tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80088298917894290392024-03-13T10:51:41.448-05:00The Cabinet"The Cabinet" is a Winnipeg based club of Scotch whisky enthusiasts who meet every two months to sample, enjoy and discuss The Beverage.Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-78156517832375380392024-02-02T11:05:00.006-06:002024-02-02T11:08:52.991-06:00Tak' The Low Road<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>O ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,</i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>But me and my true love will never meet again,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">So goes the chorus of the classic Scottish song, "The Bonnie Banks 'o Loch Lomond". The Cabinet met last week to take a version of the low road. But before I get into that, a bit of trivia for you: the low road referred to in the song is death, the road the spirits take. The singer has been killed in the Jacobite wars and is returning to Scotland via that lowest of roads. That's why he and his true love will never meet again. A bit dark. But marvelous.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We did not take that low road. Obviously. Rather we took the <i>Lowland </i>road, and sampled the output of two distilleries near Glasgow. And the reason for that was that our first meeting of the year is always held as close as possible to Robbie Burns Day. Those of us who have kilts wear them. Burns lived in Dumfries, as low as you can get in the Lowlands, so these whisky choices seemed a fitting way to mark the occasion.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Lowlands have very few distilleries, and even less are available here, so we had to satisfy ourselves with two Auchentoshans, the 12 year old and the Three Wood, and the new(ish) King's Inch from the Courageous Spirits distillery. These were all fine, but none were spectacular. The King's Inch, with it's green apple nose, and fruity flavours was the most interesting, and the Three Wood was enjoyable, with its dominant rich caramel. The 12 year old, however, was thin and dull. None had much of a finish. The <i>Low</i>lands indeed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We wrapped up the evening with a detour to our favoured isle and the Ardbeg An Oa. Even though it didn't exist 230 years ago, Burns would have approved. Actually, probably not. He probably would have hated it. But he took the low road long ago, so we can safely put words in his mouth. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Ye're brilliant gentlemen, enjoy yer peaty Islay dram!"</i> - Robbie Burns posthumous quote, January 26, 2024.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Slainte Robbie!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuvr6sxDbEJxrlM-5gfpk7xOotkQi491IidZvEyMgW_XVf1DjjzU9eD0KyU6u63xBdRLQyr2XY99tI5zZ_2AkDJMvuY7VTF0IIANmrZKQK2GmlOsLDVKc-WaBboNTFkMlRuo5lu_k4OqxJjp8x8Voe0MWLLRVhUkMc-TTbmHQ1QkKU8VLjBFuxi1uW32T/s1213/DSC08846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1213" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuvr6sxDbEJxrlM-5gfpk7xOotkQi491IidZvEyMgW_XVf1DjjzU9eD0KyU6u63xBdRLQyr2XY99tI5zZ_2AkDJMvuY7VTF0IIANmrZKQK2GmlOsLDVKc-WaBboNTFkMlRuo5lu_k4OqxJjp8x8Voe0MWLLRVhUkMc-TTbmHQ1QkKU8VLjBFuxi1uW32T/s320/DSC08846.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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This most recent edition of "Member's Choice Night" could be called "From The Vaults". The three members assigned to make the selections asked the Secretary to submit a list of the bottles that had sat the longest since last being tasted. </p><p>Capital idea! </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtMvsjikuqsf4tvoOnjhF3c4ZUa_vzg1PKvy2BliktXOAz7IvCfAjDabpR_apFsB5-KSgKm2UV18BybmK-pryoWPW8k2L5nxh9cvuJhPLQJ-ZBlpGg8j2MGW7-_4w-ekWDa_1JWz5zGeiK8MD7_zRzbCg2Q_5DW_Tl9QwoTKUHtnSbZJ-H28F4rwGtbHM/s4080/PXL_20231215_020439417.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtMvsjikuqsf4tvoOnjhF3c4ZUa_vzg1PKvy2BliktXOAz7IvCfAjDabpR_apFsB5-KSgKm2UV18BybmK-pryoWPW8k2L5nxh9cvuJhPLQJ-ZBlpGg8j2MGW7-_4w-ekWDa_1JWz5zGeiK8MD7_zRzbCg2Q_5DW_Tl9QwoTKUHtnSbZJ-H28F4rwGtbHM/s320/PXL_20231215_020439417.jpg" width="241" /></a>From this list they chose: </p><p>Benriach 12 year old (last tasted in 2016)</p><p>Arran Cognac Cask (last tasted in 2012)</p><p>Aberfeldy 21 year old (last tastes in 2016)</p><p>The first thing we noticed was the dust. Nothing says "this bottle has been neglected in the cellar for years" like a good encrustation of dust. And so it was. </p><p>In these pages we've previously discussed our fears regarding the effects of oxidation. All of these bottles were more than half empty and had a lot of oxygen rich head space to interact with during those many long dark lonely years, yet all of them were still delightful. Perhaps not as delightful as they once were (but then who among us is?) but delightful enough that it made for a very jolly evening of tasting.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlemHvyDRShAqkojZ8eTc4TLOggC_EfLXIvOvsT6XBc1pl0E4Wr01e4l07EkokHZsJliMii_UY8ZSzPX7p9hNLLNzB6Nv0Xt6YzJVE9ApscXOjVGMSU_EKFqFPUFG6Bql2yEo8qVoUTTJqhGYsSqD-z0PG0i4_kjm9vz-TpxWXkoRSiMvIDMtCYFrkPen/s4080/PXL_20231215_020552465.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlemHvyDRShAqkojZ8eTc4TLOggC_EfLXIvOvsT6XBc1pl0E4Wr01e4l07EkokHZsJliMii_UY8ZSzPX7p9hNLLNzB6Nv0Xt6YzJVE9ApscXOjVGMSU_EKFqFPUFG6Bql2yEo8qVoUTTJqhGYsSqD-z0PG0i4_kjm9vz-TpxWXkoRSiMvIDMtCYFrkPen/s320/PXL_20231215_020552465.jpg" width="241" /></a>To our surprise, the most delightful was the Benriach. At 46% abv, it's not cask strength, but it is more potent than the average scotch, and it packs a wallop of flavour. This is a full mouth experience with a long slow, marvelously astringent, finish. Somewhat bizarrely, the Arran was quite similar. I say bizarrely as it's an Island malt, whereas the Benriach is a Speyside, and it's a cognac cask finish, as opposed to sherry cask, and it is fully cask strength at 59.5%. Yet, there was a commonality in flavour profile. In a good way.</p><p>Trailing the pack was the thinner, lighter Aberfeldy 21. Still delightful, but just not as delightful. It's all relative.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfbha-ez6Bl7BsAag7mDoPHCiSIqlyf9u6BhUyr2utpmbGHGr1B7Eque4Mo5vbyffdveU2Pj0Wv8NuMTdsKIEBZazeZd6t6S-CyMQkTQdatrzIFYAD57-OdlULJtytpxW3JcYJPFPVaSXPpOvmjNyer944obCuRe00tnj0K8VIXht1vhckjBHLM6EY_2Y/s4080/PXL_20231215_025231421.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfbha-ez6Bl7BsAag7mDoPHCiSIqlyf9u6BhUyr2utpmbGHGr1B7Eque4Mo5vbyffdveU2Pj0Wv8NuMTdsKIEBZazeZd6t6S-CyMQkTQdatrzIFYAD57-OdlULJtytpxW3JcYJPFPVaSXPpOvmjNyer944obCuRe00tnj0K8VIXht1vhckjBHLM6EY_2Y/s320/PXL_20231215_025231421.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><p></p><p>To round the night off, we returned to the exceptional cask strength Chorlton bottling of the Ardmore 12 year old that appeared at our last meeting. This was our favourite whisky of 2023 and thus a fitting way to finish the year.</p><p>Slainte!</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdMvkloWDIx5fPYzt70CGR3MqPDahuY8evrfU0NQvAz0QJL9Fq0NlYF4457IP-bJnR5KY_cU3t6nEo4wDseNHPMTCHyP_BEp-zhc6pqpXvuW5V5TbUHZuC-Y8kGGvnu3yPAvWphows_RCbPgFBd1IJ8JK7RB2R06oYeJ3M65RSR1MiLcVLOWoOvVrPd8b/s4080/PXL_20231215_020936206.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdMvkloWDIx5fPYzt70CGR3MqPDahuY8evrfU0NQvAz0QJL9Fq0NlYF4457IP-bJnR5KY_cU3t6nEo4wDseNHPMTCHyP_BEp-zhc6pqpXvuW5V5TbUHZuC-Y8kGGvnu3yPAvWphows_RCbPgFBd1IJ8JK7RB2R06oYeJ3M65RSR1MiLcVLOWoOvVrPd8b/s320/PXL_20231215_020936206.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-73825141999547382102023-11-08T11:50:00.000-06:002023-11-08T11:50:47.105-06:00Alt Islay<p>The Cabinet assembled last week to, in theory, explore a few alternative malts from Islay. In other words, some of the recent bottlings that have moved away from traditional age statements. I write "in theory" because in actuality, the star of the evening came from somewhere else entirely. It came from near Kennethmont in the Highlands, some 370 km northeast of Islay, and it came via Manchester and Nurnberg.</p><p>I will explain.</p><p>The Cabinet has a firm membership of seven, but guests are welcome to join us (one at a time please). On the evening in question we enjoyed the company of a guest who has been with us twice before. This might be a record. In the past she has come from Mumbai, but now she is based in Nurnberg, Germany. And now (and of much greater interest to our members and readers), she has source in the UK who supplies her with the special bottlings of Chorlton Whiskies in Manchester: https://chorltonwhisky.co.uk/uncategorized/chorlton-whisky-bottlings/ (Take note of the beautiful labels. They're all medieval in origin not only because of the aesthetics, but because they are public domain and royalty free.)</p><p>This is how the non-Islay 60.7% abv Ardmore 12 year old (bottled in December 2022) came to dominate our Alt Islay night. And dominate in the happiest possible way. There was some sentiment in the room that this was the best whisky we have tasted this year. It is a beast. A beautiful, glorious beast that punches you in the mouth. Also in the happiest possible way. We are not masochists. From nose to finish, there is so much going on here that descriptors were piled on top of descriptors. But here on The Cabinet Blog we do not list "hint of this, whiff of that, note of the other". We simply tell you what we like, and how much we like it. We like the Chorlton Ardmore. And we like it a lot.</p><p>The guest's other gifts did, however, fit the putative theme. She brought another Chorlton, a Staoisha 8 year old (59.9%, December 2021 bottling), which was also marvelous but in an entirely different, fresher, livelier way. And she presented us with a North Star bottling, the Caol Ila 12 year (2006) at 54.6%. This was very fine too. But very fine sadly stands in the shadows of exceptional.</p><p>Joining the Caol Ila in the shadows was a new Bruichladdich "The Organic" 10 year old (50.0%), which was even better than very fine, but still suffered by comparison. It will get its own night to shine at some point in the new year.</p><p>And finally the perplexing and infuriating Arbeg "Ardcore" (46.0%). We disliked it before. We tolerate it now. It's difficult to get past the absurd punk theming and the ridiculous price point - double the Bruichladdich. Presented blind it would fair better. It would be fine. Probably not very fine, but fine. But context is important. Context is where half the fun is.</p><p>What a night.</p><p>Slainte!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMxAerrd5TOIcmBVKaJdHZVVofL6r8xookhqqyDMvbfgxMd5yj5tlkR4J6Uk9mCqUGmg8oRzyKW0Y2SrKG0EnzRTnF1OfCS7sIMn2-SqXPyzMLPq92uUIbFZZzq3a20mEq7V1yhnETNBWQ4ZOcEa2aS7JaKZtVYlqhqzuWCcygdtItcnuQIuUe5E4kAkh/s3776/DSC04424.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMxAerrd5TOIcmBVKaJdHZVVofL6r8xookhqqyDMvbfgxMd5yj5tlkR4J6Uk9mCqUGmg8oRzyKW0Y2SrKG0EnzRTnF1OfCS7sIMn2-SqXPyzMLPq92uUIbFZZzq3a20mEq7V1yhnETNBWQ4ZOcEa2aS7JaKZtVYlqhqzuWCcygdtItcnuQIuUe5E4kAkh/s320/DSC04424.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KCj-eXibgI99hnMsNVHrto9Uk6dHI1_hBBub4CVpmeRxElcwR7QGnVZk4aj3B6OmkplAWdU5lgNDxkSuDTQmWE0lACkdidwFPmMyZ3arh4pIJqTMO9UaPXDNwhhq3LadRVmTC3m5qJCwxsMIIvFl1bk6xzbYjXQFe3vcWJ973f3EgPIPDozkSLJCMmg3/s3776/DSC04441.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRsHz7i3eIFDfQrlWSFaSJbhF28GzE_ZEnF4xzsOvQ1_1gknJ6tSEDmCTNJwsAhpKU-SPVJp7hMGpxe-VirENbg2w1J-H7qzz962T0tsubBI1qOX3vpQmEDkXxH4VEe70aDPGvpQFIt4n314_WvDEp79-GFgDDDUJqML64PQYZQXtOHU9ajlAESMU7QIM/s320/DSC04473.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-23043824931754677832023-09-04T16:28:00.000-05:002023-09-04T16:28:03.331-05:00The Peated Isles<p>Almost two weeks have passed since The Cabinet met to enjoy a liquid tour of The Peated Isles, so I am afraid your correspondent will once again have to excuse the brevity of the post and instead point to the photos. It's been too long. I've been busy. But look! Over there! Pretty pictures. Pretty pictures of scotch whisky. Delicious scotch whisky. Such delicious scotch whisky. </p><p>As I have often commented before, The Cabinet leans coastal. We can appreciate a well crafted Highland, Lowland, or Speyside, but peated malts from within sight of the sea are what makes us smile, and sometimes even giggle, with delight. Well, ok, not exactly "giggle", but definitely make inarticulate but unmistakably positive noises. </p><p>"The Peated Isles" featured were Skye for the Talisker 10 year old, Orkney for the Highland Park Valfather, and Islay for the Bowmore 15. All retail for around $100 here, so it was a fair fight, although ultimately not really a fight because we loved them all. Possibly the Talisker the most, but this is somewhat hairsplitting. </p><p>Note below the Sargeant-at-Arms' careful measuring of each member's pour. We are men of science, not dissipation. Not much dissipation anyway. Not that night. And never in the presence of cameras.