Should One Say a Bracha Over Enjoying the Aroma of Whisky?

Should One Say a Bracha Over Enjoying the Aroma of Whisky?

Preface

Following on from a previous article I published a few weeks ago titled “What Yitzchak Aveinu Teaches Us About the Importance of Appreciating Aromas”, some readers asked me about saying a bracha over enjoying the smell of whisky. So, before I begin, I would like to include a disclaimer that for a final psak on how you should behave, please consult with your own Orthodox Rabbi.

Birkas HaReiach

One would say "Borei Minei Besamim" בורא מיני בשמים – the general all-purpose bracha over all kinds of pleasant aromas where it’s considered that the item’s key purpose is to provide a pleasant aroma. (Note that fruit, trees, plants and balsam oil all have their own specialised brachos). [Brachos 43b, Shulchan Aruch 216:2].

Moreover, unless I am very much mistaken, I think that everyone would agree that in general, one doesn’t say a bracha over smelling food and drinks like roasted meat, coffee, wine and whisky, even though they all have a pleasant aroma as a component of their attraction and their aromas are derived from natural and not synthetic sources.

Therefore, one wouldn’t say a bracha over sniffing coffee, wine or whisky before drinking, no matter how delightful the aroma is to you.

The rationale behind not saying a bracha over smelling food or drink is that aroma is always secondary to taste when it comes to assessing quality. Most casual drinkers would only smell the liquid in order to check that the drink smells “nice” or at least that it does not have a disagreeable odour or in the case of wine, had not spoiled. (This would help avoid a bracha Levatala before drinking wine over Kiddush, for instance). The general rule is that we do not say brachos willy-nilly when there is a doubt whether we should say one. [Safek brachos l'kulah. Shulchan Aruch OC 297:1-3; See Mishna Berura].

Even whisky enthusiasts who always “nose” the whisky for initial enjoyment before drinking, would admit that it isn’t the person’s primary pleasure as the ultimate goal is after all, the drinking. Thus, one should smell the whisky without a bracha and then recite “Shehakol” שהכל נהיה בדברו just before taking your first sip.

Be’ezras Hashem I shall shortly be uploading two reviews together. Both are from the Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Collection and both are Tequilla Cask Finishes. However, one is peated and the other not.

Assessment of these two Glen Morays had taken place over a period of a few weeks. Now, unless I’m putting on a Whisky Presentation, I don’t usually drink any alcohol during the week - only on Shabbos. Consequently, I spent a lot of time simply nosing these two whiskies and contrasting them, but never actually drinking the liquid.

This led me to the following Sheila.

Would one say a bracha (Borei Minei Besamim) over spending a prolonged amount of time smelling and assessing (without actually drinking), an expensive whisky that had been designed for you to enjoy both its aroma as well as to drink it?

Just for the fun on it, I tried asking this question from two AI “Rabbis” before asking a real human one. The first I tried was Aish.com’s AI Rabbi – virtual RabbiNechemia Coopersmith. “He” answered that:

Yes, one would say a bracha. Although one usually would not say a bracha upon sniffing whisky, in your case, connoisseur-level nosing would be different to casually sniffing before drinking.

Using the Mishna Berura 297:1-3, 7, Yerushalmi Kiddushin 4:12 and Rabbi Weinberg's "48 Ways", the Aish.com AI “Rabbi” concluded that one would be required to say the bracha Borei Minei Besamim. The answer continued….

However, Stricter Ashkenazi Poskim would forbid a bracha and even caution against prolonged sniffing. Instead, they would advise to only briefly sniff first and then proceed to say, “SheHaKol” and drink; This is because of the safek bracha she'eina tzaricha. Having brought that opinion, it would still seem that because of your described special intent, it would obligate you to say a bracha over the aroma.

