Lagavulin 16 Year: From Islay with Love, a very cheesy and smoky kind of love

While scrolling through my old scotch posts, I realized I had never written about Lagavulin 16 Year. I first tried this Scotch in St Andrews after taking a tour of the Glenfiddich distillery and after deciding I should become an expert on scotch. Lagavulin left quite an impression. Along with Ardberg, this is one of the smokiest scotches I've ever tasted. Whereas Ardberg is incredibly light and smoky, Lagavulin is rich and smoky. It is also one of the signature Islay scotches, which comes from a small island known for dredging up peat from the coastline in order to smoke it into the barley.

Along the west coast of Scotland, Lagavulin Bay in Argyll served as a key port for the island lords, who kept their war galleys here. Overlooking this bay, Dunyveg Castle ('Dunyveg' means 'fort of the small ships') was a major power base that protected this part of Scotland near Ireland against the Vikings and Norse for two centuries during the Medieval ages. By the eighteenth century, this bay protected several illegal distilleries, but the first legal one gained its license in 1815.

The distillery now uses peat from nearby Port Ellen along with dark water from Solum lochs. The water and peat makes Lagavulin the richest and most complex Islay scotch. There are hints of berries, tea, cherry, wax polish, and scented smoke in the nose (at least according to my book- I like that it mentions wax polish- I'll try to smell that next time I drink it). The big, rich flavor is sweet to start but quickly turns peaty with a long aftertaste.

Here are my notes: I smell smoked cheese every time I put it into a glass. There's also a lot of peat. Man- that's enough to knock a man off his feet. The flavor is very similar to the smell, cheesy and smoky. It's not a scotch for the faint of heart. It would go well with a beef-type stew in wintertime.

Here's an interview with Iain McArthur, who has worked at the Lagavulin distillery for 40 years:

Jameson: A Light Irish Sip

I'm pretty sure my friends who didn't like Johnnie Walker Red Label, because it was too peaty and smokey, would probably like Jameson. Though not a scotch but an Irish whiskey, it is a reasonably priced spirit that can be found just about everywhere for those on a budget. Unlike the bolder Red Label, I think the flavor is much lighter and easier for someone fairly new to whiskey. Jameson still has enough of that robust, burning whiskey flavor which I love so much. I need my alcohol to have a little bit of fire that reminds me that I'm still alive and life is still hard.

In this whiskey, I taste light fruits like pear and apple along with some a dash of nuts. There's also some oak, but not a whole lot. Some online reviews I've read said that there should be a honey and barley finish that sits in the mouth for a while. After reading that review, I guess I taste those flavors. There's definitely a long aftertaste that stays on the sides of my tongue and the top of my mouth for a long time. My favorite part of whiskey is that kind of aftertaste.

There are a few differences between Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky. For starters, notice that there isn't an 'e' in Scotch whisky while there is one in Irish whiskey. Also, the legal regulations in Scotland after 2009 have very specific definitions for different types of Scotch, such as 'single malt.' Ireland does not have these same type of definitions, so there can be a much larger variation between the whiskies under the same category, like "Single Grain Irish Whiskey." Most importantly, there are over 90 distilleries in Scotland, but Ireland only has four. Those four distilleries do produce a large variety of whiskey, though.

Watching college football with my good friend, Johnnie Walker

Everyone in the living room watching college football with me was of one accord: whatever bottle of scotch they had brought over the last time they got together must be the most disgusting liquid ever sold. One of my good college friends knew I liked to try different scotches, so he poured me a hearty glass. He warned, "If this makes you gag and you have to spit it out into the sink, I understand." "Well, what is it?" I figured it must have been a cheap bottle of the sludge some underpaid Scot had scrapped off the edges of a used oak barrel and then exported as 'authentic' scotch whiskey for $10 a bottle. Maybe something like Thousand Pipers. "It's Johnnie Walker Red Label." I was shocked that everyone in the living room was bad-mouthing this famous scotch. I asked before drinking, "What's wrong with it?" "It tastes like feet," one of the girls told me. "Oh, sometimes scotches are supposed to taste like peat. They'll take peat from the shore and smoke it into the barely before beginning the malting process." "No. I said it tastes like feet." As I took a sip, I thought, "If this is what your feet taste like, then something is wrong with your foot."

Even though I have tried a lot of scotches, I've never actually had Johnnie Walker. I've stayed away from the blended scotches, except for maybe Grants, which I haven't been able to find in America yet. Lately, I've decided to give the blended varieties a try, mostly because they're a hell of a lot cheaper than the single malts. A descent bottle of a blended scotch in Mississippi will cost around $20 to $25, which is the same as domestic bourbon. A low-end bottle of single malt will cost at least $40 but probably much more.

