Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Episode IX

The ninth in a series of relevant tasting notes!

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Episode VIII

 The eighth in a series of relevant tasting notes!

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Episode Seven

In honor of Mathilda's seventh birthday,

here's the seventh in a series of relevant tasting notes:

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Episode Six

 The sixth in a series of relevant tasting notes: 

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Episode Five

 The fifth in a series of relevant tasting notes:

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Part Four

The fourth in a series of relevant tasting notes:

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Part Three

The third in a series of relevant tasting notes:

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Part Two

More relevant tasting notes:

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Part One

Relevant tasting notes:

Tony

(Photo via Facebook/@PartsUnknownCNN)

I have never felt so devastated by the death of a public figure. Though I didn't know him personally, I experienced heavier bouts of emotion over Friday morning's news of Anthony Bourdain's suicide than I have over the loss of a number of people in my life. It takes me a long time to emotionally respond to a loss, sometimes years. But this time it was different. Some reasons behind my feelings are linked to my own issues, while others are bigger than me.

Though my choices of evening viewing differ vastly from Kristen's preferences, she and I loved Bourdain's productions. It got the point where we just called all his shows "Tony", as in "Wanna watch Tony tonight?" His book, Kitchen Confidential, is still striking, not necessarily for the salacious details, but for the hyperkinetic stream-of-consciousness blast of its final chapter. It's even better when you can hear his gorgeous voice in your head as the words speed by.

Throughout his work, Food was always a front for People. At first it was barely apparent, starting with the sarcastic generalizations in Confidential. But by the time Parts Unknown came out, culinary concerns were an afterthought. Yes, "street food" or "peasant food" is great, but who were these people behind it? Episode after episode, he sat down at kitchen tables with families, ate grandmas' dishes, drank papas' booze, easing everyone into questions about their lives. He made this enormous difficult world feel closer and more human.

It was this progression that was so moving. Though he long preferred to keep his personal life out of the public eye, his development was burningly public.

Before our eyes, a man grew up. The punk became an elder. He showed us something we never really see from public figures, that a man can be stridently, classically masculine and thoughtful and loving and drawn to those who struggle and hurt (see the Massachusetts episode of Parts Unknown and his balls-out support of the #MeToo movement). It was an awakening sadly unique to our time.

I am so thankful Anthony Bourdain invited us to join him on his journey. He was the greatest of guides, and one of my last heroes. May you be in peace, Tony.

Drinking in Ikebukuro, Part 2

The evening from Part 1 continued...

After I left Abbot's Choice and before Will and I went to Quercus, logic would dictate that I had met up with Will. And I did! At his bar, Buffalo Tap.

Walking into Buffalo Tap, I couldn't help but grin. Will was living the dream. Or, at least my dream. And probably his dream. Here was a small neighborhood bar with maybe a half dozen seats, and a well-curated whisky and beer selection. No, there aren't 500 whiskies, but the stuff that's there is great. It's exactly what I wanted to do when I moved to Ohio, but the ancient liquor laws got in my way.

Take THAT, Bar Argyll!

I hung out with a few local folks while I had a good crisp IPA by Crux Fermentation Project. Tried that Hazelburn 9yo Barolo Cask on the left side of the above pic. It was much better than I'd expected. Then Will gave me a try of the sherry and American oak edition of Mars Komagatake which was very good.

He also poured me a bit of this bizarre thing:

Known as Suntory Za, this peculiar thing was the first blended whiskey designed by Suntory's current blender Seiichi Koshimizu, back in 2000. The good news is Koshimizu-san's whiskies got better after this one. Once Will told me this whisky spent time in cedarwood, that's all I could taste or smell in it. For more info on it, see Will's post.

Once I was done drinking Will's whisky, we headed out for some more whisky. Our first stop was Quercus (reviewed here). By the time we were done there, it was quite late. The second planned stop, Oasis, had closed. But the owner suggested we go to his new bar, Nonesuch.

It was about 2am at that point. It was time for a fourth (or fifth?) meal to keep us young folks going. We spotted an all night Indian food joint. Over mildly spice dishes and arm-sized slabs of naan, we discussed Twitter and the philosophy of David Hume, as you do.

