My Life On The Rocks

If you know me at all, you know I’m a whisky man at heart. Sure, I enjoy other spirits, but if I was stranded on a desert island, I could happily drink whisky and only whisky until the end of my days. Now I enjoy the depth and breadth of the world of whisky, from American bourbon to Irish whiskey to Japanese and Canadian whiskies, but my favorite category is single malt Scotch whisky. I wasn’t always a single malt man, it took my father-in-law to turn me on to the category, but I quickly fell in love and began a journey of discovery that has been both enlightening and delicious.

One of my favorite drams is The Balvenie. I don’t think I’ve ever had a less than excellent dram from The Balvenie, and that is as much due to their commitment to quality as anything else. The Balvenie actually grows their own barley, still does its own malting on traditional floor maltings and has both coopers and a coppersmith on site to tend to the barrels and stills.

Perhaps my favorite expression has been The Balvenie Doublewood 12 yr. Aged in American oak whiskey barrels, then finished in European oak sherry casks, this whisky is simply a great dram. When The Balvenie Doublewoood 17yr was announced, I couldn’t wait to taste it, and, I have to say, it is an outstanding whisky.

I’ll be quite frank, this last weekend was a tough weekend, so much so that I couldn’t wait for Monday to come. On Sunday night, I was debating a nightcap and decided that instead of holding on to the sample that I received of The Balvenie Doublewood 17 yr as I usually do for review, I’d have just a wee dram before bed. It turned out to be the best thing that happened that weekend and literally sent me to bed with a smile on my face. The Balvenie Doublewood 17 year is a classic single malt whisky and I can’t imagine ever not having a bottle in my whisky collection. Its that good.

The nose on this whisky is complex, exotic and enticing. Vanilla, honey, tropical flowers and almond appear over a nice oak undertone. On the palate, this dram truly shines with a smorgasbord of flavors ranging from orange marmalade, chocolate, marzipan and spice notes before giving way to a truly enjoyable finish characterized by cinnamon, orange peel and clove before a final, honeyed oak flavor lifts off of the tongue. This is truly a memorable dram and perhaps Master Distiller David Stewart’s finest effort yet.

I’m looking forward to tasting this whisky with my father-in-law soon. After all, I figure that he introduced me to the world of single malts, the least I can do is let him taste some of the great discoveries that I’ve made. And this, The Balvenie Doublewood 17 yr, well, this is definitely a single malt to treasure.

So today I brought in one of my treasures to taste with my class at Oregon Culinary Institute. Its a small bottle of Bond & Lillard Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey. There is an Illinois tax stamp dated 1937 affixed, and on the back it notes that its 93 proof, 36 months old and distributed by National Distillers Products Corporation. While this isn’t my first experience with old whiskies, I thought it would be fun to review it on here and share my experience with it.

  First off, lets talk condition. Most bottles I’ve found from that era have some serious issues with condition unless they were picked up by collectors originally. While this was acquired out of a private home, I highly doubt this person was a whiskey collector based on the other bottles I obtained. That said, someone had the foresight to dip the top 1/3 of the bottle in hot wax to seal and preserve the whiskey, and it actually worked quite well.

The nose is a bit hot, there is definitely an alcoholic punch up front, but past that, there are light cinnamon notes, and huge vanilla and caramel tones. The color of this bourbon is a golden orange, and it leaves beautiful legs dripping down the sides of the glass as you drink it. I honestly didn’t expect much from this bottle, but this is definitely a good sign.

On the palate, Bond & Lillard is medium bodied and enters with a light, honeyed sweetness before moving into a strong note of cinnamon, pie spices, oak and black tea before ending with a slight nuttiness on the tongue. More cinnamon returns for a final spicy burst just as it seems as if this whiskey is set to disappear from the palate. It is a complex, satisfying and delicious bourbon, one that would be capable of competing with the current bourbons on the market on equal terms.

While I doubt this review is going to spur the recreation of Bond & Lillard in modern times, having a chance to taste old brands helps expand my knowledge and understanding of the world of bourbon. This was really a fantastic bourbon and I hope I get to run across another bottle of Bond & Lillard again in my life. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out if nothing else. Even better, I’m glad I got to share it with my class. Because at the end of the day, that is really what whiskey is about, isn’t it? Sharing & conviviality. At least it is to me. I promise this wouldn’t have tasted nearly as good if I’d have kept this all to myself. Seeing my students experience this bourbon and sharing the experience with them is worth far more to me than any unopened bottle of whiskey in the world, no matter what.

Anyway, I count myself lucky to have tasted this old bourbon. And even luckier to have had some people in my life worth sharing it with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lets be honest, I love mezcal. Not the shitty gringo tourist stuff with the worm sitting in the bottom of it mezcal, the real stuff. Smoky, sometimes a little hot, and full of interesting flavors, good mezcal can be reminiscent of Islay single malts. You either love them or you hate them. I love mezcal so much I’m actually taking a Master Mezcalier course in Portland on Feb 20th. I’m not going to get into the difference between tequilas and mezcals, just understand that these are all distillates of the agave plant and that mezcal hails from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Anyway, given the sheer volume of spirits that I’ve tasted and my travels around the world studying distilled spirits, it isn’t often that I have one of those HOLY SHIT! moments, but HOLY SHIT!

  Zignum Reposado mezcal absolutely changed what my perception of mezcal could be. This moved what I considered a minor and relatively exotic spirits category into consideration as one of the great spirits in the world. At about $28 bucks a bottle,Zignum reposado is one of the most affordable and well made spirits I’ve ever had, period.

  Zignum Reposado mezcal does 6 months “resting” in oak barrels before being bottled at 40% abv. The bottle is nice enough to look at, but just looking at it gives no clue to what is inside. The nose offers notes of caramel, vanilla and coconut cake. Its similar to bourbon, but with an exotic undertone. But when Zignum reposado hits the palate, thats when it really shines. There is a definite smoke note, but instead of being the front note like so many mezcals, Zignum’s smoke harmonizes with the other flavor notes in this mezcal. Coconut, vanilla, brown sugar and roasted agave notes abound. This is a delicious and well balanced spirit, plain and simple. The finish is long and complex, and overall this spirit is reminiscent of the best cognacs and single malt whiskies in the world in that it is so harmonious and well put together. Zignum Reposado mezcal is truly one of the great spirits of the world and one of the most interesting things I’ve tasted in a long time.