I was never very aware of a Fathers Day celebration when I was younger, despite the fact it was around. Beginning in America in 1910 it never really took off, certainly not in the UK until the mid 70′s. This left me faced with the problem of getting my dad a gift twice a year- birthdays and Christmas. Not much of a problem really, as the default was inevitably chocolates (giant Toblerone to be exact) socks and a tie. He wasn’t much of a drinker, so it tended to stop there.
In general I think buying a gift for a man is pretty straight forward as gadgets, books on gadgets or DVDs are all pretty safe bets, but one particular category most seem to find tricky is when it comes to buying whisky.
If you are a non-whisky drinker, the thought of standing faced with row upon row of golden to dark brown liquids with unpronounceable names or frankly unfathomable descriptions of the contents can be a daunting one. Now if you happen to be trying to make your choice in one of any number of supermarkets rather than a specialist store, good luck finding someone who can advise you on the right choice. In fact, good luck finding someone who even drinks it.
A little preparation is the key to creating a smile on the face of your chosen recipient.
What do they normally drink?
This is the easiest one. Open up the drinks cabinet, take a peak and if there is a selection inside then note them down. Stick to the single malts as most whisky drinkers will have a couple of blends in there to have as an “every day drop” but will treasure a single malt more although, some premium blends such as Wemyss or Compass Box are amongst the exceptions to that rule. Most brands will have a selection of expressions or limited releases to choose from, so once you know the brand it’s quite easy to find a special version that dad might like that wont cost an arm and a leg. Keep an eye out for words on the label such as “Distillery or Managers release”.
Style over region
Whisky regions in Scotland are nothing short of misleading and confusing and so are not always the best indicator of what kind of whisky you will find inside the bottle. Don’t think that just because it says Islay on the label it will be pleated (smokey) and not all Speyside whiskies are light and fruity. Bunnahabhain, is an Islay distillery which isn’t a smokey malt. Similarly Smokey whisky like Ardmore can be found in the highlands. Best then to go for a style of whisky rather than a region.
Colour me bad
Ok, it’s not a hard and fast rule, but if most of your dad’s cabinet is stocked with gold coloured whisky, there is a chance he likes those which have been matured in American ex-bourbon cask (white oak) in which about 70% of whisky is matured. These whiskies typically have white fleshed fruit (think apple, pear, quince) aromas and flavour rather than those liquids matured in ex-sherry cask (European oak) which tends to give a deep amber colour and a spicy profile to the resting spirit. You can find some bourbon cask examples in my recommendations at the end of this article. Good sherry cask examples come from Glengoyne and Glenfarclass or Glenrothes.
Passport Control
If you are sure you understand what they like then why not try a similar style to their normal tipple from outside Scotland. Chichibu distillery from Japan is wonderfully light and fruity whilst Paul John from India gives rich spicy smoothness from its fast maturation in the Goan heat. Balcones Texan Whisky is big and bold but has all the finesse of a well made scotch with age or the English Whisky Company which might be young, but its creative use of varied casks has given birth to some outstanding examples which many whisky experts have lauded so its bound to excite even the most experienced of dram lovers.
Ageist
Older ain’t always best! There is normally a different type of maturation (ageing process) in a range of Scotch from the same company which means an 18 year old isn’t just six years older than a 12 year old. They could have very different flavour profiles and may not suit the palate of the intended.
I’m a big fan of Glenfiddich 15 year old and would choose it most times over the 18 year old.
Something special
It’s great if you have the budget to get something very rare and limited. Online is the best place to search with retailers such as Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange and they don’t always cost the earth but make sure the recipient know it’s for drinking! Collectible whiskies are not always the ideal gift for someone as they tend to have a theme to their collection so it’s best best leave it to them.
It’s got your name on
Companies like Master of Malt will customise a bottle label on it to include your fathers name. It’s a great value for money service but you still have to know which bottle you want to use. See above!
Birth year
This is a tricky one. Assuming your over 18 there is a good chance your father was born a few years ago making it tricky to find a bottle from the year he was born. You can find bottles which were distilled in a certain year, and bottled shortly after. Therefore, the contents of the bottle may only be 10-12 years old but from 1960 say. Trust me when I say this might be still an expensive purchase, but a lot cheaper than trying to source a 53 year old dram!