After drinking the Red Label, I understood why my friends didn't like it. It's not sweet and light like some other scotches like Glenfiddich 12 Year or Glenlivet 12 Year. Instead, there was a strong peaty and smoky flavor. I could taste smoked cheese. For someone who doesn't like scotch or isn't familiar with it, Johnnie Walker would be surprising. However, it was by far not even close to the smokiest or richest scotch I've had. Ardberg 10 year has a much stronger peat flavor. My favorite scotches have rich oaky flavors, so Red Label wouldn't be my favorite. However, since my friends who hated it but had bought a 1.5 liter bottle, I may drink it again if I go back to their house to watch college football later this fall.

Bulleit Bourbon: a frontier whiskey that reeks of America

So that I wouldn't have to drink through my scotch whisky collection, which would be expensive to replace, I decided to drink cheaper American bourbon instead. This way I wouldn't feel bad for having an evening drink. I honestly don't know much about bourbon or how it is different from scotch. However, it's still whiskey, so I might as well give it a shot.

I chose Bulleit Bourbon. It seemed reasonably priced but not so cheap that it'd have a sickly taste. Most importantly, it came in a cool bottle that labeled it as "frontier whiskey." I could definitely see this bottle in an old saloon near the banks of the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers back in the early 1800s, when this heavily forested territory was the westernmost part of the United States. The whiskey has a high rye content and is aged for 6 years. According to the modern creator, Tom Bulleit, his great-great grandfather, Augustus Bulleit, created the first Bulleit bourbon in the 1830s. Tom resurrected the bourbon in the 1990s.

I'm still not very good at picking out flavors in whiskey, but here's my best attempt. I couldn't get much of anything from the nose. There is a strong caramel and oaky flavor. In the whisky tasting map, I'd place this bourbon close to the rich and delicate sides, away from the smoky and light sides. That would make it similar to Glenlivet 18 Year. Now, if only I had a bottle of that to confirm my hunch. It is a good late evening whisky to drink while reading a leather-bound book by a fireplace in winter. Then again, I think every whisky is good with a book and a fireplace.

Here's some tasting notes I read online. The nose has strong hint of vanilla, caramel, and spice (one taster said, "It will challenge you, especially if you are new to bourbon. It reeks of America!"). The taste had pear, rye, caramel, tobacco spice, and cinnamon (the same taster I just mentioned said, "This stuff is gasoline for the soul. While probably not for the faint of heart, it is not an uncivilized and wooly barbarian... though there must be one in the ancestry."). Personally, I'm not sure what rye tastes like so that I can know whether or not it is in this drink. Also, I didn't taste any tobacco, probably because I don't smoke. However, I could sense some cinnamon.

Overall, I would buy this bourbon again and recommend it to anyone who likes strong, rich, and oaky whisky.

Adams Morgan's Bourbon

Since commuting in and out of DC via the metro during rush hour can be so expensive, meeting a fellow St Andrew alumnus for a happy hour drink was a nice way to socialize while avoiding the exuberant metro fares. She lives near the Columbia Heights metro station, and I got to see her neighborhood around the station. I always find it interesting to see where and how my DC friends live throughout the metro area; some love the inner city lifestyle where biking and the metro are the easiest and cheapest ways to get around; others live in suburbs beyond the Beltway where the land and rent prices are significantly lower even though the driving and metro commute is horrific. While visiting this not-so-touristy area of DC with my friend, I could see how this area around the metro station had gone through a bit of 'gentrification.' After the construction of the DC metro system in the 1970s, the land prices around metro stations increased dramatically. Many of the former inhabitants had to leave for other neighborhoods or out of the DC metro area completely because they couldn't afford to live in the new posh apartment complexes and condos. However, just beyond these pockets of posh neighborhoods immediately next to the metro stations are huge swaths of still poverty/crime-ridden neighborhoods that most everyone forgets about unless they get lost in them. It honestly reminds me a bit of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where some of the best homes in town are just a couple blocks away from the poorest neighborhoods; once, a group of guys tried to mug me in one of those neighborhoods so that I still keep my guard up inside cities. Since I usually explore these neighborhoods inside the District with friends who live there, I've learned which areas have cool and trendy restaurants and bars while learning which streets to avoid.

My friend and I walked from the area around Columbia Heights to a neighborhood called Adams Morgan. This spot of land is slap-dab in the middle of several metro stations from the red and green lines, but not one of those metro stations is within easy walking distance. My friend told me that was done on purpose. The community here adamantly opposes building a station even though it would be relatively cheap and easy. This area is one of the more interesting neighborhoods I've yet seen in DC. It seems to be affluent enough with a very young, hipster, and trendy feel. Unlike the areas around U Street and Eastern Market, Adams Morgan isn't as touristy. The bars and restaurants have reasonable prices, and no one seems to wander into this area accidently. A lot of the people I saw looked as though they were young college interns working on the Hill or had just recently moved into the District after graduating from college. Howard University is nearby, so perhaps that added to the college atmosphere, but perhaps my first impression is completely wrong.

