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Tasting Technique: Wake Up and Smell the Apples
On my trip to Speyside the other week, I was lucky enough to bump into a gentleman called Gordon Muir.After chatting at length about fine Whisky, fine wine and generally how to solve the worlds problems with both, he was kind enough to share his favourite Whisky tasting technique. A technique so astoundingly effective at pulling off the top notes from a glass that I just have to share it with you.Having been to Royal Lochnagar the day previously, we decided to share a dram of the magnificent 12 year old, and after a few seconds it was immediately apparent that fresh apples were wafting from the glass. Every one of the gathered Whisky Adventurers got it and each one of us was impressed. All it took was some advice from Gordon, a professional Whisky and Wine guru. Here’s what you need to do:First of all, you need an environment with a neutral smell, so no perfume, no food nearby, no sweaty dancefloor and no smoking for this technique to work. Secondly grab a Glencairn glass loaded with Royal Lochnagar 12 year old Single Malt Whisky. Hold it about four inches below your nose, swirl it and wait. Eventually the scent of apples will hit your nose. Superb or what?This works with EVERY Whisky. In Macallan I find cherries, Highland Park oranges and Glenkinchie delivers lovely citrus aromas.
Give it a try! Let me know what you think…
Cheers,
Craig
In my glass: Glenkinchie 10 year old, lemons and limes! A forgotten gem! -
Tasting Technique: Do You Know The Bishop of Norwich?
On Thursday evening, I was asked to co-host an evening of Whisky, Cheese and Port. An event I was eager to attend, considering my love for sherry, but absolute ignorance of Port.I was joined by Jamie Dawson, the manager of the Bon Vivant’s Companion, one of Edinburgh’s brightest new off-licenses. Jamie is an encyclopaedia of wine, and was eager to share his thoughts and anecdotes surrounding Portugal’s national drink, as well as a few glasses of some incredible fortified wines. If you find yourself in Edinburgh, he’d love it if you went in to bug him about wine.
Probably Jamie’s best snippet of information, was the telling of the traditional way of serving port. These are traditions of the British Navy, and may explain one or two drunken sailor stories…First of all, Port has house rules, one of which I had unwittingly incorporated at my tastings. The port must start with the host. He will pour for the guest on his right and pass the port to the left. (The left is port side when you are facing the bows, but more importantly keeps your sword hand free.) This happens until the port makes it’s way back to the host.Secondly, if the port is decanted at the table, it must circulate until the bottle is finished and must never touch the table.Finally, if someone holds onto the port for too long, it is considered rude to ask for it directly. Therefore, it is up to another guest to ask the Port hogger if they “Know the bishop of Norwich.” If the answer is “No.” You can then state “He’s a terribly good chap, but he always forgets to pass the Port.”So there you go, next time someone offers you a 1961 Vintage port, you can drink it however you like, but make sure you serve it properly!Cheers,CraigIn my glass: Krohn 1961 Colheita Port (Call the Bon Vivant’s Companion to order) -
Event: All About Wood
Any Whisky Adventurers finding themselves in Edinburgh on Thursday November 17th can head along to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society at 28 Queen Street where I will be hosting a master class looking into the magic of Maturation.All About Wood will involve 5 drams from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s extensive collection, hand picked to emphasise the importance of maturation and the differences that particular casks can cause. During the evening I will delve into the largely hidden world of cask selection drawing on my own cooperage experience both in Jerez and Scotland, as well as enlightening everyone on Whisky in general and some of the more unusual tasting techniques I have learned over the last 8 years.Supper is included as well as a couple of surprises on the night.Tickets are £32 and can be purchased here or on the phone: 0131 220 2044See you there! -
Tasting Technique: Recalibrating Your Olfactory Senses
On Thursday evening I was privileged to be invited to the Scottish Field Whisky Challenge Awards Dinner and Presentation at 12 Picardy Place in Edinburgh. A rather upmarket affair where I was lucky enough to brush shoulders with and chat to some of the most interesting people in our industry.
So I brushed off my best suit and met up with fellow Whisky Adventurers Patsy Christie of Mixxit UK, and Doug Clement, a professional Championship Golf Course Caddy and Managing Director of the future distillery near Kingsbarns in Fife. Our first stop was the wonderful cigar garden. Pete from Inverarity Vaults was on hand to explain to us the finer points of cigar smoking, and the things to look out for in each of the products he had on offer. Patsy and Doug decided to try a smoke, and opted for an Ashton and a Monte Cristo Open, while I decided a Johnnie Walker Black Label and some passive smoking would keep my innards happy without feeling left out. (I love the smell of cigars, but made a conscious decision years ago not to smoke anything.)
