The Cabinet met recently with the intent of enjoying what we perhaps grandiosely termed "whiskies of character". These are the iconic scotches that are unmistakable in smell and taste, the "classics" if you will. The original plan was to taste the Ardbeg 10 year old, the Laphroaig 10 and the Macallan 15, thus celebrating the standard bearers for smoke, peat and oak respectively, but we were out of the Macallan and a funny thing happened at the liquor store whe we went to replace it. I will expand on this funny thing in a moment after briefly touching on the Ardbeg and Laphroaig.
What true lover of scotch whisky does not appreciate Ardbeg and Laphroaig? Just 3 1/2 kilometers apart along the A846 on the southeast shore of Islay (Lagavulin lies in between them incidentally), they are both unmistakably Islays, but yet are quite distinct from each other, like warring fraternal twins. Anyone interested in reading a scotch blog will be familiar with their flavour profiles so I will not waste anyone's time by trying to come up with new synonyms for smoke and brine and seaweed and rubber. Also, a rating seems superfluous.
So on to how we did not end up picking up another bottle of Macallan 15. Just before heading down to the liquor store I noticed on their website that they had just brought in a few bottles from the second release of the re-creation of Earnest Shackleton's whisky. The whisky may or may not have character, but the story behind it is loaded to the brim with character. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, in short in 1907 the explorer Earnest Shackleton ordered 46 cases of Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt from the Glen Mohr distillery in Inverness to take with him to the Antarctic. A hundred years later three crates of this whisky were found frozen under Shackleton's hut in Antarctica. After a very careful analysis master distiller Richard Paterson of Whyte and Mackay (who own the Mackinlay brand) set about re-creating what was found. Much attention was also given to the packaging and labeling and as a bonus every bottle is accompanied by a packet of postcards, photos, maps and letters from Shackleton's expedition. Also, a donation to the Antarctic Heritage Trust is made from the proceeds.
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Fine, fine, you say, but goddamitman, what does it taste like? I must say that our expectations were low given that this was essentially in the category of "novelty whisky", but we needn't have been concerned. It's not a Laphroaig, but it is a very enjoyable and unique whisky in its own right. Some members did not report much of a nose, but those that did pronounced it to be "funky", with a rubbery, sulfury element that is not quite the same as the famous Islay black rubber. On the palate it is raw and rough, as perhaps befits a polar explorer's tipple, but with a surprising floral delicacy underneath and sufficient malt character to give it some bones. This is a whisky we will be revisiting, all the more so since an incredible connection between Shackleton and The Cabinet has been uncovered. This will be detailed in a future post.
It was a jolly evening all round as we toasted Ivan's birthday (our youngest member at 32) with the Mackinley's Rare Old..... Slainte!
What true lover of scotch whisky does not appreciate Ardbeg and Laphroaig? Just 3 1/2 kilometers apart along the A846 on the southeast shore of Islay (Lagavulin lies in between them incidentally), they are both unmistakably Islays, but yet are quite distinct from each other, like warring fraternal twins. Anyone interested in reading a scotch blog will be familiar with their flavour profiles so I will not waste anyone's time by trying to come up with new synonyms for smoke and brine and seaweed and rubber. Also, a rating seems superfluous.
So on to how we did not end up picking up another bottle of Macallan 15. Just before heading down to the liquor store I noticed on their website that they had just brought in a few bottles from the second release of the re-creation of Earnest Shackleton's whisky. The whisky may or may not have character, but the story behind it is loaded to the brim with character. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, in short in 1907 the explorer Earnest Shackleton ordered 46 cases of Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt from the Glen Mohr distillery in Inverness to take with him to the Antarctic. A hundred years later three crates of this whisky were found frozen under Shackleton's hut in Antarctica. After a very careful analysis master distiller Richard Paterson of Whyte and Mackay (who own the Mackinlay brand) set about re-creating what was found. Much attention was also given to the packaging and labeling and as a bonus every bottle is accompanied by a packet of postcards, photos, maps and letters from Shackleton's expedition. Also, a donation to the Antarctic Heritage Trust is made from the proceeds..JPG)
Fine, fine, you say, but goddamitman, what does it taste like? I must say that our expectations were low given that this was essentially in the category of "novelty whisky", but we needn't have been concerned. It's not a Laphroaig, but it is a very enjoyable and unique whisky in its own right. Some members did not report much of a nose, but those that did pronounced it to be "funky", with a rubbery, sulfury element that is not quite the same as the famous Islay black rubber. On the palate it is raw and rough, as perhaps befits a polar explorer's tipple, but with a surprising floral delicacy underneath and sufficient malt character to give it some bones. This is a whisky we will be revisiting, all the more so since an incredible connection between Shackleton and The Cabinet has been uncovered. This will be detailed in a future post.It was a jolly evening all round as we toasted Ivan's birthday (our youngest member at 32) with the Mackinley's Rare Old..... Slainte!
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