The Last Glass of Rosebank

The other night, on our way to dinner at Meritage in the Boston Harbor hotel, we looked into the Rowes Wharf Bar and noticed that, among their single malt scotch whiskies, there was a listing for Rosebank. Rosebank! How often does one find Rosebank anywhere these days? It's gone from the enormous listing at Keens; Federal occasionally picks up a bottle or two, and if we get heads-up from Joe, maybe we have a chance to stop by before they're sold; and aside from the Gordon Macphail bottling, which was finished in sherry, and which tastes quite different from most lowlands, I don't think I've seen it anywhere over the past couple years. So we immediately planned for a nightcap at the Rowes Wharf bar, once dinner had concluded.

Just for the record, the dinner at Meritage was great. The restaurant is planned around wine pairings; the menu is structured, not by course, or food category, but again by pairings -- i.e., dishes that go with sparkling wines, dishes that go with fruity reds, and so forth. Not surprisingly, they have a superior wine list, and a knowledgeable sommelier, name of Tanya. Back in the day, one would have been surprised to find a sommelier of Tanya's gender, but of course we are used to that, as we are regularly guided through the wine world by Janine at the Chophouse. The thing that was surprising about the wine list was how reasonably wines were priced. We ended up with a 2001 Guigal Hermitage for under a hundred dollars, and were knocked out, just as we hoped we would be. But I didn't set out to post about wine; I wanted to tell you about our favorite malt, the long gone lowland -- Rosebank.

The reason Rosebank has become so hard to find, is that the distillery has been closed since 1992. And unlike Bladnoch, the other great lowland distillery, it has never been reopened. So the world's supply of Rosebank is disappearing -- what Jackson calls a grievous loss. We first tasted Rosebank on a family cruise when the ship had a whisky bar called Maltings. They had an 18 year old Rare Malts bottling, for around $8 a pour. It was love at first taste. So much so that, regardless of what else we drank all night long, John stopped by the bar late each night, for a Rosebank nightcap.

The Rowes Wharf bar offered a nineteen year old Connoisseur's Choice that reminded us of the original Rosebank we had tasted way back when. It had that delightful floral nose characteristic of the good lowlands, and a light malt flavor with hints of citrus or fruit. And even though the malt had become silky smooth after nineteen years in the barrel, there was a hint of pepper behind each taste. For me, it's the pepper that distinguishes Rosebank from Bladnoch, and that, in the end, makes this lowland whisky so special.

But when we arrived at the bar after dinner, and ordered a round of drinks, we learned that there was only a single pour of Rosebank in the bottom of the bottle. They offered to look in back and see if there were any more bottles, but John and I knew how futile that search would be. And in fact, we were thrilled to be able to split a single pour, considering just how infrequently one finds Rosebank anywhere other than in our own private stock. And so, on December 28, 2010, John and I shared the last glass of Rosebank at the Rowes Wharf bar. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I don't think anyone will ever duplicate that experience. So next time we visit Meritage, perhaps we'll share a bottle of dessert wine. And in the meantime, we'll keep our eyes open for other food and beverage establishments that still have a dram or two of this disappearing lowland whisky behind their bars.

Pinch 15

Greetings from New England. More precisely, from Boston, from the Ames Hotel, looking out on the State Street meeting house, in the midst of what all the New England media are calling the blizzard of 2010. From our vantage point, it just looks like a winter storm. We’ll find out how bad it was in a couple days when we attempt to drive north to Andover and then Maine. The governor has declared today some sort of snow emergency, and only essential travel is permitted. We are planning to have lunch at the Last Hurrah, only a couple blocks away, and all of us agree that the Last Hurrah is always an essential destination in Boston. So we will be making the hike a little later. Another essential trip is a visit to Federal, only a block away, but that’s on tap for tomorrow.

One of the themes of this blog is single malt scotch whisky, and although we may enjoy other spirits, we rarely post about them. That goes for blended scotches as well. But today is an exception. We stayed a night with my sister Jill in Cambridge, and she happened to have a bottle of 15 year-old Pinch, which became our whisky of choice for a couple days. Pinch has been around forever, but I don’t recall seeing the 15 previously. So this was a new taste. And, I’m pleased to report, a very enjoyable one.

