twhisky

You can see from this blog that @whisky2dot0 is active on twitter. There are some official distillery representatives on twitter, but mostly it’s enthusiasts.

This is the alphabetical list from which I build my #FollowFriday updates, being those tweeps that @whisky2dot0 follows that are most directly related to whisk(e)y:

#ff #whisky #whiskey #scotch #bourbon
@21cHotels
@aberdeenwhisky

@alcademics

@Amrutsinglemalt
@Anatoli1
@ardbeg_com

@ARDBEG_USA

@ArdbegProject

@Arranwhisky

@BalvenieAW

@BeamGlobal

@Beefeater_24

@Beerandwhiskey

@Benromach

@bestofspeyside
@bestspirit

@blackbottle

@bourbonblog
@bourbonbuzz
@BourbonHouse
@BourbonRevMag
@bowmore1779
@BulleitBourbon

@Bunnahabhain
@bushmillswhisky
@butephoto

@CabinFever80pf
@Cantina_SF
@cask_strength

@charbayspirits

@clanmackay

@cocktailgeek
@cocktailia
@CooleyWhiskey

@Connosr

@CulinaryTrends
@DailyDram

@DandMwines

@dcm

@destinationoban

@distiller
@DistilleryLive

@dr_whisky
@DrMxologi
@drambusters

@DrinkinAmerica

@drunksblog
@dryflydistiller
@finewhisky

@EdinburghWhisky

@Erikpigge
@ForArgyll

@galg
@gazregan
@Glencallum

@glenfarclas
@Glenmo_Guru
@GolfandWhisky
@GoToLouisville
@Gourmet_Alba
@greaterspeyside
@haigwhisky
@HighWest

@huskystud
@iMalts
@islayblog

@JimBeamFans
@jimcronin
@JohnHansell
@Jura_Scotland

@JuraSuperstitn

@justaddbourbon
@kaitlinbitting
@KYbourbongirl
@Kyle_Fraser
@LAB5702
@Laphroiagwhisky

@LaphroiagLovers

@letstalkwhisky
@livethelushlife
@LizzyLongbourne
@lochfynewhisky
@MacallanKen
@Macdeffe
@Makers_Mark

@Maltmaniacs
@maltmasterben
@MasterOfMalt
@mattstevensloop
@MerlynCream
@mintjuleptours
@Mounthooly
@NakedGrouse
@neyahwhite
@nonjatta
@PenderynWhisky
@PendletonWhisky

@rare_drams
@realbourbon

@roseannsessa
@scotchaddict
@ScotchExaminer

@ScotchHobbyist

@scotchhunter
@ScotchWhiskyExp
@ScotlandNews

@scotsites
@scottsigler
@scubadog_uk
@SingleMalting

@SMWSAmerica

@speysidenet
@spirit_speyside

@SpiritofIslay
@Stranahans
@tak1969
@TempletonRye
@the_conk_whisky
@the_nose

@TheAuchentoshan

@TheBondingDram
@TheGlengoyne

@TheGreenWelly

@TheScotsdreamer

@TheWhiskyGuy
@TheWhiskyStore
@tinus123
@TobermoryWhisky
@tourscotland
@Tuthilltown
@TWEBlog

@twhisky
@VisitScotland
@weheartwhisky

@WhiskeyApostle
@whiskeykid

@whiskeypro

@WhiskeyProf
@WhiskeyWhisky

@Whiskibar

@whiskies

@whisky_igel
@Whisky1

@whisky4everyone

@Whisky4Movember
@WhiskyBarrel

@WhiskyBrotherSA
@whiskycast

@whiskychat

@whiskyclubdotnl
@whiskydufftown

@WhiskyEmporium

@whiskyfan

@WhiskyFest

@whiskyguyrob

@Whiskyholler
@WHISKYhost

@whiskyhuis

@whiskyintel

@WhiskyLeague
@Whiskymania
@whiskynews

@WhiskyNotes
@WhiskyOClock

@WhiskyParty

@whiskypicnic
@whiskysamples
@WhiskyViking
@whiskyx3
@wildscotsman
@WisersWhisky
@xtcian

WhiskyFest San Francisco 2009

First, let’s get the big stuff out of the way: In my opinion, this was the best WhiskyFest San Francisco yet. Third time’s the charm!

