use the SAT  2

2 How to Write a Conclusion 5
3 Example Tasting Notes 8
4 The tasting Examination 12
5 How to Prepare for the Tasting Examination 13

Section 2: An Introduction to Theory 14–22

6 Introducing Short Answer Questions 15

7 Tackling More Advanced Short Answer Questions 17
8 The Theory Examination  21
9 How to Prepare for the Theory Examination  22

Section 3: The Examination and Final Grade 23–24

 indicates that the chapter is available as an audio files which can

be found in the WSET online classroom.
 v

Introduction

Welcome to the Level 3 Award in Spirits.

This Study Guide is one of three key documents that you should use in order to prepare
for the Level 3 Award in Spirits regardless of whether you are studying online or
whether you will be attending a classroom course. The three documents are:

●● The Specification
This is the complete, formal guide to the Level 3 Award inSpirts which you should
use for reference. This is available in the WSET online classroom which your
Programme Provider should have been given you access to. You can also find it on
wsetglobal.com

●● Understanding spirits: Explaining style and quality

This is the textbook that has been created by WSET to support this course.
Everything that you need to know to be successful in the examination can be found
in this book. You do not need to use any other sources. This book will be mailed to
you by your Programme Provider.

●● The Study Guide

The Study Guide has been created by WSET to help guide your study and
preparation for both the theory and tasting examination.
 1

SECTION 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO TASTING

Once you have finished studying for the Level 3 Award in Spirits and passed the tasting
examination, you should be able to do two things with confidence:

●● produce a complete and accurate description of a spirit;

●● use the description to assess the quality level of the spirit and identify the spirit
category it belongs to.

At first glance these may seem to be relatively modest aims, but you will need
to develop the necessary level of skill and experience to be able to meet these
objectives.
We have developed the Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting Spirits (SAT) to
help you develop these skills.
In this section of the Study Guide we will show you how to use the SAT, outline the
format of the tasting examination and offer tips about how to prepare for this exam.
2

1 How to Use the SAT 

In this first part of the audio guide on tasting we will explain the practicalities of how to use the SAT and
how the marks are allocated in the final examination. However, before you start listening to this audio
guide, we recommend that you read Chapter 1 of the textbook which explains the WSET’s systematic
approach to tasting.
Now that you have read Chapter 1, there are two general points to make:

●● First, the marking scheme is designed to reward accurate tasters who write complete descriptions
and well-argued conclusions. It is useful to know how the marking scheme works but it is not useful
to obsess about it. If you develop your tasting skills to the required level, then the marks will come
flooding in. At the end of the day being a good taster is more important than remembering every detail
of the marking scheme.
●● Second, the samples that will be shown during the classroom session and in the examination will not
be faulty, even though faults will be discussed in the classroom and faulty spirits do exist. Teaching
faults assessment is not one of the aims of this course. Rather, our principal aim is to develop core
tasting skills.

So now let’s go through the SAT in order starting with Appearance. We recommend that you have a copy
of the SAT to hand so you can follow what is being discussed.

APPEARNCE (2 marks)
There are two marks available for Appearance. There is one mark for ‘Intensity’ and one mark for
‘Colour’ and this is true regardless of the spirit. For coloured spirits this is intuitive but what about spirits
such as Blanco Tequila or a gin? For these spirits you need to put down water-white for ‘Intensity’
and colourless for ‘Colour’. This may seem like saying the same thing twice but consider this from an
examiner’s point of view. It maintains parity between all the samples that could appear in the examination.
You will also notice that for both of these lines the entries are separated with a hyphen. When you see
a line formatted like this anywhere in the SAT then in the examination you must choose one, and only
one, of the entries for your answer. If you describe a spirit as ‘pale to medium’, you will get no marks even
if one of these options is correct. Nevertheless, there are some situations where two entries, for example
pale and medium, could be acceptable answers. The marker will accept either, but you must choose one
to get the mark.
At this point it is worth looking at these two lines in a little more detail. ‘Colour’ is a descriptive list and
you need to pick the entry that best describes the spirit. On the other hand, ‘Intensity’ is a line that is built
out of a three-point scale. In this case the basic three points are ‘pale’, ‘medium’ and ‘deep’. Each word

APPEARANCE 2 marks

Clarity – clear – hazy (faulty?)

Intensity 1 mark water-white – pale – medium – deep – opaque

Colour 1 mark colourless – lemon – gold – amber – brown

pink – red – orange – yellow – green – blue – purple –
brown – black

Other louching – slightly hazy – cloudy and opaque

observations other deposits
 3

covers a third of the total range from zero to 100 per cent. Therefore, deep should not be reserved for
the darkest spirits you have ever seen. If this were the case, then medium would grow out of the middle
third and almost everything would be medium, and we would end up with unhelpful tasting notes that do
not effectively describe a spirit. Nevertheless, there are samples that fall at the very ends of this scale
which either have no colour or they are are completely opaque. For this reason, water-white and opaque
have been added to the scale.
There are no marks available for ‘Clarity’ or ‘Other observations’. In order to keep things uniform, we
have decided that all examination samples will be completely clear and none of them will louch.

