-PJ
Posted on 01/05/2013 4:29:46 PM PST by nickcarraway
It smelled like bacon.
I was afraid to say it out loud, though—I doubt any real food and drink connoisseurs compare the smell of some grand old Scotch to an everyday pork product, but that’s what my nose captured.
In the heart of Edinburgh, in a room walled with brass- and bronze-colored bottles, I sniffed more and more whisky and soon captured a whole rainbow of aromas: cloves, apples, vanilla, sage and strawberries. And that smokiness I smelled as bacon? That comes from the Scottish peat they burn when heating the mix.
Not everyone loves whisky, but as alcohol goes, this bright and golden drink offers a rich taste of the land from whence it comes. Real Scotch Whisky is made with malted barley and pure Scottish water, and to qualify as Scotch, it must be aged for a minimum of three years on Scottish soil.
The range of personality in Scotch is so fascinating and explains why 90% of whisky is sold in blends as opposed to single malt (Glenfiddich is the world’s largest seller of single malt Scotch in the world).
Today, there are 107 different whisky distilleries in Scotland today and none of them make the same product. Like good wine or cheese, the individual peculiarities of Scotch bring out a thousand subjective qualities in every sip. In order to understand those differences, I spent the afternoon in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, practically bathing in whisky.
Though I am an unseasoned traveler in the world of whisky, I sought the help of a professional guide—Angela Kier, the Deputy General Manager of the Scotch Whisky Experience. Angela grew up with Scotch, surrounded by distilleries and the culture of drinking Scotch in Scotland. After showing me the world’s largest collection of Scotch Whisky (3,384 bottles), she taught me how to drink Scotch in these five easy steps:
1. LOOK See the color of the liquid—this is part of the whisky’s personality. New whisky is clear, but gains its color from the used oak barrels during maturation. Color can range from brassy yellow to golden reds or a pale sunshine. The color of Scotch hints at how it was made.
2. SWIRL With your hand on the bottom of a round tasting glass, swirl the whisky until it coats the sides. Look for the “legs”—the drips of liquid pulling back down into the glass. Watch how quickly the legs run down the side of the glass—this reveals how light the whisky is. Some whisky is very light, with lots of legs (an indication of light flavor), while others can be viscous or oily indicating an older, heavier-bodied whisky. A very thick whisky will coat the glass like the golden silhouette of Scottish mountains.
3. NOSE Tasting whisky is an olfactory experience, so in order to capture all the nuance of flavor, you must “nose” the whisky. “Smell with your mouth open,” counsels Angela, explaining how it offers a fuller nose. “At first you might just get the alcohol. Adding a splash of water releases the aromas.” Bring the glass back and forth—nose it deeply again and again. “Whisky is a sensory experience, so get your nose right up in the glass!” says Angela, who told me that anyone can learn to nose whisky. “The best way to improve your sense of smell is to smell everything.” This allows your brain to create a kind of encyclopedia of scents. (My brain smells bacon.)
4. TASTE When you’re ready to drink, let the whisky coat the palate. “Some are creamy and smooth, others light and fruity,” explains Angela. Adding water releases aromas, adding ice will lock them in. “There are a lot of ‘rules’ about adding water, but don’t pay any attention to that. Different brands react differently to water, so find out what you like. The important thing is to just enjoy your whisky.” Also, remember to say Slàinte Mhath! (Good Health)
5. FINISH “Finish” does not mean tossing back your drink like real men do in the movies. Rather, the finish is the whisky’s grand finale where you feel the flavor and tempo of the drink. “Once you’ve swallowed, see how long it stays with you. Scotch whisky can be quick and short or it can be very long and warming.”
Perhaps most important of all, Angela advised me to never drink whisky alone. “Whisky is a drink for sharing—that’s what we do in Scotland, we share one another’s whisky. It warms you up when you’re walking in the hills!”
Like all food (and travel), whisky is also very personal. “My grandparents used to heat their farm with peat,” she told me, “so it’s a fond childhood memory that I get every time I taste a good peaty whisky.” Whisky is like that—it carries a lot of personal meaning and says much about who we are as individuals. This is probably why I smelled bacon—some of my fondest memories involve bacon.
