Whisky. It's not for everyone!(video)

Well, what? It isn't. And thank G-d for that!
I recently made some music and a video with the help of a friend. We are entering it into a competition to try and win whisky nerd stuff.

Watch it. Love it. Have a good weekend.

Malt Mission 2007 #15

Ardbeg Serendipity
Supreme Blended(Vatted) Malt Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£35 (and rising)

Ah, the end of the third week of this malt mission and I can see at least 3 more weeks coming off of that shelf. Woo-hoo! Thanks for reading.

It has been a week of vatted malts from Compass Box, and seems appropriate to finish with a critically acclaimed and currently VERY hard to find bottling from Glenmorangie plc. Royal Mile Whiskies' website already gives this malt 'dearly departed' status.

Glenmorangie owns Ardbeg and Glen Moray, and the Bailie Nichol Jarvie blend. They are all owned by Moet Hennesey/Louis Vuitton. STYLISH!!! This means the product launches have stepped up a notch, d'accord? It also means they use the same bottling plant, which is necessary to understand if we are to believe the following.

Ardbeg Serendipity is, as the story goes, the result of a most serendipitous accident. Whisky is dumped from casks into tanks for bottling. There was apparently some Glen Moray 1992(12 yr old) still in the tank when they began dumping OLD (I have heard everything from 20-30 year old, I have heard 1977, I have heard older. Possible it was a bunch of underproof aged casks, but who knows?) Ardbeg into the vatting tank. Oops. Result is 20% Glen Moray 12yo and 80% OLD Ardbeg.

Kristin is NUTS for the stuff and has been through 3 bottles since the beginning of November. Okay, I helped.

TASTING NOTES:

Sweetness comes off first, bourbony vanilla. Then comes the dirtiness. Peat, feet, sweat, diapers/nappies. Wet stone(?), moss, earth. Still sweet, creamy (Coffee Mate?) and these flavours arrive together, beautifully united rather than on two separate planes, which is unexpected.

Vanilla, peat and chocolate. Smoking while changing a diaper (like in the good ole days... can you imagine seeing that today? we would all turn up our noses, no doubt...). Baby powder, and skin. Briliant mouthfeel and the initial attack of flavour is SO pleasant, like a bubble popping that contained essence of sweet cakes, vanilla, fire and flatulence(okay, maybe not so pleasant, but great in context of this whisky's character).

This stuff isn't pretty, but it is pretty drinkable.

ps. About 5 minutes later I had a nasty metallic and chlorine like taste in my mouth.

SUMMARY:

The Malt Maniacs felt that this could "invoke the wrath of anoraks worldwide", but I find that absolutely ridiculous. I guess it is possible if by 'anorak' they mean wealthy whisky collecting Europeans with "doubtful gaze" set as their default perception. But then, who cares. Those customers already have MANY niche products geared for them(the link is but one example). Serendipity is not one of them, so leave it to those of us who are, what fancy term shall I use...aha! 'Skint whisky lovers.' (Besides, anoraks are supposed to be interested in obscure things that are terminally unfashionable. With whisky, at least for right now, that is certainly not the case.)

Serendipity is tasty, tasty whisky. I would compare it to yesterday's Compass Box only to call Serendipity the ugly older sibling to the kinder more sophisticated Eleuthera. But Serendipity is a great whisky and, as I have said before, the most guilt free way to quaff very old Ardbeg. Although with its limited availability, those guilt-free days are numbered.

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Malt Mission 2007 #14

Compass Box Eleuthera
Vatted Scotch Malt Whisky
46% abv
£30-34.50

This whisky was created as an attempt to make a peaty, smoky whisky that was, as John puts it, "sessionable". Until Serendipity (see tomorrow), there was no peaty whisky (from a major distilling company) that could be consumed consistently over a night. Oh shush. I dont care what you peat freaks say. My Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg Uigeadail are gorgeous, but they have spent the longest amount of time our shelf. Why? The reality is that most of the great smoky whiskies are great, but at the right time, in the right mood, and even then, only for one or two drams. Then your mouth tastes like an ashtray and you could kill for a cold pint or a glass of milk. There are already many great smoky whiskies, so the challenge for John Glaser was to make something that stood out as an alternative while still appealing to the fan of that style.

