Reflections In A Glass of Whisky

So I was sitting there with a dram of Aberfeldy 17 year old single malt Scotch whisky the other evening, looking at the bottle. This surprisingly intricate midlands single malt was bottled by Gordon and MacPhail, one of several independent bottlers involved in the whisky trade. I realized that most people don’t really understand what single malt Scotch whisky is for.

There are roughly 120 different single malt distilleries scattered around Scotland’s highlands, Midlands, Lowlands and assorted Islands only about half of which bottle what they produce under their own names. Many of these are owned by the same parent companies—Diageo, United Distillers, Allied-Domeqc, that sort of thing (and these companies keep buying and selling each other’s assets). Now most of these companies produce more than a few different brands of Blended Scotch whisky, your Cutty Sark, Chivas Regal, and Johnnie Walker blends to name the best known. Single malt whiskies exist to service these blends.

The flavor profile of the Johnnie Walker blends derives from the different single malts used as “top dressing”. The base of the whisky is single grain spirits, which is produced in column stills, usually in the Lowlands, from whatever grain is in surplus at the time. This makes for a cheaper base. The single malt scotch whiskies then come into play, to add flavors and dimensions to the blends. In the case of Johnnie Walker the most prominent single malts used are Clynelish, Talisker and Cardhu.

Wait a minute, you say, Cardhu? I thought that didn’t exist anymore. Aha, says I, the distillery does exist and it still produces single malt whisky, but it doesn’t produce enough to service the demand for the Johnnie Walker blends and still have some to bottle as a single. The parent company tried to get around this by bottling a vatted malt under the Cardhu name, but it created such an uproar in the whisky world that the plan was shelved.

Now this brings me back to my bottle of Aberfeldy. It was bottled at cask strength, 113 US proof, so I added a bit of water to it, and it was just lovely. The only way you’ll see Aberfeldy, or many other smaller producing single malt Scotches, here in the US is in an independent bottling. When there is a surplus of a malt, barrels are sold off, and there is a great trade in these. When there is a shortage, some rare malts will become harder to find. There are many distilleries (Rosebank, Dallas Dhu, Port Ellen and Brora, to mention the most deeply lamented) that have been torn down. However, there are even some casks of these gems floating around, and the only way we’ll see them is if an independent decides to put it in a bottle. Some of the leading bottlers are Cadenhead, Signatory, Murray McDavid, MacKillop’s Choice and the aforementioned Gordon and MacPhail. These folks provide a wonderful service of bringing drams to our glasses that we might otherwise never get to taste. We should raise a glass to them!

France's Hidden Jewels

Sometimes our reputation precedes us. This can lead to an embarrassment of riches. Yesterday evening Denis Lesgourgues, the owner of the single largest estate in Armagnac, dropped by our store. Chateau de Laubade holds more land than any other vine grower in the region and has since 1974. They produce a lovely VSOP Armagnac bottled after 6 to 10 years which could legally qualify as an XO), and an XO Armagnac bottled between 15 and 25 years old. These are lovely, refined spirits, distilled predominately from Folle Blanche (although there is Bacco and Ugni Blanc as well). He also poured several single vintage Armagnacs (1982, 1977 and 1952). These older brandies were made mostly from Bacco, which they feel age better over the long term.

One thing that happened, while our visitor was here, was that this young Frenchman just marveled at our selection of Armagnacs. One thing that he pointed out is what tremendous value we’re offering, rather accidentally, on these lovely brandies. We made our purchases, for the most part, when the dollar was stronger, so our prices are much lower than, perhaps, they ought to be. This was certainly nice to hear.

About five minutes after the Monsieur Lesgourges left us, Herve Pellerin from the Calvados house of Lecompte stopped by. He had been prompted by our good friend Charles Neal, who told him he had to see our store. Before he started marveling at our Calvados selection, we told him about our previous visitor. “Denis was here? I must call him!” he said, breaking out his cell phone and tried to call him, but apparently was exiled right to voice-mail.