NOSE (5 marks)
Let’s now move on to the Nose where five marks are available: one mark for ‘Aroma intensity’, and four
marks for ‘Aroma characteristics’. Note that there will not be any marks available for condition and this
makes sense because none of the samples that will be used in the examination will show faults. There
are two points we can look into here. The first concerns scales and the second is how the marks are
divided up for the line ‘Aroma characteristics’.
First let’s consider the line ‘Aroma intensity’. Like the line ‘Intensity’ for colour it is a hyphenated line
so you must select one of the entries for your answer. Similarly, it is built out of a three-point scale. In this
case it is light, medium, pronounced. However, this line has been subdivided differently. There are a lot
of samples that fall into medium and for this reason we have divided medium into three parts so you can
indicate whether something is on the higher or lower side of medium or just slap bang in the middle.
With regards to ‘Aroma characteristics’ you will discover as you read through the materials that there
are three principal sources of aroma for a spirit. Aroma can come from a raw material and here, for the
sake of ease, we include botanicals. It can come from processing or it can come from oak and maturation.
Therefore, in the marking key one mark will be allocated for each of the principal aroma groups that are
present. Once a mark has been allocated it can only be awarded for a valid descriptor that relates to
that group. Therefore, if you have a Bourbon and do not describe the oak characteristics you will not get
the mark allocated for this aroma group. Note that simply saying ‘oak’ is not good enough. You need to
develop your descriptive vocabulary and show the examiner that you can use it effectively.
There are four marks available for the line ‘Aroma characteristics’ and therefore once all of the
allocated marks have been awarded, the remaining marks will be given for any other valid descriptor up
to the maximum of four. This approach allows us to reward those who write complete tasting notes that
capture all of the different facets of the spirit being assessed. Remember, as we mentioned earlier if you
work on your tasting skill and write accurate notes then marks will come naturally. You can confidently
forget about how the marks are allocated during the examination and focus on writing a good note and a
thoughtful conclusion.

NOSE 5 marks

Condition – clean – unclean (faulty?)

Aroma intensity 1 mark neutral – light – medium(–) – medium – medium(+) –

pronounced

Aroma characteristics 4 marks e.g. raw material, processing, oak and maturation
in total *

* 4 marks in total

●● 1 mark is allocated to each aroma group that is present.

–– The marks allocated to an aroma group can only be awarded for writing a valid descriptor from
that group.
●● The remaining unallocated marks are awarded for any other valid descriptors.
4

PALATE (10 marks)

Now let’s consider the Palate where there are 10 marks available. There is one mark for ‘Sweetness’, one
mark for ‘Flavour intensity’, six marks for ‘Texture/other’ and ‘Flavour characteristics’, one mark for the
‘Finish length’ and one mark for the ‘Finish nature’.
The scales for the lines ‘Flavour intensity’ and ‘Finish length’ work in the same way as the line
‘Aroma intensity’ that we discussed previously. The scale for the line ‘Flavour characteristics’ works in the
same way as ‘Aroma characteristics’. We have also seen how the line ‘Finish nature’ works too. It is a
descriptive list as used in the line ‘Colour’. You have to pick one of the entries in order to get the mark.
‘Sweetness’ is also a hyphenated line based on a three-point scale, but it is subdivided in a different
way to the other lines. First of all, the base three-point scale is not divided into three equal parts. Dry is
for spirits that have no perceptible level of sugar and sweet is for liqueurs. Medium covers everything in
between. However, off-dry has been added in-between dry and medium. This describes spirits that have
a small amount of detectable added sugar: spirits which are sometimes inaccurately described as dry.
Most Cognacs fall into this category.
Finally, we need to look at how the marks are divided up for the two lines ‘Flavour characteristics’
and ‘Texture/other’. There are six marks allocated to these two lines in total. Of these, two marks are
always allocated to ‘Texture/other’ and one mark is allocated for every flavour group that is present in the
spirit. However, if there is only one flavour group present then it will be allocated two marks.
Let’s return to the Bourbon example and see how this works in practice. Two marks would be allocated
for ‘Texture/other’ and if you did not make any valid observations you would not be able to gain these
marks. Then one mark would be allocated for grain derived aromas, one for fermentation esters and
one for oak. The one remaining unallocated mark could be gained for any other valid descriptor be it for
texture or flavour.

PALATE 10 marks

Sweetness 1 mark dry – off-dry – medium – sweet

Flavour intensity 1 mark neutral – light – medium(-) – medium – medium(+) –

pronounced

Texture/other minimum of e.g. rough, smooth, watery, mouthfilling, warming

write comments on texture in full 2 marks * e.g. bitterness
sentences

Flavour characteristics minimum of e.g. raw material, processing, oak and maturation
2 marks *

Finish length 1 mark short – medium(–) – medium – medium (+) – long

nature 1 mark neutral – simple – some complexity – very complex

* 6 marks in total

●● 2 marks are allocated to Texture/other.

●● 2 marks (minimum) are allocated to Flavour characteristics.
–– of these 1 mark is allocated for each flavour group that is present.
●● The remaining unallocated marks are awarded for any other valid observations.
 5

How to Write a Conclusion 2

There are eight marks in total available for the concluding section of your tasting note. They are
subdivided as follows:

●● 2 marks are available for correctly identifying the category and type of the spirit;
●● 1 mark is available for correctly identifying the quality level;
●● 4 marks are available for the argument for quality (the arguments that support the quality level you
have selected);
●● 1 mark is available for the correlation between the stated quality level and the supporting arguments.

IDENTITY (2 marks)
There are two marks available for identity. One mark is awarded for identifying the category and one
mark is awarded for identifying the type of spirit within the category.
For example ‘agave spirit/Tequila’ or ‘grape brandy/Cognac’ are answers that would both get two
marks. Writing ‘Single Malt Scotch Whisky’ or ‘Blended Scotch Whisky’ is acceptable for two marks. On
the other hand, answers such as ‘American whiskey’ or ‘Bourbon’ would only get one mark each. The
situation with Caribbean rum is slightly different and therefore the students should state whether the spirit
has been wood-aged or not. The possible combinations that could appear in the examination are as
follows:

Scotch Whisky Single Malt Scotch Whisky Caribbean rum Not wood-aged
Blended Scotch Whisky Wood-aged
American Bourbon Agave spirit Tequila
whiskey Rye whiskey Mezcal
Grape brandy Cognac Gin Juniper forward style
Armagnac Contemporary style

Here we won’t discuss what to look out for when trying to identify a spirit. During the course you will
develop the necessary skills and knowledge to identify spiris accurately and avoid confusing one spirit
with another.

