vintage glenfiddich

we were at the local in bangsar, ordered our beers and proceeded to talk shop. across us on the wall was a glenfiddich poster that simply said, a day is a taste, a year is an appreciation.
that was the start of an evening preceeding friday the 13th.
nothing evil of course happened last night.
went for a dinner party with some close friends and during dinner, the blackberry was buzzing with a chat from the plonkwonk myplugoo plug-in on the left of the site. the guys from the glenfiddich blog were calling in to send a release on a recent vintage selection this week.
so they sent me a release with some photos and a promise of a video.
good to know this site has some interesting visitors.
anyway, have always said that glenfiddich is a great introduction to the world of single malts and have yet to be proven wrong.
and so, the chaps from glenfiddich cobbled together an international panel led by renowned malt master david stewart to select this year's bottling of the vintage reserve. they chose cask number 4414 for "its exceptionally rich and complex 31 year old glenfiddich".
they shortlisted six european oak casks that had been filled with new-make glenfiddich in 1975 or 1977 with the samples drawn. nosed, tasted and debated over three intense hours in the distillery in the scottish highlands.
the casks had been stored in the dark, damp conditions of a traditional dunnage warehouse since march 7, 1977 with head cooper don ramsay, who repaired and prepared the oloroso sherry butt (cask), and head warehouseman eric stephen , who is in charge of security, drawing the samples. the pair had been working in the distillery for more than 45 years.
speaking of names and apart from david stewart, the panel comprised his assistant brian kinsman, whisky writer gavin d. smith, whisky industry author and journalist professor walter schobert from germany, russia's scotch whisky expert erkin touzmohamedov and jimmy bradley, owner and chef of two award-winning new york restaurants - the red cat and the harrison.
"the selection panel really experienced the wide possibilities of aroma and flavour produced from one cask to the next. in our shortlist, we had two casks filled on the same day, yet they were markedly different in colour, nose and taste from each other," stewart said about the chosen cask.
he continued to speak my language further.
"having such an international panel has been a great experience, with the common language of whisky being a strong binding factor. the whisky from the six casks varied in colour from a light brown toa red hue and the flavours from a delicate citrus notes to more distinctive dried fruit and spicy sherried flavours. the selected glenfiddich has a hint of malt cereal, lemon balm, light smokiness and leather characteritics that the panel all agreed would be worthy of a glenfiddich vintage reserve," he added.
the others sung praises too.
"this was by far my favourite. it has none of the burn associated with whiskies of such strength and produced a fantastic nose that didn't dominate the whisky. the malt cereal characteristics are there which can often be hard to find with sherry butt whiskies," said erkin touzmohamedov.
gavin smith added "there is a delicate smokiness to the finish that comes upon you rather unexpectedly when you've experienced the light citrus nose to begin with."
that's that for the time being as the vintage whisky will take its time to make it to the market.
the limited edition single cask release will be restricted to approximately 450 bottles and a suggested retail price of £375 with the official malt master tasting notes and bottle strength revealed after the cask has been bottled and distributed.

alcoholic angpows

well, its official! the lunar new year is over with a number of maidens having littered rivers with oranges.
wonder if they had added some vodka to give it a kick and get their man.
apart from oranges, i received a few angpows for the lunar new year, especially a double ang pow from a friend who just tied the knot a few weeks before the earth rat festivities.
more than the angpows was the selection of single malt available with the mound of micro oranges at his home in kuala lumpur, instead of the usual pilgrimage we used to make to his ipoh hometown.
started out with the standard laphroaig that is a firm favourite of the mistress of the home.
had a few drams and then proceeded to the tamnavulin 12 year old, which i was reminded was the bottle from a trip to india several years ago. talk about keeping a wee dram for some time.
the tamnavulin distillery was mothballed in 1995 which would explain why any bottle one would come across would be part of a three 333 ml bottle package at an airport duty-free outlet, the other two being a dalmore 12 year old and an isle of jura single malt.
casked in oak, the 40 percent alcohol by volume speyside single malt is pale straw in colour and has an aromatic nose with a distinctive oily scent that leads to a fresh palate with a hint of mint, spice and sweetness.
it finishes off to an appetising and attractive chocolatey ending that leaves you wanting for more. which was something we all did during that trip across the subcontinent where single malts was the balm that salved our souls in the hot days and nights of the indian summer.
think i was the only one imbibing from the wee bottle. but each dram is precious until the owners do decide to reopen the distillery.
anyway, it was time to switch whiskies and settled on the singleton 12 year old, the younger single malt to the 18 year old. duh!
well, this younger singleton also comes in a flask-type blue bottle and is only available in asia with the european version called the singleton 12 year old of dufftown.
the 40 percent alcohol by volume gold single malt has been casked in sherry casks which adds a caramel note to the nose and definitely a toffee taste that brings to a pleasant finish.
this single malt by global beverage giant diageo's glen ord distillery is rather fresh and sweet thanks to the sherry cask character.
it is comparable to the glenfiddich 15 year old solera or the glenlivet 15 year old.
nice.
the night was proceeding fine and the host decided to fish out the glengoyne 17 year old single malt from his cellar. it was his latest acquisition from the airport duty-free and one that he had wanted to open for a long time.
the highlands single malt is 43 percent alcohol by volume and appears honey gold, hinting at its brilliant fruity and chocolatey bouquet that just demands you to have an immediate taste.
its rich and viscous with a complex mix of sherry, chocolate, nuts and fruits to bring a sweet and spicy finish that leaves you wanting for more.
a delightful dram that truly shows its age and quality.
fact is, i realised that all three drams drunk that night had some chocolate influences apart from the laphroaig of course. well, i guess the host does love his chocolates.
the other thing i realised is that i keep taking the same angle of photos for the bottles. something to think about.

