Category Archives: Whisky General

Whiskey Cocktail – Old Fashioned

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I’m in Canada for a week and I thought while I’m off gallivanting, may as well post a few whisky cocktails – a bit of a departure from my usual style.

These recipes all came from a few hours one Friday afternoon in a sultry hot Mumbai May day where I joined a cocktail making class…

We began with a classic – Old Fashioned – full of ice!

Old Fashioned recipe

  • 45 ml Bourbon/Tennessee
  • 1 sugar cube
  • 3-5 drops aromatic bitters

In an old fashioned glass, drop a sugar cube and add the bitters. Break the sugar and mix well. Pour in the whiskey and fill with ice. Gi e it a quick stir to mix well and add more ice if necessary. Release the oils from an orange peel and drop.

These all came courtesy of a session with DISCUS in May 2017, Mumbai.

Other American whisky experiences:

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Whisky Live Singapore – Gordon + MacPhail

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I’ve admitted it before and will probably admit it again – I have a total school girl whisky crush on all things Gordon & MacPhail. They don’t just bottle the stuff, they find something with potential and nurture it along carefully in their own barrels, crafting a whisky that is somehow ‘even more’ than what the distillery alone produces.

2016-11-12-gordon-macphail-collection

The whiskies on offer at Whisky Live Singapore featured:

A most enjoyable collection of which I had a nip of the Blair Athol… and intended to come back to the Macallan and Ardmore, skipping only the Caol Ila and Highland Park as sampled these before. Alas I kept no tasting notes however was not disappointed.

Just a few of the Gordon & MacPhail whiskies sampled on Whisky Lady include:

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Whisky Lady – May 2017

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Carissa Hickling's avatarEveryday Asia

May brought adventures around India with trips to Kolkata, Kochi with a nice juicy project in Mumbai. It also brought the heat before the monsoon… shifting from mere heat to drenching humidity.

All three tasting groups also got into the action!

The Whisky Ladies and our original group enjoyed Bruichladdich Peat Progressions with:

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Whisky Lady – April 2017

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Carissa Hickling's avatarEveryday Asia

April brought another trip to Jakarta and Singapore – naturally fitting in a whisky flight too!

Plus two of our whisky groups met up and I revived my “mini” session too – with notes to follow in the coming months…

Whisky Ladies explore Master Distiller Rachel Barrie’s Bowmore Travel Trilogy:

Finally got around to sharing our February Original’s Undisclosed Distillery session with the BMC lads:

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La Maison du Whisky Singapore Renewed!

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Above all, I’m a fan of being able to sip and consider before purchasing… there truly is no comparison between educated “guessing” and trying a tiny taste before making the decision to buy (or not).

It also counts having knowledgable sociable staff who can steer you in an interesting direction…

Which is exactly why there is hardly a single trip to Singapore that doesn’t include a stop by La Maison du Whisky.

And this time? A chance to check out the recent renovations which opened the space up, spruced up the floor to ceiling whisky shelves, added some ladders and a brilliant very well stocked bar.

The challenge in keeping our whisky clubs in Mumbai well-stocked is we’ve now sampled quite a respectable range of whiskies… just check out the “list” or “tasting sessions” and it becomes blindingly obvious we’ve gone beyond the most obvious fare.

What was on the sampling agenda this time?

  • Compass Box with their new “Whisky de Table” – A great concept to bring affordable easy drinking whisky to be enjoyed with dinner
  • Elements of Islay series – Bringing distinction to exploring the components of Islay distilleries in their ‘pharmacy’ bottles
  • Assorted Japanese options – Always nice to expand these horizon! Particularly if slightly more affordable and lesser known…
  • Something from Tasmania – Already hooked with the Hellyers Road, Starward and Sullivans Cove... why not add another to the list?

What made it back to Bombay? All will be revealed in the coming months!

La Maison du Whisky is located at 80 Mohamed Sultan Road, #01-10 The Pier, Singapore
 Tel: 6733 0059

Some posts inspired by whiskies sampled at LMdW:

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“The Whisky Guessing Game” at The Single Cask, Singapore

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Having an opportunity to ‘try something different‘ seems to be the hallmark of most whisky aficionados journey. What better way than through bottlers not disclosing the distillery… here follows the tasting notes and speculation from an anonymous Islay whisky flight experienced at The Single Cask in Singapore.