Made up of Clynelish, Glenlossie, and Caol Ila.

TASTING NOTES:

First, a single whaft made up of metal and oil and peat. Sweetens immediately into a bready smell, Irish soda bread. Orange drink powder. Almond extract. Vanilla. Still smoky.

Feels nice in the mouth, but I do remember it being oilier. Oh well. Things change. Smoke, fresh mint, ginger and lemon, vanilla cake, peat and fire. Just re-reading that desription really explains the balance and movement of the whisky, being in turns a peat and sweet treat. (ugh, what is wrong with me this morning?! sorry)

SUMMARY:

When I used to work at TWE, I described this as being "in the key of smoke." Yeah, laugh at me. What I meant though is that this whisky is peaty, BUT it is not like an (peated) Islay where the peatiness is the heart of the malt for the other flavours to accent, but rather a whisky with a peat as the accent, a cushion, or peat bookends, for all the lemon zest and vanilla and almond and shortbread that are at the heart of this drink. Although there is strong peat presence, it is the sweet heart of this whisky that gets your lips back to the glass.

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Malt Mission 2007 #13

Compass Box Magic Cask
(Vatted) Malt Scotch Whisky
Limited Release, 480 bottles
46% abv
$95.95(CAD)
75cl

In the autumn of 2006, the LCBO (the wine and spirits state monopoly in Ontario) launched a marketing campaign called "The Whisky Generation." It consisted of pictures of cool-looking urbanites mostly under 30, with the text, “The Whisky Generation” beside their pretty faces. The LCBO webiste was adorned with the music of some cheesy twangy guitars and faces of 20-something male and female hipsters. I refuse to comment on what informed the decision to launch such a campaign or the successes of the campaign (from what I understand, at every tasting event the LCBO held that month, there were seldom ANYONE under 30.) Do I think mixing Crown Royal with ginger ale is an effective way to turn young spirits consumers onto whisky? Hell no, but bless them for trying. Everyone is trying. And (nearly) everyone is failing. Again, I will not use this space to hypothesize as to why.

John Glaser created this product as an experiment that he had no use for, until now. He thought it suited Canada well as we have a law that stipulates that in the making of Canadian whisky, 9.09% can be "other". I am not sure of the origin of this law, but it means that distillers can, and have been able to, add whatever they like to their whisky such as other types of whisky, fortified wines, sugars, fruit juices, etc.
Real quality control.

Mr. Jan Westcott (President and CEO, Spirits Canada, Association of Canadian Distillers) says: "In Canada, for as far back as we've been making whiskey, we've looked for ways to differentiate our product from other products. One of the ways we do that, and have done that, in Canada--some of the records I've looked at go back over 100 years--is to flavour our whiskey with other whiskies and wine. If you go back many, many years, the rule of thumb was about 10%. In converting that to codification, the actual conversion worked out to be 9.09%. That compares, for example, with what happens in the United States. When they make a blended whiskey in the United States, they can add 80%. Therefore, our provisions are quite modest and they're Canadian. Other countries do other things and we respect that."

So what results with the Magic Cask is a NEW sort of whisky from Compass Box. John Glaser has never released a whisky from a cask that once held wine/sherry/port, etc., rather he uses whiskies from American oak ex-Bourbon casks or new European oak. This one is a 17yr old Linkwood that spent the last year of maturation in a "magical" Madeira barrique. This is blended with a 14yr old Clynelish.