QUALITY LEVEL (1 mark)

There is one mark available for quality level. This is a hyphenated line and therefore the mark can only be
awarded if you write down one quality level that is identified on the marking key. An answer such as ‘very
good to outstanding’ would not get a mark.

ARGUMENT FOR QUALITY (4 marks)

There are four marks available for your argument for quality. One mark will be awarded for any valid part
of the argument that is derived from the quality criteria that are used as part of the SAT.
The individual quality criteria that you need to consider are balance, length and intensity, complexity
and expressiveness. These will always appear on the examination paper as a reminder.
You must write your assessment in sentences. This is because you need to explain, for example, why
you think a spirit is balanced and this can only be done using full sentences.
6

You should consider each criterion in turn and note how the spirit rates against each one of them. You
should write a comment against each of these criteria. Each comment must include evidence supporting
whether you think the spirit rates positively, badly or ‘OK but could do better’ against this criteria. This
third option is critical when you are trying to present an argument for a spirit you think is ‘very good’ but
not ‘outstanding’. You may comment on the complexity as a broadly positive feature but at the same time
you may feel that the spirit lacks an extra dimension that means it cannot be assessed as outstanding.
The criteria you should consider are as follows.

Balance (aroma) – Consider whether the aromas/flavours work well together or if some of them are
overwhelming. This is covered in more detail in the textbook.

Balance (texture) – Consider whether the texture is balanced. For example, a spirit such as a Bourbon
can have some textural sharpness but this is typically balanced by a mouthfilling/smooth sensation and/
or the aromatic intensity. Without these extra dimensions a Bourbon could appear sharp, spikey and
unbalanced.

Length and intensity – You covered these briefly in the tasting note, and in the conclusion you should
describe in detail how successfully the spirit matches up to these criteria over the duration of the finish.

CONCLUSIONS 8 marks

Identity 2 marks * category and type

Building an argument 5 marks * e.g. balance, length and intensity, complexity, expressiveness

Quality level 1 mark faulty – poor – acceptable – good – very good – outstanding

* 2 marks

●● 1 mark for category

●● 1 mark for type

Category Type
Scotch Whisky Single Malt Whisky, Blended Whisky
American Whiskey Bourbon, Rye Whiskey
Grape brandy Cognac, Armagnac
Caribbean rum Not wood aged, wood aged
Agave spirit Tequila, Mezcal
Gin Juniper forward style, contemporary style

* 5 marks

●● 4 marks for the argument. 1 mark for each valid comment.

●● 1 mark for the link between the argument and the quality level
–– outstanding = 4 positives
–– very good = 3 positives and 1 query
–– good = 2 positives and 2 queries
–– acceptable = 1 positive and 3 queries
–– poor = 0 positives and 4 queries
 7

Complexity – This is not just about the number of different aromas that are present but how well the
individual elements present themselves. For example we could all throw a lot of paint at a canvas but
whether visual complexity is achieved cannot by measured by counting the number of different paints
that were used.

Notes on Length, Intensity and Complexity

●● All of the spirits that appear in the examination should be judge against how they measure up to the
criteria of length, intensity and complexity. However, there are other spirits which are not made in the
pursuit of complexity and/or length. They are better judged using the criteria of purity. For example
some fruit spirts have a singular purity and precision to their flavour which is as admirable as any level
of complexity, length and intensity.
●● It is acceptable to consider length, intensity and complexity all together.

Expressiveness – This is the quality that separates the very best from the rest. This is covered in the
textbook and your educator will explore this idea with you either in the classroom or online.

As you start to use this approach to forming your arguments for quality you may feel that your answers
feel a little disjointed. However, do not let this worry you. If you are making valid points you will get the
marks, you are not judged on your prose style, and over time you will grow in confidence and develop
your own style for expressing your thoughts.

How Marks are Awarded for the Argument for Quality

In order for the examiner to award you a mark for an individual element of a quality argument, the
comment must match up to the following criteria:

●● The comment must be supported with evidence. If you write, “the spirit is balanced” this would not
get a mark. On the other hand a comment such as ‘the textural sharpness on the palate strikes a fine
balance with the small amount of added sugar’ would get a mark.
●● The evidence that is used to support an individual comment must be true. Taking the example above, if
the spirit is in fact dry then this comment could not gain a point.
●● The evidence that is used must be derived from the tasting note. For example, if you praise the
complexity of the spirit as exceptional but only write two or three aroma descriptors then this
concluding comment will not get a mark. This is because the conclusion is inconsistent with the tasting
note.

LINKING THE QUALITY LEVEL AND THE ARGUMENT (1 mark)

This mark is awarded based on the correlation between the comments that make up the argument and
the stated quality level. For example if all of your arguments are positive but you state that the sample
is only ‘very good’ you have failed to explain why the spirit is only ‘very good’ and not ‘outstanding’. The
examiners use the following template to guide their marking:

●● outstanding = 4 positives
●● very good = 3 positives and 1 query
●● good = 2 positives and 2 queries
●● acceptable* = 1 positive and 3 queries
●● poor* = 0 positives and 4 queries

* If you think a spirit is ‘acceptable’ or ‘poor’ then at least some of the comments need to cover expressly
negative features as opposed to queries, which are broadly positive features that could be better.
8

3 Example Tasting Notes

The following three tasting notes are based on real answers that have been written by students and
highlight the common errors that are made.

Cover all the Lines that are Allocated Marks

If you do not comment on a line that has marks allocated to it then you are will lose marks automatically.
You cannot take the SAT card into the examination so create a memory aide that will ensure you do not
lose points needlessly.

Use Lines Correctly

If the line is a ‘hyphenated line’ then you must use one and only one of the terms from that line as they
appear in the SAT. Take the time to learn the correct terminology.
You must write your comments on texture in full sentences. Think of this as telling a story. You cannot
do this using bullet points.

State Category and Type

You must state both the category and type of spirit in order to get both marks. In the three examples
shown here you would need to write ‘Bourbon - American Whiskey’.
The only exceptions are Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Blended Scotch Whisky which include the
category in the name of the type. Note, Single Malt Whisky would only get 1 mark.

