All posts by Jewmalt

SuperJew, Husband, Father, Scotch aficionado, Musician, Whisky Society President
Compass Box

Compass Box Asyla

Blended Scotch whisky – 40%ABV – $35 | £24 | €29

Last week (and for a couple of days the week before) I focused on kosher certified whiskies.  This week I will begin a series of blended whiskies.  I will touch on Compass Box whiskies as well as a few Double Barrel expressions.  It’s going to be a week or more of crazy mix’em ups (pun intended) here on the JSMWS whisky blog.

So, Compass Box.  Who are they?  Is this a distillery?  No, Compass Box is not a distillery.  Compass Box is a brand of blended whiskies and is the brain child of John Glaser – master blender extraordinaire.

A couple of months ago The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society hosted a whiskey tasting with Hudson American Whiskeys and something their owner said stuck with me after his seeing a bottle of Peat Monster on the host’s kitchen counter.  He picked up the bottle and said (with me paraphrasing here and him referring to said bottle and the blender of the fluid contained within): “what we at Hudson do is apply skill to making whiskey, what John does is pure art”.  That’s a compliment and a half!

So, let’s see if Ralph is right:

On the nose – A light and bright nose with a fight.

Oh, you’ve got a wee bit of spunk to yeh!

However, with a touch of time to breath you reveal to me hints of fresh butter and white corn.

Unripened fruits (think pear mostly).

A touch of nail polish.

Perhaps plastic shopping bags.

Lemon meringue.

A saltiness that I can’t shake.

On the mouth – Two words: Mouth Feel.

This is some thick, chewy-ass stuff!

Very soft like ‘almost-jello’ soft.

Slightly salty and a bit peppery now.

Hints of light biscuits, honeyed and delicious.

The grain influence is fairly obvious – adding a light, almost bourbony sweetness.

Finish – Nothing to complain about.

Some maltiness and medium-ish in length with a lasting fizziness toward the center back part of the tongue.

In sum – This is something to simply relax or, as my friend Steve of The Whisky Wire would say, Dramlax with.  Very light in style, very approachable and, actually, one to help lure in your non-whisky drinking friends into enjoying one of the finer things in life – whisk(e)y!!

Field Trip!

Did somebody say WhiskyFest!?

I did.  Just now, I said it.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a nearly whole year since Malt Advocate’s WhiskyFest in NYC!  Come this November, however, WhiskyFest is returning to New York and it’s going to be huge.

While my focus is on the New York City event, don’t forget that WhiskyFest hits two other cities: Chicago & San Francisco (the San Fran event, BTW, is happening on Oct 8th).

With a focus on NYC (and the 270 whiskies available to sample aside), there will be some great seminars with a veritable who’s who of top-guns within the whisk(e)y industry:

7:00-7:45 pm

Ronnie Cox, Director, The Glenrothes
Vintage Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Why Maturity matters, not age. Taste through different vintages of The Glenrothes to see first-hand, the influence of spirit and oak. *New Vintage Release*

Dr. Bill Lumsden, Head of Distilling and Whisky Creation, The Glenmorangie Company
Glenmorangie’s pioneering Spirit – tradition, excellence and innovation at the home of Scotland’s favorite single malt
Join Dr. Bill Lumsden – Head of Distilling and WhiskyCreation – for a tasting tour of Glenmorangie, voted “Distillery of the Year 2010 ” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This is a rare opportunity to taste through some of Glenmorangie’s most notable and award winning expressions as well as a few surprises…

Richard Paterson, Master Blender, Whyte & Mackay
Learn from The Nose!
This tasting room, hosted by Richard Paterson, third generation master blender for Whyte & Mackay, will introduce participants to one of the most awarded single malt scotch whiskeys, The Dalmore.
Paterson is known the world over for his exceptional blending skills which have resulted in signature expressions that suggest depth, character and richness. He travels the world selecting the finest barrels and blends the aged liquid from these until the result is like a fine orchestra – harmonious, elegant and rich. In this classroom setting you will taste through The Dalmore Core Expressions with Richard while learning the finer points of tasting. Don’t be surprised when he picks you to taste ‘the most expensive liquid in the world’.

