Time for Whisky's Last Minute Christmas Whisky Gift Guide 2020

It's been a while, 5 years in fact, since we last did a "Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide". This year I've received so many questions about which whiskies people should buy as gifts for their family/friends/colleagues/other, I figured it was time for the next instalment.

Rather than base it on price range, I've stuck with the same formula as 2015's guide - 5 categories, 5 whiskies, but for 2020, with three new categories.

If you've left it to the last minute to grab the whisky lover(s) in your life a gift, hopefully this is of some help. 

Note: For this guide I've tried to keep the spirits to those that are relatively widely available - ideally in both HK and Australia, so for that reason you won't find esoteric single casks, indies, or other whiskies that you or I might typically enjoy outside OB ranges. This is a "last minute" gift guide, after all!


1) "The recipient is a whisky lover. I'm not, but I want to get them something that shows I did some research."

The whisky: GlenDronach 18 year old

Why: 5 years ago, we chose GlenDronach 15 for this category - a great dram. Since then, it's been discontinued and re-released, and whilst it's still a great dram, it's actually 15 years old now (as opposed to 5 years ago, when it was likely significantly older), and made up of both Oloroso and PX-matured whisky. Whilst that's no bad thing, the Oloroso-matured 18yo is, in my opinion, the sweet spot now, and in today's market is one of the few whiskies I'd still call incredible value. 

Prices are rising, but for now, it's one of the best "bang for your buck" whiskies out there.

Where and how much? $1,050HKD from Dram Good Stuff or £97.94 from Master of Malt. Seemingly out of stock across Australia, unfortunately.

Want to know more?: You can read all our previous thoughts and tasting notes on GlenDronach's whiskies here.

2) "I have no idea what they like. I want something safe and reliable."

The whisky: Balvenie 12yo DoubleWood

Why: 5 years later, The Balvenie (a Speyside favourite from William Grant & Sons) continues to be a fantastic entry-level dram, and still to this day, I've never met anyone who hasn't like it. The Balvenie produce elegant, handcrafted, enjoyable whiskies that at the same time are accessible and won't break the bank. 

Where and how much? $89.90AUD from Cambridge Cellars, $550HKD from Dram Good Stuff or £39.95 from Master of Malt

Want to know more?: We've covered plenty of Balvenie stories and tasting notes in the past, but you can read our notes on the 12yo DoubleWood specifically here.

From instagram.com/timeforwhisky

3) "I want to buy a whisky that shows I'm ahead of the curve."

The whisky: Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky

Why: Australian whisky continues to rise in prominence (increasingly, globally so) and it's hard to not be excited by what Archie Rose are doing in Sydney. We first visited Archie Rose and spent a day making some whisky back in 2015, and whilst they didn't actually have any whisky released back then, they do now - two "core" releases in fact, Rye Malt and Single Malt.

Both are good (and very well-priced at $119AUD), but the Rye Malt we find especially interesting, as Rye whiskies typically aren't made using malted rye. It's also incredibly delicious and complex considering it's young age.

Where and how much? $119AUD. Whilst Archie Rose are sold out of both at the moment, options exist via The Whisky List. Sadly not yet available in HK.

Want to know more?: Read both Hendy and my tasting notes on the Rye Malt here.

4) "I want to get them something slightly left-field, but it still has to be a great whisky."

The whisky: Highland Park Cask Strength

Why: Buying your recipient a regular 12yo Highland Park would show you know good whisky, but played it safe (like the afore-mentioned Balvenie, "HP12" is a widely-loved dram). The Cask Strength shows you took a risk - although not much of one, as it's a delicious whisky, and very refined considering its 63.3% ABV.

Where and how much? $680HKD from King's Wine Cellar or £54.75 from Master of Malt (sold out at the moment)

Want to know more?: See here for our tasting notes.

5) "Money is no object and I want to show the recipient I really like/love/appreciate them by spending a whole stack of money on them."

The whisky: Diageo's "Prima & Ultima" full set

Why: If money is no object, why limit yourself to just one bottle? Diageo's "Prima & Ultima" set contains 8 bottles, ranging in age from 25 to 48 years old, including this 40yo whisky from the closed Port Ellen distillery. I was fortunate enough to taste the whole set recently and there are some great bottles in there...especially the Cragganmore, Caol Ila and Port Ellen.

