Category Archives: Whisky General

Top 10 whisk(e)ys… sort of…

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Anyone heard this before: “Oh, you drink whisky? Which is your favourite?”

I have a tough time. My whisky preferences are often tied to mood, company, and… let’s face it… accessibility!

Let’s also be honest… folks that drink blends are a loyal lot. They have a ready answer to the ‘favourite’ question.

Those of us tending towards single malts are rather promiscuous… always looking out for something ‘new’ to try. We’d rather end up with a disaster than miss a possible gem.

However when Whisky Girl from the Netherlands gave a challenge to share a Whisk(e)y Top 10, I had to rise to the occasion!

Whisky Lady in India's current favourites

Whisky Lady in India’s current favourites

Here goes! From my Whiskies by Country list with random reasons for their pick (by country/region order):

  1. Sullivans Cove – French Oak Cask – Only Tasmanian whisky sampled so far and makes me really wanna try more
  2. Kornog bottled for The Auld Alliance – Why I’ve begged my gal pal on a biz trip to Paris to pretty please bring me back ANYTHING from Kornog or Glann Ar Mor
  3. When in a ‘desi’ (Indian) mood – Paul John’s cask strength Peated
  4. Hakushu 18 year – No surprise this old favourite from Japan made the cut!
  5. Perhaps because I sampled it recently, but the ‘Yoichi’ 10 year has character…
  6. Springbank from Campbeltown shows promise with Hazelburn 12 year
  7. Love the chocolaty coffee yumminess of Glenmorangie’s Signet
  8. Caol Ila 1997, bottled 2009 (Gordon & MacPhail) simply notches up what I enjoy most about Caol Ila
  9. My current ‘everyday dram’ is Kilchoman Coull Point
  10. The American craft whiskey that made me go ‘Oh yes!’ Westland Cask No 395 54.6%

The most remarkable “I can stop now” single malt is Lochside 1981… Completely out of my reach, but I have to mention it… it is simply that good.

And one that is completely unfair to include – blend of two discontinued distilleries (Hanyu & Kawasaki) plus impossible to buy – Ichiro’s Malt Houou-uhi (Phoenix) 46.5%.

See how hard it is? I couldn’t even restrict myself to 10!

Come on… share your top 10 (or 12)!! You know you want to!

Slainthe!

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‘Old Fashioned’ – Greenore 18 vs Corsair Triple Smoke

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With all the bans, whispers of prohibition, it is no surprise that the 1920s style “Speakeasy” bars are popping up all over India.

On a recent trip to Gurgaon, I stopped by CND and sampled their insanely good Scotch Sour. It was a toss-up between trying that and an Old Fashioned.

When our recent tasting session in Mumbai featured whiskies that encourage cocktails, thought why not create a little “Speakeasy” atmosphere at home!

20150917_Greenore Old Fashioned

Greenore Single Grain 18 year 43%

Greenore is an Irish single grain whiskey which they say can be enjoyed “neat, over ice, or makes a perfect base for a cocktail.”  Their 18 year only has 4,000 bottles and is deceptive as comes across as quite young.

Here’s the ‘Greenore Old Fashioned‘ recommendation for the 18 year….

  • Muddle together a cube of white sugar, dash of Angostura bitters, tablespoon of soda water
  • Top glass with cubed ice
  • Add whisky and stir slowly
  • Garnish with fresh orange peel, spraying a little on the glass

See their mixologist’s video here for more details.

Triple Smoke Old Fashioned

Triple Smoke Old Fashioned

Corsair Triple Smoke 40%

Corsair is an American small batch fine spirits maker. Their Triple Smoke has a bolder character – think smoky bacon on the nose, chewy coffee and tobacco on the palate with a complex curl of smoke. Rather an interesting base for a cocktail…

Here’s the Corsair Triple Smoke version of an Old Fashioned:

  • 3 oz Triple Smoke Whiskey
  • 1/2 oz Amber Agave
  • 2 dashes old fashioned bitters
  • Combine in a mixing glass, add ice and stir til well chilled
  • Strain into a chilled rocks glass
  • Add large ice cubes
  • Garnish with a bing cherry

So there you have it – two very different whiskies with two contrasting Old Fashioned recipes!

Slainthe!

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Cocktail whiskies anyone?

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Call me a single malt snob, but generally I prefer my whiskies neat.

However, this month’s tasting session featured three countries, three quite distinctly different whiskies from three different companies where a little cocktail mixing is encouraged.

Compass Box Juveniles, Corsair Triple Smoke, Greenore 18 year

Juveniles, Corsair Triple Smoke, Greenore 18 yr

I took a peek at the suggested cocktails… may be worth abandoning my snobbery and experimenting with a few!

Start with the Old Fashioned…

Any favourite whisky cocktails out there with unique whiskies as their base?