TASTING NOTES:

First of all, I usually dont mention colour but I am going to today. It is a strange pinky orange. And every bottle I have had/shared/seen has sediment on the bottom. Unusual with whisky. Must be from wine cask.
Nice rich nose. Malty but sherried and candied. Red Lifesavers. It has a strong grape and cheese (stilton?) aroma. Bit of a nose prickle.

Tastes creamy, malty sweetness offset by a strong wine/sherry/madeira element, but a certain smokiness pokes through as well. Slightly harsh and burning in the middle. The finish hangs about with candied orange and tobacco. LONG and lingering. Smoky again. Wintery. Christmas-y.

SUMMARY:

I love the label. Not everyone does. I like the whisky. Not everyone does. I dont like the price. Yeah, it is a bit rare and therefore pricey, but I would say it's worth the experience if you have the cash. Or do like we did when I was back in Toronto: all throw a few bucks and share the bottle with a dozen or so friends. Oooo... sharing... SCARY.
Pretty good stuff from a guy who is a real innovator, and ballsy to boot cuz he is willing to take chances.

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Malt Mission 2007 #12

Compass Box Flaming Heart
(Vatted) Malt Scotch Whisky
Limited Release #FH16 MMVI
48.9% abv
£38.50

First thing to exlain is that John Glaser has created something he calls Oak Cross. This is a whisky he has recently released(a whisky somewhere between Bailie Nichol Jarvie and Glenmorangie Artisan Cask, both in price and taste), but it is also a cask he has created in which some of his whiskies spend the end of their maturation. Flaming Heart is such a whisky.

The Oak Cross casks are made with American white oak bodies and Sessile French oak heads. The idea is that Sessile oak yields specific flavours John wants in his whiskies. But also, it gives him the ability to toast the wood to a variant level and, as it wont be bent into a cask shape like the rest of the oak in the cask, he can char/toast the crap out of the stuff(if desired).

Flaming Heart is "a limited release, we are going to do it once, and we are not planning to do it again. At least not in the near future." (They did. See Malt Mission #192). Limited to 2100 bottles, this is the beginning of a whole new era for John Glaser and Compass Box. "The whole idea behind the Limited Release range for us is that we can use small quantity of casks that we can't use on a more commercial basis. Things we can't recreate...or don't want to recreate. The limited release range gives us a platform for releasing fun stuff" When you see John's "lab", you get an idea of just how much "fun stuff" is in store for us.

The name is taken from song by M. Ward (who will be playing in Toronto Jan 27). Malts in the mix include Caol Ila, Clynelish, and Linkwood.

TASTING NOTES:

Wafts of honeyed smoke, peat, and ham. Drying paint. Dry spice, like tumeric. A sweetness of dried plums, or prunes. Rich and engaging. Unusual combination of impressions from Scottish whisky. Blind, might guess Japanese.

Fireplace ash, mesquite. More dry spices, tumeric, smoked paprika, cinnamon. Creamy to swallow, peat smoke, sweet spices, pudding-like. Those flavours mixed with smoke are in great balance and uncommon in combination. Moreish.

SUMMARY:

Well, the stuff is only available in Europe, and that is the only negative I can find. Great (new) packaging, tasty and unusual stuff inside, and only further evidence that John is creating easy drinking and well crafted whiskies that are more than the sum of their parts. Style AND substance. And as this one is only available in Europe, tomorrow we will try one that is only available in Ontario.

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Malt Mission 2007 #11

Te Bheag
Connoisseurs Blend
Blended Whisky
40% abv
£19
$35.95(CAD)

Not TEA BAG. But it does make it a memorable whisky. It is pronounced 'chey vek', Te Bheag translates to 'little lady', but in colloquial terms means 'a wee dram'. It has a high malt content of 35%(which means that a variety of single malts make up 35% of the whisky inside each bottle, and grain whisky makes up the rest) and contains Islay, Island, Highland and Speyside malts all 8-11 years old.
Made by the Gaelic Whisky company, Praban na Linne Ltd., this is some cool packaging for a pretty friendly price. Pràban na Linne was established in 1976 by landowner and merchant banker Sir Iain noble. The impetus for starting the business was to benefit the struggling economy of Skye. Unemployment was high and new investment was badly needed. They label all their releases in the Gaelic language as Sir Iain holds the belief that where a language dies, brain drain and economic problems ensue. He has done a lot for Skye, Scotland, and Gaelic language and culture.