I can’t compare this Pinch to other offerings from that label, as I’m really not familiar with their standard blend. But I can tell you that the Pinch 15 had more flavor than almost any other blend I recall tasting. And it had a remarkably long finish for a blend. Most blends really don’t have much of a finish, the taste disappearing after the whisky is off the palate. But not this Pinch, whose taste remained with me long after the sip was swallowed. The only comparable blend I can think of is Johnny Walker Green, a blend of malt whiskies only (i.e., no other grains), all of which are 15 years old. To me the Pinch tasted of highland whisky, in fact, Speyside highland whisky, but when I went on-line to find out more, the postings I found claimed its backbone was Glenkinchie, a lowland. They also mentioned Linkwood, a whisky that I’m just not familiar with. So who knows? And who knows what this scotch sells for, my sister having bought it a couple years ago for a purported scotch lover who was visiting. I say purported, because according to Jill, her previous guest did not care for the Pinch, preferring his regular blend. John and I were not so critical; or perhaps we were more critical, and thus appreciative of the full-bodied flavor of this whisky. Whatever the case, we are pleased to report that there is yet another great whisky out there for all you readers to enjoy. You may have some trouble finding it, but if you do find it, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s now time to bundle up, venture out into the snow, and wind, and cold, and make the essential trip up State Street to the Last Hurrah.

A Quality Win

The preseason is over. The Orange bring a perfect record into conference play, and are currently ranked fifth in both of the national polls. I’ve been complaining about that for two months, ever since they barely beat William & Mary. But as it turns out, Cuse got to their number five ranking, not purely through any popularity contest, but also by virtue of their record. The omniscient RPI also ranks them number five in the nation. And while their strength of schedule is not among the leaders as yet, they already have six quality wins, and one high quality win -- that being Wednesday’s dominating victory over Drexel.

Drexel came to the Dome with an 8-1 record, and some gaudy stats. They were outrebounding their opponents by 14 boards per game. They were allowing only fifty-some points per game. They had held Louisville to 46 points. But by the time everyone went home for the Christmas break, and the pre-conference season was over, Cuse had put up 93 points, twenty more than any other team had scored against Drexel; had out rebounded them 35-24; and had run them out of the Dome and back to Philly by an impressive margin -- 93-65. The Orange offense looked like it had finally come together, and had done that against a team that was touted for having one of the toughest man defenses in the nation.

Ever since the Michigan State game, the team has looked pretty good. They’ve averaged over ninety points per game; they’re outside shooting has improved; and most importantly, they are sharing the ball well. Against Morgan State, the Orange had 34 assists on 39 baskets. And even though the number of assists declined against Drexel, I can remember a couple of occasions when the fast break ended with an extra pass, meaning that someone gave up a chance to score, to reward a teammate. That’s a good sign.

The Orange start the conference season with two home games -- Providence next Tuesday, and Notre Dame on New Year’s day. They’ll have to keep up the good play of the last couple weeks if they want to have any chance in the Big East. That means continue to improve in the 2-3; keep rebounding; hit some outside shots; and make free throws late in games. Over the last couple weeks they’ve shown they can do that against lesser teams, but will they be able to keep it up against the Big East schedule? We’ll find out soon enough.

Laphroaig 18

This posting is way overdue. Last summer, when G-Man was coming back to upstate NY, he stopped at the New Hampshire store and brought yours truly a couple malts. One was the new offering from Laphroaig, the most distinctive of all Scotch distilleries, their 18 year old. I had always been a fan of their fifteen, which had all the peat and brine for which Laphroaig is known, but was smoother around the edges, a touch sweeter, and in my opinion, one of the very best after dinner malts one could find. So I was disappointed to learn that Laphroaig was killing their 15, and planning to introduce an 18, as a replacement.

Speaking of introductions, we broke out the new 18 age statement at the Whisky Lovers Ball, which has become the social event of the summer around here. Everyone at the Ball loves good whiskies, so we make sure to offer a slection of finer malts. The after-dinner lineup is pictured above. Nothing for the faint of heart, and not much for rookies either. All these whiskies were chosen for the select group of whisky lovers who attend each summer’s ball.

