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Finding Speyside’s Spirit

May 10, 2013 in Events, Reviews

Spirit of Speyside images

It was when I was in the village hall in Aberlour that I really grasped the true meaning of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.

Inside the traditional wood-floored, stained glass windowed hall, dozens of people of all ages gathered together for a ceilidh. White haired ladies and dapper elderly gentleman sat chatting to tourists from Brazil, Canada and America, while a wedding party – dressed up in their finest – created a buzz of happiness felt by all.

At my table, James Walker – the humble and inviting head of the Walker Shortbread family – spoke to me about his memories coming to the hall as a child to watch films with his fellow local school children, while beside me festival organiser Mary Hemsworth spoke to everyone about the success of the many days of events.

As the ceilidh band struck up a tune and the newlyweds (who’d decided to celebrate their wedding evening with the local community) stood to take their first dance, I marveled in the wonderful welcoming nature, the simplicity and friendliness, the true heart of a community that one doesn’t find just anywhere anymore.

This is Scotland to me. And this is Speyside.

Stills MortlachWhile the whisky we love gets its fair dues, it is the people, the beating heartbeat of the Speyside region that make the wonderful product. And it is at the festival of the same name that I had a moment to slow down and see just what makes it such an important spot.

By the time I took a second’s breather to realise all of this, it was already the final night of the festival for me. I’d been in Speyside for four days to take in the yearly event which sees hundreds of distillery tours, parties, ceilidhs and concerts take place in the heart of Scotland’s whisky making world. I’d attended the opening dinner of the festival at The Glenlivet; witnessed the re-opening of Tamdhu distillery and seen well-known TV and newspaper commentator Olly Smith talk about its new 10-year old whisky release; visited The Macallan, Aberlour and Mortlach; danced to the Treacherous Orchestra at Glenfiddich; eaten my way through plates of smoked salmon; and, tried more drams than I can remember.

Glenlivet QuaichBut on that final night, I saw why people keep coming back year after year to the region – it’s because it has a heart and soul that far surpasses just the whisky but which is instilled in each bottle.

Over the coming weeks, I will write about the distilleries and drams I visited and tried, the positives and negatives and the various characters that keep Speyside alive.

On the opening night, I was awarded the honour of International Whisky Ambassador of the Year for the festival in tandem with fellow blogger Keith Savage. I was completely blown away with shock by this honour. I don’t remember entirely what I said in thanks that evening but I know it went down the lines of being so proud to be able to talk about such a wonderful area not just because of the whisky but because of the people, because the region embodies a similar spirit to that which I grew up in Canada with.

I hope when you open your next bottle of Speyside whisky or if you get the chance to head up to the region to meet the people behind the spirit, you too get the chance to witness the conviviality of it all. I may be a Canadian, living in England, but there will always be a little part of me that feels Scottish. The festival simply cemented that for me.

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The whisky pastor of Texas

April 25, 2013 in Interviews

Wearing dusty green trousers, ruby red cowboy boots and braces over a blue jean shirt, Balcones founder and head distiller Chip Tate addresses a room of captivated listeners. The way he speaks – clearly, logically with power and perfect emphasis – one could mistake him for a pastor, if it weren’t for the outfit.

And, if the fates had been different, Chip could have ended up proselytising about God instead of whisky. Having done a post-grad in Divinity, it was once a possible path in his life.

The way things have gone, however, means he’s now spreading the good word of the dram, rather than that of the Bible. The fact he’s named one of his products Brimstone and another Resurrection may be of note.

Chip is one of those people you can speak with for hours. In fact, my interview with the maker of the only single malt whisky in Texas went so quickly I lost track of time and found myself blurting out a list of questions we’d not gotten to in our hour long chat.

During that time we discussed not only whisky but life, work and the fates, transitioning from one topic to the other as seamlessly as one sip of a good whisky goes down after the next.

But let’s rewind to the beginning of the bottle. As background, Chip started Balcones in 2008. Five years later, with seven products on the market, it’s becoming a bit of a cult whisky producer, with those who love what he’s doing and those who are slightly perplexed (ask people about Brimstone, for instance, and you’ll get a varied response).

Chip had a varied life path. He studied physics and philosophy as an undergrad, then moved onto divinity in his post-grad. He’s worked in engineering, as an assistant dean for undergraduate enrollment and started a tech company. In between, he managed to study brewing and distilling, which first piqued his interest in this field.

While brewing was on the back of his mind since 2000, his life took him to these different roles. In the midst of his first marriage breaking up, he concluded he had to make a change.

“I realised it was fine working hard on something but that what I was working at wasn’t my first love. I realised it was time to press the reset button because in 20 years time I might wake up and wonder where the hell I was,” he said.

With the thought of brewing already in his mind, he decided to take things to the next step and look at building a distillery, plunging himself feet first into the project and building the distillery in Waco, Texas, from scratch on a rather, shall we say, limited budget.

“Looking back I was crazy. We had $100,000 to do everything, for building, for the equipment, for the land; I’d never even welded before. As much as I realised it was a gutsy move it’s like a lot of things in life: you look back and only then do you realise how gutsy it was,” he explained.

During the building, Chip not only learned to weld and constructed his final stills by hand, but began deeply studying the intricate ins and outs of whisky making. Part of that came during an internship at Bruichladdich under the tutelage of Jim McEwan, and part of it came from an insatiable desire to learn intricate details of everything, something he no doubt picked up from his nuclear engineer father and encouraging mother during his childhood in Virginia.