My St Andrews friend chose to take me to a place that would remind us of our Scottish days, Bourbon on 18th Street. As the name suggests, this establishment specializes in whiskies, and the dimly-lit interior with brown-painted walls reminded me of some pubs frequented. The happy hour special on bourbon was incredibly well priced, especially considering how everything in DC costs significantly more than everywhere else. The serving was about 4 times larger than the skimpy Scottish servings to which I had grown accustomed. Of course, I had to be a whisky snob and pour a dash of water into my neat bourbon so that the flavors would explode a bit better. My drink, the special for the day, was the Old Forester Signature from Kentucky. I didn't think about bringing a pen and paper with me so that I could write down my thoughts on this bourbon, but I remember it had a robust and full flavored taste. It would be one that I would drink again. From what I've been able to glean from a quick internet search, it shouldn't be too expensive to buy a bottle in the States if I found a liquor store that carried it.

While sitting next to an open window on this breezy spring evening, I sipped my bourbon and watched as pedestrians, bikes, busses, and cars competed for the same space just a dozen or so yards away where a side alley emptied onto 18th Street. Looking at all these people made me think about how this community fits into the rest of the city's metropolitan area. It's almost isolated because getting in and out can be difficult even though it is in the center of a huge urban expanse. Yet, it is also well connected for people who work downtown. I thought about why this community wouldn't want a metro station that would better connect the residents to the rest of the city. I've heard about several other communities inside the District that don't want a metro station, such as Georgetown. When the suburban neighborhoods in Virginia fight against the city's plans to expand the metro into their communities, the residents get accused of racism because the metro would better connect their community to the less-fortunate neighborhoods. No one can hardly accuse Adams Morgan of racism because they don't want a metro station. I tried to think of other reasons. A metro station would dramatically affect land values and taxes in this neighborhood, and many residents would probably leave because they couldn't afford to stay. My price of bourbon would most definitely increase. The whole community would change as gentrification brought new residents to the neighborhoods. The disadvantages of a metro station far outweigh the advantages, especially since building the new station and new rails could cost millions or billions of tax-dollars. Yet because this community and many others around the metropolitan area don't want a more metro stations and lines or a more efficient highway system, traffic throughout the city is horrific. This city is a conglomerate of communities smashed into each other while refusing to work with each other. In order to attain certain goals, like an efficient transportation system, all the different incorporated towns in two states and the District would have to agree. As far as I can tell, every community is focused on their own self-interest and not the city's greater good. Everyone has a different vision for their community, and few of these visions merge into one.

I wonder if this is what a country on the brink of civil war feels like. Two or more communities are officially part of the same community even though they have different self-images of who they are, what they want to do, and where they want to go. After years (or perhaps even months) of friction about how the official larger community should operate, the smaller fractions realize that it would be easier for them to break off and head into their own direction without worrying about what the other communities want. In the ensuing confusion and conflict, a civil war becomes incredibly likely. One of my professors at St Andrews tried to argue with us that constructing a new national narrative and self-image in spite of different communities is easy. Just look at Greece. All you need is a group of historians to construct a narrative and make certain the government includes all the communities so that everyone feels like they belong to the same nation. Et voila. Civil war is averted. Simple as pie. I never bought this poppycock. Just look at Italy. They've tried desperately to construct a single national image and narrative, but there are still numerous fractions across the country. As I consider how the metropolitan DC area is like a mini-country on the brink of civil war, I see how it could be very difficult to construct a new self-identity and narrative spreading across Northern Virginia and into Baltimore so that everyone would be willing to make painful compromises in order to attain a greater good. An inspirational leader would be a good start, but that's not a guarantee. If I was in a country on the brink of civil war and the only thing that could save us from disaster was an inspirational leader, I would buy a gun. Relying upon an inspirational leader is like relying upon the hail-mary pass in the last seconds of a football game. Of course, DC isn't a mini-country on the brink of civil war, but it is interesting to compare and contrast the similarities.

I've probably spent too much time studying conflict and civil wars because I'm still thinking about these things while sipping my bourbon.

Edradour: smallest distillery in Scotland

For Christmas Mom bought me a small bottle of Edradour 10 year. Whereas I could guess what all the other gifts were, this one was a surprise. It came in a small box with two glencairn glasses. This distillery in the highlands near Perth was the smallest distillery until 2005, but the company still advertises itself on its labels as the smallest. Many consider these facilities to be the prettiest distillery in Scotland, and over 100,000 visitors come here each year, making it one of the most popular distilleries. Instead of several industrial buildings that look like a chemical plant, this distillery's buildings are small with white stone walls. They are nestled and hidden in the hills beside a small stream. The facility dates back to 1837 when a group of farmers leased a small strip of land beside the Edradour Burn.

