Whiskey

Last month, I was invited to as a guest to attend Pacific Wine and Spirits, 40th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting at the Edmonton Golf and Country Club. At the event I was able to meet many of the people who are responsible for making the great wines and spirits which Pacific Wine and Spirits have as part of their portfolio here in the Province of Alberta. One of the great people I met was Anna Manchon, the Canadian Torres Export Manager who is of course, responsible for the entire line-up of Torres Brandy which is available here in Canada. I spent some time with her discussing her Brandy line-up, and after the event, I was happy to learn that a bottle of the Torres 20 Hors d’âge Brandy was being delivered to me for review upon my website. Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge, is a double distilled brandy made by the Torres family (or bodega) who have been intrinsically linked to the wine making region of Spain known as the Penedès for over three centuries. Their brandy is produced from selected wines of the Parellada (a traditional Catalan white varietal) and Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebbiano in Italy) grape varieties. After distillation of the wine in copper pot stills, a careful selection process is undertaken to choose the most positive aromatic fractions, and these are aged in french Limousin oak barrels. Click on the following excerpt to read the full review: Review: Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge “… The spirit possesses a nice dark mahogany colour when poured in the glass, and exhibits an obvious oak character which is interlaced with scents of both fresh fruit (grapes and pears), and dry fruit (raisins, dates and figs), as well as some nice caramel candy and vanilla. Orange peel and oak spices build in the glass as you let it breathe giving me impressions of black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, marmalade and dark rich tobacco …” Please enjoy my Review! Tagged: Brandy, Brandy Review, Miguel Torres, Miguel Torres 20 Hors d’âge, Pacific Wine and Spirits

So more news that hit WHISKY ISRAEL towers this week. Tribal Gathering Award winning whisky writer and former rock journalist Dominic Roskrow is set to combine the two great loves of his life when he launches a new whisky and music event later this year.Called TRIBE 2013, the first event is set to take place in Leicester in November, with a second ...

60% My Tasting Notes: Colour: Dark amber Nose: Prunes, dates, Amarena cherries, waxed leather, cigar box, chocolate toffee, cinmmon. Palate: Brandy-soaked Christmas cake, orange zest, toffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, hints of cardamom. Finish: Rather long, fruity and slighly spicy. Overall: Very rich sherry flavours carress nose and palate and give you a feeling of laid-back luxury, only the finish is not quite on par. Rating: 88/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$ Buy Glenfarclas 105 20 yo at Master of Malt Scored blind for the Malt Maniacs Awards 2012 where it won a silver medal, re-tasted for notes

Sherry butt 960005 – 57.3% My Tasting Notes: Colour: Bright copper Nose: Light smoke, hints of smoked ham, raisins, charries, leather, dark chocolate, nutmeg and cardamom. Palate: Gentle peat, cherries, raisins, orange zest, dark cocolate, hints of tobacco, nutmeg and pepper. Finish: Long, dry and smoky. Overall: A wonderful combination of peat and sherry. It is dry but not too woody and feels older than it actually is. Rating: 91/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$ Scored blind for the Malt Maniacs Awards 2012 where it won a silver medal, re-tasted for notes

THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY SHINES THE SPOTLIGHT ON GRAIN WHISKY  The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the world’s leading malt whisky club, is today (Friday 17 May) launching a week-long celebration of one of the hidden gems of the whisky world – grain whisky. Unlike malt whisky, which is made from malted barley, grain whisky is made from unmalted cereal grains such as wheat, rye, maize or corn. Traditionally, grain whisky has been used in the production of blended whisky and is rarely released on its own. But when aged for long periods, such as 20 to 30 years, in highquality casks, it can become a superb spirit in its own right. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, winner of the Grain Whisky of The Year in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2013, is flying the flag for this often over-looked whisky with its Grain Whisky Week (17-25 May). Grain Whisky Week, part of the Society’s 30th-anniversary celebrations, kicks off today with the release of 10 grain whiskies, all bottled from single casks in the tradition of all SMWS bottlings, and continues with a grain whisky sampling at the London Whisky Fest on Saturday. The Society, a members-only organisation, will also celebrate Saturday’s World Whisky Day by opening its doors to the public and inviting them to sample grain whisky at its three private venues – 28 Queen Street and The Vaults in Edinburgh, and 19 Greville Street in London.  A complementary 10cl bottle of grain whisky will be offered to anyone buying membership in the venues on the day. The Grain Whisky Week celebrations continue with grain whisky tastings at the following locations: ?         28 Queen Street (Tuesday 21) ?         19 Greville Street (Wednesday 22) ?         The Angel Hotel in Guildford (Friday 24) ?         The Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock (Friday 24) ?         The Whisky Stramash Festival in Edinburgh (Saturday 25) A limited number of tickets for non members are available for all the above tastings (call 0131 555 2929 to book) apart from the Whisky Stramash Festival. Helen Stewart, the UK Brand Manager of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, said: “The Society was first established 30 years ago to celebrate the delights of single cask, single malt whisky but we have always explored the full spectrum of the whisky world to unearth the finest casks. Grain whisky is a hugely under-rated spirit and deserves to be discovered by many more people. We have been bottling grain whisky for several years now and are delighted to see it gradually gaining the recognition it deserves.” Notes  About grain whisky ?         Single grain Scotch whisky is made from unmalted cereal grains such as wheat, rye or corn, plus a small amount of malted barley – it is distilled continuously in a continuous column still. In contrast, single malt Scotch whisky is made from malted barley – it is distilled batch-by-batch using a pot still. ?         Grain whisky has typically been used in the production of blended whisky. It has suffered from a slightly negative reputation in the past due to a notion it was verylight and cheap to produce, and therefore lacked the quality and character of single malt whisky. ?         The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s single grain bottlings are breaking this stereotype of grain whisky. If you put grain whisky in a good quality cask, you get a unique spirit at the end. This underlines the importance of the Society’s key ethos, which is to only ever bottle from the highest-quality single casks. ?         Like all malt whiskies, all grain whiskies will taste different. But, generally speaking,grain whisky can have a lighter, smooth and creamy taste. It can taste more like bourbon than malt whisky – as a result, grain whisky is a fantastic way to get new audiences involved in whisky. About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society  ?         The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international membership organisation and bottler, which bottles the world’s widest selection of exceptional single cask, single malt whisky for its mem