Impressions:

• The room seemed bigger (this might have been due to a much improved layout)
• There seemed to be more vendors
• There was better food, and more of it — it lasted through the WHOLE event
• There seemed to be more women in the crowd
• The crowd seemed bigger overall
• There were fewer over-intoxicated people

I managed to taste a lot of whiskies (and whiskeys), most of which I have never had before. Here is my list of what I tasted, approximately in order (important note: my wife and I have a system, in which she takes notes and shares my drams while I talk to the folks at the table; I really appreciate her help, without which I would not have any idea what I had tasted!):

• Tomintoul Speyside Glenlivet “Peaty Tang”
• Caol Ila 1979 / Mackillop’s Choice
  • Tasted the above with Lorne Mackillop — wow!
• GlenDronach (formerly Glendronach!)
  • 12yr (Pedro Ximenez)
  • 15yr (Oloroso)
  • 18yr (Oloroso)
• Springbank Distillery
  • Hazelburn 8yr
  • Longrow CV
• Glengyle Distillery
  • Kilkerran (trivia: Kilkerran is the English version of an old Scots Gaelic word)
    • This was a special treat…this expression is not yet available for sale, AFAIK
• Bruichladdich
  • 16yr “First Growth” Series: 16A
  • Resurrection 2001
  • 16yr “First Growth” Series: 16B
    • Tasted the above with Andrew Gray, one of the principals at Bruichladdich Distillery
• K&L Wine Merchants
  • Murray McDavid Caol Ila 2000
  • Murray McDavid Laphroaig 1999

• (rī)¹
• Tomatin 12yr
• Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey
  • Met the “Emperor of Stranahan’s”: Jess Graber
• Wemyss Malts (pronounced “weems“)
  • The Spice King (Highland blend…)
• Cask (a retail partner associated with Bourbon & Branch, a bar in San Francisco)
  • Sazerac 6yr
  • Sazerac 18yr
  • Four Roses Single-Cask (this will be Cask’s exclusive cask, so to speak…)
• Glengoyne
  • 10yr
  • 15yr Scottish Oak (limited edition)
  • 17yr
    • Had a very pleasant conversation with Roderick Mackenzie, one of the directors of Glengoyne!
• Bowmore
  • 18yr

As you can see, I had a lot (24!) of different whiskies (and some whiskeys) over the nearly 3 hours that I was there. But more than that, I met some people who I have previously only met via email. It was a pleasure to finally meet Andrew Gray of Bruichladdich Distillery Company. Sometime I have to tell you all about the event we were working on this past March that didn’t happen. All’s well that ends well.

The thing that really hit home to me, after thinking over the great conversations of last night, was that there seemed to be a much higher presence of folks who flew in from Scotland for this event. The previous two years I only met distributors and local representatives (some of whom knew less about some brands than I did!). This year, I was talking to the people who operate the business. It was a real pleasure to learn from them, and I can’t wait until next year.

Finally, I managed to meet John Hansell in person. The last two years he’s told me to stop by and say hello, but I never managed to bump into him. This year, I spotted him just as I was leaving, so I was able to thank him in person. Since I work in Marketing for my day job, I can really appreciate how hard it is to plan for and to host an event of this scale. He said that this was their 23rd WhiskyFest event, and they really nailed it. Well done!!

Stranahan’s

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey particulars:

Location: 200 South Kalamath Street, Denver, CO‎
Post code: 80223-1813
Region: United States
Since: 2004

What is Scotch? Is It Whisk(e)y?

It’s a question I overheard at the 144th Scottish Highland Gathering & Games‘ WhiskyLive event, at one of the tasting tables. It’s easy to forget to answer these basic questions as you learn more about a subject. This is a good question and should be answered!