During Prohibition in the United States, the owner of Edradour hired Frank Costello as his 'US Sales Consultant' and paid him $5,000 a year. Thus, the illegal export to America became the distillery's primary market. The scotch would make its way into New York's speakeasies as Costello would bootleg it into his establishments. Later, Costello would become one of the most famous and powerful gangsters in New York with a gambling empire across the country.

According to my scotch book, Edradour is fruity, pear-like with a good body and a bit of peat. After I poured myself a glass, I noticed an explosion of fruitiness in the nose. There was also a smell of acidity. Overall, it reminded me of Glenfiddich 12 year. The smell also seemed light like cotton with flavors of apple and pear. However, once I tasted it I noticed a huge hit of smoke. This flavor surprised me, but I figured I had been smelling it too much before actually tasting it. As I drank more, I could taste the fruit a good bit more, and eventually I couldn't taste any smoke at all. I suppose it was all in my head.

Scotch so smoky you'll think there's a fireplace in your glass

My developing scotch collection with some glasses

and other memorabilia from Scotland.

My recent explorations of scotch whisky brought me in contact with the smoky flavors that greatly surprised me. Before studying in Scotland, most of the whiskies I tried were sometimes rich and sometimes fruity, and I had never heard of a smoky scotch. Most of the malts I see in the US tend to be the fruitier and lighter ones like Glenfiddich and Glenlivet. Yet while I was touring the Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, the guide told us that everyone had to taste Ardberg at least once. Few people actually like the smoky flavor, but those who like it tend to love it. In all honesty, the smoky flavors are still not my favorite. Still, I brought back home a bottle of Ardberg as an example of the different flavors scotch can have.

On the single malt flavor map, Ardberg is one of the smokiest and lightest of the scotch whiskies. The distillery is on the Island of Islay, where they often take peat dredged from the seashore and put it into a furnace so that the smoke will soak into the barley before processing it. The earliest distillery on this site dates back to the 1790s, but the earliest licensed and commercial distillery began in 1815. By 1900 a small village had sprung up around the distillery with 40 workers and a school with 100 pupils, but production declined by the 1920s. At this point Ardberg single malt was only available to a small number of customers who had a credit with the family company. By 1959 the family sold the company to various investors, and eventually the Canadian Hiram Walker & Sons company mothballed the operation in 1976 and laid off the remaining 18 employees. The village died. In 1996 Glenmorangie bought the distillery and spent £1.4 million on restoration because the buildings were so dilapidated. The next year they began producing scotch again.

The malt is now one of the more famous peaty whiskies from Islay. The full-bodied taste has a medicinal, salty, and dry start with a bit of sweetness (that makes it light) followed with a blast of smoke. A similar scotch is Laphroaig 10 Year. When I ordered a glass of this last time I was in Scotland, my friend sitting next to me could hardly stand the smoky smell. Another scotch that is incredibly smoky yet rich, as opposed to Ardberg's lightness, is Lagavulin 16 Year, but I'll save that scotch for another blog post.

anCnoc: a bizarre beginner's scotch

A nip of Grant's Sherry Cask Reserve

While I was visiting a scotch whisky store in Edinburgh last November, a lady was offering samples of different whiskies her company offered. Of course, I took advantage of the opportunity. My first sample was of Pulteney 21 Year, a heavy and meaty malt. I took this sample mostly because I knew it was an expensive drink, and I probably wouldn't get another opportunity to taste it for free. The other whisky was anCnoc 12 Year.

The name is bizarre, especially the capital 'c' in the middle of the word. Properly pronounced "a-nock," the word is the Gaelic word for a hill next to the distillery in Aberdeenshire. From the name to the shape of the bottle, the company has branded itself as a modern whisky that is distinctly different from other whiskies around Scotland. I bought a bottle of this scotch for multiple reasons. First, it was cheaper than some of the older, richer whiskies I tasted in the store. Second, I wanted to find a scotch to contrast with the smokier scotches so that I could show friends the huge differences between different types of scotch. Third, it is a bizarre and rare scotch that I didn't expect to find back home.

The 12 Year version is very light and smooth but still complex. The nose is soft with hints of honey and lemon in the foreground. The taste starts sweet with lots of fruitiness and smooth finish. If tasted along with a medium or richer scotch, the flavor will be even more obvious. I would think that people who normally didn't like whisky might like this one because it is so light and fruity. Hence, I consider it a 'beginner' scotch. However, I know some who like the smokier and richer scotch flavors even though they detest whisky in general.

Tardy Review of Little Bottles of Scotch

A collection of the small bottles I tried while

in Scotland last December.

While in Scotland last November and December for graduation, I tried as many different scotch whiskies as I could since there is such a large selection over there. I'm still trying to become a scotch aficionado of sorts so that I actually know what I'm ordering and drinking. After all, scotch is my favorite drink. Several of the scotch stores along the Royal Mile had walls full of small sample bottles along with the regular sized bottles so that customers can try several of the more obscure brands they wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. Compared to what I would pay in the pub, the prices were very reasonable, especially since each bottle had a double serving. However, I never got around to writing a review of the different scotches I tried. In this post I'll list my top five scotches that my scotch-loving friends should try.