Here’s the good news: the eighteen did not disappoint. It’s unquestionably Laphroaig -- what Jackson called the most medicinal of all malts. It has Laphroaig’s big flavor, that unique combination of smoke and sea -- peat and iodine. And curiously, even though it’s three years older than the 15, it is not as soft, nor as sweet. If anything, it’s more like the ten, but with more flavor, a little less fire, and a longer finish. Also, it’s more buttery on the palate than the younger Laphroaigs.

But here’s the bad news. Even though G-Man found this 18 at an affordable price, somewhere in the low 70s, I have only seen it on the shelves in Rochester at stratospheric prices -- upwards of $130. This appears to be a new marketing strategy for many distilleries. Their 10s and 12s remain reasonably priced, but the prices of older malts, especially 18s, are up through the roof. I always liked to keep a number of 18s in the cupboard, so we could break them out when other whisky lovers were over -- the Whisky Lovers Ball being the perfect occasion for these 18s. But $140? I don’t think so. My guess is that nouveau riche philistines all over the globe are buying up these eighteen-year-old malts in order to impress their colleagues and girlfriends. And who knows, probably pouring them over ice. So as much as I liked this Laphroaig, when it’s gone, I’m picking up the reliable ten, full of fire, and saving close to a bean. Until then though, I’ve still got half a bottle to enjoy. Plus, maybe the New Hampshire store will put it on sale once again.

Orange, Green, Red

As of this moment, Cuse is ranked fifth in both of the basketball polls, and as if that weren’t crazy enough, ESPN places them in the number four spot in their power rankings. The number four team in the country? This is the same team that barely beat William & Mary, a well-known basketball powerhouse; that led Canisius, another hoops powerhouse, by only three at the half; that trailed Detroit by three at the half; I think you get the point. Their zone has kept them in games, and in fact, enabled them to beat Michigan State. But will the 2-3 zone be enough in Big East play? Especially on nights when no one can hit an outside shot? Although the zone has rounded into form, there still isn’t anyone who can consistently hit from the outside. Perhaps the Orange are better than I first thought this year, but at number four or five in the country, they still are in the running for Coach Boeheim’s most-overrated-of-all-time award. Either that, or he is doing the best job ever of motivation, by giving them something to prove at all times. They still have another couple weeks before the conference season begins, and they’ve had some quality wins away from the Dome, wins that will help their RPI later in the season. But I’m still really nervous about the conference schedule.

The C’s, on the other hand, look about as good as anyone in the NBA, and that’s without a center on their roster. KG is healthy again, and the team D is solid as a result. Plus, that means the big three are all scoring, especially with Rondo finding the open man at every opportunity. Shaq has looked good, in those minutes he’s played; and I’d like to think that had he been on Boston’s bench last season, when K-Perk went down in the finals, the C’s would have managed to hold on and win Game Seven. The big thing for this year is to stay healthy. Rondo in particular. Doc is sitting Rondo now for a couple weeks, or more, to heal his ankle, and his hamstring, and whatever else might be bothering him. So Nate Robinson, and Daniels will have to fill in, to play good D, and to distribute the ball to whomever among the big three seems to be hot that night, or open at that moment, or whatever. And then come springtime, if Perkins is back, and if one or both of the O’Neal brothers is able to fill in, to give Doc a dozen or so quality minutes off the bench, I think this bunch can do better than last year. In fact, right at this minute, after a tough game just last night in the Garden, and without Rondo, the C’s are about to beat Atlanta, a pretty good team in its own right. Six guys are in double figures, and no one has more than twenty points.

