Bruichladdich - the innovative Islay distillery

The good folks at Bruichladdich distillery proudly describe themselves as hard-working, curious, passionate and a bit  roguish. Add innovative, clever and kindly to that list and you'll be part way to understanding the group of people, who in the last 12 years, have masterminded and executed the most recent re-incarnation of Bruichladdich, and a successful one at that. Successful how? According to Alan Logan, Bruichladdich's Distillery Manager, who proudly showed me around the distillery and patiently answered my questions, production levels at the distillery were 150,000 litres 10 years ago, 750,000 litres last year and will be 1,500,000 litres next year. That seems successful!
But the intent at Bruichladdich is certainly not aimed at churning out volume. Rather, the emphasis is on producing unique and interesting whiskies with a sense of place, aided by careful experimentation with barley, peat levels, cask selection and nurturing.  I'm jumping ahead here, but near the end of my wander around the distillery with Alan, I tasted some whisky from an ex Chateau d'Yquem cask. The contents had matured for about 18 years in an ex-Bourbon cask, but had spent the last few years in the Sauternes cask. If forced to, I would have to say that it was my favourite whisky tasted  in the entire week on Islay. After my tasting in the dunnage warehouse, I talked to Jim McEwan, Production Director at Bruichladdich, (a title which doesn't even begin to describe his iconic status in the industry or his many roles at Bruichladdich) and it turned out that he shares my love of that cask. He checks it often and is nurturing it to the moment of perfection, although I would be amazed if the contents become any more sublime. Jim apologizes for his romanticism, but he calls this cask his Diana, reflecting his admiration for the late Princess. The distillery admirably matures all of its whisky on Islay and I don't imagine that every cask has a name, but I'm pretty sure that they're all lovingly nurtured. One of the warehouses in Port Charlotte was actually built from the remains of Lochindaal distillery, knocked down in 1934.
"But to our tale", to quote from Tam O'Shanter.......... .When Bruichladdich distillery was built in 1881, it was both innovative and intelligently designed, making clever use of gravity to move the different elements through the production stages. From 1937 to 1995 it had frequent ownership changes, with all the resulting ups and downs, and was then mothballed in 1995. In 2000, it was bought by a local consortium, including Jim McEwan - a consortium that had the skills, imagination, drive and financial means to restore the equipment, restart production and create the Bruichladdich renaissance. Much of the well-designed 1881 innovation is still in place, and one of the wash stills, the oldest in Scotland, in fact,  dates from that time.The distillery mill, shown here, is 99 years old. Fermentation is deliberately slow and takes place in five lovely Oregon pine and one Douglas fir washback. The four copper stills have elegant long necks, in contrast to Ugly Betty, the quirky gin still which creates the increasingly popular Botanist Gin - a tasty concoction  using 31 botanicals, 22 of them native to Islay.
