Over the past year, I’ve become rather fond of whisky. Not that I drink a lot of it. I’m a one-a-day man. Two at the outside. Three tops. Four is an absolute maximum, and five is almost completely out of the question.
Although born in New Zealand and now living in England, I am Scottish by descent (my father is from Glasgow). For this reason, I am able to convince myself and others that my newfound enthusiasm is a way of reconnecting with my heritage.
I am mere weeks away from my 40th birthday, and in whisky I have finally found my perfect response to the accusation of being a hard-to-buy-for son, brother, cousin, friend, and colleague.
Like my love of jazz, my love of whisky (or ‘whiskey’, if you’re American) has taken a bit of work and I have made some real rookie mistakes along the way. But the more I find out about it, and the more I sample it, the more I discover a complexity and richness that rewards repeat indulgences.
Like jazz, it’s not to everyone’s taste. There’s also a degree of snobbery that surrounds it, of which I want no part. It’s fine that some things are expensive. It’s not fine to pretend that they are only suited to people of a certain breeding.
I am not ‘of a certain breeding’, but I do happen to like some things that are an acquired taste. This is one of them.
However, I am a complete novice when it comes to the stuff. I own a total of five bottles of scotch (four single malts, one blend), no American bourbons and nothing at all from Ireland.
But even though I am not a connoisseur, by any stretch of the imagination, I am, at least, an enthusiast. I’m willing to learn, open to new flavours, and happy to ask the stupid questions.
This blog is a record of that process. I’ll tell you what I find out through reading, tasting, asking people and trying things out. My aim is to be able to provide a reasonable review and guide within the next few years — or at least to be able to read one and have an informed opinion as to its merits.
I’ll also provide links to The Whisky Shop, with whom I have no affiliation, and nor have I arranged any kickbacks. I discovered them whilst in Oxford recently, the man there was very helpful, and their website is the best and most easily navigable I’ve seen of its type. I send you there merely as a keen and impressed patron.
As I write, I’m sipping on a Cragganmore 12 year-old single malt. It is described by smarter people than me as follows:
Nose: Silky, elegant and rich: currant bushes, sweet fruits, honey, cream, leather, rich malt, chestnut. Water makes it smokier. Fruity with a savoury edge.
Palate: Lovely weight: honey, blackberry, cooked fruits, walnut, dried apricot. A mid- to back-palate whisky which is robust, yet silky; meaty but elegant. The word is complex.
I can taste the honey and the apricot. I was able to spot the smokiness in the smell (or the ‘nose’) but it might take me a while to distinguish chestnut or leather.
I’m having a single (35ml) measure with about a tablespoon (10ml) of water — and I think for me, that’s a pretty good mix.
With you all the way on this one Dubber. I get bottles not at birthdays but usually when close relatives are passing back through duty free. I only really have one bottle at the go at a time but am often tempted to get more in to savour the variety. Am currently on Ledaig, from The Tobermory (alias of Ballamory) Distillery, Isle of Mull. Very light in colour and not as peaty as the last couple of bottles I’ve had (can’t recall what those were though).
I’ll read your blog with interest.
Dave
One of my bottles on the shelf is a small (10cl) Ledaig 7 year old, filled while I waited straight out of a cask at The Whisky Shop in Oxford.
http://tinyurl.com/yts5v8
A quiet tasting convinced me that a bottle of that would be a nice addition.
It’s certainly peatier (is that a word?) than I’m used to, but not really up with the Laphroigs of the world — or so I’m told.
I suspect I’m not up to a Laphroig yet.
I’ll be following this blog with a lot of interest!
I’m a novice rather than a connoisseur, certainly. My in-laws moved to Speyside (not far from Dufftown) and that inevitably made us take more of an interest :)
I definitely appreciate the effort to take the snobbery out of it. I’ve been in one whisky shop that was quite an intimidating experience. The owner was mostly interested in flogging very expensive stuff to very rich people, and slagged off our novice choices. It was very peculiar. If I’d not found another shop it could have killed off my interest pretty early.
Interesting about the Ledaig — I got some as a sentimental punt after a holiday on Mull, but I’ve not tried it yet.
I’ve noticed my taste seems to vary. If I have whisky early evening I like something very sherried, like Mortlach (which I think is my favourite). If I have it later in the evening I seem to like something *really* peaty – Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Perhaps the only thing that will reach my addled palate by then?
I wish I’d tried Cragganmore so I could say summat intelligent about it ;-)
Hi Dubber.
Interesting blog. I recently took the plunge in starting a whisky collection of my own (three days ago in fact) and bought three bottles of nice whisky on the boat back from a trip to Europe. (I only just learned that ‘whisky’ is the local spelling whereas ‘whiskey’ is American.)
I bought a bottle of Laphroaigh after falling in love with it in a Bavarian club after playing a gig, or rather, drinking it during the interval as well as after the show. I loved how smokey and peaty it tasted.
I also bought a bottle of Dalwhinnie which was recommended to me up in Maryport on the North West Coast, again after a gig. I love how rich and thick it feels and how smooth the flavour of this whisky is.
The other bottle was Glenkinchie and it seems to me to be the mildest flavoured of the three. Very nice and easy to drink.
My housemate and I opened them up and had a bit of a tasting session the other evening and were amazed at how different they all were from one another, something for all tastes and moods. We tried them all neat and I haven’t tried with water yet although I often like whisky with ice… some say that’s not the done thing and they might be right. I think I’m feeling that neat or with a little water might be the way forward.
I’m looking forward to exploring this more and filling up the cupboard with whisky bottles!
All the best,
Steve