Richard’s Blog

Cracking the Code

/ / Bourbon, Richard's Blog

I like Four Roses Bourbon. I think that Jim Rutledge does some really great things with bourbon. One thing that I find most interesting about Four Roses in the variety of recipes they use in making their bourbon. Four Roses makes 10 different bourbon recipes at their distillery. This gives them great flexibility in what they can releases. It’s very similiar to the way Japanese distillieries make many different recipes (more on that another time) and Four Roses is owned by Japanese drinks conglomerate Kirin Brewery Company Ltd. For comparison, the largest bourbon distiller, Jim Beam, only makes two recipes that all their current bourbon releases come from (however, they are continually experimenting).

If you’ve ever looked at a bottle of Four Roses (except Yellow Label, that’s a mix of all 10) you will notice a four letter code on the back. That code tells you what recipe was used for that bottle…if you know what the code means. I figure that if you’ve repeatedly found your way to Whisk(e)y Apostle then you have more than a passing interest in whiskey. So for those who are interested in such things, I’ve acquired a key to those mysterious four letter codes on the bottles of Four Roses and here it is…

1st Letter: O = This means that it was made at Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, KY, it’s on all the bottles.

2nd Letter: B or E = This identifies the mashbill
B is 60% Corn, 35% Rye, and 5% Malted Barley
E is 75% Corn, 20% Rye, and 5% Malted Barley

3rd Letter: S = This means that it is Straight Whiskey by U.S. Regulatory definition

4th Letter: V, K, O, Q, F = This represents the five various yeast strains used.
V is a delicate fruity flavor
K is a slightly spicy character
O is a robust fruity flavor
Q is more floral
F is lightly herbal

So for example, the new 100th Anniversary bottle is OBSV. That means that is was distilled at Four Roses in Lawrenceburg using a 60% corn/35% rye/5% barley recipe in the Straight Whiskey style with a yeast strain that imparts a delicate fruity flavor.

That’s the code! Now you know. And as G.I. Joe used to say…knowing is…uh, never mind.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Did You Know #3: Coming of Age

/ / Bourbon, Irish Whiskey, Other Whisk(e)ys, Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky

It’s been a while since I did a “Did You Know” piece and it’s long over due. So here’s today’s question..

Did you know that the age statement on your bottle indicates the youngest whiskey in the bottle?

Go ahead, run over to the liquor cabinet and look. Is there an age statement on the bottle? What did you think that number meant? According to Chivas, the vast majority of whiskey drinkers have no idea. Their research has shown that while many people think that number is important, few really understand what it means. For those that aren’t sure, the age statement on a bottle of bourbon, scotch, irish, japanese, etc whisk(e)y reflects the age of the youngest spirit in the bottle. That goes for single malts, blends, small batch, single barrel, etc. That means that in a bottle of 12 year old Macallan there could be a number of whiskies that are much older. Distilleries use older stocks to round out the flavor and consistency of younger bottlings. Maybe the 1997 Macallan vintage didn’t taste quite like the 1996 so they added a little 14 year old to the mix for consistency. Apparently, we human creatures like consistency in what we consume. It’s comforting I guess.

Why am I bringing this up today? Well, Chivas is sending around a notice of a new campaign they are launching to bring awareness to the popular misconceptions about age statements and what they mean. We Whisk(e)y Apostles are always in favor of more consumer education. Here’s a copy of the press release.

THE AGE MATTERS
Chivas Brothers launches global consumer campaign
on the importance of Scotch whisky age statements

The world’s leading producer of luxury Scotch whisky, Chivas Brothers, is launching a global campaign to advocate the importance and value of the age statements to consumers.

According to new research commissioned by Chivas Brothers, 94% of consumers believe the age statement serves as an indicator of quality, 93% believe that older whiskies are better quality and 89% actively look for an age statement when making a decision to purchase.

