Whiskey Review – Angel’s Envy Rye

You don’t have to be a whisky geek to know that Rye whiskey has become wildly popular over the past few years. If you don’t believe me, below are links to several articles that have appeared in print and on the interwebz:

• The Wall Street Journal wrote about Rye whisky in 2006 and 2011.
• The New York Times wrote about it in 2006 and 2011.
• Jason Wilson of the Washington Post has written about it on at least two occasions. Once in 2009, and again in 2012.
• Bloomberg just published an article on April 29, 2013.

What makes this trend even more interesting is the fact that many of the Rye whiskeys that have been appearing on the shelves over the past few years come from the MGP Distillery (formerly LDI and formerly Seagrams) in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The Dickel, Bulleit, and High West Rye whiskeys that I reviewed in early April were all distilled at this facility, and the Angel’s Envy Rye, which is the subject of today’s blog post, may have also been distilled by MGP (click here to read a recent article about MGP by Chuck Cowdery).

Before we get to our review, below is what the good people at Angel’s Envy have to say about their Rye whiskey:

We’re particular about our whiskey. So when Lincoln Henderson decided to make a rye, he took an unconventional approach. As a malcontent, it’s just his nature. We began traditionally enough, insisting upon the perfect taste profile at 95% rye. Even the water has to be right. We can be a handful to work with, but the extra effort always seems to pay off. So where other ryes would have stopped, we chose to finish.

Lincoln decided that a rum finish would provide the perfect complement to our already exceptional rye. We chose rum barrels that had previously been used to age French cognac. Long story short, our barrels are vintage and very well travelled. We finish our rye for up to 18 months in these Franco Caribbean casks, resulting in a rare and immensely complex, but incredibly drinkable whiskey, even at 100 proof. With only 2,500 9-liter cases at launch, Angel’s Envy Rum Finished Rye is an extremely small batch release, and we sincerely hope you get the opportunity to enjoy a bottle—neat, mixed or in good company.

And below is a bit more “technical” information about this whiskey which was taken directly from the press release that accompanied our sample bottle:

• Mashbill: 95% Rye and 5% Malted Barley
• Aging: 6 years in new American oak charred barrels followed by 18 months in Caribbean rum casks. The rum casks began as French cognac barrels.
• ABV: 50%

Interestingly enough, while they don’t explicitly state that this whiskey was sourced from MGP in Indiana, from what I have read about this whiskey on several other blogs, the mashbill is what gives it away as yet another MGP sourced Rye whiskey (click here to read Sku’s Recent Eats “How do you know it’s LDI?” post).

Now that we have all of the technical mumbo jumbo out of the way, let’s find out if this new whiskey from Angel’s Envy is any good…

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Limpd’s Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Orange blossom honey in color.
• Aroma: Up front, there is an aroma of iced animal crackers and Lyle’s Golden syrup. Then, candied fruits and finally a little of the rye.
• Taste: The flavor is very sweet but very pleasant with a nice combination of rye and cane sugar. I found the typical rye heat to be somewhat muted and replaced more with a warming sensation that created a very long finish.

Conclusion: I tend to like things on the sweet side so this was right in my wheelhouse. I really enjoyed the Angel’s Envy Rye as I found that the rum finish made it stand out against a more traditional rye. It was like a good rye went on a trip to the Caribbean and brought back a souvenir.

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G-LO’s Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Light amber color.
• Aroma: There is a great deal of sweetness coming through when I first stick my nose in the glass. I get a total Banana’s Foster vibe , i.e. brown sugar, sweet cream butter, ripe bananas, and vanilla. Now I don’t know if it’s the power of suggestion or a genuine aroma that I’m picking up, but once I read the words “Cognac barrels”, I started getting a subtle strawberry shortcake aroma that I get when nosing Brenne. Once you work past all that sweetness, the classic rye notes break through. Cinnamon, some peppermint, and a hint of allspice are all there.
• Taste: Quite a light mouthfeel with just a touch of oiliness. Moderate cinnamon heat backed with vanilla and brown sugar sweetness at the onset. At mid-palate, the cinnamon spiciness starts to build and the herbal notes start to make an appearance as you inch towards the finish. It all comes together in the end: vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, menthol, and allspice. All of these flavors linger for several minutes.

Conclusion: I didn’t really care for the Angel’s Envy Bourbon. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it, but I just didn’t find it to be all that exciting. It was too subtle and restrained for my taste. That being said, my feelings for the Angel’s Envy Rye are the exact opposite of what I felt about their Bourbon. This stuff is friggin delicious!

We’ve already mentioned that this Rye whiskey is made at the same distillery in Indiana that makes the vast majority of Rye whiskey that you see on the shelves these days. What sets this Rye whiskey apart from the others is the rum cask finishing which totally changes the flavor profile, and the slightly higher ABV which also adds to the much bigger flavor. My only concern about this whiskey is the price. Per the press release, the MSRP is $80. When you consider that the High West Rendezvous Rye which is a blend of 6 and 16 year old Rye whiskey from the same distillery goes for around $45 to $50, it’s difficult to avoid the “value” question. Would I buy a full bottle? I’m not sure yet, but I would definitely give it some serious consideration before making a final decision.

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Many thanks to Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us this very generous sample!

Event Review – Suntory’s The Art of Japanese Whisky at The Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens

The garden area at The Noguchi Museum.

Yamazaki 18

“Well, ring-a-ding-ding! We are really in for a Suntory Fun Time!” - Limpd

On Tuesday, May 14th, Limpd and I took the day off from work and headed up to New York City for an event called “The Art of Japanese Whisky Through The Art of Isamu Nogucho”. This event was being presented by Suntory, the makers of Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu Japanese whisky, and featured the four Suntory whiskies that are currently available in the USA, as well as several of their rarer expressions which are not currently available here. In addition to the whisky, the event also featured food pairings created by Chef Isao Yamada and Chef David Bouley of NYC restaurant Brushstroke.

