Suntory’s Art of Japanese Event – NYC

This post could have also been titled:

Whisky Love Affair: Suntory

There isn’t one particular reason that I love Suntory – but more a collection of experiences gained over the years.  The first, and perhaps most important, being that they are the producers of “the dram” that set me down this path of total Whisky geekdom, which I will always attribute as being Suntory’s Yamazaki 18.  The second being that we always have a bottle of the Yamazaki 12yr on hand – always (which I have reviewed in the past HERE). I have long admired the Japanese esthetic – and when it’s applied to luxury, it doesn’t typically come across as being ostentatious or glitzy glam – but instead clean elegance.

And it was this minimalistic elegance that was on magnificent display a month ago on Tuesday, May 14th, at the Art of Suntory event at the Noguchi Museum in New York.  This was no ordinary tasting, mind you, but an experience to not be quickly forgotten.  No attention to detail was spared – from the sleek slate gray invitation with the carefully commissioned muted gray cheery blossom photo stamp – a detail so quiet it was not done to stand out on its own but rather aid in setting the tone for the pending event – to the exquisitely chosen location; the striking Noguchi Museum.

Entering the museum, we were greeted by a row of adoring fans … er … no, that’s not right …. rather a group of cheerful servers with delicate delicious amuse-bouches prepared by the renowned chef, David Bouley paired with a Hakushu 12 Highball.  Delightful!

And don’t think for a second that you were able to just “show up” … no, when I say they took care of everything – they did.  We were given a choice to 2 convenient meeting points in Manhattan – where we then boarded luxury shuttle buses to be driven off to (and from!) the event in Queens.  Talk about an entrance.  We were first welcomed by being handed a printed Suntory silk scarf – the color of which signified your level as a guest (red was press!) which was folded origami style into a pouch containing the program for the evening, a press packet & whisky menu.  Classy.  After walking past the line of servers above, we strolled outside to connect with #WhiskyFabric friends new & old.  You could feel the excitement building in the air. No one knew quite what to expect but the foundation for a stellar evening was laid.

It kicked off outside with an impressive showing of whiskies and Suntory personalities, including CEO Toshi “TJ” Kumakora, Master Distiller Mike Miyamoto, USA East Coast Brand Ambassador Gardner Dunn and USA West Coast Brand Ambassador Neyah White, all of whom played an important role of guiding us through the evening.

Neyah White kicked us off with a Japanese word (sounded like “omo”) that means: opening up barriers.  This can take on so many forms – from our zen garden settings in the midst of urban NYC to the overall fact that the world whisky category is here to stay.  We heard from Mike Miyamoto (pictured below) who took us through the tasting and chef David Bouley who shared his own experiences of whisky + food coming together to enhance each other.

THE TASTING (photographed above):

YAMAZAKI 18YO | Nose: caramel, vanilla rooibos tea, sweet herbal notes | Taste: Herbal sweet & warming spice tea notes continue, long smooth finish. Heaven in a bottle.

HAKUSHU 25YO | Nose: burnt orange peel, mild sweet smokiness, fresh flowers … lilies, bit of evergreen forest | Taste: Spicy! Dark earthy tones – not piny but more of moss/mold in a good way!

HIBIKI 21YO | Nose: pear, honey, smoke | Taste: very balanced, not too many individual tastes popped out at me. Plenty of complexity.

The weather was perfect for such an event which flowed seamlessly between the indoors & outdoors areas.  In hindsight, I don’t remember ever consciously walking to a place because it was indoors or out – but rather because the mood (or, let’s face it, WHISKY!) was calling me!

In the photo above on the right is William O’Donnell of The Men’s Collective and my husband, Nital Patel (which was a huge treat for me as it’s often hard to align schedules and actually attend a whisky event together!).

After the guided whisky tasting – they opened up the other “stations” around as more guests joined in the fun. The food, which started flowing out of the hidden kitchen, was a collection of delicate little morsels of goodness made with the intention of bringing out a particular aspect of the Single Malts or Blends.

