Matt | Whisk(e)y Apostle: Proselytizing the way of the malt

A blog’s blog

January 10, 2010 / Matt / Matt's Blog

I told Richard (and myself) that I was going to take a few weeks off from the blog while me and the missus move house. However, I’ve been tooling around the other whisk(e)y blogs and this week has been awash with controversy. Once again the topic of rating legitimacy has reared its ugly head. It seems to have started with a somewhat rant-like post by our friend . Like the rest of us, the good Dr. has noticed the explosion of whisky blogs (including ours) over the past 18 months. If only we moved as fast as we talked, we would have beat the boom. Dr. Whisky’s rant, fueled by disappointments in his own contributions as much as others, was mostly a call for some sort of worldwide database that catalogued all of our tasting recommendations into one source (he suggests a Rotten Tomatoes type of format). While Dr. Whisky’s heart was in the right place, it seems he inadvertently stepped on a few toes creating some lively commentary. It also prompted a fairly eloquent statement from Jeff at Scotch Hobbyist. While we have said much the same here (including the gentle nudge at Jim Murray), Jeff sums it up quite nicely. Jeff’s blog name says it all; he’s a hobbyist. That’s why we are “apostles” and not experts. We are proselytizing about whisk(e)y because we love it and think you should too.

The other bit of controversy came from one of my new favorites (the folks behind the increasingly popular “Say What!?” series). When Jason posted preliminary tasting notes of Washington state’s Ellensburg Distillery’s inaugural release (not Jason’s personal notes mind). He got some flack from an anonymous commenter for his negativity. I don’t know if it was a sense of guilt or the plan all along, but Jason did a more extensive tasting of Ellensburg (with multiple tasters). I’m afraid the results were not what the anonymous commenter was hoping for. I’m glad Anonymous posted his/her rebuttal to the first post. It is good to have opposing views. Although, I question whether it was the distiller since they failed to identify themselves and spoke rather positively. We encourage people to rebut our findings. We’ve been repeatedly called down for our dislike of traditional Canadian whiskeys, so chin up Jason.

Both of these issues are really the same thing. We all have different tastes. If you get six of us together, you’ll probably get seven opinions (especially if I’m in the group). I’m all for lively discussion, but we need to have thicker skins if we are going to maintain a semi-public lifestyle. I am a little proud of our community though. We have yet to sink to kind of douchery that seems to plague the online community. For the most part, we play nice.

On a semi-related note, I’d like to talk about microdistilling in America for a moment. If you will indulge me to quote myself, I commented on WHISKYhost’s Ellensburg post thusly: “Honestly, the only first release I’ve really enjoyed is the rye from Finger Lakes. Everyone else started off pretty rough (to varying degrees) and are quickly getting better.” It’s true. Tuthilltown, Stranahan, and Wasmund all keep getting better and I’ve heard that the stuff coming out of Death’s Door is improving. It’s bound to happen.

While at a press event a few months ago, I was privy to a conversation about spirits writers in America. The tone was decidedly uncomplimentary. To paraphrase: The problem with spirits writers in America is that they are all self-taught amateurs, they lack the education and training of European spirits writers. Needless to say, I threw up in my mouth a little. How is this relevant? Well, what can be said about American spirits writers can also be applied to micro-distillers. In Scotland, the majority of Master Distillers have advanced degrees is the sciences behind distilling and undergo years of apprenticeship. Most American micro-distillers are brewers or moon-shiners with an interest in making whiskey (many of them “self-taught amateurs”). So give these guys a break and help them find their legs. These are the guys that will change the industry and blow your mind. Just give them time.

Drink well, drink responsibly.
Matt

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A Thanksgiving Tip and Find

November 26, 2009 / Matt / Bourbon, Matt's Blog

It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. and I’m spending it with the In-Laws. I’ll make this short since I should be in the kitchen. My wife is feeling adventurous and is making a pumpkin pie and bourbon pecan pie completely from scratch. She is using a Paula Dean recipe. A word of warning though. The recipe on the site says “2 tablespoons good quality bourbon.” In the cook book, one of the tablespoons is for the cook. If you use both in the pie, it will not set properly and you will have a runny pie on your hands. Becky is using Basil Hayden’s for the pie this year (based on Richard’s suggestion). We’ve used Buffalo Trace and Four Roses Single Barrel at various times. We’ll see if it makes a difference.