For instance, on the topic of why he loves baking (which helped him form a love of yeast and therefore brewing) he said: “My poor mother. It all started when she wanted to teach me to not be useless in the kitchen because my father was. I then became slightly obsessed with bread making. So I did a lot of baking before brewing because it’s all about technique, technique, technique.”

And while Chip said he recognises now how crazy his initial idea was, he said he didn’t want to take the bigger risk of not trying.

“I’ve never met someone who’s taken a shot at something and, even if they’ve failed, actually regretted at least trying,” he said.

But, he added that it has not been an easy route to success.

“There were times when we were down to $300 in the chequing account. It’s really fricken hard building an independent distillery,” said Chip. “But I don’t want to sound too surprised because I’m betting my family’s future on it.”

And while things are on the up (including, outside of the whisky distilling the fact he’s become a father in the past year as well), it doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing now he’s more established. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how he can have such a calm exterior when he speaks of it.

“We’re often chasing our tails trying to manage. There’s a little bit of a triage aspect to it all. We still hand carry 1000 pounds of grain to the mash and hand stir it with a two foot paddle. We’re currently at technology from about 1600; we’re not looking into technology from 1875.”

The distillery will be doubling capacity to boost the current output of six thousand litres annually but Chip will still stick to the methods that make it distinctly craft-like, such as using yard aged casks that cost ten times as much as normal ex-bourbon ones and making their whisky with corn.

As the fates would have it, Chip chose a good time to get involved in craft distilling, which has helped lead the company to win 47 international awards for the various products such as Balcones True Blue, Baby Blue, Brimstone and Resurrection.

“I was aware of what was going on in craft distilling and that I was surfing this wave, but I was fortunate that all the various fates brought me to the moment I launched, which was also a good moment for craft distilling,” he added.

And what the distilling fates will bring, Chip of course does not yet know. But in the meantime he will keep spreading the riveting word of what he does to all who will listen. And, of course, do a little bit of celebrating, which is currently being bottled in the form of Balcones 5th Anniversary edition.

“Part of it is a celebration of where we’ve come from and a celebration for surviving, but also a promise of what’s to come,” he concluded.

The Balcones 5th Anniversary edition will be available on an extremely limited basis. For more information about pricing and release date, contact Emily Harris on emily.harris@mayfox.co.uk or Amanda Ludlow at the Great Whisky Company on amanda@greatwhisky.co.uk.

For more information about Balcones, check out this post I wrote here or visit the website here.

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St Patrick’s Day tipple: Black Bush Whiskey

March 17, 2013 in Events, Reviews

It’s funny how you can taste a whiskey and then, months later, forget you have tried it.

This is what happened to me with Black Bush Irish Whiskey from Bushmills. When the idea of a “flash blog” – in which bloggers around the world would write about one whiskey for St Patrick’s Day – was put forward by Johanne McInnis (aka: Whisky Lassie), and the decision for all of us to write about Black Bush was finalised, I thought: “Perfect! I’ve not yet tried that.”

As it happens, I have. It was imbibed at a Whisky Squad tasting last year. I even wrote about it here.

Whether this means I’m becoming worryingly forgetful or drinking too much whiskey, is yet to be determined.

But, the other point is that it is always key to come back to a dram more than once because if you tend to like your whiskey (or whisky) and drink quite a few of them it can be great to refresh your brain (and palate) with its flavours.

And so, this is what I did – began reminding myself of its history and flavours.

To give you some background, Black Bush is a blended whiskey from the Bushmills distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and is owned by Diageo. It is considered one of the oldest whiskey distilleries in the world, with an initial license apparently granted in 1608 by King James I (hence why each bottle carries the ’1608′ label).

Its range includes the aforementioned Black Bush and Bushmills (also a blend) along with the 10, 16 and 21-year old single malts and a new flavoured honey whiskey.

If I’m honest, while I know the name well it is not a whiskey company I have come across often on my dram journey. While many other Irish whiskey brands have been throwing themselves out there with renovations and investment (Midleton, for instance, with a €100 million investment plan ongoing), Bushmills hasn’t been in the news as much.

Interestingly, in his book Whisky Opus, author Dominic Roskrow writes: “Diageo’s strategy for the Northern Irish distillery has been at best baffling and some whisky fans feel Bushmills has been let down. True, investment was made and capacity increased, but while many Irish whiskey stars have been shining brightly of late, Bushmills hasn’t been among them.”

But he continues: “Today Bushmills makes a range of whiskeys, none of which is anything less than excellent. Indeed, the rich and sherried ‘Black Bush’ has given Jameson a run for its money in the past. Drinking any Bushmills in the warmth of the distillery is one of the whisky world’s greatest pleasures.”

It is, therefore, now firmly on my list to get to know better. And, also on my list to visit, since I’ve not been to Northern Ireland yet on my travels.

But, back to the whiskey. This St Patrick’s Day you’ll be hearing a heck of a lot more about Bushmills if you’re tuned into the ‘blogger-verse’ as there are a whole schwak of us writing about Black Bush today.

Now, onto the whiskey and what it actually tastes like.

The whiskey is available globally and is normally very reasonably priced (around £20-£25 in the UK). It is made from a majority of single malt -  matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks for between 7-10 years – and grain whiskey.