Where and how much? $223,970 HKD for the full set of 8 bottles, available direct from MHDHK.

Want to know more?: See here for our tasting notes on the 40yo 1979 Port Ellen from the series - arguably the most sought after bottle of the eight.

6) "I want to get them a spirit...but they've got more whisky than they know what to do with. What's a good 'malternative'?"

The spirit: Black Tot Rum.

Why: Good rum is having something of a moment, with several whisky lovers starting to embrace the spirit, and real efforts being made to introduce more legitimacy and structure to the labelling and categorisation of rum. Black Tot is a well-priced blended rum with delicious notes which works equally well neat or in a cocktail.

Where and how much? $660HKD from Timeless & Tasty.

Want to know more?: See our thoughts here.

7) "I'm really not comfortable to buy a bottle of whisky out of fear they'll already have it, or won't enjoy it. What else can I get?"

The gift: Membership to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Why: Stronger than ever after 37 years, "the society" bottle single cask whisky and spirits from a range of distilleries, often showing a unique (and typically delicious) side to a distillery most won't have seen. More than that though, they host fantastic tastings and events, and have built a real (and very welcoming) community amongst whisky lovers and newbies alike.

Where and how much? $800HKD for HK Membership, $120AUD for Australian membership.

Want to know more? We've covered plenty of SMWS events over the years - here.

8) "I just want to get them something FUN!"

The gift: Glenmorangie's "A Tale of Cake"

Why: It's a whisky called "A Tale of Cake"! It's got a fun label, and it's actually very, very tasty.

Where and how much? $1050HKD from Dram Good Stuff, $169.99AUD from Nick's.

Want to know more? Check out my recent tasting notes here.

Cheers and Merry Christmas,

Martin.

The Balvenie x Blue Butcher Valentine's Day Dinner: "An Edible Story of Whisky Making"

For Valentine's Day this year The Balvenie have teamed up with Sheung Wan institution (and temple to all things meat) Blue Butcher to bring diners an "Edible Story of Whisky Making" - a 4-course menu featuring Balvenie-infused ingredients echoing 4 stages of whisky-making. Paired with 4 whiskies from The Balvenie (12 Doublewood, 14 Caribbean, 17 Doublewood and 21 PortWood), the menu is available only on Valentine's Day and costs just $520HKD/head.

A few nights ago I had the pleasure of trying two dishes from the menu, paired with two drams of The Balvenie. First was The Balvenie & Earl Grey smoked salmon with creme fraiche, charred eggplant, roasted nuts and puffed barley paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood Aged 12 Years. Designed to echo the malting process, the dish contained crunchy barley pieces which made for a nice textural counterpoint to the soft salmon, as well as providing a slight nod to The Balvenie being one of the few Scottish distilleries still with its own malting floor.

Next was the gargantuan The Balvenie 21yrs aged Grass Fed Australian sirloin with Hollaindase sauce and aged fat roasted potatoes, paired with The Balvenie 21 PortWood. Easily a whole meal in its own right, the theme here was "maturation" - with the sirloin having been aged in Blue Butcher's special drying room for extra rich flavour. The Balvenie 21 PortWood might seem like an interesting choice (it's more commonly paired with dessert), although it worked well here, bringing out a sweetness to the meat.

Whilst we didn't try the other two courses (the full menu can be found below), what we did try was more than enough to confirm that this meal should make any whisky-loving couple happy, and at $520HKD/head? Bargain.

Those looking to further the whisky-theme for Valentine's Day could do worse than gifting a bottle of The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood too - which for a limited time and at certain retailers will come with a solid cologne "inspired by the key notes in The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood". Don't worry, it doesn't make you smell like you've bathed in whisky, but it does have nice fruity honey notes.

The Valentine’s Day menu is only available on the 14th February 2019. Reservations can be made via e-mail to reservations@bluebutcher.com. TimeforWhisky.com attended as a guest of Telford Wine & Spirits and Maximal Concepts.

Cheers,

Martin.

Full menu (from press release):

"The first step is called Malting, introducing the starter The Balvenie & Earl Grey smoke salmon with creme fraiche, chard eggplant, roasted nuts and puffed barley paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood Aged 12 Years. The barley grain is stepped in water, germination will turn the starch in the barley grain into sugar. The Balvenie’s malt men will regularly turn the barley by hand using a wooden shovel to ensure the grains germinate equally. It is one of the few distilleries to still operate a malting floor.