</p><p>Slainte!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSREJ69b_AqSsCaeG6mflBhgvbtYo5w90qVUklB0VLPHQU_A2N-JwKZhOLJnJAkDqi-qha0Ig_ZPBxM-vjqrfcAvw6ycEtHzlLx4jhIlfreqgiGh9hQkm5eu3o8Y7-1PjlrpcIJqnCKg1AdIbYDsBOqVF2mihdETe5Lt8U5jDw-9k7WYOvXtO8569dBejF/s3776/DSC00003.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSREJ69b_AqSsCaeG6mflBhgvbtYo5w90qVUklB0VLPHQU_A2N-JwKZhOLJnJAkDqi-qha0Ig_ZPBxM-vjqrfcAvw6ycEtHzlLx4jhIlfreqgiGh9hQkm5eu3o8Y7-1PjlrpcIJqnCKg1AdIbYDsBOqVF2mihdETe5Lt8U5jDw-9k7WYOvXtO8569dBejF/s320/DSC00003.jpeg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6YEzmsOOC38Vbq8G8qe4aIeJYViS-pS6tjm2kuLVfVMPZwAWpqUupHF52NvENQK1CJnnMAdwNsamYC6UGb4oylUdaCT74ax8cuVK6xt4OCkgY0ambwTwbwApdkLvJag3rc7t8IjWdcgl2Wpo7ZWSH1uj5YByP4fN_Lm_E3pwwPEIix8zQkdPfqvLLEf9/s320/DSC00006.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpH7m1X7mw1lmRZMsUBDvGYSvAPQ4_EgseY-PtZgqFehh8c0susOE-EscQi8jU4Hpfg7LDKBZq7kF1IR_SR47eAmGx178yOFWLkqLsPj3TtQ600WAmKFP4VACVyJKlZQL_TWRz2GdE6byKVKHt5UevWFr8dBk0xYUJ_00ZM2y78gy7EA2zefGs0bMuc8k7/s3776/DSC09996.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpH7m1X7mw1lmRZMsUBDvGYSvAPQ4_EgseY-PtZgqFehh8c0susOE-EscQi8jU4Hpfg7LDKBZq7kF1IR_SR47eAmGx178yOFWLkqLsPj3TtQ600WAmKFP4VACVyJKlZQL_TWRz2GdE6byKVKHt5UevWFr8dBk0xYUJ_00ZM2y78gy7EA2zefGs0bMuc8k7/s320/DSC09996.jpeg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0FfvL1KzgOBnsTHj4VJD_EUqZuByFc_iywHP2XNt2Z9mL3WnZjoK1YUmsgeSimJyOaZGG51lyINx2KuL7uMIzcvwGnxgr2ZHFjSxXzOyX0PlOxZf8BF_oLlDlOccvZes_MYoSST0jvdMHykW8K9DbMmsCh45NwV_4I7_pKp1XxOwQ25LeDQBrbFdTJyb/s3776/DSC09998.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0FfvL1KzgOBnsTHj4VJD_EUqZuByFc_iywHP2XNt2Z9mL3WnZjoK1YUmsgeSimJyOaZGG51lyINx2KuL7uMIzcvwGnxgr2ZHFjSxXzOyX0PlOxZf8BF_oLlDlOccvZes_MYoSST0jvdMHykW8K9DbMmsCh45NwV_4I7_pKp1XxOwQ25LeDQBrbFdTJyb/s320/DSC09998.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0cZ-SkiW2-biJ-xvqOyPO93gTIntQ43eapxoQG-RMj45s_SVrjIWMPvrmO4ls03AREBGhfUNGNxOYXsqOtnawtEYYsMUhScVnThcikx11j39Li_a1DgMUU941iYGuc0xA5rO-0njg0iKDBfh-eX6qqgUfazpyybW5Umb3l6vCrdLJi3F-sp-jJYjp1ml/s3776/DSC00010.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0cZ-SkiW2-biJ-xvqOyPO93gTIntQ43eapxoQG-RMj45s_SVrjIWMPvrmO4ls03AREBGhfUNGNxOYXsqOtnawtEYYsMUhScVnThcikx11j39Li_a1DgMUU941iYGuc0xA5rO-0njg0iKDBfh-eX6qqgUfazpyybW5Umb3l6vCrdLJi3F-sp-jJYjp1ml/s320/DSC00010.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeURe-gcIK2YWB_AR4WrZ2Ah_L4z3F0JRswLlMVZD7gCXjD2VyRwqNPgCxk6QF6EvX5od_QvEZ9TjCD23QP-cWrgCJvU1A0TEdqmdbsaKYxIoNrvUFRwP2hzeBpnIHypWiHaDa5KX0IAVpuVfp6yrg2KH8Gfw7z1qBpDIwKlRnXSZ9Fx9ynT1tulsrd1F/s3776/DSC00015.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeURe-gcIK2YWB_AR4WrZ2Ah_L4z3F0JRswLlMVZD7gCXjD2VyRwqNPgCxk6QF6EvX5od_QvEZ9TjCD23QP-cWrgCJvU1A0TEdqmdbsaKYxIoNrvUFRwP2hzeBpnIHypWiHaDa5KX0IAVpuVfp6yrg2KH8Gfw7z1qBpDIwKlRnXSZ9Fx9ynT1tulsrd1F/s320/DSC00015.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-28718048037853904432023-06-21T10:18:00.002-05:002023-06-21T10:18:41.801-05:00End of the Alphabet, End of the World<p>Sometimes the Cabinet Secretary's inspiration fails him. Sometimes the Cabinet Secretary forgets that a meeting has been scheduled. Sometimes the Cabinet Secretary scrambles at the last minute to select the whiskies for tasting. But then he peers in there and sees that the bottles in the bottom right corner, at the end of the alphabet, have been accumulating dust. Literal dust. But metaphorical too. And then he looks outside and notes the apocalyptic orange sky and the dead tree beside the Cabinet Summer Quarters, on the banks of the Assiniboine River, and thinks to himself, "end of the alphabet, end of the world". Sometimes it all works out anyway. And it did.</p><p>As it happens, the five bottles at the end of the alphabet originated in five different countries: Sazerac Rye (USA), Sexton (Ireland), Penderyn Sherrywood (Wales), Paul John (India), and Scapa 10 y.o. (Scotland). Some of you will be keen to hear about these in more details. You are out of luck. Sometimes the Cabinet Secretary is lazy or busy or both (an oddly viable combination). Sometimes the Cabinet Secretary will decide to give the blog entry over to the photographers in the group. Before doing so, he will make one comment: whoever you are, avoid the Sexton (generic "likker") and seek out the Scapa (a scotch lovers ambrosia). The rest depend on who you are. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdX-nzb3zeAwNvijb9O9Q4jOMidtAGsktsFxbxOTbfwxPmCMkih09EkgxoikiZzKR434XBy-gInofOUirGZm9Bp-w1bUXP2ZsqOCW0w5O4XyBTlyrd_pwhzGBDTk4FL0B1Y6bj_Et4d_RVBd6vWNDOYsM88rG34R2NMDGBU19oLGU_UyZN1yEUXkDfJG5/s3776/DSC09810.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3776" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdX-nzb3zeAwNvijb9O9Q4jOMidtAGsktsFxbxOTbfwxPmCMkih09EkgxoikiZzKR434XBy-gInofOUirGZm9Bp-w1bUXP2ZsqOCW0w5O4XyBTlyrd_pwhzGBDTk4FL0B1Y6bj_Et4d_RVBd6vWNDOYsM88rG34R2NMDGBU19oLGU_UyZN1yEUXkDfJG5/s320/DSC09810.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWirFv-523AhR26koGaA1WSLLT1e4m9c6rKZ-KpvoPWP-wK4TZwiNge-5zR6lLz2jE__KWNCxjj4VXm5Hw4BBn3YB6oEMGdwSoPcs5vu7m7Z5lci_52gS2flOGXpxj_Dn668SBPwdJTH0XbsimR-Rvtyv8NC8BiF9EH844fNMzyMrb83nYs3ihUqjaOp5I/s3776/DSC09814.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEIvYQnmjck0aVBlx4TWWicxrI_l8-wgCF0vVGJZK6zrMH2hQAi_baveano8uh2p7JCn_VOSU0A-WK-nw_MBwtQmN_ABR_lFVvwFj8_ntV4apryhdsyZNLk612G8TmnIGUi7evAgZXodM2kW7XHzPxf9iA-cTJI3x-sNeCNFN4jBdAsiMqnjRThmUYfeo/s320/IMG_0849.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8Z-tvHAybZxMgCif64JV9dedsIUOOzS-ajX9-jQFKOABOjBEOsHl3ggMviIrCZfj6W5ehsQe4tPQ22V_24m_EknNypDu9TlP-O-C2xR52qhSUvn4fYXCs24P66yqvlJwv9SWazRqI42N78SmBSwlw9cmPLmdmsgnTduzKuS16LxoqH2rSsenlwcGT7tM/s4032/IMG_0850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8Z-tvHAybZxMgCif64JV9dedsIUOOzS-ajX9-jQFKOABOjBEOsHl3ggMviIrCZfj6W5ehsQe4tPQ22V_24m_EknNypDu9TlP-O-C2xR52qhSUvn4fYXCs24P66yqvlJwv9SWazRqI42N78SmBSwlw9cmPLmdmsgnTduzKuS16LxoqH2rSsenlwcGT7tM/s320/IMG_0850.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtLUdds0cb-cbfr7sLBXxd6SizjpKclorP-AZDkF_M7qkMtUzVa5DnkPz6JxQRpgj0BmBEoj7RNMtPNKgeAqWA6_jQW9jNLv85aBz3hluEZPF6P2CJnaFW6A7DE15zCeJ9kte3WgtkkTw2SLQEfj6_HPFKUSPJA1RnEPGpo0RpvZGhvhxsZ1jY8_QonxF/s2592/PXL_20230614_010103235.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtLUdds0cb-cbfr7sLBXxd6SizjpKclorP-AZDkF_M7qkMtUzVa5DnkPz6JxQRpgj0BmBEoj7RNMtPNKgeAqWA6_jQW9jNLv85aBz3hluEZPF6P2CJnaFW6A7DE15zCeJ9kte3WgtkkTw2SLQEfj6_HPFKUSPJA1RnEPGpo0RpvZGhvhxsZ1jY8_QonxF/s320/PXL_20230614_010103235.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"The Secretary"</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi282t4I6hIIIbvn_IgvDmXRy1mzuG2YLHz0Hnz0npkgxM14NFSAEFGzhl6kFFyJGPz2fX0O5SZL6D360Kpa5zisEYSx8sBiLHFRb9B1FoJ-IF-F2EJGQnIHSgyiVCHWzZSSUF0E75K9NNSPvNHQzDHtzWOnZt2gMG0F6Eb7G9HNuin0Jehj6ASgABCah8u/s2592/PXL_20230614_010106290.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi282t4I6hIIIbvn_IgvDmXRy1mzuG2YLHz0Hnz0npkgxM14NFSAEFGzhl6kFFyJGPz2fX0O5SZL6D360Kpa5zisEYSx8sBiLHFRb9B1FoJ-IF-F2EJGQnIHSgyiVCHWzZSSUF0E75K9NNSPvNHQzDHtzWOnZt2gMG0F6Eb7G9HNuin0Jehj6ASgABCah8u/s320/PXL_20230614_010106290.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"The Luthier"</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmH64Ss9RH2mEGsCaSXgIRB4j98rQrdpQzM0OQLQ69g4zKVyYW4tlVGHYXC-j72CByytvh989JlFqEdvqrau_D1Fk39-TELZ_6rku2eM5eY9GjzM8D6Ip3C8wH6ivL4nzLCNpUpkqPT3YDUUNF8mOiZODg5EhsF2KZ5fVsSyaoAGoSD3rvW9F-mePUSv73/s2592/PXL_20230614_010122203.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmH64Ss9RH2mEGsCaSXgIRB4j98rQrdpQzM0OQLQ69g4zKVyYW4tlVGHYXC-j72CByytvh989JlFqEdvqrau_D1Fk39-TELZ_6rku2eM5eY9GjzM8D6Ip3C8wH6ivL4nzLCNpUpkqPT3YDUUNF8mOiZODg5EhsF2KZ5fVsSyaoAGoSD3rvW9F-mePUSv73/s320/PXL_20230614_010122203.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"The Stormophile"</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxHBigKyOeZqHEGAJOHoe1nSWsoePVnXJZXdRTwXYqw0GVEI17F80oty_ESZURXBhhzDPTUylPYkGo9ICA6ow5kjA83H552LE9SFnJEBkQer80D0SrvLr3UpQxPROeU4PqT8ny0pMisG6Jyu7jMW9cBN_9YV6b_qw75TDyHKOHs1UWoiIUhsdyPTcmSJi/s2592/PXL_20230614_010142772.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxHBigKyOeZqHEGAJOHoe1nSWsoePVnXJZXdRTwXYqw0GVEI17F80oty_ESZURXBhhzDPTUylPYkGo9ICA6ow5kjA83H552LE9SFnJEBkQer80D0SrvLr3UpQxPROeU4PqT8ny0pMisG6Jyu7jMW9cBN_9YV6b_qw75TDyHKOHs1UWoiIUhsdyPTcmSJi/s320/PXL_20230614_010142772.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"The Sawbones"</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fz_kdY_WVv9wuVmujQfyCo9lUiQVWIb_3sLxiwnmD2Hh-RPidX2ET7bh8ScjVFaVe3pq2e1zU_6KuefPHugdbVV3yC0WWmwr3MURcXtFTe8TI1tpddClT-c0XWRG4VjWGVrvMIPd5DojZDYxBer2UPaEoOdHtbX23XH7GwjhOmVrH1_kxogStzCNfixe/s2592/PXL_20230614_010503781.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Fz_kdY_WVv9wuVmujQfyCo9lUiQVWIb_3sLxiwnmD2Hh-RPidX2ET7bh8ScjVFaVe3pq2e1zU_6KuefPHugdbVV3yC0WWmwr3MURcXtFTe8TI1tpddClT-c0XWRG4VjWGVrvMIPd5DojZDYxBer2UPaEoOdHtbX23XH7GwjhOmVrH1_kxogStzCNfixe/s320/PXL_20230614_010503781.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"The Producer"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Missing: "The Monkey Wrangler" and "The Sergeant-at-Arms".)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Slainte!</i></b></span></div><br /><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-34502799410501660332023-04-18T17:07:00.003-05:002023-04-18T17:30:38.763-05:00Meet Glen<p> <i>Disclaimer: No disrespect, ridicule, or slight is intended towards people named Glen or Glenn. In fact The Cabinet is especially fond of Glenn Gould and Glenn Miller. Opinions regarding Glenn Frey and Glen Campbell are more variable, but that is not relevant. It's a fine name. You might be interested to know that it peaked in popularity in 1962 when it ranked 55th among boy's names in the USA. 55th! Impressive. Now it has dropped to 861st. So there is disrespect out there. But not from us.</i></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1v0J7XE-b_pBZhDkPoZOWk6ddRmwQjnE0m-0-AUKPmEkTCyx7FWSRIkO6x8CWR-q9-cUSGWm06Y20Yn8kGtfesUsUk0bVY2DNWam728keHzuFUA7XlkXflIDJHK3cu5qTgmwcLpHfOKlbyzGdg3IfdaO1HXchYfVcbV8iCNv34poym_xJg8wsmyQuhg/s1290/DSC08923.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1290" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1v0J7XE-b_pBZhDkPoZOWk6ddRmwQjnE0m-0-AUKPmEkTCyx7FWSRIkO6x8CWR-q9-cUSGWm06Y20Yn8kGtfesUsUk0bVY2DNWam728keHzuFUA7XlkXflIDJHK3cu5qTgmwcLpHfOKlbyzGdg3IfdaO1HXchYfVcbV8iCNv34poym_xJg8wsmyQuhg/s320/DSC08923.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p>The Cabinet met last week to consider whiskies with the prefix "Glen" in their names. We recognize that this is arbitrary, but oddly enough, as you will see, there was a commonality among the five whiskies tasted that went beyond coincidental naming.</p><p>So, first things first. Why are so many Scotch whiskies named Glensomethingorother? Glen means narrow valley in Scottish Gaelic. Any of you who have been to Scotland will recall an abundance of such narrow valleys. And those of you who haven't can surely imagine it. </p><p>Our glens were the Glen Moray "Elgin Classic" Port Cask Finish, the Glenmorangie Original, the Glenkinchie 12 Year Old, the Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams 2012 Canadian Edition, and, finally, the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old. Five whiskies! We normally only sample four, but the Glenfiddichs were very low and only yielded half-pours. </p><p>Tasting all of them, back to back, we came to a startling conclusion. </p><p>But before I reveal that, a little more etymology to educate you, and to allow suspense regarding our startling conclusion to build in the background. "Moray" has various meanings, but the one that is most sensible is "by the sea", so Glen Moray means "narrow valley by the sea". It's a Speyside in Elgin, about five kilometers from the sea. I suppose that's close enough. "Morangie" means "tranquility" (although some translate it as "big meadows", but those are often tranquil, so fine). Glenmorangie is right by the sea, and therefore more moray than moray, and it is beside the A9 motorway and thus probably not especially tranquil. However, presumably it was more tranquil at its founding in 1843. "Kinchie" is a corruption of De Quincy, who were the original owners of the land the Glenkinchie distillery sits on. Good move - Glendequincy would not sound Scottish enough. And "fiddich" is deer. "Narrow valley of the deer". And sure enough, a handsome stag is featured on many Glenfiddich bottles.