We strolled, tasted, sampled, chatted and enjoyed ourselves for hours.  Having particular joy in chatting with G-LO & Limpd of the It’s Just The Booze Dancing Blog, Josh Feldman, of the Coopered Tot blog (photographed below) and Stephen from The Malt Imposter.

My apologies to The Malt Imposter who did not make it into the above photo, but I thought this shot of the Yamazaki 25YO was a good place holder 😉

Below, East Coast Suntory Brand Ambassador Gardner Dunn quickly shaves large cubes of ice down into perfectly rounded spheres and Suntory’s not-for-sale sparkling water bottled at the Yamazaki distillery used in the Hibiki 12 Highballs.

We ended the night strolling through the garden one more time – enjoying the sunset, whisky, food and company.  But just when you thought they couldn’t pull out any more surprises, as we wound our way back through the museum to board a return bus home, there were YAMAZAKI TRUFFLES!!!!!  I got so excited mine jumped from my hand and proceeded to roll across the floor at such a pace (leaving a little trail of dusted chocolate as it went!) I thought someone might have been controlling it via remote!  Well, I can only be classy for so long, I’m surprised my bus didn’t turn back into a pumpkin halfway along the journey!

HUGE THANKS TO: Suntory & Exposure USA PR Company for hosting & inviting us to such a wonderful event.  Particular thanks to Exposure’s Danielle Katz & Nicholas Rotondi for your generosity & going above and beyond to make us feel welcome. And BIG THANKS to the #WhiskyFabric crew who also attended and made this event feel far more personal than any event could.

You can see the It’s Just The Booze Dancing review of the event HERE.

You can see The Malt Impostor’s review of the event HERE.

APOLOGIES to Suntory & Exposure for my month-long delay in writing this post!  I wanted this to be as perfect as the event has been preserved in my head … but then realized that would be impossible and it was more important to just get this done! 😀  Sorry for the writer’s block!

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Camp Whiskey: Brooklyn, New York

If you live in the New York area, consider me your genie and the information in this post being your wish granted.  Dramatic you say?  No, just honest.  Camp Whiskey – in all it’s calm, cool, educational and surprisingly well sourced whiskies (aka, not available in this country – nor will most of them ever be) glory was the highlight of my summer thus far.

Every Wednesday evening this August on a rooftop in Brooklyn, Camp Whiskey assembles.  It’s a great crowd of novices & educated drinkers who are all easy going and excited to be a part of the group to learn, meet & taste great whiskies.

The first official event was last Wednesday, August 1st, titled “Irish Whiskeys That Aren’t Jameson.”  Starting with the most comprehensive history on Irish Whiskey I have ever heard, it wasn’t long before we were diving in to the liquid gold.  On the menu:

Locke’s 8yr, Single Malt, Irish Single Pot Still Whiskey (in the ceramic jug) was the new release this year from the Cooley Midleton Distillery.  Originally produced, however, by John Locke’s & Sons distillery near Kilbeggan, it’s bottled at 40% abv.  This single malt is a pure pot still, a procedure unique to Ireland whiskey.  Mistakenly, I erased my tasting notes on this one but I easily remember it as simply being wonderful. 😛

Bushmills 10yr, Single Malt this is the hearts-only of the distillates (meaning only the middle cuts) with a goal of creating an even smoother Irish whiskey.  From what I gathered, this one will NOT be making it to the US.  NOSE: More bland than the Locke, harder to analyze in that particular environment for me – even when I stepped inside. Seemed less interesting then the previous dram but would love to revisit in a quiet, neutral-air environment.  PALATE: Sweet first, cacao, a funky malt, salty, very short sherry finish.

Yellow Spot 12yr, Single Pot Still Whiskey aged in 3 different casks: American bourbon, Spanish Sherry Butts, & Spanish Malaga Casks.  This is a very limited release of only 500 cases, bottled at 46% abv.  NOSE: Sweet cinnamon, basil, sage & peppermint. PALATE: Bold, tingly, very long finish with an intense bite.  Awesome.