Rather than the usual “play by play” that we pull together for our event recaps, Limpd and I thought that we would instead share a conversation that we had via email in the days following the event. But before we get to that, below are the Suntory whiskies that were available during the event:

• The Yamazaki 12, 18, and 25
• Hibiki 12, 17, and 21
• Hakushu 12, 18, and 25

And here is a link to the official press release from Suntory which will tell you more about the food and whisky pairings:

• Suntory’s The Art of Japanese Whisky Press Release

Let’s get on with our conversation about this outstanding event…

Toshi Kumakura, CEO of Suntory USA

Neyah White, Suntory USA West Coast Brand Ambassador

The Yamazaki 18, The Hakushu 25, and Hibiki 21

Chef David Bouley

Mike Miyamoto, Suntory Global Brand Ambasador

G-LO: Besides the fact that we were actually able to get some time off from work to have a bit of “Suntory Fun Time!” in NYC, I am still amazed that everything went so smoothly, and that we were able to do all that we planned to do (I’m sure it helped that the weather was absolutely perfect). I mean, beers at The Ginger Man, a 2 hour lunch and whisky tasting at Keen’s Steakhouse with Josh “The Coopered Tot” Feldman and Allison “The Whisky Woman” Patel, and a brief visit to Park Avenue Liquor would be a post unto itself. I say we stay on topic and focus solely on the Suntory event. What say you fussy britches?

Limpd: I think that’s “fuzzy britches”, and my britches are usually relaxed fit and pleated. Anyway, I am amazed by the perfect timing of our pre-gaming activities and the generosity of our fellow bloggers. To get  five (or was it six?) samples from the Coopered Tot, and another sample of Brenne plus a sample of the next “double top secret” project from the Whisky Woman on top of beers at the Ginger Man and lunch at Keen’s was as you said, practically an event unto itself. Unfortunately, I had to reign in my afternoon as my ambition was beginning to get the better of me. Highlights for me were the St. Louis Framboise at the Ginger Man, the Dallas Dhu 27 Dun Bheagan that I ordered at Keen’s, the Mackmyra 8 from Josh, and both the Brenne (batch 52?) and the “double top secret” samples from Allison.

G-LO: You call those highlights? Sounds to me like you enjoyed pretty much everything you tried. The truth is that there were no duds to be found on the table that afternoon. Such a good time! And by the way, I am absolutely convinced that I hear a choir of angels every time I walk into Keen’s. They really should consider replacing the front door with a set of pearly gates!

Ok. Enough about the pre-game. Now let’s talk about the actual event…

G-LO: When we first pulled up to The Noguchi Museum and noticed that it was directly across the street from a Costco Warehouse, I was a bit concerned (in my head I was thinking, “Where the hell are we???”). From the outside, the museum looks like a cinder block bunker in the middle of an industrial looking neighborhood in Queens. Thankfully, as soon as we walked in the door and were greeted by an army of waiters serving Hakushu Highballs, all of my concerns went away. And after a quick walk through and a look at the garden where the first whisky tasting was going to take place, I was positively ecstatic!

Limpd: I know what you mean about the ride to the museum. While I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Stephen of The Malt Impostor blog was on our shuttle (click here to read his recap of the Suntory event), I was fairly certain I had seen the ride from Grand Central to Long Island City before in a low budget mob movie. The one where the main characters are driven over a bridge into an industrial area and then whacked. To me, the outside of the museum looked a little more like it was trying to keep people in than it was trying to keep people out. Once ensconced in the Noguchi, I was amazed at how they had captured the spirit of a Japanese garden within such an industrial area. It was obvious that a Japanese oasis had been planted in Queens.

G-LO: Definitely a pleasant surprise to run into Stephen and his girlfriend Sarah on the shuttle. We’ve talked a bit on Facebook over the past year, but we’ve never actually met in person. It turns out that he too was at last year’s NYC Extravaganza. It was like a meeting of the whisky bloggers up there, and the fact that it all came together almost by accident and in such a short period of time is even more impressive. We couldn’t have planned it better if we tried.

Limpd: I think the word you’re looking for is serendipity. Anyway. After a perusal of the art and a meet-and-greet with former Suntory Master Distiller Mike Miyamoto and Suntory USA CEO Toshi Kumakura, we had the opportunity to taste three fine whiskies: the Yamazaki 18, the Hakushu 25 and the Hibiki 21. Three fantastic whiskies for sure, but since I have the Yamazaki 18 at home, I was a little more interested in the Hakushu and the Hibiki.

G-LO: You and your fancy words! I prefer the word luck.

While you, Josh, and Stephen were schmoozing with Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Kumakura, I was wandering around the museum and douching it up with my camera prior to the formal tasting. Have I mentioned how fantastic the lighting was throughout the museum? It made the photography part of the trip super easy. Even better, it made me look like I actually knew what I was doing with my camera.

I think it was somewhere between the meet-and-greet and the official tasting that we ran into Allison and her husband Nital. Much like the rest of the day, our timing was superb, and we managed to grab a perfect spot for the whisky tasting, i.e. front and center. I really enjoyed all three of the whiskies. My only complaint is that the Hibiki 21 and the Hakushu 25 are not yet available here. While I would have loved to take some tasting notes while we sampled, the truth is that I was too busy taking it all in, and simply enjoying the event and the company. And speaking of tasting notes, Allison was writing stuff down throughout the entire tasting. I guess that’s why she’s the pro and we’re just amateurs. The Whisky Woman has skills!

What did you think of what was going on inside the museum?

Hibiki 12

Yamazaki 25

The formal tasting selections.

Hibiki Ice Ball

Suntory Whisky Time!