After a delightful discussion with Pete, we were invited up for dinner at 7pm. I was delighted to find that apart from Doug and Patsy, there were no other recognisable faces at our table. We had a whole evening of connections to make. Looking around there was also a plethora of old friends dotted all over the room. The best thing about all of this was the fact that all of tonight’s nominated Whiskies were on the tables so some cross conversation was inevitable.On our table we had
GlenDronach 18 a sherried monster of epic proportions
Mortlach 16 probably my favourite from Diageo’s Flora and Fauna range
Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition a legendary PX finished Lagavulin, this year’s edition being extremely memorable for it’s deep smoke after long scents of dried fruits and treacle
Cutty Sark 25 a gorgeous woody smoky blend from Cutty Sark (disappointed to say that some on our table refused to try the blends, they missed a gem here!)
We also managed to sub in a Glen Garioch 18 year old with all it’s floral deliciousness and a bottle of Black Bull superior, a vanilla sweet and spicy blend.
All in all the conversations were easily oiled.To my right sat a wonderful gentleman called Nigel. He proclaimed to know nothing about Whisky and told us he came for the wine. It transpired he was a barley farmer. I don’t think he was expecting a long, detailed conversation about barley, but sometimes I can’t help myself. He managed to confirm everything I wrote about in my craftsmen series episode about Barley farmers, and was somewhat pleased that someone had even covered the subject. We could have been there for ages, if it were not for the gentleman on my left.On my left was Mr. Colin Ross. Colin has been in whisky for over 40 years and now is the managing director of the Nikka owned Ben Nevis distillery. His tales of growing up in Scotland surrounded by whisky and agriculture were amazing. It transpired that my first real role model in Whisky, Distillery Manager Charlie Smith, was in the same class as Colin at school, it also transpired that nearly every other inspiring character I have worked with or under, has a great friendship with Colin, and it is easy to see why. Nigel, Patsy, Doug and I listened with great interest as Colin regaled us with stories of cask sales, Japanese business trips and the secret Ben Nevis he is producing at the moment. I can’t wait for it!After dinner, I did the rounds and ended up gathering a group of Adventurers and heading to the Basement Bar on Broughton Street. Besides Patsy and Doug, we were joined by Tatsuya from the Highlander Inn and his colleague Yumi, who was about to embark on a month’s work at Bruichladdich Distillery.Basement is one of Edinburgh’s Hidden Gems. Under some stairs at the top of Broughton Street, you walk in to find a cosy lounge area with an incredibly well stocked bar on the right. Behind this bar is a group of some of the most enthusiastic and talented bartenders in the city, they clearly love what they do!A custom I have in bars is to go to the bartender and ask for a random spirit. The spirit chosen and reasons for it as well as the enthusiasm of the bartender will often determine how often I return. Needless to say I am in Basement quite often. Our bartender returned with a Blanco Tequila and a NEW TASTING TECHNIQUE. I was overjoyed. The random spirit was great, but the new piece of information was invaluable. So enthused was I, that I shared my Mexican nosing trick with him, and now he had some new info to give to his next customer.Having spent an entire evening talking shop, sharing stories and communicating about barley at the highest level, it was a twenty second sound bite from my bartender which honours the title of this blog. For anyone out there who works behind a bar, remember that you are story tellers. You are not selling drinks, you are selling experiences. If you make a cocktail or pour dram, give the customer a story while your working. You empower them when they go back to their group, you have enhanced their evening, you have ensured another round and probably a bigger tip. Show off your knowledge, your customers love banter.So here is that snippet of information:
If you ever feel Olfactory Sensory Overload (a sensation which causes you to lose your sense of smell for a little while) recalibrate your receptors by sniffing the inside of your elbow.
Try it, it works!
Cheers,
Craig
In my glass: Jose Cuervo Reserva De La Familia -
Tasting Technique: Chill Out and Have a Dram (Exploring Scientific Drinking)
I occasionally like ice in my Whisky.
There I’ve said it.
Of course this all harks back to my mantra; Let someone tell you how to drink your whisky when they start to pay for your whisky.
So let’s talk about ice. As we all know, most industry professionals will tell you that the best way to enjoy a glass of whisky is neat or with a drop or two of water. They will normally tell you that it “opens up the flavours.” But what is actually happening?
Without going into too much chemistry, you are releasing some aromas and masking others. But most importantly for our olfactory senses you are cutting the alcohol, breaking the surface tension and kick-starting an exothermic reaction. This release of heat invigorates aroma molecules, which can then travel out of the glass more easily, opening up the whisky.
This is not the whole story though. Within the glass you are also breaking up groups of alcohols and long chain hydrocarbons. These can and usually do trap shorter chain molecules. These molecules are essentially aromas. The whisky’s flavours are literally being released. And this is where things get interesting.
If you pick up a glass, generally the first thing you do is smell it (us Scots might check the quantity in it, but then we generally go for a nosing straight after). The best way to enhance this experience is with some water.