Many people are familiar with the term whisk(e)y and know it to be a kind of alcoholic beverage, but not everyone knows the difference between all the types. Whisk(e)y is unique among such beverages because of all the adjectives that go with the noun. Vodka, Gin, Tequila, etc., are just what they sound like. Whisky is more than a product…it’s a category! Whisk(e)y variants depend on where they are made, and the ingredients from which they are made. The closest analogy I can think of is wine, which also has regional aspects (i.e., the terroir) as well as a variety of ingredients (types of grapes: cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, pinot noir, malbec, etc.).

• Is Scotch, whisky?

Yes. Scotch is a kind of whisky. It’s any type of whisky that is made in Scotland that complies with the legal definitions necessary to be called “Scotch.”

• What is whisky?

Essentially, it’s distilled beer that is aged in oak barrels. The length of time it must be aged and the type of wood vary. Usually it’s also mandated to be at least 40% alcohol by volume, which is 80 proof. The type of grain used to make the “beer” determines the type of whisky; the location where it is produced is also important: Scotch is only made in Scotland, but malt whiskies can be made anywhere.

• What other kinds of whisky are there?

Bourbon, Rye, Japanese, Canadian, Irish…and many others.

• What’s the difference?

Besides where they are made, there are different regional or local styles that derive primarily from whatever type of grain was historically grown in that area. Whisky can be theoretically made from one or more cereal grains: Barley, Corn, Rye, Wheat, etc. There are also legal and regulatory definitions that govern whether a product can use one of those names.

• I’ve seen terms like “Single Malt” and “Blended” Scotch; what do they mean?

This is getting a little more involved. Any time you see the term “malt” it refers to “malted barley,” or whisky made from malted barley. When used with the word “malt,” “single” means that the whisky was produced by a single distillery. “Blended” means that the whisky was a mixture of product from multiple distilleries, usually including Scotch grain whisky, i.e., any whisky made in Scotland that is not made exclusively from fermented malted barley. This brochure is a nice introduction to Scotch. I recommend that you look up unfamiliar terms in Google or Wikipedia.

Confusingly the term “single” can have multiple meanings. For instance, a single-grain Rye whiskey would be not only made at a single distillery but could also be 100% Rye. There are also terms like “single-cask” that mean just what they say: The bottles were produced from a single cask, not a mixture of spirit from casks of the same age.

There you have it. The answers to the “top-5″ basic (and important) questions about whisk(e)y. And that reminds me of #6:

• Why do some people spell whisky without an ‘e’?

Actually, most people spell it that way. For obscure reasons, several countries add an ‘e.’ Irish, Canadian and American whiskeys are generally spelled with an ‘e’ and whisky produced elsewhere generally omits the ‘e.’ This blog, when referring to Scotch, always omits the ‘e,’ but includes the ‘e’ when appropriate. When speaking generically, I use parentheses to indicate that the ‘e’ might, or might not, be present: viz. “whisk(e)y.” Some other writers also use this convention. I like it, and I don’t think there is an “official” way to write a generic term for whisk(e)y.

Extra credit: The plural of whisky is “whiskies,” whereas the plural of whiskey is “whiskeys.” Isn’t English a fun language? What’s great is that you can even violate the rules to get attention. I’d wager that very few people noticed this clever “mistake.” But now you’re in the club and can enjoy such wordplay in the future.

Fair Whisky in Pleasanton, CA

Being Labor Day weekend, there are a lot of end-of-Summer fairs and other activities. One that captured my attention was the 144th Scottish Highland Gathering & Games (billed as the world’s largest Celtic festival), hosted by the Caledonian Club of San Francisco. How could I not drive 40 miles to the Alameda County Fairgrounds? Did I think I’d find Haggis? Check. Meat pies? Check. Beer? Check. Lots of deep-fried sweet sweet treats? Oh yeah…check. Was I expecting to find a whisky tasting? No.

As I entered the fairground, my ears perked up when I heard someone mention “whisky tasting.” Score! It turns out that Whisky Magazine’s “WhiskyLive” series can go big (e.g., New York, Sydney, London, etc.) and small (e.g., Pleasanton, CA).