Among friends
If the budget allows, why not think about the Scotch Malt Whisky Society membership? The SMWS allows access to single cask, cask strength bottles from all the distilleries in Scotland (and many more further afield).
My choices and recommendations
Highland park 18- Produced on Orkney, this island malt has won numerous awards including Worlds Best Single Malt. Although its American white oak, the oak has been seasoned with sherry so that it’s pale colour belies it’s spicy nature. It’s delicate with peat smoke, bags of marmalade type fruits but without the typical TCP or medicinal smokey nose often associated with west coast Islay whisky. If they like BBQ’s, try this. RRP £60
Bunnahabhain 12 - American cask. An Islay whisky with a difference, peat free malt makes for a light, seaside dram with an almost refreshing salty caramel character. One of our personal favourites and always in the cabinet it’s along a similar style to Balblair or Scapa. RRP £33
Glenfiddich 15 – With its unique ‘Solera’ maturation system and the use of three casks, giving spice from the sherry, white fruits from the refill bourbon cask and vanilla and coconut from the brand new American oak cask. This expression stands out from the other Glenfiddich offerings This is a great whisky with a dryer spice than the rest of the family. On the light side but still fruity and hints of honey. RRP £32
Ardbeg Ugeadail – A marriage of bourbon and sherry casks this is a powerful smokey whisky at a higher ABV delivers a rounded palate which is well integrated. If they like peat, and in particular Islay peat than grab this as it is worth every penny. Similar to Laphoaig, Lagavulin and Caol Ila. RRP £50
Old Pultney 17 – Predominantly American cask. The 21 year old may have won best in the world, but the 17 is my go-to dram. Warm and rounded with a slightly salty coastal edge it satisfies most palates and is a perfect accompaniment to those chocolates salted caramels you bought dad. RRP £52
AnCnoc 12 – Approx 70% American cask with 30% sherry cask. Sweet and honeyed, this rather lesser known single malt has a great character and it’s an easy drinker making it a real crowd pleaser. Will suit most people and as its not so well know it will make you look like you know a bit about whisky. Similar to Balvenie doublewood. RRP £31
Glengoyne 15 – For a full on ex-sherry cask matured blast of spicy rich leather and deep dark fruits you wont go far wrong with this example. With lots of lovely spices and warming notes, its the perfect dram to sit back and relax with once all the socks and ties have been unwrapped. RRP £45
Monkey Shoulder – A blended malt with bags of character, offers incredible value for money and if you find out where it got its name from, it makes an interesting tale to tell when you hand it over. RRP £27
Tweedale – A real unknown and well worth seeking out for that special gift. A historic (found in an original journal) blend of single cask whiskies it is big and bold with ooodles of pleasure. Reborn and already making waves, this is a great dram to savour. RRP £37
Balvenie 12 Single Barrel – The 12 Double Wood is perhaps far better known, but this lighter expression drawn from a single American wood barrel is a unique snapshot from this craft distillery. Without any sherry cask influence, it’s a lighter, dryer style than its siblings with bags of vanilla and lingering fruit. RRP £44
Good Luck!
Tags: age, American, AnCnoc, Ardbeg, ardmore, Balblair, Balcones, Balvenie, barrel, Berwick, bourbon, bow, Box, Bunnahabhain, buy, caol, Cask, chichibu, choose, colour, Compass, cost, dad, Day, doublw, English, european, Fathers, gift, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glengoyne, Glenrothes, help, Highland, how, Ichiro, ila, India, indian, Japan, japanes, John, lagavulin, Laphroaig, look, malt, market, master, mature, Monkey, much, Old, Park, paul, Pulteney, regions, review, Scapa, Scotch, shelf, Sherry, shop, Shoulder, single, Society, speyside. sherry, style, supermarket, take, taste, teach, texan, texas, Tweeddale, Wemyss, what, whiskey, whisky
It will come as no surprise to those who follow my ramblings or indeed most of the whisky press to find that the whisky industry is changing. There, I said it and I don’t care. It’s getting younger and I don’t mean we are seeing more teenagers replace a bottle of MD 20/20 with the latest single cask but the spirit itself is reaching our glasses with less age, and it’s a good thing.