The new owners, and the local team they employed, did a remarkable job of re-building interest in and demand for Bruichladdich, despite minimal existing stocks and the necessity to wait for the new spirit to mature. Colourful and creative packaging and inspired marketing of various new and young products helped the process. With no corporate watchdog to stifle creativity, innovation bloomed. A credo to employ locally and use local product led to experimentation with local, heritage and organic barley and different peat levels. Currently, 35 to 40% of the barley used is local and about 50% is organic. Although the Classic house style is sweet, elegant, floral and unpeated, the peated line includes Octomore  - off the chart at 140ppm (phenols per million) and rather tasty if you like peat. Within the consortium, there is much in depth wine and wine cask knowledge, which prompted a desire to find special casks to further mature the whisky. According to Alan, about 90% of the casks used at Bruichladdich are American bourbon first fill casks, but there are many casks to be seen bearing the name of great wine chateaux, port houses and the like. Bruichladdich coined the phrase Additional Cask Enhancement (ACE) to define the process of a second maturation of whisky in a different cask. Generally on Islay, I found that distillery folk didn't like the term "finishing" anymore, preferring instead "double maturation" -  a term that's become a bit confusing to the consumer. ACE seems to fit the bill quite nicely.
The folks at Bruichladdich have a way with words. One of their special bottlings (no longer available) was called DNA_1:The 36.This rare and expensive whisky was created by Jim with specially selected casks which had some ACE time in barrels previously containing Pomerol Chateau Le Pin.
At the spirit safe, Alan had me taste some new make Octomore. It was quite nice - sweet, with the phenols kicking in afterwards. I find that I'm developing a palate for new make spirit! By the way, to conform with Scotch whisky legislation, new make spirit cannot be called whisky until it's spent 3 years in an oak cask.
Before going off to taste a few gems in the warehouse, we stopped in at the bottling hall, built in 2002. It's rare in the industry for distilleries to do their own bottling, but it made perfect sense to the Bruichladdich team, and means that they dilute to bottling strength with local water, have control over their own bottling timing, and add to the local employment. Splendid!
Currently there are about 36,000 Bruichladdich casks on Islay. Alan took me into one of the warehouses on site to taste a few worthies. Apart from the aforementioned fabulous Sauternes ACE, I tasted a great 22 year old whisky, where the additional ACE was Calvados. I couldn't guess that one, partially because I didn't expect it, but it was quite delicious, elegant and multi-layered. Next up was a 66% ABV Octomore that had spent 3 years in virgin American oak, not often used in the industry for that length of time. Wow! It was dark and meaty and conjured up visions of barbecued pulled pork. I tried a couple of examples of similarly made, young unpeated whisky from two different strains of local barley. They were a little different in age, which would obviously have some influence, but the differences in character, nose and palate were quite noticeable.
I have to admit that I was a little star-struck by Jim McEwan, and not just because he gave me a big hug and a bottle of Bruichladdich! He's a knowledgeable, intelligent and very personable man, who has also been in the whisky industry for some 50 years, about 35 of them at Bowmore. He is a whisky creator, an ambassador for the industry and has undoubtedly been involved in every aspect of the Bruichladdich renaissance. I suspect that he also had a hand in the poetic and passionate prose in the Bruichladdich website. Although it's a challenge to read it on its dark background, the writing is a work of art and the content tells a good tale.
Alan suggested The Forbidden Fruit as my bottle of choice. Seemed like an appropriate choice!
Remy Cointreau was very clever to buy Bruichladdich Distillery a few months ago. Their marketing reach and distribution network will increase global demand for the range. Let's hope that nothing much else will change, and that passionate innovation will continue.
Slainte!
Next up - Caol Ila..............

