LAST ORDERS
On the rocks or not this
Christmas...that is the question
W
hile in hospital a number of year ago I was
asked a question, the answer to which may
be of some help over the forthcoming
festive season, and that is ‘should you
have ice with your whisky’?
If you are drinking a blended whisky with a mix
or one of the ever increasing whisky cocktails, ice
may be an integral part of the drinking experience.
To help whisky mix with ice blends can be subject
to the process of chill filtration.
As whisky gets colder a number of proteins
start to come out of the solution and the whisky
starts to cloud. This would be bad news for a
fashionable cocktail mix upsetting the clean look
of the final product so these elements are filtered
out.
This is fine for a blend and where the taste of
the final drink is augmented with other elements
but if you are moving to single malts a word of
caution.
With a single malt the elements coming out of
solution form a major part of the taste and nose of
the whisky contributing to
the character of the whisky
which is what you will have
paid a premium to obtain.
Indeed on a large
number of single malts you
will
now
see
‘no
chillfiltration’
proudly
displayed on the bottle.
You should also take care
where such bottles are
stored because if they are
in a very cold place they will become cloudy.
So the answer to the original question is, as
usual – it depends. Mixes and cocktails fine, single
malts no. Whatever you prefer I hope you enjoy
your festive tipple and have a merry Christmas and
a happy new year.
Whisky expert Dave Pickard of
Old School Wines, Tittensor.
T. 01782 372888
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Leek Life November/December 2013 29