WSET Spirits Level 3
As a student, all the WSET courses I took included spirits. At Levels 2 and 3, they were something of an afterthought with just a few multiple choice questions. It was only at Level 4 (Diploma) that it seemed to be taken seriously, with a unit dedicated to spirits organised in the same way as sparkling and fortified wines. As I had only learnt a bit about spirits in the previous levels, it was a month-long crash course in the many spirits of the world.
It was a shock to the system, for me and for many other students who had signed up for the Diploma solely for wine. For this reason, in 2018 the WSET split wine and spirits into completely separate courses. Level 4 is now classed Diploma in Wine, which to a certain extent is a shame as students miss out on the vast world of spirits which can be useful for learning about different fermentation techniques and fortified wine. But it also means both wine and spirits get their proper focus.
the course
There are now three levels for spirits: Levels 1, 2, and 3. There is no equivalent to the Diploma, as Level 3 is considered so complete there was nothing to add in a further course, except by actually becoming a distiller.
Having already taken and passed the Diploma Spirits unit, albeit nearly ten years ago, I decided—bravely or foolishly—to skip straight to the Level 3 in Spirits to keep my knowledge up-to-date and to see exactly what the course entails. I was told it was hard—and it really is.
One of the fascinating but extremely complex aspects of spirits is that fermentation takes place in many different ways. Whereas wine is, in essence, fermented grape juice, each spirit uses different base materials whose sugars have to be extracted for fermentation using a variety of methods. For brandy, it’s the same as wine; for whisk(e)y, it’s similar to beer with lots of different grains used, where the starch has to be converted into soluble sugar; for agave drinks, inulin has to be converted into soluble sugar; for spirits from China, South Korea, and Japan, there’s a whole range of base materials, with a common practice of encouraging fungus to grow which produces enzymes to break down the insoluble sugars. For baijiu in China, there are twelve different styles using a variety of base materials and means of converting into soluble sugars. A lot to take in.
And then there are the different types of distillation. This can be divided into two: variants of the pot still which usually requires multiple distillations and which is less efficient but more flavourful, and variants of the column still for continuous distillation, which is more efficient and produces more neutral spirits. This is quite straightforward to understand, but within each category of spirit one or both of these types of stills are often used according to the desired style. And there are lots of localised, historic variants: for example, in Armagnac the still is a type of column still, but one which produces a lower level of alcohol and a more characterful spirit. Add doublers, thumpers, and backset for US whiskey and dunder and muck for Jamaican rum (where just about every style of still is used), understanding distillation becomes quite complicated—which is one of the reasons why there are so many distinctive styles of spirits made around the world.
Studying spirits certainly takes me out of my comfort zone (which is a good thing). Those spirits connected to wine or to wine-producing countries are easier for me to understand. Those spirits I’m familiar with as a consumer and drinker are also more straightforward. But there are plenty of spirits in this course which were not familiar to me.
Asian spirits I found particularly difficult, as I just don’t drink—or encounter—them that often, as they’re mainly found in their (huge) local markets. In Japan, there’s shochu which can be made with continuous distillation or with a pot still. Koji is important in the latter, a mould which converts starch into soluble sugar. In China, it’s baijiu which is made from brick-shaped blocks or small balls called qu creating fungi to produce enzymes for sugar conversion. In South Korea, it’s soju where there’s a diluted, neutral style and a more characterful style made from nuruk, blocks of grain which serve a similar purpose to qu. There are so many sub-categories within these styles, it’s hard to remember what exactly is what, especially when faced with a question in the exam when everything goes out of the window. And, for all I have learnt, I have to confess there’s a bottle of baijiu I managed to find that’s highly unlikely ever to be finished. (If you’re in California, Bitters & Bottles is a great resource.)
the exam
Like the Level 3 in Wine, the exam is broken down into three parts. The first is a thirty-minute blind tasting of two spirits, one white(ish) the other brown(ish): mine were, I concluded, a Reposado Tequila and a Bourbon. Although the descriptive language differs from wine, the tasting is quite straightforward once you’ve got the correct vocabulary memorised. The theory is much harder, and, Reader, I failed the first theory attempt.
There are fifty multiple-choice questions, which I found the most difficult. There were lots of questions on fermentation temperatures, permitted degrees of alcohol, ageing requirements—numbers and terms which became a bit of a blur. Then there’s the short written answers, which are also difficult: there are ten questions, broken down into sub-sections. To answer these successfully, you really have to know a little bit of everything about each style of spirit in the book—which is to say every style of spirit in the world.
I passed the second attempt at theory (you don’t need to retake the tasting if that was passed), after a weekend of heavy cramming. To prepare for this exam (and similar exams for wine), I’d recommend writing short paragraphs, based on production chronology, to explain how each spirit is made and why it tastes like it does. This helps memorise key facts and terms for the multiple choice, and prepare for the short written answers.
If you’re really into spirits or want to improve your knowledge, I would highly recommend taking the WSET courses. I don’t know of any others so thorough or complete. But prepare to be challenged—passing the Level 3 in Spirits is a true challenge and accomplishment!
