Scotchless

Daryl's post about everyday scotch below is particularly helpful today, as I find myself without the good bottle of scotch I was hinting (and hinting, and hinting) about for my birthday yesterday. Nobody took the bait. Probably my own fault, couching my desires so obliquely as "You could get me some Talisker" or "Hey, maybe some Talisker."

Everyday Drinking

So like most of us, I just don't have a lot of cash but do enjoy having a little bit of whisky/whiskey at the end of a hard day. Not a lot, maybe a finger or finger and a half in my favorite tumbler. But that can be hard on the old wallet when we're looking at quality single-malt scotches. What to do?

At the nearest liquor store to me, there are a couple of $25 single-malts. Both are not bad, but the problem being that if they are more than a decent bottle of bourbon or rye, then what go for it? So I made myself a challenge. Find a moderately priced blended scotch that's close to $20 to be the "everyday" drink. Fortunately, in my house, my former roommates had left a couple of bottles of just this sort of thing behind. One was a gift bottle of Ballentine's Finest and the other was Dewar's White Label. To this mix I added a bottle of the Famous Grouse based up on reviews of the bottle on Whisky Magazine's website.

I didn't consider several bottles for a few reasons. Price eliminated Johnnie Walker Black Label, Chivas Regal, and the Pinch. Reviews and my personal aversion to trying liquor that I used to see on billboards in my youth eliminated Cutty Sark and J&B. Just out of laziness, I didn't try Vat 69 and a few other cheap bottles on the second to the bottom shelf (the Grouse had that honor).

I found the Ballentine's to be pretty nondescript. Not bad, not great. Earthy while average. It didn't distinguish itself to me enough that I thought I would consider it for the "everyday bottle."

Dewar's White Label was good, but a bit light for my tastes. It also scored okay on the Whisky Magazine website compared to other cheaper blends. I can understand why it would be as popular as it is. I'm not impressed by their ad campaign, but that's besides the point. As with Ballentine's, I found the flavor at the start to be typically scotch, but failed to give me greater complexity on the back end. It's good for a party where you'd like to have a bottle. I would have considered this an everyday bottle except that it was also three dollars more expensive than the Famous Grouse.

I looked at a couple of places for the Grouse. One on Mass Ave had it for about three dollars more than the other place, which in addition to being cheaper is also closer to home. The second place had the bottles on the bottom shelf collecting dust. I was curious about this one because I had read that it is the best selling scotch in Scotland, had decent reviews on the Whisky Magazine website (same as above), and well, I saw it at the bar at the opera my girlfriend had me go to. So all that, it had a lot of build up to it. In the end, I was a bit apprehensive, but not disappointed. It was a bit unusual to my palate, a bit sweeter than what I had imagined. Almost American in the sense it was sweet, but not fruity. Kind of like a scotch/bourbon hybrid. It's darker than either Dewars or Ballentine, and I like that. I've noticed that I do tend to like my whisky darker. So for the time being, until I find a better, cheap whisky, I reckon the Famous Grouse wins out for being flavorful enough, cheap enough, and not giving me a raging headache. Although there was that strange dream about drowning in an elevator.....

The Truth About Bond, James Bond

If you've never looked at this website, you really should. Make Mine A 007 is a great site and this page has the stats on the literary Bond. If you combine bourbon and scotch drinks, as the Minister notes, Bond is definitely a whisky man.

Upon Further Review

So I discovered the other night that the Temple Bar on Mass Ave stocks Green Label and I had wanted to give that one another spin before giving a final opinion. I should say that I came to scotch drinking only a few years ago after passing through a bourbon stage and a rye whiskey stage. If you’ve read my earlier posting about sampling, then you know how I went about finding which scotch I enjoy and that I do enjoy Dalwhinnie single malt.

At the recent Johnnie Walker tasting, I was excited to get a chance to sample the Green Label. I will say that unfortunately the Green Label was my smallest taste and so I felt that I didn’t have enough to make my definitive decisions that night. I’ve visited a few places since then trying to find someone who stocked it in my area and was glad when I stopped into the Temple Bar to find it. At $9 a snort, it wasn’t bad as far as TB’s prices go (I had one of Baker’s for $8.50). I had one on the rocks and then another straight up—I was willing to spend more to make my decision.

While I think that this blend can ease one into single malts, I don’t think it works the other way. Some of the subtleties of the single malt flavor seemed to be blunted. The stronger smokier flavors came through stronger. I enjoyed the nose of Green Label but felt the flavor didn’t quite live up to that promise. In this way, I would have preferred just to have the JW workhorse of Black Label if I were going to have a blended whisky or just a single malt.

