Scotch and Whisky

Dorling Kendersley's Eyewitness book "Whiskey" has a great quote: "You bought it -- drink it however you like it." However, just like wine, many people are intimidated by Scotch and Whisky. Here's some simple guidelines.

1) Don't be too judgmental. There are a lot of Scotch and Whiskies out there, and they have a huge range of flavors. Just because you've tried one or two without being impressed just means to keep tasting. There is one for everyone -- be patient.

2) The official guidelines for what glass to use is to use something in a tulip shape. Riedel, Glencarin, Spiegelau, and Sagaform are all available from Amazon and have excellent shape. That said, I do like the heavier weight of an old fashioned glass. It just feels right in the hand. And yes, wine glasses can work just fine.

3) Pour a couple of onces into your glass. I like my Scotch at room temperature. Feel free to swirl and and sniff just like you might wine. Even look at it just like you might wine -- note the color and how thickly the Scotch sticks to the side of the glass. However, Scotch and Whisky aren't wine. The serious levels of alcohol (much higher than any wine) and sniffing can numb the taste buds so you won't taste as much. So, take your time. Let your nose and mouth recover. Then take a sip.

4) Many Scotches will benefit from just a few drops of room temperature water added. This opens it up a bit so you can smell even more of its character. So, give this a try. Note whether you liked the Scotch neat or with the water -- and try to remember for the next time.

Again, the important thing is to do what you enjoy most. If you want to add lots of water, go ahead. If you want to tone it down a bit, add some ice. Do what feels right to you. For my part, I love just sipping it neat or with a couple drops of water. I sip it slow -- two or three ounces will last me nearly an hour.

I went to an absolutely fantastic event last night. Total Beverage arranged a Glenmorangie Scotch Dinner at the Meritage Restaruant at the Omni Interlocken Resort near my home. David Blackmore of Glenmorangie was our tour guide through this wonderful gastronomic adventure. The food, brought to us by Executive Chef David and Sous Chef Mario, was absolutely superb as was the service of the Omni. Here's the menu they served, along with pairings.

• Social: Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne


• First Course: Pear and Brie Latte with Scotch Foam, Duck Confit, Black Mustard Oil and Micro Greens paired with Glenmorangie the Original


• Second Course: Korean-Style Barbecued Scottish Salmon with Charred Leaf and Haricots-Vets Salad, Toasted Sesame Seed and Chili paired with Glenmorangie the Nectar D'Or


• Third Course: Foie Gras with Bitter Chocolate Veloute, Walnut Crusted French toast and Spiced Peach paired with Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban


• Fourth Course: Single Malt Brined Squab with Burnt Blood Orange and Star Anise Butter, Ancient Grains and Root Spinach, and Scotch Quail Egg paired with Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX


• Fifth Course: Ash Grilled Venison with Roated Cipollini Onion, Smoked Wild Bluebery Essesnce, Potato and Oat Porridge paired with Glenmorangie Finealta


• Finish: Liquid nitrogen cinnamon raison gelato incuding brown butter cake, Madagascar chocolate, and peanut and toffee clusters served table side paired with Glenmorangie The Lasanta

This actually ended up a seven course meal, as appetizers were served with the Champaign. I can't possible provide a complete review of this transformational experience in the short space that I have here. Of the whole experience, my favorite pairing was Foie Gras with the Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban. The Foie Gras was perfectly prepared and went well with the Scotch; however, the biggest surprise for me in this dish was how well the spiced exotic fruits brought the whole pairing together.

Each of the six different Scotches presented were both distinctly Glenmorangie while having their own specific character. Of these, two are special bottlings -- Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX and Glenmorangie Finealta. Of course, one of these and the one I can't get now to try again, was my favorite: Sonnalta PX. Lots of wonderful tastes and smells came out of this complex Scotch -- dates, raisins, walnuts with a dry, spicy finish.This wonderful whisky was finished in special purchase oak casks. Spanish sherry was matured in the raw casks to leech out the tannins before used by Glenmorangie to make the Sonnalta PX -- the expense of the result was worth it but we're unlikely to enjoy the likes again for a long time!

My favorite course was the ash grilled venison. The meat was provided perfectly browned and rare, and the ash rub used balanced the gamey taste of the venison. The smoked wild blueberry essence went superbly with the peaty Glenmorangie Finealta.

