I show you how to make a whisky Irish coffee and s’mores. Open fire is optional!
///ENGLISH///
BROWN SAUCE
A dash of oil
1 tin of tomatoes
2 medium onions, finely diced
15 g ginger
1 bay leaf
1/2 star anise
2 cloves
1/2 chilli
2 pinches white pepper
1 pinch of salt
5 juniper berries
12 fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
100 g tamarind paste (or 50 g dried apricots)
700 ml water
4 teaspoons molasses
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
100 ml red wine vinegar
A dash of Blackpitts
Sauté the onions in the oil in a pan over a medium heat until translucent, then add the spices, chopped tomatoes, apples, molasses and Worstershire sauce, heat briefly and deglaze with the water. Add the vinegar and simmer over a gentle heat until the sauce has a creamy consistency.
If you want the sauce to be really velvety, you can put it in a blender, puree it and then pour it through a fine sieve.
Season to taste and enjoy.
If you have cooked for stock, you can pour the cold sauce into a clean jar and seal it airtight. This way you can store the sauce in the fridge for about a week.
My tip for the full flavour: Cook it in advance and leave it in the fridge for 2-3 days, then heat it up slowly.
*****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****
"GRILLED CHEESE" SANDWICH
2 evenly sized slices of sourdough bread.
200g provolone and Irish cheddar cheese
Butter
Crazy stuff here: take the butter and spread BOTH sides of each slice of bread.
Fry the two slices of bread in the pan on one side each until nice and golden brown. Now place the bread on a plate with the golden brown side up and top with as much grated cheese as you can and cover the sandwich with the second slice of bread with the toasted side on top of the cheese. For the finale, put the whole sandwich back into the pan and fry the last two sides until golden brown. You can see it best when the edge of the bread turns a dark brown colour. Not black!
Turn once more - and you're done! Dip the crispy grilled cheese sandwich into the sauce, take a bite and cheers! Don't forget to drink a glass of Blackpitts with it!
My tip: It always works best in a cast iron pan.
///GERMAN///
REZEPT FÜR BROWN SAUCE
Ein Schuss Öl
1 Dose Tomaten
2 mittelgroße Zwiebeln, fein gewürfelt
15 g Ingwer
1 Lorbeerblatt
1/2 Sternanis
2 Gewürznelken
1/2 Chili
2 Messerspitzen weißer Pfeffer
1 Messerspitze Salz
5 Wacholderbeeren
12 Fenchelsamen
1/4 Teelöffel Piment
2 Braeburn-Kochäpfel, geschält, entkernt und fein gewürfelt
100 g Tamarindenpaste (oder 50 g getrocknete Aprikosen)
700 ml Wasser
4 Teelöffel Melasse
4 Teelöffel Worcestershire-Sauce
100 ml Rotweinessig
Ein Schuß Blackpitts
Die Zwiebeln in dem Öl bei mittler Hitze in der Pfanne glasig anschwitzen und dann die Gewürze, gehackten Tomaten, Äpfel, die Melasse und die Worstershire - Sauce hinzugeben, kurz alles zusammen erhitzen und mit dem Wasser ablöschen. Den Essig dazugeben und unter rühren bei leichter Hitze einkochen bis die Sauce eine cremige Konsistenz bekommt.
Wenn Ihr die Sauce richtig samtig möchtet könnt ihr sie in den Mixer geben, pürieren und anschliessen durch ein feines Sieb giessen.
Abschmecken und guten Appetit.
Wenn ihr auf Vorrat gekocht habt, könnt Ihr die kalte Soße in ein sauberes Glas füllen und luftdicht verschliessen. So könnt ihr die Soße ca eine Woche im Kühlschrank lagern.
Mein Tipp für das volle Aroma: Vorkochen und 2-3 Tage im Kühlschrank ziehen lassen und langsam erwärmen.
*****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****. *****
“GRILLED CHEESE” SANDWICH:
2 gleichmäßig große Scheiben Sauerteig-Brot
200g Provolone und irischer Cheddar
Butter
Verrückte Sache, nehmt die Butter und bestreicht BEIDE Seiten jeder Brotscheibe.
