Laphroaig Distillery Live (from Loretto Ky)

Hello all. This is Kevin is filling in for Michelle who is in Las Vegas this week for CES.

Back in September, Michelle and I were invited (as a member of the Friends of Laphroaig) to a preview of the distillery live tasting that happened down in Loretto, KY at the Beautiful Maker’s Mark distillery. John Campbell (Distillery Manager from Laphroaig),  Kevin Smith (Master Distiller of Maker’s Mark), and Simon Brooking (Master Ambassador for Laphroaig) were all there to help answer questions. Laphroaig is located on the isle of Islay (pronounced eye-luh) and is part of the Beam Global family. John also taught everyone a trick to remember the spelling by using Laphr-o-aig, with the last part standing for Oh Ain’t It Great.

The reason for the visit to Loretto is Laphroaig uses old Maker’s barrels for aging their scotches. Since, by rule, bourbon must be aged in a new charred oak barrel, bourbon distillers look for places to send the used barrels. As John mentioned, the Scotch have no problems putting those barrels to use for a few more decades. Maker’s also uses char level 3 (on a scale of 1-4) and air dried to remove the tannins that make red wines great, but cause difficulty in the creation of Maker’s Mark.

I’ve made no secret that my two favorite online programs are Marker’s Mark Ambassadors and the Friends of Laphroaig. Both offer great opportunities for their members and this was a great example of that. The Friends sent out an email inviting anyone close to the Louisville area out for a night with the Scots the day before the Distillery Live presentation was to be recorded.

We were met by John and Simon in Louisville at The Pub for appetizers and unsurprisingly a bottle of Laphroaig 10 and Laphroaig 18 year old scotches. Michelle, who is not a Scotch drinker, chose a bourbon selection from the bar instead. After a drink, we were off on a chartered bus (somehow a bottle of Makers and a bottle or 10 year Laphroaig ended up joining us as well) down to the distillery for dinner bites (fantastic bourbon BBQ meatballs, finger sandwiches and chocolate) and a few more drinks.

The Friends of Laphroaig signed a Maker's Mark barrel headed to Scotland. Kevin & Michelle are on either side of the barrel.

Then, after a quick tour of Maker’s Mark and a group signing of a barrel headed to Scotland, the main event started. John walked us through a very similar tasting to what can be seem on the final video as they adjusted for time and ran through the presentation with all the equipment to make it smooth the next day.

We were able to taste:

Laphroaig Tasting at Maker's Mark

Laphroaig White Dog (63.6% Alcohol by volume (AbV) – This was a treat for me as trying an unaged Scotch from Islay as the sweetness from the barrel is absent and the flavor of the peat smoke and iodine of the water come through. Michelle was not a fan, but I was impressed as an excercise and I’m not sure if I could finish a full pour.

Laphroaig 10 year old (63.5% AbV) – This is the #1 selling Islay single malt and was what I have tried in the past. The time in the barrel gives this a sweeter flavor, but there still is  a large amount of iodine, band-aid-ish, medicinal aromas from the moss that is part of the bog. Plenty of smoke on the finish to help cut through the early bitterness and you have a very well made item.

Laphroaig 18 year old (38% AbV) – Time has started to help add a sweetness that Michelle started to enjoy. There is still a hasrh burn on the finish, but the wood has added a lot of citrus notes as water is added. An interesting point, for anyone who has read this far, is that distillers will add almost 50% water into the scotch or bourbon before tasting in order to lower the alcohol and detect any flaws that exist. Overall this is an non-chill filtered whiskey with a great nose and balanced taste.

Laphroaig 25 year old (50.9% AbV) – This bottle runs about $275 to $300 and is bottled at cask strength. This one is an absolute beauty.  It is made up of a mix of Laphroaig  aged in the Maker’s barrels (about 60%) and Laphroaig aged in Oloroso sherry casks. The color ends up about as bright as Maker’s Mark and the long finish switches to a sweet fruit character from the influence of the Sherry. This one impressed both Michelle and myself.