Here are my new notes on this dram:

Bushmills Black Bush: Blended Whiskey: 40% ABV:

(C): Amber

(N): Initial marzipan thickness with notes of honey and stewed berries (blackcurrent and blackberry), along with a side of raspberries in full summer ripeness. Slightly grainy (I could imagine chewing this just from the nose) with dashes of lemon icing and coffee grounds that come through on second smell, cutting through some of the sweetness. Buttery and brambley. Very different from the first time I smelled it.

(P): That sweetness dissipates slightly when tasting, to – for me – be replaced by more of the bitter coffee ground notes I picked up on the nose. At first, it hints of plum puddings and raspberry cake, then blackcurrents. But that is replaced by what reminds me of the taste of chewing on bramble fruit stems and coffee beans – drying, woody, astringent. Those flavours aren’t to the extreme, mind, but I was taken aback by these heavier notes that emerged on my palate. Another sip eases those, and the fruitiness takes a bigger step to centre stage.

(F): Quite light, but with continuing aspirin-like bitter notes that rest at the back of the tongue.

So, there you have it. Black Bush is one that will have large appeal to many whiskey drinkers. It’s sweet and rich, with enough oomph to make it stand out.

And so, to conclude, on this St Patrick’s Day I hope you join me in raising a dram of Irish Whiskey wherever you are in the world.

 

 

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Dr Nick Morgan discusses new Talisker Storm whisky

February 27, 2013 in Interviews, Whisky Releases

Talisker StormRecently, Talisker took the headlines in the whisky world with the release of its new product, Talisker Storm. The whisky is meant to be a bolder step-up from its industry mainstay, the Talisker 10-year old.

As a NAS (no-age statement) release, the news got some tongues wagging about what this means for the future of age-statement whisky and why the Diageo-owned brand has taken this step.

The Storm, which took 15 months to develop, is created from a mix of rejuvenated (more on that later) and refill casks. It will be slightly pricier than the 10-year old, and is currently selling for around £40. It will be joined on the shelves with a second release – the Talisker Port Ruhige (which means King’s or Royal’s Port in Gaelic) within the next quarter.

I spoke with Dr Nick Morgan, Diageo’s head of whisky outreach, to learn more.

Why have you decided to release this now?

If you think about Talisker and the Classic Malts, the original Classic Malts were launched in 1987 – well over 20 years ago. Since then we’ve released a couple of other Talisker expressions – the 18 year old, the Distillers Edition and 57 North – but they’ve all been significantly premium versions. We’ve not launched anything in those 20 years aimed at the pocket of the mainstream Talisker consumer who makes up majority of business.

Why did you decide to go for a ‘bolder’ flavour profile?

With a liquid so distinctive as Talisker, what you don’t want to do is dumb it down. Talisker is wonderful from the commercial or marketing point of view because it really polarises people; some people hate it, some people love it and that’s a great place to be because the people that love it, really love it. If you’re offering them a drink, then you have to offer them something they will love as equally as the already extreme flavour profile of Talisker so that’s why we decided to play with something that’s going to be bolder that will accentuate the maritime characters – it’s really smoky in a way that’s far more Islay like than Skye like, but it also keeps a trademark you find in Talisker which is that fruity sweetness.

It’s available in European markets now. Any plans to release it globally?

When you plan a project like this, you plan for success so the assumption is it will be successful in western Europe and will be rolled out globally.

Some of the whisky in the make-up is matured in rejuvenated casks. Can you explain further?

Every cask has a natural life, at the end of which the wood activity is very low so if you have a cask that is on its third or fourth refill and leave it for ten years not much will happen. It’s not unique to Diageo but something we’ve done a lot of key research on is how you can bring a cask back to life. At our new cooperage at Cambus [near Alloa in south-eastern Scotland] coopers take the ends off the casks and the casks are scraped on the inside so we expose a fresh wood surface in a measured way to release the wood characters we need. After the casks have been scraped they’re then toasted over a gas flame so the fresh oak is charred. The original cask ends are then reunited with the casks and they’re ready for refilling so the cask has another life for up to 30 or 40 years.

Whiskies from rejuvenated casks have a very specific wood character in terms of nose and flavour. And whether you’re talking about putting together a recipe for a single malt or for a blend, it gives you a very specific flavour profile that you can introduce in terms of a variable for the end product. I think we’ll see more of it generally.

Will the trend of NAS whisky releases continue?

I think you will find that brands are going to release more and more expressions focusing on flavour and how that flavour is achieved – whether it’s through special types of wood, or finishing or peat or no peat – is going to be a far more dominate part of the malt whisky narrative over next five to 10 years. I think it reflects a category that is maturing and reflects consumers who are maturing and have a better understanding of what it is that distillers and blenders are trying to achieve when they release new products.

In emerging markets, age is often seen as an important factor because an older item is more expensive and, therefore, more prestigious. Will we see aged whiskies being sold to markets such as Asia and NAS whiskies saved for European markets?

It’s not quite as straight forward as that. I would point towards the huge success in emerging markets of products such as Johnnie Walker Blue Label which has no age statement. And Johnnie Walker Red Label is our biggest selling product and that has no age statement. That demonstrates that the rule is not hard and fast.

