Keepers of the Quaich

My first quarterly shipment for my membership in “Whisky Explorers” has come and is all gone and I wanted to share with you my experiences. A note though on process as it is important to understanding what I experienced. I receive 4 different whiskies which are all bottled in a nice, small plastic bottle which is completely dressed in its own black cloak; all the way to its collar. The cloak is there to keep the tasting blind. You get about two decent-sized drams (not Cyclone level but decent). Once you’ve tasted it you keep the cloak on the bottle and go to the Whisky Explorer’s website where you take a quiz on things like color, nose, body, palette and finish and you guess what you think the whisky is from 5 choices. You’re actually graded on your knowledge and then they show you what you were drinking and are offered a mechanism for purchasing the whisky. Just to be clear, you CAN remove the cloak and see what the dram is before you even drink it if you so choose. I chose to drink mine blind and take the quiz as it is part of the fun.

Here is what has been sent my way so far:

Dewar’s Special Reserve - tasted like scotch but not quite a single malt. I couldn’t decide whether it was a blend or if it was just a weak over-served Speyside. In the end, I guessed it was a run-of-the-mill Balvenie but harbored thoughts that it was the Dewar’s. If you like blends for their safety and lack of ambition this is a pretty good one. I’m not sure it would make for a good wassail (my current use for blends)

Booker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon - as soon as I tasted this I immediately knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Or Glasgow or Inverness or Islay for that matter. This was the most other-worldly bizarrely tasting experience I’ve ever had; and not in a good way. Obviously impossible to describe into words without experiencing it but it’s one of those “OMG this is awful…here try it” moments. It evoked views of alien worlds and distorted rainbows and all kinds of twisted imagery. This bourbon reminded me why I love and drink single malt scotch. It makes me think that bourbons are not meant to be aged and refined. Beam should just crank out their regular stuff.

Glenmorangie 10 - thank heavens, we were back to reality and recognizable lands once again. I knew this one was a single malt but I knew it was not an advanced age. I felt like it was either an Eastern Highland or a Northern Highland or a really spicy Speyside. I think I may have properly pegged this as Glenmorangie 10 but my overall sense was that the Whisky Explorer’s club considered this single malt to be something rare and special; which is not my view. I got the impression that the Whisky Explorer’s club was projecting this single malt as almost a ceiling on what great whisky was like and I left the quiz on this one less hopeful for the remainder of what would come over the course of the year.

Bushmills - this one was close…I figured it was a blended scotch (or a mild single malt scotch perhaps) but wasn’t surprised to find out that it wasn’t; and I guess wasn’t trying to be one either. I’ve never had Irish whisky before this; so it was good that I had a chance to try it. I’m a bold palatte guy and I found this one to pale in comparison to a typical single malt scotch. Perhaps my comparison should be more between the Bushmills and the Dewar’s as they are both blends. I can see why some people might like to sip Irish whisky but I think I would lose interest fairly quickly if this was the typical experience.

Overall, I find two dynamics at work with the Whisky Explorers Club. Firstly, it is not about single malt scotch at all. It is about all whiskies and a wide array of experience. However, secondly, I think there is a cost ceiling at work here and I have quickly learned not to expect Glen Grant 21 or something like it to show up in one of these cloaked bottles. If you have a broad interest in whisky from Canada to Kentucky to Ulster to Glenmorangie to perhaps Japan then this is the club for you. If you’re looking for a wide array of advanced, refined, or rare single malt scotch expressions I think you’ll be disappointed.

Brother Lakeview and I had the pleasure of attending a single malt tasting hosted by Jeff Conrady and Brian O’Connell last evening. You may remember Jeff from our off-line Burn Stewart tasting which Jeff generously sponsored. Jeff and Brian, a few of their clients, and Lakeview and myself sat down to the following lineup:

• Glenfiddich 12 (Distillery bottling at Standard strength)
• Highland Park 12 (Distillery bottling at Standard strength)
• Old Pulteney 12 (Distillery bottling at Standard strength)
• Bruichladdich’s PC7 (Distillery bottling at Cask strength)

It was a very fun evening. We sat out on Jeff’s deck at his house and enjoyed the unseasonably warm night temperatures. Most everyone was there to learn a bit more about single malts and Lakeview and I did our best to facilitate the tasting. The real stars of the show were the single malts, of course, and just like with our last meeting the PC7 evoked the most empassioned response from the group. Here were my takes on the expressions:

Glenfiddich 12 - a nice single malt. I think it is often unfairly maligned by single malt enthusiasts due to its wide distribution. I think it started the night off quite well with a pleasant, welcoming, and quite drinkable experience.

Highland Park 12 - the label promises a “gentle smokiness in the finish” and the HP12 did not disappoint. Coming on the heels of the spicy yet mild Glenfiddich 12 the smokiness of this malt was very apparent and fun. I think when we’ve tasted this one the smokiness hasn’t been anywhere near as apparent for whatever reason.

Old Pulteney 12 - a very underrated single malt. I enjoyed it as usual. This was the only malt that I cut all evening (with about 3 drops of water). After the water it became much saltier which I thought was a very good taste, evocative of its fishing port heritage, and a heck of a lot of fun.

PC7 - this one just melts in your mouth if you just take a tiny bit each time. An amazing experience and I learned the best way to sip this is uncut in those tiny amounts. A remarkable dram.

