Posts Tagged ‘Blended whisky’

Exploring Whisky By Dominic Roskrow

Exploring whisky with Dominic Roskrow

 

 

Welcome to our new W Club feature. The idea is to go on a long journey in to the very heart of whisky and what it is.

 

Each week Dominic will pick explore whisky in depth and explain why it’s the way it is. There’s going to be no roadmap, so we could be heading off anywhere in any given week. A particular whisky style might be analysed this week, a particular Scottish region the next. Dominic might look closely at rye at one point, and look at the importance of fermentation to the whisky making process at another. If a particular subject dominates the whisky news, we’ll head right over to it and dissect it.

 

AndDominic’s more than happy to answer questions and deal with issues of specific interest to W Club visitors and members.

 

We’ll also start a week by week glossary of terms, and A-Z of all things whisky, and if we needs to spend six weeks on one particular letter, so be it.

 

To get the ball rolling, Dominic looks at why Scotch whisky is doing so well worldwide at the moment.

 

 

 

(intro) Scotch whisky is booming and at the forefront of the surge in demand from a number of emerging markets. But what trends are driving this success?

 

If you want a snapshot of what’s going on in Scotch whisky right now , then stake a look at the steady flow of premium drinks releases over the last few months

 

Here, among the glitzy rums, fancy vodkas and imperious Cognacs are a growing number of Scotch whiskies  – and they represent an increasingly confident, stylish and impressive range of traditional Scotch given a makeover and all dressed up for a sparkling future.

 

Let’s start with blends. Yes, blends.  Whatever you might think or have been told, blended whisky is Scotch’s future. More than 90 per cent of Scotch whisky sales are in the blended category and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

 

In fact blends are the driving force behind the considerable expansion plans of our leading drinks companies and the the reason’s simple – if you want to grow the whisky category you can’t do it with a single malts. No distillery makes enough malt to meet a world demand. Blends on the other hand, are another matter.

 

The significant sector here is at the premium end of the blended market. Often seen as single malt whisky’s poor relation, particularly in traditional market places such as the United Kingdom, blended whisky is thriving in emerging markets that have no preconceptions. In countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil are not moving from Scotch blends to single malts but to better blends and blends with an age statement.

 

Closer to home, The Whisky Shop is now at the forefront of a move to offer its customers something genuinely different. In the last year whisky releases exclusive to the group have given customers the chance to try something new and exciting.  Nor do you have to take out a mortgage to afford special whisky.

 

There are signs, too,  that another distinctive trend in Scotch is towards unaged whiskies where the emphasis is on taste. Part of this is driven by economic necessity, because the demand worldwide means whisky shortages, so the younger a distillery can sell its whisky, the quicker it can respond to demand pressures.

 

And while some would argue that we’re seeing a ‘dumbing down’ of standards, the biggest and best suppliers argue that they wouldn’t risk their reputation by selling inferior whisky, and point to advancements in cask standards and a greater understanding of the whisky making process to support the view that great whisky doesn’t necessarily mean old whisky.

 

The evidence is already there to back this view up. Laphroaig Quarter Cask is a peaty treat and more fiery than Laphroaig 10 Year Old, but significantly younger. Compass Box has consistently released whiskies over the last decade that are outstanding but without an age on them.

 

Whisky in general is in a good place at the moment. Scotch particularly so. Expect some excitement, some surprises and an awful lot of great whisky in the future.

 

 

Ones to watch

 

Grain whisky

 

Grain whisky is normally dismissed as malt whisky’s bigger but vastly inferior brother but this is a tad unfair. Grain whisky is the component of a blend which makes the drink smooth, sweet and soft, and it can’t boast the complexity or intensity of flavour of whisky made with malted barley.

 

Put it in a very good quality cask, however, and the results can be outstanding. The grain picks up all the flavours of the wood, making for some vibrant and colourful aged blends.

 

“It’s like painting with a blank canvas,” says Euan Shand of Duncan Taylor, which regularly markets award-winning aged grain whiskies.

 

“You can start with little and create works of art.”

 

Irish company Cooley has successfully launched a range of grains, and now it may well happen in Scotland. Not just at entry level either. Mahesh Patel, who stages the world’s richest whisky show, includes two grain in his range of four premium single cask whiskies. Whyte & Mackay is also thought to be planning a grain launch.

 

The other big advantage of grain is that it has the potential to attract 20 something year old drinkers because of its sweetness, and it has the potential to kickstart a wicked cocktail.

