Video interview with David Perkins of High West –Part I of II: wherein David tells us about how he started High West and proceeds to take us through his new whiskey “Campfire.”(Campfire, if you’re not familiar, is a blend of bourbon, rye whiskey and peated Scotch whisky – cool stuff)
Over the past few years of running this blog I’ve had the opportunity to meet a whole host of wonderful people. Whisky geeks and enthusiasts, brand ambassadors, malt masters, master distillers and master blenders. The list can go on and on and it actually does and will continue to grow, I’m sure.
I met David Perkins, of High West fame, for the first time back in 2010 at WhiskyLive NYC. High West was one of the tables I knew I had to get to and David Perkins was one of the people I knew I had to meet. I’ve been a fan of High West for some time before coming to the show and people have told me that David was just a cool, cool guy.
We hit it off right from the get go. David is a charming dude – smart and funny (not to mention a whiskey blending madman/mastermind).
Fast forward to 2012… I asked David if he might be interested in being video-interviewed for the blog and he jumped at the chance (thanks again, David!). So what you’ll see below is a recorded Skype video with David in the big portion of the screen and me in the lower left hand side of the video asking questions.
Rather than me go on and on about how cool David Perkins is, why don’t I let the videos speak for themselves:
Video Part I of IV (with a total of two out of the four videos being posted today):
And now, part II of IV (the second two will be posted tomorrow):
I hope you enjoyed the first installment in this interview. Please be sure to check in tomorrow for the balance of the interview!
Speyside region – 55.8%ABV – Pricing is TBD. Will update this post as soon as I have more information.
One of the upsides to being a whisky reviewer is that now and again whisky shows up to my door. Cool, right?
Sometimes the whisky is in sample form, sometimes it’s my own purchase. Both scenarios do a fantastic job of setting my lovely wife’s eyes a’rollin. Oh boy, *more* whisky.
A common question posed by me to my wife: “Did the whisky fairy arrive today?”
I quite enjoy it when the answer is “yes.”
Occasionally, one of my daughters will tell me as I walk in the door, “Hey daddy. Surprise, surprise, more whisky.”
I love my daughters. They really know how to bust my butt with the snark of a 22 year old. You’d never think they were 3 & 5.
…so one day, not too long ago, I received a completely unsolicited sample of this 1975 Speyburn single cask from Lucas D saying: Enjoy! Let me know what you think.
In addition to the “enjoy the sample” bit, he gave me the following information on this whisky:
“The whisky comes from a single mature Spanish oak sherry butt acquired from Pedro Domecq – the oldest Bodega in Jerez founded in 1730. The cask was most likely used to mature Pedro Ximenez sherry. This helps to explain its exceptionally dark colour, at 20 Lovibond (45.9 EBC) it is one of the darker naturally coloured Scotch whiskies out there. The sample was drawn at the distillery in March 2012 and the ABV is 55.8% (!).”
Well, thank you Lucas for the sample. It’s much appreciated!
Here are my thoughts:
On the nose – The initial offering from the nose on this whisky is that of pen ink (from a ball point) and summer pool water.
Fresh pulled garden greens, a salty smelling nose.
Fired apples (granny smith) and cherry stones here as well. More apples yet in sauce-form with brown spices and burnt sugar.
It’s a wild nose here as it straddles the line between real and artificial (man-made) scents and does so fairly well.
With water some notes of a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar say hello.
On the mouth – Whoa, this is a hot one!
Chocolate chunks (dark) and fresh black pepper. Cinnamon and walnuts, shells and all. Let’s add water. A bit too hot for me.
Much better with water – and a decent mouthfeel to boot!
Black strap molasses, drunken raisins and chocolates. Sugar cookies and sugary butter cookies.
Nutty – hazelnuts, walnuts, no salt, crushed into a paste and sweetened (with some vanilla added in for good measure).
Finish – Long and peppery (with lasting heat).
In sum – It’s nice to drink history. I was only 2 years old when this was distilled. That in and of itself is a bit mind boggling. All of the parts were there and in the right places. I think some of the heat detracted from the overall experience (even with water) but pair this with some nice Stilton cheese and/or 70%+ cacao chocolate and you just might find yourself in a little place I like to call “Heaven.”
Yes, you guessed it. Eight active distilleries on Islay, eight Islay/Rock Band comparisons by yours truly.
G-d damn. I am sad to see this series end. Such is life and all things must pass.