Without going into much detail, here is what I tasted:

1. Cragganmore 12
2. Glenkinchie 12
3. Laphroaig 8 Unchillfiltered (Signatory)
4. Benromach Traditional (Gordon & MacPhail’s)
5. Highland Park 8 (MacPhail’s Collection)
6. Eades “double malt” – Highland
   1. 85% Ben Nevis
   2. 15% Clynelish
7. Eades “double malt” – Islay
   1. 60% Bowmore 1999 – Bourbon/Guigal Côte-Rôtie
   2. 40% Caol Ila 2000 – Bourbon/Ridge Zinfandel
8. Singleton of Glendullan 12
9. Bruichladdich 1990 (Scott’s Selection)
10. Bladnoch 1984 (Scott’s Selection)

Cragganmore is a new favorite! I am happy to have finally tasted it, since a good friend of mine has always recommended it.

I’ll write about Eades on Tom’s “Officially Unofficial” Bruichladdich Blog because there is a tie-in with Jim McEwan, master distiller, currently serving as Bruichladdich’s production director.

Mystery Malts

As if it wasn’t confusing enough for most people to keep track of Scotch single-malts (there are over 230 tags on Whisky2.0, most of which are Scotch distillery names), there are some “single malts” for which no actual distillery appears to exist. Clearly the product exists: So someone made it! But if you try to find out who did, you quickly discover a lot of supposition and not many facts to speak of.

I know of two three of these:

• Finlaggan
• Glencallum
• Lismore

Finlaggan is, according to its bottle, distilled on Islay. But there are 8 distilleries on Islay and none of them are named “Finlaggan.” This site has some seemingly credible information on who makes it.

Glencallum recently started following @whisky2dot0 on twitter (thanks for that, btw!), and it struck me that I have never heard of them. (I can’t claim to have heard of everything, but in compiling my list of distilleries, I have heard of a lot of the distilleries that have been active in the last 50 years.) When I got around to checking out their site, which has annoying background sounds of waves crashing, btw, I was surprised to see that they have an expression that is made on Islay. As with Finlaggan, there is no distillery on Islay named Glencallum.

Similarly, Lismore claims to be a Speyside Single Malt, but there is no such distillery on any map of Speyside that I can find. People theorize that Lismore is actually distilled by Glenfarclas or The Glenrothes, but no one knows for sure. William Lundie & Co. Ltd. produces it (according to the bottle!), and they are listed as a bottler and blender on this site, so maybe it’s not that mysterious what’s going on: They are taking someone else’s product and bottling it under the Lismore name.

According to one of the comments in the link under Glencallum (repeated here), there are many “mystery malts” on the market. This situation feels a little bit like an independent bottler, except they are not bottling it under the original distillery’s name.

To be clear: I don’t think that there is anything wrong with this practice. It’s even somewhat fun to try to figure out the actual source. I am more interested in the various ways that malts can come to market. I know of OB (Original Bottling) and IB (Independent Bottling)…maybe this is MB (Mystery Bottling).

More Fun than a Barrel of…

I ran across this excellent article that got me thinking some more about the types of barrels that can be used in the production of single-malt Scotch whisky. There are several other online resources that also cover the usage and sizes of whisky (and other types of) barrels.

The maximum capacity of a barrel in which Scotch can be legally aged is 700 liters. It’s the law! The first-mentioned article says that such a barrel is called a “Gorda” but it’s difficult to find many references to that name in the context of barrels, whisky or otherwise. The 700-liter barrel size is definitely mentioned, just not the name “Gorda.”

The next size down is 500 liters, the capacity of the Sherry “butt” (no, really, that’s what it’s called…) and the similar-capacity “Port pipe,” and then the 250-liter “hogshead,” the 225-liter barrique bordelaise (commonly used in wine production), the 125-liter “quarter-cask” (indicating that the “standard” cask is likely 500 liters…) and finally the 90-liter barrel (which may or may not be involved in the production of Scotch whisky, but it is a common size).