Then it was to Nonesuch! From what I recall (blurry), it's a British music themed bar. Posters and record covers on the wall. BUT, MOST VITALLY, Starcrash was playing on a big TV in the corner. A fabulously crap Italian-produced Star Wars ripoff, Starcrash stars the lovely Caroline Munro (playing it totally straight) and Marjoe Gortner (who's unsure if the whole thing is campy or not). Hasselhoff shows up at some point, as does Joe Spinell. Christopher Plummer makes several appearances because I'm only assuming the producers were holding his family hostage. Regrettably, everyone keeps his and her clothes on, except for a giant metal robotress. Otherwise it's terribly delightful, or delightfully terrible. I own the DVD, but seeing it playing on a TV in a British-themed Tokyo bar at 3 o'clock in the morning is one of the great things.

"Imperial Battleship, halt the flow of time!"

Also, I drank this...

...which I dare say was damned good. All the single cask Chichibus I've had thus far have been impressive (and expensive). Another pic:

It was around this time I realized the trains were not in service. Will told me some lines started up at 4:30. Google confirmed this.

At 4:45am Will and I parted ways. My train ride was filled with Walk of Shamers and the early shift. When I stepped out of Shinjuku station, the sun was up. It had be 15 years since I pulled an all-nighter. Let's just say it's not as easy as it used to be.

That's one thing I learned that night. I also discovered there's still good whisky being produced in Japan. It's just not being done by the majors, for the most part. It's young whisky, but it's good whisky, and it's expensive whisky. But I'd take 'em over Kavalan any day.

I was less than 40% through my trip, but it was the last time I drank Japanese whisky while in Japan.

Drinking in Ikebukuro, Part 1

Tokyo guidebooks don't give Ikebukuro much love. They'll lavish praise on the hip Shimokita, or swanky Roppongi, or even the Ueno Zoo more than they'll talk up Ikebukuro.

One part of town the books always expend much ink on is Akihabara. And that's understandable. Some tourists will think, "Man, I gotta go to that super anime spot!" even if they don't know the first thing about anime. It's been about 16 years since I was really into anime, video games and other otaku stuff, so I found Akihabara to be operating on a different plane that my current state of consciousness. There's also a dearth of decent bars there. Yeah, one can find plenty of maid cafés, but they're not cheap and submissive girls ain't my thing. Maybe next time.

If you're reading this post, you're likely more into drinks than otaku, so you may want to visit Ikebukuro if you're on the west side of the city. There's a different flavor of quirk, more bars and less of a commercial assault than in Akihabara (which is on the center-east side). And if you're staying in Shinjuku or Shibuya, Ikebukuro is a quick zip up the Yamanote Line.

I enjoyed a rather extensive night in Ikebukuro, so I'm going to chop the recap into two posts, for your benefit and mine.

---

After spending the morning and afternoon getting vaporized in the Kamakura heat, I came back to my apartment in Shinjuku to take a disco nap. I was planning on meeting up with Will, owner of Buffalo Tap and a good guy (and more about him as we go), at his bar in Ikebukuro around 11pm. It was going to be a long night, and I'm older than I should be, thus this system needed a rest. The sweaty nap went on an hour longer than planned, which meant I was going to miss out on some of my scheduled stops. But man, I was exhausted and this rest was restorative.

By the time I got to Ikebukuro, the cat café was closed. The owl café was closed. Gyoza Stadium was closed. And I had to resign myself to the fact that I wasn't going to make it to Penguin Bar, something I do regret a bit.

Food was a must. My plan was to go to Ichiran, but that location, like every other Ichiran I saw during my trip, had a line out the door. So I wandered around dizzily until stumbling into a ramen place without a phoneticized English name. And no English menu.

What most ramen restaurant kitchens look like.

But there were pictures of dishes! So I went with a bowl of noodles with a remarkable fish broth, and some crisp gyoza on the side.

Blood sugar regulated. Life was good.

---

Abbot's Choice, Ikebukuro

I had about a half hour to kill, so I stopped into Abbot's Choice to start my whisky night. I'd spied a few of these bars on Google Maps when researching destinations. There's one in Golden Gai, Roppongi and Shibuya, but I never saw this branch on the map.

Abbot's Choice is designed to appeal to Westerners or those with a Western hankering. The Ikebukuro Abbot's was very roomy (for a Japanese bar) with a number of bar tables that wouldn't look out of place at Buffalo Wild Wings. HD sports lit up the many TV screens and American pop music floated down from ceiling speakers.

I took a seat at the bar, opened up a whisky menu and quickly spotted something of interest. Yoichi 2000's. I'd seen the 1980's and 1990's selling for small fortunes, and I adore Yoichi, so this seemed like the perfect start.

