Kingston Single Malt Society www.kingstonsinglemaltsociety.com A social club for the appreciation of Single Malt Whisky since 1998 SEPTEMBER 15th, 2014 VOLUME 8; NUMBER 3 ---------------------------- Upcoming Dinner Dates October 20th, 2014 - Speyside - River Mill November 17th, 2014 - Highlands - VIMY December 8th, 2014 - Christmas Dinner - River Mill January 19th, 2015 - Arran - Robbie Burns - VIMY February 9th, 2015 - Islay - River Mill March 16th, 2015 - St. Patrick's (Irish) - River Mill April 20th, 2015 - Islands - VIMY May 25th, 2015 - Highlands - River Mill June 22nd, 2015 - BBQ (Final Exam) - VIMY July 20th, 2015 - 4rd Annual Bourbon Night - River Mill Friday August 21st, 2015 - 8th Annual Premium - River Mill st September 21 , 2015 - Campbeltown/Lowland - VIMY ---------------------------- October 19th, 2015 - Speyside/Highlands - River Mill November 16th, 2015 - Highlands - VIMY This evening's menu with Single Malts from December 14th, 2015 - Christmas Dinner - River Mill CAMPBELTOWN / LOWLAND / ISLANDS ---------------------------- Soup: Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Bisque st Results of the Leif Erikson Highland Park 1 Nosing: Campbeltown - LONGROW PEATED (introduced by: Conrad Falkson) August Premium Dinner Raffle The bottle was graciously donated by Paul Salad: Greek Salad nd Charbonneau and Anthony Johnson. 2 Nosing: Lowland - AUCHENTOSHAN VIRGIN OAK The winner of the bottle was Tim Rickards. (introduced by: John Leighton) $ During the course of the raffle a total of 225 raised. Entree: Chicken Mediterranean (stuffed w/Spinach & Feta) Thank you everyone! Potato, Rice and Pasta Choice: Seasoned Oven Roasted Potatoes ---------------------------- rd 3 Nosing: Lowland - AUCHENTOSHAN VALINCH Results of the Speyburn 25 Year Old JUNE Raffle $ (introduced by: John Creber) A total of 450 was raised. ---------------------------- Dessert: Chocolate Lava Cake 4th Nosing: Island – Mull - LEDAIG 19 YEARS OLD (introduced by: Bart Gauvin) Winners at the June BBQ ---------------------------- Grand Prize winner of the Speyburn 25 Anne Holley-Hime COST OF THE MALTS ---------------------------- I know members are always interested in the cost of the single Perfect Attendance Award Winners malts we taste. Plus the $75 Special Occasion Permit and the 16% levy charged by the LCBO for all alcohol served at the Roberto Di Fazio alongside John Creber; Conny & dinner. John Leighton; & Anne Holley-Hime - LONGROW PEATED CAMPBELTOWN SINGLE MALT VINTAGES 180158 | 700 mL bottle Price $ 86.95 Spirits, Whisky/Whiskey, Single Malt Scotch 46.0% Alcohol/Vol. - AUCHENTOSHAN VIRGIN OAK LCBO 366021 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 136.45 Spirits, Whisky/Whiskey, Single Malt Scotch 46.0% Alcohol/Vol. - AUCHENTOSHAN VALINCH LCBO 364471 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 67.55 Spirits, Whisky/Whiskey, Single Malt Scotch 57.5% Alcohol/Vol. - GORDON AND MACPHAIL PRIVATE COLLECTION LEDAIG 1993 ST JOSEPH WOOD FINISH; DISTILLED 1993; BOTTLED 2012 LCBO 941068 | 700 mL bottle Price $ 114.95 Spirits, Whisky/Whiskey, Scotch 45.0% Alcohol/Vol. ---------------------------- ---------------------------- ---------------------------- I like to break it down into several factors: . Overall flavor profile Final Exam Winners (out of 18 points) . Alcohol content . Price Marci McMullen (9 of 18; with an assist from Karin Overall Flavor Profile As mentioned earlier, I like to match it with something they Gorham) - Ardbeg Ardbog already enjoy. This is where your experience will have to come into Mary Jane O’Donovan (8 of 18) - Blair Athol 15yo play – based on what you know, try to match them with a Scotch production area that meets the general profile. From within that area, Conrad Falkson (7 of 18) - Blanoch 16yo you can pick a distillery you’re familiar with. Scott Drummond (7 of 18) - Macallan Cask The major areas are Lowland, Speyside, Highland, Jeff Gatke (6 of 18) - Liquer Campbeltown, and Islay. My basic rule is that if they like fruity and floral, go with Speysides and Highlands. If they like a bit of punch, a Robert Smithyman (6 of 18) - Highland Park 10yo campfire-ness, go with an Islay. John Leighton (6 of 18) - Hazelburn CV As an aside, these rules are very very general. Not all Bruce Malcolm (6 of 18) - Bladnoch 16yo Speysides are the same, just as not all Islays are the same, but I use these shortcuts because they’re good enough. For example, pop open a Highland Park and you’ll get a little bit of smoke despite it being a Highland. On Finishes: Finishes are tricky for a first bottle because they’re often more expensive (more on price later) and they introduce characteristics that can be fun, especially if your friends