An Evening with The Balvenie Global Brand Ambassador Sam Simmons (Chiswick restaurant)

So it turns out, you can be the global brand ambassador for one of Scotland's most well-known, respected, traditional hand-crafted Speyside distilleries, know everything there is to know about whisky, and still be hilarious.

Really. Bloody. Hilarious.

Ladies and gentleman - Dr Sam Simmons (aka Dr Whisky):

Sam recently visited Australia to spread the good word of The Balvenie, and hosted a dinner at Woollahra's Chiswick restaurant. With their hands-on and home-grown approach to produce at Chiswick, the restaurant was a perfect fit for a dinner celebrating a distillery like The Balvenie.

In a departure from the typical whisky dinner (not that we don't love them!) with regimented courses and specifically matched whiskies, the night was much more casual with share plates, wine, cocktails, banter, jokes, and even some ad-hoc karaoke. Oh, and this stunning lineup:

• The Balvenie 12yo DoubleWood
• The Balvenie 15yo Single Barrel (still one of my top 3 favourite whiskies, ever)
• The Balvenie 17yo DoubleWood
• The Balvenie 21yo PortWood
• The Balvenie 30yo
• The Balvenie 1973 Single Cask

The crowd of 30 or so all had a rocking good time, sharing dishes such as Kingfish ceviche, Fish & prawn tagine with saffron cous cous, and a dessert of Balvenie chocolate mousse with honeycomb, hazelnuts and orange (the highlight of the night - luckily we each got our own serving. No sharing here)!

Attendees were a mix of whisky bloggers (all three of us Sydney-based bloggers), bar industry famous faces, food writers, lifestyle bloggers, and Cinnamon Lee who'd created a hip flask in the shape of a dipping dog for the upcoming The Balvenie Craft Bar in Melbourne (that's it below). Holding 120mL, it's yours for a cool $790 (to be fair, it was pretty cool).  Steph and I may have held a mock relay race with it...

(...and no, we'd never met anyone called Cinnamon before either! Cool name.)

Sam stood up to present throughout the night, saying a few words about each dram, drawing on his extensive experience in the world of whisky, and generally revving up the crowd with a bit of banter with the other William Grant & Sons guys. It was a fun night and no-one took themselves too seriously. The food, whisky, presentations and general banter were all perfectly matched. 

It was also pretty obvious that Sam is one of those rare brand ambassadors who not only knows pretty much everything there is to know about whisky, but can also read his audience incredibly well. The next night, when Steph and I attended the SMWS night with Sam, he was just as entertaining, but tweaked his presentation style slightly to match the older, more "enthusiast" crowd.

So....that 1973 The Balvenie? I'll cover tasting notes in a future post, but basically a few weeks before his trip, Sam asked David Stewart (The Balvenie's malt master for over 50 years) to pull "something special" from the warehouse. David obliged, pulling bottles from two separate casks, both laid to rest in 1973.

So yes, the last dram of the night was a 40yo The Balvenie, cask-strength, pulled from a single cask by David Stewart himself just a few weeks earlier. Very cool.

Another huge thanks to William Grant & Sons Australia and Weber Shandwick for putting on another absolutely flawless night.

Cheers, 

 - Martin.

Just sharing a 40yo The Balvenie with Dr Whisky. No biggy.

Tasted #50: Master of Malt 50 year old (3rd edition) (#101drams)

Having just tried 80 years of whisky beforehand (40yo Master of Malt Speyside and 40yo 1969 The Glenrothes D/T Lonach), I figured why not continue with the age theme and try the 50yo I've had tempting me for the last month or so (plus making my 50th tasting post a 50year old whisky seemed fitting. Not sure it's a trend that can continue though...)

This also qualifies as the oldest whisky I've ever tried (to date).

Master of Malt 50yo (3rd Edition) (43% ABV, 50yo, Speyside Scotland, £34.77 for a dram)

Colour: Is this really 50yo!? Light golden, not "pale" like the 1969 The Glenrothes, but still very light for a whisky of this age.

Nose: When I think of long-aged whiskies, I think leather, oak, perhaps deep rich demarara sugar notes. On this? Pears - instantly. Stewed apples and some pineapple too. No oak, no leather. Reminded me of a Glen Moray Chardonnay 10yo!

Palate: Blind I'd pick this as a 12-15yo, based on both nose and palate. Light and vibrant, the pears shone through, with some slight oak notes showing at the back of the palate.

Finish: Medium to long, with those oak notes shining through a bit more. Smooth right to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Certainly a good whisky, and to be honest - about as good as I expected, but I wasn't expecting this to be a knock-my-socks-off, standout whisky, because let's face it, if it was, <mystery distillery> probably would have kept it for themselves right?

