My Dear Friends & Esteemed Guests,
Rochester’s version of Summer must finally be upon us. The rain has begun to let up, the first East End Fest was just held, and an abundance of competition for our attention has begun its depreciatory effect on attendance at our tastings. I am personally looking forward to being able to spend more time shooting for birds (in either the clay or one-under par varieties).
Foreknowledge of declining summer attendance is precisely why we turned our attentions, for the current series, back to the basics and to rebuilding The List [note that the List is posted on the website, which you can get to via the links below]. We began in April using an alphabetical approach, and continued this in May with our tasting of a “D” and two “G’s”.
Our first whisky was the Dalmore 12 year old. Dalmore (Gaelic for “the big meadowland”) is a Highland whisky produced in the north of Scotland overlooking the Cromarty Firth. It’s just about 20 minutes south of Glenmorangie and, in many ways, is similar in style. Dalmore’s still houses are anything but the norm. Their stills are flat-topped and their lyne arms extend out the side of their stills, each of which is a different size. These apparent oddities are the drivers of Dalmore’s complexity; and it was clear in our tasting that this complexity is much appreciated. The sherry casks used to mature the whisky were evident in the mahogany color and sweetness on the nose. Oranges, marmalade, and warm spices came through clearly. The palate was rich and fruity, perhaps fruitcake, with plenty of citrus and a hint of vanilla. Dalmore took the night for us, scoring a 7.5 overall.
The next two drams have graced our table before, long ago, during our “Battle of the Glens”. Together they are the number 1 and number 2 selling whiskies in the world and are to be honored for having opened the world markets to Single Malt Scotch. Without these fellows, we would not be meeting, and I would not be sharing this newsletter! That said, they did not perform as well overall as one would expect, though a few of our attendees scored them quite highly.
The Glenlivet 12 year old (Gaelic for “Glen of the River Livet”, Livet being the Gaelic for “a smooth place”) was up first. The first licensed distillery, and only allowed to be called THE Glenlivet, is the number one selling whisky in the US, and number 2 in the world. It is a full bodied whisky, clearly made to appeal to a broad consumer segment, no (or damned little) peatiness, and aged primarily in oak. Clean and simple on the nose, showing some maltiness and a hint of sweet spice, it is clearly a delicate malt. We found a light sweetness and plenty of vanilla, honey, and citrus on the palate. The Glenlivet earned only a 6.3 overall, placing it last in our assessment.
Our final peg of the evening (well, the last one we officially tasted anyway) was the Glenfiddich 12 year old. Glenfiddich (Gaelic for “Valley of the Deer”) is the number 1 selling whisky in the world; it was opened in 1886 and is one of the very rare distilleries to remain, to this day, in the hands of the family of its founder, William Grant - the man who, five years after opening Glenfiddich, opened the Balvenie on the same plot of land. Glenfiddich owes much of its success to being the only distillery that did not cut back production during the US Prohibition - they believed the market would explode once Prohibition was lifted, and they were right! The Glenfiddich comes to us much as the Glenlivet did: medium-bodied, clear and clean, fresh and lightly fragrant, malty. It is distinctive and well balanced, with rich fruits (we remarked that the Glenlivet showed more citric fruitiness, whereas the Glenfiddich were softer, more sugary fruits; pears or peaches). A trace of peat arrives in the finish. We scored the Glenfiddich a 7.3.
I leave the country for a week beginning tomorrow, so will be incommunicado until just before our next tasting. I am planning on offering, for a slight extra price, a more advanced whisky along with the standard slate during our next tasting. If you are be interested, be sure to attend - and if you can, let me know of your interest in advance so K---- and I can make the appropriate arrangements!
Foreknowledge of declining summer attendance is precisely why we turned our attentions, for the current series, back to the basics and to rebuilding The List [note that the List is posted on the website, which you can get to via the links below]. We began in April using an alphabetical approach, and continued this in May with our tasting of a “D” and two “G’s”.
Our first whisky was the Dalmore 12 year old. Dalmore (Gaelic for “the big meadowland”) is a Highland whisky produced in the north of Scotland overlooking the Cromarty Firth. It’s just about 20 minutes south of Glenmorangie and, in many ways, is similar in style. Dalmore’s still houses are anything but the norm. Their stills are flat-topped and their lyne arms extend out the side of their stills, each of which is a different size. These apparent oddities are the drivers of Dalmore’s complexity; and it was clear in our tasting that this complexity is much appreciated. The sherry casks used to mature the whisky were evident in the mahogany color and sweetness on the nose. Oranges, marmalade, and warm spices came through clearly. The palate was rich and fruity, perhaps fruitcake, with plenty of citrus and a hint of vanilla. Dalmore took the night for us, scoring a 7.5 overall.
The next two drams have graced our table before, long ago, during our “Battle of the Glens”. Together they are the number 1 and number 2 selling whiskies in the world and are to be honored for having opened the world markets to Single Malt Scotch. Without these fellows, we would not be meeting, and I would not be sharing this newsletter! That said, they did not perform as well overall as one would expect, though a few of our attendees scored them quite highly.
The Glenlivet 12 year old (Gaelic for “Glen of the River Livet”, Livet being the Gaelic for “a smooth place”) was up first. The first licensed distillery, and only allowed to be called THE Glenlivet, is the number one selling whisky in the US, and number 2 in the world. It is a full bodied whisky, clearly made to appeal to a broad consumer segment, no (or damned little) peatiness, and aged primarily in oak. Clean and simple on the nose, showing some maltiness and a hint of sweet spice, it is clearly a delicate malt. We found a light sweetness and plenty of vanilla, honey, and citrus on the palate. The Glenlivet earned only a 6.3 overall, placing it last in our assessment.
Our final peg of the evening (well, the last one we officially tasted anyway) was the Glenfiddich 12 year old. Glenfiddich (Gaelic for “Valley of the Deer”) is the number 1 selling whisky in the world; it was opened in 1886 and is one of the very rare distilleries to remain, to this day, in the hands of the family of its founder, William Grant - the man who, five years after opening Glenfiddich, opened the Balvenie on the same plot of land. Glenfiddich owes much of its success to being the only distillery that did not cut back production during the US Prohibition - they believed the market would explode once Prohibition was lifted, and they were right! The Glenfiddich comes to us much as the Glenlivet did: medium-bodied, clear and clean, fresh and lightly fragrant, malty. It is distinctive and well balanced, with rich fruits (we remarked that the Glenlivet showed more citric fruitiness, whereas the Glenfiddich were softer, more sugary fruits; pears or peaches). A trace of peat arrives in the finish. We scored the Glenfiddich a 7.3.
I leave the country for a week beginning tomorrow, so will be incommunicado until just before our next tasting. I am planning on offering, for a slight extra price, a more advanced whisky along with the standard slate during our next tasting. If you are be interested, be sure to attend - and if you can, let me know of your interest in advance so K---- and I can make the appropriate arrangements!
Sláinte,
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