Hello again and welcome to the 2nd instalment of the pirate diaries.
Today I'm going to talk about a new spirit passion of mine and that is Scotch Whiskey. It's taken me awhile to jump on the Scotch Whiskey bandwagon but hey better late than never. There's a reason it's so popular and today I hope to educate you all as to why that is.
Firstly I’ll start with the basics.
What is Scotch?
- It’s a type of Whiskey made in Scotland.
- It’s made from either Barley (Malted), Wheat, Oats or Corn (Blended).
- It must be aged a minimum of 3 years.
- It’s aged in either old oak barrels (usually ex bourbon) or ex Sherry barrels
You still with me? Pretty straight forward stuff.
Now a little history.
Scotch was first being produced somewhere around 1494, where Friars and monks were distilling grains for the use of medicines. It wasn’t until the late 16th century that Scotch would become a “Social Lubricant”…hehe lubricant! (couldn’t help myself).
By the 18th Century however, regional Scotch production was starting to take shape, by which Lowland and Highland styles were beginning to emerge.
Lowland Scotch production at this time was done in more of a need versus quality scale as most that was being distilled was of low quality. Large distilleries were created to supply a growing demand in England. It was also in this region where a large amount of distilled spirit was being exported to England to be rectified into gin.
Highland Scotch on the other hand was of higher quality as it was still being made in smaller pot stills and double distilled. However, due to new legislation in which taxes and policing were being implemented on pot distillation, most Highland Scotch would be banned by the early 19th century. (Where were lobby groups at this time…sheesh!)
However, this rule as bad as it was did influence the current Scotch production we see today as it forced farmers in regions such as Islay and Speyside to go underground per se with their production as it was there only means of paying rent. This is why you’ll notice that most Scotch producing regions are located in the corners of Scotland where it was harder to police them. (And the common man wins for a change…yeah!)
By 1823 a new Excise Act would be passed where the use of small stills would be allowed again. With it came the start of the modern Scotch whiskey industry. (Pheff we made it!)
The leap to world domination came with the invention of the continuous (Coffee) still in 1827 and (as I previously wrote last week) with Phylloxera.
Now some interesting facts:
Scotch can be made into either:
– Single Malt – only comes from one distillery
– Blended Malt – multiple distilleries
– Grain Whiskey - made from 90% wheat or corn and 10% malted barley for enzymes
Malted Scotch is made from just 3 ingredients: Barley, Water and Yeast
Malting is a process of changing starches into fermentable sugars by tricking the grain to start growing.
- All the colour in Scotch comes from ageing
- Age distinctions on bottles reflects the youngest spirit put in the bottle
- There are 4 major producing regions: Highlands, Speyside, Islay and Lowlands/Campbeltown
Okay that should be enough for today, next week I’ll focus on how Scotch is made and what exactly is distillation.
Okay I go now but before I do I’ll leave you with my Cocktail of the week and a little trivia. See you next week.
Maverick
1.5 oz El Dorado 15 year Rum
0.5 oz Port (any will do but I use Taylor 10 year)
0.5 oz Giffard Creme de Peche (I love this stuff)
5 dashes Angostura Bitters
Orange Twist
In a mixing glass combine all ingredients, stir well for 20 seconds, serve in chilled cocktail glass. garnish with orange twist. The rich Demerara Rum proves a great base for the port and peche. This is a rich full flavoured cocktail.
Trivia: Did you know that a little Highland Park 18 year is found in the Famous Grouse Blend…WTF??? Cool huh!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
the pirate diaries
Welcome to the Pirate Diaries, a new weekly series I'm starting where I will deliver for you all the goods, the bads and the boozy as it pertains to anything cocktail related. Savy.
First up a little information that you might not know.
- did you know that the growth and increase in popularity of Scotch Whiskey globally was caused by a single aphid? It's true. Way back in the mid 1860's it was Cognac NOT Scotch that dominated the spirit world.
Cognac's rich flavour (made from distilled wine that had been aged) was so popular amongst Europeans that Cognac distillers were having trouble keeping up with demand.
However, as un just luck would have you, it would be a small American aphid that would hitch it's ride across the Atlantic that would send Cognac's brandy as well as most of French wine into a tailspin. Oops!
This aphid would bury itself in the root stocks of vines and eat its way through till the vine died. This epidemic would become known as Phylloxera.