Bratet die beiden Brotscheiben auf je einer Seite in der Pfanne schön goldbraun. Jetzt legt ihr das Brot mit der goldbraunen Seite nach oben auf einen Teller und belegt diese mit so viel gerieben Käse wie es geht und deckelt mit der zweiten Scheibe Brot mit der angerösteten Seite auf dem Käse das Sandwich. Zum Finale nun die ganze Stulle wieder in die Pfanne geben und die letzten beiden Seiten goldbraun braten. Ihr erkennt es am besten, wenn der Rand des Brotes eine dunkelbraune Färbung bekommt. Nicht schwarz!
Noch einmal wenden - und fertig! Teeling uns Glas, das knusprige Grilled Cheese Sandwich in die Soße stibben, abbeißen und cheers! Vergiss nicht, ein Glas Blackpitts dazu zu trinken!
Mein Tipp: Am besten gelingt mir das immer in einer gußeisernen Pfanne. Wenn Ihr angst habt, das der Käse in eurer Pfanne verbrennt, macht die Pfanne nicht zu heiß und legt Backpapier rein, denn brennt wirklich nichts mehr an…
Waterford Organic Gaia 1.1 - 50% abv - harvest 2015/bottled 2020
Age: 3 years, 9 months
Disclaimer before we start: This is going to be a roller coaster of a whiskey review…
I’ve been following (and a fan of) this distillery since it opened and have tried some of their spirits at the distillery, lucky me right? Their new make has a very farm like quality and is fairly delicious even without maturation. This is the first time I’ve had one of their bottles as a finished product in front of me. A very strange moment because I can attach a face and personality belonging to the main characters involved in the distillery including those who directly brewed and distilled the spirit. Very satisfying to see their hard work come together.
The bottle: I love how it looks and feels. I’m sure it’s supposed to divide and provoke. The distillery’s attitude to whiskey is that of a wine maker: Fantastic raw ingredients, terroir driven, overlaid with a healthy dose of transparency. The bottle and its contents should be enjoyed like you would a wine, it should be shared and probably be served as part of a meal. Maybe before, maybe after or even during. Let’s be honest here, based on looks alone it sits well as part of a good table setting. The bottle’s blue glass adds a lot of drama and a wow factor as far as I’m concerned.
I mentioned a roller coaster and here comes the first dip: we tried to open the bottle, it has a glass stopper borrowed from the wine industry. Too smooth, too small, very very tight fit, impossible to get open. Do I twist, do I pull? This isn’t just me be being an idiot by the way, I had five other monkeys try to open this bottle too. I say monkeys because that’s what we all felt like. Eventually you get it open and whiskey flies out all over the place. See the video at the top. You shake your head and think why?
I have an idea though and I’m not sure if it’s by design or accident but in the end I really like it! Let me paint you a picture:
You’re sitting at a table eating with friends or family, the mood is good, so is the food the wine is flowing. It’s relaxed, it’s fun. Then comes the whiskey. Traditionally this often makes the mood more serious. “Oh this is rare? Let’s put it on a pedestal, we’re fancy people” Bullshit, whiskey is for drinking and sharing!
Serious mood? With the Waterford bottle and its sticky top this isn’t possible cause whiskey comes flying out any sense of reverence or church like silence disappears.
I LOVE IT!
Within seconds you know this is for consuming, for enjoying - don’t hold back on your guests! Fill their glasses! Raise the roof! If the mood is right this uncorking is really fun! We all got a good bit of mileage from the sticky cork and liquid flying out of a whiskey bottle. At the end of the day I’m willing to loose a glass or two to the floor/table top/friend’s shirt etc as part of a good evening!
Would ya come on Gearóid and tell us what’s the whiskey like???
Well after you’ve splashed your friends and get to pouring a glass you find out that the bottle drips when you poor it too! Ha, I knew it would! This all means that even before you’ve nosed your glass you’ve already interacted and smelled the whiskey. It’s in the air on your hands and so on. It smells great. It’s young, like the distillery. Grain heavy, new make heavy but absolutely no aggressive alcohol which considering it’s 50% abv that’s fairly impressive. The barley aromas are amazing! It’s a grain first product more than a whiskey. Fruit. Herbs. Wood. Sweet wine barrels. Soil and farms. The smell of this whiskey on your hands is fascinating because it’s like being in a barley silo with all the additional fruitiness that the yeast, brewing and distillation bring to the table.