TASTING NOTES:

Tropical fruit-and-nut breakfast cereal, hand cream, sweet creamy graininess in the back. Saltiness, jam and powdered sugar.

Role reversal on the palate, with the sweet vanilla and coconut grains taking the lead. Very matter of fact. Peat, dry malt, sweet grain. Buttery oak and a touch of sherry influence. Medium bodied but heavy in character. Finishes dry like cocoa powder in the mouth, with the flavour of that example too. Slow to fade.

SUMMARY:

This was really nice. Yet more evidence that perhaps tasting in the morning gives whisky an unfair advantage. I usually am not that fond of this whisky, I find it too outdoorsy and abraisive. Today I enjoyed it very much. Good thing I am not giving scores. Screwy.

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Taste, truth, and Toronto

1) TASTE
In Thursday's notes I mentioned how it would be cool to try the other bottlings in the Macallan decades series. Well, thanks to Colin Harvey at the shop where I used to work, this dream became a reality on Friday when Simeon Attaway (who was down here for a training week for work) and I went down to Borough market for lunch... and a drink.
TASTING NOTES:
Macallan Thirties
Fresh and sweet on top, then there is a marked fuel element. Petroleum, antiseptic,"Euthymol toothpaste(pink toothpaste), fabric plasters"(Colin), apple cider. "Good"(Simeon)
Beer nuts/candied peanuts. "Tastes of chocolately almonds skating on christmas cake"(Simeon). Burnt, and even mor phenolic than nose. Peaty? Maybe. Petrolic(that is a wine word, yeah?) for sure.
Macallan Forties
Muddy, heavy in the nose. Figs. Blown out candles
Stamp glue. "Bruised apples" (Simeon) Very stimulating as it addresses all parts of your tongue. Bitter and sour, fresh, rotten, and juiced apples.
SUMMARY:
Simeon bought both bottlings. I wasnt crazy about either, but they undeniably interesting and very un-Macallan. And worlds better than other things for the price.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Consistency in whisky that we have today(for the most part) is something to be grateful for. And then we have guys like John Glaser, indie bottlings, and single casks to keep things varied... as if the 85(or whatever) working distilleries werent enough.

2) TRUTH
I am not sure if tasting first thing in the morning is the fairest way to judge a malt. I think that last night I got a glimpse into why people hate whisky. You may or may not remember that the Johnnie Walker Black I tasted earlier in this malt mission got a nice reception. Well, last night, at about 1:30, Kristin and I had a JW Black at a pretty hip bar near Smithfield Market here in London. It tasted like chlorine, ink, and ass. Now, normally I would think there could be a problem with the bottle at the bar. But earlier I had enjoyed two drams of Compass Box Asyla and that was fine. Also, to be honest, the JW didnt even come from behind the bar. No, as a matter of fact, we had put JW in our flask that night and fed some into my empty Asyla glass. And ew! Yes, the flask was clean and the booze had not been in there very long. So perhaps the tradition of having a whisky at the end of night is what turns people off the stuff for life.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Whisky is not meant to be a refreshing or everyday, everytime drink. This is why most whisky drinkers will have many different bottles on hand at home because it is all about mood and setting. Dont waste money on a whisky "shot" at the end of the night... have a sambuca or another Corona and lime.

3) TORONTO
Thanks for your comments. Sorry I dont post all of them. This is why:
I receive notification of comments via email, and I love all(5) of them. But below explains why I dont publish all of them.