Aside: If you are unsure about adding water, my advice is to add a drop at a time until the whisky smells and tastes best for your palate. Remember you can always add more water to a whisky, but to take it out requires a distillery, a cask and a minimum of 3 years. I will also add that not all whiskies will benefit from water or ice, some are at there most delicious in their natural state.
Chilling a whisky down will have the opposite effect on the nose. The aromas will be encouraged to the bottom of the glass as the temperature decreases. What will happen though, is a steady release of aromas as the whisky warms up over time. A unique and satisfying way of drinking.
Another thing to remember is that some whiskies have top notes that some of us don’t like. An extremely good way to get over the ‘Whisky’ smell that has put you off the stuff since you were 15 and pilfering whisky from your dad, is to cool it down so these top notes disappear, and enjoy the richer sweeter aromas peeking through.
Finally, harking back to the chemistry earlier, this 2007 blog post by Martin Lersch analyses a study which explains that releasing the flavour compounds in whisky is enhanced by the addition of water. It also mentions another effective way of releasing flavours. Coupled with this dilution, the most effective way of releasing flavour compounds in a whisky is, surprisingly, a reduction in temperature.
Even the Scientists have your back!
So what’s the scientifically correct way of drinking a whisky? With this chemistry, my advice is to add a drop of water to release the aromas, but make sure that before drinking you wash your mouth out with ice cold water for maximum enhancement. Or do what I do, add a lump of ice… and wait.
Cheers,
Craig
In my glass: Glencadam 15 over a massive lump of ice.
Bibliography and diagrams:
http://blog.khymos.org/2007/06/03/new-perspectives-on-whisky-and-water/ -
Recipe: Craig’s Edible Peat
When was the last time you had a Whisky lunch?
Whisky and food matching is an extremely enjoyable thing to do, and one which can be terribly hit or miss. What I can say, is that the beauty in food pairing with whisky is the plethora of results and the diversity of opinions. The Adventuring, the Experimenting and the Experience of sharing these weird and wonderful delights is a joy to behold.Food pairing was probably the hardest part of my job, until I realised that my audience were far more interested in the story behind the choices than the choices themselves. As with everything in life, we all have an opinion and we are entitled to it. A pairing that gets some people singing, might encourage others to revisit their breakfast. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but you can get them chatting about their experiences. This led me to the following rule of thumb:When food pairing with whisky, always try to Compliment or Contrast, and always be open to feedback regarding the marriage, expanding your experiences as you go. Here are a couple of my more triumphant pairings and their alternatives:A salty, briny, fishy whisky is incredible at taming a robust smoked fish chowder, yet the same dish can be exacerbated with a gorgeous and deep peardrop and vanilla flavour profile.orA full blown sherried whisky is the perfect compliment to a nice haunch of venison, yet it can also allow a blue cheese to blast off on the palate.But occasionally you will come across a whisky that does not want to play ball…
The difficulty generally comes from the peat monsters. These whiskies are generally too smoky and can easily mask a cuisine. (I did meet a guy from Texas once who glazed his roast with Lagavulin, but I found out that this was more a measure to keep others away from his red meat than to heighten any flavour expectations. Turns out his friends hated peaty whisky.) How can we get around this most intense of flavours? The answer is simple. Serve them up with a side of peat.Last year, I had the difficult task of matching Ardbeg to food. Everyone agreed that it was too overpowering for everything. But never one to back away from a challenge, I decided to put my apron on and get to work in the kitchen. I decided that the best thing to match a peaty whisky with was peat itself. Therefore I developed this edible version of our favourite fossil fuel:
It looks like peat, it can have the consistency of peat, and with enough Ardbeg it smells like peat smoke too. If you want to shock a group of 100 whisky enthusiasts, just explain all about peat with a piece of this in your hand finishing with the line “and what 99.9% of the world don’t realise, is that it is 100% edible…” Then chuck it in your mouth.Let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear your feedback and see your photos and tweaks to this recipe. You can share them with me on Twitter.Cheers,Craig
In my glass: Ardbeg Alligator and a chunk of Craig’s Edible Peat -
Tasting Technique: Let me introduce you to the friendly side of Peat…
I’m just back from a 5 dram tasting at 10am for what was described as a ‘Civilised Stag Party.’ A bit of an oxymoron, you might think, if you’ve ever been out on a Saturday night in Edinburgh recently. I think that civilised wasn’t too far off the mark, but to be honest the more accurate terminology might be ‘burst’, considering they had been out in Ratho the night before.
The only civilised stags I’ve seen were mounted at Deanston and Glenfiddich
Anyway, the whole affair got me thinking about delivering a tasting experience they would remember, at least until the next pub.