Just 130 years of age in 110mL...

Cheers.
 - Martin.

Tasted #49: Master of Malt 40yo (2nd edition) (#101drams)

As I've mentioned on the blog before, Master of Malt run a fantastic sample service called "Drinks by the Dram", with literally hundreds of drams available at very reasonable prices. They're based in the UK, and their shipping costs aren't too friendly unless you're buying a few full-size bottles too (or a LOT of samples), but it really is a great way to try a special dram without forking out hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for a bottle. From Southern Comfort to a 1958 Glenfarclas, if you're keen to try something, it's worth checking out. I've found generally the prices are much better than ordering similar whiskies at Australian bars (if you can even find the whisky at a bar).

I'd been keen to try their 50yo for a while (see tasting notes here), so figured I'd give the 40yo a go too (a ful bottle is $445AUD but the sample is only $22 or so). 

In the interests of being mysterious (and you know, probably protecting the original distillery's reputation and whatnot), Master of Malt don't mention the distillery from which the 40 and 50yo drams come, except to say they're Speyside single malts. I really don't know which distillery this came from, nor will I take a guess, though they do call it a single malt so it's not from a teaspooned* cask (so unlikely to be from Glenfiddich or The Balvenie, who are known to teapsoon the majority of casks they release externally).

On with the tasting then...

Master of Malt 40yo (2nd Edition) (43% ABV, 40yo, Speyside Scotland, £28.24 for a dram)

Colour: Rich copper - not overly dark, but not dissimilar to other 40yo whiskies around this strength.

Nose: As I was expecting/hoping for - complex, with the expected leather and oak notes, but also sesame seeds and fresh laundry! 

Palate: Lighter than the nose suggests. Slightest hints of smoke give way to tangy orange notes, and some residual oak (though not so oaky that I felt like I was chewing an oak stave).

Finish: Oaky and long, but with none of the complex notes I've had on other similarly-aged whiskies. Reminds me of a Glenfiddich 30yo.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. An enjoyable dram, but I wouldn't rush out and buy a bottle at $445AUD.

Cheers.
 - Martin.

* "Teaspooning" is when a small measure of one distillery's malt whisky is added to a cask of another, effectively making the whisky a blended (or vatted) malt, and no longer a "single malt". Typically done to protect the reputation of distilleries who are putting their casks out there on the market for blenders / independent bottlers. If anyone ever comes across a "Burnside" (Balvenie with a dash of Glenfiddich) or "Warhead" (the reverse), please let me know!

Tasted #48: The Glenrothes (Duncan Taylor Lonach) 1969 40yo

I figured I should make the last two "Tasted" posts in the #40s both 40yo whiskies...because hey, why not? This sample came to me from Cooper from the very stylish whisky blog singlema.lt (cheers mate!)

The Glenrothes (Duncan Taylor) 1969 Lonach 40yo (40.3% ABV, 40yo, Speyside Scotland)

Colour: Light, pale straw. Odd for such an old whisky.

Nose: Fresh flowers, grass, hints of hay. Not what you'd expect of something sitting in oak for 40 years.

Palate: Bigger and bolder than the nose - still with the hay/straw notes, but also boiled lollies. Still fresh, almost youthful, but as you might expect, incredibly smooth.

Finish: Short, I'd go so far as to say almost non-existant. I get that it's only 40.3% ABV, but the shortness of the finish still took me by surprise.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. Smooth and enjoyable, but I've better whiskies, both younger and older.

On the right - the 40yo The Glenrothes.
On the left - a 7yo Heartwood whisky ("Release the Beast") from Tasmania!

Cheers.
 - Martin.

Distilleries of the United Kingdom - Part 3

Part 1 saw visits to Oban & Talisker, Part 2 took in Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet. For part 3 - Glen Moray, Abelour, Dalwhinnie, Glenfarclas and Jameson.

Enjoy!

Cheers, 

 - Martin.

Tasted #47: The Balvenie 14yo Cuban Selection

The Balvenie 14yo Cuban Selection (43% ABV, 14yo, Speyside Scotland)

Nose: Light, refreshing, with sweet, seabreeze (surely somewhat subliminal?) notes

Palate: Slight tang, but not the berry tang of a sherried Speysider. Sweet, but not overpowering. Well balanced.

Finish: Long and delicious. Sweet, syrupy, excellent. It's rare that I prefer a whisky's finish over its nose or palate, but that's the case here.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Better than Glenfiddich 21yo (also finished in rum casks)? I think so.

Cheers.
 - Martin.

