Maltings

The end of March we took a cruise with the boys, and the ship featured a whisky bar named Maltings. Every night, at some point, we’d spend an hour or so with our favorite barman, Mitch, drinking fine whiskies from all over the globe – single malt scotches, of course, small batch bourbons, Irish whiskies, and Canadian blended whiskies.

First, the single malts – Maltings had a wide variety of malts, including several we had never tasted before. Mortlach and Springbank were both worthwhile, but unremarkable. When compared to the spectacular Highland Park 25, which we couldn’t resist at a mere $16 a pour, they didn’t leave much of an impression. However, the same can’t be said of Rosebank 22. Rosebank is a lowland malt, and the other lowlands I have tasted have not had much distinctive character, but Rosebank had a big flavor, and a hint of spice, a bit reminiscent of Talisker. Unfortunately, the Rosebank distillery closed in 1993, so the supply of this scotch is clearly limited, and perhaps as a result of that fact, it now lists retail on the net for almost $200. Despite that, Maltings only charged $8 a pour, barely more than some of the premium bar whiskies. Rosebank became John’s drink of choice, and we probably drank an appreciable fraction of the available world-wide supply by the time the ship docked at week’s end.

In recognition of Mike’s personal preference we also sampled a nice variety of fine bourbons, including the daunting George Stagg, daunting because it comes out of the bottle at an impressive 136 proof. But even though it’s almost pure alcohol, it has a wonderful flavor, very expansive, and surprisingly mellow. Also noteworthy was the Hirsch 16 year old. But the buy of the week was Jim Beam Masterpiece, which Maltings served for a mere $10 a pour. Back home, the first bar where Mike found Beam Masterpiece wanted $45 a glass. And come to find out that it retails for $300 a fifth. The guys at WhiteHouse told me they recently sold two bottles to Dan Marino. Masterpiece was a nice whisky, but Danny is overpaying. If you’re reading this Dan, try Van Winkle, either the 12 year old reserve, or the 15 year old family reserve. You can probably pick up a case of the 12 for about the same price as a single bottle of Masterpiece.

One evening we drank Irish whisky, and although they lack the variety of scotches, and are typically aged for fewer than 10 years, they are all good whiskies at very reasonable prices. John says that when confronted with exorbitant prices for malts at high end city bars, he often opts for Irish whisky, which is always more affordable.

One might be inclined to dismiss the virtue of drinking whisky every night, but I beg to differ. It’s not by accident that Scotch whisky and baseball are both themes of this blog. Both are enjoyable in their own right – think of hot summer evenings, sitting under the stars, watching a ball game and enjoying a beverage and a hot dog; or think about cold and dark winter nights made warm and hospitable by a glass of scotch in front of the fireplace. More than that though, both baseball and whisky are best enjoyed in the fellowship of others, and for me, what better way than with my boys? A night at Fenway, a glass of Lagavullin in the Miracle, what a sweet memory. And the same goes for Maltings, and nights at sea.