Cover Aromas and/or Flavours in Sufficient Detail

There are four marks for aromas and up to four marks for flavours. A mark is awarded for a valid
descriptor and so if you only put down two descriptors then you can only get two marks at best. If a spirit
is genuinely one dimensional, words like‘simple’ will be awarded marks.

Structure your Conclusion on the Criteria

Many conclusions ramble and lack any structure. Use the criteria that are laid out and comment on each
one. The comments do not need to be linked into flowing prose but they do need to be written in full
sentences.

Provide Evidence when Writing an Assessment of Quality

Stating that something is, for example, structurally balanced is not enough. You must provide evidence.
For example, a sharpness in the texture might be balanced by an oily mouthfeel.
 9

EXAMPLE TASTING NOTE 1

Sample – An outstanding quality Bourbon.
Quality of Answer – Distinction. The percentage for the paper is calculated using the total marks gained
across both samples. A mean average for a distinction is 20 marks per sample.

APPEARANCE 2 marks
✓ ✓
Medium, amber This is highly economical and all that is
required to get the two available marks. 2
NOSE 5 marks
✓ ✓
The nose has a pronounced intensity. Aromas of corn, Raw material aromas = ✓ Flavour
✓ ✓ Fermentation aromas = ✓ intensity?
ryebread, vanilla, wood polish and mushroom
Wood and maturation aromas = ✓
This is a good description. The mark was
lost for not commenting on the dried fruit
4
fermentation aromas, which are allocated
one mark.

PALATE (write comments on texture in full sentences) 10 marks

Dry ✓ A high-quality description of the palate

✓ that is concise yet full of detail.
This is initially some sharpness which quickly softens to
✓
a warmth which supports the rich mouthfilling quality
of the spirit.
✓ ✓
Flavours of buttered corn, ryebread, spice, dried orange
✓ ✓
cedar, vanilla, wood polish, mushroom
✓ ✓
Long and very complex finish.
The student has done the right thing and
tried to describe the spirit fully rather than
limit the number of descriptors to the
number of marks.
Texture is written in sentences as
9
required.
The candidate forgot to comment on the
flavour intensity and this accounts for the
one missing mark.

CONCLUSIONS 8 marks

ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY: (Consider balance, length and intensity, complexity, expressiveness)

The spirit is exceptionally balanced. The aromas of corn, These are well presented arguments and
fruit esters and✓ wood all compliment each other and the each one has gained a mark.
heat is balanced by the rich, almost oily mouthfeel.✓ One mark was lost because all of the
comments are all positive and there is
This spirit is not only pronounced but there is a no indication why this is only very good
rather than outstanding.
complexity that is present on the nose all the way
through to the end of the long finish.✓
The marking key in this instance only
accepted outstanding. The candidate
5
Furhtermore the aromas gave great precision and appears to have lacked the confidence to
use outstanding.
definition giving the spirit a hugely expressive quality.✓ One mark was lost for not stating
Bourbon.
QUALITY LEVEL: very good quality ✗ whiskey?
merican
Type of A sitive
ent all po
Assessm ing?
STATE SPIRIT CATEGORY: American whiskey ✓ outstand
Why not

TOTAL MARKS (25)

20
10

EXAMPLE TASTING NOTE 2

Sample – An outstanding quality Bourbon.
Quality of Answer – Pass. Candidates do not need to get a ‘pass’ for each tasting note. The percentage
for the paper is calculated using the total marks gained across both samples.

APPEARANCE 2 marks
✓ ✓
Medium, amber This is highly economical and all that is
required to get the two available marks. 2
NOSE 5 marks
✓ ✓
The nose has a pronounced intensity. Aromas of toffee, Raw material aromas = ✓
✓ ✓ ✓ Fermentation aromas = ✓
caramel, dried orange, vanilla, wood polish
Wood and maturation aromas = ✓
This is a good description but here we
can see the start of the misidentification
5
of the raw material even though toffee is
acceptable.

PALATE (write comments on texture in full sentences) 10 marks

✗ ✗ ✓
The spirit is off-dry with a sharp texture and pronounced Here the candidate has made a number
✓ ✓ ✓ and
flavours of toffee and vanilla. The finish is long of mistakes.
some complexity✗ They have incorrectly described the level
of sweetness and the nature of the finish.
These are calibration errors.
They have also failed to describe the
texture in a sentence and they have 4
not written enough descriptors. The
Insufficient
marker cannot award marks unless the detail.
description has a sufficient level of detail
Write
and the candidate has ‘given away’ three
texture in
marks. sentances.

CONCLUSIONS 8 marks

ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY: (Consider balance, length and intensity, complexity, expressiveness)

The sharpness of the palate is nicely balanced by the Although the candidate has misread
small amount of added sugar. ✗ certain aspects of the spirit and, as a
✓ result, misidentified the quality level and
The raw material and oak aromas compliment each other. the type of spirit, they have been able to
✓ use the correct information to draw valid
The spirit has great length and intensity and although conclusions with regards to elements
the complexity is✗a little lacking the aromas and of balance, length and intensity and

3
flavours that are present are clearly expressiveness.
As the marking key in this instance only
Expressed. They do not feel generic and tell a story of the accepted outstanding the candidate also
production ✓ lost the mark linking quality level to the
argument although they did point to what Only
they saw as an issue with complexity. accepting
This example shows that identity is not outstanding
everything and where valid comments therefore
QUALITY LEVEL: very good quality ✗ are made they are rewarded. mark linking
level to
argument is
d
STATE SPIRIT CATEGORY: Wood aged, Caribbean rum ✗ not awarde

TOTAL MARKS (25)

14
 11

EXAMPLE TASTING NOTE 3

Sample – An outstanding quality Bourbon.
Quality of Answer – Fail. Candidates do not need to get a ‘pass’ for each tasting note. With a mark of 10
for a sample, a mark of at least 18 would be needed in the other note to gain a pass.

