Getting back into the swing of things

Since we returned to the Boston area over a year ago, it's taken me a while to get back into whisky. First, there was the recovery from the punishing heat we endured in Arizona. Takes a while to get back into the warming effects of whisky after that. Then there were the headaches, which I think I've pinpointed as being due to a lack of proper hydration prior to consumption. I now gulp down two to three full glasses of water prior to any dramming.

Then there was just my general lack of ambition to restart what we had going in the 2010-2011 time frame. For anyone who attended our tastings, you probably remember that they were intimate, with Eileen and me doing all of the manual labor (setting up tables, pouring samples, putting out food and water, breaking down, and washing all the used glassware). Five years later, with a young child and a career, I'm too old for all that.

So I've gone looking for appropriate venues that can take some of the manual labor out of the equation, and have narrowed the field to a few front-runners. Keep your eyes peeled for some announcements, oh two readers of mine!

In the meantime, as I've been scouring the greater Boston area, I've run into some legendary characters from the world of whisk(e)y...like this one, Dave Pickerell!

Just happened to meet Dave Pickerell at The Hawthorne Bar in Boston!

(Thanks to fellow MIT alum Jared Sadoian for connecting us.)

Whiskey Review: Powers John's Lane 12 Year

This is one of very few Irish whiskey reviews on this blog, so let's hope it doesn't suck.

Whiskey is spelled with the "e" when it's from Ireland, for reasons that may or may not be attributable to drunkenness by those developing naming conventions. This is single pot still whiskey, also known as pure pot still whiskey, which means it was fermented from a mash of a combination of malted and unmalted barley and then triple-distilled in copper pot stills. It's a process unique to Ireland that is making a comeback: there were only two brands (Redbreast and Green Spot) that, until a few years ago, bore the single pot still distinction, but now you can find ten or more different bottlings in this style.

This particular whiskey is 12 years old, matured primarily in bourbon casks with a little maturation in sherry casks (percentages/durations undisclosed). It's supposed to be reminiscent of how the whiskey from the original John's Lane distillery tasted, which the people making this whiskey apparently think the average consumer cares about.

Powers John's Lane 12 Year, 46% ABV

Single pot still Irish whiskey (Ireland)

Price range, 750 mL: $55-70

Nose: Honey and a floral fruitiness with some woody spices.

Palate: A nice, ripe fruit palate backed by a good dollop of alcoholic heat. Smooth mouthfeel.

Finish: More ripe fruit and a good amount of heat as it fades away. The aftertaste turns a little flat after a while.

Rating (of 100): 84. Fairly one-dimensional for a whiskey in this price range. Not sure what all the hype was about in the reviews when this came out. I'd rather have gotten two bottles of Glenmorangie 10 and saved a few bucks to boot.

Irish whiskey has yet to win my heart over scotch.

Whiskey review: Redbreast 12

Redbreast is made at New Midleton Distillery, the same distillery that makes Jameson and a bunch of other famous Irish whiskeys. Redbreast has the distinction of being "pure pot still," meaning it's made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley in a pot still, in the traditional Irish whiskey fashion.

Redbreast 12, 40% ABV
Pure pot still Irish whiskey

Appearance: Gold.

Nose: Sweet fruits, flowers.

Palate: Cherry? Juicy fruit, hint of sherry.

Finish: Fairly short and dry, some wood.

Rating (of 100): 84. Nice, but not anything too exciting.

Whiskey review: W. L. Weller Special Reserve

This marks the first time I've reviewed a bourbon on this blog. A bourbon is defined by American law as a whiskey produced in the United States from a mash of at least 51% corn and aged in new, charred oak barrels. And, unlike Scotch whisky, no coloring or flavoring can be added (scotch can have caramel coloring added). There are also some other restrictions that I won't bore you with.

Due to the fact that the bourbon has to be aged in new (i.e. previously unfilled) oak barrels, the bourbon industry supplies a large flux of used barrels to the Scotch whisky industry. A bourbon barrel costs a scotch producer about one tenth what a sherry cask costs - ever wonder why Macallan started aging some of their whisky in bourbon barrels instead of sherry casks? Thank you, economics.

This particular bourbon is wheated, meaning that, in addition to corn, it has a significant amount of wheat in the mash bill. (Most bourbons use rye.) This is supposed to make the bourbon a bit softer than using rye; a more famous wheated bourbon is Maker's Mark.

W. L. Weller Special Reserve, 45% ABV
Bourbon, 7 years old

Appearance: Reddish tan

Nose: Vanilla, very floral, fresh oak, honey, char. Lively but gentlemanly.

Palate: Pear, char, red apple, oak, spices - a great concert of flavors.

Finish: Fairly quick and a little dry.

Rating (of 100): 87. An easy-drinking bourbon that, at less than $20 a bottle, is definitely worth the price.

Whiskey vs. whisky vs. scotch vs. single malt

A lot of people are confused about what "whiskey" is and what "whisky" is...and for good reason. Why would you have two names for the same thing?

The short answer is that there is no good answer. That's the long answer too. But basically, here's the breakdown:

"whiskey" refers to American and Irish products
"whisky" refers to products from anywhere else (e.g. Scotland, Japan, New Zealand, etc.)

There are a few American distillers that use "whisky" instead of "whiskey" (such as Maker's Mark) but they are rare and should be scolded for going against the trend.

Another point that confuses people is the use of the word "whisky" versus the use of the word "scotch." First, let me point out that I've seen it both as "scotch" and "Scotch" and I've come to the conclusion that the best usage is a capital S when followed by the word "whisky" and a lowercase s when only using the word alone.

As for the actual difference, scotch is a type of whisky - it's whisky that is produced in Scotland, matured in oak casks for at least three years, and contains malt whisky (i.e. whisky distilled from a fermented mash of malted barley). There are a few other legal distinctions that you can read about here, but those are the main three.

And, finally, folks are often confused about what the term "single malt" means. Break this down into two parts - first, the word "single" refers to a single distillery. It is a product from only one distillery, not blended with whiskies made at any other distilleries. Second, "malt" means it is produced completely from malted barley (not, for example, corn, rye, or wheat). So the two words don't really have any relation to each other, but they just narrow the scope of what is in the bottle.