However, I think age has a greater part to play in markets where Scotch is not as understood because it gives consumers some sort of indication about what they might be buying and what they might expect. The whole practice of using age statements was about establishing the legitimacy and integrity of products being sold. I think in mature markets in Europe and North America, Scotch has gone way beyond that point. It’s far less relevant for consumers in mature markets than it is for consumers in emerging markets. But even there, with the Johnnie Walker Blue Label, it’s not essential.

Stay tuned to Miss Whisky for a review of the new release, coming soon.

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Bringing Back Blends

February 15, 2013 in Events, Reviews

At the start of this year, I made a promise to myself to try more blended whisky, a fact I wrote about on this piece on Ballatine’s and this other piece on Compass Box. I didn’t want to find myself locked in a whisky box that was only filled with knowledge of single malts, nor did I want to only be writing about that style for you, dear reader.

And so when I was recently invited to an event with Johnnie Walker that was to be all about blends, I was more than curious. The event was hosted by Diageo to launch its signature blended whisky brand’s latest Directors’ Blend – a yearly release of an extremely limited run (only 450 bottles or so) of a special Johnnie Walker blend given as gifts for employees of the whisky giant. The company has been doing this since 2008 and the new 2012 edition is its fifth run. The plan is to do a 2013 version to complete the set.

But the night was not just about the whisky itself. After all – as was questioned by a fellow guest – what point would there be in trying whisky that will never be released to the public and writing reviews about it? In fact, the evening was more about discussing blends and their importance, as Dr Nick Morgan – head of whisky outreach for Diageo – explained.

“Over 95% of whisky sales are for blends, despite the fact that in the past 20 to 30 years, a huge amount of money has been put into developing malt whisky. Yet, 95% of what is written about is about single malts, and that irks me a bit.”

It’s hard to deny him that point. The majority of pieces I read on whisky – and, as mentioned, I am no exception as I contribute to that written content – tend to be about single malt.

Dr Matthew Crow Diageo

Dr Matthew Crow, Diageo blender

Now, this isn’t entirely surprising. Whisky is generally seen as a higher end product and – while there are certainly blends that fit into this category – it is single malts that captain that space. Equally, there has been such a push on single malts recently in both the marketing and press spheres that it is no wonder blends can sometimes get forgotten about. And, finally, I think many of us have potentially had a bad experience drinking blended whiskies at a young age (I know many friends who espouse their hatred of whisky to this fact) and so single malts are seen as being less rough and more refined for the palate when we do come back to drams.

But that does not mean, in any way, shape or form, that blends should be disregarded. As I’ve been told many times by various whisky commentators: a very good blend can be enjoyed just as much as a very good single malt and there is an incredible amount of skill which goes into their creation.

The idea behind the Directors’ Blend was to showcase that skill and for the master blenders to have the chance to make something a bit different. According to Dr Matthew Crow, one of the blenders, each year has focused on a certain ‘cardinal’ – which is the Johnnie Walker term for a group of whiskies blended together to make a certain style, titled as Highland Malt, Highland Smoke, Island Smoke, Grain, Speyside Fruit and Light Lowland, each of which also has certain wood preferences. These six ‘cardinals’ are then generally blended together to create the staple Johnnie Walker blends.

The skill, then, comes from the ability of the blenders to not only decide when each cask (out of the more than seven million currently maturing for Diageo’s brands) is ready but also to manage that stock so they know they won’t, suddenly, run out of the components for Johnnie Walker Blue Label, for instance. They then have to put it all together and develop new blends – such as last year’s Johnnie Walker Platinum – to satiate an ever-growing appetite for whisky in emerging markets like Nigeria, Mexico and China.

From Matthew’s talk, it was clear all of this is no easy task. In fact, it all sounded bloody complicated – and fascinating. While in single malt, blenders have to put together stock from their own distillery to create a uniform product, in blended whisky those casks are coming from all around Scotland and each has its own style and characteristic that has to be worked together.

Now, of course, there are ‘recipe’ books for these things – the ‘cardinal’/'building block’ approach to blending has been a practice at Johnnie Walker since the late 19th century but even those would have shifted with time as certain casks (such as sherry casks) were more popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, while American ex-oak Bourbon casks didn’t become popular until after the Second World War.

The Directors’ Blends that have been released have each focused on one of the cardinals, such as the one released in 2009 that was full of sweet, salty smoke as a tribute to ‘Island Smoke’, and each was made to celebrate the skills of Johnnie Walker blenders over the years.

So, in the end, what did I think of the drams?

Well, the 2012 version was a real mix of Christmas elements like marzipan, pine needles, melted sugar and butter on the nose. On the palate, a tropical vanilla and sugary sweet fruit emerged before a slightly bitter finish capped things off.

My favourite was the 2011, however, which used a mix of casks including some new American oak ones. On the nose I was reminded of fresh springtime flowers, cedar chests and a woodshop in the crisp spring air. It had a fantastic sweetness I characterise as an outdoorsy sweetness. On the palate, there was a dash of cinnamon and new wood, oak-aged Calvados, and a nuttiness that was akin to raw almonds. It was, for me, a springtime dram that brought back memories of life on my Canadian farm as a child: partially frozen mud, fresh daffodils, warm sunshine and hay that’s been around all winter combined with the smell of the inside of the cedar chest that sat in our lounge. With a bit of water, a dash of chocolate covered ginger emerged for me.