APPEARANCE 2 marks
✗ ✗
Medium/deep, orangey–brown A candidate must choose only one option
from any hyphenated line in order to get
the point.
0
Correctly!
Use the SAT

NOSE 5 marks
✓ ✓
A complex set of aromas based around corn, rybread and Raw material aromas = ✓
✓
vanilla and sweet spices. Fermentation aromas = ✓
Wood and maturation aromas = ✓
Although all four descriptors here are
valid, one of the four available marks is
3 n
Fermentatio
allocated to fermentation aromas and aromas?
cannot be awarded.
Intensity?

PALATE (write comments on texture in full sentences) 10 marks

✓ ✓
A powerful, evocative spirit full of corn, ryebread and
✓ although it picks up some of the marks for
vanilla that just runs and runs and runs.
This is a passionately written note but
flavour, it fails to comment on texture.
Furthermore four marks have been lost
because the candidate did not use the
SAT correctly.
The candidate has failed to comment
3
on the level of sweetness, intensity and Insufficient
the nature of the finish. The length of the detail.
finish is not described using the correct Use the SAT
SAT terminology. Correctly!

CONCLUSIONS 8 marks

ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY: (Consider balance, length and intensity, complexity, expressiveness)

Although there is nothing wrong with this

as a statement, the candidate does not
provide any evidence to back it up.
It is statements with supporting evidence
With great balance complexity and length this is a top that get marks in this section.
flight Bourbon It is clear that this taster has an intuitive
understanding of the spirit. However, this 3
assessment requires candidates to use
the SAT to build a complete description No evidence
and an evidence based conclusion and provided to
support the
this candidate has unfortunately failed on
conclusions
QUALITY LEVEL: Outstanding ✓ both counts.

✓
STATE SPIRIT CATEGORY: American whiskey-Bourbon
✓

TOTAL MARKS (25)

10
12

4 The Tasting Examination 

In this part of the audio guide we provide a quick overview of the tasting examination and how it will be
run.
Once you are all sat down and before the examination starts you will be asked to pour your own
samples. Before anyone pours a sample, examination conditions come into force. It is your responsibility
to ensure that the correct sample is in the correct glass. Whilst the samples are being poured you may
not assess the nose or the palate of either sample or write any notes.
Once the examination starts you have 30 minutes to describe and assess the samples. This means
that for each sample you will need to write a full tasting note using the SAT (worth 17 marks), state the
samples quality level providing supporting arguments (worth six marks), and identify the spirit’s category
(worth two marks).
This adds up to 25 marks per sample and 50 marks overall. You will need to gain 28 marks or more in
order to pass. Only spirits from the following six categories could appear in the examination. They are:

●● French grape brandies (this could either be a Cognac or an Armagnac);

●● Scotch Whisky (either a Single Malt or a Blended Scotch);
●● US Whiskey (only a Bourbon or a Rye whiskey could be used);
●● Caribbean rum;
●● Agave spirits (either a Tequila or a Mezcal); and
●● Gin.

It is up to you how you choose to manage your time, but we strongly recommend that you use all of the
time that is available to you and allocate 15 minutes to each sample. Remember, when the time is up you
must stop writing otherwise you run the risk of being penalised.
 13

How to Prepare for the Tasting Examination  5

In this final part of the audio guide on tasting we offer some hints and tips on how to prepare for the
examination.
First and foremost, you must know the SAT and how to use it because you will not be allowed to take
the SAT card into the examination. Many people find it helpful to develop a memory aide, which they
write down before they assess the samples to ensure that they do not forget to comment on any part of
the spirit. Remember that if you do not write an observation for any line you will not get the mark or marks
that are available. This is a silly way to lose marks.
Once you can confidently remember what you need to do then you need to get used to the amount
of time that you will have available to you in the examination. Thirty minutes is more than enough time to
complete the assessment so long as you develop the following two skills.
First, be confident in your own decision making. In a classroom it can be easy to be swayed by
what other students say and change your mind once or indeed several times. Use every tasting as an
opportunity to build your confidence and decision making. It does not matter if initially you are getting
some things wrong. You will have the time to make the necessary corrections and learn from your
mistakes. If you constantly allow yourself to be swayed, you will not have the confidence to make your
own decisions during the examination. Tasters who lack confidence often take too long to write their
notes and have timing issues in the examination.
Second, and this might seem counter-intuitive, relax and take your time. When tasting blind samples,
you need to have a clear mind and to trust your senses. If you have developed your confidence, then
you can trust your senses and you will be able to write a note in a systematic way and formulate your
conclusions based solely on your description.
As part of this relaxed and methodical approach consider the following points. Don’t be tempted to
take in every aspect of the spirit with just one sniff or one sip. Take several sniffs and sips and focus
on one aspect at a time, you have the time. Taking this approach forces you to be more analytical and
reduces the risk of you jumping to conclusions; the cardinal error in blind tasting. If you make an early
conclusion and you are wrong then you will almost certainly write a tasting note to fit your assumptions
and your note will be full of self-induced mistakes.
In order to help you gain the confidence and skills you will need, some of the samples shown during
the classroom sessions will be shown blind and there will be a full 30-minute practice tasting examination
too.
14

SECTION 2: AN INTRODUCTION TO THEORY

Once you have finished studying for the Level 3 Award in Spirits and passed the theory
examination, you should be able to do the following:

●● demonstrate a broad knowledge of the style and quality of the spirits of the world;
●● describe the style and quality of select spirit categories, and how they are made as
well as why they differ from each other.

