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.
Posts by :
Archive
Archive for June, 2005
Sam’s is having a business-is-slow (my editorial comment) SALE this weekend. Fri-Sunday in both stores. They are not publishing what’s on sale–like they usually do. Maybe a good chance to pick up some deals.
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.
I found a great whisky resource. It’s great on a number of levels. First, it’s a website published by whisky retailer Lock Fyne in Inveraray Scotland. The owner publishes new whisky as he gets it so it’s a great way to learn about what’s new as it hits the market. He also publishes a VERY insightful and informative twice-yearly newsletter he calls Scotch Whisky Review. He also ships to the US, including small format bottles (miniatures, 20cl and half bottles) great for sampling. The catalog. The site has no ads. If anyone is looking for something special maybe a combined order could be placed–he has WAY MORE whisky there than what gets imported into the US. Ardbeg – Lord of the Isles 25yo, Lagavulin 1988 16yo Distillers Edition, Highland Park 13 yo cask strength anyone? anyone?
Here are some interesting spreadsheets that, in part, may be helpful. They are a little outdated but stuff like distillery water source, location, region, district, date opened, current status, pronouciation, # stills, name derivation may be some good things to add/update our distilleries pages. And as a bonus the .xls should make for easier database populating.