Yet, though there was only one other customer at the bar, it was impossible to get the attention of the two bartenders. You see, my fellow patron was an American woman in her 40s or 50s slugging shot after shot of Fireball, slurring and shouting her way through terrible approximations of Japanese. Both bartenders found it hilarious. Even putting ¥2000 in cash on the bar and calling out sumimasen didn't make me worthy of their business until she stumbled out of the bar, trying to drag one of them with her.

At first I thought, "Damn, that's a terrible way to begin her night." But then I realized it was 10:15pm. The first shift of drinkers was clocking out. The second shift was clocking in.

Yoichi 2000's, OB, 57%abv

Its color is a medium gold. The nose is fruitier than expected, with lots of bourbon and new American oak influence. Caramel and butterscotch hard candies. Pears and grains. No peat. The palate leads with root beer and anise. More pepper than peat. Quite sweet with a silky mouthfeel. Very buttery too. After 10+ minutes a bitter bite slips in, providing a little bit of balance. More herbs with more time. It finishes with sweet vanilla and caramel. Malt. Minimal peat. Adding water makes it all much too sweet.

Wow, what a let down. American oak secures the front of the stage and never steps back. The herbal bitterness helped the palate out a little bit, but the whole thing needed less sweetness and more of something earthy or smoky to give it dimension. It's not the worst Yoichi I've had—their new NAS is embarrassing—but such a stellar distillery should be able to put out a special release better than this.
Rating: 76

I departed Abbot's Choice ten minutes behind schedule.

---

I'm going to skip ahead about 1.5 to 2 hours. I'll return to the missing section in Part 2.

The Crane Bar -- Ha! Just kidding.

One of the bars I was most looking forward to was The Crane. Located a few blocks from the train station, the bar was known to have a tremendous whisky selection, while being a bit on the fancy side. But early in the Ikebukuro experience, I learned that The Crane HAD CLOSED. Wat? Yep. In the middle of the Era of Crazy Whisky Prices, Tsurumi-san left the business. Of course my first question was, "What happened to all the whisky?!" We may never know.

---

After helping Will close up his bar, and by "helping" I mean sip some of his whiskies and not helping him at all, I requested we go to...

Quercus Bar

Quercus Bar was highly recommended in Chris Bunting's Drinking Japan book, but that was published six years ago. The two ratings on whiskybase are more recent and much less enthusiastic.

The good news about Quercus is its design is the exact opposite of Abbot's Choice. It's small and personal. The wood design is simple. The mood is quiet.

The entire right shelf behind the bar is full of dusty stuff. Most of the other bottles on the other main shelves can be found at other great bars around the city. Unfortunately the most exciting bottles on premises were off-limits, as they were private bottles belonging to members.

The bartender was nice enough, though Will is a much better bartender. And on a final note, Quercus's prices were the highest of all the bars I've visited in Japan. So Will and I each ordered only one drink while we discussed Fukushima and death and other baubles.

Teacher's Glendronach 8 year old single malt, late '70s or early '80s, Italian import, 43%abv

Its color is light amber. The nose is very much dusty old Teacher's-ish. (Apologies for the terrible description.) Bushels of oranges and lemons and apricots meet layers of dunnage and musty cask funk. More earth than peat. Curiously, the palate is more alive. Similar fruits to the nose, with McIntosh apples added in. Soil + metal meets cotton candy + lightly smoky peat. The peat moves far into the finish's background. Otherwise, it's mostly moderate levels of apples and earth.

The opposite of the Yoichi 2000's: very little oak, lots of spirit character; pleasant peat levels, a good balance and an impressive amount of dimension for its age. It's a type that's sorely missing from modern whisky, though I think Benromach comes pretty close to it at times. I do recommend this if you have a chance to try it, though I don't think it's worth the ¥3000 I paid for an ounce.
Rating: 87

---

It wasn't yet 2am when we left Quercus. There was more to explore. I'll return to the better components of that evening in Part 2, next Monday.

OC Scotch Club Tasting on 3/24 at Chapter One

Hello, I am the author of this blog and I will return you to the regularly scheduled whisky reviews tomorrow, specifically the second half of the Chieftain's tasting (see part 1 here).  In addition to closing my eyes while tapping on random keys to create my posts, I do other whisky things, some of which I document on Facebook and (much more on) Twitter (and someday soon there will be an Instagram page aside from my personal one).