Limpd: I loved the inside event, but I don’t think I was effectively rotating my glass with the Hibiki 12 to get the proper spin on the ice ball. The two samples (I also had a Yamazaki Mizuwari, which is essentially a Japanese version of my patent pending “Whisky Water”) were a nice precursor to the rare whiskies that were outside. What did you think of the food? A little too fancy for my taste (no offense to the work of Brushstroke Chefs Isao Yamada and David Bouley) and maybe a little light given the amount of whisky we were to consume. I did find that as Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii had intended, the food and the whisky were paired beautifully.

G-LO: While it is well documented that I prefer my whisky neat, I really enjoyed the whisky cocktails that they were serving inside. Of the three, the Hakushu Highball was my favorite, followed closely by the Hibiki Ice Ball, while the Yamazaki Mizuwari was a distant third. The Mizuwari was definitely refreshing, but I think it was a bit too watered down, and the addition of the lemon peel kind of overpowered the whisky. Did you happen to catch Gardner Dunn (Suntory’s East Coast Brand Ambassador) hand carving those ice balls? Pretty impressive stuff! I need to find out how they make that crystal clear ice. It makes any drink look special! Even a Coca Cola.

I thought the food was quite good, but to be completely honest, my focus was on the whisky. I agree that the food was a bit too complicated and difficult to eat for what was essentially a three hour cocktail hour. When I first read the invitation, I thought it was going to be a formal food/whisky pairing, i.e. a sit down meal. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely preferred the cocktail hour format, but it would have been nice to have food that you can eat with one hand while holding a drink in the other. As you said on several occasions throughout the event, some sliders would have been most welcome. Just one question. How do I get my hands on more of that Wagyu Beef Jerky? That stuff was fantastic!

Limpd: Interesting. Given your love of fancy Asian cuisine, I thought for sure that you would have been gushing about the food. Agreed on that Jerky. We need to get a batch of that stuff for drinking around the fire.

After a couple of drinks inside, I went to the rare whiskey table and while pacing myself, I had the opportunity to talk at length with Suntory’s West Coast Brand Ambassador, Neyah White. I learned a good deal about the subtle differences between the Yamazaki distillery located at the meeting of three rivers in Shimamoto, Osaka Prefecture and the Hakushu distillery located 700 feet above sea level in Yamanashi Prefecture. While I was schooled in the development of blended whiskies, I sampled all of the rare whiskies. I am not sure which whisky I liked better (maybe the Hakushu 25, maybe the Hibiki 21), but they were all fantastic.

Suntory Whisky makes people happy!

Gardner Dunn, Suntory’s East Coast Brand Ambassador

Gardner Dunn hand carving the ice ball

The Hibiki Ice Ball

Allison and Nital Patel

G-LO: It took me awhile to catch up with you at the rare whisky table since I was too busy douching it up some more with the camera and trying more of the food offerings (Josh and I were practically tackling the waiters as they came up from the kitchen with fresh plates of food!). It’s a good thing that we walked down to you when we did since they were rapidly running out of the Yamazaki 25. The color on that whisky was amazing! I know it was a pretty short pour, but man oh man was it delicious. So rich and flavorful. I just wish I had the skills to describe it in greater detail.

Limpd: Tasting notes? Who cares about taking whisky notes under these circumstances? Just relax, enjoy the moment, and stop being such a douche!

Was it just me, or did time start to really fly by once we hit the 8 o’clock hour? I was sad to see the event end as it was such a fantastic time. This might be one of the best events that we have been to. Great whisky, some delicious food, and the opportunity to make some new friends and talk to some really knowledgeable people. What’s not to love? Send my thanks along to your PR friends!

G-LO: I can’t argue with your douche comment. I do occasionally take this blogging business a bit too seriously. But I’m having such a good time!

As far as the event, and the whole day in general, everything was absolutely fantastic! And speaking of the PR people, it was truly a pleasure to finally meet Danielle Katz and Nicholas Rotondi of Exposure PR. They did a wonderful job of making sure that everything went smoothly, and they totally made us feel at home throughout the entire event.

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Many thanks to Suntory USA and Exposure PR for inviting us to this superb event, and also to Allison Patel, Josh Feldman, and Stephen of The Malt Imposter blog for reminding us what makes the #Whiskyfabric so special! Cheers!

Whisky News Flash: Win a Trip to Scotland to Visit the Glen Garioch Distillery

Way back in October, we posted some information about the Bowmore “Ultimate Islay Adventure!“ contest. As it turns out, the winner of that contest was John of The Scotch Life blog, which is based out of Washington, DC. While I was annoyed that I wasn’t the winner of this contest, I was happy to see that the winner was a fellow whisky blogger, i.e. someone that would truly appreciate a trip like this.

Two days ago I received an email from the same UK PR firm that handled the Bowmore contest about another contest that they are promoting. This time around, the prize will be a trip to the Glen Garioch distillery in the Scottish Highlands for a private tasting with Rachel Barrie (Glen Garioch’s Master Blender) and several other fun filled activities. Below is more information about the contest…

Win a 2-day, All Expenses Paid Trip to the Glen Garioch Distillery!

Shielded from the world’s prying eyes, deep in the Highlands of Scotland and quietly producing small, precious batches of Single Malt Whisky, Glen Garioch is a Rare Find indeed.

We want to share this hidden little gem, and some other Rare Finds in Scotland’s Northeast with one lucky winner.

On the 19th & 20th June we’re offering Glen Garioch enthusiasts the chance to experience Rare Finds across Aberdeenshire in a 2-day, all expenses paid trip to visit our distillery.

After a VIP tour of the distillery, one lucky winner will take part in a private tasting held by Rachel Barrie our Master Blender. Next, you’ll venture out into the wild to discover local Rare Finds including salmon fishing, carefully guided by local experts and panning for gold at a secret location precious few will ever see.

Runners up will receive their own Rare Finds in the form of some very special Limited Edition Small Batch Release of Glen Garioch Single Malt Whisky.