In the end, I was once again shown that blends can be complex, intriguing and a hell of a lot of work to put together. I don’t doubt there will be naysayers among you or those that feel blends are simply products pumped out by large companies to make a profit. But, I’m finding myself impressed more and more often and I look forward to sharing my continued discovery of blends with you.

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Lady of the Glen Single Cask Whisky

February 1, 2013 in Reviews

Recently, I wrote about a new independent single cask whisky company on the block called Lady of the Glen, which you can read all about here.

In short, the company was started by Gregor Hannah (who is also a bagpiper) in Fife. He will be bottling only single cask whiskies and currently has two to offer in his range: a 24-year old Invergordon and a 14-year old Benrinnes.

As I have written about before, I am a big fan of single cask whiskies (or, at least the ones I am familiar with) and normally experience them through the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I was, therefore, intrigued to learn of a young whisky aficionado who had spent three years setting up his own single cask bottling company.

I have tried both of his first whisky releases and here are my thoughts on each.

Invergordon: 24-year old: 56%:

(c): Golden mustard

(n): To start, there was LOADS of vanilla and cream, akin to chewy vanilla pods that are desperate to jump right out of the glass. When I added water to help ease that 56% bite, notes of milk chocolate came through in addition.

(p): This was a really spicy whisky without any water (not entirely a surprise) with loads of ginger and lemon flavours. Without water, it wasn’t as multidimensional as I might have expected but it was pleasant. With water, a lovely oiliness came to the surface and there were notes of vanilla, chewy lemon peel and fleshy fruits. It was much easier to handle with water but had a touch of a bitterness that I’m not a massive fan of – but I am really sensitive to any bitter notes, so this will be heightened on my palate.

(f): Without water, this had a thick gingerbread and licorice finish but with water, that heavy flavour eased and more fruity, peach notes came through.

BenRinnes: 14-year-old: 57.8%:

(c): Amber sunset

(n): This was very intriguing – a mix of cherries, a hint of cough syrup, oak, milk chocolate, vanilla, lemon and coconut: a full basket of ripe flavours even without water.

(p): On the palate, it was slightly drying and there was a tiny note of sulphur in there too. It was really fruity with apple, peach, fig and milk chocolate notes. I would never guess it was so strong, as the alcohol burn really didn’t come through in this one. I thought it was delicious but it could be a bit divisive with that touch of sulphur taste lingering in the background.

(f): The finish was all about dried apples. A perfect dessert!

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Big and Feisty: Getting to grips with Balcones

January 28, 2013 in Reviews

If you’ve got your ear to the ground in the whisky world, then chances are you will have heard of – if not yet tried – the products from Balcones Distillery, a craft whisky company based in Waco, Texas.

From the Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky awards, to the Wizards of Whisky awards and Best in Glass awards, Balcones has been hitting the headlines by snaffling up loads of prizes for its various products.

But, headlines aside, just what is Balcones?

Well, the distillery was founded in 2008 by a chap called Chip Tate, who had already established himself on the craft brewing scene after training as a brewer through the Institute and Guild of Brewing and Distilling’s programme back in 2002.

After deciding he wanted to focus on distilling, he founded Balcones, which is named after a large fault line that runs from the southwest of the state, through to the northern central part where Waco is.

Chip then managed to get an internship to study alongside Bruichladdich’s Jim McEwan over the summer of 2008. Following this, he headed back to the heat of Texas to build his distillery from scratch and began producing spirit in 2009, launching the first Texas whisky since Prohibition called Baby Blue, which was made from the unusual blue corn.

Since, he has gone on to launch an array of other Texas whiskies, including the True Blue, Rumble Cask Reserve, Texas Single Malt ’1′ and Brimstone brands, amongst others. He’s also recently become a father, so there seems to be little time to rest for Chip.

At last year’s Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky Awards, Balcones was named ‘Craft Distillery of the Year’, while later on in 2012, the Wizards of Whisky awards voted it the ‘US Craft Distillery of the Year’ and the Best in Glass Awards gave its Texas Single Malt ’1′ the overall winner of the year award.

I received some samples back in December and I have been pondering over them ever since. There is a reason for this and it is simply that Balcones makes whiskies that are unlike any others I’ve tried before. I needed to come back to them two or three times to get a better idea of whether I liked, loved or loathed them.

So, what conclusions have I come to?

I’ll start with the Baby Blue whisky, which comes in at 46% ABV and which is distilled from blue corn. Now, if you’ve not had blue corn chips (ie: crisps), you’ll probably have no idea what they taste like. As a child, these were a special treat in my house normally saved for the Grey Cup (that’s the Canadian [American] football championships) and the Super Bowl (American [American] football championships). Keeping up with me? Good. This whisky is certainly unusual but it’s also appealing, as I found on subsequent tastings. With a colour of Quality Street toffee coins, it has a spring-like nose of grassy fields, a forest, hay and violets, with the additions of roasted nuts, melting brown sugar and marzipan. The palate was more watery than expected at first, but it gave way to flavours of vanilla, aspartame, a hint of spearmint, and had the powdery, dusty characteristic of crumbling SweetTart candies. The finish was slightly drying, with a vegetal note. I loved the smell of this whisky but the taste, for me, was a bit underwhelming on the whole. Still, I’ve got more to try so I’ll likely come back to it again.

