Why Do Some Whiskies Taste Salty?

Written By Kami Newton
Why do some whiskies taste salty

Salt is a descriptor that commonly sneaks its way into the convoluted tasting notes of scotch whisky. Whether it’s salty sea air, salted nuts, or even salty bacon, many a whisky enthusiast, aficionado, or professional taster would put good money on the presence of sodium chloride. This is especially true for any distilleries whose warehouse roof can be used as a vantage point for spotting the occasional whale, dolphin, or other notable sea life photo opportunity. But as it turns out, what you are experiencing is not salt at all. So what’s going on?

This isn’t some kind of whisky witchcraft, sporadic dementia, or marketing hypnosis. Rather, it’s neuroscience, chemistry, and cognitive perception all conspiring together in a delicious illusion. So join me as we drop anchor, clamber into our diving suits, and get to the bottom of this longstanding debate, to answer once and for all, why do some scotch whiskies taste salty?

The Mystery of Saltiness

 
How to taste scotch whisky
 

Fans of coastal or Islay malts often report notes of sea salt, brine, or seaweed in their dram. This leads many to assume the whisky contains trace minerals or sodium from the air, water, or cask. In fact, the first mention of salt as a descriptor was in a supplement to Decanter Magazine in 1978 where Old Pulteney was referred to as ‘Manzanilla of the North’. This appears to have stuck as Old Pulteney is often described as being salty still to this day.

In the mid-1980s, the famous whisky writer Michael Jackson picked up the barnacle-coated baton and applied it with great fervour to any distillery within audible range of a mermaid playing the bagpipes. But a fascinating piece of research by T. Adam, E. Duthie and J. Feldmann, published in the Journal of the Institute of Brewing in 2002, had something else to say.

The research investigated trace element analysis on 35 scotch whiskies to measure the element concentrations of metals as a means of indicating the authenticity of scotch whisky. However, and importantly for us, they also measured the concentrations of sodium chloride. What did they find? Sodium chloride concentrations were within the range of 2–24 mg/l - depending on the distillery. This is a similar range to mineral water, and in particular the most famous brand of Scottish bottled mineral water, which I have never heard described as tasting salty.

Can you guess which distillery had the highest levels of sodium chloride from the research? You may be surpised to learn that it was in fact Glenfarclas. So, if the salt isn’t there, but you still taste it, what’s really going on? Let’s find out

The Science: Saltiness as a Multisensory Illusion

 
Maritime flavours in scotch whisky
 

Traditionally, saltiness has been considered a basic taste, detected when sodium ions interact with taste receptors predominantly on the tongue. As a side note, we also have taste receptors throughout the body including the lungs, upper airway, and nasal cavity. Keep hold of that thought because we’ll come back to it later.

Neuroscience and psychophysics have revealed that our perception of flavour isn’t just about taste, it’s a complex integration of taste, smell, mouthfeel sensations, visual cues – and most importantly – neurological processes. This is where things get interesting because it turns out that odours associated with tastes can actually trick us into believing that a product tastes different to what its chemistry would suggest.

This phenomenon is known as crossmodal interaction — where one sensory input (smell) enhances the perception of another sensory input (taste). The signals influence each other in the brain. A 2013 fMRI study by Seo et al. demonstrated that when participants were presented with a ‘salt-congruent’ odour (like bacon) alongside a low-salt solution, their brains responded as if they had consumed more salt than they actually had. And it’s not just salt.

Vanillin and strawberry odours have been shown to enhance the perceived sweetness of a solution even when the sugar concentration has remained unchanged. This is why we can often be fooled into believing that a whisky ‘tastes’ sweeter than it should because it has a distinct aroma of vanilla, toffee, or fudge. Now, back to salt.

Why Do Our Brains Trick Us?

 
How does salt taste work in the brain
 

When salt-associated odours are present — think bacon, anchovy, soy sauce, or yes, even a coastal sea breeze — they activate similar brain regions as actual salty tastes. These include the insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex — all areas known for processing flavour integration. In fact, the study found that the enhancement effect was strongest in low-salt solutions, meaning odours do some of their best work when salt levels are subtle.

In a more recent 2023 study by Faridi Esfanjani & Mohebbi, researchers used cheddar cheese aroma (another salty-associated odour) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) to enhance the perceived saltiness of a sodium chloride solution. The combination triggered stronger activity in the rolandic operculum and orbitofrontal cortex, further reinforcing how odour-taste congruency tricks the brain into dialling up saltiness perception. Why does it do this?

The brain likes to conserve energy for more important tasks such as scrolling through social media or shopping on Amazon. So if it can save energy it will. This means it often applies rules of thumb to everyday tasks. It makes assumptions based on past experiences. With regards to flavour, if the brain commonly perceives a certain aroma such as bacon alongside a salty taste, it assumes they always go hand-in-hand. This connection becomes so heavily reinforced over time that the mere whiff of bacon initiates the perception of salt on the tongue.

Why Do Some Whiskies Taste Salty?

 
 

We can therefore understand how saltiness in whisky isn’t about sodium. It’s about association.

