Whiskey

One of the pleasures of watching BBC TVs 2010/2012 show “Sherlock” is the sly, tongue in cheek references it makes to the canon of Sherlock Holmes; another is the sheer length of each episode…ninety minutes per; and a third is the precise casting of the eponymous lead and the Doctor. About the only thing I [...]

Bacardi Black is a traditional dark rum. As such it achieves a major portion of its flavour, aroma, and colour from the special ingredients (caramel colour for sure) which are added to the final blend prior to bottling. The Black is apparently blended from rums which have been aged up to four years; but, it would be a mistake to believe that the maturation of the rums in the blend have anything but a small role in the rich dark colour we see or the strong collection of aromas that we sense above the glass. Bacardi Black appears to be disappearing from the shelves of the liquor stores in my locale, and even Bacardi has dropped any mention of the product on its US-based website. It appears to have been replaced by Bacardi Select, which is a similar style of rum although I do not know if it is actually the same blend as the Bacardi Black. Although this review is perhaps a little belated, if you click on the following excerpt you can read my full opinion of Bacardi Black: Review: Bacardi Black “… The initial aroma above the glass is full of butterscotch, molasses, vanilla, and candied caramels. There are hints of licorice, some noticeable maple, and sweet sticky canned fruit (apricots and peaches). If I strain my senses, I also sense some dried fruit in the form of currants and dates and perhaps even a touch of cocoa. The aroma is not unpleasant, although there is very little evidence of oak aging in the breezes …” Included in the review is a nice summertime deck drink, the Lemon Cola Cooler. Enjoy the review! Tagged: Bacardi Rum, Black Rum, Cocktails, Dark Rum, Lemon Cola Cooler, Rum Review

Chivas Toasts Opening Night at Cannes as one of the Official Suppliers to The Great Gatsby Film Premiere Party Chivas Regal 25, the world’s original luxury whisky, has today announced its coveted position as one of the official suppliers to The Great Gatsby film premiere party on the Opening Night of the 66th Festival de Cannes. Marking a fifth consecutive year as official sponsor to the festival itself, Chivas Regal 25 has a heritage of luxury and exclusivity, making it the perfect drink to toast the silver screen legends and the glamour of the world’s most prestigious film festival.  To celebrate the launch of The Great Gatsby at the exclusive Cannes film premiere party, Chivas will serve a bespoke menu of themed cocktails, named after the well-known characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic story. Celebrating the opening of the 66th Festival de Cannes, the event is set to be the pinnacle of the festival program and a sensational night of 1920s glamour. In addition to this event during the festival, Chivas will also host more than 75 VIPs from around the world as part of a unique 24-hour VIP experience that celebrates the legendary glamour of Cannes and Chivas Regal 25. Guests will enjoy a night at the iconic Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez, a red carpet makeover at the Chivas Regal Salon 25, a view of Cannes from the harbour aboard the Chivas 25 Yacht as well as entertainment at Bar 1909 in Chivas House on the legendary Croisette. Guests will also be treated to a private dining experience at two Michelin starred La Palme d’Or where they will enjoy a bespoke tasting menu, pairing Chivas cocktails with the finest seasonal French Cuisine, created by Chivas Global Brand Ambassador Max Warner and chef Christian Sinicropi. James Slack, Brand Director, Chivas Regal said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be part of The Great Gatsby film premiere party at Festival de Cannes as part of our whole program. Our Global Brand Ambassador, Max Warner, has been working to create a bespoke menu of Gatsby-themed cocktails that we’ll serve at the party in honour of this event. As a brand that was born in the time of Gatsby, it is fitting for us to celebrate this look back at a time with the cast of this iconic film. This should be another legendary year at the festival and we are excited to be part of it again.” Chivas Regal 25 – the pinnacle of the Chivas range – pays homage to the world’s first-ever luxury whisky, the original Chivas Regal blend, shipped from Scotland to New York in 1909. Enjoyed today by elite tastemakers around the globe, it is a unique blend of the finest whiskies, aged for at least a quarter of a century. Dating back to the 1940s, Festival de Cannes is today considered the most iconic and glamorous film festival in the world. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with A&E Television, a Bazmark/Red Wagon Entertainment Production, a Film by Baz Luhrmann, “The Great Gatsby.”  The film will be distributed in 3D and 2D by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. Notes Chivas Regal is now in its fifth year as official partner of the Festival de Cannes – the most exclusive and celebrated international film festival. About Chivas Regal Chivas Regal is a truly global brand, selling 4.8 million 9L cases annually in more than 150 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and Americas. The Chivas Regal range is the epitome of style, substance and exclusivity and includes Chivas Regal 12, 18 and 25 Year Old. To celebrate its fifth year as official partner of the Festival de Cannes, on the 18th May Chivas Regal will launch the world’s first website to take users on a fully interactive virtual VIP journey through the world’s most prestigious film festival. To experience the Legend of Cannes, from the 18th May guests can visit www.chivas.com/cannes