In the glass it’s wood forward, which again considering how long it’s been in the barrels shows me the quality of wood and cooperage being used here. The colour is beautiful. It looks like the barley that it came from, golden.
Moving on to the flavour and the next part of the whiskey coaster: At first I was disappointed. After all that drama with the bottle the flavour was just ok. BUT this is my problem. It’s not “just ok”, the whiskey is great. I had been waiting and building this up in my mind for so long that anything they delivered would have disappointed me.
The finish is fantastic whether you have high expectations or not. Long, warm and intense nothing like you’d expect from a young whiskey.
Later that day I tried the whiskey again to get a better idea of the flavour. It’s great. Simple as that, my bad. It’s a fantastic whiskey. The new make is very present and allows you to experience the flavour that the organic barley has to offer when it’s given time to shine. It’s exceptionally smooth and the alcohol is so well bound that I barely noticed how high the abv is. It tastes like grain, pepper, cloves, oak and pears. Very Irish flavours.
The finish is long, dry and warm and reminds me of a spiced, stewed pear I had in Morocco a long time ago. Amazing how flavour and aromas can transport you through time and space. A very Irish countryside nose finishing in a dessert that I ate in the desert 10 years ago. Hope I got the number of sssss’s right there…
So I mentioned terroir. Every bottle should be like a bottle of wine with an individual farmer and vintage right? Except there are multiple farms on the label. So this is a cuvée, a winey way of telling you it’s a blend. Multiple farms? So why the whole terroir thing I asked myself. It looks like the grain was mixed before mashing, distillation, maturation and bottling. So it’s neither a blend or a cuvée and instead a snapshot of organic Irish barley that was harvested in 2015. Nice. Quick side note: Waterford are the first modern distillery to release a certified organic whiskey.
As some of you know if you’ve been to one of my events I champion food and whiskey together. I had the idea that this would match to a traditional Irish beef stew so I tried it out and yep it’s fantastic. I’ve attached my recipe in case you want to try for yourself.
I’ve never had so many mixed reactions to an Irish Whiskey. I feel like it took me on a journey and as with all journeys there are parts you enjoy and parts that are frustrating. At the end of my trip I can sit here and safely say I really enjoyed it. While writing this and collecting my thoughts I poured myself another glass and got to relive my journey and the time I spent with the friends I got to share some of it with. Waterford Organic Gaia 1.1. What a ride, the Irish reading this will hopefully get the double entendre.
Well done Waterford, a great whiskey and thanks to Kirsch Import for sending me the bottle.
Nose: Herbs, barley, grain, almonds, oak, white vermouth, preserved lemons, mint, caramel, salt, earth, spices and maybe honey?
Palate: Oily but smooth. Barley, pepper, cloves, oak and pears.
Finish: Long, exciting, dry, warm and reminds me of spiced & stewed pears.
Beef stew recipe:
olive oil
500g chuck steak, cubed
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, trimmed, roughly chopped
About a 1/4 of a turnip, peeled, roughly chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
1 litre beef stock
400ml porter
2 bay leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Start off by measuring out 400ml of the porter. You’ll figure out what to do with the other 100ml yourself…
Heat the oil in a large, lidded casserole pot over a medium heat. Cast iron is best. Fry the chuck steak until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside. Do not eat it yet!!
Add the onions, carrot, celery and turnip and fry until golden-brown, adding a little more olive oil if need to. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the plain flour and stir well. Cook for a couple of minutes, or until it turns a nut-brown colour. Pour in the hot stock and stir well until the sauce thickens.
Return the beef to the pot, add porter and bay leaves and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering, then leave to simmer gently for one hour with the lid slightly ajar.
Check the seasoning and serve with chopped chives and parsley.
The photo above was taken in Hamburg at a bar called Standard. They need your support at the moment (as do most bars) so drop by their page and have a look: https://standard.hamburg/
Thanks to Amy, Max and Ole for helping with this post.
The first time I visited the Ringkøbing Fjord in Denmark was in 2005 and my love affair with whisky was just starting. It is a very beautiful part of the world and it well worth visiting. I returned in 2018 and this time set my sights on visiting the small town of Stauning to see the already famous Danish distillery with the same name. It was a very good time to drop by as they had just received a large investment and had started building a very modern, yet very traditional distillery next to the old one. A very Scandinavian way to do things.