One of my favorite whisky things to do is lead whisky tastings for groups of happy whisky people.  When presenting I go light-to-medium on history and production trivia, depending on the audience, but I do not tell the crowd what they're supposed to smell and taste in each whisky because that knocks the humanity part right out of the situation.  If one smells bubblegum while I smell burnt shrinkwrap, that's cool.  That's the experience.  That subjectivity is why we're drinking this stuff in the first place.

Once a month, I lead tastings for the OC Scotch Club.  Andy Smith (aka Mr. LA Scotch Club) and I confer a few weeks before the event and select bottles.  Then we book a location.  Then we invite people to show up and drink whisky while I drone on at the center of the party.  Because we like weird stuff and familiar good stuff, we tend to pick some of both.

For instance, we're having Dinner and Whisky at Chapter One in Santa Ana on the 24th.  For food there's burgers & Mac 'n Cheese & Fish 'n Chips & Caprese to choose from.  All awesome things.  But then there's the whisky, even awesomer.

Auchentoshan 13 year old 2000 Exclusive Casks.  Everyone I know who tried it thinks it one of the best indie Auchies ever.  So I tracked down the last bottle available.

Ben Nevis 18 year old 1995 Montgomerie's Select.  It's Ben Nevis, so that's enough for me.  For you, just know that Ben Nevis is an old-school, often lovely, sometimes unusual, always entertaining single malt.  Plus this one is actually available at all or most Total Wines around here, so in case you like it at the tasting you can easily track it down for a relatively reasonable price.

Fukano Japanese Whisky (the K&L cask).  Wait, that's not scotch.  Of course not.  It's a malty bourbony whisky that's actually made from rice in Japan, which Andy scooped a bottle of it before it vanished.  I might even pour this one first because it's delicate.  If you want to know what all the hype was about, here's a chance to taste it.

Inchgower 20 year old 1995 Hepburn's Choice (K&L excl).  It's a 20 year old sherry bomb from a distillery that doesn't get enough love, probably because there are so few indies (and offishys?) of it.  Plus it's a double decade sherried whisky that doesn't cost $200+.  This is the one I'm looking forward to the most.

Lagavulin 12 year old Cask Strength, 2014 edition.  Finally, I drop the sledgehammer at the end.  It'll leave everyone's face feeling warm and peated.

So, there it is.  Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islay, and the most eastern Scottish isle, Japan.  If you're in the Orange Country area on March 24th, I recommend you click on over to the site and buy yourself a very-inexpensive-for-California food-and-whisky ticket.  I mean, friggin' Lagavulin 12yo CS and bacon-loaded Mac n' Cheese?  Hope to see you there!

Single Malt Report: Blair Athol 11 year old 1998 Signatory UCF (cask 2757)

This week I'm participating in a so-called dietary cleanse.  No dairy, no gluten, no processed sugar, and no alcohol.  Normally, I have no interest in cleanses.  People should consciously moderate their intake of toxins and troublesome dietary elements so that an abrupt purge isn't necessary.  But it's become obvious that moderation hasn't been one of my strong points since my stay-at-home-father gig began.

I've completed the first day of the cleanse and I haven't eaten the neighbors, yet.  Though my daughter got wise and hitched a ride to another state.  In classic fashion I did four whisky reviews in the thirty-six hours before the cleanse so that this blog would have some sort of content over the next two weeks.  The sacrifices...

Label information written by foot

Anyway, Blair Athol!  Blair Athol?  This the second Blair Athol review in this calendar year.  What the hell?  That's twice as many graded reviews as I've done of Bowmore in 2014.  If you missed my first exciting Blair Athol review, here's the link.  It was of a 25 year old single cask release by the independent Dutch bottler, Van Wees.  And it was very good (89 points worth).

I've had quite some luck with Van Wees.  I've also had a lot of luck with Signatory.  Signatory has a number of different ranges but the two most familiar ones are their Cask Strength and Unchillfiltered collections.  Today's Blair Athol is an 11 year old single hogshead from the Unchillfiltered Collection.  And it arrives courtesy of Florin (a prince).