While rummaging through my In-Laws liquor cabinet, I found a strange little bottle of bourbon. It’s labeled “Walker’s DeLuxe Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Aged 8 Years”. The strangest part of the label though is where it is distilled: Peoria, Illinois. I found a somewhat useful thread on straightbourbon.com. It seems that the Peoria distillery closed in 1979. The whiskey is still pretty good. It’s a little sweet and some of the alcohol has evaporated, but it is very drinkable. All around, a nice find.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone.

-Matt

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‘Green’ Distilling Under Fire In Scotland

November 19, 2009 / Matt / Matt's Blog, Scottish Whisky

Whisky Magazine just released an article discussing a conundrum within Scottish whisky. There are new regulations before British Parliament that will change the definition of ‘Scotch malt whisky.’ Part of these regulations, set to go into effect November 23, requires malt whisky to be produced using copper pot stills. It would seem like a no-brainer. After all, tradition states that single malts are produced in pot stills and column stills are reserved for ‘lesser’ grain alcohols used in blends. However, Loch Lomond distillery outside of Glasgow produces whisky using an energy efficient still instead of a traditional pot still. According to the new regulations, whisky distilled at Loch Lomond will no longer be able to bear the title ‘Scotch malt whisky’.

Presumably, these regulations are to protect consumers and distillers alike from dubious producers (at home and abroad) using inferior products to undermine the Scottish whisky industry. Loch Lomond produces a whisky much loved by Jim Murray. So, one can assume that the energy efficient still produces quality whisky. Murray even implies that the whisky has improved in quality since upgrading the still around two years ago. Should one of the most energy efficient distilleries in Scotland be marginalized for environmental concern? Is tradition and protectionism more important than carbon footprint regardless of product quality? Furthermore, would allowing Loch Lomond to continue using the ‘Scotch malt whisky’ label open the floodgates allowing all sorts of still configurations?

These are all tough questions. Quality does not seem to be the issue for Loch Lomond. So, in this case, it seems like harnessing the industry with the yoke of tradition. Quite a heavy yoke at that. But, can we apply regulations by situation. That seems rather random and unfair. In my experience, I have preferred pot stilled whiskies and whiskeys around 70% of the time (the major exceptions being mainly American whiskeys). That leads me to side with the ‘tradition’ side, but the crunchy hippy in me is livid that anyone should be punished for trying to green-up their production process. Ultimately, I’m all for quality control. However, I’m not sure this is the way to go. Anybody else have thoughts on this?

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A visit to Tuthilltown Spirits

November 9, 2009 / Matt / Bourbon, Distillery Tours, Matt's Blog, Other Spirits, Other Whisk(e)ys

I traveled up to the Hudson Valley this weekend to re-energize from the grueling pace of the City. While I was up there, I decided to head over to Tuthilltown Spirits for a distillery tour, a tasting, and nice chat with Gable Erenzo (Distiller, Brand Ambassador, etc.). As you know, I am a huge fan of the micro-distillation movement. So, this was a particular treat for me.

When Tuthilltown opened around six years ago, they were the first whiskey distillery in New York State since prohibition. They are no longer the only (Finger Lakes Distilling started producing whiskey this year), but they are still the first and there are a few other things that make them special. Every whiskey produced at Tuthilltown is double distilled. They have a “large” 400 gallon combination pot and column still that uses a steam jacket to heat the mash (which includes the solids from fermentation for a more flavorful product). There is another smaller still for the second distillation.