In July I got to visit them again and was delighted to spend some time with Alex and Stefan. Gone is the old distillery, it has become a welcome centre and tasting room. Some might say a pity. I don’t. The new distillery is impressive, very impressive - well thought out, architectural and pays homage to its roots and the local area. It’s huge compared to the old one but fits in perfectly with the surrounding villages and cuts a fantastic silhouette, breaking the space between the earth and the sky. Each building represents a step along the way towards the finished product. To the keen eye the whole distilling process is visible from the outside. Intake, malting, mashing, boiling, distilling, maturation and finished product.
Some facts & figures:
Stauning have chosen to do all parts of the production themselves so it only makes sense to make this visible too. Malting takes place in the form of floor malting using grain they’ve been able to source locally. They’ve developed a one of a kind system for this. At the moment they use mainly barley and rye. On a side note rye is without a doubt my favourite grain for distilling, I love the flavour profile it generates., probably going to pour myself a glass soon…. After that the malt is dried in a kiln using hot air blown from below. For it to be a smoky whisky, the grain is dried with warm, smoky air from the burning of peat supplied by a Klosterlund Museum and heather which is also sourced locally.
2009-2012 the distillery produced 6000 litres of new spirit a year.
2012 the production was more than doubled to 15.000 litres a year.
2015 the distillery announced their plans for an expansion of the distillery capacity to 900.000 litres.
They have have 24 handmade copper pot stills (16 wash and 8 spirit) and they are all gas fired! For the nerds here you’ll know that this isn’t so common any more and there aren’t that many companies around who’ll produce these for you. In fact Alex told me that the company who built them (Abercrombie) had to ask some ex-employees to come out of retirement to help them with the design. The knowledge had been lost over the year and at the end of the day, still building isn’t a trade but a mix of craft and artistry.
Stefan showed me round the barrel houses and let me in on the best kept secret in the whisky world. Watch the video linked to this article to see what I’m talking about. This guy is the definition of learning by doing. His methods work like this: “I’ve got an idea. I think it’ll work. Yes it did!” or “I’ve got an idea. I think it’ll work. No it didn’t but if I do this, and then do this and then try this I can save the soup.” Mostly turns out better than the original idea. He is the keeper of exceptional cask experiments. I see a lot of similarities between him and a chef. Very little science, definitely a method, a good gut feeling and some fantastic “ingredients” to work with. His commitment doesn’t hurt either. Keep your eyes peeled there’s some great stuff coming soon.
Alex, one of the founders, walked me through the distillery and as always I felt like a guest being welcomed to his home. He’s proud of his distillery and everything they’ve achieved. He should be too, they’ve gone from farmhouse to world level in a very short time with zero loss of quality. The opposite is true in fact, everything I tasted was better. The site is fantastic, and the whisky they produce is too. I enjoy going there so much because I feel like we’re on the same wavelength: there’s loads we’d like to see change in the whisky world to avoid the most fantastic drink becoming redundant. Whisky can’t stay the same as it’s always been, it needs to evolve to please true fans and bring new blood to the table. Stauning takes traditional methods, packs them up in a modern way and allows this very old spirit be just as relevant now as it was 500 years ago. The best of the old, the best of the new ,all wrapped up in some contemporary design. Very Scandinavian.
There are only a few things you need:
A good whisk(e)y. Maybe even two whiskies from the same distillery so you can taste and compare the differences and similarities directly. Or a few from the same region. or if you’re just getting started maybe try the extremes; a Irish whiskey, one from Japan something from Scotland.
Glassware. The best would be a glass that is some way tulip shaped. No whisky glasses? A wine glass will do. Don’t like using a wine glass? Use the glasses you love and maybe even experiment with the same whisky in different glasses. I still don’t have a favourite glass it depends on my mood.
Something to write your notes on like a notebook.
Water. A carafe and plenty of water. No need to buy anything special, just the water you usually drink. I use tap water.
How to taste:
Have a look: It’s best when looking at a whisky to have a white background like for example your notebook pages. What colour is the whisky? Does it look oily? Does it remind you of anything?
