Toronto – We all (hopefully) know that beer and wine is for drinking/binging but whiskey, bourbon, scotch and anything 80+ proof is for sipping only. Alas, some of us sip more often than others. The Scots, in fact, sip so very efficiently and have to make their drinks years in advance in preparation for the need. And so the scotch is born. Of course, that background story isn’t true. But most will agree that among the spirits such as cognac, brandy, and other whiskeys, scotch does have its own place. For me at least, the distinction is in the well-rounded-ness and the pleasant aftertaste or finish.
Matchstick was generous enough to invite us over for a tasting event of The Macallan. And boy did we get an unexpected education. At the cost of some of The Macallan, you’d think that either the bottles were lined with Kryptonite, or that the price is artificially inflated for marketing purpose. But obviously they are expensive because of all of the TLC that goes into their making. One of the first things I realized is that planning for a scotch business can be very challenging. Think of the projection one has to make when the products will not be ready for 10-25 years or even longer. What amount do you distill, how will the perception and demand be in that distant future? The caskets are all made from timbers of uber quality Spanish or American oaks, and sometimes bourbon; air-dried for several years before they even begin to become the barrels/casks; then sometimes wine/sherry is infused into the wood for several more years before they are finally used to age the scotch. All told, that’s around 30-40 years before we even see one drop of the finished product… that’s not accounting the decades it takes for the oak/bourbon trees to grow! No wonder they are proud of their brew/expression! By definition scotch must be malted barley; but since the entire malt isn’t equal in quality, only about 16% of the juice qualify to be distilled and aged. At 140 proof, though, this is stiff stuff. The guide, Mark, actually poured a colorless sip for one of the Scotch blog guys. Frankly I’m fine with tissue culture alcohol… which is probably what it tastes like. The colors of the scotch and thus the spice/taste, then, comes straight from the oak caskets that they were aged in and, we are told, have very little to do with the type of water, the yeast, and the barley used. Every year what’s called the Angel’s share of 2% alcohol content evaporates from the liquid, and after your kids have grown strong enough to carry you into the coffin, the stuff will be bottled and the party can start.
So onward with the tasting. The targeted audience here is definitely the young professionals. Mark the guide was probably the most senior there – which makes perfect sense – just like the scotch themselves you only get more experienced with tasting as you age and try more combinations. As presentation goes, it was a very good exercise in market building – afterall, young professionals get old – and they don’t really wait until they are old to develop tastebuds. I think Matchstick did a very good job in organizing, the event ran cleaning without empty slots of time, and hors d’œuvre from 1 Hazelton was quite delicious. Sitting just across, the guys from Scotch blog were busy writing away, noting the nose, finish, taste, temperature, and comparing notes, which made us look like amateurs. I’m sure their reivew will be much more varied with comparisons with other brands. We at panicmanual, however, take a very laid back approach to scotch sipping, perhaps due to diminutive palettes and slimmer wallets. We smell, dunk, lick, taste, and then wait for it to finish. In the case for some, I wouldn’t mind saying that the taste stayed with me quite awhile. Whiskey-wise, I started with Johnny Walkers and Jameson, but I’ve been drinking Macallan 12 for awhile, and my habit has always been to smell – I’d say the smoky oak nose is actually a lot more rewarding for me than the liquid itself. But for those of you who don’t buy scotch just to have them evaporate away… here are some other tips that the scotch masters gave (and what we overheard from the blog guys):
1. Don’t swirl. Swirling wine brings out the aromatics. Swirling a 80 proof spirit brings up alcohol to your nose. Ouch.
2. Add a slight bit of water to dilute if you just want to nose some of the finer details… as long as you are careful with the pour. Also, slight warming by palming the glass helps.
3. Try not to add rocks. If you DO have to, add chilled pebbles. I’m not kidding! They actually recommended getting GBP40 scotch rocks that looks like stones from the beach. Or, in lieu of such luxury, you can get a Macallan iceball maker, which is an entire block of copper made to slowly cut ice by melting it, resulting in a 2″ ball of ice that’ll impress your scotch-drinking friends!
Anecdotal note: The Macallan changed their bottle designs recently. According to our sources the reason is that an old lady wrote to the scotch masters and spoke thus: “Do you know why I always keep a bottle of Glenfiddich? Because its not round and doesn’t roll off my bed!”. So now, grannies everywhere can enjoy The Macallan in their morning stupor! My own notes/tastebuds on the 5 Macallan scotches that we were fortunate enough to sample:
10 year fine oak – very spicy and slightly monotonic taste.
12 year sherry oak – refined and smoky that turns toffee-ish over time. Very long finish and smells of smoked fruit…
15 year fine oak – fresh spring smell that is very light. It can sting and finishes shorter but very bright taste. This one is still a single malt, but aged in a range of 3 oaks/bourbons and mixed. Rather complicated and that really reflects in the taste.
18 year sherry oak – this is now my new favorite. Everything you taste in a 12 yr sherry with more “umph”, and a little more alcoholic taste. Nose is amazing! It felt like I was in the woods with an oak fire, without the charcoal smell…
21 year fine oak – quite good but also strong in alcohol. This is Ricky’s new favorite, LCBO doens’t carry it but SAQ does. It is still light in the taste but no longer sharply stinging. I tasted some metals… perhaps it was my imagination?
Overall, how else can you better spend a Wednesday than being educated in the higher arts of tasting the finer things in life as we all get older?