Kilbeggin 18yr – this is also extremely limited (4,000 bottles) – After being closed in 1957, the Old Kilbeggan distillery and its whiskey recipes were purchased by Cooley’s founder John Teeling in 1988 and finally reopened for production in 2007.  Whiskey using the Kilbeggan recipe (like this phenomenal 18 year old) was being produced at the Cooley distillery in County Louth, between Dublin and Belfast.  This is a beauty.  Unfortunately for me (& my empty wallet), it was my favorite of the lot!  Extremely interesting – I kept taking it inside to smell and analyze away from the fragrant rooftop plants.  NOSE: Caramel & cotton candy, sweet corn, salt water taffy.  PALATE: Mild and smooth beginning, wave up to tannins and spicy charred oak.  I love the influence of the corn in the mash bill.

Redbreast 12yr, Cask Strength Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey – “Irish Whiskey of the Year” I love a good cask strength whiskey.  (Explained how to enjoy cask strengths in an earlier post here).  It’s important to remember that not just any barrel is used for a cask strength bottling.  Typically, it’s the cask that is aging differently from it’s sisters.  As a fellow camper so eloquently put it; often it’ll be the barrel that, due to a crack in the ceiling boards was exposed to sun or the first few barrels by the door to the rick house that got the rush of outside air every time someone went inside.  These things over a collection of a few years to a decade can make a real impact on that single barrel.  It’s so unique that the distiller decides to bottle those barrels as they are.  This particular one is full of life.  NOSE: fermented fruit & soil/earth(?).  PALATE: tons of fruit, chocolate, pears.  A lovely dram for sure.

Wish you were there?! Don’t miss another week!  See below for details.

(or click HERE for more of the below flyer or click HERE for NYCwhisky listing)

…And here are some pictures from the event…

Yup … there was a gnome up there being carried away by angry monsters

Nothing like passing the great Whiskey Shop on my way to the subway!

Great job guys – can’t wait to attend the next Camp session!

Whisky Review: Bruichladdich 12 year old Second Edition

Considering all of the Bruichladdich news going on this week, I thought I’d throw my 2 cents in and refocus on what I’m most interested in: the WHISKY!

(But in case you missed it, the fiercely independent Islay distillery just confirmed that they are selling to Remy.)

So today I am reviewing one of my favorite Bruichladdich expressions, the Second Edition 12 year Islay Single Malt, 46% abv aged in Bourbon barrels.

NOSE: Cinnamon bark, cherry (black? fresh?), Red Hot candies, caramel, black licorice mixed with a magic marker, peat is there but quite light and masked by the spicy candy notes

TASTE: Sweet cherry candy (jolly rancher?), cherry morphs into cinnamon, starts medium-strong and balloons up to the peat

FINISH: Bold and very strong, move through the pallet, nice tingling that lingers on lips & tongue for quite a while

What’s your favorite ‘laddich?

Balvenie – New Make Whisky Tasting Notes

A couple of weeks ago I had the ultimate whisky-geek experience of being temporarily uprooted from my busy life in NYC to partake in the more relaxed lifestyle of the Scots in Speyside, Scotland.  One of the highlights being a very personal and memorable visit with David Steward at the Balvenie distillery (see my post on that visit HERE).

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman 2012

While there, I tasted some very rare and exceptional drams which I’ll continue to write about in upcoming posts.  The first of which, however, was their new make (also known as “white whisky”) which is the distillate prior to any aging.  It’s clear, fresh and bright and is the important base of all of their beautiful variations.  This is not something that is ever bottled and sold by Balvenie, despite a trend across the pond by the American craft distillers who have been releasing their white whiskies & moonshines over the last few years.   Sometimes these new makes can be a bit hard to drink, but I assure you, Balvenie never does anything rough.

NOSE: Sweet grass, malty, pungent sweet, celery salt, salted honey

PALATE: Eucalyptus, rich, complex, sweet after taste, bright, yummy esters (yup, I did just write that!)

WITH H2O: Eucalyptus is still present with white pepper introducing itself, still sweet, beautiful and something I wish I could buy to have on hand always!