But now some of my fondest memories involve Scotland, which is what I will think of every time I see a bottle of Scotch.
I had the privilege of getting a bottle of 21 year old Macallan. Any Macallan which is old enough to drink itself, is always superb.
Oak has vanillin
Some varieties of scotch are very smokey, true. It’s an acquired taste. The good stuff is invariably single malt with only one exception that I can think of, and that would be Pinch, or The Dimple as it’s known in some countries. A good starter single malt that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg would be 12 year old Glenlivet. Smoke is not so pronounced.
As I have explained to my kids:
All booze starts out as vodka. Basically alcohol and water.
Then it is flavored, with wood or berries and so on and so forth.
When they make Jack Daniels, they first make vodka, then they put it into barrels.
So all booze is basically flavored vodka.
It may be a bit more complicated than that, but not by much.
I live a simple life, so I drink cheap vodka, which is basically the same as expensive vodka, because I have never been able to discern a difference between the two. It is just alcohol and water. I just cant wrap my head around one company’s alcohol and water be better than an others.
I spend time just outside of Edinburgh about three to four times per year. I’m not much a scotch drinker, I prefer gin, but I typically bring back a bottle of single-barrel for my dad. Over the past three years, we’ve put quite a collection together. Usually to try to stick with something that is at least 15 years old.
The people working at the store I go to are exceptionally knowledgeable about the various distilleries, regions, styles, etc. it is really easy to blow an hour or two browsing and listening to the amount of information they have.
How to drink whiskey...
1. Short glass full of ice.
2. Fill 3/4 with Glenlivet.
3. Swirl glass gently for three or four minutes.
4. Drink it down.
Hey, you have been peeping in my window...
Hell yes, but them boys came over from Scotland and not having barley and peat to make scotch found a good use for corn squeesings. And they weren’t anymore happy to pay taxes to the Federal gov’ment that they was to pay the King of England for the privlidge. Thus the whisky rebellion that George Washington had to put down, moonshining during prohibition, and by golly NASCAR.
Hello there old friend! Happy New Year to you and yours!
I see you found this one ere did I.
My father used to say that until you got used to it, it tasted like water leftover after a fire.
He was used to it.
-PJ
That's what Chivas tastes like to me. I always had a hard time with it.
Hell yes, but them boys came over from Scotland and not having barley and peat to make scotch found a good use for corn squeesings. And they weren’t anymore happy to pay taxes to the Federal gov’ment that they was to pay the King of England for the privlidge. Thus the whisky rebellion that George Washington had to put down, moonshining during prohibition, and by golly NASCAR.
Hell yes, but them boys came over from Scotland and not having barley and peat to make scotch found a good use for corn squeesings. And they weren’t anymore happy to pay taxes to the Federal gov’ment that they was to pay the King of England for the privlidge. Thus the whisky rebellion that George Washington had to put down, moonshining during prohibition, and by golly NASCAR.
If I want to service my soul and meatloaf isn't available, I'll take a good 'burger and fries over lark's tongue a la Maurice any time.
McDonalds and Burger King don’t make good burgers. Filling but not good.
Scotch distillers use old bourbon barrels. The reason being Scotch needs all the help it can get and even then it’s not enough.
Although Lark’s Tongues in Aspic is phenomenal.
How to drink whiskey? O.K., I’ll have a go at it:
Wrap fingers around full glass, raise to lips by bending arm, imbibe as usual. Practice helps. Details provided on request.
At our office party this Christmas, all of the guys were going on about Johnny Walker Blue. They said it was so smooth - made me want to try it. I tried some Chivas Regal once, but didn’t particularly care for it. I just don’t want to spring for $300 for a 750 ml bottle I probably wouldn’t appreciate.
I’ll stick with my lovely Old Vine Red from Marietta Vineyard in California. I have to order it in by the case as it’s not carried by our liquor control board. Worth. Every. Penny.
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