Matthew's Whisky Blog

Quotable

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:14:28 -0500

"Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough."
- Mark Twain (American Humorist and Writer)

Monday Mixer

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:59 -0500

This one comes courtesy of Sheep Dip and The Spencerfield Spirit Company.

The Woolly Jumper
Ingredients:

5cc's of Sheep Dip Malt Whisky
1 large splash of Cointreau
1 Sugar Lump
2 drops of Angostura Bitters
Chilled Champagne
1 Frozen 10oz tumbler
1 Blood Orange Slice

Place the sugar lump in the bottom of a 10oz tumbler, add angostura to the cube and allow to steep for 30 seconds, add sheep dip, top up with chilled champagne, splash in the cointreau and top off with the ornage slice.

2007 Drammie Awards

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:24:57 -0500

The Scotch Blog is once again hosting the Drammies! The award categories are up and it's time to make your nominations. Got a whisky you think is the most over/under-rated? Make sure that they make the list.

The Dalmore 12yo

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:58:45 -0500

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a bottle of The Dalmore 12yo for a seemingly ridiculously low price. This whisky's won a number of awards, some best value nods, and the Malt Maniacs Bang-For-Your-Buck list. The Dalmore 12 is youngish and well structured, but not overly complex. Making it a great everyday kind of whisky. I shared a couple of drams with my buddy Daniel, then spent the remainder of the bottle at a reception for some visiting philosophers. While there were plenty of other whiskies to chose among it was The Dalmore alone that got killed that night.

My Tasting Notes
Color: golden amber (they add coloring)
Nose: sweet nuttiness and light caramel
Palate: sweet citrus and a hint of oak
Finish: mellow dried fruits

As I said above this is a well balanced malt suitable for everyday affairs. It would be a nice whisky to use as a baseline when introducing new drinkers to the joys of Scotch whisky.

Whisky Sells for $54,000

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:29:29 -0500

Max Goss pointed out to me that Christie's auction house sold one bottle of 1926 Macallan Scotch for a mere $54,000. Bargain basement pricing! A number of news sources are reporting that this is an 81yo bottle of Scotch, which is kind of true. The Macallan 1926 was bottled in 1986 as a 60yo, which halts the maturation process. This isn't the first thim that a bottle of has gone for a mint. In 1991 a bottle went for £6,375 at auction and in 2002 another went for £20,150.

To my mind the real winner of the auction (aside from Christie's) is the person who landed the collection of 729 bottles of whisky for $102,000. That's an instant whisky library of some depth for the price of two bottles of the Macallan 1926.

Whisky Humor

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:04:02 -0500

A drunk gets brought before a judge. The judge looks down at the drunk and says, "You've been brought here for drinking whisky." The drunk says "Okay, let's get started."

Congratulations Max

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:42:20 -0500

Congratulations to friend and commenter Maxwell Goss on having his essay "Bourbon and Loyalty" accepted for publication in the forthcoming Whisk(e)y & Philosophy volume. In his essay Max argues that Americans, as a general matter, ought to prefer bourbon whiskey to its cousins from over the pond. (I hope that I'm not revealing to much, but you might guess as much from the title of the essay.) I have a lot sympathy for Max's thesis because he is of course correct. As much as I like Scotch whisky, I have to admit that I'm a Kentucky boy at heart. Scotch is an adventure that I've been enjoying for a number of years, but bourbon is where I come home to rest.

Spencerfield Spirit

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:56:31 -0500

I've just discovered that Spencerfield Spirit has a blog dedicated to, among other things, their two whiskies Sheep Dip and Pigs Nose. I've yet to try the later, but the Sheep Dip was in fact my first introduction to Scotch whisky. Sheep Dip is that some what rare item known as a vatted malt, or blended malt, which is a marriage of various single malts. (The most well known of this group would is likely Johnny Walker Green.) This all has me thinking I should pick up a bottle for the holidays. In the mean time check out the site. They have a nice Flickr site full of pictures as well.

Aberlour a'bunadh

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:24:57 -0500

This past summer I had the opportunity to reconnect with a very good friend while stopping over in Knoxville, Tennessee. Part of that reconnection included an introduction to an excellent single malt whisky. Without a doubt, there are few things better than sharing a superior drink with an old friend. If you ever find yourself in Knoxville, and in need of a nice bottle of whisky, let me recommend that you check out McScrooge’s. The selection is fairly deep, though the knowledge of the staff can be fairly spotty. After some serious deliberation we settled on a bottle of Aberlour a'bunadh batch #18.

The a’bunadh (pronounced, a-boon-akh) is a unfiltered cask strength single malt whisky. At cask strength this whisky is about 59.8% alcohol, or nearly 120 proof! The Gaelic sourced name “a’bunadh” means something like “original”. Rumor has it that the a’bunadh is an attempt to recreate an older malt discovered in the distillery. I don’t know whether there is any truth to the rumor, but the a’bunadh is a closer replica of historic malts in that it is both unfiltered and bottled at cask strength.