We also got to taste some Maker’s Mark. We often drink Maker’s at home, but the context of seeing what the barrels did before the Scotch was introduced provided a nice component that was too sweet for the pure Scotch drinkers in the crowd, but I thought it was a very nice choice to have on the table. Aside from the Laphroaig 25-year old, this was Michelle’s favorite.

After we finished the tasting, it was back on the bus for the ride back to Louisville and our car, but somehow another bottle of 25 year old joined us back on the bus.  A very enjoyable drive back to our cars ended up a little later than planned, but well worth the lack of sleep that evening.

The final video that was filmed the next day can be seen online at Laphroaig’s site. Our photos from the event are posted on Flickr.

Tonite: Distillery Live!

Last night we sat through the equivalent of the rehearsal for Distillery Live! It's a live-streaming web event held by Laphroaig Scotch at Maker's Mark in Loretto, KY. Laphroaig sources their barrels from Maker's Mark. It was a lot of fun. If you're interested in tuning in without the 2-hour to drive to Maker's Mark from Cincinnati, then you can. The event will tell why Maker's Mark is so special to Laphroaig (and
will of course include a tasting of both) but will also include some food pairings and some very special cocktails!

Distillery Live will be tonight at 8 pm (EDT), live
from the Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, USA.  You can tune in at http://www.distillerylive.us.com.

We'll write more about this experience (well, Kevin will) next week. Right now I just want to offer my thanks to the fine folks from Laphroaig for such great hospitality and a wonderful evening!

Mad Men Mondays: Johnnie Walker Red

It's time for our latest installment of Mad Men Monday. Last night on everyone's favorite retro television show, Betty had the baby. Back then, the guys stayed in the waiting room the whole time. I have to admit, I'm surprised Don even stayed and didn't head to the office until he officially had a son.

However, he did wait and in the process, he met Dennis, a prison guard. If it wasn't obvious from the uniform, accent, and whiskey, I think they were trying to drive home a point that Don and Dennis were in slightly different social classes. And yes, I saw it reflected in the whiskey. Dennis brought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red.

Johnnie Walker is a blended scotch whiskey that has been around since 1865, when it was Walker's Old Highland. Johnnie Walker Red Label, as we know it today, was introduced in 1909. If you're not familiar with your whiskey, Johnnie Walker comes in different levels (and prices) that are denoted by the label.

About a year ago, Kevin and I were invited to a Johnnie Walker dinner at Boi Na Braza. While I didn't enjoy the restaurant, I did enjoy the whiskey. We got to taste through the entire portfolio, including the Blue.

The label spectrum is as follows, per Wikipedia. They get more expensive as you head towards Johnnie Walker Blue.

• Red Label — a blend of around 35 grain and malt whiskies. It is intended for making mixed drinks. 80 proof. 40% ABV. According to William Manchester this was the favorite Scotch of Winston Churchill, who mixed it with soda. (Currently retails around $22)

• Black Label — a blend of about 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV

• Green Label — a vatted malt that is a blend of about 15 individual single malts, the signature malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila – Aged 15 years. 86 proof. 43% ABV. Previously sold under the name 'Pure Malt'.

• Gold Label — a blend of over 15 single malts, including the
  very rare Clynelish malt. It was derived from Alexander II's blending
  notes for a whiskey to commemorate Johnnie Walker's centenary. His
  original efforts were thwarted by a shortage of these malts following
  World War I. Gold Label is commonly bottled at 15 or 18 years. 80
  proof. 40% ABV.

• Blue Label — Johnnie Walker's premium blend. Every bottle is
  serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a
  certificate of authenticity. There is no age declaration for Blue
  Label. 80 proof. (Currently retails around $200)

So Dennis brought the working man's Johnnie Walker. Don, never one to turn away a drink, didn't seem to mind. The Red Label is quite popular for mixing with Coca-Cola and they are even being offered together in a limited edition can. At our Boi na Braza dinner, we drink the Red Label on the rocks, with a splash of guarana soda, with our salad course.
The soda sweetened the scotch but there was still a nice light peat
flavor on the finish once the sweet faded.

Based on Johnnie Walker press materials, more than 33 million bottles of Johnnie Walker were purchased in 2004 and Johnnie Walker Black Label seems to be the most popular, with approximately 43 glasses of Johnnie Walker Black Label enjoyed by consumers each second. We occasionally have Black Label in our house, as Kevin sometimes purchases it as an "everyday scotch." 

