gongxi grog

the lunar new year celebrations are continuing in full swing an we had had better selection of single malts this time, including some rare gems at the house of sin, as the man is called among friends. he brought out bottles of single malt for his party that began in the afternoon.
i got in late at night for the party and there were a couple of bottles at the table. one was a chivas regal 12 year old while the other was more enticing.
it was the cragganmore 12 year old scotch whisky, a single speyside malt quite renowned around the world for its aroma.
with 40 percent alcohol by volume, the gold-hued speyside malt has a complex aroma that is at once fresh and delicate with hints of fruit and smoke.
the palate is smoky and a wee bit sweet with a lingering peatiness in the finish. suffice to say the bottle finished pretty fast.
time for another bottle as the few of us looked at the host with pleading eyes. the mandarin oranges at the table was no help as we lounged to welcome the year of the earth rat in proper fashion.
out came the macallan inspiration 1851. unlike the other the macallans that we have had, the inspiration is bottled in a design from the 19th century and even stoppered with a driven cork and sealed in wax. the wax took some time but i finally ripped it apart with the help of a ribbon beneath the wax.
phew! the things one do for single malts.
the 41.3 percent alcohol by volume whisky has been sherry casked, like other macallan whiskies. It is copper gold in colour with a nose filled with fruits, spices, nuts and malted barley and just a hint of smoke.
the palate is smooth and spiced with ginger and cloves for a nice sweet not so smoky finish. not exactly the best on offer from the macallan but good enough to pass the night in anticipation of something better.
having said that, the bottle went out quite fast too.
the host was on song and decided to bring out a bottle that was sold to him with the caveat that it can only be opened on his wedding day. but since he didn't think that was going to happen in a hurry, and it had been seven years since the bottle was purchased plus it was my inaugural attendance to his party, the bottle was taken out of its case and opened with a flourish befitting the occasion.
the bottle was a rare knockdhu 23 year old cask strength speyside single malt whisky.
heck, he had a bottle that was numbered 3 out of 3,000 bottles bottled with the cask strength single malt. hows that for a limited edition whisky.
with 57.4 percent alcohol by volume, we were astounded with the fruity nose that just had that hint of smoke to make one imbibe the wee dram faster.
the palate was fruity and creamy like a summer strawberry sorbet. truly one for a wedding. the finish was a bit spicy but this is one single malt that belied its age and indeed a pleasure to drink.
a great start to the lunar new year it was.
yum seng!

fresh and green

we had a party this week to celebrate a wedding of friends, one of whom is from drinkdrankeat, and the bottles came out fast and furious.
among the bottles were a glenmorangie cellar 13, a laphroaig 10 year old, a macallan 12 year old, a johnnie walker black label 12 year old and a glenfarclas 12 year old.
not that we were single malt snobs but the black label was left untouched through the night.
so the ones that garnered the most attention were the laphroaig and the glenfarclas 12 year old, a speyside single malt with 43 percent alcohol by volume.
glenfarclas in the local gaelic lingo means valley of the green grass and the single malt itself is a pale and slightly greenish in hue, in keeping with the colour of most 12 year old whiskies.
the fruity, nutty and oaky notes in the bouquet give way to a peatish and still strong oaky palate with a short and spicy finish that leaves you hankering for more.
heck, it was the first bottle to dry up in the course of the night.
which left us with the rest of the bottles to finish up with the food at the jolly little restaurant called tanners in bukit tunku.
a discourse on dining at tanners will follow soon enough.

