older and bolder

while single malts are unsurpassed in bouquet, taste and finish, there are some blended whiskies that offer a smoother and commingled blend of malts and grains for one's drinking pleasure.
case, or rather bottle, in point is chivas brothers' chivas 18, the 18-year-old blend that made its way to our shores since december 2006 courtesy of pernod-ricard malaysia.
by the way, pernod-ricard acquired chivas brothers and the chivas regal brand in 2001 and it is one of its jewels in the spirits business. which brings us to the chivas 18 which is quite a different creature from the usual chivas 12-year-old. fact is, it is not the chivas 12 plus six more years in the cask.
no, it is older and bolder in bouquet and taste.
which is no surprise as the chivas 18 comprises two rare speyside single malts not publicly available in its 18 year old expressions - strathisla 18 which is rich, fruity and nutty in taste and longmorn 18 with its floral notes that add a certain elegance to the overall blend.
the amber liquid, with 40 percent alcohol by volume, has a fruity and toffee bouquet leading to a sherry and smokey taste with floral tones and a hint of chocolate and toffee.
the finish is soothing with a lingering smokiness.
quite nice!

worthwhile whiskies

'twas the night before christmas, when all through the house... i was looking for whiskies to drink.
found a few that was to last the sultans of single malts for just under a week between christmas and new year's eve - which everyone ensured was a week dedicated to the single-minded pursuit of single malts and other beverages too. mostly single malts.
we started with the glenmorangie cellar 13, a single malt from a single cellar.
it is different from the glenmorangie 10 years old single malt as aging in bourbon casks for 10 to 12 years in cellar 13 - a warehouse near the sea that brings a saltiness to the sweet single malt.
the 43 percent alcohol by volume single malt is pale yellow and we opened the bottle by the poolside as others started on their christmas eve dinner.
the nose was sweet with the scent of vanilla and wood and a hint of menthol as we swirled a tumblerful. there was the vanilla and honey and a taste of toffee - nice!
the finish was long and juicy with certain flowery fragrance. we drank more and savoured every wee dram of it.
christmas came by and other bottles of single malts were opened, among which were glenfiddich 12 year olds and a bottle of chivas brothers royal salute 21-year-old.
the chivas brothers were grocers and not distillers and therefore produced a blended whisky to smooth out the spectrum of taste that the single malts had during their time and led to the creation of chivas regal in 1909.
anyway, the royal salute 21-year-old is a super premium blended whisky that was created as a tribute to the coronation of queen elizabeth II in 1953. it is a 43 percent alcohol by volume whisky that is bottled in a collectible ceramic decanter complete with its own velvet sack.
it has an old world feel about it, like being dressed in a smoking jacket and having port with cigars but really, it is markedly different from other blended whiskies with an intense smokiness on the nose.
smooth with a rum and raisin taste on the palate, the finish is mellow with a hint of spiciness. it grows on you.
but the coup de grace for the week was the 17-year-old islay mist. it was a revelation of one of the best blended single malts of all time and what has been hailed as the perfect balance of oak, grain, malt and peat.
we could only agree as i opened the bottle and all our whisky dreams came true. it was smoky, salty and sweet.
that must be thanks to the fact the islay mist started off as a tribute to the 21st birthday of the son of the laird of islay house in 1922. it was considered such an important occasion that the good lads felt that laphroaig was too heavy and decided to blend with other highland malts like the glenlivet and grain whisky. that was the beginning of islay mist.
anyway, the palate was nutty and earthy enough you just wanted to slosh it around your mouth to experience complete relaxation like a day on a hammock in a white sandy beach with women with-or-without-bikinis tending to your every wish.
the finish was a light smoky one with a dash of salt and pepper like one of the best steaks you've ever had. satisfying to the hilt as the bottle finished in no time.
so, anyway, happy new year! hic!

whisky galore

whisky galore - there is just so much to write about whisky this week.
friends in kuala lumpur went for the chivas 18 whisky tasting while the enthusiastic zeal of the freshly-converted-to-single-malts in djakarta ensured a steady supply of whisky for me.
also, there is a remake of an old film based on a Sir Compton Mackenzie book which i have read called - whisky galore! and guess what, surfed the world wide web and found that there is a beverage afficionado who has made a videocast of tastings called the beverage review.
the latest videocast - with host michael lam in his christmas cap - is on the macallan cask strength single malt.