However, there is a global lack of knowledge about what the age statement actually means: only 10% understand that it refers to the youngest whisky in the bottle, nearly half (48%) believe an age statement refers to the average age and 35% believe it signifies the oldest whisky present. The Scotch Whisky Regulations (2009) make clear what an age statement means – the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle.

Chivas Brothers, Distiller of the Year 2009, is responding with a campaign called The Age Matters, which will manifest itself through stand-alone activity as well as through integration across the company’s aged whisky portfolio, which includes the Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, and Royal Salute brands.

The aim of the campaign is to enable consumers to understand fully the age statement and to appreciate the value of the premium product they are purchasing.

One of the greatest influences on the flavour of whisky comes from maturation. Much of the complexity of Scotch whisky comes mainly from its time in oak casks in Scotland; with outstanding spirit and excellent wood management, it follows that the longer the maturation period, the more complex the whisky.

From 1 July 2010, consumers will be encouraged to look for age statements on Scotch whisky, via point-of-sale materials, advertising and public relations. A logo using the language Guaranteed Age Whisky has been created for usage in retail, and will be visible in the environment of Chivas Brothers brands that carry an age statement.

Christian Porta, Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers Limited, says: “The revelation that so many existing whisky drinkers do not understand that the age statement refers to youngest age of the whisky, shows that there is an opportunity for us to inform them.

“In an age when consumers of luxury goods increasingly demand transparency and authenticity from brands, it is vital that we empower consumers with knowledge, so that they fully understand the value of what they are buying.”

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Sin-sational Father’s Day

/ / Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned to my buddy Sam that there was going to be a Macallan dinner at New York Prime in Atlanta. I read him the menu, whisky pairings, and cigars included in this event. His response to me was that it “sounded like sin” and he was game if I was. This little event also coincided with Father’s Day and I just happen to be the relatively new father of a beautiful 10 month old little girl. So we decided to go and Sam’s lovely wife Sandra was even kind enough to drive us as she was having dinner out with friends last night too. This is one of those moments where the stars all kind of aligned.

Neither Sam or I had ever been to New York Prime before. I do love and appreciate good steak and I’ve killed a cow or two at most of the steakhouses in Atlanta but for some reason I’d never been to New York Prime. I’ll be honest and say that when we arrived I was not expecting too much. There was a line out the door and it was not moving very fast. There was no direction about what to do if you were there for the event or just dinner. We arrived promptly at 7:00PM and didn’t get up to the front of the line until almost 7:30 PM. By then I was already seeing salads coming out and thought that we might have missed the the first two courses. I was also a little taken aback that they were just sitting people around the restaurant and bar instead of a separate room. However, when we were guided to our seats everything changed for the better.

Despite everyone sitting down at different times your “clock” didn’t start until you sat down. That meant that even though others were getting their steak already Sam and I were greeted by our outstanding server and brought two perfectly cut Ashton cigars and a nice measure of Macallan Fine Oak 15 (a personal favorite). She told us to just let her know when we wanted to move on to salad and that would tell them when to start our steaks. The event was very crowded and (in my opinion) overbooked but our server was great every step of the way. One great scotch and food course led to another one. All the scotches were great but I’d peg the Macallan 18 as my favorite of the bunch and Sam concurred.

From the cigars and scotch to the 22 ounce rib steak and biggest effing piece of cheesecake I’ve ever seen this night was all about decadence and indulgence. This is a “manly” event in the old sense of the word. There were women there but it was mostly men eating big steaks with big scotch in a room full of cigar smoking. This is dinner Sinatra style. This was living!

Out of curiousity, Sam and I did a rough estimate of what the food, scotch, and cigars would run you retail and it was well over $150. That made the $59.99 price tag almost criminally low. Kudos to New York Prime for these great events. That said, there were a few things off putting. I think they really needed make the event smaller. Given the space constraints it was way too crowded. Going hand-in-hand with that they need to work check in and seating better. This is also not a led tasting of scotches. The atmosphere and cigar smoke make that very difficult. It’s more a great dinner event with scotch. There is a brand ambassador there who comes around but given the size of the event it was difficult to really spend much time talking to him. There were also a number of very pretty young ladies in very tight and very very short black dresses talking to everyone. I’m not sure if they were employeed by the restaurant or Macallan but they didn’t seem to serve any purpose other than eye candy. They weren’t even Pour Bunnies.