There were many Laphroaigs I could have chosen for this final Islay/Rock Band review and to be honest, I’ve got enough of the hooch in house for me to have chosen from. However, I’ve never had a single cask of Laphroaig from the Chieftain’s range so I figured I’d ask for a sample and if I were lucky to enough to get one then, cool, I’d review that.
Thanks to the good folks at Impex, they’ve got a new Chieftain’s 14yo single cask of Laphroaig and they were nice enough to pour me a few cl to review. Special thanks to SF & EK from Impex for the sample!
Before I review this Laphroaig, let’s cover what’s been reviewed in this series to date:
Chieftain’s Single Cask Laphroaig, cask #4127, bottled at 46% ABV – $?? to be announced.
On the nose – Tell tale Laphroaig peat, somehow a bit less dirty but surely Laphroaig peat.
Scratch the surface and we find a good deal of unripened fruits (banana strings, hard peach, crab apple).
I also get the sense of an ashtray minus the butts but all of the ash.
All of this being said, though it might not sound it, it *is* a bit of a delicate nose.
I’d be scared to add water to this, there is very little alcohol punch.
On the mouth – Very sooty and stingy-like along the sides of my tongue.
Salted rhubarb and on hot linoleum counter.
Not-so-sweet star fruit and on the 2nd sip, I discover this has a really nice mouth feel.
Out of the blue, a floral/lavender-like note makes itself known (coming back to the nose and I discover it there as well).
Salted still and drying toward the finish…
Finish – Drying, a touch of citrus and decent length.
In sum – Not a bad little cask of whisky! Based on the light color at 14 years of age, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found a nice evolution from nose to palate to finish. It’s an easy going whisky for the peat heads among us. Not very challenging but very pleasing. I’d suggest this one right after a snow storm and right before you start shoveling your driveway (if’n that applies to you). ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Laphroaig – The Band!
Comparing Laphroaig to a band was perhaps the toughest one of them all, hence my saving them for the last. (Sorry grandpa, I know you always said to do the hard stuff first and save the easy stuff for last. Note to self: I should have listened to you.)
So many bands came to mind. I think of the dirty, gritty, filthy and delicious peat and I instantly think of The Melvins. But, most people don’t know The Melvins.
However, there’s more to Laphroaig than just peat. Their 30yo expression, a manly yet feminine and elegantly heavy dram makes me think of Into Another. Like The Melvins, chances are, you’ve not heard of their awesomeness.
In the end, I have to admit, Laphroaig is a powerhouse whisky. So, I’ve decided that you are Iggy Pop. And, not just any Iggy Pop but Iggy from his 1973 “Raw Power” Record. And not just any song on “Raw Power” but actually, Laphroaig, you are Iggy Pop’s “Search and Destroy”. But not just any version of “Search and Destroy.”
With the often salty/briny character, you are “Search and Destroy” as heard/seen on the “Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” during the gun fight seen.:
So, congrats Laphroaig – you are RAW POWER. You are Iggy Pop. Thanks for playing!
If you don’t own a bottle or six from the Connoisseurs Choice range of Independently Bottled whisky then, at the very least, I’m sure you’ve seen them on the whisky shelves.
Rather than me blather on about the good news from Gordon MacPhail, here’s the info I was given:
“The Connoisseurs Choice range was developed in the 1960’s by George Urquhart the second generation of Urquhart’s that have run G&M. It made a number of distilleries whiskies available as a single malt for the first time ever. It has become wildly popular and gone through a number of slight enhancements to the label over the years.
This most recent change however also deals with the whisky in the bottle.
Ongoing, all whiskies bottled for the Connoisseurs Choice range will be NON-CHILL FILTERED, NATURAL COLOR & bottled at 46% abv.
This will ensure the highest quality whisky is made available for future generations. ”
Now THAT’S news!! Yet another bottler that’s listened to consumer demand for higher ABV, natural color and no chill filtration.
Video interview with David Perkins of High West – Part I of II: wherein David tells us about how he started High West and proceeds to take us through his new whiskey “Campfire.” (Campfire, if you’re not familiar, is a blend of bourbon, rye whiskey and peated Scotch whisky – cool stuff)
I met David Perkins, of High West fame, for the first time back in 2010 at WhiskyLive NYC. High West was one of the tables I knew I had to get to and David Perkins was one of the people I knew I had to meet. I’ve been a fan of High West for some time before coming to the show and people have told me that David was just a cool, cool guy.