In order to reach these goals, you will need to develop your factual knowledge and
skills needed to allow you to describe technical processes and explain why they are
important and how they influence style and quality.
In this section of the Study Guide we will show you how to tackle the most
challenging part of the theory examination: short answer questions. We will also outline
the format of the theory examination and offer tips about how to prepare for this exam.
Note, we have not included any content in this guide on multiple-choice questions.
We feel that they are sufficiently self explanatory. Any questions you have can be
covered by your educator either online or in the classroom.
 15

Introducing Short Answer Questions 6

When you read a short answer question, you first need to work out what the question is asking you. In
order to do this you must look for the command verb. The examiners use five different ’command verbs’
in the examination questions to tell you what they want you to write in your answers. If you understand ho
these verbs are used, you will find it much easier to work out how to answer each type of question. The
command verbs are:

●● state
●● identify
●● list
●● describe
●● explain.

Once you know what the question is asking you to do you should pause and gather your thoughts so
that when you start to write your answer you have information that is both relevant and correctly ordered.
Resist the temptation to start writing immediately. Your immediate thought might be the best one but it
is just as likely that it is not, sending you off in the wrong direction wasting precious time and loosing
valuable marks.
In this chapter we are only going to look at the meaning of the first four of these command verbs and
we will look at ‘explain’ in the next chapter.
However, before we get on to command verbs, a quick note on units. In the textbook, as well as
in examination questions, we use a number of different units of measurement. These are metric, US
customary units for weight and volume and Celsius and Fahrenheit for temperature. When you write your
answers, use whatever units you are comfortable with.

STATE, IDENTIFY, LIST

Questions using these command verbs are designed to assess your factual knowledge. For example,
‘List four outputs created by yeast during alcoholic fermentation other than ethanol, carbon dioxide
and heat’. Your answers can be written in full sentences but, in this situation, a bullet point list would be
perfectly acceptable. Take a closer look at this example.

List four outputs created by yeast during alcoholic fermentation other than ethanol, carbon
dioxide and heat. (4 marks)

There are several options that you could choose from. The possible answers to this question include
methanol, fusel alcohols, esters, fatty acids or sulfur compounds. If you wanted to name a particular
alcohol, ester and fatty acid then these would be accepted too, even though we do not list many of these
in the textbook.
Note that for this kind of answer there is no need to elaborate any further. You are not being asked to
demonstrate that you know how or why they are different but just that they can be different.
Some of these factual recall questions might ask you for two things and in order to make these
questions easier to read the two elements might be linked with the interrogative words ‘what’, ‘how’ and
‘why’. We will look at this type of question in the next chapter.
16

DESCRIBE
This command verb is also designed to assess your factual knowledge. However, in addition to stating
facts you will need to arrange the information in the correct order in order to get full marks. Explanation is
not required. You should answer these questions in full sentences. Consider the following example.

Describe what happens during a parallel fermentation. State how this differs from a sequential
fermentation. (4 marks)

First, you need to identify the command verbs. Here there are two: describe and state. You can then look
at the mark allocation. Here there are four marks available. This would be part of a 10-mark or a 20-mark
question. You can legitimately infer from the mark allocation that the description does not need to be
especially detailed because there are only four marks allocated to it.

During a parallel fermentation starch is converted to sugar at the same time as the
sugar is fermented by yeast to produce ethanol. This Sugar is being continually added
to the fermentation. This is the key difference between a parallel and a sequential
fermentation. A sequential fermentation starts with a sugary liquid which contains all
the sugar that will be available to the yeast during the fermentation.
Describe can also be used in more demanding questions that require more detail from you. This is
normally obvious from the wording of the question but it is also indicated by the mark allocation. The
greater the number of marks the greater the level of detail that will be required.
 17

Tackling More Advanced Short Answer Questions 7

In the previous chapter we introduced the idea of command verbs and listed the ones that will be used
in your examination. We covered ‘identify’, ‘state’, ‘list’ and ‘describe’. We noted that there were some
variations on these questions that we would consider in this chapter alongside the final command verb,
‘explain’.

STATE, IDENTIFY, LIST

Whilst some of these questions cover a single topic, others cover more than one. In order to make these
questions easier to read the two elements might be linked with the interrogative words ‘what’, ‘how’ and
‘why’. For example:

State the two steps that must take place within a grain of barley during malting. Why are both of
these processes necessary if a 100% malted barley mash is to be successful? (5 marks)

When you see any of these words the examiner is still only asking for factual recall and you are not
expected to provide detailed descriptions or explanations. If an examiner wants a description or an
explanation, then they will use these command verbs in the question. These questions typically require
more than a simple list and therefore they should be answered in full sentences. Here is an example of
an answer that would get full marks.

The two processes that need to take place are modification and the release of the amylase
enzymes. Modification releases the starch granules from their protein net making them
available for conversion, this would not happen otherwise. The enzymes must be released
during malting because once malting ends there will be no further opportunity to create
or add enzymes.
Here it is worth considering some very common mistakes that candidates make when they see this type
of question. Sometimes, they go into too much detail. For example, candidates write about the malting
process in detail or processes that follow malting. Even if this content is well written, it is irrelevant
and will get no marks. The other mistake is to provide a detailed explanation, for example about how
enzymes work. This can all be left unsaid in this situation. The examiner only requires a simple statement.
Here is an example of an answer that illustrates both of these errors.

Modification – within each grain of barley the starch granules are held together by
a protein net. In order to be able to convert the starch into sugar, the starch granules
must 1st be released from this net. The protein net can be broken down by either heat or
enzymes……
This is an excellent start although the comment about heating to break up the protein net is irrelevant in
the case of malting grains. This part was awarded three of the five marks.

….Once the protein net is broken, gelatinisation occurs, which means the starch granules
unravel as starch becomes soluble in water. These granules can now be broken down
into individual starch molecules. [Here the candidate should have written glucose]. For
every bond of molecules that is broken, a molecule of water is needed (each granule has
18

thousands of bonds). This is called enzymatic hydrolysis. These processes are necessary
in order to ensure a successful malted barley mash because they ensure an efficient
conversion of the starch into sugar, thus providing the most possible fermentable product.
This second part is a mostly error free and a solid account of some of the post-malting steps. However,
it is all completely irrelevant to the question that is asked, which is only concerned with what happens
during malting. Sadly, the candidate got no marks for this despite all the effort it took to write it.
This is a great example of why stopping to think before you write is so important. This candidate
obviously understands the complex sequence of events that is required to take starch from a grain
and convert it into sugar. However, the candidate has not read the question carefully enough and has
included details and explanations that have not been asked for. If they had spent a little more time
thinking then they could have easily got all of the marks and written far less, saving themselves valuable
time.