I love a good un-aged whisky and this one is particularly delicious (in fact, I wish I was sipping on this right now as I write this post!).  But if you can get your hands on one, and I’m talking about a good one, try it chilled in the summer or, my favorite way, paired with some kind of citrus dessert (think lemon bar or a crème brûlée seasoned with orange zest).

What about you?  Do you have a favorite un-aged whisky or a preferred way to enjoy this kind of spirit?

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman 2012

WhiskyLive NYC 2012 – REVIEW

Anyone who knows me or who follows me on twitter probably knows that I attended the WhiskyLive NYC show this past Wednesday as I was practically jumping out of my skin with excitement! And this year surely did not disappoint.

It’s one of my favorite nights of the year – a time to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and drink some seriously stand-out drams.   And may I just give my sincerest apologies to everyone who I either didn’t mention here or didn’t have a chance to visit.  I could have easily used another 4 hours!

Photo (c) of The Whisky Woman, 2012

My first stop was quite intriguing … Notch Single Malt Whisky from Nantucket.  Notch partners with Cisco Brewers who makes a special beer for them from Maris Otter malt (which has an interesting history for a grain & according to Wikipedia, is “acknowledged right across the brewing world as the finest-quality malt available”).  This beer, or wort, is then moved to the Triple Eight Distillery to distill in a small copper pot still where just the heart cut of the distillate is used and aged for 8 years in ex-bourbon and finished in French oak Merlot wine casks from local Nantucket wineries.

Now, this was a really enjoyable dram but what I can’t understand is the price.  $888 for a 750ml bottle.  I am sure they didn’t have the price match the name of the distillery to be cute … but I just can’t get my head around this!  Remember, this was my first stop so I know my brain was still quite sharp – but I didn’t hear them mention the addition of 24k gold or a unicorn horn as a “gift with purchase” so not wanting to further interrupt the interview they were doing with Gregg from DistilleryAge.com, I snapped the above photo promised them I would be following up … and you bet I will be!  Asap.

Next stop, Balvenie!

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

Now you know you’re a #WhiskyBadAss when you show up to an event with your own malting floor!  David Stewart and team, you guys are my heroes. (If you missed it, check out my earlier post of my visit to this distillery HERE)

I always enjoy my time with the happy and wonderfully talented Balvenie crew.  David and I caught up over a beautiful glass of their 14yr Caribbean Cask Single Malt which was divine.  They actually bring rum over from the Caribbean in tanks – not in casks – and fill their casks with the rum for 6 months.  Once they have their barrels perfectly seasoned with the rum, they remove it and replace the rum with their 14yr single malt to finish for 6 months prior to bottling.  Pretty cool, huh?

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman

Hey – are we taking each others photo!? Silly social media whisky geeks (myself included)! Smile!

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman

The Whisky Peddler.  Only available online HERE out of the World Of Liquor store in New Jersey.  Unbelievably yummy.  Patrick is smart.  He purchased two very interesting casks from notable distilleries in Scotland; one from Glen Grant and one from Highland Park.  You may ask (as I did) why buy his whiskies over buying a 14 year directly from the producer?  Because for both of these malts, he purchased the casks and kept them aging only in their ex-bourbon casks – no sherry finish on these beauts – and let me tell you simply – wow.  I was really happy standing here.  And at $52 or $60 / bottle, it keeps me baffled by the $888 price tag on the Notch …

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

Off to the Cocktail’s Live area!

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

A toast with Kat Valentina – the fab mixologist from LA who was brought in to serve up a very tasty creamy-whiskey cocktail:

2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey, .5 oz Sambuca, .75 oz Rum Chata & 2 oz of chilled coffee

… can we say mid-show pick me up?

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

Whisky & chocolate – a great pairing.  Lucky for us, the hyper-talented chocolatier, Roni-Sue, was there serving up her unique bonbons and pairing them with such lovelies as Laphroaig and Basil Hayden!  I loved their Dark & Stormy truffle: dark chocolate ganache that features Goslings dark rum, fresh ginger and lime zest – all I tasted was pure deliciousness.