Overall, great episode and great product placement for Johnnie Walker.

Bring Home a Barrel and Age Your Own Whiskey

A friend of ours beckoned us to The Party Source on Saturday with the lure of a special whiskey tasting in the aisle. He was right.

In the middle of the aisle was Rick Wasmund of Virginia's Copper Fox Distillery. Rick was offering samples of his Single Malt Whiskey, Rye Whiskey, barrel tastes of these, as well as the spirits (pre-barrel) samples. For a man with two whiskeys sold retail, he sure had a lot to offer. I've never been a fan of single malt, but I do love a nice rye.

The thing that caught my eye was the Distiller's Art Series (or as I call it, the Age Your Own Whiskey Kit). This kit comes with a small barrel and two bottles of the spirit. It retails for around $100, but was on sale for $89.99 on Saturday. Yeah, we bought one.

We got it home and dived in. The first step is to just fill the barrel with water and make sure it doesn't have any leaks. Once that is established (or you let the barrel slats expand with hot water to remove leaks), you can get started. It's easy, of course. You just pour the two bottles of spirits (rye, in our case) into the bung hole on top of the barrel. Firmly insert the bung and you're off. Within 4-7 months, you've got whiskey you aged your self.

It sounds silly, but I'm rather looking forward to the process. The barrel has a spigot. Every month of so, we can check in and try a sample. We'll be able to see just how much the barrel affects both the color and the flavor. The barrel is made from 100% American white oak without glue, nails, or paraffin wax. You can add ingredients to your whiskey if you want (at Wasmund's they're fond of apple wood chips), but we thought we'd play it straight the first time through. The bottle is reusable and the spirits are available at Party Source for when you start to get experimental.

Our plan right now is to check in every month and see how our whiskey is doing. We'll post regular updates on the blog, which you can check in the new Whiskey Watch category. In the meantime, I recommend getting over to Party Source and picking up your own kit. We can have our own whiskey aging club.

Jim Beam Red Stag: Black Cherry Infused Bourbon

Back in February we announced the news that Jim Beam was releasing a black cherry-infused bourbon. My thought at the time was that they were shooting for the same crowd that enjoys flavored vodka – sort of young, hip crowd. I'm obviously not young and hip. I prefer my vodka pure and please don't mess with my bourbon.

That said, I was willing to give Jim Beam's new venture a chance. I wasn't going to judge it sight unseen or untasted. (Kevin, on the other hand, is a bourbon purist. He went into this already disliking it.)

Two weeks ago we picked up a bottle of Red Stag at Party Town, who seemed to be the first in the area to carry it. The rep had, of course, told the staff amazing things but the staff hadn't all tried it. We were left on our own.

Again – I went into this with an open mind. I don't mind the Wild Turkey American Honey, but at least Wild Turkey bills that as a liqueur. This is still bourbon.

Kevin instantly hated it. Much to my surprise, so did I. The best comparison I've got is cherry Nyquil. Bleh. It looks like bourbon, but one whiff and you smell can already smell the cough syrup. There's an aftertaste of syrup and plastic that is fairly unpleasant. I know it's supposed to be infused with natural flavors, but it sure doesn't smell/taste that way.

In an effort to be fair, we thought we'd mix it. When I travel and want a mixed drink, I go with either Beam or Jack and Coke. In theory, this would be a cherry Coke, right? While a Coke definitely improves the flavor of the bourbon, there's still the plastic aftertaste. We also tried with Sprite, much to the same effect. There's a chance this might add an interesting flavor to Bourbon Slush. My Slush recipe uses peach tea bags, and this might add a little more oomph to that, but I still worry about the aftertaste. I'm not sure how it would work with a Manhattan, but I think I've given up trying.

I really did want to like this – I love bourbon and I enjoyed the idea of extending my options. I do believe that it should be billed as a liqueur and not a bourbon, which has a strict definition. Either way, we give it a firm .

__

Vote & Promote!  Help Michelle get her dream job at http://bit.ly/reallygoodejob then tell all your friends!