Grain Outturn: An Intriguing surprise in disguise We’re still The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, promise…but we do love a good single cask grain.  As part of our 30th Anniversary celebrations, we shine the spotlight on this underrated spirit bringing you 10 unique grain whiskies (and a new distillery). Leave behind your preconceptions, open your mind and set your compass for absurdly intriguing variety. West of Scotland Grain Pair Offer: G7.5 & G10.4 G7.5 Smoky Werther’s Originals The taste has a delicate, well balanced sweet and smoke combination, dusty icing sugar and, if only they would exist, smoky Werther’s Original. G10.4 A witch’s Christmas tipple Something quite Christmassy gift-wrapped the nose – oranges, mixed peel, Brazils, pecan pie, floral perfumes, varnished wood and pine trees. Water introduced dark chocolate, toffee, fudge, and coconut, with hints of spice     Grain Pair only £116  Buy  Grain Outturn *G7.5 is exclusive to this pair offer The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at http://www.smws.co.uk/memberships for your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers.

Gordon & MacPhail has released thousands of single cask bottlings over the years, including the two oldest whiskies ever bottled: 70-year-old casks of Mortlach and Glenlivet single malts. Now, the family-owned company is reviving its "Rare Old" series of single malts with a series of new releases. Many of those new releases are from distilleries that closed 30 years ago this year during one of the industry's biggest cutbacks in distilling capacity. We'll discuss those distilleries and whether a new "whisky loch" is filling up with Gordon & MacPhail's Michael Urquhart in this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, another Indian distillery expands its single malt lineup, Miltonduff Distillery gets a turn in the spotlight, and more new distilleries are coming to Northern Ireland. This week's tasting notes include Ardbeg's new Ardbog, The Glenlivet's new Alpha single malt, and Forty Creek's upcoming Heart of Gold Canadian whisky.

It may be a silly goal wanting to try whisky from every single distillery in Scotland, but now that I’m close to achieving it, I’d like to ask for your help and tick the last names. I’m not talking about the really new ones like Daftmill or Wolfburn (their time will come), nor about the ones that are really lost, like Maltmill. The ones I’m missing are very rare malts but not absolutely unfindable. If you have a bottle and you want to share a small sample, send me an e-mail please. I’m sure I can send you something interesting in return. Ben Wyvis Glen Flagler Inverleven Kininvie Kinclaith

Today has been declared World Whisky Day by an Aberdeen student. Originally I was determined to refrain from any further comments in the light of what has already been written about this day. But having read the Huffington Post article called Whisky: Made in Scotland, Enjoyed Everywhere by David Robertson rendered my decision obsolete. This article speaks of whisky as if Scotland was the only country where whisky is made. “Whisky is Scotland’s gift to the world, and World Whisky Day is the day to celebrate it.” is the synopsis of this piece. I beg your pardon? What about Canada, Ireland, the USA, India, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, South Africa and all the other whisky-making nations? What about world whisky on World Whisky Day? Blair Bowman’s weird idea to turn World Whisky Day into a Scottish public holiday perfectly fits that scotocentric perception of the whisky world. It does not take much brain power to realize how skewed this world view is. Or is World Whisky Day perhaps really just a vehicle for the initiator to hook up with the Scotch whisky industry? At the end of the article David Robertson is not ashamed to mention his whisky investment mantra in a badly concealed attempt to use the Huffington Post as advertising platform for his whisky investment company. As if we needed a final proof that World Whisky Day is all about commerce.

Today, I am completing my series of Orange Liqueurs which has comprised a very representative sampling of category including several of the major Triple Sec and Orange Curacao brands in the marketplace. My final review in the series is a Canadian product produced by Corby called simply Triple Sec (Meaghers). Meaghers has been producing traditional liqueurs in Canada (in a variety of flavours) since 1873. In fact they were the first domestic distiller to produce a full line of flavoured liqueurs. In 1978, Corby purchased Meaghers Distillery Limited of Montreal absorbing the Meaghers brands into the Corby portfolio. Their Triple Sec (formerly called Grand Curacao), is a traditional orange flavoured liqueur bottled at 35 % alcohol by volume. It is widely available in Canada and has some distribution in the US. You may click on the link to read the full review: Review: Triple Sec (Meaghers) “… the aroma from the liqueur is quite nice. The orange notes, although readily recognizable, are tainted just a little by a light earthiness. I do not sense any clear differentiation between the sweet orange notes and the more bitter orange peel which is evident in other orange liqueurs. Instead, the sweet and the bitter orange seem to be melded together …” Please Enjoy the review, and my nice Scotch Whisky cocktail which is included, Soft Touch! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you are interested, here is a listing of all the orange flavoured liqueurs and spirits I have reviewed to date: Bols Blue (Curacao) Bols Triple Sec Cointreau Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge Meagher’s Triple Sec Patrón Citrónge Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao Magic Moments Remix Orange Flavoured Vodka _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tagged: Coctails, Liqueur, Liqueur Review, Meaghers, Orange Liqueur, Triple Sec