To enter this contest, “Like” the Glen Garioch Facebook page, answer one question, and provide them with your contact information. May the best man or woman win!

Philly Food and Whisky News for May 18, 2013

Third Annual Philadelphia Vendy Awards Announce the Judges and a New Category

“Messy Yet Tasty” Category Sponsored by The Tide Stain Eraser®

Philadelphia, PA – May 16, 2013 – A diverse panel of judges have been chosen to determine the winners of the coveted 2013 Vendy Cup. Along side the esteemed judging panel, attendees will pick the winners of the Best Dessert, Messy Yet Tasty and People’s Choice awards at the Third Annual Philadelphia Vendy Awards. Taking place Saturday, June 8th at Penn Treaty Park, the competition begins at 2:00 p.m. and runs through 6:00 p.m. where the new, winning Vendy Cup truck will take its place as rightful owner of ‘The Cup’ and take their place in Philadelphia street food history. Tickets are available here. Ticket price includes day-of judging rights, all you can eat from each participating truck (inclusive of beer lovingly provided by Brooklyn Brewery) and an unforgettable day in Philadelphia food history.

This year, the new “Messy Yet Tasty Award,” category is appropriately being supported by the Tide Stain Eraser® – a product that has been expertly removing splats, splatters and soils for years. Tide® is asking Philadelphia’s passionate street vendor patrons for help in finding the best messy food truck fare. Nominations for “Messy Yet Tasty” and best sidewalk chef can be made here.

Meet the Judges:

• Paul Kimport – chef/co-owner of Johnny Brenda’s and co-owner of Standard Tap
• Emilio Mignucci – third generation owner of Philadelphia’s iconic Di Bruno Bros
• Lauren Purcell – Editor-in-Chief, Every Day with Rachael Ray
• Andrew Gerson – Philly native and Executive Chef for Brooklyn Brewery

Meet the Emcee:

Beth Beverly, both a champion and leader of a new breed of preservers called “rogue taxidermists,” is a wildly popular rogue taxidermist with her shop, Diamond Tooth Taxidermy based in Philadelphia. Upon winning several national contests and being featured in press ranging from Philadelphia Weekly to The New York Times, she was also one of the stars of Immortalized, AMC’s new taxidermy competition reality show, making her a sought-after talent throughout the country.

The Vendy Awards are an annual event organized by The Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, a membership-based organization of more than 1,300 vendors. SVP’s famed Vendy Awards have determined New York City’s top street chef for eight years, becoming one of the most beloved and widely anticipated food events in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, the Vendy Awards will serve as a fundraiser for The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that strives to make healthy food available to all.

Follow the Vendy Awards on Twitter for the latest news and announcements @vendysphilly and like them on Facebook at Vendy Awards.

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Click the pic to visit the World Whisky Day Facebook page.

Celebrate #WorldWhiskyDay!

According to the interwebz, today is World Whisky Day. In my mind, every day is World Whisky Day, and I don’t need a website to tell me that today is a good day to drink whisky. Then again, if World Whisky Day is the excuse that everyone needs to get together and share some drams, then all I can say is “Slainte! Slainte! SLAINTE!”.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with the internet phenomenon that is World Whisky Day, here is a bit of information that I found on the organizer’s website:

The inaugural World Whisky Day was held in 2012 and saw over 20,000 people attend over 200 events all over the world.

In 2012 #WorldWhiskyDay was a global trending topic on Twitter and WWD was also on the front page of the BBC News Website.

World Whisky Day has been welcomed by the Scottish Parliament and is endorsed by VisitScotland, Scotch Whisky Experience and Heritage Centre and Scotland Food & Drink.

World Whisky Day was created by Blair Bowman a Senior Honours student at the University of Aberdeen. Blair’s passion for whisky started when he co-founded a whisky society in 2008. Since then he has built up a strong network within the whisky industry and gained industry qualifications.

Now that you know a bit more about this event, just one question remains. How will you be celebrating #WorldWhiskyDay? Let us know in the comments below!

Whisky Review – Chivas Regal 18

Way back in August of 2011, I took part in the very first WhiskyCast Virtual Tasting. During the recording session, the four panelists that took part in this tasting were given the following three whiskies to sample and score: the AnCnoc 12, the Powers Gold Label 12, and the Chivas Regal 18. While we knew the names of the first two whiskies, the third whisky (the Chivas Regal 18) was essentially tasted blind. This blind tasting proved to be a very important lesson in my whisky education.

Prior to this tasting, I tended to view blended whisky as an inferior product, but after trying the Chivas Regal 18, and preferring it to the other two whiskies that I tried during this Virtual Tasting, I quickly realized that I still had plenty to learn about whisky. I was so humbled by this experience that I soon started digging deeper into the world of blended whiskies via reviews of the Chivas Regal 12, the Johnnie Walker Red and Black, and several different Compass Box expressions.

Since I finally received a full bottle of the Chivas Regal 18 this past Christmas, I thought that I would revisit this whisky to see if I enjoyed it as much the second time around. But before I get into my review of this whisky, here is what Chivas Brothers has to say about their Chivas Regal 18:

Chivas 18 is a uniquely rich and multi-layered blend that includes over twenty of Scotland’s rarest single malt Scotch whiskies. With 85 flavour notes in every drop, each sip is a new discovery.

Let’s find out if my feelings about this whisky have changed…

• Appearance: Molten bronze.
• Aroma: Fruit and spice and everything nice! Brown sugar, dried ginger, ripe bananas, vanilla, cinnamon, dried fruit, and a hint of sweet pipe tobacco.
• Taste: A bit on the watery side with regards to mouthfeel. All of the flavors are on the front half of my tongue. From the beginning to mid-palate, I’m getting brown sugar and cinnamon. Definitely has some spice to it, but not overly so. As we approach the finish, that pipe tobacco sweetness makes an appearance. Medium finish with vanilla, brown sugar, and the slightest hint of sweet smokiness.
• ABV: 40%

As I said at the beginning of this review, the Chivas Regal 18 is the whisky that changed my mind about blended Scotch whisky. While I am definitely enjoying this whisky the second time around, I can’t say that this is my favorite blended Scotch whisky (that honor goes to the Compass Box Spice Tree which I absolutely adore). As is, the Chivas Regal 18 is beautifully balanced and infinitely drinkable, but as I have said in reviews of other whiskies, I am wishing that it was bottled at a slightly higher ABV.