At $60 a bottle, I also feel the offering a bit over priced. Its quality is high, but I feel that dollar for dollar there are other scotches that offer more in terms of flavor and layering. I wouldn’t necessarily stock it at home, but if I were in the mood, I wouldn’t blink at paying $9 for a snort at the Temple Bar.

So Upon Further Review, the ruling on the field stands.

I'm a sucker for awards

So there are World Whiskies Awards here on the Whisky Magazine webpage. Also has a number of helpful rankings.

Johnnie Walker—it’s a lot of work

If you’ve never attended a Johnnie Walker event, you should if you get the chance. I did over the weekend and while some of the others around me complained a little, it’s a free event and you get a chance to try all five of the core lines. You sign up at the website and you get invites to these events.

Listening to others around me who had attended these events before, this was pretty typical. A small reception with a free drink and a few appetizers followed by a multi-media presentation and the sampling. It’s not a lot of scotch, but you get a taste.

It was interesting to see how they recommended you drink their products and it was interesting to get that chance other than reading it in some brochure. Some of the folks I sat near were confused about the order of the labels, but that was understandable. So here are the notes and what I thought.

Red Label: This was the first Johnnie Walker I ever tried way back in the day, and have to say I wasn’t crazy about it then. What I was told on Friday was that this was designed as a mixing blend, which when you’re 18 you’d probably wouldn’t know anyhow. At the tasting they had a little ginger ale and Coke and you could which to mix it with (and they really wanted you to do that). I’m not a big mixed drink kind of guy (I do have the occasional martini or manhattan, but I don’t usually go out and have a cocktail), but mixed with a little Coke it was fine.

Black Label: This was presented as the closest to the original and as the workhorse. They had us try this one first and it did sent a very good baseline. I prefer my scotch neat, and this was very nice. As we all know, Black is a blend of 40 odd whiskies at a minimum age of 12 years. For my money, I think Black label is the best value dollar for dollar amongst their lines.

Green Label: I hadn’t tried Green before and was curious. They suggested drinking it with an ice cube to slightly chill the scotch. Originally called Pure Malt, this is a blend of 15 year old single malts all with a minimum being 15 years old. As someone who prefers single malts, I was sort of confused by this one. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t distinguish itself either. I found it to be a muddle of familiar tastes and I could identify some of the characteristics of its parents, but felt I wish one of them would have discriminated itself. Not bad, but I would still prefer my Dalwhinnie if I’m going to spend $59 - $62 on a bottle.

Gold Label: They presented this one as the champagne of whisky. They suggested it be frozen for 24 hours prior to drinking and ours was given to us still frosty and cold. Smoother than Black. Maybe not a bad deal at $65 (Broadway Market). A special occasion kind of drink, and definitely one I would dishonor by mixing with something else.

Blue Label: Okay, so this was the reason so many showed up (other than the promise of free booze). We all know about this $30 drink. Their suggestion is to take a sip of ice water before drinking it in order to cool your mouth down a little. The event was my third opportunity to sample Blue Label. It’s good. There’s no arguing that, but my thing has always been, is it $250 a bottle good? In general, I would say “no.” I’ve had a lot of different scotches, blended and single malts, and Blue Label is certainly up there, but again, on a dollar for dollar basis, I think it’s more the prestige rather than the product. You’re spending for the occasion. This isn’t to say that I would ever turn down a drink of this fine blend, but if I’m paying, I’m probably going for a good single malt which is my personal preference anyway.

So, if you get a chance to go to a Johnnie Walker event, by all means do so. It's a wonderful and educational experience. And there is a little bit of free booze to start you off on a Friday night. Plus, I got a lapel pin out of it.

Birthday Booze?

My birthday looms large. If I don't decide to jump off a bridge with the number "38" carved on my chest, I'm seriously considering combining a dinner party with a meeting of the society. My tiny little barbarian children have all but destroyed our nice dining table, but it might have one civilized sitdown left in it. I found an excellent recipe for steak with peppercorn sauce that I think I'll serve, and I'm sure I can come up with a whiskey theme to match.

IN THE MEANTIME, my lovely wife has started asking for gift suggestions. I think what I'd like is a good bottle of something. I'm a cheapskate, usually, so this could be an opportunity to stock up on some halfway decent hooch. I'm considering asking for a bottle of Lucid absinthe, or maybe some of that Old Portrero rye of Daryl's that we all liked so much. I'm totally ignorant of scotch, so I wouldn't even know where to begin (Laphroaig, maybe? Everyone seems to like that).

Anyone have any suggestions for something in the $75-100 price range I can make my baby buy me?