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

Glen Garioch paired up with Murray’s Cheese, an excellent cheese shop in NYC (and luckily right down the street from me!) to create a cheddar that pairs specifically with the Glen Garioch whiskies.  HOW COOL IS THAT!?  I’ll be there tomorrow picking up a good wedge for this weekend!  The whiskies are great – balanced, smooth and perfectly complimented by the tangy-creaminess of the cheese.  At this point, though, it was too crowded and my glass was too coated with other whiskies to get accurate tasting notes but I’ll definitely be picking up a bottle on my next Scotch-run.

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman

Finish off with hug, dram and special (secret) Bourbon-Ball (a dark chocolate & Smooth Ambler bourbon bon-bon) from John Little, head-distiller at Smooth Ambler, and it was time for the after party!

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

Now I don’t know how you travel to an after party … but I’m the kind of gal who likes to arrive in style so if that means negotiating a limo ride for some whisky for myself and my beloved whisky-family, like Balcones’ Chip Tate, Compass Box’s Robin Robinson and Kat Valentina … then so be it! 🙂

Photo (c) The Whisky Woman, 2012

Off to Ward III we went!  It was another amazing night!  Congrats Dave Sweet for organizing yet another stellar event!  Slainte!

Whisky Review: Kornog – Celtic Whisky Compagnie (part 2)

In preparation for my fast-approaching trip to Europe where I’ll be attending the World Whisky Conference, the Icons of Whisky awards, Whisky Live UK and doing a few days in both Scotland and France, I thought it best to do a pre-trip detox.  Limiting myself to only the necessary sips of spirits and events that my life requires.

…But then again – I AM a whisky blogger…

I can’t totally abandon all fun drinking for a week, can I?  I say no.  So I have found myself wishing to revisit a beautiful bottle of Kornog that was gifted to me by the ever-talented head distiller, Jean Donnay, of the Celtic Whisky Compagnie.  And since I already published my post about my visit to his picturesque distillery (click HERE for Part 1), I thought today was the day to abandon my carrot+kale+celery concoction and reunite myself with my trusty Glencarin glass.  Here it goes!

Goodbye Juice-on-the-Roof

The Whisky Woman's Juice on the Roof - a silly attempt to detox

Hello Friend!

Happiness in a glass

ABOUT: 46% abv (92 proof), Peated Single Malt Whisky, twice distilled in copper pots over live flame, wooden washbacks, aged in French Oak on an earth floor where it rested in the salty-air climate of Brittany, France for at least 3 years

NOSE: Definitely classic, pure “peat” (think Sharpie marker), toasted cereal, hint of dried tropical fruit, ripe banana

PALATE: Sweet, buttery grain, smooth approach in the beginning, obvious peat appears in the middle which morphs into the black pepper that cuts through the buttered grains

FINISH: Happily strong, travels nicely through the mouth with a long, lingering finish.  Black pepper re-appears on the tip of the tongue at the very end.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The little time in the barrels makes it very light and approachable and gives space to let this whisky’s classic peat notes shine through.  If you’re new to whisky and want to find out if you like peated malts, this is a GREAT place to start.  Not many barrel notes – which is expected.  Very enjoyable.  A PERFECT whisky to drink during the transition from Winter to Spring.  The peat is there to add a little warmth while the lightness is refreshing.

Photo courtesy of Celtic Whisky Compagnie

Campbeltown Loch 21 year old Blended Scotch Whisky

I had the most unique experience the other night that still, 2 days later has me a bit perplexed.

Sitting at the bar of an Italian restaurant around the corner from my home (Centro Vinoteca) I found myself peering quite intently at a lightly colored whisky sitting quietly between the Balvenie Double Wood and the Chivas Regal 12yr.

The view of whiskies from my seat at the bar

Can you see it? 🙂

Towards the end of the meal, I asked the bartender if I could just see the bottle.  Realizing that it had never been opened, the gentleman sitting to my right said, “Let’s open it up and have a taste!”  At which point I learned that he was one of the owners.  He kindly poured a taste for me and one for himself and then quickly drank his like a shot.  I, like the whisky geek that I am, sat there for what seemed like 30 minutes but was probably more like 5 smelling, examining and as best as I could, keeping track of the delicious experience.