Cask Islay 46%

  • Nose – Citrus smoke, sweet brine
  • Palate – Ash, peat, oily, sense of being a bit sticky, doesn’t travel well
  • Finish – Bitter… makes you want water!

Cask Islay is a small batch release from A.D. Rattray and you can read what they have to say here.

Islay Storm 40%

  • Nose – Softer than the Cask Islay, fresh grass, fruity apples, cereals, barley oat porridge, followed by a nice sweetness
  • Palate – While it didn’t have much body, there was a fresh green dimension and actually quite interesting, warming into vanilla custard with smoke, sweet peat, sea salt, eminently enjoyable
  • Finish – Very nice finish, surprisingly long

The folks behind this bottle is The Vantage Malt Whisky Company and you can read what they have to say about Islay Storm here.

Dun Bheagan Islay 43%

  • Nose – Briney citrus, tannins
  • Palate – Bit of spice, some body, the peat was actually quite balanced
  • Finish – Sweet spice with cinnamon

IanMacLeod Distillers created the Dun Bheagan collection to feature a range of single casks.

Finlaggan Cask Strength 58%

  • Nose – Tar, asphalt, leather, grass, flowers, quite sweet yet also oddly quite shy and mute
  • Palate – Sharp leather, warm balanced evolution
  • Finish – Sweet spice liquor

It may sounds like a contradiction but it was oddly muted and shy – can’t help but suspect the bottle was open too long with oxidation taking its toll.

Again, the folks behind this marvellous dram are The Vantage Malt Whisky Company, with more details about their Finlaggan range available here.

All were interesting. All would be quite affordable in the UK and not pocket destroying in Singapore. I kept coming back to the Islay Storm, whereas my companion was particularly partial to the Finlaggan.

And our guesses?

  • Cask Islay 46% Our guess? Caol Ila
  • Islay Storm 40%? Zero doubt it was Kilchoman… by a mile! And interesting to try at 40%. Sipping it also sparked my companion’s memories of his 1st visit to the distillery
  • Dun Bheagan Islay 43% Most likely a Lagavulin
  • Finlaggan Cask Strength 58% Probably a Laphroaig

If anyone can prove or disprove any of our speculations – would love to hear!

So there we have it… a wee whisky flight and a most enjoyable evening in Singapore.

The Single Cask is located at 01-25 Chijmes Caldwell House, 30 Victoria Street, Singapore 187996 / info@thesinglecask.sg / +65 6837 0953.

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The Single Cask, Singapore

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Let’s face it – whisky in Singapore is expensive. However the range of spirits available vs  my other usual haunts like Jakarta and Mumbai, makes it a favourite spot to try something new and typically pick up an overpriced bottle or two.

So I’m also always seeking out another “watering hole” to whet my whistle and expand my tasting horizons…

Enter The Single Cask at Chjimes…

My whisky tasting companion and I were considering a few different whisky flights, veering towards something lighter and more nuanced. We riffled through page after page of suggested flights and whisky options. Our eyes wandered over the shelves displaying whiskies from near and far.

Then our friendly neighbourhood fellow whisky blogger cum bartender (Brendan Pillai of WhiskyMate) brought out a Bruichladdich Port Charlotte trio for a sniff! Immediately our mood shifted to a peatier predilection…

Our attention was captured by a particular Islay flight that contained names new to us. Now, lest you think any of these are distilleries, these are independent bottlers selecting casks from Islay distilleries, keeping the original whisky unspoken.

This seems to be a growing trend to keep promiscuous single malt drinkers engaged! Tease them without telling the distillery so they are tempted to try and the guess! Yeah… we fell for it too… I like to call it it the “Whisky Guessing Game!”

What did we try? Check out what ultimately caught our fancy…

The Single Cask is located at 01-25 Chijmes Caldwell House, 30 Victoria Street, Singapore 187996 / info@thesinglecask.sg / +65 6837 0953

PS – They also have an online store and no, this was NOT a sponsored post! 🙂

Other Singapore whisky joints:

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Whisky Lady – March 2017

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Carissa Hickling's avatarEveryday Asia

Once upon a time, March 31st used to mean year-end sales push with everyone running around, heaps of energy, effort and much more!