</p><p>Now you know.</p><p>And the suspense is over. The startling conclusion is that they all taste more or less the same. I'm exaggerating, as the Glenmorangie does offer a hint of citrus on the palate. But I'm really only exaggerating slightly. All are light on the nose, malty and caramelly in flavour, and short in the finish. All are well crafted with no off notes or anything unpleasant or unwelcome. But they are a little dull. Good whiskies for novices and casual drinkers. Serious scotch enthusiasts should perhaps look elsewhere. The Glenfiddich 21 Year Old had a lovely mahogany colour though. I'll give it that. And it entertained us with a broken cork. See the photos below for the solution to this vexing problem.</p><p>However, none of this prevented us from having a marvelous evening. Sometimes you only need good enough scotch if you have exemplary company. </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-Q1BqLPic-SCUdPQtD5Aj53L1CS5MFQKACUlZm1tRZp0knnTPiXsY6nyj2vEW42vT4huUdj6T5869XsbYtwVf2QMl-3VJ3lSkicUIcRb9ff0o-xBpD0AmCKjQSqSQWwR6ctIxuMRgBLXVC62fIjSJ6_RGqi5BrGKxjB74Q--I033oU1kPCWkXD9hhQ/s1440/DSC08914.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-Q1BqLPic-SCUdPQtD5Aj53L1CS5MFQKACUlZm1tRZp0knnTPiXsY6nyj2vEW42vT4huUdj6T5869XsbYtwVf2QMl-3VJ3lSkicUIcRb9ff0o-xBpD0AmCKjQSqSQWwR6ctIxuMRgBLXVC62fIjSJ6_RGqi5BrGKxjB74Q--I033oU1kPCWkXD9hhQ/s320/DSC08914.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GmWpxMUb62gyuQyX1DSlQ7XPF4lmN2cL4PnmnQDjj73Jlro4Umjnh7X9QOGcGVRVsdaQOgrFnZ217NqTSeAdrnyeKMhopPhDhgTKBwNnbuSL3WHZQJXBYouGmrHF1GgStF26VrICvSRb09lHcXfcJtAOGNJjzntNURatrTzEAYcr-Zh1QYAGX09bmQ/s1440/DSC08892.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div>Slainte!<br /><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-59249192968676029732023-01-28T15:37:00.008-06:002023-01-28T16:33:24.641-06:00Dear Mr. Colin Gordon<p>An open letter to Colin Gordon, Distillery Manager, Ardbeg Distillery, Port Ellen, Islay</p><p><br /></p><p>Dear Mr. Colin Gordon,</p><p>I hope you are well. This not an empty and formulaic hope, but a genuine one. I hope you truly are well, because my colleagues at The Cabinet and I have reason for sincere concern. Allow me to explain.</p><p>The Cabinet is an exclusive whisky tasting society based in Winnipeg, Canada. While we make a point of trying whisky from any part of the world without prejudice, we have a particular focus on and passion for scotch whisky. More specifically, our tastes run to the Islay, Island, and coastal Highland malts. I'm sure you will be pleased to learn therefore that Ardbeg is a special favourite. We have rated the 10 year old, the 12 year old, the An Oa, the Wee Beastie, and the Uigaedail all very highly. Even the Supernova. And I have personally spent many a lovely hour at the Ardbeg Embassy at The Caledonian in Toronto. We are fans. We love your work.</p><p>Imagine then the scene at Robbie Burns Night this year, just last week, when The Cabinet met to try the newest Ardbeg expression, the Ardcore. Some of us wore kilts, and we're not even Scottish. This is the level of our devotion. The salesperson had brought the Ardcore out from a special locked room and placed it directly in the bag, so I didn't have a chance to examine the box. If I had, my concern might have begun to rise then. I noted only that it was bright blue and yellow. Fine. We are not sticklers for tradition. Then at the meeting the box was taken out of the bag and passed around for inspection. </p><p>Punk rock single malt scotch. </p><p>You're calling this a punk rock single malt scotch and have gone all out with the label and box design to underline this.</p><p>???</p><p>Is that like bluegrass Malbec? Or Wagnerian gin? Or alt country Weissbier? It's a non-sequitur. And - forgive me, but I'm going to be blunt here - it smacks of the crassest of marketing gambits. Before you picture us as a doddering group of ultra-conservative old gents with lavish nostril hairs and poorly knotted ascots, just two short steps removed from spending our days standing at the bus stop, shouting about the government, let me disabuse you of that. Ok, the lavish nostril hairs are close, but we are an eclectic group. One of our members played in a punk band. Punk features in our playlist. We are not anti-punk. Far from it. But you seem to be, despite assertions to the contrary. Using punk iconography to boost profits is... Well, you know what it is.</p><p>But that would all be forgiven if the whisky was good. But it's not. It's terrible, in fact. It's thin and utterly devoid of what makes Ardbeg Ardbeg. Smoke and peat can only be guessed at, and what you describe as "charcoal" is in fact closer to "ashtray". I suppose that's punk though. Give yourself one point. </p><p>I could go on, but I suspect you've stopped reading already.</p><p>Why did you do this? For a laugh? Because you are unwell? This is why I asked the question at the start of my letter. Not just out of politeness. If that's the reason, I hope you are better now. This lapse will soon be forgotten. </p><p>Or maybe we didn't think about this deeply enough. Maybe it really is punk - soak the bourgeois middle class for $230 (Canadian) by filling the bottles with what you'd otherwise have to dump. And tip a few ashtrays in. "Taking the piss". Just not literally, I hope. Now that would be punk.</p><p>With respect and hope for your recovery,</p><p>Kindest regards,</p><p>Philipp Schott</p><p>Secretary</p><p>The Cabinet</p><p>Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada</p><p><br /></p><p>For our blog readers, here are photos from the evening showing what else we drank and actually enjoyed!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyWBqW-ge1sk0RKUrnRMP1K0VoVl8OZFR8ybW3cMW42ikju56cUf9u57wJf4AD0P8N29Dio3lqUilhaXQK_dXN4J0k64k8oT91Lo2_Lsl7t782ZguDHt6BSGOhme409-97tQydRMU1JlS37lD0T8K9Znm-fKFt328PO-i259uRIIB5mxIU1mM32l73Q/s4032/IMG_3320.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyWBqW-ge1sk0RKUrnRMP1K0VoVl8OZFR8ybW3cMW42ikju56cUf9u57wJf4AD0P8N29Dio3lqUilhaXQK_dXN4J0k64k8oT91Lo2_Lsl7t782ZguDHt6BSGOhme409-97tQydRMU1JlS37lD0T8K9Znm-fKFt328PO-i259uRIIB5mxIU1mM32l73Q/s320/IMG_3320.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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It was marvelous. Of course it was. I'm going to allow the photographs to speak for themselves.</p><p>Slainte until 2023!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpcbWBHr3tnIPx6IaOBxzwIpHnfkNMnZeYQ31tOV-3gt_BYmGfUbM9MU5hzmx-qbkEPOteEt_FiFBKu4lVQFFf930kvbkF1QTDv9fB53BqfqsqMmHbbm5FnsBDc9t89hJ2SRiv5VnS-ZfuiWO23d2COM8xBF9M0UETe-Y83qOxkp4tyShHqbmbaenhA/s1440/IMG_2825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpcbWBHr3tnIPx6IaOBxzwIpHnfkNMnZeYQ31tOV-3gt_BYmGfUbM9MU5hzmx-qbkEPOteEt_FiFBKu4lVQFFf930kvbkF1QTDv9fB53BqfqsqMmHbbm5FnsBDc9t89hJ2SRiv5VnS-ZfuiWO23d2COM8xBF9M0UETe-Y83qOxkp4tyShHqbmbaenhA/s320/IMG_2825.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtz9Ev10X-SNWLbB3uZTqIM_T9eikaTJ8mz6OZvZsgv9Ar4-NnLWzeZ2O0v-aNWKGomi_KjTVq8qufj9e4MXjep_F-grYUBGZkTGjrlE6EGWzTYgZpw9vkFU3Npp8ONNyIZexhYvPJO91k_BmARMU9T6lh6wegCGOzA-UhJArChuYuWEa6nRCwVPYIMQ/s1440/IMG_2828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9mqaCfcT9fyLjsNAcLl0RE6HbrzCWZ3o11KrZLSLt7xU2Kx6Vnm0Gkd9WWiVLx8SUar0Z3O0zjJYkn7l-TqOKNUnRnj68fEF9tpKbYPwq97rOw8WuvX0P-keVITSJYZedGyHA5b9cLT2knR--pbiorW4gYRSC639dY6jbjxOO-5o0lCKmV53ozZqlw/s1034/IMG_2972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1034" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9mqaCfcT9fyLjsNAcLl0RE6HbrzCWZ3o11KrZLSLt7xU2Kx6Vnm0Gkd9WWiVLx8SUar0Z3O0zjJYkn7l-TqOKNUnRnj68fEF9tpKbYPwq97rOw8WuvX0P-keVITSJYZedGyHA5b9cLT2knR--pbiorW4gYRSC639dY6jbjxOO-5o0lCKmV53ozZqlw/s320/IMG_2972.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYYjX6fIOL9pI3pgRhOO7kPY7WkQHa-NOjYMVNvsKrDQcyHfBwB_qavfsaDcmD5OTH7OVApZS6YOyoR7qNcAanSOybPQsZ8EPSMGmbBYx2n4RhgPAD5e8LvvcgjnSi1TgllMKwYGLcBapeyNsa-iZ5aInu_uw_Cu8DmCaJbTe9rBlUrZbVtNJvekjeg/s1440/IMG_2979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYYjX6fIOL9pI3pgRhOO7kPY7WkQHa-NOjYMVNvsKrDQcyHfBwB_qavfsaDcmD5OTH7OVApZS6YOyoR7qNcAanSOybPQsZ8EPSMGmbBYx2n4RhgPAD5e8LvvcgjnSi1TgllMKwYGLcBapeyNsa-iZ5aInu_uw_Cu8DmCaJbTe9rBlUrZbVtNJvekjeg/s320/IMG_2979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(The Bowmore 18 was hands down our favourite. Like chewing on an old leather club chair. This is high praise.)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><br /><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-45071756000172878972022-11-16T16:30:00.000-06:002022-11-16T16:30:35.576-06:00Smoke Gets In Your Mouth<p>The first snow of the season was beginning to fall as we met last week, but up until then we had enjoyed classic November conditions. Something about the dry leaves, bare trees, and iron-coloured skies always makes me think of smoke. Smoky bonfires, smoke from the fireplace, smoke from a cigar (well, at one time, my love for those has dimmed somewhat). With that in mind we decided to explore the concept of smoke in scotch whisky.</p><p>Smoke primarily comes into a whisky from malted grain that is dried over a peat fire, although some can come in from the charred lining of the barrel. What we call a smoky flavour or aroma is due to a complex array of phenolic compounds, from cresol (think creosote) to guaiacol (curiously, also found in the guts of desert locusts). Unless you have access to a gas chromatograph, the amount of each of these phenols can only be guessed at. The industry typically reports parts per million (ppm) of total phenols. This includes phenols that taste feinty and medicinal, in addition to the smoky ones, so it's only an approximation of smokiness. </p><p>Enough organic chemistry. Time to start drinking.</p><p>We selected four bottles that advertised smoke on their packaging.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAI6U0xhs1x92ZLkC6cTpkPDM89qAYFTyxXuz9HFEvpnByv5u6mrF9p6qiTqTQUhqzNQqjxlfW382lYoqQ96lSUP8dH_HO0bDyCAJqX9MfzU6S-ScOSVJwDpirKZ_XYPHRF0rVm3vc8Ai99Qf1m52VIlchscTM2d_zjIw-GhrqUIq_yYIXfPa9jT6eKw/s4032/IMG_8776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAI6U0xhs1x92ZLkC6cTpkPDM89qAYFTyxXuz9HFEvpnByv5u6mrF9p6qiTqTQUhqzNQqjxlfW382lYoqQ96lSUP8dH_HO0bDyCAJqX9MfzU6S-ScOSVJwDpirKZ_XYPHRF0rVm3vc8Ai99Qf1m52VIlchscTM2d_zjIw-GhrqUIq_yYIXfPa9jT6eKw/s320/IMG_8776.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>1. Tomatin Cu Bocan. 15 ppm. The distillery tells us that Cu Bocan is a legendary dog made of smoke. Ok, why not. Tomatin is a highland distillery that does not peat its whisky 51 weeks of the year, but for one week it does. Enter the smoky dog. If we hadn't been told about the smoke, we wouldn't have noticed it. It's a fine whisky. Good even. But not smoky.<p></p><p>2. Highland Park Valfather. 20 ppm. Who doesn't love Highland Park? If you don't, you can stop reading now. You are not welcome here. Everything they do, they do well. (Except possibly the Magnus, but that's another story for another time.) Even though it only has 5 ppm more phenols than the Cu Bocan, it is smokier. Now, that's a very low bar to clear given that the Cu Bocan was not smoky at all, but well done regardless. Smoke promised. Smoke delivered. The smoke was subtle and most noted on the finish. Overall a marvelously well balanced whisky.</p><p>3. Ardbeg An Oa. 50-55 ppm. Now this is what we're talking about. Campfire in a glass. Yet not overwhelmingly smoky. Delicious. Nothing more needs to be said.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HU9qAKnb0C7RwpIL7Z1p8ySOZte3XFpDAcLrV32T1k_s6Tc4dT7SS3qavH1moqsLxNIAjKjf_-RPVupv6ZwIj7n8YcHzEGC754KHA2Ypyl5Rop3KgRefyU__X1Q0KOAAFVu8mK8bBokNGonNbquyidAdn6GHw21x2aQMcPylZmRVa3yTd7Aie5VgEw/s4032/IMG_8767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HU9qAKnb0C7RwpIL7Z1p8ySOZte3XFpDAcLrV32T1k_s6Tc4dT7SS3qavH1moqsLxNIAjKjf_-RPVupv6ZwIj7n8YcHzEGC754KHA2Ypyl5Rop3KgRefyU__X1Q0KOAAFVu8mK8bBokNGonNbquyidAdn6GHw21x2aQMcPylZmRVa3yTd7Aie5VgEw/s320/IMG_8767.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>4. Ardbeg Wee Beastie. 50-55 ppm. We loved the Wee Beastie when we last had it, and we still love it, but right after the An Oa it seems a little dumbed down. Smoky for sure, but rougher around the edges than its stablemate.