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!

the macallan madness

the superb macallan 18-year-old single malt was still fresh in our minds when we decided to go for the 12-year-old at the backyard pub in sri hartamas a week ago.
those wonderful malaysian musicians - gerard singh and sherman tan - were hosting open mike tuesday which saw a band of youngsters with a girl on drums belt out three songs.
then this guy who called himself richie castro with long hair and funny funky guitar took to the stage. the boys took over and backed richie on stage.
off stage, mayhem ruled the dance floor as an inebriated pub patron tried to dance the night away with a host of women.
none took the bait so he went on a merry jig with the backyard floor. he swirled and crashed and continued even as we ordered the 12-year-old macallan single malt.
all i had was my trusty camphone and the presence of mind to hide the bottle when desperate dancer ruled the floor near our table. one of his potential partners sought refuge with us but the bottle was much much more important.
we sacrificed her to him while the bottle of whisky we slaughtered for ourselves.
the bouquet came out of the tumbler sweetly and we sighed in agreement over its subtle toffee sweetness.
the speyside single malt was rich in sherry sweetness and dried fruit with a touch of oakiness for just a right long finish.
we drank in the bouquet and the taste of the 40 percent alcohol by volume single malt from the 75 cl bottle.
nice. very nice! and it went well with the music that night too!

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.

whirlwind whisky weeks

it has been a hectic month.
in and out of malaysia, from singapore to thailand, where i am right now as i write this.
the only constant has been whisky. the single malt kind, of course. no photos, couldn't be bothered to spoil the enjoyment of the water of life with namby-pamby photo-shoots.
add on the fact that inebriation was the word and the mood during the drinking sessions.
anyway, on with the whisky.
we started with a 10-year-old talisker, which used to be hard to find but all it takes now is a quick tour of bangkok's don muang airport and before you can say it, its there in a handsome navy blue box.
talisker is the only distillery in scotland's island of skye and is rated among the best single malts in the world. my introduction was through a rare bottle that made its way to my friend's treasure chest years ago.
i never forgot the big, bold, peppery and peaty taste and the 10-year-old is no different. after a couple of sips, its pungent and peaty ruggedness grows on you though its not a gentle spirit.
the award-winning 10-year-old with 45.8 percent alcohol by volume, rocks your world and you will never be the same after that. you will just find any which way to get a bottle of the golden liquid with a shot of pink yourself.
a year ago, it was about the macallan 10-year-old cask strength, this month it was the standard 12-year-old macallan stored in handcrafted oak casks from jerez, spain, which hold rare sherries for at least three years before its shipped to the macallan distillery to hold the water of life.
the conglomeration between the sherry oak and spirit produces a rich and sensuous 12-year-old macallan.
the colour is a rich natural caramel shade of gold and the taste is sweet and sexy, smooth on the tongue and pleasant all the way in. its a natural addition in any serious whisky enthusiast's bar.
and now comes a difficult whisky that can is either a love or loathe at first taste.
this whisky is laphroaig from islay.
its hard to get it in malaysia and singapore but possible although my recent forays to thailand via the don muang international airport has yielded a treasure trove of single malts that include the laphroaig.
how does one describe a spirit that has bewitched many a serious drinker.
well, its oily, its peaty, its nutty, its bloody strong and bloody pungent. a splash of water will release the serpent of a taste that will bite you for life.
and just to let you know, it was voted 'the best of the best' in the champions of whisky competition 2005!
inebriated? you bet my friends and i were. more tastings on the way soon as i travel the region and pick up a bottle or two here and there. cheers and slainthe!

single malt - the macallan 10 years cask strength

cask strength single malt is an acquired taste.
heck, single malt is an acquired taste. and in most circles, one who raves and rants, waxes lyrical even, about single malts is simply a ladida in the crowd.
so, let's just say that going on and on about cask strength is hyper-ladida.
but the macallan 10 years cask strength (which comes in either uk or us editions) is exceptional and the couple of drams i had last night justified the verbosity of those who have imbibed this whisky.
the first whiff of the mahogany liquid revealed a caramel toffee scent with sherry.
no wonder as the pungent and strong whisky is stored in spanish oak and sherry influences of spices such as cloves and ginger and balanced with dried fruits and citrusy chocolate.
the first dram was in a shot glass and it left a fiery peppery trail from the roof to the throat, taking no prisoners along the way. hot and happening and what a mouthful of spirit. the force was strong in this speyside creation.
the next dram had a couple of ice cubes to chill the whisky but it robustly ploughed ahead with little restraint. a fire water by any definition. of course, as this cask strength comes at 58.80 percent alcohol by volume.
a delicious macallan.
impressive. most impressive.