#WhiskyFabric News Flash: Book Review and Twitter Tasting with The Godfather of Canadian Whisky!

Earlier this week, I received an email from our #WhiskyFabric friend Johanne McInnis, asking if I would help her promote a Twitter event that she is working on with The Godfather of Canadian Whisky, Davin de Kergommeaux. For those of you that aren’t familiar with him, Davin is the author of Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert, which is the definitive guide to the wonderful, and often misunderstood world of Canadian Whisky (I am currently half way through the book and am enjoying it immensely!).

If you love whisky and want to learn more about all things Canadian Whisky, below is the information that Johanne sent us about this very unique event. Cheers!

Canadian Whisky Book Review and Twitter Tasting

Be a part of the world’s first ever whisky book review/twitter tasting. Social media are changing the way we read and the way we taste whisky. We’ve decided to integrate the two! Each Sunday for the next four weeks we will review several chapters from the book Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert and discuss them on Twitter. And we will do this while we taste a representative whisky from that chapter.

If you wish to comment on the book, interact with author, Davin de Kergommeaux, or discuss a Canadian whisky you are tasting, please join us each Sunday at 3:00 pm Eastern time, on Twitter at #DavinTT.

The twitter reviews and tastings begin this Sunday, May 5^th at 3:00pm EST when we will be talking about chapters 10 – 13. Davin will join us to answer questions, and contribute to discussion among the participants, etc.

After chatting for about 30 minutes about 15 participants from around the world will open a mystery bottle that we have sent to them. You didn’t get a bottle? Feel free to join in anyway. The more the merrier. After tasting the sample and talking about it we’ll reveal which distillery it came from and which whisky we tasted. Sound like fun?

This Sunday we’ll begin with chapters 10 – 13. Then, Sunday May 12^th we will discuss chapters 14 – 17; Sunday May 19^th, chapters 18 – 21; and Sunday May 26^th, chapters 22 – 25.

We invite the whisky bloggers among us to blog about the book, the experience, the whiskies and/or Davin. Let the fun begin!

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me, @WhiskyLassie on twitter.

Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert is available at Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, and many other fine bookstores, or on-line at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

Whiskey Review – Concannon Irish Whiskey

There is no weird or convoluted back story with regards to the acquisition of this bottle of Concannon Irish Whiskey. I received an email from a New York Public Relations firm asking if I’d like to try this whiskey. I immediately said yes, and a few days later, a bottle arrived on my doorstep.

Prior to receiving this email, I had never heard of Concannon Irish Whiskey, so I paid a visit to their website, and here is what I was able to find out:

A refined blend of malt and grain whiskeys, Concannon Irish Whiskey is craft distilled for proper balance of character and purity, then matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels and Concannon wine barrels for a minimum of four years.  With a full, clean taste delicately balanced between honey sweet, citrus and malt flavors, and a fresh oak finish, Concannon Irish Whiskey can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks or in a variety of premium cocktails.

Let’s get on with the review…

• Appearance: Golden yellow, but with a very slight pinkish hue.
• Aroma: Quite sweet and fruity on the nose. Freshly pulled taffy, vanilla nougat, grape juice, and perhaps even a hint of fresh berries.
• Taste: A bit on the watery side with regards to the mouthfeel. A surprising burst of alcohol heat when it first hits your tongue given it’s relatively low ABV. Once you get past the alcohol, all of that fruity sweetness starts to come through which is probably due to the time spent in Petite Syrah barrels. Intensifies a bit at mid-palate with a bit of sweet cinnamon heat coming through. The finish is quite dry with a vanilla nougat and mild cinnamon spiced aftertaste that doesn’t last for very long.
• ABV: 40%

I am pleasantly surprised by the Concannon Irish Whiskey. While it lacks the depth and complexity of some of my favorite Irish whiskeys (Redbreast and Yellow Spot immediately come to mind), I found plenty of good things going on in this whiskey to say that I truly enjoyed it. My only real complaint is with the finish which I found to be a bit ho-hum. I’m sure more time spent in the barrel can correct that.

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Many thanks to The Baddish Group for sending us this very generous sample!

Whisky Review – Old Pulteney 21 Year Old

Back in early December, Limpd received an email from Master of Malt announcing their 2012 Whisky Advent Calendar. Since Limpd’s Pappy is a fan of the brown spirits, he decided to purchase the Whisky Advent Calendar as an early Christmas present for him.

While Limpd’s Pappy is a fan of most brown spirits, he has been known to turn his nose up at a dram if it has even the slightest whiff of smoke. Since this sample of the Old Pulteney 21 Year Old eventually found its way to one of my whisky hiding places (along with several other wee drams), I can only assume that Limpd’s Pappy found the aromas in this whisky to be not to his liking.

We will soon find out if this whisky is to my liking, but first, here is what the Old Pulteneny Distillery (located in Wick, Scotland) has to say about their 21 year old expression:

Old Pulteney 21 Year Old has been voted 2012 World Whisky of the Year by the prestigious “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.”

Scoring a record-equalling 97.5 points out of 100, it is only the third time that a single malt has ever won the prestigious award, and we are just the second Scottish distillery to do so.

As with the 17-year-old, with this expression we marry together Old Pulteney matured in ex-bourbon wood with spirit from ex-sherry wood casks. The crucial difference, however, is that the ex-sherry wood in this case is made from American Oak (mostly Fino sherries). This adds yet another layer of complexity, depth and character to this truly superb malt whisky.