Here’s what I wrote down:

ABOUT: 21 year old blended Scotch, 40% abv (80 proof), this is the house blend of the Springbank distillers in Campbeltown

NOSE: maple honey comb, hint of geranium, jasmine black tea, wet spices (clove, cinnamon)

PALATE: water, tire and sweet tobacco leaves on the front, perhaps a bit of toned-down cereal milk which lent a pleasant sweetness in the middle, toffee with grapefruit crème brûlée

FINISH: very smooth, lingering black tea, tobacco, leather and a lovely hint of peat

Coming home, I realized just how rare this bottle might be.  I found it sold out on the UK site, Master of Malt, and haven’t yet found anywhere else (IF YOU DO, please share a link in the comments section below!).   The only review I found was by the beloved Ralfy.  I’ve included his video below.  He gives a lot of history about this particular bottling.  ENJOY and let me know if you can find it!

 

Finger Lakes Distilling: McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey

On one of Brian McKenzie’s, owner of Finger Lakes Distilling, recent trips to NYC, we had the chance to meet up for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Joseph Leonard, where, much to my surprise, he revealed the latest in his whisky collection; the McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey.  Before anyone could say another word, we had popped the top and was sipping this bright, smooth, happily curious spirit and of course, passing it around to anyone with a willing palate.

In a matter of … oh … probably 10-15 minutes we had easily polished off 1/2 of this bottle.  Rightfully so.  This is smooth, and interesting, and it has this flavor-balloon effect in the mouth that is so compelling you keep going back for more … and a little more … and …

McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey

As soon as you open this bottle, the air around you starts morphing into the most beautiful fruit/oak/mash combo smell.  I wish Brian could figure out how to make a candle like this!

Here’s what I have to say about this beauty:

The stats: 100% malted & unmalted barley grown in the fields surrounding his New York’s Finger Lake region distillery.  Distilled in just the copper pot part of his German Holstein pot & column combo still (talk about having the ultimate in distilling flexibility!) bottled without caramel coloring or chill filtration (floaties & chunks are a GOOD thing!), 40% abv/80 proof in standard 750ml bottles.

NOSE: copper drinking cup/metallic, corn husks, honeysuckle flower, honeysuckle juice, leather, sweet tobacco, dried granny smith apples

PALATE: mild front, a slight “water in copper cup” metallic flavor on the tip of tongue, moves into a strong dried apple & apricot middle with rye-like spice on back-end and top back of the throat.  It balloons and swells as moves back which is very intriguing.

FINISH: tip of the tongue is left with that copper-meets-clove spice that lingers a bit, middle to back of mouth is left pleasantly refreshed

Overall:  I would say this is a medium bodied whisky that is very smooth & approachable.  A happy choice … if you are lucky enough to find it!

Quick addition since publishing this post: Just saw that Drink Up New York has (as of the day of this post) added it to their site for online sales!  Click HERE for the link!

Thank you, Brian, for leaving the bottle in my excited hands.  It’s a pleasure to keep revisiting!

Whiskey Gift: Compass Box Sample Set (& the journey I had finding it!)

I just spent a full week checking out the whisky scene in the sunny city of Los Angeles, California.  On my last day, I was driving around like a crazy person (as you do in LA) trying to squeeze in a few last store visits.

Beautiful, eh?

Up until then, I had really only be focusing on specialty shops (K&L for example) and authentic whisky bars (hello, Seven Grand) but I found myself sitting in a parking lot in Beverly Hills staring at a somewhat dingy looking store that, for whatever reason, I felt I was being gravitationally pulled to enter.

Sigh.  Ok!  I hop out of the car and go into what I would describe at first look as being a pretty standard American liquor store.  Neon signs, branded posters, old linoleum floors complete with a faint smell of cat (or is the cat smell only in my memory?).