Because of this tragedy, the Scottish Whiskey trade found itself the lucky beneficiaries of a thirsty lot looking for a something new to drink.
Crazy huh? "One man's loss is another man's gain" Cognac would never regain it's footing for another 60 years where by then Scotch Whiskey had all but eradicated it's stronghold.
- did you know that the difference between premium vodka and so called low grade vodka is a mere 2%? Yup it's true.
Vodka incase you didn't already know is what is called a "neutral" spirit.
By neutral what I mean is it's been distilled to such a purity that it inherently has no discernible characteristics. Yes I said it, "Vodka should have no distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour". Hmm...makes sense now that I think about it.
So then why do vodkas such as Grey Goose and Belvedere fetch a higher dollar than lower brands like Smirnoff? One reason. MARKETING!!!.
Yup, in our day in age, he who barks the loudest wins, which invariably leads to higher sales. Vodkas stance in the Spirit market has been growing remarkably strong decade by decade ever since the end of World War II.
Vodkas pureness captured a new generation looking for crispness and light flavour or no flavour to be exact. Unlike Scotch or Bourbon and especially Rye, Vodka can be paired with anything, thusly making it the
best base spirit for any additive.
As the 1950's rolled around new drinks such as the Cosmopolitan and Bloody Mary brought with them a new found use for Vodka's disguisable quality. Then as the decades rolled on, Vodka company's saw that Vodka could or should we say be marketed as a "Premium" spirit much the same as Scotch.
With that, newer Vodkas with names like Grey Goose and Belvedere began to appear. But then here's the question, are they better? Not really. They're good, not better but different. Grey Goose for example is made from Wheat grown in the Cognac region of France. This wheat base is said to give Grey Goose a more "smooth" flavour.
But does it really? Or is that what THEY want you to think.
In most blind taste tests, Grey Goose generally falls near the bottom of most peoples favourites. In the end what separates one from the other is a touch more Glycerol (a sugar additive) and solid marketing.
Where the vodka comes from has nothing to do with its flavour or taste. The difference between one and another is so slight most can hardly tell one apart. Ahhh the lies we've all be told to believe.
- did you know that Bourbon CAN be made anywhere in the USA.
Yup, all you need to have to make Bourbon by law is for it to contain:
- a minimum of 51% corn as its base grain
- it must be distilled to no higher than 80% alcohol by volume
- and aged in new American Charred Oak Barrels.
That's it, however, only Kentucky can have it's name on the bottle...haha there's always a catch. So let me get this straight, you can make Bourbon in Phoenix for instance but you can't put Arizona on the bottle...boo not fair :(
- did you know the term London Dry Gin refers to the newer style of making "unsweetened" gin.
When Gin was first being made it was generally sweetened and usually termed "Old Tom".
London Dry gin has to be distilled and not macerated and it CAN be made outside of London.
Ah and here's my favourite.
- Canadian Club is NOT rye!!
Actually no Canadian Whiskey is as they are all blends made mostly of Corn, Wheat, Barley, bits of Rye and get this Sherry!!!.
Yup Canadian Whiskey can contain up to 9.09% Sherry/wine or other fruit spirit additives...huh?
Most don't anymore but the cheap ones do. Only Alberta Premium can be called a rye as it contains more than 51% rye as its base grain. Who knew!
Hopefully that entertained you some. Interesting stuff huh?
And lastly my
cocktail of the week.
Delilah
1.5 oz Woodford Reserve (sub Makers Mark if you wish)
0.5 oz Giffard Creme de Peche (most any peach liqueur will do)
0.5 oz Pineau des Charentes (a fortified Cognac + Grape Apertifs)
0.5 oz Absinthe
4 dashes of Old Fashioned Bitters (Angostura will do as well)
In a mixing glass stir all ingredients for 20 seconds. Pour into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with sour cherry or lemon peel. Yum!
Lastly I'll leave you with this
"bring me the horizon and the rum that comes with it"
see you next week. savy.
First up a little information that you might not know.
- did you know that the growth and increase in popularity of Scotch Whiskey globally was caused by a single aphid? It's true. Way back in the mid 1860's it was Cognac NOT Scotch that dominated the spirit world.
Cognac's rich flavour (made from distilled wine that had been aged) was so popular amongst Europeans that Cognac distillers were having trouble keeping up with demand.
However, as un just luck would have you, it would be a small American aphid that would hitch it's ride across the Atlantic that would send Cognac's brandy as well as most of French wine into a tailspin. Oops!