5) Jura 10 Year. Located on a remote island in western Scotland next to the Isle of Islay, the Jura distillery makes a highland-style malt instead of the smokier, peatier malts which the nearby island makes. A distillery has been here since around 1810, but it didn't start making a single malt until 1974. There are only four stills, but they are taller compared to others in Scotland in order to produce a lighter flavor. According to the single malt whisky flavor map, Jura is a well balanced scotch that is slightly lighter than others and is similar to Isle of Aaron 12 Year and Oban 14 Year. The flavor is oily, earthy-piney with lemon notes. Its medium-bodied taste has some maltiness and is sweetish to start before turning dry with a little bit of salt flavor in the end. It also comes in one of the coolest bottles I've seen. Finally, in the 1940s George Orwell lived on the Isle of Jura while writing 1984.

4) Glendronach 15 Year. Built in 1825 by a group of local farmers in Aberdeenshire, this distillery is supposed to be one of the most charming and old-fashioned distillery in Scotland. A fire destroyed most of the original buildings in the 1837, and the current buildings date to the reconstruction in the 1850s. The ownership mothballed the facilities in 1996 and didn't start making whisky again until 2002. The full to medium bodied flavor is rich, sweet, and creamy with a sherry style and traces of vanilla and coconut. The founder of the distillery, James Allardice, once dined at Gordon Castle with the Duke and Duchess, and he drank a bit too much of the hard stuff and complimented the Duchess a bit too fondly about her piano playing. The next morning the Duke told Allardice that his compliments were over the line. The distillery owner replied that it was "the trash of Glenlivet" the Duke had served after dinner that messed him up so much. If it had been his Glendronach, he would have not been so ornery. The Duke then ordered a case.

3) Dufftown Singleton 12 Year. Last September I went to Dufftown in order to visit the Glenfiddich distillery just outside the small Speyside village, but there are several other distilleries in the town. In fact, James Duff, Earl of Fife, created this village in 1817 in order to build distilleries that would employ men returning home from the Napoleonic Wars. The Singleton of Dufftown was the sixth distillery to be built in this town in 1896, and the workers at the town's first distillery, Mortlach, tried to divert Dufftown's water supply on multiple occasions but failed. The malt's nose is sweet, fruity, and cereal-like with bruised apples and pears. The medium-bodied taste is mostly sweet with light toffee. Since this malt is very common in a lot of pubs, I began to order this on a regular basis.

2) Arran 10 Year. I suggest this scotch because it is a new and rare variety from the island not too far from Ayrshire, where I have stayed with family multiple times. In order to raise funds for the facilities in 1998, the owner created a unique bond system in which participants could buy a bond for £450 each. Each bond holder received five cases of Aaron Founder's Reserve in 2001 in addition to part ownership in the distillery. When the operation started, many people speculated what type of malt the distillery would make. It could have a peatier, smokier flavor like other island distilleries, but the owner had a lot of experience in Speyside. In the end, the distillery developed its own flavor and style that is unlike the four other Scottish styles. The light-bodied flavor is sweet and fruity with pear drops, citric fruits, and green apples.

1) Dalwhinnie 15 Year. Out of all the different malts I tried, this one was so good that it surprised me. The flavor is similar to another one of my favorites, Glenfiddich, but this new one is a little bit lighter. The distillery is located in a remote spot in the Highlands, is the highest distillery in Scotland at 1,073 feet above sea level, and is the coldest distillery with an annual average of 6º C. It is very common for the facilities to be snowbound for weeks, and some have compared the location to a long forgotten outpost in the far north wilderness. The full-bodied flavor is sweet with heather honey notes. It is a viscous malt with a big-mouth feel with a sweet start that dries out with a whiff of peat smoke.

Macallan 18 Year: my new special occasion bottle

After returning to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I looked through my notes from my scotch tastings to decide which was my favorite. I had been quite fond of a particular type of Macallan from the Scotch Whiskey Experience in Edinburgh. It was a very special batch of whisky the distillery had made that I would probably not find in a random liquor store in Mississippi unless I found a way to special order it. When my mom went to the liquor store, she bought the 18-year old version. It's a very pretty bottle of scotch, and it will stay in the cabinet and be the 'special occasion' bottle for a while. Unlike wine, whisky's flavor does not change once exposed to oxygen, so I don't have to drink this bottle within a certain time frame like I would a bottle of wine. When I got this bottle, I thought I could do a little blog post about it, especially since I didn't have any more exciting travels going on that I could talk about.