So we have the following:

• 090 liters (24 gallons; Tuthilltown Spirits uses smaller casks than this in aging its American whiskeys)
• 125 liters (quarter-cask, as used for finishing certain Laphroaig whiskies)
• 225 liters (barrique bordelaise)
• 250 liters (hogshead)
• 500 liters (Sherry butt, a.k.a. “puncheon”)
• 500 liters (Port pipes; similar capacity to Sherry butt, but different shape)
• 700 liters (Gorda, allegedly)

This isn’t just trivia. Large-capacity barrels have less surface area in contact with the liquid, so they contribute less flavor from the wood compared to smaller barrels in a comparable amount of time. Depending on the effect desired, a smaller cask may be chosen for the more intense flavors it could impart (given an equivalent time in the barrel), or perhaps the desired intensity of flavor could be achieved in a shorter time than would be required in a larger barrel. On the other hand, the larger barrels may contribute more subtlety to the liquid that would be difficult to achieve in a smaller barrel. In practical terms, using smaller barrels also means you have to handle and track the inventory of many more barrels in order to hold the same amount of liquid, so there are logistical tradeoffs as well related to the choice of barrel size.

These variables, and the choices of the whisky makers as to the amount of time the spirit spends in each type of barrel while it is aging, give each whisky its unique flavor profile. (Of course, the type of still and the mash bill contribute significantly to the flavor profile as well, but this article is about barrels!) To get consistent results over time, distillers have to carefully manage perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of barrels and ensure that the types, sizes and previous contents match the product that they are trying to create. They have to ensure that their source of barrels is reliable for time spans on the order of decades. A barrel can only be used so often before it must be recycled, so there is an ongoing management process involving inventory of each and every barrel. The job of wood management is arguably one of the most important, and least appreciated, jobs in the entire production process of single-malt Scotch whisky.

Dalmore Cigar Malt is now…Gran Reserva

This is one of my favorite whiskies and its name was changed to broaden the market. Apparently I am one of the few non-cigar-smokers that appreciates it. I guess they don’t want people to think that a cigar is necessary to enjoy this malt.

Welcome Nerd Moment Listeners

It was my pleasure to talk with Drew and Paul in episode 39 of the Nerd Moment podcast tonight regarding my hobby: Whisk(e)y.

I really appreciate that Drew and Paul had the interest and were willing to ask some good questions. The best way to learn about whisk(e)y is to drink it, preferably with other people, and talk about what you taste and smell. You can get really fancy as you learn more, but it boils down to the social aspect. There are a million details you can learn if you are a fan of trivia, but if you just really like to discover more about a really interesting product, which ranges from very affordable to very expensive (I mentioned this ultra-expensive Scotch whisky on the show; yes, this expression of Glenfiddich really is 50 years old, and it really cost $16,000!). For me, I enjoy finding stuff that I enjoy drinking and sharing that knowledge, and happiness, with others.

The product being tasted: Tuthilltown’s Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey. I can’t overstate how lucky we were that they donated two full-size bottles of their exceptional Rye Whiskey for this show.

CORRECTIONS

• During the show, I indicated that to be called Rye Whiskey the mash bill must contain at least 51% Rye grain. True statement. In this case, the Tuthilltown Rye that we tasted was 100% Rye. Thanks to Tuthilltown for pointing this out!
• Also, I have heard from many people in the US whiskey business that Bourbon can only be made in Kentucky. Now I know that is not true. It can be made anywhere in America and still be legally called Bourbon. I don’t know if you care to read the legal restrictions on Bourbon, but there you have them.

Here’s a picture of me just before we taped the show. I would count myself lucky if I could talk to Drew and Paul again someday.

Little old me getting ready to take a Skype call from Drew.

The Gathering

I’m pretty sure there is going to be a lot of Scotch Whisky consumed this weekend. The Gathering is, according to the BBC:

… the centrepiece of the Homecoming celebrations, to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of national bard, Robert Burns.

It culminates with a clan parade along the Royal Mile and a pageant on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle.

Organisers said demand for tickets had been “phenomenal”, despite the event not selling out.

The convention was to see 100 of Scotland’s clan chiefs assembled together for the first time in recorded history.

Hundreds of clan representatives from across the world are also in attendance.

I wish I were there. I’ll have a dram in their honor!