Whiskey – the Irish liquid

Yup, not many know that the exquisite spirit of whiskey was actually something that originated in Ireland. But the Irish are used to being screwed, so Scotland’s whiskey is now more well-known around the world.

Initially distillation was used by boring early humans to make perfumes, but they soon graduated to produce better stuff, thanks to ancient Celts whose monks brought the tech back to Ireland to produce uisgebeatha (water of life).

Not a bird..

Not a bird..

The first Irish record of drinking waay too much whiskey is that of a chieftain in 1405 “taking a surfeit of aqua vitae” at Christmas. Yea, understandable. He OD-ed and died.

Till today, it’s the first written record of the existence of whiskey. Haha. Solid.

Anyway Kieran Crowe is a very-much alive Irishman who’s the brand ambassador of Jameson Irish Whiskey whom i met recently for a chat.

The Irish

The Irish

So what’s different about Irisch (i just made that up) vs say, Scotch? ”Well Scotch tends to be smokier. Irish whiskies are typically triple-distilled, makes it a little smoother. Also when we malt our barley, we don’t use peat to smoke ’em; we use heated air. That would be the main difference,” he says.

Cieran pretending to make a cocktail

Kieran pretending to make a cocktail

Irisch was bigger than Scotch for a very long time in fact. But a series of unfortunate events saw Scotch take over the number one position. “But over the last 25 years, Irish whiskey has gotten bigger and bigger, lead by Jameson.”

The unfortunate events include the Irish War of Independence and subsequent trade war with Britain which denied it access to Commonwealth markets.

Kieran says the worldwide revival began in a Brooklyn dive bar called Bushwick Country Club (not a country club), with affordable drinks and friendly staff. The bartenders there invented a shooter called the Pickleback. A shot of Jameson is chased by a shot of pickle brine. Gotta try it.

Owner John fixing a Pickleback

Owner John fixing a Pickleback

US is the largest market for Jameson, which takes half of their 5 million annual cases. Interestingly, 12 more distilleries are opening in Ireland over the next five years.

The second best-selling Irisch in the world is Bushmills, followed by Tullamore Dew. “Keep an eye out for Red Breast.” is his tip.

That's the delicious Scarlette O'Jameson, a cocktail with raspberries available at Locker & Loft

That’s the delicious Scarlette O’Jameson, a cocktail with among others raspberries, available at Locker & Loft only

How do the Irish drink Irisch? “Over rocks, with a little water. The younger ones drink it with ginger ale and lime.”  Ale & lime? That’s how i usually take rum!

I kinda enjoy Jameson Original. A good whiskey to be taken on it’s own, at anytime, and versatile in cocktails as well. It’s matured in a combo of ex-Bourbon barrels as well as Sherry casks.

Kieran leads a toast after the tasting session

Kieran leads a toast after the tasting session

Kieran also took a bunch of folk thru a whisky tasting, which went down at restaurant & cocktail bar Locker & Loft. Followed by shots of Jameson, like true Irish.

He however messed up big time and said ”Cheers”, but soon corrected himself – “Sláinte!!”

 

Brain damage: 7.5 / 10

Share

KAVALAN Single Malts

So, a whisky from Taiwan?? The main thing i saw in that country were some fruit wines!

But am open-minded, so i didnt think twice and wasn’t skeptical when i was invited to taste a range of Taiwanese malts. In fact, i sacrificed a much-needed nap. Haha

Was it worth it? For sure. All KAVALAN whiskies i tried were good. It was tough to pick a favourite.

Gobble up!

Gobble up!

On the firing line that evening at Whisky Tango Foxtrot in Damansara Heights were four varieties, out of a total of seven expressions! Quite a range.

The welcome drinks were the KAVALAN King Car Conductor (46%) ABV. I didnt ask how it got its name.

Ridin with The King

Riding with The King

An easy-drinking whisky, a lil spice, a lil sweetish, with a medium finish. Good balance. Actually all the whiskies are easy on the palate.

The Classic is the best-seller, and gave me a nose of liquorice. It tastes clean and pleasant, with some fruit-spice in the mix.

Style

Style

The Concertmaster has a weird bottle. It looks more like absinthe than anything else. It’s richer than the rest, with some sweetness and some complexity. It was a lil difficult to figure out as i had a damn cold.

Tripped-out

Tripped-out

An interesting drink is the Solist Ex Bourbon Cask. The name says it all – it’s aged in those barrels. This deep whisky does give you a quick bitch-slap, but it passes quickly, and you’d never guess it rolls in at 57%.

Champ

Champ

Unsurprisingly, this is Taiwan’s first single malt, and it’s only been tickling livers since 2008. Very young.