The company at the table was lively and dynamic, with a wide range of backgrounds and interest. Thane, Jerome, Jenn, Eric, Tina, and Tom helped to make this a perfect evening. We had wonderful discussions about our travel and dining experiences. We all had a common interest in Scotch and food, and think we left convinced that powerful dishes with a wide range of wonderful tastes and textures can be paired with Scotch of great character. What an experience!

Laphroaig 10 Year Old was the first Scotch I ever tasted. Believe it or not, this smokey, seaweedy overpowering Scotch is what set the hook and I always remember it fondly. I think I still have the bottle someplace in the basement... Ever since then, I've always been partial to Islay Scotch.

So, when I saw Laphroaig's new Quarter Cask offer, I was compelled to give it a try. This Scotch is double cask matured, first in Laphroaig's normal American oak barrels, and then transferred for final maturation in quarter casks. These are a through back to history when Whisky was often transported by packhorse. The smaller casks provide much greater contact with the barrel (60% according to the distillery). The Scotch poors into the glass relatively dark, but still a nice warm gold. You can smell the smokey peat literally across the room the moment you open the bottle. You can smell the traditional heather and seaweed I associate with Laphroaig behind the haze of smoke. The Scotch definitely tastes smokey, but perhaps a bit more smooth than Laphroaig 10 year. The sweet taste of the malt still comes through nicely. I think this is an excellent Scotch for cold winter nights next to a real wood fire. Probably would go well after steaks, too.

The other Scotch was a birthday gift from my brother. Bruichladdich Peat. When you go to the web site, you'll love the distiller's tag line: "100% Islay from barley to bottle. Savour the flavour." Awesome. The Scotch was designed by the head distiller, Jim McEwan, to offer a very heavily peated flavor. Is there a market for organic Scotch? This one is coloring free and non chill-filtered (you can see a bit of sediment in the bottle -- nice). This must be one of the more floral Scotches of Islay. It still has the rich island character, but is sweet and floral enough to remind me of Springbank. Bruichladdich describes the Scotch as being more elegant than some of the other Islay peated whiskies, and I agree.

Explaining how Whisky is made like talking about the chicken and the egg. The process of making Whisky varies on the ingredients you are using, and the ingredients vary according to the kind of Whisky being made. Neither make since without knowing the other. I'll start with ingredients and then go to through the general process. For a much more prosaic and complete discussion, you might consider reading the "The World of Whiskey" chapter in Eyewitness Compainions' Whisky from Dorley Kindersley.

Whisky uses just a few ingredients, but they must be of the absolutely highest quality. Whisky uses a variety of grains, yeast, water, peat, and wood. The grains include corn, wheat, rye, and the King of grains, barley. Whiskey from the states widely uses corn and rye and Scotch and Irish Whisky uses barley and wheat. There are, as always, exceptions. The combinations of grain used is tightly regulated. Yeast is used in the fermenting process to covert sugars extracted from the grains into alcohol. Water is used throughout the process of making Whisky. It has many effects on the taste of the Whisky in the end, and not all water is well suited to the mash step when sugars are extracted from grain (much to the dismay of home brewers in some places in the United States). Water has always been one of the chief factors in locating distilleries. Whiskey's that use barley are malted, and Scotch uses peat in the malt kiln to heat and flavor the barley as it's malted. And finally, you've got wood. Most often, oak barrels are used to mature the Whiskey. The type of oak and the way the barrels are prepared has a great effect on the flavor of the Whisky.

Production of Whisky involves malting, mashing, fermenting, distilling, and maturing. Malting is a process where barley is allowed to sprout to promote increased sugar yields. Malted barley also releases enzymes during the mashing process which are essential in fermentation, so almost all grain bills for Whisky include some malted barley. The grains are combined (often after being ground) to produce grist and then hot water is added to create the mash. The mashing process for Whisky is very similar to that used for brewing beer. In fact, some new distilleries get their mash from breweries. It's a complicated process. Once completed, the mash is cooled to a temperature that is perfect for yeast growth and then yeast is added. Fermentation results and turns the wort (the liquid created by mashing) into a frothing, boiling, volatile mess as the yeast eats sugar and produces alcohol and CO2 (don't let anybody tell you Whisky isn't an organic product). Once fermentation is complete, the liquid gets put into copper stills where the Whisky is distilled. This involves heating he liquid till it starts to steam. The steam rises into pipes where it condenses into spirit. This will contain a very high alcohol content. Water is added to a lower the alcohol volume, and then put into oak barrels (or casks) for maturation. This is one of the more magical portions of the Whisky process and takes a couple to several years. Some Whisky's are put into barrels which have also been used for wine or another kind of Whisky in second or even third stage maturations which adds additional flavors to the result.