Parker Beam, Master Distiller, Heaven Hill Distilleries
Why Rye? Whither Wheat? The Great Grain Debate
Everyone knows that Bourbon is made primarily with corn, and most enthusiasts would know that there are “traditional” Bourbons that add rye and “wheated” Bourbons that substitute wheat for the rye. But what exactly are the differences between these common “small grains”, both in the taste of whiskey and in the production methods? Join legendary Heaven Hill Master Distiller Parker Beam as we explore how these grains behave on the palate and in the still, in Bourbon mashbills and in straight rye and straight wheat whiskey recipes.

7:45 – 8:30

Mike Miyamoto, Suntory Yamazaki, Master Distiller
“Suntory Time: The Art of Japanese Whisky”
Yamazaki Master Distiller, Mike Miyamoto is a respected leader who has a great commitment to excellence and tradition. Join him as he leads a tasting of a full flight of Yamazaki and Hibiki whiskies. Experience the smooth, complex and uniquely Japanese characteristics that have made Yamazaki 12, 18, and the exceptionally rare 25 year old, international award-winners. Mike will also present Hibiki 12, first seen by Americans in the feature film “Lost In Translation”, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johannson. Hibiki 12 has just been introduced to the American market and is no longer “lost” to American whisky lovers. “Suntory Time” is not to be missed…..

Evan Cattanach, Master Distiller Emeritus, The Classic Malts
Classic Malts Mentor
The Classic Malts Mentor seminar uses the expansive knowledge of the Diageo Masters of Whisky to educate scotch enthusiasts on a sampling of the Classic Malts Distiller’s Editions. This multimedia, multi sensory seminar takes you through the history, production process, regionality and most important the flavor profiles of this vast selection of Single Malt Scotches. You will leave the seminar with an increased confidence to order your new favorite Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

8:30 – 9:15

Ricky Crawford, The Glenlivet Ambassador
The Single Malt that Started it All
Our seminar will cover the history of The Glenlivet, and the role it played in building the single malt scotch whisky industry during the 1800’s in Scotland and more recently, the 20th century in the U.S.
We will then step through the basics of scotch whisky production, highlighting the key elements of our production process that differentiate The Glenlivet from our competitive set.
The big finish will be a tasting of six marques from our core range.

Martin Daraz, Brand Ambassador, Highland Park
Last Call with Martin Daraz
End your WhiskyFest™ New York on a high note; come and sample “the best spirit in the world”* with Martin Daraz, native Scotsman and Brand Ambassador for the Highland Park Distillery in the USA.
We will be nosing and tasting five expressions from Highland Park 12 year old all the way up to Highland Park 30 year old

*F. Paul Pacult, Spirits Journal 2005/2009

Simon Brooking, Malt Master Ambassador, Laphroaig
Laphroaig: Where the Spirit Meets the Cask
Ever wondered how the use of different casks imparts flavors into your whisky? Laphroaig Master Ambassador Simon Brooking will walk you through a tasting of four expressions of Laphroaig and will show you how the use of different casks including a Maker’s Mark cask as well as former Sherry Casks impart specific flavor profiles into each whisky.

Fritz Maytag, President and Brewmaster, Anchor Brewing & Distilling Company
15 Years of Craft Distilling
Recreating America’s original whiskey one small batch at a time and discovering why young whiskey is better than immature whiskey.

So, if you like what you see (how could you not?), I would suggest securing your tickets ASAP as they’re selling quick.  I was just informed that the VIP tickets to the NYC event have been sold out!

Click here for more info: Malt Advocate’s WhiskyFest in NYC!

Amrut

A Sherried Amrut headed our way!

This just came past my desk here at the JSMWS headquarters (and it sounds delicious!):

PRESS RELEASE

Amrut Single Malt Releases New Limited Edition Expression

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt Whisky – 57.1% abv

Amrut Distillery and Purple Valley Imports USA announce the US launch of Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt Whisky.

This is a truly unique expression. As a small family owned distillery Amrut is able to test new ideas and to continue to create world class Single Malt whisky.