Smell. It’s best to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Bring the glass up from the table to your nose, when you can smell the aromas don’t go any higher. The spirit shouldn’t burn your nose and there’s no need to swirl it like you would do with a wine.
Again the same question as before: what does it remind you of? Summer? Maybe it’s something floral. Christmas? Probably vanilla or spices. Fruit? Citrus or stone fruit? It’s important at the beginning not to try and be too detailed.
Taste. Take a small sip and hold it on your tongue for a second. Then second and third sip; here I recommend a second for every year it was in the barrel, give or take, it should never be unpleasant. While the spirit is on your tongue that’s where we can evaluate the flavour. The next part is my favourite: the finish you’ve swallowed (or spat..yeah right) your whisky and the flavour can continue to unfold and move toward the aftertaste or finish as we like to call it.
Adding water: it good to add water but be careful, you can put it in but can’t take it back out. Use a teaspoon or just dip your finger in your glass of water and let a drop or two fall into your whisky. I always recommend this but in reality I prefer whisky without water. It’s still good to try though. The important thing here is to try the whisky, smell, taste, finish etc. without water and then repeat it again with a drop of H2O and see what’s changed.
Again it’s important not to try and be too detailed too soon. It’s more than enough to write down a couple of key words or associations. This isn’t work after all!
Time. You can’t rush good whisk(e)y. So you definitely can’t rush a whisky tasting. Put the kids to bed, turn your phone off and take some time for yourself and what’s in your glass.
Whisky tastes best when shared with friends and family, but if this isn’t physically possible at the moment there are ways around it: you can share your tasting notes if you make any or have a quick video call during or after.
Slainte!
Footnote:
This article started out as collaboration with Bushmills to be written in German. As it was a press release space was at a premium so this is the uncut, more detailed version in English. Want to read the press release in German? here you go: https://www.drinks-magazin.com/news/details/bushmills-mit-diy-whiskey-tasting-fuer-zuhause
Firstly I would like to say thank you to Bruichladdich and their German distributor for inviting me to their event with head distiller Adam Hannett and German brand ambassador Ewald Stromer. I have been a Bruichladdich fan for years, and as some of you know have done more than a couple of events either directly for them or tastings where I’ve used their whiskies. I am involved in some craft distilling myself, so having anything to do with one of the few, let’s called them ‘handcrafted distilleries’, is always a learning experience.
Bruichladdich distillery is located on the southwestern tip of the remote island of Islay where they distill their unique spirits using traditional Victorian equipment. The distillery has had a long and somewhat turbulent history but sadly closed in 1994 due to being, quote “ surplus to requirements”. The person who said this probably also turned down the first iPhone…The distillery was subsequently purchased by a group of private investors led by Mark Reynier of Murray McDavid on 19 December 2000. Jim McEwan, who had worked at Bowmore Distillery since the age of 15, was hired as master distiller and production director. He produced some fantastic spirits and luckily for us a great apprentice in the form of Adam Hannett.
We met during the afternoon in Hamburg with a few other writers, whisky lovers, friends and colleagues in a Hamburg institution; a restaurant called the Bullerei run by celebrity chef Tim Mälzer. We were invited to have a seasonal meal, test some of Port Charlotte’s finest whiskies and listen to the person responsible for creating them. The guys were travelling around Germany as part of a roadshow - rock and roll, right? We started off with a horses neck made with Bruichladdich, in my opinion a simple yet fantastic opener.
As soon as we were all seated Adam started to tell us all about the island of Islay that he calls home and what day to day life is like there. This is something that can be told, yes, but has to be experienced live just like any of these remote unspoiled areas in Ireland and Scotland. Our first course was squash done three way with the northern German classic of sea buckthorn. Although this wasn’t strictly a pairing menu I made sure to try them together anyway. We had the Port Charlotte 10 with it and it matched quite well.
Nose - Salted caramel chocolate, orange (or maybe orange peel?) and seaweed.
Palate - Oaky, smoke and salty seaside feeling.
Finish - Ginger sweets, toast and drying smokiness.