Bar review #9: Papa Gedes Bar (Sydney)

In another win for the Sydney Bar scene, Papa Gedes Bar opened tonight, adding another fantastic, friendly small bar to Sydney's laneways, with a touch of voodoo. Inspired by it's namesake (the "Voodoo Spirit of Lust & Humour, Mascot of Good Times"), the bar pulls off the voodoo theme well, without going overboard or straying into the domain of kitsch.

Found at the end of a laneway/driveway at 346-348 Kent St (just past Since I Left You), the venue was previously a garage - which would explain the lengthy fit-out time, which the team chronicled in minute detail via their awesome Twitter feed (@PapaGedesbar) - we just hope they keep up the tweets now that they're up and running.

Steph and I checked it out during the soft launch last Saturday and were impressed. You don't usually expect soft launches to be perfect, and you can forgive the odd mistake, average drink, or niggle...but there was no need. The team had everything running like clockwork, the cocktail menu was fantastic, and (whilst not huge) covered a broad range of drinks - something for everyone. The team of 3 (Lara, Mick and Josh) were all on-hand taking orders, mixing drinks and making sure everyone was having a good time. Clearly a bar team who care.

Favourite drinks were the Remedy No.1 (Bourbon, Creme Brûlée, tea syrup and port) followed by the Psychopomp (Cognac, maple syrup, lemon and egg white). Despite being in soft launch mode when we visited, it was clear the owners (whose experience spans Red Lantern, ivy Pool Club, Grandmas and Wild Rover) have spent a lot of time on the details - from the glassware, wallpaper, decorations, lighting and (most impressively) the sound system, which pumped out an eclectic but awesome mix of tunes. Oh, and the church pews mixed in with comfy couches? Great touch.

The spirits selection is well thought out, with whiskies ranging from Macallan, Red Breast and Laprhoaig, to Bookers, Bakers and the ubiquitous JW Blue. The wine list seemed to have a French focus, although we did notice an Argentinian Malbec from Exclusive Vines, who we're big fans of. Feel like channelling a New Orleans vibe? Plenty of Absinthe for that.

Papa Gedes isn't a big bar (licenced for 60), but it seems like a bar with a lot of heart, and will no doubt win favour with Sydney's small bar crowd, without any spells needing to be cast. We'll certainly be back.

Papa Gedes Bar can be found at 346-348 Kent St Sydney, and opens from Monday-Saturday, 5pm to midnight.

Cheers,
 - Martin.

The Macallan 1824 Series Australian launch event

(By Steph)

I’ve recently reconsidered my take on Monday nights. When you think of Monday, what do you think of? Monday blues? Although I do love what I do for work, it’s always a little disheartening knowing that you have 5 full days to push through before you have 2 blissful days of weekend. The solution? Spend your Monday night at the Australian launch of The Macallan 1824 series! It turns the Monday blues into Monday excitement, particularly when the spectacular location of such a launch is the stunning Blu Bar on Level 36 at Sydney’s Shangri-La hotel. Who can argue with fine whiskies matched with this view?

The night started with a bang in the form of a cocktail inspired by the flavours and aroma of The Macallan 1824 Amber expression. Created using Crème de Gingembre, homemade vanilla syrup, grapefruit bitters and lime, it was a delightfully refreshing cocktail, and the freeze-dried apple garnish made a delicious talking-point.  Cheryl Tang, Brand Ambassador for The Macallan in Australia provided the 100 or so guests with a brief introduction to the brand and expressions (as a few guests joked beforehand, it was almost guaranteed we'd hear the phrase "Rolls Royce of whiskey", and we weren't disappointed), and as always, it was a pleasure to listen to Andrew Derbridge, Director and Cellarmaster of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia talk us through each expression.

I’ll admit, Martin and I had tried the 3 expressions (Amber (40%), Sienna (43%) and Ruby (43%)) at The Oak Barrel’s Whisky Fair in September, and Martin recently posted an article about the Australian release, including some background on the growing NAS (No Age Statement) trend, so we had an idea of what to expect. NAS, sherried, luxurious and reflective of the colours of each expression. My favourite expression would have to be Sienna, however I'd also give the Ruby a sideways glance. All expressions were aged in sherry oak casks with natural colours and flavours (i.e. no added caramel). Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for sherry-aged whisky so the three expressions received my tick of approval. Martin also enjoyed the range more than previous Macallans, and found the Sienna his favourite too.

We were told that the canapés (created by Altitude Head Chef, Matthew McCool) were tasty and a great match for the whiskies, however sadly we'll have to go on this anecdotal evidence, as only one of the savoury canapés ended up making it around to our group (even though we were in a prominent part of the small room). Talking to other guests it seemed a significant number of us missed out on most of the food. Mind you, the chocolate truffle infused with Ruby, which we were able to try, was a delicious end to the night. 