There are two main reasons for this, firstly demand is at such a peak that aged stock is being squeezed out of every distilleries warehousing and if you happen to have an age statement on your label, then you are stuck with only putting stock of that age (or greater) in your bottle. Simple way around this is of course to remove the age statement and release your brand under a catchy name with a back story about flavour rather than age such as Talisker Storm or Macallan Gold. As long as you haven’t messed around with the original character of the spirit, I think this is a fine idea and also shows the consumer is starting to understand that oldest does not always mean best.
Secondly, there are a lot of new distilleries out there, just releasing their product to the market and do not have the luxury vast stock with good age to drawn from but still need to make a bob or two in the meantime. We saw this with The English Whisky Co and their “Chapter releases” which cleverly gave the consumer the opportunity to sample the spirit as it aged towards the magical 3 years and 1 day before it could be called whisky. This helped not only establish the distillery but create a following which turned this new venture into almost cult status which continues today. I reviewed the Private Cellar selection previously which has some creative finishes. On the flip side, Glenglassaugh distillery had a very different problem which lead to them releasing new make spirit. As a mothballed distillery reopened, all they had available to them was very old stock. Not ideal to release your first malt after many years and slam a £300 price tag on it. So it was new make to the rescue again, this time under the name “The spirit that blushes to say its name” thankfully re-branded and still available from the distillery such as its popularity.
But it was whilst chatting with the guys from Glen Moray distillery as they introduced to me the new peated spirit release that I became rather curious. Glen Moray is not a new distillery and has plenty stock, so to venture down the road of underage whisky shows keenness to develop and innovate, not just stick with what you know. The distillery, in the town of Elgin on the banks of the Moray Firth has been in production since 1897 although it was a brewery prior to a distillery so alcohol of one form or another has been associated with the site for longer.
Presented in a square 20cl bottle and sealed with a white wax dipped top the pale product with designed font is certainly a far cry from the design of the traditional Glen Moray releases and again shows that this is something that a lot of time and effort has gone into. It’s the first time the distillery have chosen to release a peated spirit and I liked the look of it a lot, but how did it taste?
Glen Moray Peated Spirit Batch No.1
No age statement (but about 2yrs old)
60.6% ABV
Hand Bottle Single Cask
RRP £15
Appearance: Pale straw with hints of gold
Nose: A balanced nose of soft smouldering highland peat and fresher coastal/mineral notes which develops sweet lime citrus and fresh-cut straw. The above all seem to draw together to create a farmyard note. With water, deeper notes of fresh leather and artists oil paint are added.
Palate: Bursting sweet heat (that will be the 60.6%) rich vanilla and sweet peat smoke with just enough salty edge to cleanse the palate before becoming too overpowering. With water, the heat clams to allow the sweetness of red berry, lime marmalade and mocha coffee. The ever-present vanilla holds it all together with the peat smoke really adding to this young but elegant spirit.
Finish: Vanilla syrup mocha coffee and a white chocolate and cranberry muffin (slightly charred) on the side.
Summary: Approaching young spirit is always usually a challenge as it can be tough to see through the energetic alcohol and get to the core of what the spirit is trying to say, but this was a delight. Rich, rounded and delivered a great character. I’m not entirely sure what Glen Moray have planned for this, but it’s spot on as it is with a clear indication that it will only get better with age. But let’s hope they always keep this younger expression available.
Tags: age, attitude, Batch, brewery, Cask, cellar, change, chapter, company, Day, dead, departed, distillery, dram, drink, Elgin, English, flavour, Glen, Glenglassaugh, gold, hold, law, Macallan, make, malt, marks, moray, mothballed, New, open, peat, Peated, private, reborn, release, review, Scotland, single, small, smoke, spirit, statement, storm, Talisker, tasting, underage, warehouse, whiskey, whisky, worl, young, younger
The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show is but a distant memory for most now, but of course the problem often remains that I never get a chance to catch up on all the lovely samples I end up with. However, thanks to a recent email from The English Whisky Company informing me of their newset batch of releases, namely the Founders Private Cellar Single Casks, I was reminded of the three samples I tried at the show. A quick scan through the old faithful Moleskine notebook revealed a rather well set out list of tasting notes (it must have been early on I tried them!)
James Nelstrop, founder and owner of The English Whisky Company, along with his team of distillers David Fitt and Iain Henderson have been carefully watching some selected cask of rather curious concoctions (more about that later)- but then they can do what they want cant they.