Macallan was one of the first distilleries in Speyside to have a license in 1824. Since this site was next to one of the few crossing points on the Spey for cattle drivers, there was probably a farm distillery here long before 1824. After this date, there were multiple owners with connections to distilleries like Talisker and Glenrothes. In 1892 Roderick Kemp bought the distillery when he couldn't buy Glenfiddich, and he then rebuilt the distillery, improved the taste, and renamed it Macallan-Glenlivet. His family owned and operated the distillery until 1996 when the current owner, Highland Distilleries, bought it from them and took the family-dominated corporation out of public ownership (the family sold 37.5% of the company's stock to the public in 1967). Though the owners had blended most of the whisky for various brands, Macallan started promoting its single malt in 1980 and immediately had an impressive sales increase. By 1984 it was the third largest brand in Scotland and the fifth largest in the world. It won the Queen Awards for Export Achievement in 1983 and 1988. The distillery has the smallest stills in Speyside, which is on the Bank of Scotland £10 note. The site also has Europe's largest single-roofed warehouse. The scotch has a rich, robust, oily, and fruity flavor and is the benchmark 'sherry' style of malt. The nose has a chocolate aroma with dried orange peel, dried fruits, sherry, and nuts. The taste is sweet at first but then very dry with flavors of sherry and Christmas cake. According to the Whisky Flavor Map, it is one of the richest scotches available, and it is a little bit more delicate than smoky. It is yummy.

Ain't a dang thing wrong with scotch in the morning

Next to the Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile is The Scotch Whisky Experience. This building houses the world's largest private collection of scotch, the Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection. Diageo Claive Vidiz was an uber-rich dude kept buying more and more scotch, including some ridiculously rare collector bottles. He became famous in the scotch world before his death. A distillery on the Isle of Skye made a special whisky that they mostly gave to the heads of state, but they also gave Vidiz a bottle since he was so famous in the scotch community. In total, there are over 3,000 bottles of scotch whisky in this private collection. Vidiz originally wanted to give the collection to his two sons, but they didn't care about scotch the way he did. Therefore, he donated the collection to the The Scotch Whisky Experience on the condition that they didn't split up the collection. Now a tour of the facilities showcases a rather large room displaying the bottles.

The tour also includes an explanation of how whisky is made. I had already seen and heard how whisky is produced at the Glenfiddich distillery, but this new explanation was kinda cool. Guests get inside a barrel that rides through the room on a track. It's kind of like a roller coaster. Then a 'ghost' explains the whisky-making process while colorful displays and diagrams on the walls show what he's talking about. After this ride guests go into a room where a guide explains the different types of scotch, including those from the Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, and Isle of Skye. There are smelling jars in front of each guest so that he or she can take note of what to taste in each type of scotch. For instance, the Isle of Skye scotch has a smoky flavor; the lowland scotch has a floral flavor. Then guests can choose one scotch they would like to try. Our options were Auchentoshan (Lowland), Glenmorangie (Highland), Tamdhu (Speyside), Ardbeg (Islay), and Bells (mix). I tried the Tamdhu because the distillery closed this previous April, and bottles from this company will become rare in time. This distillery started in 1897 after William Grant pushed for the construction of three distilleries in the Knockando parish. It was built beside a a stream that had a regular supply of fresh spring water. Almost as important, it was built beside a railway. Production waxed and waned according to the times. Production peaked in 1903 before it fell by half by 1910. It closed in 1911 and 1912 before it reopened and prospered until the Great Depression. It was closed from 1925 to 1948. Until it closed in 2010, it was one of only three distilleries in Scotland that malted 100% of its own barley on site. The single-malt whiskies produced at the distillery do not have a date on them, but they are usually 10 years old or older. The scotch has a sweet nose with fresh fruits, including melon. The mouth tastes sweet and fruity with a trace of peat. It is a medium-bodied scotch.

After going through this tasting, guests go into the collection room. Here the guide tells everyone a little bit more about scotch and the collection. Since we went during the off-season, the guide could spend more time with us and not worry about the next group coming through. That was kinda cool. For instance, he told us more about how blended scotch whiskies are made: an expert has to smell all whiskies from different distilleries that are put into the blend to make certain they are consistent. Though cheaper than single-malt whiskies, the blended ones are more common and can be very complex. The guide said that he does not shy away from drinking the blended whiskies like some scotch snobs do because they are complex and have distinct flavors that are difficult to achieve. This process of blending different scotches reminded me of how coffee companies mix different beans from various farms in order to produce the same flavor year after year.