glen bangkok

as this is written, another group of guys are flying to bangkok for another stag holiday. unfortunately, i am not one of them.
damn! work and life gets in the way of the stag. not that it is much of a stag these days with more of drinking and eating and bit of this and that, here and there.
the last stag in november 2007 was quite a revelation as far as the single malts that we imbibed to while away the day as we await the night's outing and entertainment.
almost everyone - we called ourselves the dirty dozen - brought along a single malt. some brought white spirits but those were not even consumed. a pity. but that's how it is these days. everyone is a single malt snob.
and lo! and behold, most of the single malts had the word glen on the label.
the first glen was the glenlivet 15 years old which everyone agreed was the definitive single malt of the stag.
as written earlier, it is a rather summery creamy whisky that leaves one refreshed and most of us swigged on it as we made our way through the warren of streets in bangkok for our night out.
suffice to say the glenlivet 15 year old whetted our appetite for the night.
we had another 15 year old, not that we were paedophiles but this was the glenfiddich 15 year old single malt. it used to be called the solera but the new bottlings do not have that on the label.
despite that, the whisky is still vatted in the solera vat which is never emptied but is always kept at least half full tp create a single malt with character and intense complexity.
and that is why the sweet speyside 15 year old made good company for us in bangkok.
it had a spicy side that went well with all things thai - the land of the birds eye chilli and other hot happening things that make life truly wonderful.
the last glen that made it to our lips and onwards was the glenmorangie port wood finish which is one of the better glenmorangie bottlings ever. it combines my two favourites - single malts and port.
with a certain fruity nose, the 43 percent alcohol by volume single malt is smooth and sweet with a tinge of brine to eventually lull you into a wonderful state of relaxation.
the straw-coloured single malt has a lingering finish with hints of spice to make it a wonderful dram and a great ending to a fantastic night. which some of us had in bangkok.
unfortunately, this 12-year-old single malt has been discontinued in autumn 2007 and is now known as the quinta ruban, after the quintas or wines estates which provide the port pipes to mature the single malt.
fact of the matter, glenmorangie now has new bottlings with new names that could also mean new expressions that might not satisfy the palates. well, if you can get your hands on the port wood, keep and compare it to the new expressions.

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!

djakarta dream drams

now that is a mouthful to say but in djakarta, as the locals spell and say it, there is a small but vibrant single malt community.
heck, this is where i learnt to swig laphroaig for tea!
the small and vibrant community that i came across is the two of my friends who work and live in djakarta. and since i was in town, they cleared the decks and made last weekend dedicated to whisky.
we started out with cups of tea and local delicacies before the bottles and crystal tumblers made their appearance in front of the flat screen television on mute as a record-player turntable cranked out music from ravi shankar.
the first bottle was the entry-level 12-year-old glenfiddich. enough said about this pleasant single malt but one of the friends grumbled that he wanted something older, and yes, smoother.
so we soldiered on and finished the little balance that was left in anticipation of something better.
our host then brought out the 15-year-old french oak reserve glenlivet. by the way, glenlivet is one of the better distilleries around and its bottlings are always a pleasure to imbibe.
with that in mind, i uncapped the bottle with a flourish and poured for my friends as the bouquet wafted through the living room in a cosmic tango with ravi shankar's mystical music.
the 15-year-old smelled like a princess in summer with vanilla, strawberry and cream all rolled into one. the french oak had something to do with that, i thought as i started the first sip of many.
it was medium-bodied, easy on the palate and quite fresh in a smooth way. the finish was just tender like a little princess hugging you as you bid goodbye.
too many little princesses in the picture... guess that is what happens when you leave loved ones behind and decide to come out to djakarta.
well, a single malt like the glenlivet dulled the ache of separation for a bit.
before long, we finished half the bottle as discussions centred on the other single malts to keep us warm in the lonely nights of djakarta.
any excuse to drink is a good excuse to drink! now, where are the other bottles again?