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Whisky Lady – August 2015

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Just in case you missed any Whisky Lady posts in August, Everyday Asia has a summary!

Carissa Hickling's avatarEveryday Asia

As slow as July was, August was the opposite for this Whisky Lady!

Because… drum roll… Mumbai be warned! We launched a ‘Whisky Ladies‘ gathering to have some dangerously fun times enjoying our favourite whiskies!

Five fabulous drams for eight amazing whisky women! (Table For One) Five fabulous drams with eight amazing whisky women! (Photo: Table For One)

Yup – you heard it right. We now have our own rocking whisky women’s club in Mumbai! Our inaugural evening featured:

  • Compass Box’s Asyla 40% – Feminine, like a warm summer breeze – fresh and flowery
  • Kilchoman Coull Point 46%* – A little wild ocean spray, then snuggle up with a toasty sweet cinnamon campfire 
  • Nikka ‘Yoichi’ 10 year 45%* – Sipping mid–autumn cider while wandering through a forest
  • Caol Ila 12 year 43% – Good old faithful Islay
  • Tobermoray’s Ledaig 1997 Island 46% (Gordon & MacPhail) – Calmer Island seas, complex, long smoky finish… teases you back for more 

*Tasting notes to…

View original post 268 more words

Airport offerings…

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London should have been a massive ‘score’ for the Whisky Lady… however we had such a hectic thoroughly engaged time, there was narry a chance for whisky. Yeah… I know.. seriously. No excuse really acceptable but there you have it!

So I did what all folks do… checked out the airport duty-free offerings.

Here is the challenge… for us merry malt samplers, we are always seeking something ‘new’. Particularly when traveling, it is our ‘duty’ to help supply something less accessible for our fellow adventurers back home from the world of whisky. Which means we don’t completely dismiss duty-free options, however they tend to not quite satisfy the craving for something ‘different’.

First stop in London Heathrow Terminal 4 was the standard duty-free store with a rather limited selection.

Next stop was the wee World of Whisky outlet in the same terminal. A quick glance confirmed that while there were a few more options, none jumped out as ‘must have!’

The fellow there tried to be helpful however I must have seemed like a complete ‘bevri‘ (that’s a female drunk for those who don’t speak Hindi)… as most ‘interesting’ whiskies he suggested were all previously tried…

So then he started cracking open the distiller samples to tempt with:

  • Mortlach NAS (We’ve tried the 15 before)
  • Cragganmore (Ditto for the 12, however he pulled out another one which didn’t make the cut)
  • Dalmore cigar whisky (Interesting but not worth the price)
  • Aultmore 12 and 21 year (New to our whisky tasting group so a possibility)
  • Kilchoman (I simply didn’t have the heart to tell him we had a terrific whisky dinner pairing with Kilchoman‘s master distiller Anthony Wills and his lovely wife in Mumbai)

With triumph, he then said “I know! I guarantee you haven’t tried this one! Though I don’t have a bottle open to try…”

That’s when he drew my attention the KininVie 17 year. He couldn’t believe I bought a bottle last year in Singapore as it was new to their stock. I confessed that I’ve yet to open it… however thanks to Ronald of Whiskyriffic, there is a wee sample sitting in my cupboard awaiting attention.

I was seriously tempted by the Linkwood 1988 however the price was steep. I’ll probably regret that decision, but there you have it.

You will know what I DID pick up from future reviews. However all in all it either proved our wee whisky tasting group in Mumbai has acquired a reasonable range of whiskies over the years or the selection was particularly limited.

We single malt drinkers can truly be a ‘promiscuous‘ lot, always seeking a new and interesting partner to dance with before moving on to the next twirl around the dance floor with another partner…

Would you agree?

Airport offerings (Whisky Lady)

Airport offerings (Whisky Lady)

Pssst…. Since July I have indeed sampled the KininVie, plus the two I picked up:

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Waffling at Whisky Live

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Most envious of the whisky waffling these lads enjoyed at Whisky Live Australia!

Waffling at Whisky Live.

via Waffling at Whisky Live.

Will Quaich Bar in Singapore quench your whisky cravings?

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The ‘big close’ to my Singapore whisky tasting adventures was my last evening in town – Saturday night – with a fellow Whisky Lady. We had ambitious plans to hit a few different places however after a slow start at her place, then the limitations of my newly twisted ankle, we decided to take a more selective approach.

After a stellar evening earlier in the week at The Auld Alliance and the usual delightful purchasing pit stop at La Maison du Whisky, I was primed for surprises and an opportunity to discover something completely different – in a good way!