Next up was the Texas Single Malt ’1′, a stronger dram that comes in at 53% made in the more ‘traditional’ sense with malted barley. This one, again, perplexed me as I had very different reactions to it each time I picked it up. The first time, there were huge (read: HUGE) notes of caramel and vanilla, that burst out of the glass. The next time, I smelled more cloves, oak and chewy black licorice notes that reminded me of something from my childhood I couldn’t quite place (though a woodshop and Christmas came to mind). The third time it reminded me of the filling you put into butter tarts (find out what this Canadian food is here). Regardless, this whisky had my favourite ‘nose’ of the three I tried from Balcones. But I’m still unsure about how it sits on the palate. For me, there was a lot of fire and youngish notes to it in the mouth that weren’t as appealing though these certainly eased with water. Sitting behind that intensity, however, was a rich thick honey, oak and cherry cough syrup flavour that I really enjoyed. It has a certain acidity to the finish as well that was hard to place. I think I need to go back to it a fourth time to see how it changes yet again.

The final dram of the brand I sampled was Brimstone. Now, if ever there were a divisive whisky, this would be it for me. I’ve read a lot of good reviews and a lot of perplexed reviews about this one but the general theme is this: BBQ. It is one hell of a meaty dram in the mouth. Coming in at 53%, this whisky is smoked using a secret process involving Texas scrub oak. The first time I picked it up, all I could smell was pulled pork and a heavy scent of thyme. Unfortunately for me, the smell of thyme tends to make me nauseous because my mother used to make me drink homemade thyme tea when I had a sore throat – and I still can’t get past that smell. But the next time I tried to conquer its beastly scents, I attempted blocking out the thyme scents and instead found peppermint, bacon, wrapping paper and dusty straw fields. The palate is BBQ, BBQ, BBQ, with a touch of chocolate mole, my grandparents’ basement, the inside of a sweaty cowboy hat (I grew up in the countryside, so this was a commonly pervading smell in summer), and butter with a finish of treacle. Brimstone, like the others, is one I’ll need to explore further but I don’t know if it’ll ever win my heart. I highly recommend you try it, however, because your brain will be more confused than Homer Simpson.

And so, how do I conclude my journey with Balcones? This is a whisky brand that definitely challenges and that is a good thing, although I’d recommend getting a wee drop from friends with these bottles or tasting them at a whisky show before you invest in a bottle, simply because they are quite different. They are well worth trying and pondering over – most certainly, chameleons in a glass. And that, sometimes, can be most interesting indeed.

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Chivas cocktail warmth for snowy days

January 22, 2013 in Events

With the freezing weather hitting the UK of late, it inevitably increases the desire that I and (I’d guess) many others have in enjoying an extra dram or two to stay warm.

But, as I’ve discovered lately through my tasting of more blended whiskies, this cold weather does not only have to mean it’s time to do some drammage to your single malt collection. For whisky can be had in many forms – and the form I discovered on a snowy day of late was in using this seductive drink to make delicious cocktails that helped to keep my blood stream moving fast enough to shut out the chills.

On the top floor of China Town’s new Opium Cocktail and Dim Sum Parlour (a fab little joint put together by bar superstar Dre Masso), I joined two of the super cool chaps (Niran from Yin & Yang and Anthony from Ape to Gentleman) for a bit of cocktail masterclassery. Leading the charge was Phil Huckle, UK brand ambassador for Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet.

Over a starter of dim sum, Phil explained a bit about the brand, which dates back to the 1800s. While the bottle has the date 1801 on it, this does not reflect when the company started blending but rather when a luxury grocery store was opened in Aberdeen, the owners of which would go on to make the Chivas Regal blends. Known as the “Harrods of the Highlands” the store was the place to get high-end tea, coffee and foodstuffs in the northern region. In 1841, the store first started supplying Queen Victoria’s Balmoral estate with fine foods for her visits north. The company began making its own blended whiskies in the 1850s. Strathisla distillery in Speyside – which I wrote about, here, after a visit there last year – provides much of the whisky for the blends and the company is now owned by Pernod-Ricard.

It was, according to Phil, around the same time that Chivas started making blends that the golden age of cocktails began – primarily in the US but also in Paris and London. The Chivas blends became popular for use in cocktail making, he told us, and that is an idea that holds through to today.

“I think Chivas is a lot more versatile when it comes to the blends. You can pretty much make any whisky cocktail from it,” he said.

As a Speyside blend, one can understand why – its more delicate flavours fuse with various ingredients in cocktails in an unassuming manner that neither overwhelms the palate nor disappears on it.

After stuffing ourselves on dim sum, we stood back and watched Phil at work as he made six different whisky cocktails from either Chivas 12 or 18.

There were three classics to start: a powerful Rob Roy made with Chivas 12, followed by a Morning Glory Fizz (a delicious hangover cure from the late 19th century, also made with the Chivas 12) and the Blood & Sand made with Chivas 18, which dates back to 1923. All were delectable, but my favourite was the final one. Made from a combination of whisky, fresh orange juice, sweet vermouth (in this case, Antica Formula) and cherry Heering, the Blood & Sand is just the right side of sweet while still be refreshing and powerful. Named after the film of the same title starring silent film heartthrob, Rudolph Valentino, this cocktail is sure to get you feeling fresh and feisty, even when the temperature drops below freezing.

These were followed by three modern cocktails – the Regal Roy, Highland Cosmo and Gallantry. My favourite? The Highland Cosmo. While I normally shy away from the cocktail made famous by Sex & the City, I was drawn to this version because the Chivas 18 made it much richer with loads of thick texture.