think drink

think drink and what do you get, more of drinking actually.
back from singapore a couple of weeks ago and got into the thick of things in kuala lumpur, drinking with friends from near and far.
the drinks ranged from the usual beers of either carlsberg or tiger beer to rounds of kilkenny beer at the various pubs in kuala lumpur. as you would already have known of this beer with 4.3 per cent alcohol by volume, its a reddish irish cream ale.
nice and creamy and available on tap at a few pubs in kuala lumpur and penang, the beer was first brewed in 1710 at the st francis abbey in ireland. now it is brewed by guinness in kilkenny and dublin.
away from that, had lots of rounds of whiskies - most of which have been drunk and reviewed by yours truly. this included the 15-year-old glenfiddich solera reserve and the 12-year-old glenfiddich.
the 15-year-old glenfiddich solera reserve - which goes for 55 ringgit a pop in parts of kuala lumpur - is a sweet speyside whisky with hints of chocolate and honey on the nose.
the 40 percent alcohol by volume honey gold whisky has a certain spiciness that grows with every sip. an evenly balanced whisky, the sweetness is balanced by the oakiness inherent in this wonderful water of life.
i however failed to pick it as my top three whisky during a recent blind-tasting test.
the results of that test will be published in the flavours magazine printed by the star early 2007.
on that note, read about the rare 43 per cent by volume laphroaig at intensecure - another whisky fiend in kuala lumpur - and immediately searched high and low for it in kuala lumpur.
am glad to say that i found one last bottle at single and available sdn bhd, bless their souls for having a great range of whiskies. am eyeing a few more there for christmas and the new year celebrations.
having said that, am planning a few single malt sundays with friends as the year draws to a close.
and that is what life is all about.
cheers!

darkest before dawn

we searched far and wide. our days and nights were darkest without it.
and it was under our noses all this while.
but only after the scotch-lover left the country.
he would have appreciated the humour too. the combination of bowmore darkest in the hands of a girl called fiona. but that is a tale too long to tell.
suffice to say this combination was more fortuitous.
so let's get going with the matter at hand. was talking to this chap from single malt and available - distributors of a range of single malts in malaysia and the conversation steered to those we have imbibed over the years.
he was a kindred spirit - and had a job i envied - distributing and drinking the aqua vitae in malaysia. we were sipping some glenfiddich 12-year-old when the conversation steered to bowmore darkest.
not surprisingly, he then proceeded to furnish a small bottle to keep the conversation going.
to keep with tradition, i chose to have it in a wine glass so as to sniff the bouquet as i sipped the rich, dark, slightly oily-looking liquid. the spirit soared, the soul satisfied as the soft toffee flavour slowly swirled to its logical conclusion.
a few more glasses of the smoky and peaty single malt whisky, neat in a wine glass, made my night. now on to bowmore dusk, and then dawn.
and a few more after that.