Anyone who thinks this blog, or whisky tasting as a phenomenon, is just for the rich, pompous, erudite old whisky drinker, please let me introduce you to just two of our readers...

Paisley has left a new comment on your post "Malt Mission #10":
i'm totally gay for sammy. love, chuck.

AND THEN...

Paisley has left a new comment on your post "Malt Mission #10":
ps - that note was actually from inder, representing chuck. inder, as a good friend of chuck's, is well aware of his gayness for sam, so he felt perfectly comfortable speaking on chuck's behalf. in conclusion, chuck is gay for inder? and we're all gay for whisky.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
I remember being picked up by my grandmother after being downtown Toronto without parents for the first(maybe?) time with some friends from school. Upon seeing me she asked, "did you have a gay time with your boyfriends?" Well, I know I must have shuddered at the time with how loaded those words get for kids and idiots, but I would answer different today, if I had the chance. "Yes, Buba. Gay, indeed."

Malt Mission 2007 #10

Macallan 10yo Cask Strength
Single Malt Whisky
57.8% abv
£30(1L)

A perfect way to start a weekend, and an appropriate way to end the second week of this malt mission, a week that explored Dave Robertson and the Macallan.

As a final note for Robbo's influence at Macallan, he created the spider diagrams used by many people today to describe the taste "fingerprint" of whiskies(more info HERE).

This cask strength is the UK version, available exclusively at UK travel retail and duty free. There is an American version that has no age statement.

Below my notes are taken at bottled strength(57.8) and then at a reduced abv, after I "cut" the whisky by adding a touch of spring water.

TASTING NOTES:

(Full strength)First a bitter tickle in the nose that turns sour and then finally sweet. Very interesting. Vanilla, oak, marzinpan and chocolate. Crême brulee, candied almonds, maple, demerara sugar. Does not prickle the nose as it could at this strength. Still, breathe carefully...
(reduced) Chocolate cake, a French patisserie, strawberry essence, oranges, dust and the pages of old books, freshly stained wood. Hot or burnt hair, like the smell in a hair salon.

(Full strength)Dry wood, oaky, thick and pungent sherry influences of sweet dried fruits. Burnt sugar. Toasted chestnuts. Oak again. Long finish that is very warming, sweet, and woody.
(reduced) More pleasant in the mouth, but seems to yield less flavour. Still nutty, flavours of wood resin, sweet sherry, prunes and raisins. Perhaps a light peat whiff? Smoke for sure. Shorter finish. I would advise against cutting it, if your ulcer can handle it... Probably just depends on mood.

SUMMARY:

No messing about, this is Macallan. Sherry, fruit, oak in beautiful elegant balance. Many people complain that Macallan's sherry casks kill the 'whisky', ie. the barley spirit character. At times I might agree, but that doesnt make this malt a failure as a whisky. Really gorgeous wintery stuff. It is a real star, and if you have the opportunity to get it at travel retail or UK duty free shops, it would be just silly to fly without.

***btw***- if you find I am not nerdy enough or that my notes are too boring, or that I dont say "wood" as well as you would like, please see THIS

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Malt Mission 2007 #9

Macallan Fifties
Single Malt Whisky
50cl
40% abv
£25
$40(USD)

Why try to recreate malts from the past? Perhaps it is just an excuse for whisky makers to taste all the old bottles and sample every cask in the warehouse. The advantage at Macallan is that they have kept a museum-like archive of old bottlings providing the perfect historical reference point to conduct such an experiment.

One thing is known for certain, that Macallan from the 1920s to 1950s was quite different to the Macallan of today. This was because the Spanish Civil War and WWII affected the availability of sherry casks. Also, coal was expensive in decades leading up to and during the war causing distillers to use local fuels to dry barley, ie. peat. Macallan was in fact little like the sweet rich sherried whisky we know today, but rather a peaty and less sherried whisky.

David "Robbo" Robertson said, “What I would really like to do is to is to go back beyond the 1930s and find out if there were pockets of time where The Macallan was peated.”