And now for my impressions of this whisky…

• Appearance: Pale copper color
• Aroma: If there’s such as a thing as Salt Water Caramel, then this would definitely be it. The maritime influence is readily apparent, but with a definite caramel backbone. Also getting some ginger, cardamon, fresh fennel, and just a hint of pipe tobacco.
• Taste: Lightly oily mouthfeel. Cinnamon and white pepper heat at the onset with a touch of that saltiness coming through. At mid-palate, that caramel sweetness makes an appearance. It all comes together at the finish, i.e. sweet and spice, and everything nice! Warm, medium finish that lingers for a minute or two with some of that sweet pipe tobacco showing up in the aftertaste.
• ABV: 46% and Non-chill Filtered

Once again, the trouble with reviewing whisky samples rears its ugly head! I really enjoyed the Old Pulteney 21, but alas, I only had enough for just one dram. I suppose it could have been worse. I could have not tried it at all. I will definitely be on the look out for more from Old Pulteney.

Booze News Flash: A WhiskyCast Virtual Tasting, a Bit of Beertography, and a Blogging Birthday!

This week’s news post is all about us…

The WhiskyLIVE NYC WhiskyCast Virtual Tasting Is Online!

Last Wednesday I posted my review of the 2013 WhiskyLIVE NYC. If you managed to make it to the end of my review, then you already know that I took part in a WhiskyCast Virtual Tasting along with our good friend Miracle Max, Susannah Skiver Barton of the What Tastes Good blog, Ian Chang of Taiwan’s King Car Distillery (makers of Kavalan whisky), Hana Choi of the Style Fare blog, and Hana’s husband Olaf Asprink. Five of us were incredibly eloquent, and one of us was a slurring and babbling mess. If you want to figure out which panelist had a bit too much to drink (hint: they suggested fruiting up a whisky), click here to listen to the podcast on the WhiskyCast website. Please let us know your findings in the comments below.

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Beertographer of the Week

As some of you already know, I’m a bit of an Instagram addict, and two of my favorite things to photograph are Craft Beer and Whisky. Our buddy John Kleinchester runs the Beertography blog and has featured several of my Instagram photos on his website over the past year and a half.

Two weeks ago, John sent me an email and asked if I would like to be featured as his next “Beertographer of the Week”. Since I was incredibly flattered by his offer, I of course said yes! Click here to visit John’s blog, and to find out why I enjoy Beertography so much.

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“It’s just the booze dancing…” Turns Three!

Much like year two of “It’s just the booze dancing…”, year three has been booze infused and action packed! In addition to the usual beer and whiskey reviews, here is a list of some of the other things that we’ve experienced and shared with you over the past twelve months…

• Found out that there’s a bigger and bolder Guinness out there
• Discussed the merits of the Dogfish Head Randall Jr.
• Attended our first NYC whisky event
• Helped recover the Philly Beer Week Hammer of Glory.
• Celebrated Ardbeg Day
• Discovered that Old Engine Oil does NOT come out of a car or a locomotive
• Learned the fine art of trading whisky samples
• Spent some time with the family in Maine and even got to do a bit of beer hunting
• Acquired a much sought after Craft Beer through the magic of Twitter
• We were interviewed by our good friend The Whisky Woman
• Were paid a visit by The Green Fairy
• Paid tribute to The Whisky Dog
• Visited the Emerald Isle with the family
• Attended a Philly Whisky event
• Purchased a very special Christmas present
• Built a bar
• Crafted some crafts, ate a lot of food, drank a lot of booze, and spent some quality time with friends
• Created the Pamplemousse Maltées
• Prepared for Armageddon
• Made friends with Canadia via a whisky trade
• Discovered a great way to “get your drink on” at work without getting caught
• Took the Weekly Photo Challenge
• Determined that the Department of Justice likes Craft Beer
• Reluctantly reviewed a restaurant
• Met some local celebrities and tried some delicious cocktails
• Learned the secrets of a great bar tour
• Earned a spot on the Mexican Cartels “Most Wanted” list
• Took part in the first ever #FlashMobBlog Whisky Review
• FINALLY made it to a WhiskyLIVE event

As you can see, it’s been a very busy year, and the fact that our livers still function (as far as we know) is a complete miracle!

Thanks to all of you for tolerating yet another year of our booze infused nonsense, and for making this whole blogging adventure an incredibly good time. And please let us know in the comments below what you’d like to see more of over the next twelve months.We’d love to hear your ideas!

Cheers!

WhiskyLIVE New York 2013 – Ten Hours of Fantastic Whisky and Wonderful People!

I’m not much of a sports fan, but I do love auto racing, so whenever I approach an event like WhiskyLIVE, I try to formulate a “race strategy” beforehand, and then try my best to stick to that “race strategy” (this helps to avoid those “I’m never drinking again!” moments). Since we decided to arrive in New York by early afternoon for some pre-game activities, and since WhiskyLIVE would be from 5PM to 10PM, my initial plan was to think “24 hour of Le Mans“, i.e. it’s a long race, so pace yourself and try not to burn out too quickly. While I managed to stick to that strategy for about an hour or two, the rest of the day felt more like an F1 race, and the final laps (from 8:30 to 10PM) were like Kimi Raikkonen at Spa-Francorchamp going flat out and ignoring orders from the Pit Wall (no lifting off the throttle through Eau Rouge!). In my head, it sounded something like this…

Pit Wall to Kimi: “Kimi! Save your tires! Cut back on the RPMs! Conserve some fuel for the final laps!”

Kimi back to the Pit Wall: “I’m three seconds down. I can win this! Just let me race!”

Am I exaggerating? Perhaps a tiny bit, but the point is that I had every intention of taking it easy, i.e. to stop drinking by 9:00 so that I wouldn’t fall asleep on the train ride home, but sometimes, momentum gets the best of you.