After considering :

  • The Secret Mermaid – known for craft American whiskies yet eliminated as shortly off to N America
  • 28 Hong Kong Street – reservations required
  • Pony & Jigger – likely crowded Saturday night
  • B28 – the latest incarnation of the Malt Vault – closed for an indeterminate time…

We finally settled on beginning our evening at Quaich…

Quaich (pronounced Quake) takes its name from a traditional whisky bowl offered as a symbol of friendship. Around since 2006, it is one of the well-known whisky sampling spots of Singapore.
Quaich Bar Singapore (Whisky Lady)

Quaich Bar Singapore (Whisky Lady)

We strolled into a cosy space that conveniently has both an outdoor area for smokers, indoor for non-smokers plus semi-private cigar lounges around the side… in which a couple were (ahem), taking advantage of the seclusion offered.

The whisky menu began with suggested tasting sets then long lists by region.

Excited, I perused the sets, then had a sinking realisation that I’ve sampled just about all the whiskies listed in the them…

Now… I consider myself a novice in the world of whisky, so this did not bode well.

While the overall selection is fantastic by Indian standards (easy to achieve!), clearly one of the pre-set samplers was not going to satisfy my quench for something unique.

So naturally I asked for help from the staff which was… erm… just not on par with my Singapore single malt sampling experiences til date.

Whisky dram (Whisky Lady)

Whisky dram (Whisky Lady)

Now, I’m sure they must get this a lot “I want to try something different!”

And it is not easy to know what someone will enjoy until you have a deeper conversation about experiences til date and preferences… but that’s just it, there wasn’t much of a further probe and well… let’s just say the lass helping us didn’t seem terribly enthusiastic.

I shared my quandary about the sample sets with a sincere request for guidance.

No offer to craft a modified set, and in the dance to determine what may be of interest, my queries lead to her frankly admitting that she hadn’t been permitted to sample most of those I asked about, and hence could not speak to their character. Hmm…

Not that it should impact the equation, however, I shared a bit more background:
  • I live in India and appreciate the range available in Singapore
  • Am part of a whisky tasting group in Mumbai and
  • Share our tasting notes in a blog on whisky

All to provide context as to why I was so keen to try something less accessible and open to recommendations.

Normally, this would be the point during which other support would be brought in, if needed…

Off she went and came back suggesting the Glenglassaugh Torfa which, indeed, I’ve not tried. Unfortunately, it was not an entirely positive experience and we did not even finish our whisky. My friend opted for the Hazelburn 12 year – smart choice!

A bit of India at Quaich Bar, Singapore (Whisky Lady)

India at Quaich Bar, Singapore (Whisky Lady)

What amused me the most was spotting two bottles of India’s Paul John proudly displayed… with one bottle clearly already empty!

It could be that I just happened to get someone newer to the team or perhaps I wasn’t able to articulate my expectation well enough. However, would I go to Quaich again? Doubtful unless there is a specific draw…

What stood out was staff pride in their new Quaich bar in Myanmar – “Do come visit us in Myanmar! Here is the card!” I simply wish that level of passion had extended to the collection right there in Singapore.

In our case, the evening ended on a high note as we gave up on further whisky adventures in favour of going straight to BluJaz to catch the end of a friend’s set. There the whisky choices may be limited, but the price is as reasonable as one gets in Singapore and best of all, by the time we reached, the band was smoking. I opted for a Macallan and considered my Singapore trip overall a success.

Slainthe!

Quiach Bar is located at 390A Havelock Rd, Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Singapore 169664. 

La Maison du Whisky, Singapore

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Most trips to Singapore with a bit of time include a stop at La Maison du Whisky for an enjoyable hour spent chatting, sampling and slowly deciding which whisky will make the final ‘cut’ for the journey home to Mumbai.

This June 2015 trip was no exception.

La Maison du Whisky, Singapore (Whisky Lady)

La Maison du Whisky, Singapore (Whisky Lady)

Over the years, the gents there have gained a sense of what we enjoy, what will peak our interest and also what we’ve managed to acquire by other means.

  • Last trip, I showed a spreadsheet tracking our tasting sessions
  • This trip, I could happily show this blog record of our sampling adventures

I’ve shared before how much I appreciate a chance to discover, discuss, sniff and sip before making a final purchasing choice. I prefer to take my time, so deliberately pop by late afternoon when there is more ‘trade traffic’ than ‘customer traffic.’ After all, it isn’t such a bad place to hang around and invariably those that do wander in will lead to an interesting conversational turn or two about a shared passion – whisky and fine spirits.

Our goal this time was:

  • Something that cannot be so easily obtained in London far cheaper… given that I would shortly be traveling there
  • No repeats of previous whiskies
  • At least one in the more mature and complex range
  • As always, an unpredictable ‘twist’ is appreciated

I shared how we enjoyed the Ledaig from an earlier trip and confessed we hadn’t yet opened the one selected late 2014 as it was trumped by my Japanese quartet from Tokyo.