Jim Beam Changes Bourbon

With the announcement of Red Stag, a black cherry flavor infused bourbon, Jim Beam has done something that really should not have been done. I let cans of Beam and Cola slide. I even turned a blind eye to cans of Beam and Ginger Ale as some people prefer to mix their drinks. In fact, if Beam Distillers had decided to can the Black Cherry directly into the cola they might have had a product targeted at consumers who would want to drink something like this.

Sadly, Jim Beam makes some very nice bourbon drinks, Booker’s and Basil Hayden both jump to mind. This marketing ploy needs to stop before we have as many different flavored bourbons as we do vodkas.

My friend Jeff made the following simple 5 year plan for Jim Beam to regain the trust of bourbon drinkers:

Step 1: Discontinue this line.
Step 2: Apologize to loyal bourbon drinkers
Step 3: Don’t do anything this dumb for 5 more years.

If you disagree with Beam’s direction on this, please contact Jim Beam on their website here: http://jimbeam.com/contactus.aspx

- Kevin

Read the rest of this entry »

Whiskey Clubs

"I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member." – Groucho Marx
               

Hello all, this should be the last week before returning to the standard Friday weekend callout in this spot, but today I’m going to highlight a few different clubs that are run to help promote distilleries. If anyone knows of any I missed, please add them in the comments and I will try and get a complete list put together. Reviews of what I have received follow after the jump, but here is the quick list.

Bourbon

Four Roses – Mellow Moments Online Sign-up form
Maker’s Mark – Ambassador Sign-up form
Woodford Reserve – Stables Sign-up form
Wild Turkey – Rare Breed Society – Go to the website, then click on Rare Breed Society
Heavens Hill Bardstown Bourbon Society – No Online Sign-up without Secret Code?

Scotch

Laphroig – Friends of Laphroig
Johnny Walker – Striding Man Society
Talkisker (Diagio) – Friend of The Classic Malts

Read the rest of this entry »

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Dinner

A few weeks ago, Michelle and I had a chance to have a bourbon-inspired dinner by Woodford Reserve’s chef David Larson. He offered a tasting demo at the Party Source and we were treated to

Course 1: Woodford Reserve with Gravlax

Course 2: Woodford Reserve Lemonade with Tomato Watermelon Salad

Course 3: Woodford Reserve Corn Pudding and the Best Roast Chicken

Course 4: Cold Lemon Souffle and Bourbon Flavored Coffee

Read the rest of this entry »

A Rainy Day in Bourbon Country

Kentucky Week continues here at My Wine Education. Today, a quick spin down the Bourbon Trail. Tomorrow, details on the Northern Kentucky Wine Festival.

Every year we go to the Maker’s Mark Ambassador’s weekend, which involves a day at Keeneland, and the following day at the Maker’s Mark Distillery outside of Bardstown. This year, we only made it to the distillery and skipped the race track. The weather didn’t cooperate with us this particular Saturday, but we still had fun. For all of our photos from this year’s rainy trip, view the Flickr set.

Bourbon country is an easy day trip, although it would be an excellent weekend excursion as well. Drive 90 minutes south of Cincinnati down I-71 and head east on the Bluegrass Parkway at Lexington. As you’re heading down the parkway, you’ll pass Keeneland, a castle, and then you’ll start seeing signs for distilleries.

On a whim, we decided to stop at Woodford Reserve on our way to Maker’s Mark. Woodford Reserve is right outside of Versailles. For those of you not familiar, Versailles is where many of the famous race horses are born. The drive to get to Woodford Reserve, through the picturesque main street of Versailles and past countless horse farms, is beautiful, even in the rain.

It was just chilly and wet enough that we passed on taking the tour of Woodford. From the porch of the large guest house, we could see the white buildings filled with bourbon barrels. I am a particular fan of Woodford Reserve, as I think it captures the right amount of sweetness and oak and still manages to be smooth. We were able to try a sample of Woodford. I was impressed with the little cafe and gift shop (where I did spend a small amount of money). Woodford also has two horses – Angelshare, who actually wins races, and Distill My Heart, who just had a foal.

