58F and drizzling. Perfect for a dram or three tonight. Despite its presence in the title of this blog, there has not been a lot of whisky discussion. I freely admit to being a very season-specific whisky drinker. If it’s not cold, or at least cool, I’m thinking of drinking something else.
So, a quick riff on my whisky habits to provide some perspective. There will be some notes tomorrow. I have a decided preference for Scotch whisky. While I drink a bit of bourbon, more rye than bourbon, and a bit of Irish, I prefer Scotch. I don’t remotely believe it’s “better” – I’ve had too much indisputably lovely whisky from other places to harbor any such misconceptions – I just prefer the range of flavors available in Scotch. I like peat. I like salt and brine. I like rocks.
I’m sure I’m getting much head-nodding (and hopefully no evil glares from the Bourbon and Irish whisky lovers out there), but I’m about to lose a lot of folks when I say that I love blended Scotch every bit as much single malts. Like my two children, blends and single malts are very different beasts, but I believe both have much pleasure to offer the open-minded drinker. Some times I’m in the mood for one, and some times another. And just like I usually have three or four malts open, I generally have three or four blends available as well – enough selection that I can settle on something satisfying whatever my mood. Truth be told, I’ve got a couple of vatted whiskies open right now too (I’d say vatted malts, except one of them is the amazing Hedonism from Compass Box, a vatted grain comprised (in my bottling) of whisky from the closed Cambus and Caledonian distilleries).
As far as drinking, I tend to treat blends and single malts the same. Cool, not cold, neat, in a decent glass. I generally use my Riedel Single Malt glasses because I have them, and they do a nice job of directing the whisky into the center of the tongue, which I like (or at least am used to). I’m not opposed to adding water to cask strength spirit, but I try it neat first. While a lot of folks claim that adding a bit of water releases aromatics (a point I don’t dispute), I find the phenomenon to be a temporary one, with the remainder of the dram being washed out and less interesting on the nose and, particularly, the palate.
So, disclosure of favorites. When it comes to malts, I have a real preference for maritime malts. Forced to choose, I’d probably take Springbank first and foremost. I drink a lot of Highland Park too, along with good doses of Bruichladdich, Old Pulteney (the 12 y.o. being a great bargain at +/- $25 in these parts), and Ardbeg.
For blends, I’m a big fan of two of the smaller labels that carry a heavy Islay influence – Islay Mist Deluxe (yeah, the cheapest one) and Black Bottle (the 10 y.o. is a nice treat, but I love the lusty peat and brine of the undated one, which they have now started importing, so I can stop asking my father-in-law to hand carry bottles back for me). For easier to find stuff, I love the rich maltiness, and subtle smokiness of Teacher’s (though the caramel has been intrusive in the last couple of bottles), and the sharp peaty attack of Johnny Walker Black Label (whose website apparently doesn’t work with Firefox, so fuck ‘em). Good stuff all.
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