Process behind this whisky

As a first step in the production of this expression Amrut Distillery wanted to make sure that there was no sulfur present in the casks. Secondly, shipping the sherry butts from Spain to Bangalore was going to be difficult. From Spain, the barrels would go through huge temperature changes and by the time it reached the port of Chennai (Madras) it would be 30 + degree Celsius. A marvelous idea came to Amrut. They instructed the supplier NOT to add any sulfur and also to drain any residual sherry in the cask completely. A few cases of Amrut Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky were shipped to the cooperage in Spain and they were filled in each of the Sherry Butts. The casks  were then sealed and rolled a few times. The logic behind this idea was cask strength whisky at 61.9% would more likely act as a kind of ‘bacteria killer’. Amazingly it worked! The Casks came through intact.

Once the Sherry Butts were filled Amrut wanted to create something other than the sherry finishes in the market today. Amrut wanted to avoid the sherry’s influence suppressing the ‘Amrut Characters’ in the whisky. The Butts were emptied back into Bourbon Casks for approximatley one year. The master distiller drew samples and was impressed with this “essay in elegance” – there was no trace of sulfur what so ever. It was like a sherry ‘Sandwich’ and fused well with Bourbon notes. ‘Amrut Intermediate Sherry’ has born. We are not aware if any other distiller has coined a phrase like this before, however it is exactly how the whisky was produced.

Purple Valley Imports will be sampling Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt during the VIP hour at Whisky Fest San Francisco on October 8th, 2010

Facts:

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Single Malt – 57.1% alc by vol.

Total Bottling: 275 cases

US Availability: 85 Cases (6 x 750 ml)

Worldwide Availability: European Union, Canada and United States

US Release Date: October 15th, 2010

US Availability: November 1st, 2010

Anticipated US Retail Price:  $134.99

For further information:

Raj Sabharwal, VP Sales & Marketing, Purple Valley Imports USA. raj@purplevalleyimports.com.

Tel: 704 497 2493.

Balvenie, Field Trip!

A sneaky peek at an up coming post – Whisky tasting over the Internets!!

A while back I was asked to be a part of a whisky tasting with The Balvenie and The London Jewish Chaplaincy.  London, England that is.

Time off from work and lack of funds for a plane ticket got in the way of my being there physically.

Thankfully, Scotty beamed me up and I was able to join in digitally:

Also, my buddy Sam Simmons (aka Dr. Whisky & Global Ambassador to The Balvenie extraordinaire) joined in on the fun:

Details, more pictures and videos on this great event to follow.  A big thanks goes out to The London Jewish Chaplaincy, Aimee Jacobs, Dr. Andrew Forrester & Sam Simmons  – it was a blast and I can’t wait to share the details.

Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Loch Chaim, Macallan, Refreshed, Springtime, Whiskies

Loch Chaim Macallan 18yr Single Cask

Speyside region – 43%ABV – $96 – $127

As you may or may not know, I am part of a whisky blogging group called The Whisky Round Table.  We’re a group of 12 whisky bloggers who bring up a new topic every month to discuss.  Each month one of us fearless knights (of the Whisky Round Table) comes up with a question and we all have to answer it on that questioner’s blog.  You can follow our twitter feed here: @whiskyknights

Why do bring this up?  Well, Ruben of Whiskynotes.be recently brought up a great question about Independent bottlers (you can find it here as well as our answers to his question) and Loch Chaim, as I am finding, is one of these great indy bottlers we all discuss.

This next expression is a great example of a well chosen cask by an indy and another reason why independent bottlers should not and can not be ignored.

Color – This is an 18 year old whisky?

I don’t normally rate color but this so light, like a Sauvignon Blanc.

Obviously, there’s no sherry influence here but even with a bourbon cask I would have expected more color.

On the nose – Again, this is an 18 year old whisky?

Very aggressive nose filled with a boat load of spice and vanilla.

Some toasted coconut notes.

Lemon essence water.

Grassy.

Chamomile tea.

On the mouth – Nice entry; slight viscosity.

More chamomile tea with an extra teaspoon of sugar.

Perhaps some green apple and star fruit.

Finish – Tea and coffee.  A bit fizzy.

In sum – Do not go into this thinking you’re going to experience your typical (read: sherried) Macallan.  This is as near the antithesis of a standard bottle of Macallan you can find.  However, this is not a bad thing.  Oh, I found this whisky to be very light and refreshing!  I could wake up with this stuff, it’s most invigorating.  Very much a springtime whisky.