Travel

While I have to say that some of my past preference for bourbon had something to do with a girl from Kentucky I used to have thing for, time has not dulled my taste for that wonder that is bourbon. Checking my e-mail today, I saw this NYT article about blugrass and bourbon. Happy reading.

Single Malt on the Cheap

So originally, I was a bourbon drinker and Dad was a scotch drinker, and just after my brother came of age, he told us about a program he saw where the host suggested buying a sampler called “Classic Malts of Scotland.” Each had a little 5cl bottle of Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Oban, and Talisker. In the end, my brother and I bought Dad two of these. I discovered Dalwhinnie and after a waiting a couple of years, I’ve had them both. The reason this person said this was a good set was you could taste different ones without having to drop a few C notes, decide which one you liked, then look on the map (included) to see what region it came from and then try different ones from that region. It’s a good idea and nice way to start.

Sure, I tried blended scotches. I’ve had Johnny Walker Red, Black, and Blue and was shocked at the last one’s price. One roommate bought a bottle of Dewar’s White Label which took a long time to find it’s end. Then there was one roommate’s mother who bought us a bottle of Ballantine’s Finest, which ended up with the dubious fate of being fodder for Boilermakers. Needless to say, blended scotch isn’t a particular favorite of mine and I have never purchased a bottle personally.

But I digress. As time went on, I tried others like Auchentoshan and Aberlour, mostly because other people both them. Fifty plus dollar bottles of scotch are way out of my range to buy “just to try.” And going to bars with good selections and ordering different ones can be equally expensive. I figured if every time I had a desire for a Dalwhinnie, I put ten bucks in a jar, I could buy myself my own bottles which would last a whole lot longer. This I did and continue to do, but as time went on, I wanted to expand my horizons. Enter, the new strategy.

I try to keep my eyes out for tastings and flights. My biggest problem with tastings is 1) sometimes they are still outside my meager budget and 2) they are often when I have other things planned. Ah the life of the busy drunkard poet. In any case, if I can find a good flight (and if you know of one in the Boston area, let me know) that is usually more convenient since I can usually get someplace around my schedule. Two that are out near my area is Legal Seafoods and Gargoyles on the Square. The Legal one changes from time to time, and sometimes they don’t have one at all for single malt scotch. You’ll just have to go, but it consists of three one-ounce samples for about $13. Gargoyles on the Square has one consisting of Laphroaig, Glenlivet, and Glenmorangie for $20.

The mainstay of my new strategy has been nips samplers. I’ve tried two I found at Downtown Liquors in Somerville. One was the Glenfiddich Reserve Collection (a 12, 15, and 18 year). The other is a Balvenie (a 12, 15, and 21). The nip bottles are good since there is a pretty decent range of workhorse to mid-level scotches out there and they are a relatively inexpensive way of trying different ones out. Unless of course, you’ve got a well-heeled friend who likes to buy you expensive drinks. Plus, in some of these sets you can get a taste of something a bit higher up the food chain.

Shall I Expand My Horizons and Empty My Wallet

I fear that the sad state of my personal store grows by the passing day. Recently, I admitted to a good friend near Asheville that my house lacked bourbon and the only scotch left was a terrible bottle of the cheapest stuff known to Man and only enough of the bottle of Dalwhinnie that Pankaj gave me last year to coat my mouth. Breaking down at my last paycheck I bought a 200ml bottle of Caol Ila to try out, and noticed in my searches that there was a bottle of Suntory Yamazaki 12-year Single Malt whispering to me from out of the mist. And so I'm faced with either being responsible and resist or breakdown and return for it as a birthday present to myself.

How to Taste Whiskey

Another half-ass post that's just a link to a blog written by someone who actually gives a crap, but:

How to Taste Whiskey (Part 1) at the Accidental Hedonist.

For myself, I tried Blanton's bourbon the other night, and really enjoyed it. I would have jotted down some sort of tasting notes, but most of the time, I forget this blog exists. So it was yummy and smooth and contained alcohol. Thus endeth the review.

Whiskey Terminology

Posted by Kate over at Accidental Hedonist:

Whiskey Terminology

Blackberries? Then It Must Be Good For You

It's probably bad blog form to link to The Cocktail Chronicles in back to back posts, but since this was a rye recipe, I figured it fit in here pretty well.

This drink was introduced by Allen Katz, who says he retrieved this from the Baltimore Country Club, which documented its existence around 1898. Considering that fate made sure I had all the ingredients on hand, I thought it’d be a good idea to put one together. Considering this has rye, mint, blackberries and ginger beer (I broke out my last bottle of Blenheim’s for the gig), what’s not to like?

Click here for the recipe. Also this makes me think we need find a hookup for decent ginger beer, since I've also been on a Moscow Mule kick (retarded pun not intended) lately.