The 150th Victoria Highland Games Association ***Whisky School*** This past weekend Whisky Intelligence was afforded the opportunity to once again help run the Whisky School at the 150th Victoria Highland Games Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th of May in Victoria, British Columbia. As an obvious whisky enthusiast this was not something to let slip by, a whisky school held in a tent in the midst of a Highland Games; magic! HRH the Duke of York was the Chieftain of the Games and was very much in evidence along with his RCMP close protection detail. Some 25,000 people attended the Games over the course of the weekend which was a record crowd. The Whisky School was located in a prime central location with lots of foot traffic. While the weather was quite good for an outdoor event Saturday it certainly leaned towards the traditional Scottish model (umbrellas part of the day and slightly chilly), Sunday followed the west coast model and was warm and sunny. Before the action.... The Whisky School was laid out into three classes a day with 44 attendees in each class with a really good variety of whiskies were presented; here are the official class descriptions; 1) Saturday May 18th 12-1:00 PM. The Whyte and Mackay Blending Seminar with J. Wheelock   Want to impress your friends at parties? Want to improve your resume? How about… sampling some excellent Whiskies while trying your hand at being a Master Blender? The Whyte and Mackay Blending Seminar will be conducted by ambassador J. Wheelock and the lucky attendees will nose and sample 5 of the component Whiskies in the Whyte and Mackay Special and then actually blend them together. Participants will then go on to compare with their neighbours as to how well they did compared to the control sample of Whyte and Mackay Special Blend. Seats are limited; don’t miss your chance to have the best bragging rights in town. P.S. We’re just kidding about the resume thing. This only counts as FUN.” (Note: the Saturday & Sunday seminars are identical in format).   2) Saturday May 18th 1:45-2:45 PM. Scotch & Irish Whisk(e)y 101 with Graeme Macaloney PhD.  Looking to understand how Scotch & Irish whiskies are made, where their flavours come from, and taste the final product? This Scotch & Irish Whisky 101 tasting session will encompass classic whiskies including blended Scotch, triple distilled Irish whisky, a Speyside single malt and Island Scotch single malts from Edrington and Beam Global. A Scotsman and university trained in fermentation, Graeme Macaloney will take you through an organoleptic tasting experience of these ‘old-country’ whiskies and how they are made.  3) Saturday May 18th 3:30-4:30 PM.  Around The World in Six Whiskies with Roberto Roberti   Strap yourselves in for a round the world journey where ambassador Roberto Roberti will show case some exceptional award winning whiskies from a variety of countries. This class will be conducted so that the attendees will not know which whisky is which until revealed by Roberto. Test your skills and see if you can determine from where each whisky is from!   4) Sunday May 19th 12-1:00 PM. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society with Colin Southcombe   The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is the largest private whisky club in the world and it has finally arrived in British Columbia! Society whiskies are by their very nature unique, extremely limited and quite deliciously varied. Colin Southcombe will be leading this class and the single malts being poured will be a revelation!  5) Sunday May 19th 1:45-2:45 PM. The Independents with Roberto Roberti   Ambassador Roberto Roberti has reached into his magnificent bag of whiskies to formulate the lineup for this class which will feature two of Scotland’s most famous independent bottlers including some award winning blends, some single cask limited editions and two whiskies from a distillery whose name was only recent revealed.   6) Sunday May 19th 3:30-4:30 PM. The Whyte and Mackay Blending Semin