 The second step is Fermentation, using Buffala burrata with kalamata tapenade, charred baby fennel, fermented melon and arugula. Post malting, the barley is dried in the kiln then milled. Hot water is added 3 times to extract out the sugar and yeast is added to the cooled down sugar solution. The fermentation process will produce a liquid with alcohol content of around 6-8% known as “wash”. The fermented melon exact echoes the fermentation process in whisky making. This crafted dish is a perfect match with The Balvenie Caribbean Cask Aged 14 Years. To refresh the taste buds, the third step is Distillation. The “wash” is distilled 2 times in copper pot stills into a new make spirit of 60-70% alcohol content. The shape of the pot stills in is a key contributing factor to style of the whisky. The Balvenie employs its own team of coppersmiths to maintain this important asset. Refreshing Citrus Zest Sorbet is paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood Ages 17 years to set your dinner into the spotlight of the main course. The sorbet is created using a distillation process to extract citrus concentrate.

 Maturation is the forth step of whisky production, and Blue is demonstrating this important process with The Balvenie 21yrs aged Grass Fed Australian sirloin with Hollaindase sauce and aged fat roasted potatoes. The meat aging process is carefully monitored by the Chef just as The Balvenie’s Malt Master, David Stewart MBE watches over his whiskies. The new make spirit is put into oak barrels for maturation. The type of casks selected for maturation is the key factor which affects the flavours of the whisky. Each year around 2% evaporates, as some calls it “Angel’s Share”. David is skilled at using different types of wood to create unique flavours for each expression of The Balvenie. The succulent steak is paired with The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years to enhance the savoury experience.

 To make a great ending to this romantic night, Blue presents Dulce De Leche Rocher with apple pie and The Balvenie infused chocolate sauce with hazelnut on top. Which will definitely wrap up the dinner with a sweet touch, enjoying The Balvenie PortWood Black Cherry Flip specially created by our in house mixologist."

Tasted #400: Balvenie Fifty (50) Year Old (Cask #4570)

In keeping with the theme of reserving the hundredth tasting posts for rare and/or old whiskies (#200 was a 60yo Glenfarclas, #300 was a 65yo Macallan), "Tasted" post #400 is a 50yo OB Balvenie, bottled by the distillery in 2014.

Unfortunately I didn't win the lotto, so I didn't go and drop $47,000AUD on a bottle. This (very, very generous) sample bottle came courtesy of a (very, very generous) benefactor. Often when I have a rare, old or expensive whisky (sample or bottle), I'll try to save it for a special occasion. With this one though, that occasion was "I have a Balvenie 50!" and it was tasted that first night. It was a Monday.

One of two 50 year old Balvenies released in 2014, this was the less sherried of the two, and was distilled on 28th May 1963, with only 128 bottles produced.


Balvenie Fifty Year Old Cask #4570 (45.9% ABV, 50yo, Speyside, Scotland, Cask #4570, $47,000AUD)

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Colour: Dirty dark copper-gold (awesome).

Nose: A slightly OBE-like mustiness at first, quickly developing into rich citrus (tangerines primarily), with deep earthy oak and some sweeter perfumed notes. Cranberries, molasses, spiced honey, cinnamon all show too. After some time, there's some milk chocolate and peanut butter cups.

Palate: Slightly earthy / asparagus notes at first. Then spiced honey, vanilla, sweet oak. Some whole ripe oranges and spicy cloves, then a toffee sweetness with some creamed honey.

Finish: Medium to long in length. Sherry-soaked pears, more cloves, lots of cinnamon, and some oaky tannins at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not a sherry bomb, nor an oak bomb. Yes there's noticeable oak there (the whisky did spend 50 years in the stuff..) but its not overpowering, and on the whole all the notes are incredibly balanced. A beautifully made whisky that has stood the test of time.

Thanks again to the incredibly generous whisky legend who sent me this sample all the way from the UK.

Cheers,

Martin.

The Balvenie Dinner at Hong Kong Parkview with David Stewart and Kelsey McKechnie

One of the benefits of being a whisky lover in HK (as I've mentioned a few times) is the steady stream of international whisky personalities who pass through. William Grant & Sons are no exception, with a visit by Glenfiddich Global Band Ambassador Ian Millar in 2014, The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart in 2015 and former global brand ambassador (and the funniest man in whisky) Sam Simmons in 2016.