I’ll also say that New York Prime is not a quiet dinner for two kind of place. It’s loud, boistrous, and very heavy on cigar smoke. Basically, the ultimate place for a serious guys night out. All in all, we had a terrific time and I’ll be anxiously awaiting their next dinner. I started the day with a wonderful Father’s Day gift of two great bottles of whisk(e)y and finished with this great evening. I must be living right. I hope to see some of you at the next one.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Do you have the stones for drinking whiskey?

/ / Richard's Blog

In case you may not know it…whiskey is popular. People like it. A lot of people like it. It’s even kind of hip and cool again…for the time being. As a very popular item it is subject to the inundation of gimmicks. I like gimmicks. I don’t personally buy into most of them but I find them amusing. I tend to have a cheeky sense of humor about things like that. Usually, I have my chuckle and then put them out of mind.

However, one thing that just keeps coming up like a bad penny are rocks. Whiskey on the rocks? Yes…literally. If you Google “whisky stones” you’ll get about 782,000 results. Throw in an “e” and it jumps to 989,000 (apparently us Yanks and the Irish think this is a somewhat better idea). What are they you ask? Little soapstone cubes that you can freeze and then throw in your whiskey. Not to sink the whiskey to the bottom of a lake but rather to keep it cold without watering it down. And it makes your drink look so appealing.

Mmmm…doesn’t that look good? I first saw these babies about a year or two ago. A friend of mine asked me about them. Just so you know, I’m kind of a whiskey guy. As such, most of my friends know me to be a whiskey guy and I’ve kind of become their go-to whiskey guy. (Except Matt, the SOB dares to have his own opinions about whiskey separate from mine. The nerve!) As their go-to, my friends send me all sorts of things whiskey related to opine on. When whiskey stones were first brought to my attention I found them kind of funny. I didn’t really take them too seriously but they keep coming up. Another friend of mine asked me about them last week because they were in a magazine that he reads.

I find the whiskey stone thing to be a little silly but some people think it’s a pretty good idea. I get what they are driving at. It’s the same kind of thing The Macallan has been talking about with their ice ball serve. But even that I find a little silly. Basically they are all saying that people want their whiskey cold instead of watered down. Why? The general answer I get when I ask people is that it’s a flavor thing. Really? You actually lose a lot more flavor characteristics chilling whiskey than you do adding a little water. Don’t believe me? Try it at home. Take your favor dram and pour three glasses. Drink one straight, drink one with no ice but chilled in the freezer, and drink the last with a splash or two of water.

If you like the cold because it mellows out flavor that you don’t like then you might want to get a different bottle of whiskey. If however, you just like your whiskey over ice then I’m all for it. I believe that you should drink it how you like. The question isn’t about that. It’s about paying $20 so you can throw rocks in your glass. I think that’s just silly but I guess that’s an easier sell than $20 bottles of special “whiskey water”.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Turning Japanese…

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Richard's Blog

Pardon the pun in the title. It was just too easy.

This past Friday and Saturday the Apostles were co-located in the same place for the first time since WhiskyFest NYC 2009. To celebrate we did what you would expect…drank whiskey! We did a lot of tasting and a catching up but we also got some site-related work done too. Matt was kind enough to bring me a bottle of the Hibiki 12 Year Old (sorry, still not available in Atlanta) so we decided a Japanese tasting was in order. We tasted three of the only four Japanese whiskies currenlty available in the States. Unfortunately, the Yamazaki 1984 is a little out of my price range at the moment. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be posting reviews of the Yamazaki 12, Yamazaki 18 and Hibiki 12. I should have the first review up tomorrow so check back soon!

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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