DESCRIBE
In the last section we looked at some simple examples of questions using ‘describe’. We made the point
that the level of detail that is required can be inferred from the number of marks that are allocated. Fewer
marks indicates less detail is needed whereas a question with a higher mark allocation requires more. In
the example question below, a full six marks are allocated to the description. This is part of a 10-mark or
20-mark question but here we will only focus on this ‘describe’ part.

Describe the key steps that take place during the second pot still distillation using the Scottish
model. (6 marks)

The key steps that would need to be covered are;

●● filling the still (low wines, previous heads and tails)

●● applying heat
●● vapours passing through the still and the condenser
●● collecting the heads (duration minutes)
●● collecting the heart (duration hours)
●● collecting the tails until the flow off the condensers is at 1% abv (duration hours)
●● turning off the heat
●● disposing of liquid waste (spent lees)

An exemplary answer that would get full marks might look like this.

The still is filled with low wines, mixed with heads and tails from a previous 2nd
distillation. Heat is applied and vapours pass through the still and condenser. For the
first 15 minutes or so the flow off the condenser is collected as heads. The flow is then
redirected to a separate vessel to collect the heart. Heart collection lasts for several hours.
Ultimately the flow is redirected back to the vessel containing the heads and the tails are
collected until the flow off the still has dropped to 1% abv. At this point the heat is turned
off and any liquid remaining in the still is a waste product to be discarded.
It is concise, accurate and clearly expressed. This is what the examiner is looking for. This shows the level
of detail that is required for this type of question. There is more that could be said about the low wines,
the type of heat used, the type of still design and condenser and what is in the heads or tails and why
the cuts are made. The examiner wants to see an accout of the key steps in the correct order, and is not
asking for any further detail.
 19

By way of contrast this next answer has just enough content to secure a pass, which is in this case four
marks.

The still is filled up with low wines and heads and tails and turned on. The liquid that
flows off the condenser is separated into three parts. The first part is the head, the second
part is the heart and the third part is the tails. Any liquid left in the pot is waste that
needs to be disposed of safely.
In this third example, even though there is nothing factually inaccurate in what is said the answer lacks
the required amount of detail. This lack of detail means that this response would only get two marks.

The still is filled up and turned on. The liquid that flows off the condenser is separated
into three parts and the liquid left in the pot is a waste product.

EXPLAIN
The command verb ‘explain’ requires you to demonstrate your understanding and it is typically used in
combination with ‘describe’, ‘identify’ or ‘state’. You might be asked to describe something and explain
why it happens or you might be asked to apply your knowledge of a particular process to a realistic
scenario.
However, before we look at an example question, we will outline a technique that can help you to
answer these questions. When you are answering explain questions, imagine you have a very keen
child by your side who shouts ‘why’ whenever you write a statement. If the explanation is there, great;
you have answered the question. If not you will need to put one in. This helps you to avoid making
assumptions and will improve the clarity of your explanations. This is an extremely useful skill in real world
scenarios when talking to customers or colleagues.
Let’s consider the following question.

You are boiling a liquid made up of only ethanol and water. Vapour is rising from the liquid.
a) Describe what the vapours are and how the proportion of ethanol in the vapour is different
from the boiling liquid. (4 marks)
b) Explain why the proportion of ethanol in the vapour is different from the boiling liquid. (6
marks)

The first part of the question is concerned with factual recall. To get the four marks you would need
to show that you know that vapour is made up of gas and liquid droplets and that there is a greater
concentration of ethanol in the vapour compared to the liquid.
Now consider part (b). Here is an answer:

Ethanol is more volatile than water therefore there would be a greater proportion of ethanol
in the vapour.
This response is factually accurate but the voice in your head should quite rightly be saying ‘what do you
mean?’. You may know, but you need to show the examiner you understand what volatile means and how
volatility affects the composition of the vapour. This response would only get two marks. It is factually
accurate, but the explanation is not there.
Here is a second attempt at part (b):

Pure ethanol boils at 78.3°C and pure water boils at 100°C. Therefore, when a liquid
containing ethanol and water is boiled there will be a greater proportion of ethanol in the
vapour compared to the liquid.
20

This is a better answer but the voice in your head should still be saying ‘why?’ This answer starts to
address the question of volatility but it has not fully made the link between the individual boiling points
of pure water and ethanol and how that relates to the composition of the vapour. Therefore, this answer
would get four marks.
Here is a final attempt:

Pure ethanol boils at 78.3°C and pure water boils at 100°C. Therefore, it takes less energy
(it is easier) for the ethanol to become a gas compared to water. Therefore, when a liquid
containing both ethanol and water is heated there will always be a greater proportion of
ethanol in the vapour because the more volatile ethanol is more willing to become a gas
compared to the water.
This is an excellent response. It has made all the links between the key facts and the candidate has made
it clear to the examiner that they understand why the ethanol is concentrated. Is this the most complete
explanation possible? No, there are many deeper scientific concepts it does not touch on. However, it
uses words clearly to show the relevant level of understanding required for this level. It is also a superb
example of how well-chosen words can make potentially complex ideas easily understandable and
demonstrates that the student has met the key objectives of this qualification.
 21

The Theory Examination  8

In this first part of the audio guide on theory we provide a quick overview of the theory examination and
how it will be run.
The examination comes in two parts and you have two hours to complete both parts. You may leave
early if you finish before the two hours is up but there are certain restrictions which are summarised in
the Specification. If you use all the time, and most people do, you must stop writing when told to do so
otherwise you run the risk of being penalised. How you divide up your time is up to you, but we do make
some suggestions here.