After seeing the collection room, guests go into the bar room where they can try different scotches for a price. Those who paid for the 'gold' tour, including yours truly, get four more samples for free. I chose to try a selection that showed the difference between different cask maturations. In other words, the different casks caused the scotch to have different flavors. These scotches included BenRiach Heart of Speyside (Speyside- bourbon cask from American White Oak), Glenlivet French Oak 15 year (Speyside- cognac cask from France), Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (Highland- port cask from Portugal), and MacAllan 10 year Sherry Oak (Speyside- sherry cask from Spanish sherry casks, European Red Oak). The 'samples' were supposed to be a certain size which is about a third of a regular serving. The guide didn't really pay much attention to how much he poured, so he gave me at least one serving in each nosing glass. When he saw how much he poured, he said, "I'm glad my boss isn't in here to see how much I just poured." As I tried the four scotches, I took note of what the sheet said about them and what I actually tasted. The BenRiach Heart of Speyside has a honey and heathery nose and a light fruity taste with a nutty and oaky finish; I wrote that it was very light, almost too light, with a fruity and apple flavor. The Glenlivet French Oak 15 year has a oak, apricot and honey nose with a dry, spicy, and creamy vanilla taste; I wrote that it did have a vanilla taste. At this point in the tasting I was already feeling a bit tipsy because it was before lunch and I had an empty stomach. Also, I wasn't really pacing myself through the tastings. As I looked at the next two glasses, I wondered if I would be able to finish it all and still be able to walk straight. I know it's frowned upon, but getting tipsy in the morning is kinda fun. The Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban has a strong honey and sweet fruity nose with a soft, sweet and smooth spiciness; I wrote that this scotch was my favorite thus far. The MacAllan 10 year Sherry Oak has a rich sherry and orange nose with a strong fruitcake taste and a lingering finish; I wrote 'very good.' Then I had to stumble my way towards lunch.

Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection

[Image Deleted: see http://peregrinatorphoto.blogspot.com/]

My four 'samples' of scotch

Dufftown: 300 bottles of scotch on the wall. Take one down. Pass it around.

Here are a few photos from my stay in Dufftown, Scotland in the Highlands. It's quite a small town, but the hotel where we stayed, the Tannochbrae Guest House, is a lovely place to stay and a very nice restaurant where locals go to eat. It's actually more of a restaurant than a hotel. The owners are a husband and wife. The husband showed me around the scotch room, where there are over 300 bottles of scotch to try. The wife is the main chef for the restaurant while her husband brought us the food. He asks each guest what his or her favorite perfume or cologne is. "Oh, Old Spice? Well, I just happen to have a bottle of that right here. Do you mind if I spray some on your haggis? It's the perfect addition." The bottle actually holds some kind of whiskey spray that flavors the food a little more. This hotel would be a great launching pad for day trips into the surrounding Highlands. During the summers tourists can hike the surrounding hills, and there are tons of distilleries not only in Dufftown but neighboring towns. There is also an annual highland games exhibition nearby during the summer. Dufftown itself is nothing spectacular because it is such a small town, but the main draws are the distilleries and the scenery. Honestly, the hotel and its scotch room is enough of a draw.

Downtown Dufftown.

As you can see, there isn't much

to this small town, but our hotel

was just down hop skip and a

jump away from the clock tower.

The Glenfiddich Distillery is a 10 minute

walk from this tower.

The haggis I had for dinner.

The scotch room with over 300

malt whiskeys. It's a great place to

taste the difference between scotches

and to ask the owner about the whiskeys.

He was very helpful and answered all my questions.

Otherwise, he could make something up.

All dinner guests come here first and order their meals.

When their food is ready, they would bring their drink

into the main dinning. After dinner, I came back to

order a drink and take it into their quite sitting room.

While there, I ran into a couple Spanish girls. Since I

understand Spanish, I recognized their accent and started to

speak to them in Spanish. I told them that I hadn't spoken

Spanish in years and was afraid that I wouldn't speak

very well. The one girl told me that she wished her English

was as good as my Spanish, and she works in Britain.

I tried a couple different scotches, including

this 10 year Aberlour. I also tried a

15 year Benrinnes. Some of the scotches here

are local so that it would be difficult to get

them outside Scotland.

Glenfiddich Distillery Tour: it's ok, go on to the next room without me, I'm just going to hang out in this warehouse full of scotch for a while

During my first trip to Scotland in 1993, we toured the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown. I only remember a couple bits from this tour. First, I remember leaving one of the rooms because the smell made me sick. This smell reminded me of apple sauce. Second, I remember the guide gave everyone a sample of whiskey at the end of the tour. The guide tried to give me a glass, but Mom jumped in and told them to give me a glass of orange juice instead. I was 8, and I hated orange juice.

For undergrad I went to a conservative southern Baptist college, so I was a 'heathen' for occasionally drinking. After I turned 21, I had only drunk wine and sangria, but I wanted to try something new. One of my fellow 'heathens' took me to a 'pub' in Jackson where we got Newcastle ale and 12-year-old Glenfiddich. I enjoyed both of them very much because I love the darker, stronger and alcohols instead of the sweeter ones like white wine. At the time I didn't realize that I had been to the distillery where the whiskey had been made and probably around the time when the drink I was drinking was first brewed.

