Keepers of the Quaich

Mrs. Hoopie thought out of the box for fathers day this year and bought me a product from the Copper Fox Distillery provides a 100% barley single malt spirit and a charred barrel to allow you to age at home.  The product sheet and faq are below.  It recommends the first fill be aged 4-7 months.  I put it in in June, and was planning to crack it around Christmas time to see what comes out.  Being a habitual tinkerer, the best part will be the subsequent fills where I can experiment with how the output changes after the barrel has been used a few times.

http://www.copperfox.biz/images/cp-wasmunds-barrel-kit-product-sheet-2012.pdf

http://www.copperfox.biz/products/distillers-art-faq.php

When I saw this come across my email, I had to see more…. the following is from their website – www.whiskyofthegods.co.uk

“Thor is the first release in the Highland Park Valhalla Collection and like its namesake, shares many of the legendary Norse god’s larger-than-life characteristics.

The most renowned of all the Norse gods, Thor was the protector of Asgard and was feared by his enemies and other gods alike. His powerful hammer, Mjolnir, which we have depicted on the bottle, was said to create a thunderous and terrifying sound when used in battle; legend has it that Thor’s handiwork can be witnessed first hand on Orkney.

Distilled where sea turns to ocean, Highland Park Thor is a meeting point of nature’s forces, resulting in a perfect marriage of classic fragrant Highland Park smoke, balanced with a beguiling inner complexity and natural strength. Aged for 16 years and bottled at 52.1% abv, Thor is limited to 23,000 bottles worldwide.”

Bop and I wondered if they were trying to capitalize on The Avengers but I think Orkney’s proximity to the Norwegian countries and its heritage may actually be what has led the distillers to honor it.  Thoughts?  Regardless, I cannot wait to try it….  Gold Eagle Liquors in Libertyville may have one bottle left…. $200 on sale this month for $175…
APPEARANCE:Rich amber, with an iron ore glow.

NOSE:Concentrated and forceful, with an explosion of aromatic smoke, pungent fresh ginger, antique copper, stewed plums, and golden syrup. With water, earthy notes emerge, like a garden after a heavy rain shower.

PALATE:Thor’s high strength grabs the palate and refuses to let go. Initially dry, with fiery gingerbread then vanilla, blackberries, fresh mango, peach and hints of cinnamon. As its big flavours swirl around the mouth, some softer, sweeter notes develop, giving Thor and unexpected layer of complexity and depth.

FINISH:The finish thunders on, leaving behind lingering notes of sweet vanilla and an intense spiciness.

Interesting reddit forum thread here. Some good insight here I think and something we should all be considering at our tastings – particularly new members and guests I’d say. –Bop

[–]ambiguo42Campfire Aficionado
I also tend to get a longer finish and better flavor if I hold the whisky on my tongue for a few seconds before swallowing.

[–]DaBake[S]
I’ll try that right now, thanks!

[–]NibrocNZ
A guy who was running a whisky tasting one said that we should honor the craftsmanship of scotch by holding it on the tongue for 1 second for every year. Have fun. I usually do this now for my second sip.

[–]DaBake[S]
I’ll say this, it really allows you to pick up a lot more of what’s going on. So much more depth and complexity from just a few extra seconds. Learning something new every day.

[–]texpeareModeration in moderation
I usually have to hold the Scotch on my tongue for at least a few seconds before I feel like I can taste everything that’s going on. Older whiskies take longer to “open up” for me & sherry cask usually takes longer than Bourbon cask. If you hold it for a while, the finish will probably last longer too.

Those of you familiar with the Internets won’t be surprised to find out that Brother Tao is also a fairly avid Redditor.  For those of you not familiar, Reddit is a community/bulletin board/discussion site.  Anyway, I’ve been finding some interesting posts and discussions on a sub-reddit r/scotch.  Perhaps we should consider giving it a link on the Single Malt Scotch Links sidebar.

The discussion is perhaps not at a professional level, but there is a lot of enthusiasm among younger participants, and isn’t ambassadorship part of our charter?

Subreddits are all /r/subreddit so you can find this at http://www.reddit.com/r/scotch

Just ran across this. Some brothers may be interested. Paterson is the hyper guy in the mixed drinks with single malt videos we were talking about a few quarters ago. I’ll copy the post but you can find the whole thing at http://fountainheadchicago.com/the-dalmore-whisky-dinner-sept-13th/

On Tuesday September 13th, Master Blender Richard Paterson will be with us for a terrific dinner pairing 6 amazing Dalmore whiskies with some of the best food Chef Sarah has to offer. The special treat of this dinner will be the chance to taste the King Alexander III, the only single malt that is aged in six different woods – wine, Madeira, Sherry, Marsala, Kentucky burbon, and Port casks. More information about the pairing menu to come soon.

Richard Paterson became a Master Blender at the young age of 26 and has travelled the globe as an ambassador for Whyte & Mackay, one of Scotland’s leading makers & distributors of Scotch whisky. He has won numerous awards and in 2008 he published his very own book, Goodness Nose. He is known for being a charismatic presenter on the subject of whisky, able to discuss both the history of the industry & the necessary steps to taste & appreciate whisky properly. We are so thrilled that he will be joining us at Fountainhead for this fantastic dinner.

You do not what to miss this night of delicious food, drink, & discussion!

Tickets are $40 & dinner begins at 7:00 in our Barrel Room.

Please purchase your tickets today at Brown Paper Tickets.

Brothers, did we identify the hosts for the remainder of 2011???