 

 

Blended malts

 

There’s nothing new about blended malt whisky. The old timers among us used to call the category ‘vatted malt whisky’ and it’s almost as old as Scotch itself, examples going back to the very earliest days of blending.

 

Blended malt whiskies are whiskies made using the spirit from various different distilleries. The category is different to blended whisky because there is no grain in the mix.

 

The category is important because it gives the whisky maker the chance to pursue unusual and exciting flavours and to present them to the customer in a modern, baggage-free way. Monkey Shoulder, for instance, is a mix of the malts from three different distilleries but its stylish packaging, unusual name and irreverent approach to marketing is miles away from the traditional image of malt whisky.

 

There have been several attempts in recent years to bring Scotch whisky to a new audience through the blended malt route, and Compass Box in particular has taken malt whisky in to new and exciting areas within the category. With more whiskies being released without an age statement and with a greater emphasis on flavor, many expect the blended malt whisky category to get a new lease of life.

Johnnie Walker’s £6 million gamble

Much is made of the rivalry between England and Scotland, but when it came to looking after some of the world’s rarest whisky, the Scots showed they were prepared to totally put their trust their neighbours to the South. In fact they did so to the tune of £6 million.
To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the owners of the world’s most famous blended Scotch whisky Johnnie Walker decided to pull out all the stops and create something truly special. A team of whisky experts at Diageo sourced the the very best of the  rare whisky they had from The Queen’s Coronation year 1952, to create arguably the finest blended whisky ever made. Then they brought together the world’s finest craftspeople to create a package fit for a Queen.
Only 60 bottles of whisky were created, each one presented in a decanter hand-made by a leading French glass maker. The decanters were individually engraved, and decorated with stunning flourishes and fine diamonds. One hindered and twenty glasses – two per set – were made and then individually engraved so that no two are the same. A special booklet was put together, bound in rare white leather and hand bound on  parchment. A calligrapher was brought in to decorate each of the 60 books and to hand write a personal message to each owner. Everything was meticulously put together to stunning effect. Nothing was left to chance.
Except one thing.
“We took the whiskies out of the cask in 2011 so the whisky is officially 59 years old, not 60 years old, but all from 1952,” says Johnnie Walker’s master blender Jim Beveridge. “Then as a final flourish we put the whisky in to specially made barrels made from oak taken from the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. We finished the whisky in English oak.”
Staves were cut, fresh barrels made, their inside toasted and then seasoned with Pedro Ximenez sherry. the whisky makers took months trying to ensure that everything would go well. Nevertheless, with each of the 60 bottles costing £100, 000 Beveridge and his team were entrusting some of the world’s finest Scotch to an untried oak cask made with, of all things, English oak. It was huge gamble – oak varies massively from region to region, and no-one really knew how English oak would react with the spirit.
“It was the only unknown,” admits Beveridge. “What would we have done if it had gone wrong? Well there was no Plan B.”
Thankfully for everybody the Anglo-Scottish alliance paid off handsomely – despite its old age, the new and very rare blend is stunning – a delightful mix of soft grapefruit marmalade, some pineapple, guava, melon and sherbet fresh fruit on the palate, then a hint of aniseed and liquorice. Finally there’s a soft but spicy and oaky finish which lasts as long as most great single malts. Where often whisky aged for more than 30 years can be sharp, spicy and astringent, the soft vanillas of the grain whisky in the mix has created a velvet carpet of a blend.
It’s a very very impressive total package and for once, the weak link most certainly isn’t the whisky.
Some of the 60 bottles have already been purchased and in the coming weeks selected individuals will be invited to purchase one.

My week: Cutty Sark to Highland Park

What I enjoyed this week

 

Cutty Sark Tam O’Shanter 25 year old  46.5%

There are several blends I rate highly, but only Johnnie Walker and maybe Ballantine’s can match Cutty Sark across the whole age range. I’ve long been a champion of its whiskies, and particularly the older expressions.

So I was delighted to hear that Edrington was to revamp the selection and give it proper promotional support. I wasn’t involved in the promotional book to support the brand late last year – ho, hum – but delighted to now throw my tuppence worth in to the cauldron (educated folks – see what i did there?). I’m particularly delighted that The Whisky Shop is going to give the brand an extensive push in 2012.