whisky wonderland

whisky wonderland is what i would call my friend's home, though one has to go through a pair of rottweilers to enter this plonk paradise.
be that as it may, a simple evening of margaritas and chicken fajitas in american chilis bangsar turned to serious whisky when he invited me over for a nightcap. it turned out to be six of the best.
six tumblers of single malt - all different in character and taste.
and all absolutely smashing.
it started with the bowmore cask strength islay single malt, a strong peaty smoky malty whisky that boldly dominated the palate with a taste of dry ash and with a long, long finish.
it lingered on the tongue and warmly spread through the body as i slowly emptied the tumbler.
the rottweilers looked and one of them sniffed me and eyed the tumbler eagerly.
the auburn single malt has 56 percent alcohol by volume and definitely comparable to other cask strength whiskies.
the evening was progressing well as my friend scanned through his wooden trunk of single malts for another bottle.
he settled on the lagavulin 16 years old single malt. a slight colour akin to the weakest of teas, the lagavulin burst in with a more subtle peaty taste that nimbly danced at the edge of my tongue.
the whisky, with 43 percent alcohol by volume, started off drily before strengthening aggressively with a rather oily and salty and fruity flavour, drawing one to sip it slowly but surely.
a rather good contrast to the peatier bowmore with discernible differences that i could appreciate as i finished it rather relunctantly.
it was also time to try something older and tastier.
and out came the glenlivet 18 years old.
the oak-casked whisky is also 43 percent alcohol by volume but very different from the lagavulin 16 years old.
the golden amber liquid was creamier, peatier and so much smoother - and like the bowmore, lingered long after it finished though not as strongly as the bowmore. it also had hints of honey, spice and nuts - flavours to keep one interested in it for a while.
it was time for a classic single malt and the glenfiddich 12 years old special reserve in its distinctive triangular green bottle appeared. the golden liquid is 40 percent alcohol by volume.
said to be the world's best-selling single malt, the 12-year-old has a fresh and fruity flavour with the peatiness solidly in the background. this makes the whisky a great entry-level single malt for one making the jump from blended whiskies and even sweet bourbon.
i can say that with conviction as i used to prefer this over the peatier bowmores. but times change and tastebuds broaden in search of stimulation. indeed, variety is the spice of life.
having said that, my friend fished around the trunk and came out with a single malt quite unknown to me.
the signatory vintage single islay malt scotch whisky was a bottle with a plain label that revealed everything except the taste. initial research shows its one of the only three indepedent bottlers and is actually the smallest distillery in scotland.
the single malt was a vintage 1993 that was bottled in early 2004 - yes, most cask strength is about 10 years old. the light golden liquid was 43 percent alcohol by volume and had a distinct peaty but sweet taste.
this was the fifth tumbler of single malt for the night but it held its distinctive taste, subtle and smooth yet bold with the slightly higher alcohol content.
it was time to relax and the sixth tumbler provided that, something easy to settle the spirit and the mind, the body and the soul.
we settled for the glenlivet 12 years old which like the glenfiddich 12 years old, is 40 percent alcohol by volume and another good entry-level single malt.
the glenlivet is a speyside whisky, smooth and soft with a fruity and floral flavour with some hints of vanilla, striking a different note in the palate. like its elder relative, it is also casked in oak, providing a woody finish to the single malt.
the night was coming to and end. not quite.
we had another bowmore cask strength, one for the road as it were.
a smashing time indeed with six of the best and one to spare.

single malt whisky - a wee dram to help fight cancer

vindicated.
apart from wine and soft fruits, scientists have discovered that a wee dram of single malt whisky can help fight cancer.
delegates at a biochemistry conference in glasgow, scotland over the weekend were told that whisky offered "even greater health benefits".
much has been said about the health benefits of antioxidants in red wine but recent research show there are greater health benefits to people who drink single malt whiskies.
something like our favourite glenfiddich single malt 18 years old that is faintly sweet yet elegant, with a scent of wood - quite robust and well-bodied yet soft and lingering on the palate.
anyway, back to the benefits of single malt whisky.
why? well, single malt whiskies have more ellagic acid than red wine.
ellagic acid, found mainly in soft fruits, absorb rogue cells in the body, scientists say.
but they also point out that excessive drinking coupled with smoking can lead to cancers. still, it is nice to say that a tot a day can keep cancer away.
cheers!

d'vine - that's what i call a bottomless pour!

thank god its friday!
last friday - and the last few fridays, has been divine at d'vine.
this wine lounge offers a bottomless pour of wine, red and white, plus a selection of tapas as the du jour treat every friday. all at a pretty reasonable price of rm60++.
last week it was beresford wines from australia and the week before, terrazas from argentina.
the wines are pretty young and all post 2000 but they have combined well with the simple tapas on pretty much bottomless offer - stewed beef, fish sauteed in olive oil, chicken in cream, brinjals and such.
the bottomless pour has just pretty much kept most of us rooted there for most of the night. no reason to really crawl to the rest of the city for drinks and dinner. and so sated that the camera is never steady enough for a decent shot of anything.
the ambience is understated and allows for easy conversation either at the ground floor near the wine cellar or at the mezzanine where lounge chairs and sofas keep everything cosy.
the cuisine there is the same as flamenco restaurant which is a couple of doors away as both share the same management.
do try the spaghetti vongole volcanic. a spicy combination that goes well with either an unwooded chardonnay or a a tumbler of glenfiddich single malt 18 years old with a pair of ice cubes. scrumptious.
d'vine is at 26 and 26m, plaza damansara, medan setia 2, bukit damansara. its open monday to saturday.