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a source for Glencairn glasses.  In doing a little research for the upcoming launch of KotQ Colorado, I found a local restaurant supply which has the Stolzle Glencairn glasses.

Upside: Only $5.50 each.

Downside: minimum 4 doz.

I was wondering if anyone was interested in upgrading their glassware and would like to go in on a case.   I don’t at this point need 48 glasses.  I’m also not sure if the Glencairn thing is just a fad or a legitimate new glass type, but I do know that I use my glasses from Whiskeyfest all the time. They seem to be better for tasting than rocks glasses, although I do still use my Waterford just for the mass in hand.

If interested please contact me via email.

Tao

One of the starkest changes to single malts that I have seen in the last 10 years is the dramatic rise of their retail prices. I suppose it’s the natural response to an increase in demand but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it. Lagavulin 16, for example, is currently retailing at Binny’s for $94.99. If memory serves me, 10 years ago Lagavulin 16 retailed at Sam’s for about $55.00; this is about a 75% increase over 10 years. I think all hosts would agree with me that the price increases have really put a strain on our quarterly meeting budgets, but perhaps there is some hope out there.

Although many single malts have vacated the “affordable” price point for the $60-$80 price range, thankfully, there remain some excellent value buys out there. I set my “value buy” price ceiling at $45 and decided to see what you could still buy out there; if anything. I felt the psychological pain of the $50 price point and wanted to keep the prices closer to $40 then to $50 which is why I settled on my limit as $45 and I found a number of excellent single malts with unbelievably good value. Each of these high-quality single malts can be purchased at Binny’s for less than $45 some of them are under $40 even!

“Bop’s Select”
• Highland Park 12
• Clynelish 14
• Old Pulteney 12
• Glen Moray 12
• Glenfiddich 15 Solera Reserve
• Laphroaig 10
• The Macallan 12

The Whisky Exchange
I wanted to introduce you to the most recent link now usable on our site: The Whisky Exchange (TWE). TWE is an on-line retailer who, although in the UK, should be, along with Binny’s, one of your key sources of single malts. As I have said in the past, one of my goals for the KOTQ site is to help facilitate the purchasing of single malts; whether for our quarterly tastings or for your individual needs. From a sourcing standpoint, unless you have other sources I need to be aware of, your purchasing outlets probabaly should be:

• for distilleries actively marketing expressions (really any distillery with an ‘Active’ status in our database) —> shop local at Binny’s or somewhere like Main Street Liquors in LaGrange if you have such a local spot
• for rare malts and “silent” distilleries—> order on-line at TWE and have it shipped to you here in the States

The WOW Factor
To give you some idea of the breadth of offerings of rare bottlings at TWE consider that they have an offering for every single one of the 27 “silent” distilleries in our database. In fact, the only one that has only one bottling, somewhat surprisingly, is Littlemill. Of the remainder, most have at least 4 or 5 and quite a few have more than that. Here is a good example.

On the other end of the spectrum, they have much better access to newer distillery’s offerings than we can ever hope to have through our local outlets such as Binny’s. If you have an interest in the distilleries “building stock”, and just can’t wait to try one, you should check out TWE from time to time and see what they might have. Here is a good example of what is available now. Finally, rare bottlings of active distilleries are very likely to be at TWE and not at your local Binny’s. Here is a great example of that. Another nice thing is, although the default currency used at TWE is GBP, they have a handy currency converter link at the top of every page so it’s easy to see the cost in USD.

The only chink in the armor that I’ve seen is in regard to those “distilleries” which our database refers to as “Stills Removed” (Mosstowie, Glencraig, Killyloch). Their offering of those is limited; they only carry Glencraig of which they have only one expression. The only other thing I can think of is, and this may really be a backhanded compliment, since their offerings on rare bottlings is so complete, that their marketing presence doesn’t reflect their actual inventory; but that will remain to be seen. For now, I have to take their offerings at face value.

Integration with our Site
I have included a direct link to TWE from our distillery summary display. The bottom row of the distillery display now reads (L to R): @Binny’s, @TWE, @Master of Malt. The fourth cell will either display a link to its KOTQ Tasting Comments or Malt Madness’s mapping function depending on how you get to the distillery display. I am so impressed with TWE’s depth and breadth of single malt offerings that it clearly trumps even Master of Malt as an on-line resource. You should view the links to Binny’s and TWE as purchasing sources (local and on-line respectively) while the link to Master of Malt (although a fine on-line retailer, their site is a better implementation of Malt Whisky Yearbook’s data on each distillery) should be used as a “further information” link for the distillery history and details.

How Best to Utilize TWE
Whether you are using the distillery filter to help you plan a tasting lineup or you have a special event coming up that you wish to commemorate with a special single malt I recommend that you look to the @TWE link on our distillery display as a terrific sourcing option. Here’s what you may find if you carefully review TWE for a potential order:

Hosts wanting to include a rare malt as a special expression in their tastings
• several bottlings are priced within our budgets (full attendance please), even with overseas shipping from TWE, to be included individually in any tasting
• other, a bit more expensive, bottlings are available to the host who doesn’t mind paying his own premium (above budget) to essentially get a rare expression at a discount as he retains the leftovers after the tasting
Individuals who wish to order their own rare expressions
• several are available in the $90 – $250 range (all-in price w/shipping included from TWE) which is comparable to walking into your local Binny’s and buying an 18+ yo expression
• many others are available in the $750 – $5,000 range for those who may have the means and proclivity to: “invest” in a collectable, or enjoy owning and drinking a $1,000 bottle of single malt scotch once in their life (“bucket list” stuff?!?), or have a special occasion to which they wish to match a very special single malt