Then it's bottled and shipped so we can enjoy it. This is a complete over simplification of the process -- there are folks throughout the world who dedicate their lives to becoming master distillers and I suspect they always are learning more. But, you've got to admit the result is worth it!

Its good to enjoy great products from where you live -- and you'd think that Colorado would be a great place for lots of Whiskies. Barley grown in high altitude crisp air combined with the fresh, clear water from the mountain streams in the Rockies. The Barley and water is so good, Colorado now boasts more micro-brews and brews more beer by volume than any other state. But, there's not much Whiskey being made. Which is why Stranahan's Colorado is so special.

I've been sipping a nice pour of this aromatic, oakey, piney Whiskey this afternoon. My bottle is from Batch # 54 and is 47% ABV. Hand made in Denver, this batch was distilled January 2008 while distiller listened to Freddie King. I'd share the distiller's name, but I can't read his signature! The mash used 100% malted barley, 80% of which comes from Colorado (according to Stranahan's web site).

This is definitely a Whiskey to sip. It smells inviting, warm, and malty. When you sip, first you get a taste of the malt and this if followed by a medicinal taste as 47% alcohol combines with a very strong oak flavor. It finishes with an ascerbic pine taste. There are more flavors and smells that go along with the Whiskey, but my palette is not as refined as most so its hard to describe. I think its best summed up as a great Whiskey to spend the afternoon with in November as the snow melts in the fall sun. Brilliant!

Shoveled 8" of unpredicted snow this morning, and now, in the late afternoon, the sun is coming out and bringing the world alive in white brilliance. I'm enjoying a nice sip of Aberlour single malt before I get on with my other chores.

Speyside produces wonderfully sweet, floral, and sometimes peaty Scotches. One of my favorite distilleries is Aberlour, founded by James Fleming in 1879. They produce several fantastic Scotches. I absolutely love A'bunadh, but I also think their 16-year Double Cask Matured Scotch is undervalued. This Single Malt is aged first in oak and then matured further in Sherry casks. The result is a very accessible whisky that is richly amber, floral and spicy in nose, and sweetly spicy and oakey. With an ABV of 43%, a splash of water does it well.

One of the things I most like about Scotch is the ritual of pouring a dram or so. I think its the wonderful, solid glass and the traditional colours and art on the labels. And the light pop you get as you pull the cork.

The evening of the Winter's Solstace is coming to a close. It's 26 degrees Farhenheit outside. It's 1:40am. And the nutty toffee taste of The Macallan 12 year. We watched the first half of the eclipse sitting on our back porch. My wife and I were both bundled up and wearing balaclavas, wrapped up in blankets. The sky had been hazy with high altitude clouds until midnight and then became completely clear by 12:30am. Absolutely beautiful. And I just sipped away at a The Macallan 12 Year, my Reidel glass snuggled in my gloved hands, thinking life is just grand.

This is a highly recommended Scotch, aged in sherry casks. I find it completely different than my regular Speyside Scotch (Springbank). Rich tastes, and very smooth. The tasting notes from the cellar says the scotch has rich flavors of vanilla, toffee, and a hint of hazelnut. An absolutely fantastic single malt!

Finished up a great bottle of Bruichladdich "Peat" the other day. So, as I walked through the the local liquor store looking for wine Saturday, the specials display caught my eye. They had a few bottles from a distillery I hadn't heard of -- Leopold Bros. They had a few, including an infused whiskey flavored with New York Apples. Batch 1107, as a matter of fact. My wife, strictly a Seagrams 7 Crown lady, wanted to try it. What a surprise. It does have a very heavy apple flavor, and comes across very sweet. But, it's definitely a whiskey with multiple complex tasts and I'm looking forward to getting a bottle of the straight (non infused) American Small Batch Whiskey.

What's really cool is that this is also from a local distillery. This is part of a growing movement to bring back American small batch whiskey. They use a traditional sour mash of corn and rye fermented at colder temperatures, but not refrigerated. The slower fermentation helps to develop more subtle flavors. They distill in small batch copper pots over a full day. The process is time consuming and definitely low production -- only 240 bottles per batch! Leopold Bros thinks that their process emphasizes the flavors of the raw materials and the fermentation process much more than many whiskeys that emphasize the flavors of the barrels in which the whiskeys are aged.

I'm inclined to agree and am looking forward to the next batch!