And thats exactly what they have done.
During the whisky show, David gave me a small bottle of new make spirit and asked me for my thoughts on it. It was (one of) Davids little experiment with, as he put it “anything that will go through the mash”. David used to be a brewer, so is pretty familiar with various barley types and the yield and resilience of them. It was just another day at the office for David when he was offered free range of the distillery to see what he could produce. He must have felt a little like a kid in a sweet shop which is probably why he chose chocolate malt as well as malted barley, crystal malt , oats, rye and wheat to make up his mad brew. If you ever get the chance to meet David and buy him a pint- As I have on many an occasion, he will probably go for a porter style ale- dark and rich in both colour and flavour, bursting with chocolate an coffee notes. So its unsurprising to find that the resulting new make was- to say the least, complex and delicious with heady notes of whole pears dipped in milk chocolate- I cannot wait to see how that turns out once its spent a respectable amount of time in oak- and I am sure the choice of cask will be just as experimental. Having tasted the new make, I would expect an ale or rum finish to partner well.
Anyway- at the show I also had the chance to sample the three new single cask releases which are just as “experimental” and as they were released on October 17th (yesterday as this blog was written) it seemed a good time to share my notes- well, except that the distillery have already sold out of all but the Peated Sauternes!
Triple Distilled
Cask No. 0116 Filled 12th Sept 2007
Bottled 19th Sept 2012
60.8% abv
Appearance: Apple white with pale gold
Nose: (with water) Apple sponge cake with elderflowers and an undertone of malty warm buttered chocolate digestive. Elements of hedgerow and blackcurrant leaf with a slight eucalyptus oil rubbed into fresh oak.
Palate: At first, bright and youthful with vanillin and oak but quickly opens (with water) to reveal similar creamy notes found on the nose mixed with fresh, edgy herbs and fruit. Eucalyptus becomes more mild aniseed.
Finish: Rounded to the end with a slight coca feel and light oak.
Summary: Not for the feint hearted and certainly requires a drop of water before jumping in, but with this much going on at just 5 years old- it stands it in good stead for the future.
Peated Sauternes cask
Cask No.0787 Filled 12th Sept 2007
Bottled 1st Oct 2012
61.1% abv
Appearance: Wet hay with yellow gold
Nose: Very savoury with acorn, mushroom, weetabix, and burnt toast spread with apricot jam. Brown wrapping paper. iodine and wet and dry sandpaper.
Plate: Creamy and initially sweet then driving peat powers through releasing delicious grippy spice. White pepper with burnt rubber and ginger root.
Finish: Lingering peat “bite” with earth tones dry the palate but leave you licking your gums for more.
Summary: A great balance between spirit and cask. Still available to buy at £125 RRP.
Port Cask
Cask No. 0859 Filled 20th June 2007
Bottled: 21st Sept 2012
59.3% abv
Appearance: Pale marmalade with a rose hue
Nose: Jammy notes of blackforrest gateaux, kirsh and cinnamon. A “fresh” notes of cut nettle stems and perhaps tarragon before the plump fruitiness becomes darker and more straw-like.
Palate: Strawberries and cream with cracked black pepper. Cream vanilla fudge and an earthy note of mushroom butter. Light cinnamon spice helps dry the palate.
Finish: The fruit turns earthy, but in a good way, allowing the spice and vanilla to linger a little longer.
Summary: Soft, fruity, candied yet not overly sweet this is a perfect balance of cask and spirit.
I really like the mindset of this company, a simple approach to creating interesting products- unencumbered by tradition or bureaucracy they are chipping away at the traditionalists one by one who cannot deny that, it might not be scotch, but its a damn fine dram.
Tags: ale, American, andre, barrel, beer, book, bourbon, Cask, cellar, chocolate, coffee, crystal, curious, David, distilled, distiller, england, English, ex, experiment, experimental, fitt, Founders, Henderson, hogshead, iain, james, make, malt, moleskine, nelstrop, New, non, norfolk, notebook, oats, peat, Peated, pink, pint, Port, porter, power, private, reserves, rum, rye, Scotland, select, selection, single, smoke, strength, strong, style, suaternes, triple, wheat, whiskey, whisky, wonky
Look at most labels on a bottle of whisky and you will see indicators (in most cases, poor ones) of what’s inside. Age, distillery, finish or maturation, the strength etc. Some brands are even kind enough to indicate what the contents might actually taste of which seems to be a radical move as it is certainly not the normal practice. Now and then you will see the words “non-chill filtered” which indicates another process the whisky has undergone (or not) before bottling.
