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."

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.

The Balvenie whisky pairing dinner with Sam Simmons & DCS 1978 launch (Hong Kong)

Back in 2013 we were lucky enough to attend a dinner with The Balvenie's Global Brand Ambassador Sam Simmons - aka "Dr Whisky". The food was great, the whisky was fantastic (especially this one) but more than the food or whisky, Sam made the night a blast by being a genuine, funny, down to earth bloke (who just happens to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of whisky).

It was therefore not even something I had to think about when, two and a half years later, I was asked if I'd like to attend another dinner with Sam, this time in Hong Kong at new bar/restaurant Maison Eight. The answer was instantly a "yes!".

Sam was in town to launch the DCS Compendium, a selection of 25 bottles from The Balvenie to be released (in sets of 5) over the next 5 years, celebrating The Balvenie's five rare crafts and the incredible 54 year tenure of David Stewart, The Balvenie's Malt Master (who himself was in Hong Kong a year ago).

Whilst the entire Compendium Chapter 1 (at a retail price of £28,000) is not available in HK, one of the bottles has been made available - the 37 year old 1978 bottle, limited to a total of 140 bottles (90 to be sold individually).

We (unfortunately but understandably) were not able to taste the 1978, but we did enjoy a fantastic 5 course dinner, with courses paired with The Balvenie 12yo DoubleWood, 14yo Caribbean Cask, 17yo DoubleWood, 21yo PortWood and 30 year old, all of which we examined in-depth here.

Attendees included a mixture of people who had completed the Whisky Ambassador accreditation, and readers of the newly-launched Whisky Magazine HK & Macau (which happens to feature yours truly!)

Sam opened proceedings by explaining the night would be open and informal, and after telling us that "Handcrafted is a lovely BS word", which Sam mentioned he'd also seen used at Pizza Express at HK Airport, we knew we were in for a night without the marketing guff that sometimes accompanies these events.

Sam introduced each course/whisky pairing, always keeping it light and informal, taking input from the audience, and generally just ensuring everyone had a good time. When it comes to entertaining an audience (often with a wide range of whisky knowledge), you'd be hard-pressed to find a brand ambassador who does a better job than Sam.

The first course, grilled Haloumi, asparagus, semi-dried tomatoes and endives was simple yet the perfect entrée. The smokiness from the grilled Haloumi matched very well with the honied notes of The Balvenie DoubleWood 12yo, with the balsamic dressing also pairing nicely.

Next was sautéed forest mushrooms, madeira jus and chives, paired with The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14yo. The sweetness of the rum-finished Balvenie was toned way down with this pairing, with the mushrooms taking the fore and giving the whisky a more earthier, robust characteristic. Interestingly I even got a hint of bananas from the pairing!

Onto the mains and it was Roasted duckling, Armagnac sauce with ratatouille, paired with The Balvenie DoubleWood 17yo. An interesting dish this one, with many commenting they hadn't seen duck done this way before - very different to the usual slices of duck breast you see at restaurants like this.

The duck itself was delicious, though quite gamey. The 17yo DoubleWood toned down the gaminess, while the duck added a mouth-filling viscosity that wasn't there with the whisky on its own. An interesting and unexpected pairing.

Next it was time for dessert (Orange almond cake with "exotic" honey) and what better whisky to pair with a dessert than The Balvenie PortWood 21yo? Many said this was their pairing of the night, with the sweetness of the orange cake complimenting the equally (though differently) sweet notes of the PortWood.

During this course, Sam made the interesting comment that Balvenie don't have a "core" product between 21 and 30yo, so it's a pretty safe bet that most of the PortWood 21yo out there is carrying some much older whisky inside - in some cases even up to 29 years old. Of course we know distilleries do this, but a lot of distilleries have an intermediary core offering between 21 and 30 years old - The Balvenie doesn't (the 25yo single cask and triple cask releases not withstanding).

Last, but certainly not least came the petit fours - chocolate cake and nougat matched with the always-delightful The Balvenie 30 year old. This proved another excellent match, though for me the winners were the first and fourth course pairings.

With the meal finished, Sam stuck around to share a few more drams with attendees (including a bottle of Wolfburn someone had snuck in) - again proving his genuine love of whisky.

All up a hugely enjoyable night - as I knew it would be!

Cheers,
Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com would like to thank Sam and Telford International Co Ltd for the invite to this fantastic dinner.

Kininvie 23 year old Australian Launch party (Tasted #221 - 224) (#101drams)

We have a soft spot for William Grant & Sons here at TimeforWhisky - not only for the great range of whiskies they put out, nor because of the fantastic events they run, but because of the truly awesome people who make up the brand. So it goes without saying that when an invite arrived for the launch of the 23 year old in Sydney, at a time I was actually going to be in Sydney, I was going to be there without hesitation. The fact that it would be the first whisky event that both Hendy and I would cover jointly just made it even better.