Lagavulin Distillery - slow production and good wood policy makes great whisky.

Just opposite the imposing white buildings of Lagavulin distillery, on a site with a history dating back to the 12th century, stand the imposing ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, once the naval base of The Lord of the Isles. It's hard to say which is the most impressive, so visitors to this part of southern Islay tend to drive to the same spot up the road and photograph both.
Lagavulin was the first stop on my tour of Islay's distilleries. I was hosted by David Woods, home brand manager, a knowledgeable man whose background includes some time at Bowmore, experience as an independent bottler, good knowledge of wine and a passion for food and whisky pairing.
Lagavulin and Caol Ila, which lies much further north on the island, are both owned by Diageo. Both distilleries obtain their malted barley peated to about 35ppm, yet the distillery characters are quite different. Two factors that David feels are vital to the ultimate flavours of the whisky are the shape of the stills and the wood policy. To use a wine analogy, Caol Ila is perhaps more Sauvignon Blanc like in character, a bit oily and more maritime in character. Lagavulin 16 year old, long one of my personal favourites, has been likened to a Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux, obviously an analogy more aimed at its elegance than its flavour.
Lagavulin 16 year old is the flagship product, one that's in great demand worldwide. The wood policy that David refers to is a key contributor to the consistency of the flavour and character of the 16 year old. The important maturation process uses 100% refill hogshead ex-bourbon barrels, first filled with grain, then another malt, then Lagavulin. The grain fill takes a lot out of the cask, which is part of the strategy. The distillery doesn't want overactive casks for the 16 year old.
95% of the 2.2M litres of whisky produced at Lagavulin goes to single malt, with the rest becoming a component of White Horse blended whisky. Apart from the 16 year old, the distillery also produces a cask strength 12 year old, which is less influenced by the wood, has a more significant peatiness and, according to David, a bit of saltiness as well. The Distillers Edition is standard Lagavulin, further matured for about 3 months in Pedro Ximenez casks to produce a whisky edged with sweeter, toffee notes.
As with all of the distilleries on Islay, there is an annual special bottling for Feis Ile, the Islay whisky and music festival in May. A specially selected  single cask produces a limited number of bottles which are generally snapped up on the first day of the festival, and are highly prized. Lagavulin distillery also sponsors the Islay Jazz festival in September and  produces a single cask, cask strength bottling for the occasion. Iain MacArthur, who has worked at the distillery for many years, selected the 2011, 17 year old sherry cask and, by all accounts, it was a stunner and one which has increased in value about 8 times - if you can find it.
As Iain also selected the cask for the 2012 bottling, I made sure that I stopped in at the distillery again at the end of the week to buy one of the rare bottles. I haven't opened it yet, but I'll report back in due course.
Lagavulin was licensed in 1816, although there is evidence of illicit distilling on the site since the 1740's. The eccentric Peter Mackie was largely responsible for spreading the Lagavulin word during the early 1900s. This same gentleman also opened Malt Mill distillery, one of many lost Islay distilleries and the subject of the current whisky movie - Angel's Share. Malt Mill closed in 1963 although it lives on as the Lagavulin visitor centre.
To start everything off, the peat for Lagavulin whisky comes from Castle Hill on Islay, where it has a high moisture content. In the kiln, higher moisture imbues more smoke into the barley in a  shorter amount of time. The distillery mills its own barley in a  1963 mill, and the resulting grist goes into the mash tun in 4.32 tonne batches with three hot water fills of around 21,000 litres at increasingly higher temperatures.
10 lovely larch washbacks, each with a capacity of 21,000 litres handle the fermentation of the wort, 5 hours apart, for a total slow fermentation time of 55 hours. We tasted some of the wash during the fermentation process and it had developed some nice citrus and tobacco notes on the nose, with both smokiness and sweetness on the taste. It's astonishing really to have that much character even before the liquid is beer-like.
The two wash stills are steam heated, hold 10,000 litres each and have steep lyne arms. At 10 1/2 hrs, Lagavulin purportedly has the longest distillation on Islay and one of the longest in Scotland, potentially building more character and contributing to the unique Lagavulin profile. The stillman takes a bigger middle cut than most distilleries, retaining more phenols and again aiming for the desired character.

After looking around the distillery, we headed back to the visitor centre to have a wee tasting. The new make spirit was tasty for a young thing. The nose was quite perfumed with nice smoke on the palate and more especially on the finish. I could drink this stuff, but was much happier to try the 16 year old next - fruit followed by smoke. David talked a bit about the double maturation policies for some of the Diageo malts Distillers Editions. They tend to be quite specific to provide clarity between the brands - Cragganmore Distillers Edition has an extra maturation in port casks; Lagavulin in PX sherry; Talisker in Amoroso; Clynelish in oloroso. We tried a 17 year old Lagavulin, double matured in PX sherry casks. It was delicious, with lots of sticky toffee, raisins and Christmas pudding character; then lovely smoke to follow up! David dug into his whisky and food passion pot and suggested serving it chilled right down to accompany a hot sweet dessert. Oh my!
Next up, we tasted some of the 2012, 14 year old Feis Ile single cask whisky, which had matured in a  fino sherry cask. This one was peaty all the way through and completely different in character. The 12 year old cask strength was lovely with a bit of water to soften it up. Iain joined us at this point and we took a wander into one of the dunnage warehouses, all damp and dank and cold. While you wouldn't want this flooring in your basement, whisky barrels love this stuff! Iain pointed out three casks each containing 550 litres and mentioned that the duty recently paid on the lot amounted to £18,033. He was quite specific!
In the warehouse, we tasted some really interesting whisky from individual casks - an 8 year old from a  bodega cask, already showing fine Lagavulin character; a 19 year old that was fantastic; and a 14 year old, which was smoother and softer than the 14 year old Feis Ile bottling I had tried earlier. Finally, I tasted from a 1966 cask, and a 1982 cask. I think the 1966 is kept there as an experiment, as it had lost character, aroma and flavour - definitely past its best. Iain agreed, although he did tell me in his lilting island voice that some of the ladies like that one. The 30 year old was in the category of "finest whiskies I've ever tasted" - superbly balanced, luscious, elegant - a fine product of a cold, damp place!
Can't wait to try that 2012 Lagavulin Jazz Festival bottle!
Slainte!
Next up - Bruichladdich........