For our next course we had an 8 year old Islay Barley with beef shoulder, roast onions, carrots and Jerusalem artichoke puree. This one might sound a bit underrated but it was the complete opposite. Almost all smoky whiskies go well with beef, but because the Port Charlotte has that slightly more oily, high alcohol presence, they were a match made in heaven. I’ve rarely had beef shoulder that was that tender before. More please! Adam told us a little bit more about the production and the people that run the distillery. It has a fairly low output volume of 1 million but is the island’s largest employer.
Nose - sea breeze, lemon and green fruits but I couldn’t tell what, maybe gooseberry? There was definitely smoke there too but that’s one of the things I love about Port Charlotte, you can smell and taste past the smoke.
Palate - sweet, oily texture, more from the cask here represented by vanilla, and cedar and black pepper.
Finish - Coconut and peat smoke, almond and flowers. The peat smoke tends to fade away.
Our third course was chocolate mousse with dehydrated pear, and salted whisky caramel. I don’t normally eat dessert (in fact I’ve been known to order my starter for dessert again) but I couldn’t resist. Really good. The whisky we had was also very special: the MRC01. This is an example of what good new make can do in a fantastic barrel. This time it was a red wine barrel from a famous wine producing family in Bordeaux. Have a look at the name of the whisky and I’m sure you’ll figure it out. This time the pairing didn’t work with these two heavy hitters but it also didn’t matter as both were great by themselves.
Nose - fruit and peat smoke and loads of them. Raspberry and cherry mostly but it’s salty too.
Palate - warming lively and sweet. This was complex, very complex. Dry smoke and the oak was more prominent with loads of vanilla.
Finish - medicinal peat smoke. You can really tell the quality of the oak in the finish, it’s dry yet moreish with hints of cloves and peaches.
You might have tried some Port Charlotte products before and noticed their oiliness. The reason why? They have oils (like essential oils) in them. Not added to them obviously, but they show up as part of the distillation process. This can be a good or a bad thing: they have very strong flavours and the balance has to be just right to make sure the whisky isn’t too overpowering. I like oily whiskies and Bruichladdich gets the the balance just right. If you want you can slowly add water to a whisky of a higher percent. Add it at the right angle so the water goes under the whisky. Hold a light under it like in the picture below and you can see the whisky, alcohol and oil float on top. The dilution of whisky is more complex than just adding water. Certain chemicals within whisky, particularly fusel oils and fatty acids, have limited solubility in water. When whisky is diluted with water to 40% alcohol these oils can give the whisky a cloudy appearance. For improved shelf appearance they are generally removed by cold filtering. This process makes the product optically more consistent but unfortunately removes some flavour too. Bruichladdich don’t do this; it’s part of their approach to a handmade honest product. When we’re talking about drinking your whisky neat or with a splash of water my preference is always non-chill filtered.
#werbung #advertising Bruichladdich helped out with the running costs of this website so this technically counts as advertising. As you know though I have been a fan of the distillery for years so these views are completely my own.
Recently I got the chance, on a fairly cold day, to visit the New Midleton Distillery in Midleton, Co Cork, Ireland. This is a very big facility and happens to be home to a few of the cornerstones of Irish Whiskey: Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, Green Spot & Yellow Spot and of course a lot of contract distilling including names like Tullamore Dew and many more.
Now when you visit there are a few different kinds of tour you can take part in. All well and good, in fact a few years ago I did the historical tour which if you’re a random tourist who’s semi-interested in whiskey there are worse ways to spend your afternoon.
If however you love whiskey and already have a bit of experience as to how whiskey is made then you should go with the “Behind the Scenes Tour” or the “Distiller’s Apprentice Tour” these are the ones that take you behind the scenes and into the main production and storage warehouses.
I was invited there by Jameson and we were taken around by John Madden who honestly was a fantastic guide with a very in-depth knowledge of how the place runs and who’s who in the Irish whiskey world. We started off having a look at the historical distillery which like I say is interesting but more in a tourist attraction kind of way. Then we were quickly at the Method and Madness craft distillery where all of the new experimental liquid is coming from. If you look closely you’ll also see the original gin still from when the original distillery first opened.
Then we went on to the main part of the show: the first stop was the Irish Whiskey Academy. We got a much more in-depth look at modern whiskey production and got to try different kinds of new make, from different grains and of course in different strengths. All very polished and very interesting.