Paul Clarke, Cocktail Jesus

Great little interview in Salon with Paul Clarke, who writes Cocktail Chronicles. Makes me wish I'd tried a Manhattan on the N.E.W.S. rye night.

Talk About Johnny Walker BLACK

The Accidental Hedonist got a letter from someone whose bottle of whiskey turned black after 50 years. Any ideas what would cause it?

Inspite of the Good Reverend's observation

Yes, I was inebriated, but I shall give you my pedestrian assessment of the five rye.

1. Old Potrero: A single-malt rye that I first read about a few years ago in the New York Times. At that time, it was only available in limited areas and was then $90 a bottle. In the Boston area, there are a couple of places you can find this treasure of the American tradition of whiskey. It's not $90, but it is $65 and worth every penny. The one we sampled in very limited amounts was the 18th Century version. Remarkably smooth for a whiskey that is both cask-strength and one year old. Spicy and strong, this is the good stuff.
2. Old Overholt: The basic standard of the straight-rye whiskeys. Good for mixing and good neat. The face on the label says it all. I will admit the first time I tried this whiskey (a couple of years ago), I felt it was a little flat for me. But it has really grown on me. It's cheap, smooth, and easy.
3. Sazerac 6 year: Okay, there is an 18 year version out there, but who's got the money? Still the Sazerac 6 year is a good whiskey that I put in 3rd on this list. I've always enjoyed it neat and in the cocktail of the same name. Our good brother Daryle and the good Reverend Tim were kind enough to provide the proper materials for this "graduate level" cocktail (props to Tim). Good, solid whiskey that really pushed me over the edge.
4. Wild Turkey 101 Straight Rye: I will admit that this is my usual straight rye. It's not as good as some of the others, and it is pretty hot down the throat. But I do find it to be spicier than Old Overholt and Sazerac, and I can taste the rye better. A little water does go a long way with this one. Of course, we did sample this one immediately after Old Potrero and I think that was a bit unfair.
5. Jim Beam Straight Rye: Well someone has to come in last. I will admit that by this point, I was feeling the Herradura I had with my dinner a lot more than when I had sampled the previous four. But it was the most unremarkable of the five. Less spicy and less distinct. Not a bad whiskey, but it definitely had stiff competition that night.

All in all, it was an enjoyable evening, even being three sheets to the wind. Personally, I hadn't been this far gone in a while, so I'm proposing we only limit the number of whiskey samples to three bottle, not five and I'll forgo my dinner drink the next time.

Inaugural Meeting

Let the record show that the first meeting of the New England Whiskey Society was held on a wretched, blustery President's Day. Pankaj and Brother Daryl hosted the affair, and it was a ringing, boozy success. Their apartment was perfect, having no fewer than three separate liquor stashes, each of which seems to be hidden proportionally to the quality of booze it contains. There were rumors of a floating stash, containing booze so rare that it gets moved from hiding place to hiding place daily. I suspect one of them has a bottle in a briefcase they keep chained to their wrist like the nuclear football.

We tasted ryes - Old Overholt, Jim Beam, Sazerac, and Wild Turkey. That was the official menu, anyway. After a couple of "tastings," Brother Daryl got expansive and revealed a bottle of Old Potrero from Stash #2.

After we'd tasted the entire flight of happy hooch, it was time for cocktails. I was feeling quite proud of myself for scoring some Peychaud's Bitters for authentic sazeracs, but Other Brother Daryle trumped me by bringing some real absinthe for the drinks. And it's true: an authentic sazerac, made with Sazerac rye, Peychaud's and absinthe rather than a pastis, is a truly sublime experience.

Next came Cocktails à la Louisiane, again courtesy of Other Brother Daryle and his bottle of Benedictine. It should be noted that he brought all of his treats in a truly chic liquor attache case that folded out like somthing James Bond would get from Q. Anyway, these were also scrumptious. Next, Brother Daryl made some Manhattans, but he was too woozy to finish the job. Other Brother Daryle and Pankaj got them, though, and seemed appropriately cockeyed.

We then sent Pankaj to work with a definite list to starboard.

Luckily, we had plenty of grub. Linguisa in a blanket, as well as tofu pups in a blanket, pizza, Crab Mornay, and some ginger noodles I prepared, hoping to riff off a rye highball in the spirit of the night. They came out tasty, if I do say so, but were so salty that my fingers were wrinkled after a few bites. Amelia brought some delicious Indian food that was spicy as hell and provided an excellent excuse to drink more.

All in all, a smashing success. Next month, we do Irish whiskies. Tasting notes from rye night to follow.