enjoy the other finish. For example, I love port so Laphroaig Cairdeas was a great bottle for me but it vaguely resembles a Laphroaig. I would hold off on a finish until later with the exception of sherry oak. Alcohol Content Try to stick with the 40-43% ABV standard and avoid any cask strength expressions. If they’re new to enjoying Scotch neat, then sipping a beverage that’s 40% alcohol will be a bit of a shock. Even if you add a few drops of water or an ice cube (please don’t add an ice cube… please please please don’t), it’s still a lot. Give them a beverage that’s 58.5% abv (Macallan’s Cask Strength) and you’ll likely burn their taste buds off. Go gentle and go low. Price I like to stick with the middle of the road in terms of price. I don’t want those super-cheap blends but I don’t want to ---------------------------- start my friends off with a Macallan 18 YO at $180 a bottle. It’s not that I’m cheap and don’t want to share an expensive dram, it’s that I Picking Your (Friend’s) First Bottle of Scotch don’t want ruin average Scotches for them. Posted on July 28, 2014 by Jim - http://scotchaddict.com/ Macallan 18 YO is a good Scotch, you can ask anyone Whenever a friend who doesn’t drink a lot of Scotch finds regardless of their preferences, but how does it compare with a out I have a blog about Scotch, they want me to help them get into it. Glenmorangie 10? Glenmorangie 10 is a perfectly fine whisky, I I’m all for being an ambassador! But rather than repeat enjoy it often and I love their line of finishes to boot, but it doesn’t myself over and over again, I thought this blog post could do the compare. It can’t compare. Glenmorangie 10 costs only $37 while repeating for me. Macallan 18 costs a whopping $180. It’s like pitting the a AAA Where to Start baseball team against a Major League team – it’s just not fair. For picking your first, or picking a first for a friend, it’s And it’s not fair to your friend! He or she has now sampled valuable to know their preferences as compared to other beverages. this awesome Scotch, now loves Scotches, but everything he or she If they’re a fan of whiskey to begin with, you’re basically will buy that’s not $180 a bottle will taste bad by comparison. 95% of the way there because, as you know, Scotch is whisky It’s better to introduce them to a $37/btl dram and then produced in Scotland! I know a lot of people who love Bourbons move your way up the price spectrum so they can appreciate it because it’s relatively cheap (being made in the US means you avoid properly. a lot of taxes!) without sacrificing much in the way of quality. My first bottle recommendations Bourbon is sweeter because of the higher sugar content of corn and These recommendations are based on my experiences but so a nice introduction would be something on the sweeter, fruitier, also what I think is widely available and easy to get. floral side of the Scotch spectrum. If your budget is the lowest of the named single malts, The same logic could be applied to gins and vodka, which which is around $35-45 a bottle, then the best introduction is the $40 differentiate themselves from one another based on those fruit and per bottle Glenfiddich 12 YO. Glenlivet 12 is nice too but the spicy floral notes. Rums are often sweeter too since it’s made from finish might put someone off and have them mistaken the spiciness sugar/molasses. Skip the islands, where you get more smoke and for high alcohol content. medicinal flavors from the phenols. Interestingly enough, if my memory serves me correctly, At this point, it sounds like anything you could possibly my first bottle of Scotch was actually a Balvenie DoubleWood 12. It’s think of them liking points you towards Speysides/Highlands and a 12 YO that’s finished in ex-sherry and ex-bourbon barrels and very away from Islays and the Islands. Well, if they’re a fan of craft beer, affordable, very tasty, and already breaks the guideline I mentioned do they prefer hoppy beers like IPAs? Or wheat beers? Or do they in the section on finishes! (Heck, I might as well really break the rule, enjoy them all? if your friend is a fan of sweetness, give Auchentoshan Three Wood If the answer is IPAs, like Dogfish 120 Minute IPAs and 90 a try… it’s pricier, more like $60-65 a bottle). Minute IPAs (IBUs of 120 and 90 respectively) then you might If they want to know what smokiness and peatyness is, go introduce them to an Islay. Islays have a powerful flavor profile with a Laphroaig 10 YO (~$50). You have smoke and peat but it’s not because of the phenols and they won’t be put off by it. overwhelming if you like that sort of thing (if you don’t, it is The goal with picking the right first bottle of Scotch for overwhelming).