While I no longer have such direct business pressures, I do still need to do the accounting books so did a little whisky cabinet spring cleaning to pull out a few older oxidation bottles to have on hand for a late evening post numbers wind down. Great plan… til a cold happened. And I never waste good whisky on a stuffed up nose!!

So instead, my March round-up will not feature my hidden gems, instead share that it did bring some merriment and mischief with a trip to Jakarta and Singapore – including a nip into The Single Cask and La Maison du Whisky.

Alas March missed two of our usual tasting group sessions – both the BMC and our underground original club. However nothing was going to stop our Whisky Ladies…

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When an International Scotch Day celebration is NOT about the whisky

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From time to time, our Whisky Clubs are invited to events… Let’s just say it is convenient to extend an invite to one and get a bunch of whisky aficionados – particularly if it is a rollicking group of “Whisky Ladies.”

And that is how we found ourselves at Diageo’s International Scotch Day… Yet given what we assumed would be the whiskies on offer, our interest was more the multimedia artist’s ‘odes’ to the water of life, live music and good company.

In short, it is known as the evening the “Whisky Ladies” became the “Bitchy Ladies!”

Why?

Just peruse some of our Tasting Sessions or Ladies Corner and it easy to see we are an adventuresome bunch, exploring a wide range of whiskies sharing frank, fun and sometimes brutally honest opinions about what we sample.

Which means the bar is set pretty high to impress these ladies. We strolled in, traipsing after actress Freida Pinto and headed straight for the bar.

We knew the stuff on offer would not make our normal “cut” yet we still gamely did a tasting round of the whiskies available – Johnie Walker, Black and White, Black Dog and Vat 69. I’m too polite to reproduce what was said. 🙂

1st you.. then you.. like this not that!

Cocktails was clearly the way to go! However the “Old Fashioned” approach also didn’t make the “cut” either so one Whisky Lady took charge telling the poor beleaguered bartender how to go about it!

Getting an Old Fashioned right?

The food? From a fabulous chef yet with pairings that seemed a tad random and mostly got quizzical curious reactions.

And the Art? “Not so finely disguised advertising” was one comment, however it was fun playing around with the “Black & White” exhibit.

Black + White Whisky Lady?

Lest we seem like complete ingrates, what finely pleased these picky ladies? Oh the music, merriment and mischief we caused!! In the end, we had a mighty fine evening!

PS – It was interesting to read the somewhat “random” quality we found was echoed in other cities..

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Tasting tip for Asia – How to cool your whisky…

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There are times when we sip, dissect our impressions, discuss and then look at the official whisky tasting notes and simply scratch our heads in puzzlement.

Now before you think this is only because of overly creative marketing speak, there is another element in the equation that needs to be considered.

Temperature.

Let’s face it… Scotland’s average temperature is 15°C… And Mumbai? 30°C…

Which does indeed have an impact on your whisky tasting experience.

Hence why the standard way of serving in India is “on the rocks” with generous number of ice cubes. But that can “shock” a whisky and for some, it is a complete sacrilege!

As an alternative to killing a whisky’s nuance with chunks of ice, we’ve tried:

  • Those “rocks” that you freeze and then are supposed to cool your whisky… trust me, they warm up so quickly there is nearly no impact! Useless in a place like Bombay…
  • Cooling the whisky by keeping it in the fridge before serving… this actually works for a few minutes however soon enough the ambient temperature takes its toll. What we haven’t tried is storing our whisky bottle in a bucket of ice as we continue our evening…
  • Norlan glass is supposed to help keep the whisky from warming in your hands… yet when your starting point is hot? We have also found there is quite a different tasting experience between Norlan and Glencairn glasses overall with some whiskies much better suited to one or the other type of glass

Any other options?

Enter a ‘tip’ from Murray Campbell, Bruichladdich’s Brand Ambassador for Asia…

Here is his ‘recipe’ for dealing with the warmer climes of Asia:

  • Take two glasses
  • Fill one to the top with ice then water
  • In the other glass, pour your preferred whisky – neat!
  • Take a “shot” of the ice cold water, hold it in your mouth for a few seconds then swallow
  • Then enjoy your whisky
  • Alternate between cooling your mouth with the ice water and quaffing your whisky

In other words, “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain!”

What a clever idea Sir-ji!

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