And while Boston’s hoopsters are playing this well, the RedSox front office has been hard at work trying to plug the holes that appeared in last year’s team. Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford are two great additions, both in the field, and at the plate. Assuming Ellsbury is healthy next summer, Boston could have the fastest duo in baseball leading off every game. It’s hard to picture the Sox as a running team, but that could very well be the case next year. Plus, putting those two guys in the lineup ahead of Pedroia, Youk, Papi and Gonzalez creates the potential for a lot of runs. But of course, everyone has to stay healthy. No more freakish injuries. The other weakness last year was the bullpen, and Theo today picked up Bobby Jencks, in an effort to shore up that part of the roster. The big question remains Papelbon. Did he have an off-year in 2010, or is Pap’s career in premature decline? I’d like to think the former. And with free agency on Pap’s horizon, I’d also like to think he’ll have a great year, if for no other reason than to enhance his market value. But if Pap returns to form, with Bard and Jencks working set-up, the bullpen could be solid once again. And how important is that? Everyone recalls Papi’s clutch hits in 2004, and Beckett’s dominating post-season in 2007. But Boston doesn’t win either of those championships without their bullpens. Foulke, Okajima, Papelbon. Those were the guys who made sure that the trophies ended up in New England those two years.

So there you have it. Skeptical about the Orange; confident about the Green; and hopeful for the RedSox. That’s how 2010 is coming to a close.

Eating My Words

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. That's the sound of me eating my words. Last night, as the Orange thoroughly dominated Michigan State, I could not believe I was watching the same team that barely squeaked by William & Mary. Or the team that scored only 34 points in the final 30 minutes against NC State. They did not look overrated. They looked like they could play with anyone.

Perhaps it was the zone, which seems to be improving with each game. So if the defense can keep teams from scoring 60 points, even teams from major conferences, even Big East teams, that will make it easier for the Orange to win games. Or perhaps it was the mystique of playing in the Garden. Cuse always seems to play well in the Garden -- their home away from home. Or maybe what we'll see as the season progresses is that the Orange will play to the level of their competition. Let's see how things go Saturday night against Colgate; will the Orange keep it close, or will we finally see a blow-out this year? Or maybe it was the fact that they kept the turnovers down.

Who knows? But whatever the reason, they have probably locked up that top ten ranking until the conference season begins. We'll see in a couple months whether that's a good thing or not.

Bad, Good, but Mostly Ugly

It was not artistic, and as I left the Dome I thought that the Orange really didn’t deserve to win, but in hindsight, I was wrong. Beating a credible NC State team, even by playing ugly, was a big step ahead of where this team was only a couple weeks ago.

Let me start by discussing why I was dissatisfied as I walked down to Irving Avenue. The Cuse had scored 31 points in the first quarter of the game (I know we don’t have quarters in college hoops, but I’m referring to the first 11 or so minutes of the game.), but then managed to put up only 34 points in the final three quarters. That works out to only about one point per minute. Not a very productive scoring rate. Similarly, Scoop hit two threes early in the game, but otherwise, the Orange were zero for fourteen from beyond the arc. What that means is that they did not hit another three all night long.

So that exposes one of the key weaknesses of this year’s team. Ever since Gerry McNamara arrived in the fall of 2002, Cuse has had at least one dependable three point shooter. G-Mac, Devo, Rautins, Wes Johnson. Not this year. Right now, against the softest part of their schedule, the Orange have been shooting under thirty percent from long range. Only 43% overall. Remember when AO had the highest shooting percentage in the nation? So from this point on, expect other teams to pack their defense into the lane, keep the Orange from getting easy baskets inside, and challenge them to hit from long range. Dion Waiters has to start playing better on D, so we can have at least one credible outside threat on the floor.

Now here’s the weird thing. Even though the team is shooting poorly from the outside, too many guys are throwing the ball up the first time they touch it, no matter how many seconds are left on the clock, and without ever trying to create opportunities for easy baskets. So even though the team looked good for the first 11 minutes, they then reverted to early season form, and everyone resumed playing one on five -- no movement on offense, no real team play. No movement away from the ball. Nothing on the offensive end.

But as I said above, it wasn’t all bad news. First of all, the freshmen centers began contributing.

Between Melo and Keita, they had eight points and eight rebounds. Now that’s not great, but it’s clearly better than the double zeros they were threatening to put up at times. If they can collectively, and consistently, contribute ten and ten, a double-double for the center position, the Orange will stand half a chance in some conference games. Plus, the team played the small lineup for about ten minutes, with Jackson in the post, and CJ Fair playing the other forward. That makes them vulnerable in the middle on D, and potentially exposes Jackson to foul trouble, but it makes them quicker, and upgrades the offense a bit.

