The 'Gazette'

When confronted with a smell, we are all different

Sensitivity, cultural background, olfactory memory and the level of expertise all influence our ability to detect and identify odours. The pleasure we experience when tasting a whisky is unique to each individual: it reminds us of familiar smells and brings back memories we have accumulated over the course of our lives and through personal experiences.

A difference in olfactory acuity

Around 30% of our olfactory receptors function differently, which explains the differences in olfactory perception from one human being to another. Some of us may be very sensitive to certain smells, referred to as hyperosmia. This olfactory acuity causes a higher sensitivity to odours that are barely detectable by others.

On the contrary, some people may be anosmic to certain smells: in other words, they are unable to detect them. This lack of sensitivity is believed to increase with age and may also vary with gender.

memoire olfactive

Détection des odeurs

A cultural difference

This difference in physiological sensitivity can be further amplified by cultural variabilities. Indeed, depending on our social background, we are not exposed to odours in the same way, and may therefore develop an olfactory familiarity related to our consumption habits. Our culture also influences our judgement of smell.

Olfactory memory: a gateway to our memories

Unlike tangible objects, smells are infinite and provide multiple sensations based on our experience. If we have never encountered a smell, we will not have memorised it and therefore we will not be able to recognise it.

Olfactory memory is therefore associative, meaning that in general we associate a smell with an event, an object or a person that we are familiar with.

Mémoire olfactive dans le whisky

When talking about smells, we often struggle to find words to describe them. We have the feeling that we know the smell, that we have it “on the tip of our nose”, without being able to name it. We’ll look at this subject in the next article.

Would you like to find out more about sensory analysis?

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R&D | February 2025 | Dr. Magali Picard

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