Talisker Stole the Show
Danny and I went to a tasting the other night, sponsored by White House, our neighborhood purveyor, who incidentally has a terrific selection of whiskies -- malts, bourbons, Irish whiskies -- and run by the folks from Diageo. That’s a name I would not have known until G-man astutely pointed it out to me, after he had been given the M. Jackson Guide to Single Malts. We then spent time examining labels more closely, and discovered that many of our favorite malts were all Diageo products. The tasting was run by a guy named Spike McClure, a Scottish guy who grew up in Brooklyn, got into the business, learned his whisky, and apparently has spent a fair amount of time in his old country, polishing his Gaelic and visiting the distilleries. We had seen Spike at the first tasting we ever attended, and he is a very entertaining guy – wears the kilt, tells some good tales, and really loves his whisky.
The focus this night was double matured malts, whiskies finished in wine casks. First we tasted a Glenkinchie, finished in amontillado casks. Glenkinchie is a lowland scotch, one of only a couple distilleries still found in the lowlands. But perhaps the lowland distilleries have gone out of business because their whisky is not nearly as flavorful as Speyside or Island malts. Plus it had a weird flavor that I could not quite identify, given that we only had a small tasting before moving on. The amontillado finish gave it a slightly sweet taste, amontillado being a dry sherry, but this whisky was too thin for me, aside from the odd flavor I found lurking in the background.
Our next malt was Dalwhinnie, finished in Oloroso casks. I’m not usually a fan of Dalwhinnie, and Spike told us something unusual about the whisky that may explain my reaction. He says that when this whisky comes out of the still, before it goes in the casks (it’s called a newmake at this point), it’s completely undrinkable. It’s only after maturation that the whisky becomes potable. And that’s also why the basic Dalwhinnie is a 15; it needs that long in the casks to lose the disagreeable characteristics of the newmake. Spike claimed that the defining characteristic of Dalwhinnie is honey, and that this double matured went past honey into caramel and toffee. I liked this whisky, and it did have sweet overtones, but even with the sherry flavor, it was still too thin, and for my money not nearly as flavorful as other malts finished in sherry – think of Aberlour 15 or Macallan 12. Not even close.
Next we drank Cragganmore finished in port casks. I’ve had this whisky before, and have used it for introducing malts to novices at some of our big barbeques. Spike claimed that it was one of the smoothest whiskies one could buy, but that’s a bit deceptive, because it’s bottled at only 80 proof, so in part it’s softer because it lacks the alcohol, and the kick. My difficulty with this whisky is that it doesn’t match up with the basic Cragganmore 12, which is a terrific, and flavorful Speyside malt. Sometimes the second cask adds a different flavor, or a sweet finish to a malt, but in this instance, I think the process actually subtracts from the whisky.
The last double matured malt we tasted is probably my very favorite of this genre – Talisker double matured. This is a unique whisky, something really special. I am a big Talisker fan to begin with – especially in the winter months. Talisker has a big flavor, with a peaty characteristic (it’s not from Islay, but from a different island – the Isle of Skye). But beyond the flavor, Talisker has this spicy, peppery character that causes the whisky to explode on your tongue. And it’s such a big whisky that when the distiller adds additional flavors from maturing in the Amoroso sherry casks, the sherry flavor can’t subtract anything, it just adds on top. Think of a sweet and spicy barbeque sauce, where two different flavors don’t fight with each other, but instead compliment each other. That’s the effect with Talisker double matured. This unique whisky is really a treat.
But the star of the show was another Talisker, one that I’ve never tasted before—the 175th anniversary edition. I can’t remember what or who was celebrating its 175th anniversary, probably the distillery, but I sure am glad they seized on that occasion to bottle this whisky. And I learned something new – this whisky is a ‘vatting’ of Taliskers. It has no age statement on the bottle, because it’s a vatting, or mixture of several different Taliskers, all aged between 10 and 20 years. A blend is a mixture of different malt or grain whiskies, but a vatting is a mixture of different ages of the same whisky. Got it? The Talisker 175th is remarkable. Think of the big Talisker flavor with a silky smooth texture. A special occasion whisky, although I should point out that it’s not exorbitantly priced. I’m not sure of the shelf price, but at the tasting, it was offered at $70 a bottle. For a whisky this good, that’s a steal.
