The Scotch Life

yum!

Anyone ever had that Yamazaki?

Is it any good?

[photo: Corner Office.  Denver]

Distillery: Laphroaig

Established: 1815

Type: Single Malt Quarter Cask

Region: Islay

Age: 10 year?

Price: $45-50?

Notes: In an attempt to make whiskies from the good ol’days, Laphroaig experimented with quarter casks.  Waaaaay back when, quarter casks were used because they were easier to transport.  The say the oak surface contact with the whiskey is increased by 30% compared to that of a standard barrel.  What that boils down to is that you better get ready to be smashed in the face.

Description: HELLLLLO.  Sorry folks, this blog fell by the wayside and hasn’t received any updates in quite sometime.  Partly due to the lack of funds to buy new bottles :-(

At any rate, a while back I went on a backpacking trip with some co-workers into the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  Packing in tons of photo gear and some food, we decided we needed to bring some scotch for fire side drinking.  The Boss-Man picked up this pretty little bottle of Laphroaig.  Hiking 35 lbs, 8 miles into a backcountry site (poorly packed at that) through sand was quite a challenge for me.  I just about died on the way there.  We got to the site and I passed out only to be awakened by lightning bolts shooting through my shoulders (Keith will vouch for this, albiet at my expense).  I reluctantly helped setup camp, but when it was all said and done it was time to cook some food and drink some scotch.  OH BOY did that booze rejuvenate me.  I compare it to Pop-Eye eating spinach.  I felt like I could have fought a bear.  A magical elixir indeed.  There was nothing finer than sipping this truly oaky scotch while sitting next to a small campfire deep in the San Luis Valley.  This scotch has quite a bite and to tell the truth I think it was so enjoyable solely because of the ridiculously laborious hike into the campsite.

The Bottom Line: Are you going to do anything of a super ridiculously manly nature?  Buy this scotch.  Best activities: Crazy hikes, throwing axes into trees, chopping wood at night with a head-lamp and a pretty good buzz.  BOOM.

DRRRRRUUUM ROOOLLLL PLEASE

Fellow scotch drinkers I would like to introduce, Adam!

When I first started this scotch blog, Adam was one of the first visitors.  Turns out he lives in Denver, loves scotch, and also blogs about it.  After some emailing we decided to join forces and…drink.  From here on out this site will feature reviews done by yours truly and reviews done by Adam.  So, lets stop wasting time and get to a recent review from Adam of the 12 year Glenmorangie.  Be sure to head over to Adam’s corner of the internet and catch up with all his booze reviews and musings!

(above photo not by me)

….

After a reasonable hiatus, I finally am authoring a scotch review.  It’s been a while, since I’ve been busy with drinking American whiskies.  This also is a momentous post for me since it will be reposted on The Scotch Life, the undertaking of another Denverite who is interested in drinking some scotch.  (Thanks, Mark).

I wanted to take this one seriously, so I researched first.  According to Malt Review,Glenmorangie is 40% alcohol by volume, so it’s perfectly proofed for drinking neat, although I’m going to enjoy it on the rocks.  It’s about 40 bucks or so, so not cheap, but not super spendy either.  Unlike the 12 year Glenmorangie, Malt Review categorizes this one as more floral and when watered a little bit, feinty, which I looked up, it means like honey (mellifluous, maybe?).

For me, first off the bat, I taste vanilla.  It’s a very dry taste, but not peaty or smokey at all really.  It almost has the composition of a really (I mean like to the max) dry wine.  It vaguely reminds me of the Leopold Brothers Small Batch Whiskey, which is really oaky.  This is definitely dryer, but I can see the comparison to Bourbon.

After the ice cubes have melted a little, it evens out a bit and becomes a bit smoother, and I’m comfortable saying feinty now.  I am enjoying this one.  I find that scotch is more of a winter cocktail, but I’m thinking, if it weren’t too hot, I could probably sit on a patio and enjoy a glass of this.

Sidenote: the last time I had Glenmorangie, I ended up thinking I should go for a run after.  Don’t go for a run after drinking scotch, especially at a gym.  As they say, Bad News Bears.

scotchadam.com

Distillery: Glen Moray

Established: 1897

Type: Highland Single Malt

Region: Speyside

Age: 12 Year

Price: $30

Notes: The label says low roofed warehouses are what give the malts a well-rounded character.  Could that possible make a difference?  From now on I need to know the exact height of the ceiling in all of the distilleries. 