Being that this was an AI Rav and not a real Psak from a human Rav, I thought that it might be interesting to get a “second opinion” from another AI Rebbi. So, I asked Perplexity Pro. “He” responded thus:

Yes, recite "Borei Minei Besamim" once before starting your structured aroma assessment, as this qualifies as intentional, prolonged enjoyment of the whisky's scent for a specific purpose. Say the bracha quietly before lifting the glass [to your nose], then proceed with your assessment; this honours both the mitzvah and your task at hand, that is, making notes for your whisky review.

Asking a Human Rabbi

Well, it seems that both AI Rebbis agreed so the next thing to do was to ask a real-life human one.

I asked a Posek from the London Federation of Synagogues. The Rav responded thus:

Even though there is the smell from the spices or whatever the main purpose is for drinking. the idea of smelling a whisky before drinking I would assume is to tell you something of its overall quality and not specifically for the aroma, this would definitely be a byproduct. as such it is (for the purposes of bracha) secondary and so no brachah is necessary.

Also, the rule of safek brachot l'kulah.

I would go as far as to say that smelling even without drinking would not require a brachah.

Very best wishes and thank you for a most interesting and thought provoking shailoh.

So, even though we have two AI Rabbis against one human one, I was obviously going to listen to the psak of the real Rav.

I was curious to know what the Aish.com Rabbi would think about the human Rabbi's answer, so I asked “him”. This is his response:

The Posek's view aligns with a strict Ashkenazi caution on safek brachot l'kula (doubtful blessings, lenient). No bracha required even without eventually drinking. (Shulchan Aruch OC 297:1. This matches Poskim like Rav Moshe who prioritize intent over duration. The sniffing remains secondary to the drinking. Your detailed process of assessing the aroma could however shift it to primary for some, but the Posek’s kavana analysis prevails in doubt.

As a final comment, I noticed that on an article about smelling coffee, Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein has a practical suggestion to avoid the whole issue, that one can simply take some cinnamon or cloves, smell it and say the bracha “Bore Minei Besamim”, and have intent to also be Yotzei the enjoyment of the smell of the freshly ground coffee.

I would however caution anyone who wishes to apply this to whisky as after spelling any strong spice, this would inevitably influence your nosing session with the whisky as, such is the mind, all you’ll be smelling is cinnamon or cloves.

Update

Since uploading the article, a few hours later I received a very comprehensive response from HaRav Akiva Osher Padwa, a major Posek in London. I reproduce it “as is”, here:

Dear Reb Mordechai

I am convinced that even if some person, such as yourself, would sniff and enjoy the aroma of a particular quality whisky, you would not make a Brocha on the smelling. The reason is because unlike a fruit that has a pleasant smell, where Chazal teach us that if one smells the fruit for the enjoyment of the smell, there is a special Brocha; Hanosen Reich Toiv B'Peirus, in the case of whisky I say that it belongs to the category of products that are not intended for smelling in which case one does not make a Brocha.

The proof for this is that fruity aromas of all kinds are used to perfume products (such as soaps etc.) or even air spray. But whisky aroma is not used to perfume anything, besides potentially to enhance an inferior alcoholic beverage - (if it is possible to do so). Furthermore, even someone who likes and enjoys drinking whisky, only sniffs and inhales the aroma of a whisky to enhance the experience of drinking the whisky, but if someone would somehow capture the aroma of a particular whisky, I do not believe anyone would indulge himself with sniffing this whisky aroma without any whisky being present.

In other words, savouring the aroma of whisky is an element of the consumption of the whisky, rather that smelling say a citrus fruit to enjoy the smell.

Enjoying the Aroma of a Whisky Distillery

Even if someone enters a whisky distillery and enjoys the smell of whisky in the air, his enjoyment stems from the fact that the smell reminds him of the pleasure of drinking whisky. Also, if someone opens a bottle of whisky and smells the aroma with enjoyment, essentially, he is evaluating the quality of the whisky based on the indicators he perceives in the aroma.

Finally, even if a particular person enjoys whisky so much that he simply enjoys sniffing the aroma of whisky, I believe that whisky would still be considered Aino Omed L'Reicha (= not intended for smelling) and thus he would not make a Brocha before smelling.