One of my whiskey friends asked me recently during a tasting I was conducting, how did you learn to do this? Fair question.
I learned by tasting a lot of whiskey, and writing down what thoughts, ideas, emotions and flavors came to mind as I tasted it. I didn't try to read too much into any one thought or flavor. I just started documenting what I was tasting.
I also used notes from other professional tasters (Breaking Bourbon, Distiller, Bourbon Veach) and some prominent YouTubers (Fred Minnick, Bourbon Pursuit, Mash & Drum, It's Bourbon Night, ADHD Whiskey, Bourbon Junkies, just to name a few) to compare against what I was tasting to see if I was able to pick up the same things. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. And sometimes...it was WTF?!? That's just crazy talk!!!
I did a lot of research. Read several books about Bourbon and Whiskey, Studied and received my Certified Bourbon Steward certification from the Stave & Thief Society I have taken numerous classes and received several certifications through Whiskey University.
I attended some tastings, used a bourbon flavor wheel to help me identify certain flavors and listened to a few personal friends whose pallet's I respect. Using these resources was also helpful in developing a vocabulary for describing what I was tasting. That is, I think, a large part of tasting whiskey. Describing what it is you are tasting and what it is reminding you of. That's why tasting with friends or someone who has experience in tasting is helpful. They can help you find or describe a flavor or smell.
One of the best video's I have seen on how to taste a bourbon comes from Fred Minnick, and it can be found HERE or watch the video below. he takes the time to walk you through the different components of how to taste and what to look for. He gives you some best practices and what you should be paying attention to as well. And, it's very straight forward. It's a great video. By the way, there is no affiliation or kickbacks when you hit the link. I just think it's a really good tutorial.
So that's it in a nutshell of how I learned to "taste" whiskey and describe it. It's a different practice and one that needs to be focused on. It takes practice. At least it did for me. Every time you taste a whiskey, capture some notes about it, emotions, thoughts, etc...over time, you will get better at it. And don't be afraid to write down the thoughts that come to you. I practice all the time.
Something else to not miss, try the whiskey more than once, on different days. Why? because your pallet might be off on the first day. Or maybe what you ate is affecting what you taste. Coming back to a whiskey after a few days, and giving it another taste will help you decide if your original notes were correct or not. If not, you may have to try it a third time to really hone in on the profile. Bottom line, don't just write off a whiskey on the first try if you don't like it.
I've come back to a whiskey days or weeks later after my initial taste and found the profile quite different and very enjoyable.
One of the nice things about all that "practice" is I get to try whiskey all the time. It's called research. At least, that's what I tell my wife. I'm still trying to sell her on that concept.