After around 30 minutes and a quick tasting of the Black Barrel and Green Spot we headed on to the main distillery. Wow this is a one off in Ireland just because of shear scale and technical prowess. Sadly no pictures of the still room but you’ll know that from visiting other distilleries, they’re never too hot on having the heart of the production photographed. At the moment they’re very close to full production and are making a staggering 150,000 standard barrels per annum! …. and this brings us onto the next part of the tour. The barrel warehouses. 42 of them in total and full to the brim with beautiful whiskey. I’ve added a few photos and a video but honestly, seeing it live gives you the real idea of the scale. The thing that hit me wasn’t just the scale but the distance. We drove past warehouse after warehouse after warehouse and were told about the expansion plans for the coming years, all that whiskey that’s being produced day and night has to be matured somewhere. I did mention that I have a bit of space going in my basement in case they get stuck, let’s see…
The highlight came next though: a grand bit of cask opening. I was treated to a fully matured 16 year old ex-bourbon single pot still which was great but then the trump card was packed out: a 21 year old ex-port pipe. I could try describing it but any tasting notes I’d write wouldn’t do it justice because with all whiskey the atmosphere plays a huge role and with that our tour slowly came to an end.
Thanks again to my guide John Madden, Adam at the distillery and my Pernod Ricard representative in Hamburg, Raffael Koch.
This is a quick little ditty about the new Triple Triple from Jameson: we tried this last week at one of our whisky tastings in Hamburg. I picked it up in Dublin for 52 euro in travel retail for a 1 liter bottle. Firstly the bottle feels huge and honestly I really like the name and branding. We reviewed it as a group and strangely there wasn’t a lot of dispute about the notes, so here you go - Aroma: Banana, chocolate, green apple, almond,and orange marmalade. Vanilla and cinnamon were also there. Flavour: Grapefruit, a little oily, pineapple caramel and overall a very smooth whiskey. Finish: very short but pleasant: coffee, tobacco, dark chocolate and orange oil.
In general this is a pleasing whiskey that’s very easy to drink. If you’re looking for something amazing then you won’t find it here. However if your hotel or restaurant bar had it on the back bar then you wouldn’t be disappointed either. Will never be a classic but I would find it hard to find people who didn’t like it. Overall nice, maybe even delicious but you might ask yourself if you couldn’t use your 52 euro more wisely. Make it 40 Euro and 700 ml and you’ve got me. Big thanks to my reviewers aka partners in crime!
Where do I start with this one. What a visit.
As some of you might know, I come from the south of Ireland and though I grew up in Cork I’ve spent every one of my 37 Summers (except one) in a small fishing village in Waterford, it’s kind of my spiritual home and I still love going there. For a few years now there has also been a new distillery there that I have written about before and recently I got a chance to visit them again. I hopped in the car with my dad and drove in the direction of the distillery and it ended up being a very special experience to me for a more personal reason. That’s not what this article is about though, it’s about whiskey.
When we arrived we were greeted very warmly by Megan and she quickly took us to see Neil, the head brewer. I’ve done a lot of distillery tours in my time and have had everything from bad to fantastic but this guy really knew his stuff and was more than happy to share it with us. Megan was fantastically genuine and friendly and ended up spending the half the day with us. After a bit of chatting and admiration of copper equipment we went to the blending room. WOW. When I visited the last time round there wasn’t much to taste except for some great new make. We still had some great poitín but were also treated to a mini tasting and blending session of some aged spirit. I felt like I was listening to a demo tape of Nirvana’s Nevermind album. The bones of something fantastic were there, still rough, not ready to go but oh man you could feel how good this is going to be! We talked a little about farms, plant protection solutions, biodiversity and organic farming. The people at the Waterford Distillery are focused on barley and wood and think if you get these right then the rest is just filling in the gaps… sounds simple right? Well basically it is but it means that you have to take all things barley and wood related even more seriously. They can tell you when (to the hour) a farmer’s barley was, planted, treated, harvested, malted, brewed, distilled and where the distillate is now. The farms have “passports” and within seconds the team is able to give you very very detailed information about how the crop was farmed, and what it’s destined to be. Does this make a huge difference to the final product? I don’t know yet but the dedication is very impressive and I’m fairly certain that it’ll pay off.