Fast forward to 2018, and The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart again came to town (for one night only), this time with Kelsey McKechnie who had only just been announced as new apprentice Malt Master weeks earlier.

The pair had come to Hong Kong for a Balvenie pairing dinner, held at Hong Kong Parkview's Ming Yuen restaurant, in conjunction with Parkview's brilliant whisky bar and Telford Wine & Spirits.

For a select few media, the event actually kicked off a little earlier in the evening, with a tasting of The Balvenie 40yo kindly sponsored by the Parkview's brilliant Parkview Whisky Bar. I'll save the tasting notes for a separate post (suffice to say, it was a special dram indeed), along with an even older Balvenie post I've been saving...

Kicking off with a rich complex cocktail made with The Balvenie 12 Doublewood, sherry and coffee, as guest arrived we chatted with David and Kelsey, and collectively wondered if they'd make their flights the next day, given the impending typhoon (subsequently the strongest in HK's history).

Admiring the drams laid out, it was clear we were in for a good night, with the following on the menu:

• The Balvenie 12 Doublewood
• The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask
• The Balvenie 17 DoubleWood
• The Balvenie 21 PortWood Finish
• The Balvnie 30 ("Thirty")

After taking our seats, David gave a brief introduction, reflecting on his incredible 56 years (and counting) with William Grant & Sons, and talking us through the DoubleWood's 25 year history, starting with the first bottling in 1983 (coincidentally, recently marked by a limited-release 25yo DoubleWood). David, known for his pioneering ways in the field of cask finishing ("ACEing" in some circles), explained the first four whiskies were finished (Sherry, Rum, Sherry, Port), whereas the 30 is a marriage of 1st fill American Oak casks, refill American Oak casks and 1st fill European Oak casks.

Kicking off with Chilled Fresh Abalone (which is actually kind of clever, because Abalone itself doesn't have a lot of flavour, but soaks up other flavours), and then Double Boiled Shi Hu with Sea Conch & Pigeon (soup), both with The Balvenie 12 Doublewood, and then Kurobuta Pork Roll with Teriyaki Sauce, paired with The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask, it was clear the new chef has taken Ming Yuen in a much more interesting and modern direction (presentation-wise), whilst keeping the flavours traditional and delicious. Steph and I had eaten there only once before (it's typically only open to Parkview residents), but this was much, much better than I'd remembered.

Kelsey presented the The Balvenie 17 DoubleWood next, paired with Pan-fried Cod with Passionfruit Jus with each bringing out (or rather, amping up) the sweetness in the other.

It seemed like almost every attendee had brought at least one bottle of their of Balvenie to ask David / Kelsey to sign (I was no exception), and in between courses queues started to form. There were a number of rare and interesting bottles (DoubleWoods from the 80s, TUN 1858s etc..) but none more so than this bottle, brought by Kam from Dram Good Stuff...

Not on tasting, obviously!

(We also learnt that the DCS5 collection is likely to have a 1962 release with an even older age statement - 56 or 57yo!)

Whilst Dessert and whisky pairings are an "easier" match to make, this one was particularly good, with Mango Pudding with Rose Jelly paired with The Balvenie 21 PortWood Finish. David explained the casks for the 21 come from Speyside Cooperage, supplied from Portugal (exact provenance unknown), with about 100 casks used each year and the whisky undergoing a 4 month finish.

The 30yoI figured was deserving of tasting on its own, and will post tasting notes in a separate post shortly. I'd tried the Thirty before and always found it fantastic, but this (more recent) release even more so - a sentiment echoed by friends and others online too, who all agreed it was a great whisky which seems to have recently gotten even better. A truly beautiful dram.

As the dinner wrapped up, those of us who stuck around availed ourselves of a second (and umm, third) dram of our favourites, before heading home with a bottle of DoubleWood 17yo for our troubles. 

A wonderful night spent with great company.

Cheers,

Martin.

Time for Whisky attended the dinner as a guest of Telford and Hong Kong Parkview, and would like to say a massive thanks to all involved. It should be noted that the price of this dinner also included a bottle of The Balvenie 17 DoubleWood.