So, how can you make these drinks at home if you’re feeling a bit too cold for comfort?

The recipes are as follows:

Blood & Sand:

25ml Chivas 18
25ml fresh OJ
25ml sweet Vermouth
25ml Cherry Heering
Orange twist

Combine the ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain in cocktail glass and serve.

Highland Cosmo:

40ml Chivas 18
20ml Chambord
40ml Cranberry
15ml fresh lime juice
Dash orange bitters

Combine the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into cocktail glass and serve.

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Round the world in 6 whiskies

January 2, 2013 in Uncategorized

As many whisky lovers may know, the growth of drams from places other than Scotland, the USA and Ireland is ever increasing.

What does this mean?

Well, for me, it equates to an even greater pool of potentially great drams to pick from – no bad thing. It also means that even if I’ve attended a few tastings with world whiskies, there are always new options that I come across.

The most recent of these events was put on by whisky writer Ian Buxton at The Whisky Exchange near London Bridge.

I brought along one of my newest converts to whisky – Miss Andrea – to help me out in tasting drams from as far afield as Taiwan along with a group of other whisky lovers, such as Billy Abbott (ie: @cowfish).

We started the night on the English Whisky Company’s Chapter 6 release. This 46% whisky was the first official release from its St George’s distillery in Norfolk, and came onto store shelves in 2010. It is a light-straw coloured dram, with notes of marzipan, lemon, vanilla, pink peppercorns, paint and straw on the nose. The palate was slightly bolder, with spring, floral flavours to start and a peppery vanilla burst midway through the sip. Notes of strawberries dipped in caramel also came through.

Our taste buds next headed more than 4,200 miles westwards to Bardstown, Kentucky and the Heaven Hill distillery to try some Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey. Ian told us he enjoys this dram because of its value for money – coming in at around £22, it is a very cost-effective bottle. Now, I’m not a massive fan of rye – the bread or the drams made from it. But this was an intriguing whiskey regardless with loads of clove-like spice and a hint of sweet peach lingering in the background of the nose. The palate, meanwhile, was bursting with peppermint caramels. It was a refreshing dram but I think I would prefer it as a base of a cocktail, rather than just drinking it straight.

Ian Buxton takes us through the world whiskies.

For dram number three, we headed back east across the Atlantic to Ireland to sample some Writers Tears whiskey, which is made from a vatting of single pot still and malt whiskies and comes from the Midleton distillery near Cork. The nose was warming and welcoming – it reminded me of two (nearly unexplainable) things: firstly, the smell of warm haystacks and a cat’s furr (cat owners who’ve ever picked up their furry friend when they’ve been sat in the sunshine might understand what I mean); and, secondly, there was a dash of caramel apple pops, which are a North American sweet. The palate was sticky and sweet, with loads of apple flavours and a heavy oiliness that coated the mouth. It finished on honey and hay notes. It was mine and Miss Andrea’s second favourite of the night.

Miss Andrea enjoys a dram.

Whisky number four took us over St George’s Channel into Wales to the Penderyn distillery near the Brecon Beacons. The Penderyn Madeira was most definitely the most divisive whisky of the night, with one outspoken observer declaring it the worst whisky he’d ever tried. I was not so angered by it. In fact, I didn’t mind it – it just wasn’t quite up there with the others. The nose was full of bananas and pineapple and the palate was sweet and spicy, with notes of peach and cinnamon and a bitter finish.

The most anticipated whisky of the night for me was Kavalan Single Malt, part of the collection from the first Taiwanese distillery, Kavalan, which produces nine million bottles a year. The distillery has been in operation since 2005 and has won numerous awards in its short lifetime. It is also a hugely popular visitor destination, garnering upwards of (a whopping) 7,000 visitors a day. The Single Malt is a gentle, well-balanced dram with notes of apples, pineapple and vanilla, while the palate reminded me of more of an Irish style, with light notes of lemons, honey and almonds. It was very pleasant but not outstanding. I’m keen to try the others in the range as I’ve heard they’re more exciting.

The final dram of the night was the powerhouse cask strength Ardbeg Uigeadail, a popular malt for good reason. The nose bursts with brine, and sweeter BBQ prawns, plus a wafting fresh smoky air scent. The palate has a great chewiness, with a real caramel sweetness that shines through the smoke. It’s joined by brown sugar and lemon pie notes, before being topped off with a grassy finish. Both Miss Andrea and I swooned over this dram – a definite favourite of the night.

And although we loved the last dram from more traditional Scotland, it was a fantastic look into a set of whiskies from across the globe. It excites me every time I am able to try such a range from other countries and seems to be yet another bit of proof that whisky is taking over the world!

 

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Drams of 2012: Part 2

December 30, 2012 in Uncategorized

In my last piece – Drams of 2012: Part 1 - I revealed the first of my top drams for the year 2012.

They were chosen not only because of the fact that I loved them when I first tried them, but also because they stuck out in my brain and had flavours and characteristics that I could easily recall months later. While there have been many an amazing dram I’ve sampled this year, those first four stood out for those reasons.

But, those were not the only drams that really struck a chord with me. As mentioned in Part 1, I am choosing my Top 7 drams of the year. As such, there are three others still to go.

