Drink of the Month

Canadian winters bring with them a lot of weather I could personally do without. Snow, sleet, freezing rain and sub-zero temperatures colder than ice planet Hoth are some of the afflictions suffer living in the Great White North. As such, when forced to endure such weather, nothing warms the blood like our first Drink of the Month - a good strong glass of single-malt Scotch whiskey.

As I am sure many of you are aware, I am a big fan of single malt Scotch. Some of my personal favourites include Talisker, Aberlour, Laphroaig and Cragganmore, but you really can't go wrong with any of the high-end malts. I personally drink mine neat with a splash of water to bring out the flavour. It is the perfect accompaniment to a fine Cuban cigar in front of the fire on a cold winter night.

The Pinch Scotch Whiskey

This one is an anomaly on so many different levels. We found it in my cousin's beer fridge mixed in with a pile of other minis of various liquors. The pinch comes in a diamond shaped bottle which was initially what drew our attention to it. The label indicates it is distilled in Scotland by Haig and Haig and is 12 years old. Having never heard of this particular scotch, we were rather curious as to what it tasted like. Additionally, we could not figure out why this bottle was down a quarter, yet the seal had not been cracked. Would it be a wonderous flavour experience? Or would it be another depressing glass of horrible liquor? Time would tell, and rather quickly.

Chanelle, Robert and I poured what remained in the bottle into three shot glasses. In all, we all sampled what amounted to about a half shot each. As we raised the glasses, the smell was initially what caught us off guard. Chanelle remarked it burned her nostrils and "just smelled so bad!" Robert and I concurred that this stuff simply smelled wrong. We prepared a chaser and tipped back our glasses. As this golden liquid flowed over my palate, I thought this must be what tasting white phosphorous must be like. It burned as you tasted it, burned more as you swallowed it and then set fire to your stomach as it finally sat in your gullet. Robert seriously resisted the urge to spit it over the apartment floor. "This tastes like it smells, and it smells like shit." I personally was amazed how half a shot glass could literally seem like gallons. This truly is Scotland's version of Corporal Punishment. Harsh, nasty and unrelenting. A word of caution: 15 minutes afterwards I belched and could still taste The Pinch. The verdict? In a pinch, choose to drink something else.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Called the most richly flavoured of all Scotch whiskies, Laphroaig is a heavyweight among Scotland's single malts. A strong smokey peat scent rises from the glass, and is enhanced by the addition of just a little water. Typical of many Islay Scotches, the flavour is very strong, briny and smoky with notes of iodine showing through, and the finish of this 48% abv burns and smokes its way across the palate with a finish that is as full-flavoured as its initial bite. Are you wondering why anyone would drink such a concoction? You probably already have. Laphroaig is used as a base for many popular blended Scotch whiskies, as its full flavour is a great base to build a quality blend upon. But what you have probably tasted in passing is but a ghost compared to a full shot of Laphroaig on its own.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask harkens back to a time when whiskey making was unhurried and an altogether slower process. It is first matured in normal barrels, but is then removed and placed in quarter-sized casks that allow for 60% more contact with the oak wood. This creates a product that is sweeter with a velvetly feel that much more traditional in nature than many whiskies produced today. It is bottled at cask strength, so a little water is recommended to fully bring out the Islay flavour. To complete its traditional profile, Laphroaig Double Cask is not chill-filtered like most of its modern counterparts, which means it will cloud up with the addition of water. The result is a whiskey much like that which was produced 100 years ago.

Upon opening the shipping tube that contained my bottle, I was suprised to find a booklet packed with the bottle. Apparently, anyone purchasing a bottle of Laphroaig is given a unique code, with which they may log onto Laphroaig's website and lay claim to a square foot of land on the Laphroaig distillery grounds on the Isle of Islay. Unfortunately, you cannot buy up cases of Laphroaig and use the resulting land to farm sheep, cut peat or build a house upon. However, by laying claim to your square foot of Islay, you may claim your "rent" by placing your national flag on your plot, and receiving a free dram of Laphroaig should you ever visit the distillery grounds. An excellent marketing scheme if I have ever heard of one! Once you registed your unique code, you are determined to be a "Friend of Laphroaig" and given access to a personal webspace on their site, which provides access to their forum as well as a digital map showing the location of your plot.

In addition to the website feed, you are also given the opportunity to purchase various Laphroaig products and take part in their forums where you can meet fellow Friends of Laphroaig around the world. Not a bad deal at all for buying a bottle of a very good single malt whiskey. I strongly recommend all lovers of Scotch to at least give this one a try. It is excellent neat or with just a bit of water, and accompanied by a fine cigar. Life doesn't get much better than this!

Talisker 10 Year Single Malt

While Christmas inevitably brings a truckload of bad alcohol with it, it is also a time many of us reach for quality liquor to share with friends and family. As many of you undoubtedly know, I am a big fan of single malt Scotch whiskey. In fact, I have become something of a "whiskey snob" in that I won't even touch the cheaper quality blends anymore (unless to review for this site, of course). My taste was forged on Glenfeddich and has mostly stayed on the side of Speyside malts such as Aberlour and The Glenlivet. This Christmas however, I decided to jump whole-hog into one of the smokier (and most popular) Island malts, Talisker 10 Year Old.

The Talisker Distillery is located in Carbost on Scotland's Isle of Skye. In fact, Talisker is the only distllery found on the entire island. Whiskey making has been a tradition here since 1830 when Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill built the original Talkisker distillery and started making their famous malt. The original spirit (like Irish whiskey) was triple-distilled, however Talisker switched to a double-distilling method in 1928. All Talisker stills still use worm-coils instead of modern condensers which is said to give this whiskey its full-bodied flavour.

The whiskey is a rich amber-gold colour and gives off a slight peatiness on the nose. The flavour is very complex and despite its strong 45.8% abv, is very smooth on the palate. The finish is strong smoke which fades off to a fantastic sweet smokey-caramel. It is not hard to see why this whiskey has gained such a strong fanbase through the years (including Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson). I can see this particular brand becoming one of my personal favourites despite its rather hefty price tag. It is definately something all fans of single malt Scotch should treat themselves to. It is a exceptional example of the Islay style of malting. Highly recommended.