A(berfeldy) To V(om Fass)

No, not "A to Z". More on that later though.
The Cabinet met last week with the intent to "Respect The Squirrel" (so read the invitation), but as matters unfolded, focus shifted somewhat from "the squirrel". And the "respect" was slightly less than anticipated. But I should stop being willfully obscure and explain the squirrel reference. The Cabinet has in it's possession an Aberfeldy 12 year old and a 21 year old, and the label of the 12 year old is graced by a small red squirrel. Red squirrels are seen by many as emblematic of Old Scotland and are under dire threat by invasive gangs of loutish grey squirrels (I am dead serious: http://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/). Inexplicably, and somewhat ominously, the new bottlings of Aberfeldy no longer feature the charming red squirrel (or any squirrel for that matter).

I thank you for indulging me in this digression but I will waste no further time in getting to the whiskies themselves. The Aberfeldy 12 was reviewed a couple of years ago and at that time we said:
"The Aberfeldy 12 year old is a bargain bottle at $50 here in Manitoba and was a pleasant surprise. It's malty front, back and middle without any complexity to speak of, but by the same token there are no missteps, unpleasant notes or reasons to dislike it. It is well rounded and well crafted, but simple. Sometimes simple is fine. We liked it and we considered it to be a good beginner's scotch. The score came in at 6.1, or just into the "three drams - recommended, must try" category."

It's funny, but the description would be identical - "malty, not complex, no missteps, simple, well crafted" - but had we chosen to rate it again I strongly suspect it would have dropped out of the three drams category into the two. The members present were not in a mood for "simple" this time. They did not dislike it, they just were underwhelmed. It is a fine demonstration of the subjectivity of taste, not just between people, but within the same people at different times. To some extent anyway. There's still no making of proverbial silk purses out of sow's ears. Or Obans out of Amruts.

The 21 year old had been tasted at the end of last year and had been pronounced "excellent" by the group, although not officially rated. Tonight it did not receive that accolade. It was very interesting to taste immediately after the 12 year old as the commonality was strong - still a very malt forward, simple, clean dram - but now with obvious vanilla overtones from the additional nine years exposure to oak. A fine drink indeed, but again not an instant favorite. Some discussion ensued as to whether the fourfold price differential between the two ages could be justified and the answer was no. The 21 year old was better, but not four times better. No rating was given. 

Finally then in the squirrel range we had purchased a Dewars 12 year old, "The Ancestor". Yes, this is a blend and The Cabinet focuses on single malts, but it is a blend whose primary constituent is Aberfeldy, so a comparison seemed in order. And indeed the similarity was strong, so much so that one member declared that he found them essentially indistinguishable. To most of us the Dewars was a bit rougher, but not offensively so. It would make a perfectly fine gift for a casual scotch drinker and even has a lovely old timey scotchy label. 

Now the V of the title. It should be a more symmetrical Z (as in "A to Z") and when I started this post it was. I remembered the name as "Zum Fass", which is the pithy and lively German for "to the keg boys!", but it is actually "Vom Fass" which just means "from the keg". Vom Fass is a chain of shops, originating sensibly enough in Germany, offering high end liquid comestibles dispensed from kegs into variably sized bottles that are then hand labeled. Among these comestibles are vinegars, oils, liqueurs and, yes, whiskies (the vinegars and oils explain why it's not "to the keg boys!"). They have a selection of unusual single malts and a range of exclusive blends. One of our members visited Vom Fass in Minneapolis and returned with a sack full of goodies.

I will fully confess to initial skepticism. Perhaps even intense skepticism. One of their blends is called MacSpey. Said aloud this sounds like a Glasgow based veterinary franchise. And their bottles look like they contain perfumes and hair oils from boutiques frequented by people who only wear all white or all black and who air kiss. But that's all the marketing veneer and The Cabinet prides itself in seeing right through such as if rendered invisible and looking deep into the quality of the product itself. 

And here's the thing. The Auchentoshan 17 year old available only through Vom Fass is astonishingly good. It was the highlight of the evening. The squirrel slunk away. The 17 year old was bright and lively with both grass and citrus notes and had that lovely lingering finish we all crave. Now we are quite curious about the other five bottles... As the cliche goes, "stay tuned".

Thank you Michael.

Slainte! 

No. I don't know what's going on here either.