Bowmore Distillery - a warm place for a wee dram!

In 1966, Eddie MacAffer was hired at Bowmore Distillery to dig drains. 46 years later, Whisky Magazine has named Eddie 'Whisky Distillery Manager of the Year", an honour he shares with John McLellan of Kilchoman. In September, I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Eddie, and it was a special morning filled with tales and reminiscences, a good look around a well run distillery, the sharing of career highlights and some fine tastings. 
Following a fortnight's hard work digging drains, Eddie worked his way through every area at Bowmore - the warehouse, the malt barn, the stillhouse and the mash house until, in the 1990's, Jim McEwan, now production director at Bruichladdich and another industry icon, made him head maltman, followed by brewer, head distiller and eventually Distillery Manager. Eddie has been involved in running the distillery for the last 20 years or so.
He is enormously proud of the Bowmore range of whiskies - a range that is substantial by any measure and includes Legend, 12, 15, 18, Surf, Enigma 12, Mariner 15, 17, Tempest 10, Laimrig 15, as well as some rare whiskies and Islay festival special bottlings. I asked Eddie what his absolute favourite whisky was and he shared with me his proudest moment at Bowmore.
In 1964, two years before young Eddie joined Bowmore, some whisky went into ex-sherry casks and some into ex-bourbon casks for maturation. That in itself was not particularly unique except for the fact that the whisky was left to mature for over 40 years. The Black (ex-sherry) was bottled at 42 years, the White (ex-bourbon) at 43 and, in 2009 in San Francisco and New York, the distillery released a very limited edition lot of  the Gold (a marriage of the two). Eddie proclaimed the Gold to be the best whisky he had ever tasted in his entire life. Post release, the trilogy auctioned at Christie's for $21,600.
Not all old whisky is wonderful. High among many contributory factors to a fantastic old whisky is the quality of the maturation casks and, according to Eddie, Bowmore pays particular attention to cask selection and quality.
Later in the morning, after an in-depth tour of the distillery, Eddie took me into Bowmore's famous vault #1, a damp, cold and dark dunnage warehouse, the oldest in Scotland, the only one below sea level and a place perfect for maturation. In the deepest part of the vault, the sea can clearly be heard rolling around overhead. In other parts of the vault, the distillery ghost (apparently a  benign phantom) can sometimes, purportedly, be seen or heard.
From the grand selection of casks, quietly maturing some of Bowmore's finest whisky, Eddie selected a bourbon cask and an older sherry cask for me to try. Both were outstanding - wonderful expressions of two lovely Bowmore whiskies, differentiated by age and the cask. We created our own version of Gold by doing a little blending of the two. Outstanding!
Prior to reaching the vault, we had a leisurely and informative stroll around the distillery, starting with the floor maltings, where Eddie demonstrated the technique for turning the malt. Only a handful of distilleries in Scotland still carry out any of their own floor maltings. Most, for reasons of economics and demand, obtain their malt, prepared to individual specifications, from malting works. Of the few that malt some or all of their barley in house, three are on Islay - Bowmore, Laphroaig and Kilchoman - another reason to visit this wonderful west coast island.
Bowmore's ultimate owner is Suntory, a company that Eddie greatly respects. Its demand for quality and tradition is evident throughout the distillery, from the retention of the traditional malting works to the beautiful 100 year old copper tanks, the mash tun and the stills, all of which look as if they've been hand polished.
From the malting floor, we visited the kilns, where peat is burned for 15 hours to imbue wonderful smoky character into the green and drying barley, prior to 45 hours further drying with hot air. Standing inside the kiln and breathing in all the hot air and barley and peat aromas was a truly delightful experience. I felt like snuggling down in a warm corner with a wee dram.
Each of the six washbacks has a name above it - reflecting the different ownership throughout the years. Eddie had a story to tell about each one, finishing with the Morrison family, who took over ownership in 1963.
Near the end of our walkabout, I noticed a room named the Caboodle room and Eddie explained that, in the 1950's, Edward Atkin, a professorial type of  fellow who liked to dabble with new make spirit and concoct all kinds of different beverages, used to work in that room and talk about all his "kit and caboodle". It's doubtful that much of Edward's mixtures made it into bottles but the name remains. Up until 1974, the Caboodle room was also used for "dramming the men" - the practise of giving a substantial dram of whisky to each of the distillery workers several times a day!
In 1957, presumably one of these well lubricated workers was responsible for filling a particular cask, the contents of which were carefully nurtured for 54 years. Only 12 bottles from this cask will go on sale, making it the oldest Islay malt ever released. Two bottles will be auctioned by Bonhams during October - one in Edinburgh and the other  in New York, each with a reserve bid of approximately $155,000, with all net proceeds being donated to five Scottish charities. How splendid!
In a previous act of community service, Bowmore donated maturation warehouse number three to the town of Bowmore. This building now houses the town swimming pool, which is heated via a pipeline from the distillery - further reason for Eddie MacAffer to be proud of his place of work.
Before heading to the distillery shop to purchase some more modestly priced bottles than the Gold, I chatted with "Ginger" Willie, who started at the distillery 45 years ago, when his hair was ginger. As I shared the same nickname when I was a young lass, I felt a certain affinity with this delightful man with the lilting accent and many island tales to tell.
After fond farewells and a promise to return, I headed to the pier to snap a few last photos of the distillery. While I battled against a vicious wind producing impressive waves that lashed over the breakwater, I marvelled at the fact that I had just met two fine folk whose time at Bowmore totalled 91 years!
This is a giddy year for Morrison Bowmore on the Icons of Whisky arena. In addition to Eddie's award, other accolades include Whisky Distiller of the Year and Whisky Ambassador of the Year, awarded to Iain McCallum, marketing services manager. In addition to Bowmore distillery, Morrison Bowmore own Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch. Whisky Magazine awarded the company Whisky Distiller of the Year for a number of reasons including some fine releases from all three brands. Even if you don't pick up a bottle of Bowmore Gold or bid on a bottle of the 1957, chances are there's a fine bottle of Bowmore out there to whet your whisky palate.
Slainte!

