Whisky If there’s a chill in the air you’ll want a nip in your snifter (read this again in a Scottish accent and it sounds much better). A tumbler’s fine for blended whisky with a mixer, but to savour a single malt you need a glass you can swirl with confidence.
This is not done for show, but to release the aromas which rise up and are corralled together near the rim, where the glass tapers inwards.
You could use a brandy balloon-glass or a small sherry copita, as favoured by professional whisky tasters. The addition of a little water helps to open up the aromas, as does warming the glass in your hands, while the addition of ice cubes can clam up your dram.
Master blenders are known as 'noses' in the industry because they need only smell a whisky to gauge its charms. It’s undoubtedly sensible if you have a number of malts to get through, but there’s also 'spirit burn' to consider – extended sniffing and tasting of high-strength spirits temporarily anaesthetises the palate.
There are an estimated 300 flavour compounds in malt whisky which emerge and recede in layers as you drink them. And if you think wine-tasting notes are fanciful take a gander at some officially sanctioned whisky notes that talk of rock-pools,neoprene booties and newly sharpened pencils. You couldn’t make this stuff up (or maybe you could).
There is no more convivial a winter’s evening than to spend it with friends contemplating, among other things, your dram. Trying to find the right words to describe it is like cracking a crossword of interlocking aromas and flavours. Remind yourself it’s just water, malted barley and yeast. Nothing else. And that is where the fascination lies. But above all, the idea is to have fun with it.
I’ve chosen two single malts - as different as chalk and cheese to demonstrate the impressive range of the whisky spectrum.
Representing the sweet, honeyed malts of Speyside is The Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year Old; and for the peaty, pungent malts of Islay I’ve gone for Ardbeg 10 Year Old. There are about 2,000 malts in between, so you should find one that suits.
The Balvenie is partly matured in ex-sherry casks, imparting richness and fruitiness, while the barley in the smoky Ardbeg has been dried over a smouldering peat fire for maximum 'peat reek'. If you enjoy the honeyed crowd-pleasing Speyside style try The Macallan, Cragganmore and Glenfarclas. If you love the Marmite-malts (love 'em or hate 'em) of Islay look out for Bowmore, Bruichladdich (pronounced Brew-ich-laddie) and Bunnahabhain (Boonahavun).
I’ve included The Bailie Nicol Jarvie, a mellow, great-value blend of grain and malt whiskies but with probably the highest malt content on the market – 60% instead of the usual 15% to 40%.
Now put your ear to your glass and listen. Can you hear the skirl of the pipes and the banshee’s wail ... only kidding.
Ardbeg 10 Year Old
Pale gold with hefty aromas of toffee, charcoal, kippers and lemon peel. Smoky, peaty and a tad medicinal (a good thing with Islay malts) with a dry, earthy finish (46%). Available from Asda, Oddbins, Waitrose.
The Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year Old
Amber gold with a rich, fruity, honeyed nose. Layers of apple, raisins, vanilla and sherry-sweetness with cinnamon spice and marzipan. Glowing and warming (40%). Available from Asda, Waitrose.
The Bailie Nicol Jarvie
Light gold with moreish aromas of honey and fresh hay. Quite spicy and fruity on the palate with notes of apricot, brioche and a hint of liquorice (40%). Available from Oddbins, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose.
Tally Ho!
Try adding a splash of The King’s Ginger to a glass of blended Scotch for a Whisky Mack with a kick. The “only high-strength ginger liqueur”, with 41% alcohol, was created by Berry Bros & Rudd to warm the royal cockles of King Edward VII when driving his new-fangled “horseless carriage”. Available from Berry Bros & Rudd: www.bbr.com.