Here, then, is a new Cutty Sark expression. It’s called Tam O’Shanter and if you’re not aware Cutty Sark  was central to the Burns poem Tam O’Shanter, and from there Britain’s most famous tea clipper took its name. Fittingly the original ship, gutted by fire and lovingly restored at huge cost, was brought back to some of its former glories today, and will be back in full sight in Greenwich London. for the Olympics. As an aside, we’ve got tickets for the Equestrian show jumping in Greenwich Park, so there’s another link.

Anyway, I digress.

The new whisky isn’t cheap – it costs £199 and comes in stunning packaging with a beautifully produced themed booklet, rich with photos. And it’s a limited edition.

But is the whisky any good?

Frankly, it’s absolutely stunning.

I know how spoiled this is going to sound, but I’ve got a little bored with old whisky tasting of polished wood, venerable sherry, intense astringent spices, deep rich orange and marmalade. Very, very nice I know, but much of a muchness.

But this is something else. It starts off  with the sharp blood orange and grapefruit notes and some jabbing pepper, then a touch of apple core and hazelnut, but then it softens, with some peach, dark chocolate, bitter coffee and chili in the mix and it just melts away, like a witch in the night…

Totally, absolutely drinkable.

 

Bombay Brasserie and Quilon

Having told someone that I had only missed one meeting without pre-warning in 30 years, and by incredible coincidence that was with Cutty Sark’s Jason Craig because he had a mobile number for me that was two years out of date, I managed to turn up at Soho Spice for a meeting this week only to find there is no Soho Spice. It is shut.

I was meant to be at Bombay Brasserie, so after hastily rearranging the appointment I met Michelin-starred chef Sriram at the fabulous Quilon in St James.

I did a public and media launch here and I love the place, but today it is a building site. It’s being completely refurbished and it’s set to reopen in a few weeks.

I really like Sriram. He is a wonderful chef, a great communicator, and a sharply intelligent man but without a single air of arrogance or superiority. Very much my sort of person – determined to pursue quality but not through exclusivity or pretentiousness. He has a Michelin-starred restaurant but he offers a great beer and whisky list – and none of it at inflated prices.

Sriram told me that the lighting system alone for the new-look Quilon cost £70,000, and he has asked one of India’s top musicians (and a friend of his) to compose an original soundtrack for the new restaurant.

Meanwhile he feels that the offering of the Bombay Brasserie needs… erm…spicing up, so he’s keen to revamp the whisky list. I’m delighted to announce, then, that I’ll be working  with him on this and hosting a whisky dinner at Bombay Brasserie in May, possibly as a book launch for 1,001 Whiskies. Incidentally, the publishers have been in touch to say that it’s looking superb…

 

Highland Park ready for the Big Thor

Highland Park Thor  52.1%

Somebody congratulated Highland Park on its superb marketing campaign for its new Thor expression today. Really? I hope Gerry Tosh and my friends at the distillery don’t mind me saying this, but I thought  it was a load of old …well, tosh, actually (sorry Gerry! Still love you. mwa, mwa).

It started some 12 days a go, with a black box in the post, in which was a shiny silver stone or ‘rune’ in a bag and a cryptic  message written in pseudo-Goth speak. And no whisky!

Then four days later another stone. More dramatic words -  and no whisky. And four days ago, this: “Few are chosen to drink with the gods. Open this pouch with bravery in your hearts. The secrets of the runes will be revealed as four days pass and you will be rewarded for your valour.”

Blimey, I thought: a piss up to mark a new Spinal Tap album.

Finally, yesterday, an invitation arrived to celebrate Thorsday (ouch!) and a whisky sample. And the message was equally laughable. Go to www.whiskyshop.com/Shop/Highland-Park-Thor to read it.

Highland Park Thor is truly a whisky of the gods? In all truth, it’s not is it?

But it is absolutely stunning.

Highland Park is perhaps one of the most versatile and diverse distilleries anywhere in the world, and its releases  follow no defined style. Core whiskies tend to balance honey, fruit, oak, spice and peat with some structure, but when the distillery goes off piste, as here, anything might happen – and does.

I can’t remember which vintage it was but a while back Highland Park released a malt which sailed west and south towards Islay. This doesn’t quite go that far but it has an oily, maritime fishing boat quality to it that would be intriguing on its own. But it’s not on its own. There’s a slight menthol, liquorice quality to it, and the distillery’s trademark honey characteristics are here, but in soft, mellifluous form. It’s powerful alright, (though it doesn’t remind me of the smell of Thor’s hammer hitting stone) but it’s sexy and sensual, too – and peat,fruit, and spice are in attendance but subtly. It’s a cracker, a 90-plus whisky – and I’m definitely buying some.