Next up - Lagavulin.

ISLAY - the wild, wonderful and welcoming whisky island

The moment I set foot on Islay, I knew that I was in love. Bumping to a halt in a  tiny Flybe plane from Glasgow, I could barely see anything for the fog outside, but the smiles of welcome in the minuscule airport at Glenegedale were anything but foggy.
Within minutes of being picked up by my brothers and hitting the A846 (don't let the "A" fool you!), the fog had dissipated and the crystal clear air produced brilliant contrasts between the choppy, blue and white waters of Laggan Bay, vibrant purple heather, mottled brown hills, emerald green ground covering and a sky of many colours. It didn't take long to figure out the driver's rule of conduct on Islay roads - a smile and a brief raise of the steering wheel hand to every passing car.
By the time we reached our wee rental house in Port Charlotte, right on the waterfront, overlooking Loch Indaal, I knew that this was going to be a great week. Later that evening, the car I had rented was delivered to my door by Maureen, with instructions to just open her door (she lived round the corner) and throw the keys in at the end of the week - a week that was to be filled with heart-warming, genuine and fascinating encounters with some of the most iconic folks in the Scotch whisky industry.
Prior to my visit, I had planned to write one article, encompassing all of Islay's distilleries. But after spending a few wonderful hours at each of the eight distilleries, and being the recipient of much generosity of time, stories and spirit of both kinds, I simply had to write a section on each of Bowmore, Lagavulin, Kilchoman, Caol Ila, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Ardbeg and Laphroaig.
As I drove around the island for the next week, often using passing places to jump out and take photos, the weather changed constantly and quickly - from pounding rain to bright sunshine, from winds that closed the airport to absolute calm, from balmy warmth (OK, perhaps not quite balmy) to finger-freezing cold. Never a dull climatic moment!
The open, rugged landscape is stunning, none more so than on the intrepid journey to Bunnahabhain, where the single track road with endless blind corners and lip-biting blind hills keeps you hoping that you won't encounter a ferry bound lorry filled with whisky. If you do, guess who's backing up to the nearest passing place!