Nailing Down The Details

As is usually the case, there was a slight change in plans before we even got started. Limpd was supposed to join me for this mid-week excursion to NYC, but due to a sudden illness, he wasn’t able to make it. Thankfully, Limpd hates to see tickets to go to waste, so he offered up his VIP ticket to our friend Miracle Max.

Max didn’t need much convincing to join me, so once I knew that all systems were go, I emailed a couple of people that I’ve been trying to get together with for quite some time (Joshua Feldman aka The Coopered Tot, Allison Patel aka The Whisky Woman, and Susannah Skiver Barton of the What Tastes Good blog) to arrange a meet and greet. As luck would have it, all three would be at the event, so it was decided that we would meet Josh at The Morgan Library for a quick tour and a couple of pre-event drams, and we would meet Allison and Susannah at the Chelsea Piers during the actual event.

Pre Event Action

1PM to 2PM – As far as I’m concerned, no visit to Midtown Manhattan is complete without a visit to Keen’s Steakhouse, so that’s where we decided to have lunch before meeting up with Josh. I had a cheeseburger and fries along with an Anchor Steam beer, and Max had a hamburger and fries along with a Leffe Blond. After looking over the massive whisky list, Max decided that he would also have a Bowmore 15 to go with his meal. He asked if I wanted to join him, but since I was trying to stick with my initial strategy, I declined. Once we finished our meal, we moved on to our meeting with Josh at The Morgan Library.

2PM to 2:15PM – On our way to The Morgan Library, I noticed that we were walking past The Ginger Man. The Ginger Man specializes in Craft Beer, and since I had heard many great things about the place from our good friend The Alemonger, I just had to pop in for a look around (we’ll refer to this stop as The Ginger Man Chicane). Once again, in an attempt to stick with my Le Mans strategy, I declined a drink, and in just a few minutes, we were back on course.

The Great Coopered Tot aka Joshua Feldman

Very generous Balcones Texas Single Malt samples courtesy of Joshua Feldman

2:15PM to 4:15PM – As promised, Josh met us at the side entrance to The Morgan Library. After a brief tour of the main building and a short history lesson, Josh led us to a private room where he had arranged for us to have a little whisky tasting. Although this was in direct conflict with my Le Mans strategy, there was no way that I could refuse Josh’s offer since I knew that he would have some special whiskies lined up for this tasting. I quickly learned that Josh is not only incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgable about his whisky, but he is also incredibly generous. For our mini tasting session, he poured us some samples of a 23 Year Old Port Ellen and a 37 Year Old Glen Grant (both were single cask, independent bottlings, and both are incredibly rare), and since the main event was fast approaching, we didn’t waste our time trying to pick them apart. Instead, the three of us just talked and enjoyed our delicious drams.

4:15PM to 5:15PM – As soon as we finished up our tasting, the three of us shared a cab to the Chelsea Piers which is where WhiskyLIVE was scheduled to take place. Josh would be pouring for Gordon & MacPhail during the event, so he went in to set up while Max and I waited for the official start.

THE Whisky Woman (Allison Patel) and Rose Robinson of Brenne

Two of the brilliant guys behind the Jewish Whisky Company and Single Cask Nation

Chip Tate, Master Distiller and Owner of Balcones Whisky

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

5:15PM to 6PM - Although I wasn’t too impressed with the choice of venue at first (walking through a huge parking lot to get to the main entrance wasn’t very pleasant), I completely understood why they picked this location when we entered the main room, because once the sun started to set, the views of the Hudson River and North Jersey were spectacular.

One more thing happened when we entered the main room and took a quick walk around: my Le Mans strategy went right out the window!

Our first stop would be the Single Cask Nation table where we spent a few minutes talking with our friend Joshua Hatton and his business partner Seth Klaskin. Much like Josh Feldman, Josh Hatton and Seth Klaskin are super knowledgable and super enthusiastic about their whisky. They are also really good guys, so we chatted a bit and sampled their current offerings: an Isle of Arran Pinot Cask, a Kilchoman, and a Benriach. Fantastic stuff all around!

As we started walking towards the front of the room, I spotted Allison Patel of Brenne French Single Malt Whisky. There was quite a bit of activity when we arrived, so it took a minute or two before I could say hello. While we waited, we looked around to see what all of the other tables were pouring. Once we finally got to meet, we chatted briefly and Allison immediately poured us some Brenne (we tried samples from two different cask bottlings). Since there was a flurry of activity, we didn’t linger very long and decided to stop back later. We tried to say hello to Chip Tate from Balcones (his table was right next to the Brenne table), but since it was incredibly busy, we decided to stop back later.

This is where we start to pick up the pace…

Right next to Balcones was Corsair Distillery where we managed to try their Triple Smoke and Quinoa expressions.

Right after that, we turned around and walked over to Redemption Distillery. Since their regular line-up gets fair to middling reviews, I wasn’t particularly motivated to try their whiskies, but as I was looking over the selections, I noticed a bottle with a hand written label. It turns out that it was a 16 year old Rye whiskey, so I just had to try it.

Some of the hard working people that helped make WhiskyLive truly special

Live music to make things extra festive

Oodles of people and oodles of fantastic booze!

6PM to 8:00PM – Since we hadn’t eaten in a few hours, and since there were four hours left in the event, Max and I decided to take advantage of the slightly smaller VIP crowd and worked our way to the back of the room for some dinner. On our way to the buffet, we ran into Mark Gillespie of WhiskyCast. During our brief conversation, he invited us to take part in a WhiskyCast Virtual Tasting at around 8PM. We of course accepted his offer, and since I knew that Susannah would be arriving shortly, I asked Mark if she could join the tasting panel as well. He said yes immediately, which resulted in the following string of text messages between Susannah and myself…

G-LO: You’re on a virtual tasting panel with Gillespie.