Whilst the location and whiskies were both fantastic (and a great match for each other), it did seem like a number of guests really didn't care for anything except free cocktails and whisky, and consistently talked over the presentation of the whiskies by Andrew (who did an excellent job, considering the crowd, and read the audience well).

For an event that served (generous amounts of) alcohol and ran from 6:30-8:30pm, a little more food wouldn’t have gone astray. Most guests appeared to drizzle out as soon as the last expression was tried, perhaps to satisfy their growling stomachs. But overall, well done to Beam, CCA, Exposure PR and The Macallan for choosing such a stunning location and for curing my Monday blues. A fitting launch for what is sure to be a popular series in Australia.

- Steph.

(Martin will post detailed tasting notes on the series shortly).

This Week in Whisk(e)y #2

We get a fair few interesting press releases here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice.

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week. So on with it then...

The Balvenie launches a craft pop-up bar in Melbourne (11-14th November)

"Craft" is having a moment in spirits circles, and while it's a term that can sometimes be bandied about a little too liberally, that surely doesn't apply to The Balvenie. From their "by hand" attitude to David Stewart's extensive involvement in the development of the whisky, The Balvenie are a distillery who do things a little different, a little old school, and are all the better for it.

No wonder then they're teaming up with Craftspeople from around Australian for a 4 day pop-up bar in Melbourne's CBD (if only it was in Sydney, or coincided with one of my Melbourne trips!)

To quote the press release:

Taking place at the Zenith Interiors showroom in the Melbourne CBD, six different craftspeople will display their wares in a shared space to the public. Visitors can also enjoy the different ages and variants of the iconic Balvenie whisky. The craftspeople showcasing their work at The Balvenie Craft Bar will be: 

·       Kris and Kim Torma (bar maker and stone craftspeople), their unique range began with a semi-precious metal coating process that was a world-first and is now widely acknowledged as a benchmark for high end surface technology. Their company, Axolotl, handcrafted the Balvenie bar from a design studio facet studios. The design was inspired by The Balvenie 50 year old wooden box.
·       Cinnamon Lee (metal smith) is an Australian artist and metalsmith who makes precious objects, jewellery and lighting. Her practice spans over 15 years during which time she has had numerous works acquired by public collections. According to The Balvenie archives, ‘Dipping Dogs’ were flasks used by distillery workers in the early 1900s to pilfer drams of whisky. Inspired by this tale, The Balvenie Dog is a wearable whisky flask.
·       Tim Kill (luthier) works in Ben Puglisi’s Melbourne workshop, restoring building and repairing classical stringed instruments. For over 18 years he has procured a vast array of skills in his craft. Tim will have a selection of his hand-crafted guitars at the venue which will be played by some local musicians.
·       Ruth Allen (glass blower) is a Melbourne multi media artist primarily working with glass, light, kinetics and the poetics of experiences. Ruth is creating a chandelier from Balvenie bottles for the event along with some bespoke whisky decanter and glass sets.
·       Nick Haddow (cheese maker) works at the Bruny Island Cheese Company, widely regarded as one of the best cheese makers in Australia. It sets the standard for many aspiring and new cheese makers. Nick has selected a range of his handcrafted cheese which he has matched to the different Balvenie whiskies that will be available in the bar.
·       Brad Nicholls (designer) founded ‘Nicholls Design’ in 2004 having been inspired by many years travelling around Australia and South-east Asia. Brad creates beautiful objects for the home using traditional joinery techniques with timeless design. Brad crafted a stool called “Tom” for The Balvenie bar. The stool was inspired by his grandfather-in-law and is crafted from scrap / recycled hardwood where only glue and joinery techniques are used. 

Sam Simmons, Global Brand Ambassador for The Balvenie, will be at the Craft Bar as part of a trip to Melbourne that also includes the culmination of “The Ultimate Father’s Day” competition in conjunction with Dan Murphy’s 

Simmons said: “The Balvenie is one of the only handcrafted malts in the world. Nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, that still malts in its own traditional floor malting and that still has coopers to tend the casks and a coppersmith to tend the stills 

“As such, we have a natural affinity with artisans who still ply their trade as they have done for decades. We’re extremely excited to be working with these craftspeople who share the same value as The Balvenie.”

A bar inspired by The Balvenie 50, flasks inspired by Balvenie's history and a Balvenie chandelier? Sounds like a impressive bar to us! The Balvenie Craft Bar will be open for the public from 4.30pm-7.30pm each night (11-14th November) at Zenith Interiors, 179 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC.  On the Thursday it will be open until 10pm.