Here comes the next WOW: after we had finished up and spent some time admiring stainless steel equipment this time we moved on to the secret cave of the distillery where they keep the blood tubs. This room is a kind of a crystal ball to see what the fully aged barrels are going to be like. For anyone newer to the whiskey world it goes a bit like this: Whiskey needs wood to mature and most commonly ex-bourbon barrels are used because they are readily available and just happen to come pre-seasoned due to a quirk of the bourbon industry. They hold around give or take 200 litres of distillate and are very reliable. Blood Tubs are much smaller at around 40 litres so the contact between the distillate and the wood is much higher, thereby speeding up the maturation process and giving the producer an idea of what the whiskey of the future is going to be like when it’s ready.
We started sampling random casks and they were one better than the next. Some barrels specially for prediction, some experiments and some amazing secrets that will probably never see the light of day. Very interesting stuff and the last cask I sampled had such a concentrated, intense taste that I’m sure I could still smell/taste it later that evening while sitting outside by the sea in one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland.
If what I tried is even 10% of the quality of the final product then Irish whiskey lovers (like me) are in for a fantastic treat! Thanks again to Megan and Neil for taking the time out of their days to spend it with us. I hope this won’t be my last visit to the distillery and in my opinion it’s still one to watch for the future.
My dad and I had a great visit and a fantastic day afterwards. This was partly due to the team at the distillery. They keep things simple and reduced there and I’d like to remind you all that that’s the way to do it. The best whisky in the world isn’t fancy, it’s barley, wood, time and the people who made it. It is also effectively nothing unless you keep it simple and enjoy it with the ones you love. Take some time and appreciate all the time and work that goes into what’s in your glass. Share the moments with others and reflect on them with joy.
Wow that was a great evening! I teamed up with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the Tortilla Guy and The Gone Away Bar to offer a Taco and Whisky pairing.
Big thanks to everyone who was involved including Tanja Hall for the photos.
www.tanahall.de www.smws.com www.goneawaybar.com www.thetortillaguy.de
For the nerds here’s what I paired with what and why:
51.7 - Come in from the Cold
Pairing method: Contrast
Pairing: Salmon Tostada, chipotle mayo and home cured salmon.
Idea: Although Bushmills is close to the sea it doesn’t have any maritime notes. It
does have an intense fruity lightness. The idea here was to bring the sea to
the distillery. A good introduction to those who haven’t taken part in a food &
whisky pairing before.
Effectiveness: 7/10
***********************
100.20 - Kermit’s kale knackwurst
Pairing method: Complement
Pairing: Vegan, mole árabes, dukkah and braised carrot.
Idea: This was crying out to be mirrored with sweetness, spices and Mexican/north
African inspired flavours.
Effectiveness: 9/10
***********************
36.147 - Midnight Contemplation
Pairing method: Contrast
Pairing: Chicken tinga tostada, avocado leaf and black beans.
Idea: I decided that the flavours were influenced by the woody jammy notes in the
whisky. These matched very well to the crispness of the tostada, sweetness of
the chicken and earthy qualities of the black beans. Each one alone had very
mellow flavours but combined created an intense explosion.
Effectiveness: 8/10
***********************
70.28 - A Seashore Sunrise
Pairing method: Contrast and Complement
Pairing: Slow cooked beef brisket, salsa negra and onions.
Idea: Sometimes more is more! The idea here was to take the flavours and multiply
them. This was the first real introduction of smoke to the evening, perfect to
match with the syrupy smoky spicy flavour of the salsa negra. The sweetness
of the white maize and the coastal sweetness of the whisky were perfect
companions. This divided the group as the flavour combination was extremely
intense.
Effectiveness: 10/10 for 70% of the guests 6/10 for the rest. My personal favourite.
***********************
10.146 - Sweet smoky succulent sensation
Pairing method: Contrast
Pairing: Mole poblano and mole árabes served with a bundle of warm tortillas, freshly
pressed and grilled while the guests waited.
Idea: Festival whisky with the traditional festival food mole. The idea here was that
the flavours are so intense that harmony is the only way to go. Chocolate and
smoky whisky is almost a no brainer, so this was an easy pairing to set up but
probably the most well loved and