PART 1
Part 1 is made up of 50 multiple-choice questions. These questions are designed to test the breadth
of your factual knowledge and can come from any of the three Learning Outcomes listed in the
Specification. Each question is worth one mark and you need to get 28 or more correct in order to
pass this part of the examination. We recommend that you spend no more than 40 minutes on these
questions.

PART 2
Part 2 is made up of 10 short answer questions of varying length which are designed to test the depth of
your knowledge and your ability to describe and explain production principles and/or their application.
Therefore, in order to keep this part of the examination manageable the questions only cover the
production principles and practices covered in Learning Outcome 1 and the spirit categories that are
covered in Learning Outcome 2. These categories are:

●● Scotch Whisky ●● Caribbean rum

●● Bourbon ●● Tequila
●● US rye whiskey ●● Mezcal
●● Tennessee whiskey ●● Vodka
●● Cognac ●● Gin.
●● Armagnac

Note, even though Asian spirits will not feature in the short answer questions because they feature in
Learning Outcome 3, you could be asked about a technique such as parallel fermentation because it
features in Learning Outcome 1. These kinds of question will only focus on principles and will not concern
themselves with how they are used in practice.
The short answer questions will be structured as follows. There will be:

●● Six 5-mark questions,

●● Three 10-mark questions, and
●● One 20-mark question.

This gives a total of 80 marks for Part 2 and you will need to get 44 marks or more in order to pass this
part of the examination. We recommend that you spend at least 80 minutes on these questions. Working
on a basis of one mark per minute has proved to be helpful. Therefore, aim to spend no more than five
minutes on a 5-mark question, ten minutes on a 10-mark question and twenty minutes on the 20-mark
question.
22

9 How to Prepare for the Theory Examination 

You will need to dedicate time for private study prior to the final examination in order to be properly
prepared for the final examination. In total we recommend that you dedicate 51 hours to private study. In
this final part of the audio guide we will offer hints and tips about how to get the most out your study.
You must use the Specification, which tells you what topics you need to know about. If you have not
already done so this can be downloaded from the course introduction. You also need to use the course
textbook Understanding Spirits which provides all of the detail you will need. There is no need for you to
use any other resource.
The other thing that is highly recommended is to organise and plan your time. If you plan in study time
you are much more likely to do it. When you make your plan try to spread out the study sessions, so
you do not spend too long studying at any one time. Long periods of intense concentration are rarely as
beneficial as they feel they ought to be. The course has been structured over a nine week period to help
with this.
During your studies you will see that there is a lot of factual information that you need to learn such
as regulations and labelling terms that are used throughout the world. This is learning you will need
to undertake alone but the activities in this Online Classroom offer a great way to help you with this.
Throughout the course we have also included some sample multiple choice questions for you to have
a go at. They will also test your knowledge and they will give you a sense of what to expect in the
examination.
There are two skills you will need to master during this course. They are description and explanation
and you will need to use these skills when you answer short answer questions. There will be plenty of
opportunity to tackle sample short answer questions during your study. These questions will be modelled
on examination questions and they will be marked in the same way too. Therefore, these questions are
the ideal tool for you to use to develop these skills ahead of the examination.
 23

SECTION 3: THE EXAMINATION AND FINAL

GRADE
This is a written summary of the information relating to the theory and the tasting examinations as well as
how your final grade is calculated.

THE TASTING EXAMINATION

Duration: 30 minutes
Samples: Two, served blind in neutral bottles.
You will: Write a tasting note for each sample.
●● State the quality level of the spirit.
●● Write supporting arguments for your assessment of quality.
●● Identify the spirit category.
Marks: There are 50 marks in total.
There are 25 marks allocated to each sample, broken down as follows:
●● Appearance 2 marks
●● Nose 5 marks
●● Palate 10 marks
●● Conclusion 8 marks
Pass mark: The pass mark is 55%. You will need to get 28 marks or more.

THE THEORY EXAMINATION

Duration: 2 hours
Parts: Part 1 – This part is made up of 50 multiple-choice questions.
Part 2 – This part is made up of 10 short answer questions.
Part 1
You will: Answer the multiple-choice questions using the answer sheet provided.
Marks: Each multiple-choice question is worth one mark, giving a total of 50 marks.
Pass mark: The pass mark for this part of the examination is 55 per cent. You will need to get 28 marks
or more.
Timing: You are free to allocate your time as you please, but we recommend spending no more
than 40 minutes on Part 1.
Part 2
You will: Write your answers to the short answer questions on the examination paper.
Marks: There are 80 marks in total. The marks for the short answer questions are allocated as
follows:
●● 6 x 5-mark questions
●● 3 x 10-mark questions
●● 1 x 20-mark question.
Pass mark: You will need to get at least 55 per cent (44 marks) in this part of the examination.
Timing: You are free to allocate your time as you please, but we recommend spending at least 80
minutes on Part 2. This can be broken down to one mark per minute.
Theory Pass: In order to gain a pass for the theory examination you need to achieve a pass mark for
both Part 1 and Part 2.
24

HOW YOUR FINAL GRADE IS CALCULATED

In order to gain an overall pass in the examination you need to achieve the following percentages.

Minimum percentage required

to gain an overall pass
Theory Examination Unit 1
Part 1: Multiple-choice Questions (MC) 55%
Part 2: Short Answer Questions (SA) 55%
Tasting Examination Unit 2 55%

Your final percentage is the mean average of these three percentages. This is calculated using the
following formula:

Percentage for MC + Percentage for SA + Percentage for Tasting

3

The following pass grades are available:

Pass Final percentage of 55% to 64%

Pass with Merit Final percentage of 65% to 79%
Pass with Distinction Final percentage of 80% or more, no individual examination results below 65%.
 25

Notes
26

Notes
 27

Notes
28

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