The only time the offense looked good was on the fast break. Scoop runs the break well, far better than he runs the half court offense. (There really isn’t any half court offense yet.) Joseph gets up and down the court well, and scores easily in transition, even though he really can’t create in the half court. Same for Triche. So really, there are two keys to scoring this year. One:rebound well, so they can get out on the fast break. And two: hit some more shots from the outside.

But the most encouraging sign last night was the D. NC State stayed in the game early, even when Cuse was playing well, by shooting so well from the outside. Partly, they were hitting their jump shots. But the other part was that they were getting open looks. Guys were missing assignments in the 2-3. Coach was throwing fits on the sideline, and in pact pulled Waiters out of the game for leaving his man wide open on consecutive possessions. But late in the game, the zone was more effective; there were no open shots, even from long distance; and Cuse kept NC State from scoring much at all. In fact, NC State scored three points over the last nine plus minutes - nothing over the final five and a half minutes. The turning point was when the Orange went into the press with about ten minutes to play. A couple turnovers led to easy baskets; the team erased a five point deficit; then the zone shut down the Wolfpack’s outside shot; and Cuse manged to pull out an ugly win.

I don’t think they can do this against a ranked team, and we’ll get to find out during the coming week. If I’m right, they will have trouble against all the better conference teams. Can they manage to go .500 in conference play? I would have said no way a couple weeks ago, but now I think the answer should be : Who knows?

Encouraging Signs

I know it was Cornell, and not the same Cornell that made it to the sweet sixteen last year. With none of the seniors that made last year’s team so tough, Cornell was smaller and slower, and really no challenge for the Orange. So it’s hard to get overjoyed when they beat Cornell by twenty points. But even so, there were some encouraging signs in last night’s win. At least in the first half of last night’s win.

The most noticeable change was that, for the first time this season, Fab Melo actually did something. He ended up with eight points, and seven boards. One would think that a seven foot kid playing against opposition that was several inches shorter ought to end up with some rebounds. But having watched Fab Melo do nothing against comparable teams, I had pretty much given up on the kid. So I was glad to see him fill the lane, score on assists from Scoop, slam home an alley oop, and actually look like he was starting to figure out what to do on offense. Maybe it’s just a learning process.

More encouraging was the fact that, at least in the first half, Cuse had almost as many assists as buckets. Last year there were assists on an overwhelming percentage of baskets, but not so in the early games this fall. Everyone seemed out of sync; each guy seemed to be playing one on five. But last night, there was lots of passing to the open man, both underneath and at the three point line. I recall a couple real nice passes by Jackson, who has been the team’s MVP in the early going.

I also thought the team ran the break real well last night. That’s actually been their strength all season. As bad as the half-court offense has been, they have looked good when they have rebounded and gotten out on the break. And, that’s where Joseph is at his best. He’s not Carmelo; he really can’t create off the dribble. But he can run the floor well, and can usually take his guy when he’s in the open court.

Lastly, I was encouraged by the play of Dion Waiters. For one thing, he was the only guy hitting from outside the three point line. Scoop went scoreless, even though he had seven assists; Triche missed all his three pointers; but Waiters ended up with double figures off the bench. Getting that kind of contribution from him and Fair will make up for the offensive vacuum in the middle.

Two big games are coming up. NC State is not ranked, but anyone from the ACC is a worthy opponent. And then Michigan State in the Garden, which we be the first chance really to measure this year’s team. After the William and Mary game, I was convinced that Michigan State would win by 45 points. But Cuse has looked much better in their last three games, and while I’ll be shocked if they beat the Spartans, I’m hoping they can avoid humiliation. Maybe it will end up being one of those ugly low scoring contests - a preview of Big East play.

And one more thing, a loss to Michigan State would drop them out of the top ten, which in the long run, will only help. No way in hell the Orange deserve their number seven ranking right now. A little disrespect might do away with a lot of complacency. Let’s get that chip back on the shoulder, just like last year.