Earlier this month, I attended a scotch tasting with Brother Lakeview and Brother Ville….well, I didn’t really attend for long but before leaving placed an order for a relatively new offering from Signatory—an 18 year old Bruichladdich, vintage 1989.

I got the chance to open the bottle tonight, and was somewhat surprised by the scotch.   The nose is floral and perfumy then followed by a whiff of alcohol pad.   The palate is sweet and oaky with a warm finish.   The sweetness is more of a citrus fruit than chocolate or caramel.   I found it easy to drink although for an 18 year old, it doesn’t seem to have a lot of complexity in the palate.    It definitely does not follow the typical Islay characteristics.

But, while searching for other tasting notes for this release, I came across this blog:  www.scotchchix.com

Check it out sometime if you’re looking for a female’s perspective on some of our favorite scotches.

Some photos from Brother Ville’s visit to the Auchentoshan distillery. Enjoy.

View from the Auchentoshan Grounds

Megan and John starting the Auchentoshan Distillery Tour

The 11 Ingredients comprising Auchentoshan

Close up of an Auchentoshan still

I wanted to get in the record my Haley Cognata hosted tasting notes. It was a memorable night and eye-opening. I was very impressed with Deanston 12 –minty, yeasty, light and approachable. Reminded me a bit of Littlemill 7. Definitely on my “buy” list. Tobermory 10 “from Mary’s well” was licorice, honey and fennel. Ledaig 9 “safe harbour” was iodine amd medicinal nose–not particularly enjoyable. Bunnahabain 12 was light and sweet with a cereal nose and lots of energy. Not particularly complex, it finishes clean with a slight burn on the back of the tongue. Bunnahabain 18 was caramel nad rubber with a suprisingly quick finish for its age and heaviness. We drank Bunnahabain 25 too but my notes are thin (it was getting late). I don’t recall it spectacular. It was fun drinking Black Bottle again. Haney informed us it’s 45% malt, 55% grain. The nose is an ashtray and the pallette peaty–but that’s it–not much going on here. Overall it was exciting discovering Deanston and Haley added a lot of color to the International Beverage Company evening.

I had the nice fortune of sampling the Suntory “Yamazaki” 12 yr old Single Malt Whisky from Japan, while at Sam’s in Downers Grove. The Spirits chief (name forgotten) was kind enough to bring me into the tasting room after asking about the spirit. Before I get into the technical definition of this drink, let me describe it. The nose is grassy, light, with a hint of sweetness. Pallette is dry, grassy, herbal with a touch of mint. I would say that it’s most closely aligned with the Lowland set. The spirit is good but it doesn’t motivate you to buy a bottle. At $29 it’s a fair deal. Now, is this scotch and does this belong in a lineup–or even in an offline experience? First, it’s not called scotch. It’s produced just like scotch but in another land. Being a purist, I consider this not scotch. Like champagne, which is only from Champage, France, similarly produced drinks created anywhere else are called sparkling wines. So “Yamazaki” is a barley single malt, or something like that. I encourage each of you to try it but I don’t think it’s scotch. Comments, please.

Hmmm…How is it possible that we’ve not tasted as a group Ardbeg 1978? Last night I had one of those “reach back into the top shelf to see what I can find” experiences, looking for that perfect night cap. Ardbeg 1978 is the perfect way to end a day–it takes the edge off a difficult day or makes a great day better. It has light peat in the nose with brown sugar and citrus. Pallette is dry, earthy with a distinctively lemon finish. It makes a nice statement without trying to garner too much attention like it’s younger siblings. Seek it out.

Just like to share that I finally had the chance to enjoy a dram of Laphroaig 30, and what a great treat it was. I went out last Saturday for my 8th anniversary (with Linda, of course…heh!) and went to Carlos’ in Highwood. Very excellent experience, and I started off the evening with Lagavulin 16. The Lagavulin made for a great aperitif and just confirmed for me how great that scotch is.

But, the real story is after dinner. We went to Froggy’s…a pleasant French bistro on Green Bay Rd known for being a pretty good value for the money. They had a small collection of fine single malts…and, to my surprise, they had Laphroaig 30, and I couldn’t resist. At $22 a dram, it was not exactly one to become committed to for the night, but it was a nice finish to the night out.

The nose was impressive…fantastic whiffs of smoke and peat as you normally expect from Laphroaig. The body has great depth and dare I say, rotund. It lacks the slight bitterness of the 15, and instead has toasted, rich sweetness and salt, a smooth and slightly warm finish. Quite enjoyable.

The bottle currently retails for $220 at Binny’s and is rumored to be the last that they’ll have for some time.

Ok, in the spirit of offline experiences, Brother Bop, I found some recipes created with scotch whisky. Both the Aberlour salmon and fudge sauce recipes sound fabulous. They were featured at a recent Spirit of Speyside festival. We need to take these for a test drive!

Yet another treat at the Sam’s tasting was Dahlwinnie 29. This weighed in at 58% alcohol. It’s a very limited production, bottled in 2003 from American oak casks. It goes for $356. What I like about this dram is that it’s was different. After cutting to ~40% the nose is quite fruity with a hint of cinnamon. Pallette is peppery, iodiney, spicy (think spice rack). Finish was buttery, warm with a hint of honey. Overall is was a dynamic experience–quite a treat.