</p><p>Interestingly, all four whiskies were within ~$10 of each, around $100 here in Manitoba. </p><p>Slainte!</p><p>For the first time in Cabinet blog history, a video! Thank you Cory.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyeSzxjWGmxwM4jZArbLdW70xwr00too6BT92YDN63kt_7iAl43LdunPk7JA3l8C6WVvGkWXyMwfQ9MJd2rgw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-16022245714449340492022-09-24T08:20:00.007-05:002022-09-24T09:06:23.039-05:00A Visit to Balmoral Castle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sticF_rUjx8eOkHpPbKNlvDeXamkGx3oFjZwnFpor47EKzBsZxS-N1Fp2xXwnl4oFdnnNGruqyzvKT3760ya0DiHs4WOeuF7SvWG0_Z4y7SFc4uab2ghTBsj45ntSEbdHTJMoPmkvvt5GNiQpSqpANzPQhcPaUsquu5eBCIYVz6BzIwXFdeE2iHwJg/s1169/DSC05172.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="1169" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sticF_rUjx8eOkHpPbKNlvDeXamkGx3oFjZwnFpor47EKzBsZxS-N1Fp2xXwnl4oFdnnNGruqyzvKT3760ya0DiHs4WOeuF7SvWG0_Z4y7SFc4uab2ghTBsj45ntSEbdHTJMoPmkvvt5GNiQpSqpANzPQhcPaUsquu5eBCIYVz6BzIwXFdeE2iHwJg/s320/DSC05172.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The Cabinet met a week ago to mark a sad occasion, the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. While the group held a range a views regarding the legacy of the monarchy as an institution, we were all agreement that Elizabeth, as an individual, was a remarkable person with many admirable qualities, and, moreover, a constant presence in our lives whose sudden absence feels surreal. </p><p>We were also in agreement that it would have been lovely to have been invited to Balmoral Castle during her reign, perhaps especially so when Philip was still alive. We may be wrong, but he just seemed the sort that one could enjoy a dram or two with and expect to be treated to a biting anecdote or an off-colour joke. It's easy to assume that a visit to Balmoral with Charles, now King, would be less interesting, but if you survive to the end of this longwinded post, I've cut-and-pasted part of an article from Whisky Mag that may just change your mind. I was pleasantly surprised and I expect you will be too.</p><p>But back to Balmoral with Liz and Phil. </p><p>The Queen was a steady tippler, with her favourite being a Dubonnet (a sweet spiced and fortified wine) and gin cocktail. She also enjoyed martinis, champagne - especially at dinner - and the occasional snort of whisky. </p><p>Which brings us to our Cabinet fantasy visit. </p><p>Picture us arrayed around the big stone hearth. The seven of us are squashed on two couches. Elizabeth is in the overstuffed wingback to our left, and Philip is in a dark brown leather club chair to our right. The corgis are snoring by the fire. Perhaps a piper is playing in the distance, but that's probably too much. More likely the soundscape is the aforementioned snoring of corgis, the loud ticking of clocks, and Elizabeth sniping at Philip for not having insisted on the better glassware for our visit. Oh, and it's late evening and it's raining steadily outside. The castle is damp and chilly, but the fire is lovely.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvCkujY3GdpR5gzHFgMOFkZoLrc-YAgUoTn4lIKWbOi4-DR1oB5BcWv06zpxrvELof_33cReNBQP3Utr34-RuXNQXWE95IfjnSl7M_BzcezSeOInU0qA5hqokVl-p6kRXqWvAH7gFIo7039qmbsNC5zxsRWrIcqnUTMcDCPjf6SaBNf6HubdReNyoKw/s1440/DSC05123.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvCkujY3GdpR5gzHFgMOFkZoLrc-YAgUoTn4lIKWbOi4-DR1oB5BcWv06zpxrvELof_33cReNBQP3Utr34-RuXNQXWE95IfjnSl7M_BzcezSeOInU0qA5hqokVl-p6kRXqWvAH7gFIo7039qmbsNC5zxsRWrIcqnUTMcDCPjf6SaBNf6HubdReNyoKw/s320/DSC05123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And so is the whisky. First we are served a Royal Lochnagar 12 year old. Yes, "Royal". It was give the royal warrant by Queen Victoria herself soon after she and Albert settled on Balmoral as their summer home. They had been delighted to discover that not only did they get a castle with an enormous estate, but right next door there was distillery. Right next door! <p></p><p>We all nod and smile and say nice things about the scotch, but in comparing notes later on the drive to our cheap hotel in Braemar, we agree that it was simply fine. Not bad. Not great. Fine. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJI_zrZbvkoIKyKxt0LTqoTXUyHq2Sn9bpux-O7OsgZRocM8XruwqtOnRM_vnoBkxG7xADioRYlHRtMUKJulgF9VYTkHrg4nwvr1cd1SH7Qs-HVAoA5SIE0jcnjqFKSQ0UjK2uN9BA_lcgTplQw4EVuc1x395AaaXwErYWE-oxPf5XB5cq4eEPLLrnA/s1440/DSC05128.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJI_zrZbvkoIKyKxt0LTqoTXUyHq2Sn9bpux-O7OsgZRocM8XruwqtOnRM_vnoBkxG7xADioRYlHRtMUKJulgF9VYTkHrg4nwvr1cd1SH7Qs-HVAoA5SIE0jcnjqFKSQ0UjK2uN9BA_lcgTplQw4EVuc1x395AaaXwErYWE-oxPf5XB5cq4eEPLLrnA/s320/DSC05128.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Then Philip flashes us a crooked grin and directs the servant (kilt, black jacket, silent as a tombstone) to reveal the next bottle, which had been hidden under a silver dome. It's the Famous Grouse. Philip laughs and tells us he knows what we're thinking, but this is in fact, what most guests are served when they come up to hunt, and is, in his words, "a fine shooting whisky". He didn't take us for snobs, he says. Snobbery is obnoxious, he says. Then he cracks up and so does Elizabeth. We thank him for the grouse and praise its humble splendour (although later we agree that it is either dull or vile, depending on your mood) while Philip makes shooting noises with the fireplace poker, pretending to blast a grouse at our feet. The corgis are roused and begin barking. <p></p><p>Elizabeth is irate, "Enough Philip! These gentleman have come a very long way" - consults notes - "from Winn-ee-peg, in anticipation of being served our finest single malt whisky, not to be made sport of by our husband! Bring out the special bottles. You know the ones we mean." Philip looks abashed, bows his head, and makes an obscure hand signal to the servant. Almost instantly two bottles of Bowmore are placed in front of us, the Vault Edition and the 18 Year Old. We beam. We positively beam. Philip chortles. Elizabeth grins. The corgis settle down. This is what we came to Balmoral for. This is why we endured the weather and the security clearances and the long awkward conversation with Andrew who waylaid us in the front hall. We did all this to drink Bowmore with the Windsors. The Vault Edition was splendid and the 18 Year Old was excelsior. (We learned this word from Philip.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQz8E1wpwgnONaosjFSa7mzLQ92hJEL8phhwtREStFKXDt58d8nZ9ku6AUeGQOCmw7cRfnCbYoI8aiQZh6_Si8GaV7El6BejkxLuHppMPrGqDOOUg1zsUjLAI-l0i795GlKntlWVSDIkxO_2wSWpXeylDk4QQeTroClMDboPyE4U2dgJq3-1rQKccbxA/s1211/DSC05134.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1211" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQz8E1wpwgnONaosjFSa7mzLQ92hJEL8phhwtREStFKXDt58d8nZ9ku6AUeGQOCmw7cRfnCbYoI8aiQZh6_Si8GaV7El6BejkxLuHppMPrGqDOOUg1zsUjLAI-l0i795GlKntlWVSDIkxO_2wSWpXeylDk4QQeTroClMDboPyE4U2dgJq3-1rQKccbxA/s320/DSC05134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>By the end of the evening we were all singing Whisky In The Jar - Philip having a gravely baritone remarkably like his namesake, Philip Lynott of Thin Lizzy - and then we wrapped the night up with Auld Lang Syne, all of us swaying arm in arm.</p><p>What a night. </p><p>(Editor's note: the whiskies mentioned are based on research of what is actually served at Balmoral. The rest is plausible conjecture).</p><p>Slainte!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_afuZlRmEmMOOgIfV4eUDRBcxwl4-9Z9oPq8btpuXbNjbEh4YTAtzaEDJEjcUt8Vm7yn6qLE47bqskR71s_4i3yJMGaeyjsNjnuouMjO-eaTbD-USAknAJeMMCwQKOUMylyepsJ7K4KKgEdOOHMM1LQecXSl4-EvdUqcoP3NQN8wP8-wOvQV8-IHug/s1440/DSC05140.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_afuZlRmEmMOOgIfV4eUDRBcxwl4-9Z9oPq8btpuXbNjbEh4YTAtzaEDJEjcUt8Vm7yn6qLE47bqskR71s_4i3yJMGaeyjsNjnuouMjO-eaTbD-USAknAJeMMCwQKOUMylyepsJ7K4KKgEdOOHMM1LQecXSl4-EvdUqcoP3NQN8wP8-wOvQV8-IHug/s320/DSC05140.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>From Whisky Magazine, hope for our new king:</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When it comes to the Prince’s favourite nectar, it’s a
peaty Islay single malt that pours from his hip flask. Whether he is shooting,
hunting or skiing he always carries a flask and finds that the smoky kick of
Laphroaig or Bruichladdich gives him the necessary boost when HRH is battling
through the blizzards in Klosters or riding through the rain with the Beaufort
Hunt. His official visit to Laphroaig in 1994 was well documented at the time
but the column inches were not filled so much with details of his fascination
with the mash tuns as his unfortunate aeroplane crash. Charles overshot the
runway attempting to land His private plane on Islay - this left the plane so
badly damaged that he was unable to fly it back home to Highgrove. As a result,
what was supposed to be a quick, 20-minute flying visit turned into a
two-and-a-half hour extended stay - much to the delight of the distillery
manager Iain Henderson, who recalls his visit fondly. “He arrived with his
private secretary Richard Ayling and detective Colin Tinning. They were a bit
late because of the accident. I took His Royal Highness on a tour of the
distillery and he was very impressed with his knowledge. He asked all the right
questions and seemed to be enjoying himself. My wife Carole prepared lunch. He
wanted a buffet because there wasn’t going to be time for a proper sit down. So
he walked around with a dram in one hand and a plate in the other. He had asked
to meet all the workers and their wives. He seemed genuinely interested in
everyone and everything, and then said to me: ‘I think this is a great place. I
like the fact that you follow the traditional methods. Do not let anyone change
it.’”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-14673861858317213522022-08-10T13:49:00.001-05:002022-08-10T13:49:10.669-05:00Oxygen<p>The Cabinet met again after what was the shortest interval between meetings in our history (have to make up for ground lost during the pandemic, right?) to consider the question of oxygen. Specifically, we wanted to examine the impact of oxygenation on opened bottles of scotch. In the wine world, oxygenation is the subject of much anxiety. There is far less discussion among whisky enthusiasts, but in theory we should be at least a little bit anxious about this too. In the past we've noted that bottles that have been open for a long time seem to lose their bright edges and become a little flatter, duller. It was time to put it to a head-to-head test. New and sealed beside old and open. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlQjHRhBSoeD04cJ73R0y79EYxclffS9t5_x9a0hqX0IwV5A19Mwv_Pw5yIFzUubLsR8HQht-II_oAv2znbcMRYTi26RvhGBHW52a9UBCpJn4XlAZmlk-hQcGuhjjvu6zMg82nKU7CRLHnDQ5pv2EzCx8w6KIlmGPK8cXg7r0FM_RmjP696qOpYZQxA/s1147/image0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1147" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlQjHRhBSoeD04cJ73R0y79EYxclffS9t5_x9a0hqX0IwV5A19Mwv_Pw5yIFzUubLsR8HQht-II_oAv2znbcMRYTi26RvhGBHW52a9UBCpJn4XlAZmlk-hQcGuhjjvu6zMg82nKU7CRLHnDQ5pv2EzCx8w6KIlmGPK8cXg7r0FM_RmjP696qOpYZQxA/s320/image0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The first test set a bottle of Lagavulin 8, that was three-quarters drained five years ago, in contrast with a fresh bottle. Because of the time elapsed, the new one was from a more recent bottling, so some difference was expected regardless, but the question was more whether it was notably superior. And the answer? It was, perhaps, a little superior, but not notably. This was a surprise. Perhaps peated malts such as the Islays hold their flavour profile better in the face of oxygenation? The new was livelier, to be sure, but the old was still recognizably and enjoyably a Lagavulin. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qd7FpJHAdnXlk3dJ7nA_lAZF9EgtP6TCmu9k_4TWYoTtOM0_pKyzc266CUmw9_SLLVvxoHw2E8QLaL9ZVtjmXGmZoGEP-lcNkDKbDeFbTYQFiHAnMDbRv8LgNNiS-MKzmvI5oqXBqdenYw5DzAt5ok7EYtb4CVbZ_c6Xm2C6X9NcIFJT7XJ4QzEQXQ/s1278/DSC04915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1278" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qd7FpJHAdnXlk3dJ7nA_lAZF9EgtP6TCmu9k_4TWYoTtOM0_pKyzc266CUmw9_SLLVvxoHw2E8QLaL9ZVtjmXGmZoGEP-lcNkDKbDeFbTYQFiHAnMDbRv8LgNNiS-MKzmvI5oqXBqdenYw5DzAt5ok7EYtb4CVbZ_c6Xm2C6X9NcIFJT7XJ4QzEQXQ/s320/DSC04915.