But Islay isn't all about single track roads with sheep wandering about. To accommodate the tens of thousands of annual visitors, the island has a wide range of hotels, B and B's and rental properties, as well as some great dining options, several in the Michelin Guide. We sampled at the Harbour Inn in Bowmore, the Port Charlotte Hotel, and the Bridgend Hotel, leaving many more to explore next time. A good family friend mentioned that some rental places are already booked up for Islay whisky week in May 2013 and 2014! Feis Ile brings whisky lovers from all over the world, many of whom line up hours, even days, in advance to guarantee the purchase of a limited edition festival bottling.

The Lagavulin sponsored Islay Jazz Festival got underway on our last day on the island. We headed along to the community hall in Bruichladdich, which was filled to capacity with visitors and locals of every age, and listened to some great Bossa Nova, while nursing a complimentary glass of Lagavulin 16. Earlier that day I was delighted to secure bottle #226 of a single cask bottling, hand selected for the festival by Lagavulin's Iain MacArthur, whom I had the pleasure of meeting earlier in the week. But more on Lagavulin later.
Outside of distilleries, I spent some time with a marvellous lady and a new friend - Rachel MacNeill. Check out Rachel's websites. She knows the island like the back of her hand.
http://www.wildandmagicislay.com/
http://www.whiskyforgirls.com/

I'll definitely return to Islay - for the people, the wildlife, the wonderful whisky, the beautiful landscapes I've barely explored, the sea air....... I am in love!
If you want to visit Islay, here's a great place to start.
Next up - Bowmore.......

Would you like bacon in that Single Malt?

   In Town and Out July 2012 - cocktails by GrapeScot
Savoury cocktails are not new. Mixologists and bartenders have been shaking, stirring and dabbling with olives, eggs, onions, salts, spices, herbs and bitters for hundreds of years, with a  big spike in the 1940's and 50's, and an even bigger spike in the last 10 years. The love affair with martinis continues, with almost anything that can be consumed in liquid format finding its way into signature cocktails in bars and restaurants everywhere.
Recently, Michael Bhardwaj, from CBC Radio 1 In Town and Out, invited me in to the studio to chat about savoury summer cocktails, and I felt inspired to experiment with meat! First, I fried up some good quality double smoked bacon, let it cool and then chopped it up and dumped it into a couple of ounces of my favourite of the moment Ardbeg Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky - Alligator. This is a cask strength smoky whisky and a thing of beauty. I thought - smoky bacon, smoky whisky - might work, right?
After a day in the fridge to allow some flavour marrying, I extracted the meat, then put the liquid in the freezer for a while, then filtered out the meat/fat, leaving a somewhat cloudy, strange smelling liquid behind. Both the aroma and flavour of the left over liquid from this experiment were, to be kind, atrocious beyond belief. It was as if some bad chemical reaction had taken place to produce and indescribably painful liquid and a sadly diminished Alligator bottle.

Savoury and spicy 
At the same time, however, I tried the same experiment with some vodka and the result, while still odd, was far less offensive - even interesting. I used the bacon-infused vodka in a fabulous summer savoury Caesar, courtesy of Benjamin Anderson, no relation, from the Hintonburg Public House. Apart from all the fantastic additions like horseradish, olive brine, sriracha hot sauce, wine and more, the highlight of this cocktail is the cocktail stick loaded up with goodies like sour pickled onion, pimento stuffed olive wrapped in bacon, cherry tomato and lime; not to mention the thick sliced, double smoked, cooked and cooled bacon which firms up as a swizzle stick. Delish! (Recipe below). I actually made this with the bacon-infused vodka and regular vodka and, to be honest, the difference was too subtle to justify all that weird stuff lying around in my fridge and freezer. I also made a martini with the infused vodka and some olive brine - a dirty martini with bacon. That was - interesting!
I feel like I want to experiment with chewy beers and beef jerky next, or spicy sausage and bourbon. Alternatively, and I recommend this for those of you bored by sweet and sour, there are gazillions of meaty, savoury, herbaceous and downright odd cocktail recipes out there to Google and enjoy.