Distillery: Blair Athol
Bottler: Signatory
Age: 11 years 1 month (4/8/98 - 5/8/09)
Maturation: Hogshead
Cask #: 2757
Bottle: 250 of 361
Region: Highlands (Central)
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No

The color is a very pale amber.  At first the nose is bready and yeasty with some butter, caramel, and pencil shavings.  But moments later it opens up into mango and grapefruit.  Then it expands further into lavender and violet (flowers, not soap).  Then some more patience brings fresh orange pulp and sea air.  The palate leads with grasses and dried leaves, followed by oranges and limes.  Caramel pudding, maybe some peppery spice and a candy cane.  It's effervescent but very delicate.  Its sweetness gradually expands.  The finish seems shortish at first but then comes back for a second round, boomerang-style.  Lots of citrus peels, lager, dried leaves, pepper, and cocoa powder.

This was much too fragile for water, almost as if it were 40%abv.  That being said, I like it a lot.  While the palate isn't terribly complex, it's very pleasant.  It's the nose that thrills.  It opens and opens and opens like a little blossom in the sun.  It's all pretty.  I'm considering tracking down a bottle, especially since my wife likes it.  She and scotch whisky are acquaintances but not pals, so this a rare thing.  Gives me an excuse to say, "Hey, I bought you a present!"

Availability - Scarce (US)
Pricing - $60-$70
Rating - 87

Escape From LA, February 2013, recapped

I'm aware that hearing about someone else's Vegas experience holds limited entertainment value for the audience, so I'll try to be brief and entertaining.

Friday -- I drove directly from work to Las Vegas.  Arrived at MGM @ 11:30.  My brother, Jason, and I are so old and tired that we promptly fell asleep.  No gambling.  No drinking.

Saturday -- Gambling.  Drinking.

Oddly, I awoke at 7:20am.  Who wakes up in Vegas at 7:20?  We got out to the lackluster Excalibur buffet by 8:30.  Breakfast done by 9:30.  So early!  What to do?  Gamble, the tables are cheap in the morning.

At the video poker machine, I went from $100 to $5 in 10 minutes, then on what looked to be my final hand, I hit full house, then straight, then full house.  I decided to part from the machine at that point.  Joined Jason at the craps table where we fared well.  We departed up.

We hit the road, putting some distance between us and The Strip.  I fared well, again, at the video poker machines at The Palms.  Jason and I went to The Mob Museum downtown -- their media production was great -- then later headed to Nora's: good Italian food, great whisky prices.

From there we went back to the hotel and opened a bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold Label (more on that some time down the road).  Then we went to Craftsteak, THE BEST whisky selection on The Strip.

Then I stumbled over to a video poker machine and won $250 on a $5 bet.

Okay, I'm not really kissing the machine.  It would be healthier to lick a gas station urinal rim than kiss a Vegas touchscreen.  Anyway, the kiss is close enough.  The machine deserved it.  I was now up $372 on the first day.  Success.

Sunday -- Less drinking.  No gambling.

That's right, I left with my winnings intact.  I hit the gym, then walked about 7 miles up and down The Strip.  I was witness to a particularly curious scene, documented here.  Grabbed some good pizza from New York New York.  Hit Mon Ami Gabi at Paris for dinner.  We wandered the Forum shops, but didn't buy anything because I'm cheap.

Monday -- I awoke at 5am and drove directly to work, arriving 10 minutes early.  This is not recommended.  Three days later, the sleep deprivation is still whuppin' me.  I'm surprised I made it this far into the post.  I'm surprised you made it this far into the post.

---

Whisky thoughts:
Vegas is a great place for whisky drinkin'.  The prices are rarely cheap, but the selection is grand...

...MGM Grand in fact.  That casino alone has a number of great whisky stops.  There's a random bar (I think it's this one) near the hotel elevators that has the old version of Springbank 21yr.  Wolfgang Puck has a bar there with several shelves of high quality stuff, including some Japanese selections.  Then there's Craftsteak.  The prices can be steep, but the pours are 2oz.  The choices are many many many, including a number of indies.  I had a cask strength Bunnahabhain 17yr 1988 Malt Trust.  It was dark as cherry cola and was VERY SHERRY.  There were plans to return on Sunday night to spend some of my winnings, but bedtime was very early.  I shall return.  If you have a chance to visit Craftsteak, Larry at the bar is a great guy who loves to discuss all things booze.

The Palms has a bourbon bar in the middle of the casino.  They appear to have almost everything.  Like Craftsteak, they have Pappies 15, 20, and 23, if you're Van Winkle hunting.

And, as always, I have to give The Whisky Attic its proper due.  (My 2012 posts about it are here.)  Professor Carmer is brilliant and his whisky selection is terrific!  I shall return there on my next Vegas trip.

Time to start planning my next Vegas trip.  How about it, Jason?

