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LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY
by David Beaufort-Dysart
As the cold dark winter nights are now upon us , this is the perfect time to warm the cockles ( or mussels ) of your heart with your favourite dram .
So , what is a dram exactly ? Well let ' s start with this familiar term and delve into a few more !
A dram is a measure , what size of measure … well , that depends on you or your host , in this time of responsible drinking I prefer a measure of 20-25ml - the secret of enjoying your Whisky is the old adage … ' less is more .' Whisky being such an intense drink needs to be sipped , mindfully and slowly , savour each sip and let the world go by ... not spinning by that is !
The name Dram can be traced back as far as ancient Greece the name ' Drakhme ' referring to coins or treasure - golden treasure I say .
Angels Share - This is about loss of Spirit , but not in the actual Spirit Realm . The Angels Share is the evaporation of alcohol , whilst it is maturing in Oak Barrels ( very slowly seeping through the pores out and up into the heavens .)
Cask Strength - Whisky that is straight out of the cask ( no water added ) some can be as high as 65 % alcohol by volume ! I would add water especially to a cask strength Whisky , not that necessary though if its 40 % ( technically it ' s no longer whisky then !)
Peat - Not an old mate of mine from Germany ! This is the lovely , decayed vegetation , laid down over many centuries , supposedly it takes over ten years for just one centimetre to form . Used as a heat source to dry the malt , it then infuses that lovely earthy smoked perfume aka Peat , into the mix .
Before we move on with our next Whisky , let ’ s have a recap on how to taste , firstly it is a personal preference , I suggest giving this way a try or as the famous song goes ‘ go your own way ’:
1 . The Glass : Ideally , I recommend you use a Glencairn glass , I ( and many ) see it as the official Whisky tasting glass .
2 . Pour and Nose : Add 20-25 ml of Whisky to the glass , give it a gentle swirl then waft the glass from side to side under the nose ( smelling lightly is the key ), you need to get past the first hit of alcohol , then look for the character of your dram , try , and focus on the first impressions ; Fruit ? Floral ? Woody ? Smoke Peat ?
3 . To add or not to add water ? I like to start neat then add a few tiny drops , it always depends on the ABV , preferably add water with a pipette or if you don ’ t have one then use a half teaspoon measure ( even better an espresso spoon ) I suggest using spring water as this has quite a neutral taste , that will not interfere too much .
This month we are moving on up from the Lowlands and zagging west to the smallest Whisky region on the map ' Campbeltown ' located on the southwest coast of Scotland . Campbeltown was once known as the ‘ Victorian Whisky Capital ’ of the World , at one stage this region was home to no less than 30 distilleries . Sadly , due to many circumstances , including the Great Depression and Prohibition also playing a part , by 1930 only three distilleries remained .
The Scotia distillery was originally established in 1832 , sadly it saw its last production off the stills in 1930 , a few years later ( thankfully ) the Bloch brothers bought it and reopened is as ' Glen Scotia ' in 1933 .
Last year at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition , Glen Scotia 25-year-old was crowned best Whisky in the world .
We have their entry expression here , and what a lovely expression it is ‘ sea spray and gentle smoke .’
• Campbeltown Harbour Malt , matured in first fill bourbon casks .
• Nose : Dried fruits , sea spray ( what a lovely descriptive word ) parma violets .
• Taste : Stone fruit , green apple skin , salinity , vanilla creamy fudge .
• Finish : Medium finish , faint smoke , vanilla with some underlying peat .
By the way , all the Whisky ’ s we are tasting I would class as being within the ' affordable £ 30- £ 50 range '. I have a dear friend and fellow Whisky enthusiast who very generously bought me a bottle of Octomore 10.3 ( from Bruichladdich ) this is a premium Whisky with a premium price tag ! Not a weekly dram but a very special occasion dram , countdown to Santa ' s visit !
Dewars released an advert in 1953 ' celebrate with the finest drink in the world ’… I could not agree more ! Until the next time Slainte … merseylife . com 29