Refreshingly sour
When I was down in Chile earlier this year I fell in love with Pisco Sours, (as does pretty much everyone). You can buy Pisco in the LCBO, but I decided to concoct a variation using Greek Metaxa Brandy, which I dubbed The Olympic, and plan to sip while viewing superhuman beings doing very fast and strong things over the next few weeks. (Recipe also below).

Ginger spice and refreshing lime 
Almost the first cocktail I ever tasted was a Whisky Mac - blended whisky and Green Ginger Wine. Back in the late 60's, ice was rarely seen in bars in Scotland so the drink was kind of warm and gingery and OK. My own version likes a tall glass filled with ice, a shot of Famous Grouse or some other blended whisky of choice, about the same amount of green ginger wine (find it at the LCBO), lots of fresh lime juice, a little simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water simmered for 5 minutes then cooled), and a slice or two of lime. Very refreshing, very delicious!
Happy Summer, drink wisely, stay cool. Check back soon for the link to the CBC interview after it airs on Saturday 28 July.

Recipes 

Hintonburg Caesar (modified by Andersons!)
1.5oz vodka, bacon infused or not!
Red wine
Worcestershire
Sriracha
Fresh Horseradish
Clamato Juice
Lime
Celery Salt
Bar Olives, or pimento stuffed olives, wrapped in bacon (optional)
Sour Pearl Onions
Cherry Tomato
Salt and Black Pepper
Bacon

Pour the celery salt into a bowl or small plate.
Use a lime wedge to juice the rim of a highball glass and press the glass into the celery salt.
Fill up your glass with ice, add a dash of Worcestershire (about 1/4oz) and add Sriracha to taste (Mild, Medium, Hot, or Insane)
Add in a pinch of salt, and a dash of olive brine.
Pour in Clamato until just a little below the celery salt line.
Add a splash of red wine, something with body like a Cab Sauv or a Shiraz.
Grate some fresh horseradish and a little black pepper onto the surface of the drink, use a cocktail skewer to skewer an olive, an onion, and a cherry tomato, and stick this skewer through a lime wedge, resting the lime wedge on the edge of the glass.
For an extra addition, cook up some thick cut, double smoked bacon ahead of time, crispy, so it stays straight, and use this instead of a swizzle stick to stir the drink, leaving it in afterwards to enjoy.
The celery salt rim is meant for taste and not just decoration, so serve this drink without straws.

The Olympic
Rim a champagne flute with lime and dip in sugar. Shake off excess.
In a cocktail shaker, add ice, 1 1/2 oz Metaxa Brandy (the higher the star rating the better), 1/4 oz orange liqueur, a bit of orange zest, juice of half a  lemon or more, 1/2 oz simple syrup, a few shakes of angostura bitters, a fresh egg white. Shake vigorously and pour into flute. Add 2 drops of angostura bitters on top. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Smash (courtesy of Benjamin Anderson, Hintonburg Public House)
1 1/2oz Bourbon
3 Lemon Wedges
4 Mint Leaves
1oz Rhubarb Syrup
3 Strawberries

Muddle lemon, mint, strawberries and syrup in a shaker.
Add ice and bourbon, and shake.
Strain into a highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a whole strawberry, stem intact, and a mint sprig.

Rhubarb Syrup
4 Rhubarb stalks
1/2 vanilla bean
4 cups water

Wash rhubarb, trim the ends and cut into half inch pieces.
Place in a pot with the water. Scrape off the seeds of the vanilla bean into the pot and drop in the rest of the bean.
Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, allow to cool, and then strain with a mesh strainer do that only the syrup remains.

Kilts, Weddings and Whisky

It's been three months since I last posted any news items, mainly because of a flurry of wine and whisky tastings and other fun and important events. In the tasting arena, we've selected, poured and entertained at birthday celebrations, bachelor and bachelorette parties, a tasting for Bounder Magazine, some fundraisers, the Army Officers Mess tasting, and some "just because" tastings - in town and out.
A quick word to Single Malt Scotch lovers...............there are a few spots available for the next tasting at Divinos on Thursday August 9th. We'll have five fabulous Single Malts and  wonderful tasting plates to accompany each of them. This is a great venue and we promise you a relaxing, fun and informative evening. Call soon to reserve the last spots.