Three whisky events in four days: Part One

Three whisk(e)y events in four nights.  Pasadena, Costa Mesa, Santa Monica.  What a man won't do for a dram.  I'm sure my innards are positively pickled, so I will attempt a three part recap as I recover...

FRIDAY NIGHT -- ROBBIE BURNS NIGHT (w/ HIGHLAND PARK)!

I had an awesome Robert Burns Night.  I hope you did too!

Though among the thirsty crowd at Beckham Grill in Pasadena, I had to reign in my whisky sampling due to a long drive home at the end of the night.  But there was great food, including haggis:

It looked like a cross between a scarab, a turd, and a baby's head.  Naturally, it was delicious.  A little lamb, a spot of liver, and a few shakes of black pepper.  And there was great company including Martin Daraz, the Highland Park rep responsible for structuring the evening's whisky appreciation.

I had heard so much about Martin and I really enjoyed meeting the man.  He was very honest and candid about the HP malts.  And he IMPRESSIVELY handled a crowd that was sprinkled with non-member hecklers.  Let me emphasize that the interrupters were still relatively sober and though they may have fancied themselves comedians, they just embarrassed themselves in front of Il Maestro Daraz.  Don't heckle a heckler.

Okay enough with the crabbing, onto the booze lineup.  We started with Famous Grouse as an aperitif.  Then we moved to the HP 18 for the toast.  During dinner, I helped pour the 12 and 15.

For dessert there was this:

And this:

I sampled some HP Thor.  But the fun surprise bottle was the Highland Park Bicentenary.  While the whisky wasn't 200 years old, its lifespan was actually 1977-1998.

The Bicentenary was GREAT, though I only had a whisper of it since I had to head out into the rain to drive home carefully.  The Thor was decent, probably could have used some water.  The HP 25 and 30 were magnificent; if you can afford whisky at that price......you lucky ducks.

Full disclosure: this was my first HP18 experience.  While it didn't blow my tastebuds out of my head, I did enjoy its finish better than that of the fancier bottles.  The hubbub and noise and smells prevented me from really digging in.  So I have a full-on HP18 report scheduled for this year and I look forward to a controlled setting.

I'd read some grumbles about the 15-year, but I liked the slightly different character brought about by sherried American oak.  And as usual, the 12 was reliably excellent.

I can confirm to you all that all HP is now using all ex-sherry barrels, each bottling has a mix of first and second-fills.  The distillery grassy-fruited-light-peat character was remarkably consistent from bottle to bottle.  Probably even more consistent than Laphroaig had been during December's once-in-a-lifetime verticale.

Ultimately, this was a lot of sherried whisky in one night for me.  The sherry and the HP spirit merge much better than most (or all?) sherry "finishes" I've tried.  But I'd love to find an indie bottling that was aged in refill ex-bourbon.

This Burns Night made for an excellent whisky social experience.  Thank you Martin for the whisky and the education.  Y'all need to meet this gentleman when he comes to town.

In Part Two, I'll travel South (in both California and Scotland)...

Single Malt Report: Glenfarclas 15 year old

Oh man.

Nutella.  Just me and a jar and a spoon.  Dinner.

Soooooo, whisky.

After the Laphroaigs, we go to the other side of the spectrum: the rich sherried Glenfarclas(es).

Glenfarclas is one my favorite whisky producers.  Owned by the Grant family since 1865, they specialize in ex-sherry European oak-matured whiskys and have a wide spectrum of releases: 10, 12, 15, 17, 21, 25, 30, 40, 50, three high-strength 105 bottlings, and their vast single Family Casks.  Their regular range is well-priced in the UK compared to other companies' sherry bombs.  They have a large capacity that turns out best-selling product, yet have never sold their shop to a multinational corporation.

Some quick official history:
Robert Hay officially opened the distillery in 1836.  Upon Hay's death, father and son, John and George Grant, bought the distillery in 1865 and began renting it out to John Smith (of Glenlivet fame).  When Smith left to open up Cragganmore in 1870, John and George founded J&G Grant Ltd. and began to run Glenfarclas on their own.

Here's the family ownership tree since then:
John → (son) George → (sons) John & George → (sons) George Scott & John Peter → (son) John L S → (son) George S.

That's consistency.