Though I don't remember much about the tour, my mom said that much has changed here in the last 17 years. There is a new restaurant where guests can try different scotches. Apparently, there wasn't a good parking lot next to the distillery, but there is one there now (from what my mom said, a lot of the tourist destinations throughout Scotland have improved dramatically during the past 10 years, even in Edinburgh). The new tour also includes a new movie that explained the distillery's history, specifically how the Grant family built the oldest buildings with their bare hands. Then a guide led us around to the different rooms, explained the equipment, and described the brewing process. We could take photos in almost all of these rooms except the warehouse. In the stills room our guide showed us how the whiskeys went through a second bath. I asked her how the scotch tasted at this point, and she said that it would taste like practically nothing.

The coolest part of the tour was the warehouse. Here, the guide showed us a video of a 'cooper' making a barrel for the freshly distilled scotch. This particular cooper was the fastest one in Speyside, one of the most important regions for scotch. He was about 3 times faster than the average cooper. Like other distilleries in Scotland, Glenfiddich makes its own barrels from used oak barrels from Spanish sherry and American bourbon producers. Unlike the oak used for sherry and bourbon barrels, scotch distilleries can reuse barrels over and over. Therefore, there is a huge excess of used sherry and bourbon oak barrels that the distilleries can import. The type of oak used influences the scotch flavor, so some scotches can have a strong sherry flavor. When making the barrel, the cooper looks at each piece of used oak to find a dark line in the wood. This line shows how far the previous scotch had soaked into the barrel, and once this line reaches the edge of the barrel, the wood is completely spent and will no longer add flavor to the scotch. Once the cooper makes the barrel, the distillery pours fresh scotch into the it. The scotch has to age for at least three years in order to be legally 'scotch.' If a bottle of scotch doesn't have a date or year on it, then it is probably 3 years old; the marketer would rather not put '3 years old' on it because it would then sound like cheap scotch. More times than not, the marketer will put the age on the bottle if it is 10 years or older. However, just because the bottle says '12 years' does not mean the whiskey is 12 years old; it only means the youngest whiskey in the bottle is at least 12 years old, so it could have whiskey that is 15 years old or older. Every year the scotch remains in the barrel, the scotch flavor changes according to how the oak influences it. Meanwhile, the whiskey gradually evaporates so that around 2% of the whiskey disappears every year. A 12 year old Glenfiddich loses about 24% of its original volume. Because so much evaporates, the older whiskeys are much more expensive. The whiskey that evaporates is called the 'angel's share' because this is supposed to be the magical bit angels drink in return for looking after us. In the Glenfiddich warehouse, there is a statue of angels sitting next to the barrels. Before we left the warehouse, the guides showed us three different barrels with different types of whiskey. One barrel was made from old Spanish sherry barrels; another was an old scotch; the last was younger. The guide allowed us to smell the whiskey in each barrel so that we would have an idea of how the barrel and age influenced the scotch. I was curious as to how the distillery made certain that the scotch tasted the same over time since the barrel could have such a dramatic effect on the whiskey: before bottling the whiskey sold in stores, the distillery pours several similar types of barrels into the same vat and lets the whiskey bond together for three months. This process is called the 'marriage.'

In the last room the guide poured us samples of the Glenfiddich 12 year, 15 year, and 18 year so that we could taste the difference between all the whiskeys. I've had 12 year multiple times, and one Christmas Mom bought me a bottle of 15 year. I've only had an 18 year once in a small sample box I found at a liquor store. It was very nice that they gave us these samples, especially since the tour was free. According to the locals, the 15 year is what Glenfiddich employes order when they go to the pubs.

Entrance to the Glenfiddich Distillery

Family tree of Grants who have

owned and operated the distillery

since they built it in 1887.

The mash turns where the Glenfiddich stream's

water first mixes with the fresh barley.

Cooking a whole bunch of barley with hot water.

The washback room. These brown barrels are only

the tops of huge vats where the sugary liquid produced from

the mash turn age for 3 months.

The alcohol grows in the liquid here, so these rooms have

a distinct smell. When I came here in 1993, the smell made me ill

so that I had to leave. The mash turn is like a tea room, and

the washback is like the brewer. The liquid here is similar to beer.

Inside one of the washback barrels.

This photo shows the rest of the washbacks,

which can be 20 feet tall.

The Glenfiddich stills.

Each still in each distillery is unique, and the

still's shape makes the whiskey produced

here unique. If the still is small and lets the

alcohol reach the top of the still easily, then

the scotch will be oilier than a scotch from

a taller still- I think that's right.

The old malt barn where the distillery used

to malt its own barley. The chimney in the picture

was part of the room where the barley was malted.

Today, Glenfiddich uses so much barley that it

no longer malts the barley on site, but the rest

of the scotch-making process, including

storage in barrels in huge warehouses, occurs

on site here in Dufftown.

This old malt barn is now a restaurant.

I couldn't take a picture of barrels inside the

warehouse, but I could take a picture of these.

A video from the tour.