Theory has it that the taste buds are at their most effective first thing in the morning, before we have contaminated them with anything else. What do you do if you can still taste last night’s nondescript meat kebab and the last two or three Jagerbombs that your stag party decided you had to down before chaining you to a lamppost?What I am about to share is a tasting technique that is not only for these occasions, in fact, I think that a 5 dram whisky tasting on these occasions is probably the worst way to treat a hangover. It is a tasting technique that can soften the blow of a cask strength whisky early doors, and I find it a fascinating way to release a delicate and generally sweet experience from the most unlikely of drams.
It is also a great way to savour an Islay with water, without diluting the robust smoky aroma. (A great number of friends love the smell of Islay drams, but detest the flavour.)
If you are NOT an Islay fan, grab a dram of your least favourite and try this, I would love to see if I can use it to convert you to the darker side of Single Malt Scotch…
Here’s the trick:
1. Grab your Islay and take a sip of it neat. (Maybe punishing for some, but you need to experience the level of peat before to know if this technique works…) Swirl it around for a few seconds and swallow, just like it was any other whisky.
2. Take a gulp of water to wash away the after taste.
3. Take a second small sip of water, but hold this sip in your mouth…
4. Now physically drink the Whisky through the water…
Tell me you didn’t enjoy that!
And that’s how to introduce an Islay just before breakfast!
Cheers,
Craig -
Tasting Technique: Let me introduce you to some Mexican Genius…
One of the most gruelling parts of working in the Whisky Industry has to be exploring new serves and experiencing how other cultures enjoy our amber nectar. It’s a tough job, but one I will happily undertake on your behalf. (You can thank me later.)This is a practice that has two sides. There are the cultural drinking techniques which can be very unscientific, unsophisticated and a barrel load of laughs. (If you’ve ever been in an important meeting with a Chinese client, and the word Ganbei is uttered, you’ll know what I mean.) Each and every one of these techniques heighten the enjoyment of our national drink in some way, shape or form and therefore I am extremely happy to embrace them, even if it is something I am only willing to do once.SIDETRACK: I should point out here that I am not a traditionalist. I do agree that a spot of water in a whisky makes a huge difference, and I understand the science behind it, this is the way I drink most of my whisky. I also believe (tin hat on here) that ice can be a huge contributor to different flavours in a dram and therefore deserves it’s place as an additive to my glass on occasion (this is a practice I would like to explain in a later blog after a practical experiment or two.)I am also a huge fan of any other form of whisky drinking that heightens the profile of our national drink and country as a whole. If you like ginger beer in your whisky, great! Pick the right dram and you have a mighty fine, if simplistic highball cocktail. Now take that principle and extrapolate it to more complicated drinks and you have a whole new world of flavour. If you’re screaming at the screen after reading this last paragraph, (something along the lines of “You should NEVER mix single malts) then my advice is to go to the local cocktail bar, order a Laphroaig sour (with just a drop of pernod if you like anise) and tell me I was wrong, if you can put the drink down that is!
That’s a £15,000 bottle of deliciousness being enhanced there! (Macallan Lalique II is worth every penny.) Finally if you like a single malt and Coke, all I can say is it will be the best damn Coke you will ever taste. Don’t change your drinking habits or lose enjoyment just because someone with a kilt and a beard tells you you’re wrong. Politely tell them that they can tell you how to drink YOUR whisky when they are willing to BUY your whisky for you.Then there are the ‘nosing’ and ‘tasting’ techniques I have learned from fellow spirits professionals. Ways of heightening the sensory experience and allowing us to get at the elements in the glass more easily. It is one of these techniques I would like to share with you today.Back in the Spring of 2008 I was lucky enough to be invited down to Mexico to make tequila. A massive privilege and an insight into a category that we in the UK have very little idea about. This thankfully is changing as we discover that a good sipping tequila can give many good single malts a run for their money.
While there I eagerly embraced my role as Jimador for the day, as well as taking the chance to shadow the workers and see exactly how the fine spirit of Mexico is crafted. I was blown away by their way of doing things. Most small tequila manufacturers have one remit, and one remit only: They have to make tequila that is as good as, if not better than the generation before them. (a remit that once ruled in Scotland but has sadly been lost over decades of business growth and the search for consistency)A truly refreshing way of working was also backed up by a truly incredible way of nosing. A way that I teach to every seminar I host these days, and it still catches people off-guard. Why has no one heard of this? Why hasn’t our industry embraced this? Why did I have to go all the way to Mexico to learn such an important nugget of information?Here it is:You should always smell the top, the middle and bottom of the mouth of your whisky glass.That’s it.Each aroma has a different weight, and therefore three distinctive groups of aroma form and escape at different levels. Here’s an example using an Islay whisky:
Hope this helps, and allows you to get past the more obvious notes in a glass of whisky.
Let me know how you get on,
Cheers,
Craig
Here you will find all interesting things I come across in the world of Scotch Whisky as I travel and spread the wit and wisdom over a dram or two...
