Starting the Year off Right
It’s a new month, a new year, and what better way to start things off than to pontificate about a bunch of new scotches? Not new in the sense that the distiller just brought them to market, but new in the sense that they have recently arrived in our liquor cabinet. And really, what good is a scotch if it isn’t in the cabinet?
Bruichladdich 17: We’re big fans of the laddie, as regular readers of this blog would know. Everyone picked up a bottle of the 15 for Chanukah, as the 15 was the crowd favorite at the tasting last fall. The 17 is perhaps a tad smoother, but the same big taste, an explosion of flavor, with an understated shade of peat for the base. I’m not sure it would be worth whatever extra dough the 17 would cost, particularly in light of the fact that the 15 is so good. But certainly, one would never refuse a glass of the 17. Funny thing about Bruichladdich is that it’s real tough to find out. In fact, I’m not sure I can recall a single bar that features this scotch, in any version.
Lagavulin, Distiller’s Edition. The bomb. I first found this malt in Toronto, at a couple bars that carry good collections of malts. A bartender explained that, at bottling time, the distiller tastes from all the casks, to make sure they are up to proper standards, and in the process, if he finds a cask that is exceptional, it gets put aside for this special distiller’s edition. That sounded like a fine theory, until the next bartender explained that it was double distilled. I don’t think so. But then we picked up a bottle at the duty free, when returning to the States, and the label says this is double matured. And I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find out from the web exactly what is up. In any event, whatever is going on is working just fine. This malt is even smoother and more velvety than the regular Lagavulin 16, already a personal favorite. And the flavor is enormous. Vast. A vast flavor to this malt. (I still recall my third grade teacher, when instructing us on vocabulary, explaining that while many words meant big, we had to pick the right one for each occasion. For example, you’d never say you had a vast pudding for dessert. Maybe not, but this malt does have a vast flavor.) More good news is that it really wasn’t much more expensive than the regular 16. And of course the real good news is that Lagavulin is far more available this year than in the past. So one needn’t save it for special occasions, but can now drink it whenever.
Glenmorangie 10. Breakfast scotch. When we went to the Bruichladdich tasting , Andrew, from the distillery, explained that the scotch folk have a glass of laddie 10 with their breakfast, and then move to the heartier 14 and 15 later in the day. Just joking, that Andrew. But I have concluded that there is a grain of truth to what Andrew had to say. For example, the big Islay malts are really better after dinner, after one’s palate has been bombarded with a variety of flavors. And before the meal, a lighter scotch is better. Or if one is out for the evening, it would be best to start light and then move to the heavier and stronger malts, as the night progressed. So for starting out light, Glenmorangie 10 is perfect. It has a mild, slightly citrus flavor, and is surprisingly smooth for a ten. And cheap, as far as malts are concerned. I’ve been finding it regularly in the $32 to $33 range.
Highland Park 25. I only get to report on this magnificent scotch because Danny got a bottle for Chanukah. It was spectacular. Highland Park is made on Orkney Island, north of Scotland, in what is reputed to be the northernmost distillery in the world. I think that means that the Coriolus force is less there than anywhere else in the world, thus causing as little interference with the distilling process as possible. Andrew claimed it tastes like the Islay scotches, but he’s wrong. It tastes like a hearty highland, but has a suggestion of peat somewhere in the background. I’ve been a fan of the 18, which is wonderfully smooth and flavorful, and a decent buy for an 18. But the 25 was off the chart. Or as Joe Garagiola once said before the world series: “The chemistry tonight is right off the Richter scale!” You can’t really measure how smooth and flavorful this was. Poor Danny doesn’t know that when he was in the lavatory last night, I emptied the 25 into an old Hennessey bottle, and refilled it with a mixture of iced tea, grain alcohol, and liquid smoke. Happy New Year Danny.
Bruichladdich 17: We’re big fans of the laddie, as regular readers of this blog would know. Everyone picked up a bottle of the 15 for Chanukah, as the 15 was the crowd favorite at the tasting last fall. The 17 is perhaps a tad smoother, but the same big taste, an explosion of flavor, with an understated shade of peat for the base. I’m not sure it would be worth whatever extra dough the 17 would cost, particularly in light of the fact that the 15 is so good. But certainly, one would never refuse a glass of the 17. Funny thing about Bruichladdich is that it’s real tough to find out. In fact, I’m not sure I can recall a single bar that features this scotch, in any version.
Lagavulin, Distiller’s Edition. The bomb. I first found this malt in Toronto, at a couple bars that carry good collections of malts. A bartender explained that, at bottling time, the distiller tastes from all the casks, to make sure they are up to proper standards, and in the process, if he finds a cask that is exceptional, it gets put aside for this special distiller’s edition. That sounded like a fine theory, until the next bartender explained that it was double distilled. I don’t think so. But then we picked up a bottle at the duty free, when returning to the States, and the label says this is double matured. And I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find out from the web exactly what is up. In any event, whatever is going on is working just fine. This malt is even smoother and more velvety than the regular Lagavulin 16, already a personal favorite. And the flavor is enormous. Vast. A vast flavor to this malt. (I still recall my third grade teacher, when instructing us on vocabulary, explaining that while many words meant big, we had to pick the right one for each occasion. For example, you’d never say you had a vast pudding for dessert. Maybe not, but this malt does have a vast flavor.) More good news is that it really wasn’t much more expensive than the regular 16. And of course the real good news is that Lagavulin is far more available this year than in the past. So one needn’t save it for special occasions, but can now drink it whenever.
Glenmorangie 10. Breakfast scotch. When we went to the Bruichladdich tasting , Andrew, from the distillery, explained that the scotch folk have a glass of laddie 10 with their breakfast, and then move to the heartier 14 and 15 later in the day. Just joking, that Andrew. But I have concluded that there is a grain of truth to what Andrew had to say. For example, the big Islay malts are really better after dinner, after one’s palate has been bombarded with a variety of flavors. And before the meal, a lighter scotch is better. Or if one is out for the evening, it would be best to start light and then move to the heavier and stronger malts, as the night progressed. So for starting out light, Glenmorangie 10 is perfect. It has a mild, slightly citrus flavor, and is surprisingly smooth for a ten. And cheap, as far as malts are concerned. I’ve been finding it regularly in the $32 to $33 range.
Highland Park 25. I only get to report on this magnificent scotch because Danny got a bottle for Chanukah. It was spectacular. Highland Park is made on Orkney Island, north of Scotland, in what is reputed to be the northernmost distillery in the world. I think that means that the Coriolus force is less there than anywhere else in the world, thus causing as little interference with the distilling process as possible. Andrew claimed it tastes like the Islay scotches, but he’s wrong. It tastes like a hearty highland, but has a suggestion of peat somewhere in the background. I’ve been a fan of the 18, which is wonderfully smooth and flavorful, and a decent buy for an 18. But the 25 was off the chart. Or as Joe Garagiola once said before the world series: “The chemistry tonight is right off the Richter scale!” You can’t really measure how smooth and flavorful this was. Poor Danny doesn’t know that when he was in the lavatory last night, I emptied the 25 into an old Hennessey bottle, and refilled it with a mixture of iced tea, grain alcohol, and liquid smoke. Happy New Year Danny.
posted by pops | 12:19 PM
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