Tasmania Distillery release a "mature your own" whisky kit

In an innovative move for Tasmania Distillery (producers of Sullivans Cove whisky), you can now mature your own Australian single malt, thanks to their new "Sullivans Cove Cellarmaster" kit. Whilst other Australian distilleries offer programs to invest in their whisky, and own a barrel which is kept in their bondstore (as we wrote about here), Tasmania Distillery's offering is unique in that you receive the new make spirit, barrel and all equipment required to age it yourself. Coming with 20L of new-make Sullivans Cove (at 63.4% ABV), the instructions are simply to store the barrel in a cool place out of direct sunlight, and in approximately 2 years you'll have yourself 20L (minus the angels' share) of fine Australian single malt.

A few other pieces of information about the kit from the website:

• The unique Cellarmaster barrels are crafted by Tasmania's cooper, Adam Bone and prospective Cellarmasters have the choice of ex-port, ex-sherry or ex-bourbon casks, or a bespoke combination of this wood for a more complex flavour.
• The barley for your single malt comes from a Tasmanian farm and is malted and brewed at Cascade Brewery, Australia's oldest brewery.
• The wash is then transferred to Tasmania Distillery, the home of Sullivans Cove Single Malt Whisky, where it is distilled twice in the distillery's copper pot still.

At $3,750AUD (inc GST and delivery) the kit may seem expensive (and sure, that's a lot of money to spend on whisky), but when you consider a bottle of Sullivans Cove sells for $110-$165, the kit (including the barrel and glassware) doesn't seem too over the top...if you think you'll get through 20L of whisky, that is.


Bulleit pre-batched cocktail program 
During a recent visit to Diageo Sydney, we spoke a lot about the Bulleit pre-batching program, recently run by Diageo throughout some of Australia's best bars. In short, the program (run as a competition) saw almost 100 bars receive special bottling equipment, and design a special Bulleit cocktail to be served in the pre-batched bottles. Apart from being a huge trend in New York cocktail circles (where all good cocktail trends seem to start), we think it's a funky, different way to serve cocktails, and no doubt helps launch the "Bulleit Batches" series which are now available from bottle shops (think of them as well-thought out RTDs with quality and unusual ingredients - more "cocktail in a bottle", less "Stoli Lemon Ruski".

Melbourne's Black Pearl won the winning cocktail, with Fred Siggins' "Bulleit Briar", consisting of Bulleit Bourbon, Blackberry Shrub, Citrus Oils and Vanilla.

As for the Bulleit Batches available to buy off-premise (300mL, 6% ABV), the following three are available currently:

LOUISVILLE LEMONADE – Bulleit small batch whiskey, old-fashioned lemonade finished with soda.
THE RAMBLER – Bulleit small batch whiskey and cloudy apple blended with maple
KENTUCKY BUCK – Bulleit small batch whiskey mixed with dry ginger ale, finished with orange bitters

I tried "The Rambler" recently and it was certainly unique - not your average sickly-sweet RTD at all.

Cheers,

 - Martin.

Distilleries of the United Kingdom - Part 2

Following on from Part 1 (Oban & Talisker), I give you Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet:

Cheers,
 - Martin.

Tasted #46: Talisker Port Ruighe

Bit of a Talisker-fest of late, and that's not even including the Scotch Club Talisker night we couldn't attend.

Talisker Port Ruighe (pronounced "Portree") is one of Talisker's recent releases (along with Storm and Dark Storm), though it isn't yet widely available in Australia. The name refers to both the maturation it's gone through, in ex-Port casks, and the historic trading port by the same name, on Talisker's home the Isle of Skye.

Being a big fan of interesting maturation and finishing, I was keen to see how Talisker's salty/smoky nature paired up with port's typical sweetness.

Talisker Port Ruighe (45.8% ABV, NAS, OB, Isle of Skye Scotland)

------------------------

Nose: Smoky and salty, but with hints of...bath salts and soap? No, I hadn't failed to rinse my glass! Sawdust too. An odd mix, but enjoyable.

Palate: Thankfully, not the big salty smack in the mouth I got from the 30yo, but some real complexity. Smoky but not overly so, silky smooth, rich and syrupy with toffee apples and raisins. In a word, "rich".

Finish: Not overly smoky, but with some bacon notes and some residual ash at the back of the throat, towards the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. A great dram, and one that delicately balances Talisker's typical character with new and unchartered finishing/double maturation territory. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Talisker come out with in the near future.

Cheers,

 - Martin.