My tasting notes:
Color: Dark copper.
Nose: Strong sherry, woody
Palate: Sherry pervades, very spicy and, without water, alcoholic. It opens up more with a touch of water; offering dried fruits and hints of caramel.
Finish: the sherry lingers on...

An interesting evening would be comparing the differences between batch #18 to earlier batches. unfortunately my pockets are not so deep.

Quotable

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:18:52 -0500

"So long as the presence of death lurks with anyone who goes through the simple act of swallowing, I will make mine whiskey."
-W.C. Fields

Whisk(e)y & Philosophy

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 18:42:27 -0500

Whisky and philosophy. Some might say that these two pastimes are better when enjoyed together. In this spirit we announce a call for abstracts that celebrates the relationship of whisky to philosophy and vice versa. The prospective book would be part of Blackwell’s “Epicurean Philosophy Series,” which includes Wine & Philosophy, Food & Philosophy, and Beer & Philosophy.

We are pleased to announce that all of these titles will be released in November of this year. The proposed volume, Whisk(e)y & Philosophy, would mark the second generation of this series. If you are interested in submitting work to this project, bear in mind that these books are meant to be accessible to the general public and so the essays are not designed to be overly technical. They can, however, incorporate serious philosophical reflection on the relationship between whisky and philosophy. We are open to suggestions for paper topics, but some general recommendations have been included below.

If you are interested in submitting work to this project, bear in mind that these books are meant to be accessible to the general public and so the essays are not designed to be overly technical. They can, however, incorporate serious philosophical reflection on the relationship between whisky and philosophy. We are open to suggestions for paper topics, but some general recommendations have been included below.

Monday Mixer

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:54:57 -0500

Blinder
Ingredients:

2oz Scotch
5oz Grapefruit juice
1tsp Grenadine

Fill a highball glass with ice, then pour the scotch and grapefruit juice over the ice. Finish by dropping the grenadine into the center of the drink.

Taking Stock of Things

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:07:35 -0500

Classes have finally started, which marks the end of summer for me, so it's time to rededicate myself to some blogging. Having recently moved to the Chicago area I've discovered some great sources for whisky in the area. Sam's Wines & Spirits has an incredible selection of over 200+ Scotch whiskies, including plenty of independent bottlings. Besides great liquor stores there are fantastic pubs such as The Duke of Perth with a menu of over 70 single malts. I'll have more to say about the pub down the road, but I thought I'd post a list of my own current stock.

Lagavulin 16yo
Laphroaig "Quarter Cask"
Old Pulteney 12yo
Glen Moray 12yo
Tomatin 12yo
Glenfiddich "Special Reserve" 12yo
Auchentoshan "Select"
Bowmore "Legend"
John, Mark, and Robbo's "The Smokey Peaty One"
John, Mark, and Robbo's "The Smooth Sweeter One"

I'll hope to post tasting notes on all of these in the coming weeks, plus I have notes for a couple of cask strength Scotches Aberlour "A'bunadh" and Ardbeg "Uigeadail". Then I'll have some upcoming purchases which include The Dalmore 12yo, The Dalmore "Cigar Malt", Tobermory 10yo, and the Bowmore 12yo.

Monday Mixer

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:41:40 -0500

Scotch Cobbler
Ingredients:

2oz Scotch
¼ tsp Brandy
¼ tsp Curacao
1 slice Orange
1 sprig of Mint

In an old-fashioned glass, pour scotch, brandy, and curacao over ice and the orange slice. Top with the mint sprig, and serve.

Oban 14yo

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:45:32 -0500

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I hadn't tasted this fine whisky until last week. A good friend and drinking buddy used to make frequent mention of Oban and its virtues, but at the time we were never able to lay our hands on a bottle. Happily I was able to order a generous dram with dinner at the Merrick Inn. (I had the simply fantastic Walleye Pike.) Four years later I've discovered that I've been missing out on a great whisky.

My tasting notes:

Color: light amber/new penny
Nose: fruit and cereal with light peaty notes
Palate: spiced fruits, a bit of oak, and a curl of peat smoke
Finish: long with a warm spiciness

Boswell and Johnson visited a "tolerable inn" in the coastal town of Oban during their 1773 tour to the Hebrides. The small distillery would be founded 21 years later by the Stevenson brothers in 1794; making this one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. In fact the town that exists today grew up around the distillery. The still house was rebuilt in 1972, but retained the broad-necked pair of steam heated stills. Curiously, Oban also employs a rectangular double worm-tub, which is the only one I've heard of in operation. Sadly the floor maltings closed in 1968 although it is still in place and listed as a historic building.