Perth World Record Kilt Run

So on to kilt tales, of which I have two................
Last Saturday, I panted my way around an 8km road race in beautiful Perth, Ontario, wearing my kilt and some not so scary blue stripes on my face, all in an attempt to swell the numbers for the World Record number of kilted runners. With apologies to my Scottish relatives for running that one and not the one in Perth, Scotland, the record was achieved and the race duly recorded in The Guinness Book of Records. 8km is nothing to all you regular runners out there, and is a yawn to my Iron man Triathlete buddy who talked me into this event, but I hadn't run a  road race for 11 years (oh, shame), so it felt like a big deal.
I didn't enter the Warrior class, which involved various obstacles and tests including drinking a  dram beforehand and carrying a  sword and shield. Perhaps next year. Well done, though, Perth, Ontario for seemingly bringing out the entire town to cheer, positioning pipers and other musicians at strategic points along the course and offering up other not to be missed events like the haggis toss.
Photos courtesy of Zoom photo.

Keith Scott Kilts

The other kilt story is about a wee shop in Dundee, Scotland, which has been delighting kilt wearers for over a hundred years with superlative customer service. Recently, we purchased a kilt outfit complete with all the usual paraphernalia for son, Calum, to wear at son Alastair's wedding. Measurements were sent, the package arrived in record time, shoes were effortlessly replaced when they were a little large, little hand written notes and courteous emails were dispatched with the goods and the whole adventure was a delight. 

(Yes, those are vines in the background). For some reason the leather brogues dyed the kilt socks a strange brown colour and when I emailed about this, although this problem had never been reported previously, a new pair of higher quality replacement brogues and a new pair of socks were dispatched immediately. Outstanding customer service! Contact Keith Scott Kilts for any and all Scottish apparel - no matter where you live. These folks are the best!

Photo by LeahandMark.com

Virginia Wines and wedding whiskies 

Alastair and Stephanie`s wedding was held at beautiful Keswick Vineyards in Virginia. The location is fabulous and, in my opinion, they produce the best wines in the State. We enjoyed a wonderful Syrah and a well made Chardonnay with dinner. As there were a number of Scots, kilted folks and whisky lovers in the crowd, a  few Single Malts were brought in, and these proved to be highly popular later in the evening, along with the equally popular cigars. I spent most of the evening chatting it up at the whisky bar, where random things like a group rendition of Tam O`Shanter transpired. 

To keep things simple and varied, I selected Glenfiddich 15 year old, a crowd-friendly Single Malt made all the more interesting because it`s matured in three different types of barrels, then married in a Solera vat which is always kept half full. Dalwhinnie 15 year old, from Scotland`s highest distillery was also on offer. This is another very fine whisky with nice balance and just a wee touch of smoke - quite different from the Glenfiddich of the same age. Last, and blending in nicely with cigar land around the corner, was the Laphroaig Quarter Cask - Laphroaig with toffee.

Whisky tasting bachelor parties have been popular GrapeScot events for a while. Next up, a wee whisky bar at the wedding?  Seemed to work well in Virginia.

Photo by LeahandMark.com

 

A fabulous place to taste whisky!

If you live in Ottawa and you haven't popped in to Divino Wine Studio on Preston Street, you're missing a rare treat - gorgeous restaurant, intimate private room, outstanding, food, excellent Italian wines and  friendly, knowledgeable staff under the guidance of owner and Italian wine expert Antonio Mauriello.

As if that wasn't enough, Divino's is also a go to venue for a wide array of classes from Italian language classes to olive oil tastings to everything connected with Italian wine and food. Check out the website.
 
This is one of my favourite places in the city for whisky tastings and presentations. And judging by the fact that the tastings are sold out really quickly, it's a favourite venue with many whisky lovers in the area.

We have a lot of fun concocting tasting plates to serve with the whiskies and, last week, Chef Cristian Lepore created a first class menu, which delighted the capacity crowd.


Keep your eyes peeled for the next tasting towards the end of the summer. It will sell out fast! The next one will feature five premium  Single Malt Scotches, another creative menu, and a little education.

Meanwhile, be sure to pop into Divino's over the summer. You'll love it!