The Distiller’s Flavour Handbook - Visual Library

This bundle contains a complete visual reference set covering 11 key flavour compounds found in whisky.

Each flavour is broken into four clear teaching graphics, designed to explain not just what the flavour is, but where it comes from, how it is controlled, and how it shows up in the glass.

These are the same visuals used across The Distiller’s Flavour Handbook series on LinkedIn and Substack, provided here as a clean, reusable graphic library.

What’s included

11 flavour compounds, each with graphics covering:

• Introduction graphic
• A clear overview tying chemistry to flavour language
• Formation and origin
• How the compound is created during fermentation, distillation, or maturation
• Control factors
• The process variables that increase or reduce its presence
• Flavour cheat sheet
• Sensory descriptors, thresholds, and where it typically appears

Flavour compounds covered so far (as of the 22nd December of 2025)

• Vanillin
• Cis-oak lactone
• Isoamyl acetate
• 4-vinyl guaiacol (4VG)
• Ethyl butyrate
• Sotolon
• Acetaldehyde
• Furfural
• Phenethyl acetate
• Eugenol
• Linalool

These compounds span oak, fermentation, oxidation, phenols, esters, and floral aroma chemistry.

Who this is for

• Distillers and blenders
• Whisky educators and trainers
• Spirits students and flavour professionals
• Anyone who wants a clearer way to explain why whisky tastes the way it does