To finish the evening we tasted Johnny gold, and Johnny blue. Johnny gold was smoother than I recall (I had tasted it at Spike’s other tasting), but is too pricey for a blend. Smooth yes, but the flavor doesn’t compare to good malts. In fact, the flavor isn’t even as good as Johnny green. I was amazed they gave us Johnny blue at this tasting, considering that it goes for over $200 on the shelf, but I am no longer amazed by this whisky. Danny loves it, and claims it’s butter, the smoothest drinking whisky anywhere. I’ll concede the buttery texture, and I like the spicy hints in the background, probably from the 50 and 60 year old malts in the blend, but I don’t think it has even a fraction of the flavor of the great malts – think Highland Park 25, or Macallan 18, or even Lagavulin. And on this night, I thought the Talisker anniversary was every bit as smooth, and much more interesting, at one-third the price. And I recall that when the boys and I were on the cruise, and drinking at Maltings every night, we tasted Blue one evening at only $12 a glass, but after Rosebank, and HP 25, and Jim Beam Masterpiece, we thought, “What’s the big deal?” Still wondering the same thing.
Now just for the record, I also tasted a couple other malts the past week or so. In Armory Square one night we ate at Lemon Grass, a white tablecloth Thai restaurant with a very nice bar, and a big selection of malts – but mostly very old and very pricey stuff. It was fun reading the scotch menu, and the barmaid suggested a nice Macallan 25. But was I ready to spend $30 for a measured pour? I don’t think so. Instead, I had a Deanston 12, an undistinguished Highland whisky. Easy to drink, but hardly memorable. Then at Max the other night, I had a glass of something new on the bar, Pebble Beach 12. This is apparently a bottling by a company named Lombard, that seeks to trade on the golf and scotch connection. The malt is a 12 year old Speyside, which is really quite nice. Smooth, and flavorful. By coincidence, the salesman who sold Max this whisky (along with Macallan and Highland Park) was also at the bar, so I asked him who the distiller was. No idea. In fact, he seemed startled by the question. Can you imagine? Sells the whisky, but has no idea about the whisky other than what he reads on the label. Pebble Beach is a cheesy marketing concept, but really not a bad whisky- something you might find in a hotel bar, and might drink instead of Glenlivet or a blend. But not something you’d ever order if you saw Talisker back behind the bar.
The focus this night was double matured malts, whiskies finished in wine casks. First we tasted a Glenkinchie, finished in amontillado casks. Glenkinchie is a lowland scotch, one of only a couple distilleries still found in the lowlands. But perhaps the lowland distilleries have gone out of business because their whisky is not nearly as flavorful as Speyside or Island malts. Plus it had a weird flavor that I could not quite identify, given that we only had a small tasting before moving on. The amontillado finish gave it a slightly sweet taste, amontillado being a dry sherry, but this whisky was too thin for me, aside from the odd flavor I found lurking in the background.
Our next malt was Dalwhinnie, finished in Oloroso casks. I’m not usually a fan of Dalwhinnie, and Spike told us something unusual about the whisky that may explain my reaction. He says that when this whisky comes out of the still, before it goes in the casks (it’s called a newmake at this point), it’s completely undrinkable. It’s only after maturation that the whisky becomes potable. And that’s also why the basic Dalwhinnie is a 15; it needs that long in the casks to lose the disagreeable characteristics of the newmake. Spike claimed that the defining characteristic of Dalwhinnie is honey, and that this double matured went past honey into caramel and toffee. I liked this whisky, and it did have sweet overtones, but even with the sherry flavor, it was still too thin, and for my money not nearly as flavorful as other malts finished in sherry – think of Aberlour 15 or Macallan 12. Not even close.
Next we drank Cragganmore finished in port casks. I’ve had this whisky before, and have used it for introducing malts to novices at some of our big barbeques. Spike claimed that it was one of the smoothest whiskies one could buy, but that’s a bit deceptive, because it’s bottled at only 80 proof, so in part it’s softer because it lacks the alcohol, and the kick. My difficulty with this whisky is that it doesn’t match up with the basic Cragganmore 12, which is a terrific, and flavorful Speyside malt. Sometimes the second cask adds a different flavor, or a sweet finish to a malt, but in this instance, I think the process actually subtracts from the whisky.
The last double matured malt we tasted is probably my very favorite of this genre – Talisker double matured. This is a unique whisky, something really special. I am a big Talisker fan to begin with – especially in the winter months. Talisker has a big flavor, with a peaty characteristic (it’s not from Islay, but from a different island – the Isle of Skye). But beyond the flavor, Talisker has this spicy, peppery character that causes the whisky to explode on your tongue. And it’s such a big whisky that when the distiller adds additional flavors from maturing in the Amoroso sherry casks, the sherry flavor can’t subtract anything, it just adds on top. Think of a sweet and spicy barbeque sauce, where two different flavors don’t fight with each other, but instead compliment each other. That’s the effect with Talisker double matured. This unique whisky is really a treat.