Though I'm not the biggest fan of first-fill sherry-oak whisky, I do adore Glenfarclas 105  And when I've sampled a couple other 'farclases, I found the oak, wine, and malt very well integrated.  It was never like sipping a glass of 86 proof sherry; there was whisky in there.  Whenever Macallan decides to gut their 12yr in the States, I'd like to have a sherried replacement.  I've tried Glendronach, now let us go 'Farclas.

Distillery: Glenfarclas
Ownership: J&G Grant Ltd.
Region: Speyside (Central)
Age: at least 15 years
Maturation: ex-oloroso (and maybe fino) sherry casks
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
(Mini bottled in July 2010)

NEAT:
The color is dark amber.  The nose starts with sour fruit (apple?), stewed raisins, and rum raisin ice cream.  There's some balsamic vinegar in there too, along with carob and brandied cherries.  The palate is very fudgy.  The sherry is present but not overwhelming.  Prunes, cherry liqueur, a touch of salt, and whipped cream show up promptly.  The medium-length finish carries mellow sherry.  There's some salt, a little bit of chalk, brief bitterness, but also a fresh floral fragrance.

WITH WATER:
Water dries the nose right out, so it's mostly cardboard and sherry.  Some oranges follow, old sweat, and a slight metallic moment.  The palate is also mostly sherry with the malt stripped back.  A little fudge remains, along with caramel sauce.  The finish is mild with that metallic note, but mostly sherry again.

SIPPED ALONG WITH A SPOONFUL OF NUTELLA:
Do this.  For your own sake.

(Source)

A bit of Nutella washed down with Glenfarclas 15yr.  Mmmm.  They mmmmmmerge into a BIG hit of hazelnuts and even a swoop of peanuts too.  I was standing in the kitchen upon the first try.  I had to sit down to fully process it.

Without Nutella, water seems to squelch most of the malt, so I recommend drinking this one neat.  Especially alongside Nutella.

Of course, I'm a total a**hole because the fifteen year isn't sold in the US.  But it is priced right if you're ever doing a UK order.  If you like sherried whisky, I'd recommend giving any Glenfarclas a try.  If you're on the fence about first-fill sherry casks, 'Farclas does a good job letting their malt live in the whisky, so perhaps you can give one a sip...

Availability - UK liquor specialists
Pricing - $55-$65 before shipping
Rating - 85

Wife returns from foreign lands, with treats in tow

As mentioned last week, I had a whisky shop in Yorkshire truck a Ledaig 15yr parcel over to Kristen's hotel in Worcester.  I am indebted to her for many things, and I must add this to the list.  She couriered the bottle (box and all) back to me in her luggage with nary a gripe.

Actual bottle shot.

She was also in Wisconsin (twice) and brought us back a cold!  More importantly she brought herself back.  Both times.

Then she was in Australia...

 Where there are birds like this:

They bite people.  Probably just self-conscious about the tail issue.

Then she brought back this:

Buddha approves

First off, Vegemite.

Secondly, The Singleton of Glen Ord.  Diageo bottles three Singletons from three different distilleries: The Singleton of Glendullan (for the North American market), The Singleton of Dufftown (European market), and The Singleton of Glen Ord (Pacific market).  Of the three the Glen Ord is preferred by Serge V, the rest of the Maniacs as a whole, Michael Jackson's Guide, and Jim Murray.  The grand slam is it not?  So when Kristen (bless her) called me from Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport's duty free shop and ran down the whisky selection, the Glen Ord arose as the most intriguing (and affordable) option.  Can't get it here, only out there.  As I keep reading about all of its floral, orange, hazelnut, and chocolate notes, I'm doubting it will stay sealed for very long.

And the Sullivan's Cove Double Cask Single Malt?  Now that was unexpected!  Many thank yous to Chris and Connor for this very nice surprise!  It was an international effort and I/we owe you a drink or two.  In the meantime, shall I pair this with a Vegemite sandwich?

Good things Thursday

The work week has been horrid up to this point and I can no longer enjoy a quick internet break since all media stories (sports, politics, culture, arts, etc.) have drowned in oceans of knee-jerk hyperbole.  The message is not instant.  We've all been forced, in the name of selling a story, to forget that so we're all missing the evolution of our collective lives.

But I've been thinking about the good things since I awoke this morning.

Strange swirls of cloud rolled in at daybreak.  They brought with them sunshowers.  For now the heat has been broken.  Thank you, skies.

***

Dear reader, if you have a Trader Joes nearby, you may want to consider trying their White Cheddar with Carmelized Onions.  Holy moley.  It is good on everything.  EVERYTHING.  I'm going to buy it again next week and try it with Sriracha.  Also, regarding Sriracha: This.