meanwhile, after a couple of weeks in djakarta, my single malt enthusiast-friend amazed me by getting his brother come over from kuala lumpur with more single malts.
a surfeit of single malts to delight us all.
apart from the half bottle of 15-year-old french oak reserve the glenlivet, our choice expanded to the bowmore cask strength and the bowmore darkest.
the host had the privilege of choice and he chose the bowmore darkest.
good choice and we imbibed it with care, this time with an ice-cube to release the serpent that coiled out sinously like a belly-dancer jiggling her way through the floor.
a bit of toffee, some cinnamon and the oily peaty finish in the bowmore darkest made us finish a fair bit of the bottle. i had three tumblers of the darkest and left for home satisfied.
considering that we had some beers and sake earlier during a superb meal at the hamako japanese restaurant in blok m, djakarta. the salmon was firm and fresh and went well with the wasabi.
might post a review of the restaurant if i do make a return visit there.
merry christmas and a happy new year folks!

no cheers at cheers!

have to get this off my chest!
if you ever make your way to cheers pub over in medan damansara - behind the hock lee's supermarket in jalan batai - just stick to the beers for any cheers!
whatever you drink, don't bother to order a chivas.
they would probably - and almost likely - pass off a white label whisky as a shot of chivas.
while it is a blended whisky like chivas, it is not a premium blended whisky and does not taste as nice or as good as a chivas.
okay, i can drink in peace again now!

whisky frisky

the festivities were over but the holidays still had a week to go in malaysia.
decided to kill a few bottles around town but ended up in ronnie q's in bangsar after this pantun - four line malay poem - was sent out for an evening of drinks.
satu syawal dah lama tiba,
selamat hari raya aidil fitri,
gelas ais dah lama sedia,
bila kita nak minum wiski!
the quorum was five.
so we went for the easy option and took a bottle of chivas regal. well, i have drunk and written about it so let's just say it still tasted the same.
although days earlier, i did imbibe it with green tea as a mixer. interesting green tea after-taste and not quite unlike having after-eight mint chocolates after a heady heavy curry dinner. try it, you might like it - the chivas-green tea mix i mean.
well, almost a week later some of us met up again at ronnie q's and decided to sacrifice another bottle to our decadent lifestyle. out came the standard chivas regal bottle but we decided against it.
instead, the three of us at the pub went for a bottle of bowmore 12 years old, for about one hundred ringgit more.
having extensively tried a few other bowmore variants, decided that it was time to drink and talk about the basic bowmore, an entry-level single malt in the world of rich peaty bowmore single malts.
well, the bouquet of this standard islay whisky brought a smile to our faces with its chocolate and citrus notes. awakened the senses it did, said the resident sith. took the tumbler to the lip and took a sip for a taste of peatiness.
it is not that peaty compared to other bowmores and it had a smokiness delicately balanced by a honeyed sweetness. the auburn liquid swirled around the palate with a long and very satisfying finish. this 40 percent alcohol by volume whisky is indeed pretty good.
it was so good that conversation flowed as well as the whisky and we ended up somewhere in the middle of kuala lumpur at a dangdut club, dancing the night away amongst a cohort of courteous courtesans and men with their silky dancefloor skills.
that is a story for another time. or never as the case may be.
in between the ronnie q whisky meetings, the few of us also met up at an open house where we finished off the remnants of a wonderful macallan 18 year old fine oak. the fine oak series came out in 2004 where the single malt is mellowed in bourbon oak casks as well as the standard sherry oak casks from jerez in spain.
that is not to say the sherry-casked whiskies are not bad. they are excellent of course but the bourbon adds a sparkle to the peatiness inherent in single malts.
the speyside whisky is 43 percent alcohol by volume and is sweet and smoky with a peppery finish. as all of us thirsted for the blonde whisky, there was not enough to go around but quite enough for us to hanker for more.
soon.