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Next, we pitted a fresh bottle of Laphroaig Select against one that had been opened nine months prior. About 20% was left. Most whisky drinkers will recognize that nine months is not very long to have an open bottle kicking around, especially if it's one you are wanting to savour, or save for special company, but wine people routinely say that a wine can become "undrinkable" after being open for three days. Not months, not weeks, <i>days. </i>Wine is different. Wine people are different. These two Laphroiags were from the same bottling, so the comparison should be valid. What did we find? The citrus notes present in the fresh bottle were perhaps no longer as obvious, but that was about it. The opened bottle had a very similar profile and was just as enjoyable. One member even remarked that he preferred it. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVxzw2VbKwFn3d4EZ7ixsZL3heeLE1BiGeGZx7vH__5Or1uQtXnTmFMNWcUIl-Lrwe-T0kIeSuPyAKQjJ1aZ1Ygi6cMrysSr0wZN8o8SkSLkuqitkNNNjc4pujLwUjtY9OyqAlfvLTxGhE5eK4lVIJ9As6vja3fYDfjPCxo0NlXW1HNPaTkpDsL9xnw/s1440/DSC04897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVxzw2VbKwFn3d4EZ7ixsZL3heeLE1BiGeGZx7vH__5Or1uQtXnTmFMNWcUIl-Lrwe-T0kIeSuPyAKQjJ1aZ1Ygi6cMrysSr0wZN8o8SkSLkuqitkNNNjc4pujLwUjtY9OyqAlfvLTxGhE5eK4lVIJ9As6vja3fYDfjPCxo0NlXW1HNPaTkpDsL9xnw/s320/DSC04897.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>In summary - oxygenation is real, but for young peated whiskies, it does not appear to be a catastrophe. At some point we will test other types of whisky and see if we can come up some guidelines. But in the meantime, when in doubt, you can't go wrong by just drinking it all now.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDY8QSlanDnLi4UjgwyDDGZcQlRqSaSsWRu_zlLRKux8mf2nxgyT0KzbJNYcj1GzM36A7lEQNREKgQbMU3DX9dSd9iWcx1ZU5Ru7hr_G6z6mcOLLE8So-i0r3r7aY1g1XTzo9p1IITd6VLV_s4kNFfsihaMyBLHWsHHpadWD6U7o1gprQ3DR8FWTW0kA/s1440/DSC04948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDY8QSlanDnLi4UjgwyDDGZcQlRqSaSsWRu_zlLRKux8mf2nxgyT0KzbJNYcj1GzM36A7lEQNREKgQbMU3DX9dSd9iWcx1ZU5Ru7hr_G6z6mcOLLE8So-i0r3r7aY1g1XTzo9p1IITd6VLV_s4kNFfsihaMyBLHWsHHpadWD6U7o1gprQ3DR8FWTW0kA/s320/DSC04948.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip66wVhP3tERFkSZskO-ElzQG1EV-_Y6-S2hwa5KV--cVB2qmvHfGHlfZvfjqgt7Io1QLoJ-Z425m0lmBDtkB3ORdDPefb0ROWr7bZfKEMrt7dUZJIUpMxMYwlOP0VY5KEu3y6bocuuM5Oxy_ix8nOq1iFRfcaGtPbeKK-7rTNMQ2n-r3Gw-92rYEqVQ/s1440/DSC04888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip66wVhP3tERFkSZskO-ElzQG1EV-_Y6-S2hwa5KV--cVB2qmvHfGHlfZvfjqgt7Io1QLoJ-Z425m0lmBDtkB3ORdDPefb0ROWr7bZfKEMrt7dUZJIUpMxMYwlOP0VY5KEu3y6bocuuM5Oxy_ix8nOq1iFRfcaGtPbeKK-7rTNMQ2n-r3Gw-92rYEqVQ/s320/DSC04888.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-305434217996214022022-07-27T19:26:00.001-05:002022-07-27T19:30:54.070-05:00The Tri-Whisky Tournament<p>I am a tardy blogger. And I have no reasonable excuse, only the usual modern guff regarding "busyness". It is now two full weeks since the Cabinet met in its summer outdoor headquarters along the banks of the Assiniboine. We met to participate in the "Tri-Whisky Tournament" (a Harry Potter reference for the attentive and youthful at heart among you). In advance, I poured a bourbon (Basil Hayden's), an Irish whiskey (the Sexton), and a Lowland scotch (Glenkinchie 12) into three vessels marked only with numbers. All three are generally well reviewed by others, and none have especially distinctive flavour profiles. The members' tasks were to score each for overall whisky drinking delight, and to identify which was which.</p><p>To avoid bringing shame upon our hallowed institution, I will limit comment on the latter to congratulating Al. Nothing more need be said. And with respect to the former, the Glenkinchie came out fractionally ahead with an average score of 5.8 out of 10, followed by the Basil Hayden's at 5.6, and trailed by the Sexton at 4.1. If these seem like low scores, keep in mind that 10 is set at The Best Whisky Ever - Endless Orgasm In A Bottle, so the impossibility of that considered, anything over 5 is quite good. And we enjoyed those two very much.</p><p>After two weeks, that's all my memory offers, so I will leave you with Ivan's splendid photos.</p><p>Slainte!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQX7ASocQlMb8Q0Yh6ic0ck92kMrZgN4_tEsmtQdKQmWBi6csKQdr8wQTZhlOgBIqzE13VdzP3lmtmaLcUOPTWDvhF5NrU8wjFLvRCFjPnzhj1fXkc5EagOo9eoBVHBxzduhVEHd2wtkcSJVtBNncAd6rp0LuwfRAybsCfvkSCMaPNiE6yW8MxRmPIog/s718/DSC04824.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="718" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQX7ASocQlMb8Q0Yh6ic0ck92kMrZgN4_tEsmtQdKQmWBi6csKQdr8wQTZhlOgBIqzE13VdzP3lmtmaLcUOPTWDvhF5NrU8wjFLvRCFjPnzhj1fXkc5EagOo9eoBVHBxzduhVEHd2wtkcSJVtBNncAd6rp0LuwfRAybsCfvkSCMaPNiE6yW8MxRmPIog/s320/DSC04824.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxw8p5AF6w9-jV3llK0Jb037izYjLZe1Kh9Nn9noC8oXjAUXXH875EtvZPGonSNfIbzDXonMC_C3KIh4_DlpY03gcpBXgzji8yFqyOm_dNLkBMp1m2XAIwSumSITs1N9RdBZ4y6bgpFaz8LyXjQJh6dQ8MX3mTjvJ6cgHdyGnch7WrmkrvsLp4OLL2A/s1440/DSC04826.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxw8p5AF6w9-jV3llK0Jb037izYjLZe1Kh9Nn9noC8oXjAUXXH875EtvZPGonSNfIbzDXonMC_C3KIh4_DlpY03gcpBXgzji8yFqyOm_dNLkBMp1m2XAIwSumSITs1N9RdBZ4y6bgpFaz8LyXjQJh6dQ8MX3mTjvJ6cgHdyGnch7WrmkrvsLp4OLL2A/s320/DSC04826.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMWQli19Y1PwIXivwWOXfilhbl4V_q7vrivRCoH9suFlzjCjlJhCO9LCDGYvD8ANbUJaKRp-AmMPiP7fjQGWnUbpBq-1AVpv2zfiRyVpuiCbLLODe7uQ53QJwKcla6ETbUzScgNycUM6SIOZLOgt51jW89bSrRNeeSkbNtpNFo2tYfWNI4t1gUbwEXA/s1440/DSC04831.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMWQli19Y1PwIXivwWOXfilhbl4V_q7vrivRCoH9suFlzjCjlJhCO9LCDGYvD8ANbUJaKRp-AmMPiP7fjQGWnUbpBq-1AVpv2zfiRyVpuiCbLLODe7uQ53QJwKcla6ETbUzScgNycUM6SIOZLOgt51jW89bSrRNeeSkbNtpNFo2tYfWNI4t1gUbwEXA/s320/DSC04831.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDslOZdpCxhisuq7l8xrRlGVESUFCkPXC6yW7Kn5mb6njPpLt5E2p_eYa6Vx-vWv469XxoDOJCYB9qUA3-fDhQEhObEs9cmQ2zGhDU1XqUlufDbRIssJEg5UX8UCczyRJ84hdaPnn8dmqZLYchbcVsp_46K-C_znPB83IJ5DtE0Rtc2dxADb4gbCGWQ/s1440/DSC04832.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDslOZdpCxhisuq7l8xrRlGVESUFCkPXC6yW7Kn5mb6njPpLt5E2p_eYa6Vx-vWv469XxoDOJCYB9qUA3-fDhQEhObEs9cmQ2zGhDU1XqUlufDbRIssJEg5UX8UCczyRJ84hdaPnn8dmqZLYchbcVsp_46K-C_znPB83IJ5DtE0Rtc2dxADb4gbCGWQ/s320/DSC04832.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikql-U6dSfHNDSfzAT8TZNlGeQ1gIyxvfaJUTfiqNGpSDnvopqpDovT0Urkm20boyQKzp2dx56E2J_KFgpbgLds8qBhsPwJmXdnPbAEu0aGMKmrDTfJQYmab4Mtcr_FdLL3IlpS2QVrQJgrCnheCqTrtm7Tn6BYVhjl8MJEoihKGab-kBqZsoKJBT9Yw/s1440/DSC04842.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikql-U6dSfHNDSfzAT8TZNlGeQ1gIyxvfaJUTfiqNGpSDnvopqpDovT0Urkm20boyQKzp2dx56E2J_KFgpbgLds8qBhsPwJmXdnPbAEu0aGMKmrDTfJQYmab4Mtcr_FdLL3IlpS2QVrQJgrCnheCqTrtm7Tn6BYVhjl8MJEoihKGab-kBqZsoKJBT9Yw/s320/DSC04842.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PExI48Itv2GhWMdjmpgLeOdh4Otd2_f7JCErudAHgd6MsPYXZNO4AgSUbp04tR81qWA1nc_IVD8aZ3jK7phcbr9FBEqYa4AYDrijwhCgmtXux-9NPgSEwDYlONExtduhQtlTQHnMbp6vZjAi6k66VyIoA3TusU6Y8OjCLcdYsSr0oTOqhpUqHPPKnQ/s1126/DSC04864.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1126" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_PExI48Itv2GhWMdjmpgLeOdh4Otd2_f7JCErudAHgd6MsPYXZNO4AgSUbp04tR81qWA1nc_IVD8aZ3jK7phcbr9FBEqYa4AYDrijwhCgmtXux-9NPgSEwDYlONExtduhQtlTQHnMbp6vZjAi6k66VyIoA3TusU6Y8OjCLcdYsSr0oTOqhpUqHPPKnQ/s320/DSC04864.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /> <p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-43546517795250433142022-05-25T16:57:00.004-05:002022-05-25T16:57:33.603-05:00Heaven & Hell<p> Ok, "hell" is an exaggeration. Consider it click bait. I could have called this post "Contrast" instead, but you have to admit that "Heaven & Hell" has more zip to it. Last week The Cabinet met to compare the two least favoured whiskies (hell) that remain in our stocks with two that we love (heaven). If this seems like a senseless exercise to you, then you may be right, but the objective was to determine just how wide that gap is, and, to be candid, to find a way to use the duds.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKX4_wo66SEfsXXisEPMy8rI_r22P5MlMdVRbPj56hLlvRfG-T8IyOZCxVnBMLQFQ_SDwuR9mYAsIn0g9Vf-Z2nDmgQfW3xz38bSiwLXOIPDKHLH_nkKp0tHiROmXh5S5Mjg7iLIQ614Mj2hq7CO_tDKZn0k02uxhrITENK3ImrobyMK1fPtiBrsWyA/s2016/IMG_0719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKX4_wo66SEfsXXisEPMy8rI_r22P5MlMdVRbPj56hLlvRfG-T8IyOZCxVnBMLQFQ_SDwuR9mYAsIn0g9Vf-Z2nDmgQfW3xz38bSiwLXOIPDKHLH_nkKp0tHiROmXh5S5Mjg7iLIQ614Mj2hq7CO_tDKZn0k02uxhrITENK3ImrobyMK1fPtiBrsWyA/w150-h200/IMG_0719.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>Dud Number One was the Cragganmore, Distiller's Edition. It has a lovely label and comes in a fine box, but to quote Gertrude Stein, "There's no there there." She was referring to Oakland, but the expression resonates here. Yes, it's scotch whisky, but there's no nose, no finish, and little in between - just malt and alcohol. It's not offensive, but that is about it. Possibly a good starter whisky for someone graduating from 'lite' beer.<p></p><p>Dude Number Two, the 12 year old Cardhu was even more dudish. It also lacked nose and finish and character, but was a bit rough as well. Enough said. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6y_1ExnhJhsdN-jNR5ChtV63RWpBICeUVQmwcZzRqqcfHVr7UDaBkQhTU9tMbZGP1DaY73RF7Ie2f-gcJV5DmxEUbSs9eF3s8MHGCJ_fBDeOsz7yUtHf9rikYOS44MHtchdeHbb5Ryy65-YNxjmpoxMD0XwMHm1N9LgPysYoGQzP45ALWmf4JoLSyA/s2016/IMG_0724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6y_1ExnhJhsdN-jNR5ChtV63RWpBICeUVQmwcZzRqqcfHVr7UDaBkQhTU9tMbZGP1DaY73RF7Ie2f-gcJV5DmxEUbSs9eF3s8MHGCJ_fBDeOsz7yUtHf9rikYOS44MHtchdeHbb5Ryy65-YNxjmpoxMD0XwMHm1N9LgPysYoGQzP45ALWmf4JoLSyA/w200-h150/IMG_0724.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE-WZmeINYw7NQu2EcBeyOH60Fo8Ju-f0Q-nhMf3aFiHH8jZHLc_meqT9Ieh0fAVWR_WloKKseRs-UrCn7WKh_TV6QFz4JoeM2y5ha4Z6ZcHJHTIT1QiKcwsRPDsJZZdZ-zz5uJu2FhGL51kuLEO0McQa5-vzcYsGrFh8OsvT_dcRRA9vdhPXYuDv0A/s1407/IMG_0722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1407" data-original-width="1132" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE-WZmeINYw7NQu2EcBeyOH60Fo8Ju-f0Q-nhMf3aFiHH8jZHLc_meqT9Ieh0fAVWR_WloKKseRs-UrCn7WKh_TV6QFz4JoeM2y5ha4Z6ZcHJHTIT1QiKcwsRPDsJZZdZ-zz5uJu2FhGL51kuLEO0McQa5-vzcYsGrFh8OsvT_dcRRA9vdhPXYuDv0A/w161-h200/IMG_0722.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>Now that we've refamiliarized ourselves with what we don't like, let's move on to what we do like. We like the Oban 14 year old. We like it a lot. It's a long standing Cabinet favourite that you can read about in previous posts. And it continues to delight, despite the pours coming from an old bottle. More on that in a moment. <p></p><p>Then the finale, a new bottle of Bowmore 18 year old. This was everything whisky heaven offers - complexity, subtlety, balance, the whole package. Perfect right from the feinty smoky nose through to the leathery citrusy taste, and the full creamy mouthfeel, right to the long long finish. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdcpR_bh99HB-lP0aJoOI7L6BvgPHURClWCkadvMtOodxWNHo-MndzRVeQdS45_Mrcc8m9cFH1unFY4szAX_ii-5Hdh23XwFx-EMrsqNa1WEPq_1nzocpDnYUct1qmEbF9uXv4chTKSv_6YmORgcul4FfB840Wb33QzMlA8IO5enrmA3zDAj__1FHbyA/s2016/IMG_0731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdcpR_bh99HB-lP0aJoOI7L6BvgPHURClWCkadvMtOodxWNHo-MndzRVeQdS45_Mrcc8m9cFH1unFY4szAX_ii-5Hdh23XwFx-EMrsqNa1WEPq_1nzocpDnYUct1qmEbF9uXv4chTKSv_6YmORgcul4FfB840Wb33QzMlA8IO5enrmA3zDAj__1FHbyA/w150-h200/IMG_0731.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />So, in case there was ever any doubt, there is an enormous distance between a good whisky and a bad one. The good ones may cost twice or three times the bad ones, but the improvements in quality and enjoyment are many times that. Cheap whisky is a species of false economy. Rather one glass of Bowmore or Oban than two or three Cardhu or Cragganmore.<p></p><p>A word about oxygenation before we go. The Bowmore was the only fresh bottle and that clearly gave it a leg up. The flavours were all brighter and livelier. Even our beloved Oban was just a bit flatter and duller than we remembered, and it came from an old, long opened, bottle. This is a topic we will return to and explore in more depth in the future.</p><p>Until then, allow me to report what a pleasure it was to gather The Cabinet and sip whiskies, heavenly or hellish, and talk about the news of the world and our lives - profane, profound, and hilarious as always.</p><p>Slainte!