As with many of the microdistillers, Tuthilltown uses a variety of small barrels for maturation. Smaller barrel size allows for greater surface area contact between wood and spirit, thus speeding up the maturation process. Since the whiskey only matures 6-10 months, the spirit does not experience the environmental changes that a 3-6 year old bourbon from one of the Kentucky behemoths feel. In an attempt to rectify this situation, the warehouse walls are lined with baseboard heaters. The heaters are powered with hot waste-water from the stills. So, when the stills are running, the warehouse gets very warm, but the warehouse can get very cold (in the winter at least) when the stills are dormant for the night. Additionally, there are bass speakers placed all over the warehouse that play very deep bass each night. Gable calls this “sonic aging”. The bass vibrates the barrels, agitating the spirit and creating micro expansions and contractions in the barrels themselves. If you visit Tuthilltown, you will notice another oddity. They store their barrels on end. When I asked Gable if he noticed a difference in the end product. He said they’ve always done it that way, so he’s never been able to compare They regularly rotate the barrels though.

What is really striking about Tuthilltown is their commitment to the environment. Except for the oak in the barrels and the malted barley in their single malt and four grain whiskies, all of their whiskey ingredients are grown within 10 miles of the distillery. The waste water from distillation is used to heat the warehouse and is then circulated through a reed pond to be absorbed by the reeds. They currently burn the waste alcohols for fuel and the ultimate goal is to be completely off grid.

While whiskey is job #1 at Tuthilltown, Gable and his father Ralph (along with business partner Brian Lee and a small staff of workers) also supply the Hudson Valley, New York City and select other markets with rum and vodka. The vodka is made from cider produced at a farm down the road and they offer both a double distilled (Heart Of The Hudson) and a triple distilled variety (Spirit Of The Hudson). My wife and I both prefer the Heart of the Hudson Vodka. Triple distillation is overkill and makes it just another vodka. The double distilled spirit smells strongly of fresh apples and carries a hint of the flavor.

Due to the nature of their license, the tasting room can only pour spirits made from local products. So you won’t find the single malt or the rum in the tasting room. I’m a fan of their whiskeys in general and you can read our review of the Four Grain Bourbon here. The Manhattan Rye is one of my favorite ryes (although the one they bottled for Park Avenue Liquors is even better than the standard). They offer a Baby Bourbon (100% corn bourbon aged in tiny casks for about 6 months) and un-aged corn whiskey (which is surprisingly smooth and flavorful). Richard and I will be posting a formal review of the latest bottling of New York Whiskey this week. The New York Whiskey line is Tuthilltown’s experimental collection. This bottling is 100% wheat. It’s smooth and lovely.

So what is on the horizon for Tuthilltown? Well, they have already laid down some whiskey in second use barrels for bourbon style whiskey. They won’t be able to call it “bourbon” because of the second use barrels, but I’m sure it will be well received. Whiskey enthusiasts and cocktail crafters alike love Tuthilltown whiskeys but some complain about the price point. It’s around $45 for 375ml of their main whiskey line. The second use matured whiskeys will be available under another label at a lower price point. Gable is also growing some hops on the property for a hop infused whiskey. I really enjoyed Charbay’s hop infused whiskey, I can’t wait to see Tuthilltown’s offering.

If you want more information about Tuthilltown or for a tour, check out the website.

Drink well, drink responsibly.
-Matt

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News From Compass Box

October 17, 2009 / Matt / Matt's Blog, Scottish Whisky

We’ve recently mentioned the re-release of The Spice Tree from Compass Box Whisky. This is more than exciting to me, as this was one of my favorites when it was first released. You can read our review of the first release here. We will let you know about the new one as soon as possible.

Well, Compass Box is also bringing back Orangerie, an “infusion of fresh, hand-zested organic orange zest, cassia and clove in 10 year-old Scotch whisky.”

Look for these two drams this fall and something extra special closer to winter time. Compass Box is releasing a very limited, one time release of old vatted malt inspired by the “Lucky Blend.” The new whisky will be called Lady Luck and I can’t wait to try it.

For more information about these whiskies, hit up the Compass Box website.

Drink well, drink responsibly.
-Matt

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