But it’s whooped ass. Between 2010 to 2013, KAVALAN won an incredible number of gold medals – at the highly-respected IWSC (International Wine & Spirits Competition) and SWSC (San Francisco World Spirits Competition). It was also in the best-selling whisky guide, 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die. Prices however are on the high side, more than most Scotch whiskies.

It’s named after the earliest tribe that ran the show in the Yilan Valley.

The barley is sourced from Scotland, and the distillery is an hour from Taipei.

Takes a million visitors a year

Takes a million visitors a year

You can get them at certain bars (Barn Thai, Whisky Tango Foxtrot) as well as retailer Single And Available in BSC (Bangsar Shopping Centre), where there are monthly tastings.

The whisky has no age expression, and since it’s not a Scotch, they can legally be younger than five years.

As long as they taste good and are balanced, I have no issue with age!

 

Brain damage: 7.5/10

Share

A classic malt tasting

Diageo ran a tasting recently of several of their single malt whisky brands, and it was goood.

Single malt whisky is a whisky made from only one type of malted grain and distilled at one particular distillery. Single malts are traditionally made from barley cultivated near the actual distillery. Other regular whiskies are made by blending whiskies made by different distilleries.

Session on

Session by Colin Chia, Regional Manager, Asia Pacific Diageo World Class

We started with Glenkinchie (ABV 40%), a lowland whisky (south Scotland). This is light and pleasant. Easy-drinking whisky. All day. It’s floral and delicate on the nose.

A guide

A guide

The Singleton of Glen Ord (40%) gives a caramel nose. I find it to be well-balanced, with some smokiness, mixed up with some zestiness, like orange peel. Not too hot on the palate, with a lingering, mild bite. It’s a winner among Asians generally.

Oban 14 Years  (43%) is a highland malt from the west coast. It’s balanced, but this is not a regular whisky. It’s complex, and bold. It’s got an easy start, a bit sweetish, and doesnt leave till late.

Interesting stuff

Interesting stuff

On the nose, the Talisker 10 (40%) is straight-up peat, but nutin too crazy. This one’s from the Isle of Skye in the west. To me it’s smoky and sweet, smooth and silky. The bite is minimal. Light and smoky with a hint of fruit. Not iodine-like, unlike many peaty whiskies.

More!

More!

The Lagavulin 16 (43%) has a pleasant, peaty nose. One of the easier whiskies among the Islay peat range, not too hard. There is a kick in the middle, and a little smoke left behind.

Up there

Up there

The final drink was the Caol Ila (43%) (pronounced “Cull Eela”, Gaelic name for the Sound of Islay). The nose is deceptively regularlr peaty stuff. But then when u taste it, u realize it’s a big-dick Islay malt. Tho not as much punch as the Laphroaig, it’s still got that iodine thing goin on.

Ben buzzed

Ben buzzed

It was quite a trip, tasting whiskies from all over Scotland. It’s pretty cool how different regions produce different flavours. If you view whisky flavour maps, you can gauge which whiskies would be your type. Enjoy!

 

Brain damage: 8/10

Share

The boxx & the malt

Hit a a Remy Martin new product launch in some bar recently in Kota Damansara, and a tasting by The Glenlivet at some bar in Hartamas.

a

Delicious freezing shots

Remy Martin now allows u to drink the cognac from a dispenser that chills it to minus 18C! Gosh!

Easier done than said

Easier done than said

Ever got brain freeze by drinkin liquor neat? It’s possible if u have a whole glass of dis stuff.

Pleasure box

Pleasure box

The bottle is placed inverted on the box, and the cognac flows thru and emerges out via a tap, extra cold. Simple.

At the launch at Parking, we were handed shooters – i had like 7, and they’re incredibly smooth and taste real good!

Thing is there only four units of these meant for Malaysia, so your luck which bar they’re being rotated at. If u spot a red box on the bar, it’s your lucky day.

.

Dis friendly Scottish dude Darren Hosie, Chivas Brothers’ International Brand Ambassador, led The Glenlivet tasting at Roponggi. The Glenlivet is a pioneering brand in Scotland’s single-malt industry, and has been around for more than 150 years.

Darren gettin warmed up

Darren gettin warmed up

Dude instructs us to add some water into each glass of Glenlivet – there were several types there, ranging from 12 years to 25 years – then give it a sniff, and a sip. Based on his short presentation about each Glenlivet, we were supposed to guess which one we were tasting.

I find this kind of exercises pretty futile coz we aint experts to make guesses. A better way would have been to tell us what we were having, so we can appreciate and understand it better. Also, the amount of water added into each sample varies, giving different opinions on the strength and power of d Scotch.

Anyway, we drink all of em down, coz they were dam good. Met Sue Lynn, a food blogger who did a great job to sort our bites from d menu.

Trippy bar display, trippier when drunk

Trippy bar display, trippier when drunk

Brain damage rating: 7/10

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Share