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu6MhETLux8Jt4GDG0H0MRzB3UP2YX_bZ4wD0ogL9yrLpFgl-d4EpwOSCcVQa-k1kuDDRNI1igMt9_JUGYSDRNCubo0iom3C7mBDBgjO5dimtpxerFPcaj_Ks3UMrFtCO_TIIu_wtHThVpjxnGfhQOCtotDAQiEWMwKLN0H_71qtl9djnKtAMI9BmXQ/s2016/IMG_0717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu6MhETLux8Jt4GDG0H0MRzB3UP2YX_bZ4wD0ogL9yrLpFgl-d4EpwOSCcVQa-k1kuDDRNI1igMt9_JUGYSDRNCubo0iom3C7mBDBgjO5dimtpxerFPcaj_Ks3UMrFtCO_TIIu_wtHThVpjxnGfhQOCtotDAQiEWMwKLN0H_71qtl9djnKtAMI9BmXQ/s320/IMG_0717.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQFbsSbIPKNi2UuJPKY6xbrJGRuUUD9nJpxIMpiUM0h99KXZGDTOIrNxoHlKZpSSQhpcIoxAiJ_49EYGTzFwcKHeN-24rhamZThKJk1VG6BRwHQBw-qkK3pKdvTOlX79j7mnYCHQ4eOX1wC0M0vi6oRoi1TOGmbPxGYDnzIgDMhzRppOyyxuaBvI82Q/s2016/IMG_0728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQFbsSbIPKNi2UuJPKY6xbrJGRuUUD9nJpxIMpiUM0h99KXZGDTOIrNxoHlKZpSSQhpcIoxAiJ_49EYGTzFwcKHeN-24rhamZThKJk1VG6BRwHQBw-qkK3pKdvTOlX79j7mnYCHQ4eOX1wC0M0vi6oRoi1TOGmbPxGYDnzIgDMhzRppOyyxuaBvI82Q/s320/IMG_0728.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuYH0qu61a9HA_83Fz2-kfqkkHL0vETUSMZFkmvvjXVQcr8qzBtqEJCwTMEQYFip4aDE5M6j6Lq0XGNTtK_bUUy3x_nPnKXPvr2eEYl20bZ7hsMVlqGpLazMwDoQ-tYc_M3SvqgfDNnYlNPfXuzrBPXlrCBxsn0AGjzoVxn1_taHN-kLdUoeE1R4xsA/s2016/IMG_0744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuYH0qu61a9HA_83Fz2-kfqkkHL0vETUSMZFkmvvjXVQcr8qzBtqEJCwTMEQYFip4aDE5M6j6Lq0XGNTtK_bUUy3x_nPnKXPvr2eEYl20bZ7hsMVlqGpLazMwDoQ-tYc_M3SvqgfDNnYlNPfXuzrBPXlrCBxsn0AGjzoVxn1_taHN-kLdUoeE1R4xsA/s320/IMG_0744.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-30212792551370333672022-02-12T13:29:00.000-06:002022-02-12T13:29:13.265-06:00Arbeg<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKwM7n2_ZZPs9KzGdNt9RcdKg0u18CQJLushZ_LyKte6c28QepQ8ZdqXKVD8iIw8liML1-mlryTtQwwbKSGam0Ab1GnYv21A4iDAaRW6Mh1ESNtsk_Y-FmSx0O-pcGYRspvfVOYV77IKcgFPBQCsLKRQLFo8IPwptm3Nxv9cBKYVy-VZ5tJtubpdOiJg=s2331" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1709" data-original-width="2331" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKwM7n2_ZZPs9KzGdNt9RcdKg0u18CQJLushZ_LyKte6c28QepQ8ZdqXKVD8iIw8liML1-mlryTtQwwbKSGam0Ab1GnYv21A4iDAaRW6Mh1ESNtsk_Y-FmSx0O-pcGYRspvfVOYV77IKcgFPBQCsLKRQLFo8IPwptm3Nxv9cBKYVy-VZ5tJtubpdOiJg=s320" width="320" /></a></p><p>The Cabinet met last week for a delayed celebration of Robbie Burns Night, and to explore some new additions to the Ardbeg range. </p><p>In delightful alignment with the Burns theme, the first malt to be poured was the Ardbeg 5 year old "Wee Beastie". For those of you out there who are unfamiliar, the name comes from my favourite Burns poem, <i>To a Mouse</i>, written in 1785 and which recounts the reflections of a farmer on accidentally overturning a mouse's nest. It begins, "Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!". Incidentally, Steinbeck's masterful, if harrowing, novel, <i>Of Mice and Men, </i>takes its title from this line near the end of the poem, "The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley." It's a brilliant reflection of an emerging modern perspective during the Scottish Enlightenment, but it has absolutely nothing to do with whisky whatsoever, other than Ardbeg's borrowing of two words, so I do apologize for that self-indulgent digression. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibWJLeajNzbAol2mIzGvxN7rr0pJMafAjZE5EC89C4k04N091lfVO5oN1qYOJ3dc1trM2n7-0-p8jcgl2X1QUL0XeSiiQcGzrRjhKNdKU_LMM1KDU0VnZCbQ1URxBSoT8EVTYMdltlT3zNlITu_ukD91DV14NuVhnjhtH7QIukfm9-zR-_JvoOzZJs3g=s2140" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1605" data-original-width="2140" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibWJLeajNzbAol2mIzGvxN7rr0pJMafAjZE5EC89C4k04N091lfVO5oN1qYOJ3dc1trM2n7-0-p8jcgl2X1QUL0XeSiiQcGzrRjhKNdKU_LMM1KDU0VnZCbQ1URxBSoT8EVTYMdltlT3zNlITu_ukD91DV14NuVhnjhtH7QIukfm9-zR-_JvoOzZJs3g=s320" width="320" /></a></p><p>Regarding the whisky itself, it's worth noting that it has an age statement. This is increasingly rare and while The Cabinet has made its peace with its absence on many bottles, we do like to see it from time to time. It helps guide the drinker in their expectations. Younger generally portends a lighter colour and a rougher livelier flavour profile. And so it was. The Wee Beastie immediately presented strong feinty notes, as well as smoke, peat, tar, pepper, and a hint of fruity sweetness in behind all that. "Feinty" is incidentally hands down the best word in the whisky description vocabulary. It bedevils many a spellchecker and is of limited use elsewhere in life, but for that gnarly damp wool, leathery, unwashed dog taste, nothing else will do. Divine.</p><p>It is traditional for whisky writers and self-proclaimed connoisseurs to look down their elongated noses at young whiskies. At The Cabinet we have been guilty of that on occasion as well. But we're beginning to come around. The aging process can be compared to sandpapering a sculpture. At five years it is still rough and spiky all over and it's difficult to see what it's supposed to be. But it gets your attention and it's interesting and entertaining. As you continue to sand, the form becomes clear, and the surface becomes smooth. It is beautiful now. We have often said that a whisky is at it's most beautiful between the ages of 16 and 20 (I know you're thinking it, but don't say it). Then as the sanding process goes on, the sculpture becomes almost velvety smooth, but also gradually becomes less interesting, more amorphous, more blob-like.</p><p>It all depends on your mood. We were in the mood for some entertainment and excitement. And honestly, at $85 (Canadian), the Wee Beastie's a screaming deal. Highly recommended.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBA8uPgtltXwb_5yk_bZnHxhY-MbmsUKCGlhTOLtgLEXUG8HtbyRAwwdlIzBi0s9b8kFkpplg6Er5B8_AjEz5_5Y002vJEMlcRTTA-PnOyJO5sCShbjoqu6mPi81paIWTsO2M5wN5cF_RqyVt9I0LX0yW2tuPw-dk4EmZtg6wujAMXZy7YKbsBwlDdqA=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBA8uPgtltXwb_5yk_bZnHxhY-MbmsUKCGlhTOLtgLEXUG8HtbyRAwwdlIzBi0s9b8kFkpplg6Er5B8_AjEz5_5Y002vJEMlcRTTA-PnOyJO5sCShbjoqu6mPi81paIWTsO2M5wN5cF_RqyVt9I0LX0yW2tuPw-dk4EmZtg6wujAMXZy7YKbsBwlDdqA=s320" width="320" /></a>Next up was the An Oa, which did not have an age statement. The distiller promised toffee, anise, treacle, and banana. Of these, only the anise was evident. This was a lovely whisky as well, but it suffered following the Wee Beastie as it was smoother and less aggressive in its Ardbegness, so to speak. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjp8WrazC3cuvV3jrOlXcycnLxPCN0lpcvJa33nAAxdT3jHfBkz1y6JOD_xBUtt3Q_Nid0oJMppQvJg221LneeuMk7U0FvmddBbjTtNEXtCBnK39j5o_PITxIkgdVFgHD87xF0F02AQxbab9MPE2kxIYy-kHLCHvv__74R9M0q6fDuaRzLkqjOJGrb8A=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjp8WrazC3cuvV3jrOlXcycnLxPCN0lpcvJa33nAAxdT3jHfBkz1y6JOD_xBUtt3Q_Nid0oJMppQvJg221LneeuMk7U0FvmddBbjTtNEXtCBnK39j5o_PITxIkgdVFgHD87xF0F02AQxbab9MPE2kxIYy-kHLCHvv__74R9M0q6fDuaRzLkqjOJGrb8A=s320" width="320" /></a>And then finally we pulled out the classic, the Ardbeg 10 year old. Unfortunately this bottle suffered from sitting three quarter empty for a few years, gradually oxidizing and dumbing itself down. Consequently a comparison would be unfair. And if you're reading this, you're probably already familiar with it and not in need of a description.</p><p>Then the members called for one more nip of the Wee Beastie before calling time. This was Wee Beastie's night.</p><p>Slainte!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnpmMh7WToOjlWGD1WIzrfKgVcu8LCMCHd0bIisbTymj8pPIgosXu7mQSwCurmDKbXMiZA_EIujiY9cQyGOn4ypRwY1qqCXZKK7oMX_kzE5ijl_3S6zZG27dUyiUqWGCeddnGNXY5Rnm6LqOhTYweBZOi2oqtMMqYJZMiLow5z14X_oQoSiWu417zutw=s1829" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="1829" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnpmMh7WToOjlWGD1WIzrfKgVcu8LCMCHd0bIisbTymj8pPIgosXu7mQSwCurmDKbXMiZA_EIujiY9cQyGOn4ypRwY1qqCXZKK7oMX_kzE5ijl_3S6zZG27dUyiUqWGCeddnGNXY5Rnm6LqOhTYweBZOi2oqtMMqYJZMiLow5z14X_oQoSiWu417zutw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcYctphm0GjeZ_qWNeFu71uRqkWBjgtg08m6A05SUglURCTbfftNYTEjww3OY57kJHoVTbDeC47elwjOjmzqUfc5tHOzh1BoVsGHkxLN35SiPHgvWn6ebOw33cu3Lpbgn4fPE83j2MN2ykG-yYZuSUmGhQC2gs7NmjhKA_l0CWNPuJIk4Qs-nAtLjCzg=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcYctphm0GjeZ_qWNeFu71uRqkWBjgtg08m6A05SUglURCTbfftNYTEjww3OY57kJHoVTbDeC47elwjOjmzqUfc5tHOzh1BoVsGHkxLN35SiPHgvWn6ebOw33cu3Lpbgn4fPE83j2MN2ykG-yYZuSUmGhQC2gs7NmjhKA_l0CWNPuJIk4Qs-nAtLjCzg=s320" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><br /><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-89362040091672310092021-12-20T10:27:00.002-06:002021-12-20T10:27:18.066-06:00Member's Choice Night, 2021<p> As dictated by Ancient Cabinet Tradition, the last meeting of the year is a "Member's Choice Night" wherein a rotating group of three members make the evening's tasting selections. This year they coordinated their efforts and chose novelty whiskies. Alas, the Ardbeg Supernova was finished, with its risible microgravity effects on oak shards (don't even bother trying to figure out what I'm talking about), but three very worthy candidates were found, plus a bonus one. We greatly enjoyed all three, but disliked the bonus, so in keeping with the Christmas spirit, we allowed ourselves a second bonus, which we loved.</p><p>I'm going to plead seasonal busyness and not comment any further, but simply allow the photographs to speak for themselves. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The options:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIpQtwX268d0ee42HIgr2A-k6uEublxI2EetlMC3JBZ0DDWXKvoSx8GTng6RhaJHbjmTxxnyOHRB_o8U6QXxrXlOHXeuMxuBaC4XzZulOhdJAWqpga7NLq46_tL5eN1zloOIJ9r0MZDlMbdc2V-bnMqQtZETu7Gia1qf17AoQrGBZd6kC01hi5Vb0O3w=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIpQtwX268d0ee42HIgr2A-k6uEublxI2EetlMC3JBZ0DDWXKvoSx8GTng6RhaJHbjmTxxnyOHRB_o8U6QXxrXlOHXeuMxuBaC4XzZulOhdJAWqpga7NLq46_tL5eN1zloOIJ9r0MZDlMbdc2V-bnMqQtZETu7Gia1qf17AoQrGBZd6kC01hi5Vb0O3w=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Opening the secure cabinet:</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBz_sS7CcJgHOeUwysDpyuh1I7XyIvoeNCXQ4eSjNR0Vfjjnwfrd3iVNn_T7LoH8RL4Pe5Bd-jI1Pe1ojPhQ1t4CKmyHOwShySylfDCvKv8jKcxpfsXxDACoj5Q2chVIhFpABhn3rEI9K3OShlX0c3MWfs9cGTMZiLjKdahq7ttcMANh6Ug5_1ooRImg=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBz_sS7CcJgHOeUwysDpyuh1I7XyIvoeNCXQ4eSjNR0Vfjjnwfrd3iVNn_T7LoH8RL4Pe5Bd-jI1Pe1ojPhQ1t4CKmyHOwShySylfDCvKv8jKcxpfsXxDACoj5Q2chVIhFpABhn3rEI9K3OShlX0c3MWfs9cGTMZiLjKdahq7ttcMANh6Ug5_1ooRImg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First member's choice:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoEsyZIHpp9sSYC-Yn6-zGDfAIiSOMV5uRxmM0fNGGOZTGIa2bMLsVotAb4aB8QNBVYH6gZaJtTc8Z9u3DnHycHiqV2Xc0AsufX6nt2YVayTwV6WfAcC89i901vol2UW7jIoZvnZMTpSebPk8saet3c6E0142R9ssdSEOu9qgE6IxjOp84oiHT5m9dWw=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoEsyZIHpp9sSYC-Yn6-zGDfAIiSOMV5uRxmM0fNGGOZTGIa2bMLsVotAb4aB8QNBVYH6gZaJtTc8Z9u3DnHycHiqV2Xc0AsufX6nt2YVayTwV6WfAcC89i901vol2UW7jIoZvnZMTpSebPk8saet3c6E0142R9ssdSEOu9qgE6IxjOp84oiHT5m9dWw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Second member's choice:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibTmwtxsDJRFmS4QecEMUljsJ9U3tLIU-f7jzhqFgJ-57w2P9X2lM2h-gJk7-UihFAFdi8eh7-zxMlVakLek0jvpUJLVbgTbq6NXOS1x7GGhVfI_9_ImiRC8G7LRZsBb23TNHaFyoeEW9rdz1BcDwIcaoOmG_2MwUjP3HwekxzYwVBESlBYcqlKX6_sg=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibTmwtxsDJRFmS4QecEMUljsJ9U3tLIU-f7jzhqFgJ-57w2P9X2lM2h-gJk7-UihFAFdi8eh7-zxMlVakLek0jvpUJLVbgTbq6NXOS1x7GGhVfI_9_ImiRC8G7LRZsBb23TNHaFyoeEW9rdz1BcDwIcaoOmG_2MwUjP3HwekxzYwVBESlBYcqlKX6_sg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Third members choice:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbgzv7_e8IvEOHBuiT021Z32kZJoK-wdufCcRqRG0L62PL3HpKl4TDz5gHFFoiCUkTjuG1r5Itp63XsonUYTF7XB_5eadG5DStr_oYwaZ1EC3OenCbOnChRyKvXkwljNnYDLDQjeY7Joke75TQHJkXOGtfIPLOW-jJeoo4Z9I3dRWGGQ_TmRfCPyVi8A=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbgzv7_e8IvEOHBuiT021Z32kZJoK-wdufCcRqRG0L62PL3HpKl4TDz5gHFFoiCUkTjuG1r5Itp63XsonUYTF7XB_5eadG5DStr_oYwaZ1EC3OenCbOnChRyKvXkwljNnYDLDQjeY7Joke75TQHJkXOGtfIPLOW-jJeoo4Z9I3dRWGGQ_TmRfCPyVi8A=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First bonus:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Not photographed. The inexpressibly bad Forty Creek Confederation Oak.)