A quick overview of the room tells me the liquid gold that I’m looking for is in the center of the store (interesting … whiskies are usually along the sides or back walls).  Hmmm.  I keep walking.

At the start of the aisle, there is a cheap, locked display case that I’m quite sure was been held together with discretely placed duct tape.  Now, here’s what I didn’t expect to see in it:

1 beautifully displayed 750ml Baccarat crystal decanter holding non-other than the Louis XIII cognac for around $2500 (see earlier post about this spirit HERE)

1 box (on the bottom shelf, tucked off to the side) of a Compass Box 50ml Sample Gift Set.

Gasp. WHAT!?!  I have never seen this kind of set in the States before… ever. SOLD!

(c) 2011 TheWhiskyWoman.com --- Glencharin glass not included

This is the perfect way to familiarize oneself with a brand, style, region, etc.  I picked up a few sets like this from La Maison du Whisky in Paris back in July (see earlier post HERE, reviews of the sets I bought to be posted in 2012).

In this Compass Box set, it contains five 50ml tubes, one of each of the following:

-1 x Hedonism

-1x Peet Monster

-1x Spice Tree

-1x Oak Cross

-1x Asyla

I also really appreciate the pull out information card that is secured on the underside of the box lid.  This is beautifully done, clean, well organized and a perfect gift … for oneself or someone special!

(c) 2011 TheWhiskyWoman.com --- Glencharin glass not included, used only as a point of reference for sizing

Sadly, a quick google search produced only one place online with stock and that is a single sellers on eBay (click HERE) but I’m not even sure that’s legal and that guy is selling his box for $89.99 (compared to the $49 I paid at full retail).

IF you can find one – I encourage you to buy it.  It’s a great set.  I’ll definitely be asking my local store later today to see about getting a few in stock!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Lastly, here’s the information for the store from which I purchased this awesome set:

Vendome Wine & Spirits

9153 W Olympic Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

(310) 276-9463

www.Vendomestore.com

 Hopefully they can ship to you!

1 ADJUSTMENT SINCE I FIRST PUBLISHED THIS POST:  I HAVE SINCE HEARD FROM COMPASS BOX AND THEY OFFER THIS SET FOR SALE IN THEIR ONLINE SHOP HERE: http://compassbox.specialitydrinks.com/

WITH SHIPPING TO THE USA (FROM THE UK) YOU CAN GET IT HOME FOR AROUND $64 USD.

Whisky Events Roundup (part 3)

So my friends, to conclude my Fall Whisky Event Roundup series, today I present to you Part 3.  (You can find parts 1 and 2 by clicking on their respective numbers)

After this, I think it’s time for a nap … or perhaps I’ll sneak in one more whisky… 😉

NEW YORK, NY

Louis XIII Private Tasting

The Invitation... a sign of what was to come!

What: The great people of one of my favorite wine & whisky shops, Le Dû Wines, invited me to a very special exclusive tasting of the stunning Louis XIII cognac by Remy Martin in the Porter House New York restaurant in New York City.  The Louis XIII senior brand ambassador, Pierre-Antoine Bollet, led us in a most interesting tasting which started off with champagne and the story behind the cognac.  We then watched as the liquid gold was poured into special crystal glasses and passed around for the tasting to commence.

About: Louis XIII is an elegant cognac that is a combination of ages ranging from 40yr – 100 yr (their tag line is “a century in a bottle”).  Bottled only once per year in a vintage-designed Baccarat crystal decanter, the master blender (who is a woman!) aims to re-create the same flavor profile each and every year so that no matter which bottle you get (if you have the means to spend at least $2,300 USD) you know what to expect.  The grapes are from the Grand Champagne region in France and I thought it was interesting that though cognac is made from the eaux de vie of grapes, unlike wine, the spirit does not continue to age in the bottle, just like whisky.

Barrel: The cognac is placed in new limousin barrels at the beginning of the aging only.  Then, the spirit is moved into a unique type of barrel that is only used for the ageing of Louis XIII, which is called Tiercons.  This type of barrel is no longer produced; it has thinner walls and was historically used for boat transportation.  Tiercons are now only used for Louis XIII and, luckily for the brand, Remy Martin owns the largest collection of the Tiercons which are 100 – 150 years old.