This aphid would bury itself in the root stocks of vines and eat its way through till the vine died. This epidemic would become known as Phylloxera.
Because of this tragedy, the Scottish Whiskey trade found itself the lucky beneficiaries of a thirsty lot looking for a something new to drink.
Crazy huh? "One man's loss is another man's gain" Cognac would never regain it's footing for another 60 years where by then Scotch Whiskey had all but eradicated it's stronghold.
- did you know that the difference between premium vodka and so called low grade vodka is a mere 2%? Yup it's true.
Vodka incase you didn't already know is what is called a "neutral" spirit.
By neutral what I mean is it's been distilled to such a purity that it inherently has no discernible characteristics. Yes I said it, "Vodka should have no distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour". Hmm...makes sense now that I think about it.
So then why do vodkas such as Grey Goose and Belvedere fetch a higher dollar than lower brands like Smirnoff? One reason. MARKETING!!!.
Yup, in our day in age, he who barks the loudest wins, which invariably leads to higher sales. Vodkas stance in the Spirit market has been growing remarkably strong decade by decade ever since the end of World War II.
Vodkas pureness captured a new generation looking for crispness and light flavour or no flavour to be exact. Unlike Scotch or Bourbon and especially Rye, Vodka can be paired with anything, thusly making it the
best base spirit for any additive.
As the 1950's rolled around new drinks such as the Cosmopolitan and Bloody Mary brought with them a new found use for Vodka's disguisable quality. Then as the decades rolled on, Vodka company's saw that Vodka could or should we say be marketed as a "Premium" spirit much the same as Scotch.
With that, newer Vodkas with names like Grey Goose and Belvedere began to appear. But then here's the question, are they better? Not really. They're good, not better but different. Grey Goose for example is made from Wheat grown in the Cognac region of France. This wheat base is said to give Grey Goose a more "smooth" flavour.
But does it really? Or is that what THEY want you to think.
In most blind taste tests, Grey Goose generally falls near the bottom of most peoples favourites. In the end what separates one from the other is a touch more Glycerol (a sugar additive) and solid marketing.
Where the vodka comes from has nothing to do with its flavour or taste. The difference between one and another is so slight most can hardly tell one apart. Ahhh the lies we've all be told to believe.
- did you know that Bourbon CAN be made anywhere in the USA.
Yup, all you need to have to make Bourbon by law is for it to contain:
- a minimum of 51% corn as its base grain
- it must be distilled to no higher than 80% alcohol by volume
- and aged in new American Charred Oak Barrels.
That's it, however, only Kentucky can have it's name on the bottle...haha there's always a catch. So let me get this straight, you can make Bourbon in Phoenix for instance but you can't put Arizona on the bottle...boo not fair :(
- did you know the term London Dry Gin refers to the newer style of making "unsweetened" gin.
When Gin was first being made it was generally sweetened and usually termed "Old Tom".
London Dry gin has to be distilled and not macerated and it CAN be made outside of London.
Ah and here's my favourite.
- Canadian Club is NOT rye!!
Actually no Canadian Whiskey is as they are all blends made mostly of Corn, Wheat, Barley, bits of Rye and get this Sherry!!!.
Yup Canadian Whiskey can contain up to 9.09% Sherry/wine or other fruit spirit additives...huh?
Most don't anymore but the cheap ones do. Only Alberta Premium can be called a rye as it contains more than 51% rye as its base grain. Who knew!
Hopefully that entertained you some. Interesting stuff huh?
And lastly my
cocktail of the week.
Delilah
1.5 oz Woodford Reserve (sub Makers Mark if you wish)
0.5 oz Giffard Creme de Peche (most any peach liqueur will do)
0.5 oz Pineau des Charentes (a fortified Cognac + Grape Apertifs)
0.5 oz Absinthe
4 dashes of Old Fashioned Bitters (Angostura will do as well)
In a mixing glass stir all ingredients for 20 seconds. Pour into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with sour cherry or lemon peel. Yum!
Lastly I'll leave you with this
"bring me the horizon and the rum that comes with it"
see you next week. savy.
Monday, February 14, 2011
wasted hours
I'm currently sitting here in my bed, it's warm and cozy and everything I'd dreamt it to be over the last 16 hours. Yet as I lay here all I can do is listen to the couple having sex in the apartment next to me. I'm trying to sleep but as with most things in life I shouldn't do,
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