Well that is the thought that inspired this series. And peat does appear at varied intensity, esp. in 30s and 40s. Try them all if you get a chance.

This particular expression is the last in the travel series (Twenties, Thirties, Fourties, Fifities). Let me also say that contrary to what many people might think when seeing these on shelves(I know I was guilty of this), these are not simple cash grabs, they are well made, delicious, critically acclaimed, and very interesting whiskies.

TASTING NOTES:

Very sweet, sherry sweetness. Burnt toast. Fresh grapes. A bit of rubber, leather, but sweetened by sherry characteristics: raisins, toffee, wine and oak. Raw green peas.

Syrupy and pleasant in the mouth. Like port or reduced balsamic vinegar(in terms of texture). Fermenting fruits. Tobacco and pipe smoke. Airy impression, perfumy effect of flavour while oily on the tongue. Finishes quite quickly actually, which suprised me. Finished big though, with flavours of cinnamon gum, licorice(sweets, not the root), bitter chocolate, brown rice that all comes in a single wave and then fades towards shore.

SUMMARY:

I wish I had every one in this series to try in this malt mission, they are really ALL very interesting, very well crafted, and would be great to try back to back. Excellent stuff. They are also appropriate to have after JMR whiskies because the skills Robbo applied and learned from in creating the Macallan Decades Series, he was able to bring to Jon, Mark, and Robbo's line. The 50cl idea might have been borrowed as well...

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Malt Mission 2007 #8

Jon, Mark and Robbo's
The Rich, Spicy One
(Vatted Malt Whisky)
40% abv
£15 pounds(50cl)
$28.99[75cl(USD)]

Dave "Robbo" Robertson was the man who was responsible for creating the whiskies in the JMR line, and the challenge to develop the Rich Spicy One was certainly a match played on his home turf. Let me quickly explain.

Robbo was born at Royal Brackla distillery where his father (Ricky Robertson) was assistant manager. He grew up breathing in the angel's share at Glenlossie, Aberfeldy and Glendullan distilleries. He studied brewing and distilling in Edinburgh and took a highly prized seat, becoming manager at Macallan in 1994, the youngest in the distillery's history(he was 26). He became Master Distiller in 1996 and eventually Global Marketing Manager and brand ambassador. Quite a climb. Obviously a talented whisky guru.

One of his favorite jobs at Macallan, and one he is certainly a master at, was 'creating' whiskies. He developed a series of replicas, bottling to recreate styles by decade(see tomorrow), and the famous Gran Reserva 1979. And that credibility and skill is what he brought to JMR, and particularly the Rich Spicy One.

All Jon, Mark and Robbo had on the mission can be viewed HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Velvety effect in the nose, so creamy and... low down, if you get what i mean; I can smell it in my teeth. Strong sherry influences. Raisins and dried apples, nutty, and VERY inviting. Toffee and rich melted milk chocolate. A slight citrus presence, like the peels, not the pulp, and when I stick my nose in catching the vapours off the sides of the glass, it is a touch waxy, or even soapy.

I love the way this stuff FEELS in the mouth. Syrupy and chewy. Must be even more so right out of the freezer (taboo? not to these guys). Sweet and spicy. Buttered toast. Cloves and cinnamon. Sherry flavours without any of the oakiness... weird, but good! Develops into a nice nutty finish that fades softly.

SUMMARY:

Makes an impression that is both, um, rich and spicy. Feels so amazing on the tongue and the coconut oil effect lasts, leaving your mouth feeling coated in flavour. Lots of sherry casks, for sure (contains Highland Park, Bunnahabhain,Tamdhu and Glenrothes). An obvious Macallan influence, with similar richness at a much more friendly price. How? Who cares... THANK YOU!
Whenever we have had this stuff about the flat, it has vanished VERY quickly. I blame Kristin, but understand how one serving would NEVER be enough.

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