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Second bonus:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYQKpMQnBKFKUweubkP8wqWiYo5bT0psWvKhshDzplkHJLOLnmF9VkO3BmA-gM1QaGp4iuc68p7KCKc2PcYo-DRo4wyVL9I_MYozLGgysj1lB2gbzDl_sPaNNG-_-waAisffKm8UmHZgvaUzs3sBj3bEr1PSg2owgKrlrXb_q0zlZ_13S-3VIYYF1dgw=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYQKpMQnBKFKUweubkP8wqWiYo5bT0psWvKhshDzplkHJLOLnmF9VkO3BmA-gM1QaGp4iuc68p7KCKc2PcYo-DRo4wyVL9I_MYozLGgysj1lB2gbzDl_sPaNNG-_-waAisffKm8UmHZgvaUzs3sBj3bEr1PSg2owgKrlrXb_q0zlZ_13S-3VIYYF1dgw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The graveyard of cylinders:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibElT0lIofDKHD9JM8uIYb3JbAD3tRszdgm_qjsLopDjoTicCptnog5GNZTYkN3Iw6f2HnepgxBKh_pC-4REvdkabGfxeSz5Sh1HytbzNlUlWaCru_XQTHD1S7wle5kMkAiJfkwHlkkj4PfBggdFmSL8zDdJdPf0Z46sw9JGUlE1kOnb1PJuwUmpJAwA=s3052" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3052" data-original-width="3022" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibElT0lIofDKHD9JM8uIYb3JbAD3tRszdgm_qjsLopDjoTicCptnog5GNZTYkN3Iw6f2HnepgxBKh_pC-4REvdkabGfxeSz5Sh1HytbzNlUlWaCru_XQTHD1S7wle5kMkAiJfkwHlkkj4PfBggdFmSL8zDdJdPf0Z46sw9JGUlE1kOnb1PJuwUmpJAwA=s320" width="317" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Merry Christmas & Slainte!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7CGPHVCkNW-bqAV7Q1paOVHIJRkZ4RVUqKbH4DsQ04WmmMlUBRt3Jq2UUpUW8fp9xAPWDgtJ7RpDc6alDYwy9JPVm6ebWup3On5n_xnFfmIWfk0ozT6rilBmJnB8L2TtZ5nNqOOeVnOSWjtSD2VBDWxv2dUcQM-9C4eoPyRy6Pg1H8yM7bMEZD1a44g=s2464" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7CGPHVCkNW-bqAV7Q1paOVHIJRkZ4RVUqKbH4DsQ04WmmMlUBRt3Jq2UUpUW8fp9xAPWDgtJ7RpDc6alDYwy9JPVm6ebWup3On5n_xnFfmIWfk0ozT6rilBmJnB8L2TtZ5nNqOOeVnOSWjtSD2VBDWxv2dUcQM-9C4eoPyRy6Pg1H8yM7bMEZD1a44g=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-4909692891191247572021-11-15T08:57:00.002-06:002021-11-15T09:36:38.251-06:00Budget<p> The Cabinet met indoors in the hallowed Cabinet Chambers for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. It was wonderful. Outdoor meetings have their own charm and will continue to be in the mix, but it doesn't fully and properly feel like "Cabinet" unless we are ensconced in our natural habitat. We also had full attendance, which does not often happen.</p><p>The theme was "Budget". The Cabinet did not assess dues for 2021 as we weren't sure how many meetings we would be able to have, so buying was still from the remnants of the 2020 budget. With $200 (Canadian) left in the kitty, I was curious whether I would be able to find three bottles that would pass muster and stay within budget. I was also curious, as always, how price and enjoyability correlated. On the first question, the answer was mostly yes (two thirds), and on the second question, the answer was that price and enjoyability are poorly correlated.</p><p>We tasted the Glen Moray Port Cask ($50), Laphroaig Select ($65), and the Tomatin Cu Bocan ($85). These are all NAS whiskies ("non age statement", if you're not up on your acronyms). The Cabinet, although fond of many traditions, has come around to the opinion that age statements are not necessarily the mark of superior quality we once assumed they were. Several excellent whiskies are NAS, while several abhorrent ones have age statements. Age statements do, however, give you some sense as to what to expect because of the influence of the oak over time, but oh well.</p><p>The Glen Moray was a pleasant surprise for the price point. It's a very serviceable Speyside with no unpleasant surprises. You can drink it and say to yourself, 'ah, this is scotch', and that's it. Sometimes that's all you want, and for $50 you could do far worse.</p><p>The Laphroaig was the standout star of the evening. It's everything you expect from a Laphroaig, with the smokiness perhaps being even more pronounced than with some of the other expressions. In fact, I had the faint sensation of ash in my mouth. Marvelous! The Laphroaig Lore is almost three times the price, but is it almost three times more enjoyable? (This is a rhetorical question. How can something be almost three times better than marvelous?)</p><p>That brings us finally to the Tomatin. We had been disappointed by this distillery before, but we also believe in second chances. It's peated and the box promised smoke. Perhaps our palates had been fatigued by the Laphroaig, but we could not detect any smoke or peat character. This might also be because this is a big whisky with a lot going on. Usually we criticize whiskies for being too thin and dull. This is the opposite, but it is a muddled mess of flavours competing with each other. Not a symphony, but more like a loud grade school orchestra that's never practiced together. The most expensive whisky of the night, although at $85 not truly 'expensive', so no great loss either.</p><p>Ivan took many great photos, so I will include them all as I bid you <i>Slainte! </i>until the next time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vct5IZ7vveA/YZJ0gkvIhwI/AAAAAAAF8w8/JjNzYndOhpsfB6sIynY99jEgmOIQ7NylgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01720.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vct5IZ7vveA/YZJ0gkvIhwI/AAAAAAAF8w8/JjNzYndOhpsfB6sIynY99jEgmOIQ7NylgCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01720.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6EiXP_llwXo/YZJ0gGpdPzI/AAAAAAAF8w4/DQD_1ZJis1gF8sIx9C_EaWMoOhgW2-nvwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01715.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6EiXP_llwXo/YZJ0gGpdPzI/AAAAAAAF8w4/DQD_1ZJis1gF8sIx9C_EaWMoOhgW2-nvwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01715.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S15YFkO_fTs/YZJ0fxRXIGI/AAAAAAAF8w0/4JmDQqQyUJs20bHSzjPGVX_OeiKLzCTAACNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01713.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S15YFkO_fTs/YZJ0fxRXIGI/AAAAAAAF8w0/4JmDQqQyUJs20bHSzjPGVX_OeiKLzCTAACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01713.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TWM-B00bHnw/YZJ0f1sAw8I/AAAAAAAF8ww/s81Qh_ingGYhTYmZXA95JlrxUUp1ophtQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01710.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TWM-B00bHnw/YZJ0f1sAw8I/AAAAAAAF8ww/s81Qh_ingGYhTYmZXA95JlrxUUp1ophtQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01710.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tNw18b2cFTM/YZJ0faYponI/AAAAAAAF8ws/-GdTvpU_VOgjZxxpPuRt4ilvJlPf60qiwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01677.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tNw18b2cFTM/YZJ0faYponI/AAAAAAAF8ws/-GdTvpU_VOgjZxxpPuRt4ilvJlPf60qiwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01677.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TiCIm4L7TZk/YZJ0exx4g2I/AAAAAAAF8wo/nX_LdqbEKJIRpCuD37sTvVrXzeIqRjGHACNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01676.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2464" data-original-width="1848" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TiCIm4L7TZk/YZJ0exx4g2I/AAAAAAAF8wo/nX_LdqbEKJIRpCuD37sTvVrXzeIqRjGHACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01676.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PLz6kLq6Io/YZJ0e5PLLqI/AAAAAAAF8wg/_mpbAGuRpR4SddfOIQ9prrjlmYgtuW8agCNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01671.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PLz6kLq6Io/YZJ0e5PLLqI/AAAAAAAF8wg/_mpbAGuRpR4SddfOIQ9prrjlmYgtuW8agCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01671.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1_hujNHWSc/YZJ0e_ZadSI/AAAAAAAF8wk/JEBvn02H8hM2YpZo2GiAPXpetiIHJXu1gCNcBGAsYHQ/s2464/DSC01662.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="2464" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K1_hujNHWSc/YZJ0e_ZadSI/AAAAAAAF8wk/JEBvn02H8hM2YpZo2GiAPXpetiIHJXu1gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSC01662.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-67071695293715591462021-09-30T10:33:00.004-05:002021-09-30T10:33:51.424-05:00B-List<p>The Cabinet met a few weeks ago for another outdoor pandemic meeting, possibly the last before we return to the Cabinet Chambers and our beloved rituals. Not that there is anything wrong with meeting outdoors, but it won't feel like we are fully back on track again until we are in our dark wood paneled subterranean lair. </p><p>But the bonfire on the riverbank was lovely too, and nothing pejorative is meant by "b-list". The Cabinet Stocks are arranged more or less alphabetically, and when I opened the cupboard doors the first whiskies I saw all had names beginning with "b", so "b-list" it was. </p><p>We enjoyed all three, and that's all I'm going to say. I've been away, so the meeting feels like a long time ago. Once normal meetings resume, normal blog posts will follow.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EktTyo4J8EE/YVXYOVCEy5I/AAAAAAAF7bU/5yNTu6eOp1ULb41dIqJnv5f18At9giAzwCNcBGAsYHQ/s4032/20210908_201005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EktTyo4J8EE/YVXYOVCEy5I/AAAAAAAF7bU/5yNTu6eOp1ULb41dIqJnv5f18At9giAzwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210908_201005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wlzcJM2PU8k/YVXYToBGEHI/AAAAAAAF7bY/o9ozEGj5wUw_GeEu0dlqBk_XUqfTZZAcQCNcBGAsYHQ/s4032/20210908_200710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wlzcJM2PU8k/YVXYToBGEHI/AAAAAAAF7bY/o9ozEGj5wUw_GeEu0dlqBk_XUqfTZZAcQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210908_200710.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Slainte!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-27290466695583536022021-07-22T15:36:00.000-05:002021-07-22T15:36:03.846-05:00Reunion<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnjMkg_UyIw/YPnV1JWjh3I/AAAAAAAF4pg/9JtPyv0wNVo6g3qok5LxsMrgbRi_VIOEwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2592/PXL_20210721_005822199.PORTRAIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnjMkg_UyIw/YPnV1JWjh3I/AAAAAAAF4pg/9JtPyv0wNVo6g3qok5LxsMrgbRi_VIOEwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/PXL_20210721_005822199.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The Cabinet's last meeting was ten months ago, in September, and that was one of only three meetings for all of 2020. Then came the long winter of the second wave of covid, followed by the long spring of the third wave. But now it is summer and now we are all fully vaccinated and there is no fourth wave. Not yet.</p><p>So a joyful reunion was held in The Cabinet's summer quarters on the banks of the low and fast Assiniboine River on a misty smoky evening this week. As we have been hiatus and no dues were collected this year, no new purchases had been made. But that was not a problem as our whisky stocks have great depth, and from that great depth I pulled four recent favourites: the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition, the Laphroaig Cairdeas, the Ardbeg Uigeadail, and, most favourite of all, the Highland Park 18.</p><p>We toasted to members absent and members past, and we toasted to Pierre Albany, the Metis farmer who first owned this land in the mid 1800s, and we watched raccoons and pelicans, and we listened to the alternating murmur and howl of the city. </p><p>Proper blog posts with whisky descriptions and rants about various noxious aspects of the industry will resume once we are truly back in our accustomed Cabinet rhythm. But for now it's enough to record that we enjoyed each pour and we enjoyed the night, as we always have and always will.</p><p>Slainte!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5JRjMcLV6NE/YPnVv5H9khI/AAAAAAAF4pc/pJWt4dxTd7A_CjJmVvphsR-Xbi1NnZRhQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1280/20210720_204013%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5JRjMcLV6NE/YPnVv5H9khI/AAAAAAAF4pc/pJWt4dxTd7A_CjJmVvphsR-Xbi1NnZRhQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210720_204013%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-25504871035989071362021-01-07T09:30:00.002-06:002021-01-07T09:30:31.679-06:00Pandemic Whisky Santa<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u6EA7jf_NDQ/X_ckfGbjOtI/AAAAAAAFwEA/eTPLvldhe8ci7s5J1yV1F2RYn2vwFzsTACNcBGAsYHQ/s1754/131978541_224381162544010_3175614702662863943_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1754" data-original-width="1109" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u6EA7jf_NDQ/X_ckfGbjOtI/AAAAAAAFwEA/eTPLvldhe8ci7s5J1yV1F2RYn2vwFzsTACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/131978541_224381162544010_3175614702662863943_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>For what I shall refer to as "obvious reasons", The Cabinet was only able to meet three times last year, once indoors before the unnamed obvious reasons came into being, and twice outdoors afterwards. Manitoba winters are long, dark, and cold, and the obvious reasons have conspired to become even more obvious (or, more accurately, foolish people have made them so), so with The Cabinet Chambers sealed, we will have to wait until spring to meet again. This is a very long time to be without the joy Cabinet brings, so on a foul winter's evening the week before Christmas, with an Arctic wind gathering strength, Pandemic Whisky Santa set off, powered by four tiny cylinders to visit each member's doorstep and distribute a few drams from the stocks. </p><p>Let us all raise a glass to 2021 - may our hopes for the new year be realized, and if not, may our glasses be filled whenever we have need!