But the star of the show was another Talisker, one that I’ve never tasted before—the 175th anniversary edition. I can’t remember what or who was celebrating its 175th anniversary, probably the distillery, but I sure am glad they seized on that occasion to bottle this whisky. And I learned something new – this whisky is a ‘vatting’ of Taliskers. It has no age statement on the bottle, because it’s a vatting, or mixture of several different Taliskers, all aged between 10 and 20 years. A blend is a mixture of different malt or grain whiskies, but a vatting is a mixture of different ages of the same whisky. Got it? The Talisker 175th is remarkable. Think of the big Talisker flavor with a silky smooth texture. A special occasion whisky, although I should point out that it’s not exorbitantly priced. I’m not sure of the shelf price, but at the tasting, it was offered at $70 a bottle. For a whisky this good, that’s a steal.
To finish the evening we tasted Johnny gold, and Johnny blue. Johnny gold was smoother than I recall (I had tasted it at Spike’s other tasting), but is too pricey for a blend. Smooth yes, but the flavor doesn’t compare to good malts. In fact, the flavor isn’t even as good as Johnny green. I was amazed they gave us Johnny blue at this tasting, considering that it goes for over $200 on the shelf, but I am no longer amazed by this whisky. Danny loves it, and claims it’s butter, the smoothest drinking whisky anywhere. I’ll concede the buttery texture, and I like the spicy hints in the background, probably from the 50 and 60 year old malts in the blend, but I don’t think it has even a fraction of the flavor of the great malts – think Highland Park 25, or Macallan 18, or even Lagavulin. And on this night, I thought the Talisker anniversary was every bit as smooth, and much more interesting, at one-third the price. And I recall that when the boys and I were on the cruise, and drinking at Maltings every night, we tasted Blue one evening at only $12 a glass, but after Rosebank, and HP 25, and Jim Beam Masterpiece, we thought, “What’s the big deal?” Still wondering the same thing.
Now just for the record, I also tasted a couple other malts the past week or so. In Armory Square one night we ate at Lemon Grass, a white tablecloth Thai restaurant with a very nice bar, and a big selection of malts – but mostly very old and very pricey stuff. It was fun reading the scotch menu, and the barmaid suggested a nice Macallan 25. But was I ready to spend $30 for a measured pour? I don’t think so. Instead, I had a Deanston 12, an undistinguished Highland whisky. Easy to drink, but hardly memorable. Then at Max the other night, I had a glass of something new on the bar, Pebble Beach 12. This is apparently a bottling by a company named Lombard, that seeks to trade on the golf and scotch connection. The malt is a 12 year old Speyside, which is really quite nice. Smooth, and flavorful. By coincidence, the salesman who sold Max this whisky (along with Macallan and Highland Park) was also at the bar, so I asked him who the distiller was. No idea. In fact, he seemed startled by the question. Can you imagine? Sells the whisky, but has no idea about the whisky other than what he reads on the label. Pebble Beach is a cheesy marketing concept, but really not a bad whisky- something you might find in a hotel bar, and might drink instead of Glenlivet or a blend. But not something you’d ever order if you saw Talisker back behind the bar.
posted by pops | 10:29 PM
1 Comments:
G,
My local store, WhiteHouse, runs several tastings each year. Many are in the store, and just feature one label. Maybe a salesguy is there with the store personnel. Today, for example, there's a Balvenie tasting in the afternoon. I may stop by, because Balvenie makes a couple easy drinking malts, finished in wine casks.
The other night, they had a more elaborate tasting, at a local restaurant. This was spopnsored by the store, but probably underwritten by Diageo. (A couple folks from Diageo were hanging around.) The malts we drank were all Diageo products, and the guy who did the presentation at the tasting was an industry guy, not a local. (I had seen him once before.)So we drank the "Classic malts", which as I understand it, was really a marketing idea of Diageo, to put their well-known labels like Oban, Talisker and Lagavulin together on the store shelf, and Johnny Walker, also a Diageo product.
Once in a while they run a tasting with a guy from a single distllery; we had one for Bruichladdich once.
That's the scoop. I'm planning to corner Susan later today, and try to figure out what weekend will be best for hoops and Kitty Hoynes. Back to you later.
Berg
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