Diego started with a rum, just because he recalled that the Tapatio Excelencia Gran Reserva Extra Anejo tequila was such a hit!

Clarin Vaval 52.5% – Small batch Haiti clear rum from Cavallon village, double distilled from ‘Madame Meuze’ cane sugar in 2013. It was a delightful discovery with overripe fruit, hot, tropical and distinctly different. It was like sunshine in a bottle.

Clarin Vaval (Whisky Lady)

Clarin Vaval (Whisky Lady)

We then moved on to two Compass Box whiskies:

Glasgow Blend (Whisky Lady)

Glasgow Blend (Whisky Lady)

We discussed several other whiskies – including suggestions for my London ‘wish list’. I was sorely tempted by this Hazelburn 8 year 1st bottling…

Hazelburn 8 year (Whisky Lady)

Hazelburn 8 yr (Whisky Lady)

In addition to the whiskies sampled, I’ll admit to sniffing more before finalising my selection for this trip…

What did I pick?

It was the Bunnahabhain 26 years.. part of a special Signatory Session held in February 2016:

Previous reviews sourced via La Maison du Whisky Singapore:

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

200 years of Ardbeg – Interview with Bill Lumsden

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May around the world was full of official “Ardbeg Day” celebrations commemorating 200 years of Ardbeg.

Fans of peaty Islay whiskies at some point or the other find their way to Ardbeg. Many keep coming back. You can usually spot an Ardbeg poking around in my whisky cabinet – currently it is the Uigeadail.

Ardbeg 200

I thought what better timing to share a short extract from an interview with Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation and Whisky Stock, The Glenmorangie Company in Delhi on 10 April 2015 for Man’s World India. While primarily the interview focused on Glenmorangie, we did chat briefly about its peatier cheekier cousin Ardbeg.

CH: May will be the 200th anniversary of Ardbeg and you have plans to launch a new whisky. Tell us more?

BL: Ahh.. the land of the badgers… The 1st product has already been launched – Perpetuum – with the committee release already out.

The idea is that the distillery has a very checkered history. It has been opened and closed and opened and neglected until LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) took it over. So the idea is that in addition to looking back on what has happened in the last 200 years we are looking ahead to the next 200 years. And we want the distillery to remain open and in production in perpetuity. So that is where the name has come from.

Basically I’ve put together a mélange of lots of different cask types, lots of different styles of Ardbeg that have been made over the years. I tasted it in Sydney on Wednesday and I thought, to be honest, I’m generally my own worst critic but I’m quite happy with how this one has worked out.

We are also going to do another bottling for Ardbeg – a higher end bottling. I’ve already put together a recipe for that. It will be very limited. It will not be a cheap and regret I can’t tell you any more details on that as there hasn’t been a pre-release yet.

CH: Let’s talk about the Committee with now over 100,000 members – its role and future?

BL: The committee has grown to such an extent now with these limited bottlings that inevitably there are people who are going to be disappointed.

I’m not 100% sure about the future direction of the committee. It was formed to make sure that the doors of the distillery never close again and its been very successful in that. So like I say, we are reviewing the committee to see how to take it to the next stage.

Bill Lumsden (Ardbeg Blogger Vault)

Bill Lumsden (Ardbeg Blogger Vault)

Pssstt…. Perpetuum is available at the distillery and also online (though apparently demand ‘broke‘ the website temporarily).

Those lucky enough to sample a bottle – slainthe! For the rest of us – raise a toast with your favourite available Ardbeg and celebrate continued access to this impish Islay distillery!

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MW Interview with Dr Bill Lumsden

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It is finally out!! Last month I had the pleasure of interviewing for Man’s World the one and only Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation and Whisky Stock for The Glenmorangie Company in Delhi. There is a certain delicious irony about a “Whisky Lady” invading a “Man’s World.”

We had a one-on-one and covered oodles of topics. The published interview touched on:

  • 30 year perspective on the industry
  • Taking risks with wood and inadvertently taking on the Scotch Whisky Association
  • Experiments with unexpected results such as the Elanta
  • Jim Murray‘s comments on Scottish whisky needing to ‘wake-up‘ to the threat of world whiskies
  • Trends in how whisky is consumed
  • Ardbeg’s 200th year celebration whisky Perpetuum

A rather unreadable scanned version is here…

2015-05-MW-Bill Lumsden interview Carissa Hickling

For those in India – go pick up a copy of the May 2015 Man’s World!

For those not in India – patience. Perhaps one of these days the interview will be released online…

Man's World May 2015 Cover

For a glimpse of the whisky and food pairing at The Oberoi, Delhi check out Glenmorangie Evening.

I’m also planning blog versions of a few gems different from the MW interview. So stay tuned!!

Psst – Full interview now available here!

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