Stand and deliver

It’s not every day you get the chance to help create a quality Scotch blend or to watch a master craftsman at work – so when William Grant & Sons asked me to join Brian Kinsman to do just that it was too good a chance to miss.

I nearly did miss it though – my flight to Aberdeen was delayed nearly four hours and I arrived just in time for the blending session.

William Grant & Sons has found an old recipe that dates back to June 11, 1912 – exactly 100 years ago to the day – so the plan was to use as many of the original whiskies as possible to recreate the blend, which is called Stand Fast.

It was a truly fascination exercise. Using an array of grains from different distilleries, including three that are now closed, and including a heavily sherried and sulphury sample, we made a blend using a mix of just three malts – from Glenfiddich and from Balvenie, both of which Brian had prepared earlier and which included malt of various ages, as well as a very earthy and peaty Highland Park.

The blend contained about 40 per cent malt and had a distinctive Highland earthiness and a surprisingly feisty finish.

There wasn’t any chill-filtering a century ago but Brian and global brand ambassador Ludo Ducrocq came up with a novel way of removing the fatty particles which cause clouding – egg white. Over a few days the egg hoovers up the congeners and the resulting deposit can apparently be easily filtered out. I’m not too sure about this as I have an egg allergy, but it made for an unusual twist to proceedings nevertheless.

We finished just in time to get to the Highlander in Craigellachie to catch England play France. Ludo, who is French, recorded the match and didn’t want to know the score, so we spent dinner and several late night drinks hinting that England had won 6-0.

Boys will be boys…

Ready to rock and roll

Just two days left to go before Compass Box’s John Glaser and I attempt to conduct eight tastings in eight cities over 700 miles and 24 hours.

How do you train for a 24 hour trek like that? Not sleep in practice so you’re tired before you even start? Or  try and sleep more so that you’re at maximum energy for the big day?

The William Grant trip and subsequent drinks in the bar meant that the second option was never on the cards.

We start at one minute past midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning at The Whisky Shop in Inverness and will be in Edinburgh for 4am. We’ll be joined by Whisky Shop head office heavyweights Andrew and David, who will be driving us.

The plan is to finish up in Brighton before midnight on Friday night. And it means that I’ll be listening to England beat Sweden in the back of a van in the company of an American and two Scots.

Oh Lordy mama!

A busman’s holiday…

My family has stayed at the lodges above Aberfeldy distillery three times now and every time it has been wonderful;. This visit, though, was the best of all. The weather was decidedly better than down south, we had great walks and discovered some great pubs. Perfect!

And then there was the inevitable trip to the distillery for a meeting on the last day. The family spent a happy hour at the Dewar’s World of Whisky, my 11 year old once again proved to be a far better blender than I am, and ambassador Stephen Marshall sent me off with an array of wonderful whisky including Aberfeldy 21 year old and Dewar’s Signature. A great way to end a great week.

Tally ho!

I returned home to find a gift from Diageo of all people – an unsolicited sample of both the Talisker 25-year-old and the Talisker 30-year-old. Both were enjoyed over the weekend – and both were wonderful.

What I liked this week

The next issue of Whiskeria

We’ve been working hard on a new issue of Whiskeria and it’ll be hitting the stores some time around mid May – and it’s shaping up to be a cracker.

There’s a feature on our trip to Islay with international photographer Colin Prior, an interview with the whisky-loving lead singer of Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, fatherly advice and whisky picks for Father’s Day and what to do in  Britain if you’re not interested in The Olympics. There’s also a review of Ken Loach’s whisky-basd film The Angel’s Share.

The Angel’s Share

I was invited to a press screening of Ken Loach’s new film and attended with national journalists from the likes of Heat, Empire, The Telegraph. Reviews are embargoed at this point – it comes out in June – but suffice to say it will do the whisky industry no harm and it’s a delight seeing a whisky colleague in action – in this case Charlie MacLean. A review will appear here once a date is green-lighted.

New Glenkeir Treasures

One of the great aspects of The Whisky Shop offering is the opportunity to taste exclusive whiskies in store before purchasing and then buy samples in 10cl, 20cl or 50cl bottles, making quite rare whisky accessible to even the modest pocket.

The whiskies are specially selected for us and are filled in to casks in the shop, and they are uniformly excellent. The arrival of a new Treasure is always a special event and doesn’t happen that often.

The latest additions are an Isle of Jura 19 year old and a Highland Park 17 year old. The former is an oddball whisky,a subtle mix of rapier fresh and clean citrus flavours and a surprisingly subtle and sophisticated taste. The Highland Park is a treat but takes there malt in to new territory, dispensing with the balanced all rounder characteristics normally associated with the whisky  and focusing on a gritty Highland taste with grape and gooseberry in the mix.

BenRiach samples

BenRiach continues to delight and amaze and the latest batch of samples are a mix of sherry casks offerings from the mid 70s and light bourbon fresh ones from the 80s. There are a couple of peaty ones there and one or two of the very oldest have a delicious rich menthol flavour …stunning.

And finally…

I’m off to Tennessee and Kentucky for six days to interview the master distillers about American whiskey for a new video W Club series starting in May. The idea is to ask the people who make it to talk about one aspect of Tennessee whiskey and bourbon. I’ll be visiting Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, and Maker’s Mark, seeing the new facilities at Beam and the new distillery at Wild Turkey, visiting George Dickel for the first time, and going to what is described as the Bulleit Distillery even though there isn’t one.

All will no doubt be revealed. I am flying on the day the great Southern musician Levon Helm of The Band has died. I was a big fan and his death will throw a dark cloud over the visit.

Follow my tweets here.

You know Richard Paterson’s in town as soon as you walk through the door. Party poppers go off, there are screams of delight and then Richard’s rumble rules the room.

The nose is a venerable mix of soft nectar, scented wax candle, sweet citrus pot pourri. The taste is a stunning and complex mix of stewed syrupy mixed exotic fruits, honey, lemon, and peat. The finish sees a classic Highland Park battle between peat, oak, fruit and spice. Long.

The nose is delicate, with grapefruit, and lemon flu powder. The taste is a game of two halves: first honeyed, orange barley sweet fruits and gentle, then a big dose of spice, oak and peat. The finish is medium, rich and spicy and with an intriguing clash between honeyed sweet fruit and sharp spice.

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.

The whisky has been inspired by the character of Thor. Being the god of thunder and sky, the god of war and warden of Valhalla, Thor is a powerful, strong and fierce character. Not known for his subtlety, he commands respect.

Like its namesake this whisky has a natural strength, drawing influence from the environment unique to Orkney, to create a truly elemental spirit. Distilled where sea turns to ocean, Highland Park is a meeting point of nature’s forces, resulting in single malt which exudes balance, complexity and character.

The whisky is a 16 year old 52.1% abv strength whisky. It delivers powerful smoky notes reminiscent of Thor’s Hammer smashing against the Orkney’s Mountains of Hoy, carving the great wall of stone. The underlying sweet notes are his inner strength and show that although his exterior warrior façade, there is still the caring, humble god that makes him a much loved legendary character.
.
This whisky is not for the faint hearted. Only people brave enough to face the wrath of Thor can ever be rewarded with the experience which is the whisky. Making Highland Park Thor truly a whisky of the gods. Click here to find out more and buy.