Herve poured his 2 year old Calvados, a brilliantly fresh and lively spirit that smelled like an apple orchard in early Fall. Sadly, his Calvados isn’t yet available in the US, but we can expect to see it sometime next month. We love Calvados around here, and we can’t wait until it turns up.

Good Ole Bolly

Before I start telling you about other ways in which we get spoiled in this business, I do think you should know that it is hard work. We have the days when 200 cases of champagne drop on us. In this virtual world, one of the things we tend to forget is that wine, champagne, Scotch whisky, Armagnac, Cognac, Calvados, even vodka, have to get here physically. That means that a truck drives up to our warehouse or our street door, and it get unloaded, and we have to put these things away. That means lifting 50lb. cases (champagne), 40 lb cases (almost anything else) and sometimes building stacks that are taller than we are. You can break more than a sweat doing this sort of thing.

Feel sorry for me yet? Good.

Now, let me tell you about lunch yesterday.

Champagne Bollinger had sent their marketing director to town. 20 of the elite (ah, shucks) wine professionals in town were invited to lunch at a restaurant so hot as to not even have been reviewed. The lunch was lovely, with designer ravioli and a choice of albacore or duck (I’ll tell, I had the duck. I always do). The champagnes were as lovely, if not lovelier than the food.

Bollinger is, of course, a grande marquee champagne. That means it is one of the top houses, and has been for more than a century. They make a big, bold and powerful bubbly, with lots of yeast, toast and ripe red fruit on the nose, all inlaid on a backbone of steel. The reason for the steeliness and in general the size, of Bollinger Champagne is that the wine is based mostly on Pinot Noir.

Champagne Bollinger, immortalized in Britain’s “Absolutely Fabulous”, makes a brilliantly bold non-vintage known as Special Cuvee. Laced with bread dough and toast, along with hints of dark-hearted fruit, there are few other non-vintage champagnes that show off the power that “Bolly” brings.

We also got to taste the 1999 Grande Annee, the vintaged champagne that Bollinger puts out. Still tightly wound, it showed itself off like a snake, teasing you in with hissing toast and light apple fruit and then making a leap into the steel of the back palate. This was a lovely companion to the spearmint and seasonal green ravioli with a citrus based sauce. We also got to revisit the 1996 Bollinger R.D. which is just the 1996 Grande Annee that has been sitting on its lees for several more years. The depth and complexity of this wine was a lovely match for the duck.

Two lessons to take away here: We work hard, physically, and earn these occasional rewards. And Pinot Noir makes for a terrifically food-friendly champagne!

An Afternoon with Mr. Park

Sometimes this job is very nice. Yesterday afternoon, just after lunchtime, Dominic Park walked in the store. Mr. Park is the British owner of the Cognac house, Maison Park, and he brought something interesting for us to try.

He had a barrel sample of 1932 vintage Maison Park Cognac. This was at cask strength, which after all that time was only about 84 proof (42% abv), unadulterated with caramel coloring or boisé. It was a beautiful experience and a privilege to taste.

What’s interesting, though, is that Maison Park doesn't bottle this brandy by itself. It serves as a component part of their Vieille Grande Champagne Premier Cru bottling. Mr. Park didn't think there was enough acid or alcohol left for a balanced drink. We agreed, although reluctantly, after considering the beauty of the Premier Cru bottling.

It reminds me of another experience with another Cognac producer from Pierre Ferrand. They poured some 1914 vintage Cognac for us to try. It was history in a glass, and fascinating. But then they poured some of their Ancestrale blend, which was composed of brandies from 1928, 1929 and 1931. The difference was astonishing! The depth and complexity that the multi-vintage blend was just riveting.

What this leads us to believe is that a great deal of the art in Cognac is in knowing which brandies will marry together to offer the kind of experience that such a luxurious drink should offer.

Heidsieck-Monopole Champagne Tasting

What a night, it was so great to see everyone. Our annual Champagne tasting was just fabulous!

Here are some pictures Karen took. We have to say that the 1996 Heidsieck Monopole was amazing and who can forget the 1998 Rose, tre elegance!