Great. So it’s non-chill filtered. That’s reassuring to the purchasing consumer isn’t it and helps him justify the price based on those words and the higher alcoholic level. Well no, actually it does neither. Labels on whisky are still, like labels on French wine, unfathomable to most and no indicator of the quality within. Brands seem to be approaching this from two sides, either wholeheartedly throwing out the rule book such as Balblair, Glenrothes, Wemyss and others. But others seem frightened of alienating the old guard of customers who might be shocked not to see a highland cow on a label, or a misty glen of reassurance that it’s authentic and traditional scotch. What a load of bollocks.
Anyway, I could go on (and on and on) about various aspects of this, but I want to concentrate on just one. The chill filtered bit.
Chill filtration is a process employed by some distillers at the point between removing the matured whisky from the cask and bottling it. All whisky is filtered to remove any residual particles that may be have been picked up from the cask itself by passing it though fine gauze or absorption filters. This can be done without chilling the whisky and simply passing it through the filter. But this simply approach leaves fatty acids, fusel oils and other hydrophobic elements in the whisky which will cause a haze when the whisky is cold or the whisky will turn cloudy when water or ice is added.
By chilling the whisky those elements responsible for causing a change in appearance will clump together and become too large in their composition, stopping them getting through the filter. The haze is only noticeable in whisky below 46% ABV, although it all depends on where the distiller has chosen to “cut” the still run.
Once the still is heated, the heads or foreshots are the first parts in distillation to come over the still and contain some of the lightest alcoholic elements such as methanol. From then on, various compounds will each in turn become activated and vapourise and pass over the neck for collection. Distillers will usually direct this first run back into the wash still for re-distillation. The later part of the run know as the tails or feints is where we see the temperature of the spirit in the still reaching top levels, and thus the start of water elements coming through along with the heaviest alcohol elements (fatty acids and fusel oils). Each element has it’s place in creating the style and character of the whisky, but it’s the choice of the distiller to decide the point where he switches from diverting the heads to collecting the heart and again switching off as it enters the feints stage.
The longer you wait or cut into the feints, the more heavier elements you bring over the still neck which will produce an oily spirit, heavy and rich. If the wash is from pleated barley, then you will actually want to hold a deep cut as the phenolic elements which carry the smokey nature are found in this latter part of the process. You can see this most apparent with Islay examples such as Laphroaig Quarter Cask which is at 48% abv against something much lighter such as The English Whisky Company Chapter 6. Pop a sample of each in a glass, say 50ml and add 5 ml of water to each and see the difference. Laphroaig will haze much more as the cut from the still is deep into the feints to ensure the classic phenolic and oily nature of the whisky is maintained. The English example, which is unpeated, cuts early in the run, avoiding the weightier elements and as a result, the haze is a lot less….in fact, David Fitt, the master distiller at TEWC indicated recently that even at 43% abv their spirit did not have a haze, despite being no-chill filtered.
Many people believe that chill filtration will cause some of the congeners (the esters, aldehydes, acids and higher alcohols contained in the distillate) are hampered and as the elements “clump” together in the cold state, they trap some of the other elements that would otherwise pass through, effecting the final character. I’m not entirely sure this is the case or if it is would we be able to pick up the change? What I do know from the many tasting we have held with Dramatic Whisky is that consumers note the “oily” and heavier mouth-feel to the whisky which most of the time helps belay the higher alcoholic amount and creates a rounded, fuller whisky.
Tags: acids, Balblair, bottle, bottling, Cask, chenistry, chill, congeners, cut, David, distill, distillation, distiller, dramatic, English, esters, fatty, feel, feints, filter, filtration, finish, fitt, foreshots, fruit, fusel, Glenrothes, haze, heads, heart, islay, label, Laphroaig, malt, maturation, methanol, mouth, oil, science, Scotch, Scotland, single, still, strangth, tails, thick, whiskey, whiskies, whisky
On Tuesday of this week, I gathered a few friends, old and new, around to have a tasting. The assembled guests were varied and came from all walks of life. Rebecca Heptinstall whose blog, foodie foodie nom is always a good read. John Mccheyne from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Niamh from the ever popular Eat Like a Girl blog, the very tallented chef Maria Elia, photographer Simon Hanna, scribe Paul Antonio, Simon Ewins from Pomp Magazine, a fab crowd from The Caxton Grill, and the “fresher” from Barchick. In total about 24 people took to their seats in Liberty Lounge for a 90 min tasting and the usual jokes.