Many coastal and peated whiskies contain aromas that are congruent with salty foods such as brine, smoked fish, seaweed, even cured meats. These aromas are formed during malting, kilning (especially when burning peat), fermentation, distillation, and even during maturation in certain casks. Phenolic compounds, aldehydes, and sulphur derivatives can all contribute to this ‘briny’ aromatic profile.

When these aromas hit the nose, they activate salt-associated neural pathways. Your brain fills in the gap, and voilà — saltiness, with no sodium in sight. It’s your brain taking shortcuts to save energy. But the reality is you are convinced there is salt in your glass. Now do you recall I mentioned that we even have taste receptors in our nasal cavity?

Alongside volatile molecules that we experience as aromas from a whisky, once we take a sip, tiny liquid droplets can be dispersed into the air as aerosols. Research is limited, however, it would be within reason to suggest we can experience salty tastes through activation of taste receptors in the nasal cavity as opposed to the mouth alone. While this doesn’t alter the fact that scotch whisky does not contain a high enough concentration of sodium chloride to taste salty, it does shine the light of possibility on how we can ‘smell’ or even ‘taste’ the salt when inhaling sea air.

This is all fascinating stuff, but to understand it further we really should discuss peat in more detail.

Why Salty Flavours Are Common in Peated Whiskies

 
Peated scotch whisky
 

Peated whiskies, especially those from Islay or Campbeltown, often feature aromatic compounds that echo salty foods. You will likely be proficient at identifying seaweed, ship’s rope, tar, iodine, or crispy bacon in a dram or two. Dipping one’s honker into a glass of peated dram can even whisk us away in an instant to the serene setting of a sea loch as waves gently lap against the barnacle-covered rocks. These phenolic and sulphurous notes are not just evocative — they’re neurologically congruent with saltiness.

Of course, such wonderfully complex and powerful phenols in the peat attach themselves to the grains during the kilning process. However, the term ‘peaty’ as a descriptor has become a bit of a catch-all shortcut. When we describe a whisky as being peaty, what do we mean? Is it maritime, medicinal, barbecue smoky, coal fire smoky, or even ship’s funnel sooty? It’s difficult to pin down because the mix of phenols within peat is as complex as the whisky itself. But for the large part, such aromas fit neatly with our expectations for salty tastes. Although if peat explains the false perception of salt, how can we explain Old Pulteney?

From the small seaside resort of Wick, the ‘Manzanilla of the North’ does indeed seem to be an anomaly. It is often admired for its salty backbone despite its avoidance of peat smoke. Surely this cannot be all down to Decanter Magazine in 1978. Certainly, distillery manager Malcolm Waring is convinced that the high level of salt in the air within the warehouses is responsible. This is supported by anecdotal evidence which suggests that such a salty note becomes more pronounced as Old Pulteney steps up the maturity ladder. Can sodium chloride navigate its way through the labyrinthine pores of an oak cask or are the molecules too large? Does older Old Pulteney contain higher concentrations of salt? Or are there other volatiles in the whisky that trick us into believing it tastes salty?

Conclusions

At this moment in time I do not have the answers. However, the psychological components of flavour are apparent. Studies in wine have demonstrated how simply altering the appearance of white wine with red colouring is enough to trick wine professionals into believing they can smell aromas associated with red wine. Such is the power of expectation and crossmodal associations that if the brain wants us to believe something, we probably will.

Of the whiskies that have been analysed for sodium chloride it’s clear there are other reasons behind why they taste salty. Otherwise Glenfarclas would be one of the saltiest whiskies on the market. Relevant research strongly suggests that salt-associated aromas are the likely reason why we can believe there is significant salt when in fact there is no more than is commonly found in mineral water.

This is another great example of how it’s chemistry that creates the molecules, but it’s the brain that creates flavour. The brain takes sensory information from smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing, and mouthfeel sensations, merges it with expectations, emotions, memories, and biases, before projecting a version of events to the conscious mind which we experience as flavour.

While it may feel like we are being tricked by ourselves, it only adds to the magic of scotch whisky.

Practical Applications: What Producers and Tasters Can Learn

Here are five takeaways for those in the whisky industry:

1. Saltiness vs Sodium

Let’s stop assuming that salty perception comes from minerals or sea air alone. The real action is happening in the brain, driven by smell-taste congruency.

2. Descriptive Language Should Acknowledge Illusion

Descriptors like ‘sea salt’ or ‘briny’ are valid and evocative, but they’re metaphorical, not chemical. Being transparent about this enhances both consumer trust and tasting literacy.

3. Context is Everything

Saltiness is more likely to be perceived when the consumer expects it — from the packaging, distillery reputation, or other flavour notes in the dram. Whisky tasting is as much storytelling as it is chemistry.

4. Sensory Training Should Include Odour-Taste Interactions

At The Sensory Advantage, we equip professionals with the tools to recognise, control, and communicate these subtle sensory tricks. From awards panels to blending labs, understanding flavour illusions helps ensure more accurate evaluation — and more compelling whiskies.

Further Reading and References

Kami Newton
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