How to NOSE: We began with the glass; the sides were straight like a “chimney” not fluted like a traditional whisky nosing glass or bowed like many wine glasses.  This allows all of the delicate aromas to travel vertically together.  My favorite part was that the first smelling did not happen with the glass close to the nose.  Instead, we started with the glass held down by the hips and slowly raised it up along the center of the body while giving the glass a gentle swirl.  As soon as you detected the first scent, you were to hold the glass there and experience the lightest notes (my glass was hovering somewhere in between my belly button and rib cage).  I thought it was such an interesting way to start discovering the 150+ flavor notes (and no, my nose is not sophisticated enough to find that many but it was fun to try!).

How to TASTE: Once we had brought the glasses much closer to our noses and really “got in there” with the smelling (my favorite part).  We were finally allowed to taste it!  Starting with a very small sip that we were to “chew” and let dissolve in the mouth – this technique (just as we do in the whisky world) allows you to prepare your palate, wake up all of your taste buds, and gives you the first hint of what you’re about to experience.

Final thoughts: This is a really lovely spirit.  There are many layers to this – I wish I had had a bit more (both cognac and time) to continue the exploration but alas, all good things come to an end!  With plenty of notes of dried fruits (apricots, apples) and warm spices (think cinnamon, clove, etc) I was pleased with how rounded it was on the palate.  The sweet notes are nicely balanced with the spicy notes and the 40% abv is necessary to cut through the heavier mouth feel.  Overall, a really beautiful spirit and one that I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience.

Louis XIII tasting at Porter House New York

The passing of the beautiful cognac!

Photos courtesy of Mara Rudzinski of Le Du Wines.

Women & Whiskies Skyy Whisky Tasting Event

What: There is a cool group of whisky-loving marketing ladies who put on some great tasting events throughout the year.  This is the first of their events that I was able to attend, and even then, I was unfortunately in and out pretty quickly.  Though I was skeptical going in, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the turnout and the overall presentation.

About: The evening was hosted in a private room overlooking the Olives bar in the W Hotel in Union Square, NYC.  There was a bubbly female rep from Skyy who had the challenging job of holding peoples attention long enough to give them some knowledge about what it was they were drinking to a room full of post-work ladder-climbing career women desperately trying to listen while getting drunk on whisky and presumably, their empty stomachs.

Herein lies the rub: don’t taste enough and you don’t have much to compare each expression to… drink too much and, well, you know, we have all been there.

Final thoughts: I will say that I was apprehensive about attending this event because I was having a hard time getting past the fact that I had little interest in drinking whisky with a bunch of other women (unless they were all my good friends).  If I am having a glass of scotch at a bar, I’d like to be surrounded by a wide range of people, not limited to one particular group.  However, I missed the concept completely.  This was not a casual “step right up”  tasting but rather a sit-down “let’s talk whisky” tasting, focusing on introducing the next generation of female whisky drinkers to the spirit (Yes!).  And for this purpose, I thought they did a great job.  So much so that I’d like to attend their next event from beginning to end this time if I am so lucky to be invited back.

Women & Whiskies Tasting Journal

Women & Whiskies Skyy Tasting

Special thanks to Sarah Jones (tweets at @fill_my_glass) for inviting me to this event!

LASTLY…

There was also a trip to Miami, Florida sandwiched somewhere in these last few weeks but it was over in the blink of an eye and, as it turns out, though we had a lot of fun, there was not much to report on the whisky side of it aside from the occasional Jack & Ginger (which is as tasty to drink as it is fun to say).

In conclusion to this awesome, crazy Fall season;  there was never a dull evening and though I didn’t get to blog, comment or tweet about each and every event I attended, I did try my best and I’m looking forward to spending a few nights relaxing next to the fire with a good book and a glass of whisky.

…oh wait, is it Thanksgiving already!?  HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!