There was quite a line-up of whisky to discuss as well, starting off with the Weymss Malt “The Hive”, then onto the Chapter 6 from The English Whisky company, Balvenie 15 single cask, Bowmore Darkest 15, Glenfiddich 18 year old and a Scotch Malt Whisky bottling to finish with (a 27yr old Clynelish but you didn’t hear that from me ). Not a single whisky was turned down, and whilst many in the room were able to pick a favourite upon the conclusion of the tasting, it was fairly equal across the board for each had its own personality and drew fans to it for different reasons such as The Hive fooling most into “bee”lieving it was a single malt and the Balvenie Single Cask converted a previously adamant whisky hater to the joys of a dram! It turned into an interesting night with the guests eventually highjacking the sound-system and dancing into the wee hours.
Yes sir, I can boogie…
Twitter was buzzing with little comments back and forward as each bottle came up for review, but it was one tweet from the American ambassador for Laphroaig, Simon Brooking that spurred this blog into action. He said, after seeing the picture I had tweeted before the event “Perhaps something with a bit more sea-sprayed peat would treat you right?
And so, upon returning to DW HQ, I had a look over the bottles in the warehouse (cupboard) and picked out something with a bit more sea-spray to review.
Laphroaig 18 yr old, 48% abv
Aged in “first-fill” bourbon cask
Non-chill filtered
Originally launched in 2009, the 18 yr old is now the replacement of the 15 yr old.
Each year sees it released in limited quantities (7,500 cases).
Appearance: Deep straw with yellow gold.
Nose: (uncut) Softer than expected, warm salted butter with pine sap and malt loaf. Good oak backbone and faint examples of old moist driftwood. Rope from a quayside and brown wrapping paper mingle with the classic, if somewhat subdued medicinal and coal tar notes. Soft jammy plum and dark red fruit finish the ensemble.
Palate: (uncut) Tar and spice of tobacco and liquorice. Salt comes bounding through with the sea-spray and smoke drifts not far behind it. Nutty at the same time as fruity, but very well integrated.
Finish: Lingering fresh salt and light honey suckle delight the palate long after the liquid leaves the party.
I tried a splash of water with it, cutting it back to around 43%. To be honest, apart from the increased creamy texture expected from un-chill filtered whisky, it wasn’t for me as the softness of the uncut dram is subtle enough to tempt even first time Laphroaig tipplers who perhaps had heard the rumours about this peaty monster.
Tags: Ambassador, America, American, Balvenie, barchick, blog, blogger, Bowmore, Caxtom, Chapter 6, chef, El Buli, English, foodie, foor, Glenfiddich, Laphroaig, malt, Noma, pomp, Scotch, single, Society, USA, Wemyss, whiskey, whisky, writer
So, quite often, I find myself thinking about new things to write and more often than not I start something, read it over, decided it’s rubbish and bin it. And of course, I always try to find a new angle to write about, otherwise it bores me. So, during a conversation this morning on twitter with the very talented Katie Antoniou who had posted her list of most admired women after the controversial FHM award to Tulisa Contostavlos for being the hottest woman in the world with which, by the way, neither of us agreed. We swiftly set about putting the wrongs to right. It seems we have quite similar taste in beauty and despite the Megan Foxes of the world and the Giselles, it was pretty straight forward. We think its intelligence and talent that makes “hot”. Just to make it a bit more interesting, I though I would add a whisky to salute the selected few…so here goes in no particular order:
Liv Tyler – A dazzling woman and smart to boot. It would have been easy to start listing connections to The Lord of the Rings or Stealing Beauty but I thought the fact that she is the daughter of legendary rock king Steve Tyler, who no doubt has seen his fair share of bourbon during his career would be better. So, to Liv I raise a glass of Hudson “Baby” bourbon from the small distillery at Tutthilltown, new, exciting and cutting edge it is a perfect accompaniment to Livs otherworldly beauty. A rich and spicy bourbon, first since prohibition to be made in New York. If you need more info, I reviewed it here
Penelope Cruz - Well what can you say about this Spanish firecracker. Never one to keep her Mediteranian passion at bay, this hot and spicy, full on woman surely makes you sit up and take notice. Like a charging bull at a matador, every inch of her is Carne Trémula. So, what to choose? what matches the fire of Penelope? the full on personality and Spanish richness? Well, I choose the Aberlour A’Bunadh.