Description: For some reason, Keith and I decided to call for a scotch night (not like a party or anything…just Keith and I drinking) and decided to include cigars in the equation.  I told Keith I’d pick up a bottle and he should pick out some cigars.  Not knowing anything about cigars, he just kinda went for it, but it turned out to be a good choice (whichever cigars they turned out to be).  We sat on my porch on the first truly warm evening of the year, sipping this scotch and slowly smoking our cigars.  I recalled that the last time I smoked a cigar I wanted to die.  I remember it twisting my brain and turning me totally sideways to the point that I thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head.  However, this session was much more enjoyable, and I am crediting the scotch.  It was a prefect pairing.  The scotch starts strong and smokey, and ends a little sweet and fruity.  Following up with a cigar left a total flavor party in my mouth!  FLAVOR PARTY I TELL YOU!  Unfortunately, the scotch isn’t stellar on its own.  The flavor of the scotch itself doesn’t really stick around too long, you can barely taste it in your mouth.  There really isn’t anything to savor, unless you pair it with smoking a cigar.

The Bottom Line: Buy this if you plan on feeling like an old retired fat man that used to own a used car dealership (with cigar).  If you’re just looking for a bottle, you can surely find something better for less money.

Distillery: Johnnie Walker/Diageo

Established: 1820 I guess?

Type: Blended

Region: Ayrshire

Age: 12

Price: $25

Notes: Red is the best-selling scotch in the world (The Walker brand fetches nearly 130 million bottles sold yearly).  “Renowned for its bold, characterful (I didn’t even know that was a word.  I mean it just doesn’t sound right does it?) taste - balanced to shine through even when mixed.  It’s a flavor the Walker family has never compromised on.”

Description: So there I was.  Sitting at work when I received an email from L.B. over at Thrillist.  He was wondering if I could fit in a quick shoot the next day for an upcoming Thrillist post.  And since my weekends are actually weekdays, I figured I could fit it in.  So he sent me to Elway’s downtown to photograph some food and scotch pairings for an upcoming scotch (Johnnie Walker to be exact) night that Elway’s is hosting.  Now, I’m not normally one for blended scotch, but I’m no hater.  If its got alcohol in it, I’m in.  If its any kinda of whiskey, awesome.  If its scotch, hell yeah.  So after the shoot I was offered the food and the Walker Red.  ”Well, shit,” I thought.  I sat there for a split second thinking about what I needed to do in the very immediate future on my day off. Realizing the answer was, “jack shit,” I decided to enjoy a free glass of scotch at 11AM. I mean…no brainer right?  At any rate, Walker Red is a good overall scotch.  I do believe most people buy red with the intent on mixing it.  Most parties I ever went to in college welcomed someone with a bottle of Red and Coke.  So, if you’re throwing a big party, and want to class it up a bit without dropping some serious dollar, check out some Walker Red.  Be sure to head over the Thrillist to read more about the Elway’s scotch night.

P.S. Anyone gonna be going to the scotch night?

And now its time for

ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT IN WHISKEY HISTORRRRYYYYY

This installment comes from everyone’s favorite misanthrope, Scott Lawan (here and here).  For those of you who don’t know him, Scott and I have been friends since 2007.  We met in art school and hated pretty much everyone there, so we start hanging out.  Scott and I also work together as primary shooters for a local Denver photo studio.  Again, I know this is a scotch blog, but the whiskey moments don’t discriminate!

If you have a great moment in whiskey history you’d like to submit please email me mbroste1 AT gmail DOT com.

…

“During the month of December, everyone is so full of frolicky-cheer-bullshit that the only thing a young man such as myself can do is strive to get drunk, to get drunk as if it my career depended on it, to put in the late nites and the early mornings.  The warm comfort from booze of any variety is so necessary to escape the dreadful falsities of Christmas cheer as well as my own envious awareness of everyone else’s holiday bliss. I spent it in comfort however with a warm bottle of the shit whiskey produced by Seagrams, which I had received from a pretty lady for a photo shoot earlier in the month. I proceeded to indulge my alcoholic whim upon it while watching the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol. There is no finer time than drinking alone at two in the morning while watching an obvious classic. Somewhere out there, little kids wiggled around in bed dreaming of gifts of magical ponies and the infamous douche bag rapist known as Santa Clause while I … while I melted away into my own warm, light-headed, free feeling sorrow.  As the alcohol took over; however, I could not help but get so immersed within the movie that I found myself yelling such excited jabber as “DAMN EBENEZER DAMN” and “FUCK THAT GHOST OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE BE SCURRRRYYYYYY”! I even cried a little i swear to fucking god I did. By the end of Scrooge’s epiphany in the early-early morning I was still hungry for more drink, and so decided to move onto another classic. I decided on The Miracle on 34^th Street, about half an hour into which I realized I had drank more than a pint of that overly sugary whiskey in a mere 2 hours.  Time for bed I thought to myself.  Game over. As I laid down it began to come up. My formerly warm blanket of “fuck off you holiday bastard” was meandering up towards my mouth. I swallowed it back down. “I’m not getting’ out of this bed”, I thought to myself …”