Canadian Whisky Twitter Tasting and Book Review The Grand Finale of #DavinTT  A month of discussing Davin de Kergommeaux’s Canadian whisky book on Twitter will wrap up on Sunday May 26, at 3:00 eastern time. Please join us for the final installment of #DavinTT on Twitter. This week we’ll be discussing Chapters 22 through 25 of Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert while we sip a wee dram of Canadian whisky. If you want to join in, any Canadian whisky will do. However, this week we will discuss Highwood, Hiram Walker, Forty Creek, and Valleyfield distilleries so if you have a whisky from one of these distilleries on hand, all the better. Go to #DavinTT on Twitter at 3:00 eastern time, Sunday and join in the discussion, add your comments, interact with author, Davin de Kergommeaux, and discuss a Canadian whisky you are tasting. We invite bloggers to blog about the book, the experience, the whiskies and/or Davin. Let the fun begin! If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me, @WhiskyLassie on twitter. Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is available at Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, and many other fine bookstores, or on-line at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

Loch Fyne Whiskies Stocks Bunnahabhain BBR 1990 21yo Cask 19 Bunnahabhain BBR 1990 21yo Cask 19 46% abv £79.00 inc vat £65.83 ex vat ‘…A big, robust sherry cask Bunnahabhain…’ Best regards, Loch Fyne Whiskies david@lfw.co.uk

www.ralfy.com visits a Canadian distiller and finds out about a unique feature in the warehouse with Whisky Review 363 (4/7) – John’s Canadian Oak casks at 40 Creek Distillery

The second of two new releases by The Whisky Mercenary: Braes o’ Glenlivet aka Braeval 1991. Braeval 21 yo 1991 (47,7%, The Whisky Mercenary 2013) Nose: a nice, warm fruit basket, with buttery pears, raspberry, banana and mango. Coconut cream as well as white chocolate. Honey and cinnamon cookies. Marshmallow. Also pleasant background dust, oak polish and mint, in case the fruity notes made you think it was youngish. Rather excellent. Mouth: sweet and fruity again. Tropical banana / coconut combo. Pineapple. Hints of roasted almonds and grain cookies. Chocolate. More spicy than on the nose (ginger and nutmeg). Fades on hay and grasses. Finish: quite long, sweet and spicy with fading cocoa. The scoop of introducing great Braeval 1991 was for Master of Malt, but this one is just as good. More expensive though. Around € 90. Score: 88/100

This is the first of the new batch just released by Wemyss I am about to review, as i was feeling like and Islay, then I realised this one is not going to give me a peat boost, but the colour was very enticing, and Bunna’s are lovely as well, so here it is. Vintage 2001 making it 13 years ...

Dalmore Gran Reserva 40% abv Score:  84/100 So sayeth the sages: this Dalmore Gran Reserva was a replacement for the Cigar Malt.  If rumours are to be believed (and surprisingly, in the whisky industry, they often are) then the reasons for this replacement were due to a more politically aware viewpoint, forced or otherwise, suggesting that it was inappropriate to market the malt with ‘cigar’ on the label.  Really?  C’mon.  Alcohol and smokes have always been tighter than Tom Cruise and crazy. Further refutation may lie, I would argue, in the fact that the Dalmore website still offers up a Cigar Malt Reserve.  A higher end version, yes, but obviously the naming convention is still in tact.  Hmmmm.  Can’t always trust the scuttlebutt, I suppose. Moving on, and keeping our ears to the ground ’round the watercooler…further gossip suggests that this malt is simply a repackaging of the now obsolete standard Cigar Malt expression.  I welcome correction here from anyone ‘in the know’, but I can unequivocably state that I have put these drams head-to-head several times now and there is no comparison.  The Gran Reserva is rather balanced, spicy and pleasant, while the Cigar Malt I found pungent, malty, heavy and cloying.  I should also note this release at 40% abv and the Cigar Malt at 43%. Anyway…unless my bottle of the CM was a dud, these are most definitely entities unto themselves.  And on record…this one kicks the piss outta the other. Gran Reserva is a mix of Oloroso and Bourbon cask-matured malts, with the ration skewing more heavily towards the former.  Logically you’d expect sweetness, dried fruits and spice.  Check, check, check.  This is all well met by a very typical Dalmore orange note.  Component casks are between 10 and 15 years of age.  Nice whisky.  I like this one. Nose:  Doughy.  Some cinnamon and creme caramel.  Vanilla.  Orange.  Fruity Ju-jubes…and/or maybe a hint of Wine Gums.  Nice spice profile.  Pronounced, but not loud.  More like ‘well-articulated’ spices. Palate:  Orange again.  Very pleasant warm spices.  Chocolate (both milk and white varieties).  Wow…is this ever soft and pillowy.  An easy sipper. This is a ‘library malt’ to me.  Armchair, Hemingway, Dalmore. - Reviewed by:  Curt - Photo:  Curt