We left Woodford, hoping to return on a nicer, warmer day. As we continued down the Bluegrass Parkway, we passed signs for Wild Turkey and Four Roses distilleries. I wish we had the time to stop. We continued on to Bardstown and followed backroads into Loretto, the postage stamp-sized town where you can find Maker’s Mark. I love to visit Maker’s Mark. You’re surrounded by lush green farmland and rolling hills. As you come out from behind one of those hills, you’re presented with Maker’s Mark, which is filled with dark wooden buildings and red doors and shutters.

Because it was a Maker’s Mark Ambassador celebration, we were allowed to dip our own commemorative bottles on the actual manufacturing line. On a regular day, you can dip a bottle, but the dipping station is located in the gift shop. It’s neat to put on the heavy apron, gloves, and safety glasses and escort your own bottle down the line and into the wax. At the celebration, we were also given tastes of a 1-yr old and 5-yr old bourbon, straight from the barrel. The difference in the smoothness and flavors was amazing. The 1-yr old cut straight through you, and I’m pretty sure it cleared up my sinuses for a moment. The 5-yr old had begun to take on a lot of the flavors in the barrel, including vanilla and oak.

As we left Maker’s Mark that afternoon, we passed Heaven Hill Distillery. Heaven Hill, makers of Elijah Craig and Evan Williams, has recently opened the Bourbon Heritage Center. This is another place where we’ll return when the weather is nicer. We skipped the tour again, and headed straight for the barrel-shaped tasting room where we tried two different types of bourbon. This was a fantastic tasting, similar to a wine tasting or a beer tasting in a professional environment. We were given scents to identify within the bourbon, and taught how to hold the bourbon in our mouths to identify different flavors.

On our way home, we had dinner at a little restaurant across the street from Stephen Foster’s My Old Kentucky Home, which is lovely. Then we headed out, passing the Jim Beam Distillery & Education Center on our way. We headed home through Louisville and not 2 hours later we reached our front door.

As you can tell, by the number of distilleries we passed in our 10 hour day, the Bourbon Trail is close enough that you could spend a weekend bouncing slowly from distillery to distillery, enjoying each tour and learning the differences in how each distillery treats Kentucky’s favorite spirit. Even if you don’t enjoy bourbon, the distilleries are generally incredibly photogenic, and the surrounding landscapes are unique to Kentucky. Bed & breakfasts, particularly in Versailles, Springfield, and Bardstown, dot the tree-lined towns with Victorian houses. It’s a lovely picture and a trip I look forward to taking.

Irish Whiskey Tasting

Ah, Irish Whiskey. The 1/4 of me that is fully Irish demanded that I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style, so Michelle and I headed over to Party Source to trade in green beer for an Irish Whiskey Tasting. The tasting was led by the EQ center’s Jay Erisman. We recently came across a Forbes.com article on the Top 10 Irish
whiskey’s and were pleased to learn we had tried 5 of them in this
tasting

On the list:

• Bunratty Potcheen
• Redbreast
• Power’s Gold Label
• Bushmill’s Black Bush
• Michael Collins Single Malt
• 1951 Knappogue Castle
• Connemara

Ireland has 3 current distillers, Bushmill’s  (Northern), Midleton (South), and Cooley in
the central area. These three account for all current Irish Whiskey
production. This consolidation occurred in the mid 1900’s and there
were only two distillers until 1995 when Cooley came back onto the
scene.

When we arrived, we were given a dram of Bunratty Potcheen. Potcheen (or Poitin) is
probably best compared with good old Kentucky Moonshine. Potcheen, up
until recently, was for export only and was illegal to sell in Ireland.
That has changed over the last few years, but it’s always nice to see a
bottle marked For Export Only in bright green lettering. The smell was
reminiscent of bubble gum, mostly Bazooka Joe. The flavor was fresh and
minty. The overall impression was of sweetness. I thought this was a
nice way to start, Michelle created a new smiley for this :-0, meaning she was overwhelmed by the alcohol and burning.

My Rating:

As a note, after the first taste on many of these, I added a drop of water to the whiskey. Michelle added a drop of water to all of them to help her, as she’s not a big spirits drinker to begin with.

Review and notes after the jump

- Kevin

Read the rest of this entry »