As per the last post, I would love for you to get in touch on Twitter (@themisswhisky), in the Comment section below or on email at info@misswhisky.com – and let me know what drams really rocked your 2012.

Here are my final three top drams (plus a “Special Mention”) for the year 2012, in order of when I first tried them:

Dram #5 – Tomatin 30: 46%:

I had not come across Tomatin before this year’s Whisky Exchange show in October. But, I arrived this year with the goal of tasting only whiskies I’d not had before. Spotting the Tomatin stand, I headed there first of all and asked UK Sales Manager, Alastair, to take me through the whole collection.

To say I was quickly won over is an understatement. I loved most of what was on the stand. But my stand-out dram of the company’s releases was definitely the Tomatin 30.

After the show, I wrote the following: “Only 1,500 bottles of the 30 year old are released annually. It is bottled at 46%. It was, as it turns out, one of my favourite of the whiskies I tried that day. On the nose it was full of banana peels, mango, pineapple and vanilla. On the palate, there was a crescendo of tropical fruits: pineapple, cherry syrup, mango and a light spiciness. It was beautiful and so sprightly for a 30-year old. Very impressive indeed. It’s £122 so not one to run out and grab, but if you’ve got a Christmas wishlist I recommend.”

As Christmas is now over, I’d recommend adding it to your birthday list. Or your “I’m saving up for a whisky” list. At the listed price, it’s an exceptional price for a 30-year old whisky. And well worth trying or buying, I’m certain.

Dram #6 – Kariuzawa 1984: 64.5%:

I sometimes love whiskies that really puzzle me on first trying them. This Kariuzawa – from the now closed distillery – definitely fit the category of – “I’m puzzled but in a good way that means I love this whisky.”

I sampled this dram also at The Whisky Exchange’s show in October. In keeping with the theme of “trying only drams I’d not had before” I stepped up to The Number One Drinks stand (the chaps who distribute this whisky) and asked to try everything. Edward Bates – a company ambassador – was up for the challenge and took me through the lot.

Here’s what I wrote about it at the time: “In telling us about this whisky, Ed said it was full of: “Really linear, bang, bang, bang flavours.” I have an even stranger note, taken after my first sip: “It’s like a rainbow; my tongue’s on fire.” I remember very clearly wanting to write that down to try and explain the whisky, although I’m not sure that will make any sense to anyone reading this.

To give you a (potentially) clearer picture, this 64.5% whisky is a friendly punch to the nose – it explodes with orange, nutmeg, sherry and citrus notes. On the palate, without water it was quite woody, and I found that citrus note pulling through once more, featuring a yuzu flavour (which is a Japanese citrus fruit often made into a delectable sauce). With water, it was much gentler and easier to grab a hold of. “It’s just beautiful,” I added in my notes. A favourite of the day for me.”

Dram #7 – Smokehead Extra Black 18-year old: 46%:

The more I drink whisky, the more I come to enjoy smokier flavours. Five years ago, you wouldn’t have seen me dare go near one; even two years ago I approached only with caution. Now, I’m really coming to find ones I love.

For me this year the one that fit the bill was the Smokehead Extra Black 18-year old, which I sampled during a whisky tasting at The Caledonian hotel in Edinburgh.

Here’s what I thought: “This whisky was launched in 2009 and follows up from the 2006 release of the first Smokehead. There are 6,000 bottles released annually. It comes in a black bottle with contemporary silver writing, making it stand out in comparison to the other bottles on any whisky shelf. It is bottled by Ian McLeod distillers but the origins of the whisky are not revealed. I’ve heard talk it is an Ardbeg, and others have said it might be a Caol Ila.

Regardless of its origins, it is definitely one to try. On the nose, there is a huge waft of peat that is balanced out by lemon peel, passion fruit and rosemary notes. Then, in the mouth, it really explodes – it’s deliciously creamy (hinting almost at butter), with a hefty smoke that is tempered by a sticky fruit and vanilla pod sweetness that bursts mid-sip. It’s got a great, oily finish that clings to the roof of the mouth and the flavour goes on and on long after you swallow. Best of all for me, my other half – who is normally adverse to smoky whisky – really took to this one, likely because it’s not all smoke, all the time.”

This was a great example of an all-rounder smoky whisky that could just appeal to those who are easing their way into this style of dram, but which will equally be of interest to people who already enjoy it.

 

Special Mention Dram(s):

This year, I was also introduced to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which I hadn’t come across in my whisky journey before 2012. I tried dozens of drams from this fantastic single malt, single cask outfit and so I couldn’t choose just one – especially as they all come from different distilleries. Instead, I have decided to give them a special mention for providing me with some incredible drams this year, my favourites of which include the following:

  • 26.71: The Great Outdoors: a 25-year old Clynelish that “was like a warm day at the beach on the nose, with hints of butter, pineapple, almonds and starfruit, while the palate was initially spicy but then sweet. With water the dram took on chocolatey and caramalised banana notes, like a tropical beach with flambéed bananas, a salty sea breeze and sizzling BBQ prawns. It had quite a spicy, herbal aftertaste, with flavours of cumin and rosemary.”
  • 71.36: Two Seasons in a Dram: a 27-year old Glenburgie that knocks my socks off every time I drink it. Starts on the nose with apples and marzipan, with a hint of citrus and a warmth reminding me of autumn before having a palate of vanilla, banana and pineapple at the start and a slight smokiness and grassy freshness and warm floral note to finish.

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