Full Spanish sherry cask and at cask strength, I reckon it has it all.
Scarlett Johansson- It’s the husky voice, plump lips and classy, sassy attitude that makes Scarlet stand out. You can imagine her out till the small hours, a speakeasy somewhere. Obvious whisky choice was Suntory to follow her Lost in Translation role, but decided to go for something a bit different from the norm, as she definately is. Balvenie 15yr old single cask, , delivering a surprise every time, just like Scarlet.
Kate Winslet -Now, I’ve met Kate, and I can tell you, she can command a room with her looks and personality. A strong woman with a funny, tender side she is quite the complete package. Again, there is an obvious link with the movies, and since its not been too long since the centenary of the Titanic sinking, it simply has to be a glass of single cask, Glenrothes Titanic limited edition. no ice of course!
I recently reviewed this dram and would like to think Kate would find a lot to enjoy in it.
Selma Blair- Associated with a sort of preppy geeky ness in most movies, and shooting to fame with “that kiss” in Cruel Intensions, Selma has only gone and grown up! her last role, in HellBoy II sees her smouldering with sexiness and brimming with confidence. Yet, you still cant help feel that she would be the perfect girl to take home to your parents and get approval. Still an American sweetheart. That’s why I chose the Glenlivet 18 to toast Selma, an all rounder and definitely the whisky which everyone can nod with approval for.
Eva Green- Well HELLO! Here comes trouble. Eva doesn’t smoulder, she is a full on inferno. Careful of those Medusa like eyes for they will turn you to jelly with a single look. Such a chameleon of character, but never quite able to shake off the sense of forbidding and danger, thank goodness! With her goddess like figure and dark sorceress image I can imagine conjuring imagine her sipping a Bowmore Tempest.
Stormy, dark, and mysterious. We salute you Eva.
Maggie Gyllenhaal- Oh Maggie, with those doe eyes and full lips beneath plump cheekbones, you are really spoiling us. It’s the voice also, could lull a tiger to sleep. Yet it’s not all about looks, this girl is razor sharp too, educated, cerebral and non-conformist she was renowned for picking out independent classy films to work in (ok, forget Batman).
So, which dram? Well, got to be independent, little known and as with Maggies surname, tricky to pronounce- BenRiach 18 it is then.
Kelly Brook – Ah Kelly, the English rose. Always smiling, always bubbly and thankfully not ended up part of the stick thin brigade…Kelly has curves like a woman should. She reminds me of a pin-up from the 50′s, when girls didn’t need to get naked to be sexy. OK, so she did playboy,page 3 and topped FHMs hot list, but we can forgive her right?
It also goes without saying that one English rose deserves another so we raise our glass of The English Whisky Chapter 6.
Juliette Lewis – Can you see a pattern forming here? Sultry dark eyed hell raisers? Juliette first caught our attention in Cape Fear, but it is her career since that seems to have suited her style best-Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia for example? plus her rock band Juliette and the Licks isn’t known for love ballads. Could have gone down the bourbon route again, maybe a spicy rye heavy version, but no.
This one was easy. For Juliette, it’s Compass Box Headonism.
Eva Mendes – really? I mean you really need an
explanation! Despite her casting and looks, she was born in Miami to Cuban parents. Safe to say her early acting career wasn’t a trail blazer (mostly B movies) but she has become a household name after roles in Training Day and Once upon a time in Mexico.
Staying firmly on the Cuban theme, we opted for the Dalmore Cigar Malt and a fine Partagas no.4 cigar.
So there it is, the Dramatic Whisky list of our top ten women. It’s not complete, and will no doubt change again in a year or two, but at least we now know which bottle to reach for if ever they come round to the DW offices!
Oh, and Sienna, if your reading this, we still love you.
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