</p><p>Slainte!</p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-58802065259636839142020-09-14T17:37:00.000-05:002020-09-14T17:37:05.213-05:00Comfort<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFpx__3Yiew/X1_vVCmEGRI/AAAAAAAFf40/0NAhDGpIuTEqK366AOdZiL9yPq3lhL7gwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1210/IMG_7146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MFpx__3Yiew/X1_vVCmEGRI/AAAAAAAFf40/0NAhDGpIuTEqK366AOdZiL9yPq3lhL7gwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_7146.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Cabinet met last week to pursue the subject of scotch whisky as comfort. I assume that there is no need to explain the reason for this. If you are in doubt, you are invited to follow the news closely for a few days. We met outdoors again, this time around a small bonfire on the banks of the Assiniboine River as it is dark by 8:00 already. Loudly argumentative Canada geese provided the soundtrack while a whitetail doe and her three fawns raced back and forth nearby.</span></div><p>Some whiskies are challenging, some are boring, some are unusual, and some are undrinkable, but relevant to the theme, some are comforting. They are comforting simply because there is a high probability that they will be enjoyable in a way that makes you feel at ease. You will not have to decode layers of obscure flavours, nor will you have to debate whether to add water or whether you want another one. You will want another one. That was the hope anyway. </p><p>So with this in mind, we tasted the Oban Little Bay, Scapa Orcadian and Old Pulteney Huddart. The first two were familiar to us and therefore selected as safe bets for the theme, and the last one was new, but from one of our favourite distilleries, so confidence was high that it would be suitable.</p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HyYZI1uLfjM/X1_uUqrNgcI/AAAAAAAFf4Q/nN9sOWDJNesZf-NhJ4GQlkAOoAxdamjZgCNcBGAsYHQ/s480/975529e6-b0a8-4fa6-8c20-9a30aaa49fb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HyYZI1uLfjM/X1_uUqrNgcI/AAAAAAAFf4Q/nN9sOWDJNesZf-NhJ4GQlkAOoAxdamjZgCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/975529e6-b0a8-4fa6-8c20-9a30aaa49fb1.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p>The Oban Little Bay is a delight. An understated but pleasant nose, a full, even chewy, mouthfeel and that lingering finish that makes you feel you really getting your money's worth. We did want another one, which we allowed ourselves after the other two were sampled. The Orcadian was a disappointment however. We did not want another. It had an oddly oily mouthfeel and a mildly discordant flavour profile. Nobody thought it was bad, but it did suffer next to the Little Bay. The consensus was that oxygenation in this old half empty bottle had done it some harm. And then finally we tasted the Huddart, apparently named for the street in Wick where the distillery is located. This was also a delight. Old Pult never disappoints. Here was another full-bodied whisky with depth of flavour and a lovely long finish. We would have had another, but with a second go at the Little Bay already planned, that would have put us over our four dram maximum. We are gentlemen of restraint and refined judgment after all. Next time.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--DzOuA80BZ0/X1_vemwuFbI/AAAAAAAFf44/hjHKvn4fpo80qfXLiWps92kVFeFjwIWjQCNcBGAsYHQ/s480/f5dd4ef8-5760-4395-91fc-edb9acac6e03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--DzOuA80BZ0/X1_vemwuFbI/AAAAAAAFf44/hjHKvn4fpo80qfXLiWps92kVFeFjwIWjQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/f5dd4ef8-5760-4395-91fc-edb9acac6e03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The fire was so wonderful and the vibe so pleasant and comfortable that we can add this to one of the several pandemic silver linings. Even once we are permitted to breathe in each others faces again in the tight quarters of the Cabinet Chambers, some meetings will still be held around the fire, by the river, with the geese and the deer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p-05wo2Mgp8/X1_vD4A9UTI/AAAAAAAFf4o/14qJf4TcrC8QoEloYUEGeTfiTfO6W7eLQCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/d054afeb-e5bb-4560-ac16-f6c3000dc98c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p-05wo2Mgp8/X1_vD4A9UTI/AAAAAAAFf4o/14qJf4TcrC8QoEloYUEGeTfiTfO6W7eLQCNcBGAsYHQ/w256-h192/d054afeb-e5bb-4560-ac16-f6c3000dc98c.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Slainte!</p>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-20612569909282456122020-07-16T10:14:00.001-05:002020-07-16T15:17:42.318-05:00Highland Park<div class="separator"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OjhDtqt0l70/XxBtzFeauvI/AAAAAAAFeBM/gZo5D58xB_ACnssXzkuOX_n5x-5AtUHKgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2592/00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200715213242164_COVER.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OjhDtqt0l70/XxBtzFeauvI/AAAAAAAFeBM/gZo5D58xB_ACnssXzkuOX_n5x-5AtUHKgCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/00100dPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200715213242164_COVER.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>The Cabinet met last night for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic in Canada. We met in the virus-free fresh air along the banks of the Assiniboine River, we sat spaced apart, and we refrained from speaking moistly. The meeting happily coincided with the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Manitoba Act, creating Manitoba as Canada's fifth province. The history of this is far more interesting than you might guess, but is also beyond the scope of a scotch whisky blog. Curious individuals can begin here: <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/manitoba-act">https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/manitoba-act</a><div><br /></div><div>The Manitoba Sesquicentennial does, however, provide the basis for a tasting theme. There is a strong connection between the Red River Colony which became Manitoba and the Orkney islands. The Hudson's Bay Company governed the territory before Canada's purchase of it in 1869, and 80% of its employees were from the Orkney's. Most of these men settled in the Red River Colony after their terms with the Company were completed and many married Cree and Ojibwa women, so they can rightly be counted among the founders of Manitoba. </div><div><br /></div><div>Happily, the Cabinet is very fond of Orkney whiskies, with the Highland Park 18 year old and the Highland Park Dark Origins being particular favourites. To this line-up we added the Magnus and the Valfather, both also from Highland Park. We have Scapa whiskies in our stocks as well, but it made it made sense to compare the Highland Parks side by side.</div><div><br /></div><div>By the end of the evening our affection for the 18 y.o. and the Dark Origins were confirmed. The other two unfortunately fell short of that high mark. The Valfather is a solid whisky though, well enough crafted to be enjoyable, but just not Highland Park's best. The Magnus, on the other hand, was a disappointment. While broadly identifiable as a Highland Park, it is much thinner than any of their other offerings. There's a reason for this - it's 40% abv versus 47% for the Valfather. And therein lies a little sleight of hand. The Magnus sells for $50 here and the Valfather for $89. The extra water alone accounts for $8 of the price difference. Another element is the fact that it just comes as a naked bottle without a cylinder or even a box. Ultimately, as far as cheap whiskies go, it's a reasonable choice, but if you can afford $105 (all figures in Canadian dollars), the Dark Origins is by far the best value for money. If you can find it. It is no longer available in Manitoba. Given the history, there should be special allocations of Orkney scotch for Manitoba drinkers. The Cabinet will consider drafting a letter to the relevant authorities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Slainte!</div><div><br /></div><div><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teE2fYGF3sY/XxBtqKpiZFI/AAAAAAAFeBI/RCHJrtZ-1L8m3L5_r2onUiqAnrlpSRxiwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/WhatsApp%2BImage%2B2020-07-15%2Bat%2B21.41.45.jpeg" /></div><div><br /></div>Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-17240729353103665502020-02-06T17:09:00.000-06:002020-02-06T22:38:03.079-06:00Ten<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Cabinet met two nights ago to mark the tenth anniversary (plus two weeks) of its founding. On January 15, 2010, three friends met in the basement of a creaky old house on the banks of the Assiniboine River. The basement was still a couple years away from its renovation and was filled with bulky plastic children's toys and old student furniture and was decorated, perhaps incongruously, with posters from the National Film Board and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The intent of this meeting was to explore an idea for a new kind of scotch club. The scotch clubs we knew were all one of two types. The first type were the clubs that appeared to be little more than pretentious forums for the airing of ludicrous adjectives. "I say Reginald, do you detect that shimmering note of finely wadded oregano root layered over the ten day old Hunan tangerine peel zest and mingled with the essence of combusted squirrel penis shavings?" The second type were the clubs that were simply thinly disguised booze-ups. "Bro! Gonna slam some scotch tonight! You in?!"<br />
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There had to be a third way. The first type of scotch club was likely to make me vomit quietly into my mouth. The second kind was likely to make me vomit noisily into a wastepaper basket. And thankfully, there was a third way. If you are thinking of starting a scotch club of your own, and you would like to keep vomiting of any kind to a bare minimum, here are the basic principles of that third way:<br />
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1) Meet on weeknights.<br />
I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but weekends create two problems. The first is that people, especially with spouses and families, are generally busier on weekend evenings and spouses are generally less happy to see you disappear on your own to "scotch club". The second is that the temptation would be strong to have just another and then another. Having to work the next morning is a powerful restraint. At least if you're over 30 it is.<br />
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2) Limit the pours to four.<br />
Four is plenty. After that you're tasting less and less anyway. After that driving home becomes more difficult, if not outright dangerous, illegal and stupid. After that it becomes a booze-up. We all have lots of other opportunities for that. Scotch club is not one of them. Four is plenty.<br />
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3) Limit the membership.<br />
It depends on your space, but I have a hard time imagining more than a dozen working very well. Even at ten, conversation tends to splinter into sub-conversations and the atmosphere changes from that of a meeting to that of a drinking party. From an organisational standpoint, collecting dues and scheduling meetings becomes more of a headache as well. A cap of eight works very well for us. This also allows room for guests.<br />
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4) Make your membership diverse.<br />
Too many people from one profession or industry is a bad idea. