LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY
W L
LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY
by David Beaufort-Dysart
I thought I would start this month ’ s column with some interesting facts about Whisky ( who doesn ’ t like an interesting fact ?)
• Some 42 bottles of Whisky are exported out of Scotland every second .
• In certain Latin American countries people say Whisky instead of Cheese when posing for a picture ( that just makes me smile )
• John ‘ Johnnie Walker ’ was a grocer before he started blending Whisky .
• The average measure of Whisky contains just 64 calories – that ’ s less than a Banana
• In 1956 , Whiskey replaced William in the NATO phonetic alphabet .
• In Victorian times , some Scottish distilleries allowed workers to stop for a dram each time the bell rang , the sound of that bell must have been music to their ears !
Before we dive into exploring our next Whisky region , let us have a recap on how I taste , again try this method or ' go your own way '!
The Glass : Ideally , I recommend you use a Glencairn glass , I ( and many ) see it as the official Whisky tasting glass .
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 first impressions ; Fruit ? Floral ? Woody ? Smoke ? Peat ?
This month we are moving over to the West Coast again , further on up to the second largest Island in Scotland , sandwiched between the Isle of Lewis and the Isle Mull . Welcome to the Stunning Isle of Skye , or as many refer to as Skye .
What are we tasting from Skye ? Well it must be the one and only Talisker , the distillery is based in Carbost on the Western Shores , stand on the beach , and inhale the lovely seaweed and brine .
The distillery was originally founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill . Up until 2017 Talisker was the only Whisky distillery on the Island , Torabhaig opened its doors in 2017 , thus Talisker had to change their label from ‘ The Only Single Malt Scotch Whisky from The Isle of Skye ’.
This Talisker Skye expression here is a medium peated Whisky , if we get technical here for a moment , it has a phenol compond level of around 18-22 ppm ( or Parts per million ) Phenol compound is what gives us that , lovely ‘ peatiness ’. The water ( from Hawks Hill ) used for production flows over Peat which in turn give the Whisky additional complexity . As it states on its tagline ‘ made by the sea ’ Talisker is very much a maritime malt . This was a favourite of Robert Louis Stevenson . ( Treasure Island amongst his many famous novels )
Talisker ‘ Skye .’ Single Malt Scotch Whisky , Skye is Talisker ’ s entry level to the range , finished in Ex-Bourbon casks , a lighter version of the Talisker 10 yo , which won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for four years in a row .
Colour : Medium Gold Nose : Citrus oil , honey , smoky with a sweet saltiness
Finish : Underlying peat and smoke with a warm peppery finish .
If you ’ re in the mood for a Cocktail why not try a Whisky Nail , start with an old-fashioned glass , add plenty ice , 45ml of Talisker and 25ml of Drambuie ( Drambuie is also from Skye and was founded way back in 1745 !) stir and add a finish off with a slice of lemon to garnish ! If you don ’ t have Drambuie add a tablespoon of Honey !
“ Whisky is liquid sunshine .” – Until next time Slainte …( slan-cha ) wirrallife . com 31