single malt march

the chivas regal, neat as it was, didn't quite cut it.
it didn't assuage the pain.
it didn't make us drunk.
it did go well with the spicy mutton pizza at the national press club.
it also made us poorer at d'vine in plaza damansara.
it also led us to go on a single malt march in kuala lumpur over a few nights this week.
so we - a mate with a heart shattered to shards and i - beat a path to the rib shop for the single malt to soothe our souls. we found it in a bottle of 12-year-old bunnahabhain single malt whisky. and let's just say it was a bargain to boot - considering the prices of drinks these days.
bunnahabhain, which means mouth of the river, comes from the isle of islay that is famous for a few other single malts such as bowmore, lagavulin, ardbeg and laphroaig - some of which have been tasted, drunk, enjoyed and reviewed by yours truly.
the bunnahabhain, neat or with a wee cube of ice in a tumbler, warmly caressed our palate and surprisingly teased us with its lighter-than-usual sweet and smooth Islay taste but long and full-flavoured finish.
apparently bunnahabhain's water is piped from streams in the surrounding hills and is less peaty than might be expected.
all was good with the world. especially with a tumbler of bunnahabhain at hand. and good conversation and good company.
the single malt march continued the next night at the finnegan's pub in jalan sultan ismail. the drink du jour being the bowmore single malt whisky.
we settled on the bowmore cask strength, as the bowmore darkest - the ruby red and ravishing revelation of a drink - was no more in stock.
the auburn cask strength was creamy and rather peaty and more than warmed an otherwise chilly night in kuala lumpur. the brawny beast in a dram of the drink went on a quiet riot through the palate and reinvigorated the spirit, and more than anything, the soul.
the price was nice and even better than some places that placed a premium on plonk they call blended whiskies.
our soul revived, our pockets still jingling with change, we made our way to no black tie - the good music place that has just reopened five doors away from its old spot in lorong mesui, off jalan nagasari in kuala lumpur (near hotel istana-lah).
we strode in as recorded jazz music filtered through the bar and an awesome performance area all decked out in parquet. the place was more than nice and the range of drinks pretty awesome.
there was no bowmore darkest here too. so we ordered the bowmore 17 years old. almost as nice as some of the 18-year-olds i know. whiskies i mean.
we cupped the wonderfully oval tumblers that held the 17-year-old mellow nectar. it was not as brawny as the cask strength but complex with peat smoke and some toffee for a lingering and satisfying finish.
satisfying enough for us to order a couple more each. the bill brought us back to earth though. it was 45 ringgit a pop - affordable if you consider a 15-year-old glenfiddich going for 55 ringgit a tumbler in d'vine.
on that note about prices, no black tie is a great place for good jazz but the cover price of 45 ringgit plus a standard drink is a lot too much to pay for performers that regularly perform elsewhere and where there is no cover charge.
the whisky can be expensive but the music... well, at least one can just sit at the no black tie bar and imbibe the spirits and listen to the music without paying the cover.
or buy some great jazz cds and take it to the ribshop or finnegan's - the drinks are affordable and the management can always be persuaded to play your kind of music.
on that note, slainte mhath!

the bottle battle

does anyone remember the 99 Bottles of Rum song?
99 bottles of rum on the wall, 99 bottles of rum; Take one down, pass it along, 98 bottles of rum on the wall!
98 bottles of rum on the wall, 98 bottles of rum; Take one down, pass it along, 97 bottles of rum on the wall!
97 bottles of rum on the wall, 97 bottles of rum; Take one down, pass it along, 96 bottles of rum on the wall!... and on and on the song goes...
it felt like that at the bulldog pub in quiet sri hartamas on sunday. the occasion was a birthday party and six bottles of chivas regal 12-year-olds came and went in six hours. not bad for the crowd of reprobates in the circle of friends there.
we put away our chasers of beer as the first bottle appeared. haven't had a tumbler of chivas in a long long time and it felt pretty good, of course with a mix of either ale or soda water. sweet and fizzy, it went down like a shot.
and many a shot was fired from the bow as chips and cake added to the revelry.
but what does chivas, a blended whisky at 40 percent alcohol by volume, actually taste like?
since i couldn't really remember, i decided to take shots of the amber liquid to jog my memory and palate, quench the thirst for knowledge, so to speak.
well, its pretty sweet with honey and long lingering rich finish in the throat. well, honeyed firewater or something like a punjabi sweetmeat - that's the nearest approximation for me.
well, that was that. more shots taken, with a tequila in between, and day turned to night before we shuffled out of the bulldog around half nine, to quote a good friend.
a double burger special from across the pub cleansed the palate and settled the gut.
and off to bed i went at 10pm.
great party, great drinks and most of all, great friends. what a day it was!
the bulldog pub is at 31 and 31-1, jalan sri hartamas 7, sri hartamas, kuala lumpur. its open seven days a week.
chivas regal is available in most pubs, bars and clubs. so are my friends.