Kininvie has been a distillery of personal interest to me for years. Back in 2009 when I was starting my whisky adventures, dad and I toured Glenfiddich, and learnt about Kininvie, which began distilling in 1990 and, at the time of our tour, was only available as a single malt to a select few (distillery workers, or those who paid a pretty penny for a bottle on the secondhand market). When I started my #101drams charitable challenge, a Kininvie had to feature.

Fast forward a few years to 2013, and Kininvie was released as a commercial (albeit still reclusive) single malt. Available as a 17 year old in the travel retail market, and a 23yo (in very limited quantities) in Taiwan, word quietly spread that Glenfiddich and Balvenie had a sibling, which neatly nestled in between the two both physically and in terms of flavour profile.

(I have to be honest here - despite being on my #101drams list, I actually tried Kininvie 23 year old Batch 001 exactly 12 months ago, thanks to the very generous folks at Whisky+Alement in Melbourne, but hadn't yet added the tasting notes to the blog. I've included them at the bottom of this post, along with the Batch #003, which is the release recently launched in Australia.)

The theme of "reclusiveness" was to feature heavily throughout the night, starting with the choice of venue - Magazin. The brainchild of the team behind Grasshopper (Sydney's first Small Bar), the underground private members' bar, located on Darlinghurst's William St, is known (or rather not known) as one of Sydney's most reclusive and exclusive bars. Just don't call it a speakeasy (truly, think classy, futuristic underground cocktail den with a smart layout and quality, modern finishings).

Upon entering the bar, we were handed a delicious Old Fashioned (made with Monkey Shoulder and chocolate bitters), and were warmly greeted by Laura and Mark of William Grant & Sons, who were hosting the night. A brief glance at the menu revealed a few goodies in store - including two single cask Kininvies.

After greetings and our fantastically-chocolatey cocktails, it was time for Laura to introduce the crowd to Kininvie, which William Grant & Sons designed to give grassy and floral notes, to provide a malt whose profile nestled neatly between the fruitier Glenfiddich, and the richer, more honied Balvenie. Laura also explained that Kinivie (whose stillhouse is also physically nestled in between Glenfiddich and Balvenie) means "end of the field", and was a personal favourite of Janet Sheed Roberts, granddaughter of William Grant, and who lived to the ripe old age of 110.

The Kininvie stillhouse - taken during Steph's and my visit to Balvenie in July this year.

Before long, drams were handed out (along with matched canapés) and it was time to start tasting...

Kininvie 1999 single cask American Oak (55.7% ABV, 15 to 16yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Nose: Light and floral, with a slight earthiness.
Palate: Citrusy-zing initially, with some contrasting meaty BBQ notes. Sweet. A drop of water toned down the sweetness and amped up the earthy notes.
Finish: Long, meaty and earthy
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. It's pretty special to be able to try a Kininvie, let alone a single cask Kininvie. Off to a good start!


Kininvie 1990 single cask European Oak ex-sherry cask (59% ABV, 24 to 25yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Nose: A lovely sherry bomb. Rich red berries and Christmas cake, with some hints of furniture polish and the same earthiness from the 1999.
Palate: Citrusy still, but more oranges and tangerines this time. Still very earthy. Cherries and some cocoa. Coffee and more Christmas cake.
Finish: Medium to long with Brazil nuts and cocoa.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Interestingly, this reminded me a LOT of a very heavily sherried cask-strength 11yo Yamazaki single cask I tried recently.

After a short break and a dram of the 17yo Kininvie, it was time to try the whisky we were all at Magazin to celebrate - the Kininvie 23 year old Batch #003.

Kininvie 23 Batch #003 1991 (42.6% ABV, 23yo, Speyside, Scotland, $210AUD / £120)
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Nose: Sweet toffee apples and some vanilla. This has definitely had a fair bit of American Oak maturation.
Palate: Smooth. Sweet toffee apples dipped in rich caramel. A hint of oak.
Finish: Short to medium, with notes of toffee apples to the end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. A lovely dessert whisky.

So how did the Batch #001, tasted 12 months ago to the day, compare?

Kininvie 23 Batch #001 1990 (42.6% ABV, 23yo, Cask #4107, Speyside, Scotland, no longer available) - tasted in October 2014.
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Colour: Orange gold
Nose: Slightly more Glenfiddich than Balvenie, with citrus, pears, orange peels, boiled lollies, and after time, stronger apples and pears.
Palate: Orange marmalade on burnt toast. Spicy (paprika). Nutty.
Finish: Long, drying and tannic. Spice, pepper and tabasco.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

With the tasting officially over, it was time to catch up with the many Sydney whisky folk I used to see regularly, but now hadn't seen in over a year. A really great night spent enjoying a rare and little-known whisky in the perfect setting.

Kininvie 23 Batch #003 is available in Australia at specialist bottle shops, priced at $210AUD (350mL bottle). If you miss out on getting a bottle in Australia, we notice Master of Malt still have both Batch #002 and #003 releases available (the latter by the dram too), as well as the older Hazelwood 105.

Cheers,

Martin (words) & Hendy (photos).