***

Jordan at Chemistry of the Cocktail has a great two-part piece on Non-Age-Statement whiskies that I recommend to all you anoraks.

***

Finally, for whisky geeks,  THIS.  David Driscoll of K&L Wines has restarted his excellent podcast.  This week, he interviewed Rachel Barrie, one of the great Master Blenders.  Her background may be science, but she speaks of whisky like an artist, full of metaphysics, memories, and emotions.  Because she helped bring Ardbeg Uigeadail and Corryvreckan in the world, she'd already won my whisky heart.  But I could listen to her talk all day and night.  For now, the podcast is the closest I'll get to that.  Just put it on repeat while sitting in traffic.....  Anyway, she recently moved over to Morrison-Bowmore where she'll be weaving miracles with Bowmore, Glen Garioch, and Auchentoshan.  Thank you to David and Rachel!

***

Alright, time to take on the day.  Deep breaths, y'all.

Birthday Recap!

A tangentially-related prelude:

This morning, our paraplegic military veteran neighbor, who is perpetually mad at his neighbors and probably the rest of the world, was sitting inside his car within our closed garage, playing the hell out of a harmonica.  The man has The Blues.

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THURSDAY EVENING

I sampled a number of new whiskies at an OC Scotch Club event in Fullerton.  I hope to report on some of these in the near future, especially since I'm probably going to do a 180-degree reversal on a previously reviewed single malt.  Which one could it be????

More importantly than all the booze stuff, it was great to spend some time with good people on a lovely evening.

I'll be talking this club up from time to time, if you're in the OC and like the amber spirits, you should stop by an event.  It's very laid back and President Bob is a very swell dude.

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FRIDAY AFTERNOON

I went to see Cosmopolis at its opening 2:30pm showing at a theatre one mile from my front door.  I smuggled in a couple ounces of Powers Gold Label, because.

I'd just read DeLillo's novel a few months ago, so the whole thing was still fresh in my mind.  Surprisingly, Cosmopolis fits easily into Cronenberg's oeuvre -- detached characters struggling within an alternate reality, compressed space, and portals portals portals everywhere.  I'm not saying that the film was great (it was all telling, no showing; and DeLillo's dense dialogue can be burdensome to a film's actors and audience) but the subject matter is timely and I'm game for any Cronenberg flick.  Plus the final scene actually achieved some level of emotion amongst the verbal histrionics.

FRIDAY EVENING

Back home, at 5pm, I brought out the birthday whisky.  A bottle of a 1978.  As well as a 34-year-old dram.  It was a grand two-hour slow whisky experience.

After the year I'd had, there was nothing quite like pouring myself a second helping of 30+ year old whisky straight from the bottle.  I will be reporting on the whiskys this week (Weds and Thurs, I think).

Kristen roasted a big chicken and baked a flourless chocolate cake.  Yes.  My wife.

I received many great gifts from my families.  And, yes, there was a whiskey gift that damn near blew my mind.  I didn't officially open it on Friday night because had I started it, I wouldn't remember a bloody thing the following day.  It will be opened soon, though...

I put on a DVD of Orson's F for Fake.  Kristen fell asleep.

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SATURDAY EVENING

To Hollywood!

We met my buddy Geoff near our old drinking grounds.  We went to Stout, where I had a good burger with an Old Rasputin from the tap.  Then we went to The Blue Boar Pub where I had glass of Highland Park 12, which keeps getting better every time I try it.

The main event was at Piano Bar.  I've thrice previously mentioned Piano Bar on this blog.  I'll say it again.  IT'S AWESOME.  Go there on Saturday or Sunday night to experience Brother Sal & The Devil May Care.  I often make the fifty-minute drive to do it and I feel the loss during the months when I don't.

So we went, meeting up with my buddy Sean.

Sean and I are twins

And Brother Sal seriously hooked us up.  He is a saint.

I had some great reliable glasses of whiskey (Blanton's, Redbreast 12, and Buffalo Trace), but it's the blues-rock-honky-tonk-saloon-soul dynamite issuing forth from the stage that always alters the air and space around me.

Aww yeah.

We left when the music stopped, around last call.  I can't remember the last time I stayed out until last call.

We're still catching up on sleep and I'll be drying out for a couple of days, but it was grand.  I have many great people, great experiences, and great things in my life.  And I am thankful for all of them.