Susannah: What’s that now?

G-LO: WhiskyCast Virtual tasting panel with Mark Gillespie if you want.

Susannah: Um yeah!! What do I need to do/where/when?

G-LO: Just be here. He’s gonna do it at 8. I’ll be worthless, but whatever. Mark is a great guy.

Susannah: Lol. Awesome. I’m waiting for a crosstown bus but I should be there soon.

Now that the the Virtual Tasting was all set, Max and I resumed our stroll to the buffet, but stopped at the Glen Garioch and Suntory tables for some quick whisky samples. Given the size of the crowd that they were expecting, I was very impressed with the quantity and quality of the buffet. Flank steak, chicken, several pasta dishes, roasted vegetables, salad, and an assortment of cheeses and flat breads were on offer. There was also a band playing, so that added even more to the already festive mood (Max also started throwing out the occasional bird call, but that’s a story for a completely different blog post).

Once we were done eating, we spent some time talking to the gentleman that was pouring for Catoctin Creek Distillery. He told us a bit about the whisky and then spent some time telling us about his work in the whisky industry and all of the different events that he’s attended over the years.

At around 6:45, Susannah sent me a text to let me know that she arrived. We met up with her at the Suntory table, and after some quick introductions (she was there with a friend, but I can’t remember her name), we walked over to the Purple Valley Imports table where Raj Sabarwhal was pouring Sullivans Cove, Amrut, English Whisky Company, Still Waters, Black Adder and Glenglassaugh. I’ve been going back and forth with Raj via the interwebz for quite some time, so it was great to finally meet him. While we were there, I tried the Sullivans Cove Double Cask and the Amrut Intermediate Sherry.

From there we moved on to try some Lark Tasmanian Single Malt, Parker Heritage Collection, Bruichladdich Botanist Gin (we’ll call this an Amuse Bouche. Quite nice!), Oban 18 and Oban Distiller’s Edition, and the Crown Royal XR.

The great Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey

It was at this point that I remembered passing Jimmy Russell at the Wild Turkey table on our way to the buffet. Since we were working our way back to the front to see what Josh, Josh, and Allison were up to, we made a quick pit stop for a sample of the Russell’s Reserve. How could we possibly pass up the opportunity to try the Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel AND have it poured for us by Jimmy himself?

Since the crew was busy working the room and pouring whisky, Max and I tried again to meet Chip Tate of Balcones. He was busy talking with Gillespie, so I tried to figure out if they were pouring the new Balcones 5th Anniversary Bourbon. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sweet talk my way to a Bourbon sample, but as Mark was leaving the area to hunt down some whiskies for the Virtual Tasting, I suggested that he ask Chip for a sample of the 5th Anniversary Bourbon. Chip agreed to Mark’s request and I just smiled. I guess it pays to know a guy.

Full Throttle To The Finish Line!

Susannah Skiver Barton of the What Tastes Good blog

Almost ready to nose and taste some whisky…

Miracle Max makes friends during our WhiskyCast Virtual Tasting recording session

Ian Chang of Kavalan Distillery

Susannah takes her whisky tasting VERY seriously!

8PM to 11PM – A little after 8PM, we returned to the back of the room for the WhiskyCasy Virtual Tasting. In addition to Max, Susannah, and myself, Mark invited three other people to join us (Ian Chang of Kavalan Distillery, and a woman that used to work with Mark along with her husband). We sampled Brenne French Single Malt Whisky, the Balcones 5th Anniversary Bourbon, an Invergordon Single Grain from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, and the cask strength version of the Redbreast 12.  Much like my last two Virtual Tasting experiences, Mark moves quickly through the nosing/tasting/scoring process while still managing to keep it fun and educational. I am really curious to hear how it all came out because the whisky was really starting to kick in mid way through the tasting. I wonder how much editing Mark will have to do to make me sound ok. I guess we’ll know soon enough.

Once the tasting panel disbanded, Max and I worked our way back to the front of the room to say our final goodbyes to Josh, Josh, Allison, and Susannah.

Did we really walk past Peter Dinklage during our walk back to Penn Station??? I guess we’ll never really know.

Since it was essentially last call, we also made a stop or two along the way. As we approached the High West table, we decided to make a quick stop so that we could try out their Campfire and BouRye expressions. When we arrived at the Brenne/Balcones area, I took the opportunity to finally say hello to Chip Tate. While we were talking, he asked if I’d like to try a Brimstone Cask 1200 aka “The Burned Barrel”. I of course said yes, and am so glad that I did. My only regret is that I didn’t try this earlier in the night so that I could truly appreciate it.

After saying goodbye to everyone and thanking them for making it a truly memorable night, Max and I walked back to Penn Station for the train ride home. On the way back, we passed a man walking his dog. I am almost positive that the man walking his dog was Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones, The Station Agent, and Elf! Pretty cool right?

The Verdict

In case you couldn’t tell, I had an absolutely fantastic time at WhiskyLIVE NYC! While I don’t have a final count, I probably sampled 25 to 30 different spirits. Getting to try a plethora of exceptional whiskies in one day is always a fantastic experience, but as I’ve mentioned in other event reviews (i.e. The Brewer’s Plate, the SMWSA Extravaganzas, etc.), it’s the opportunity to talk with some incredibly knowledgeable and genuinely kind people that makes these events truly special.

During our wee dramming session at The Morgan Library, Josh said something that really stuck with me. While I can’t remember his exact words, he said something like this:

A great whisky isn’t something that you keep locked away in a cabinet or that you drink by yourself. It should be opened and shared with friends. It should put a smile on their faces and make them feel proud that they were able to share in the experience together.

I’m sure I screwed up the quote, but that’s how I remember it, and I think it says a lot about Josh and all of the wonderful people that we encountered that day, i.e. whisky is a wonderful thing, but without people to share it with, it’s just another drink.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!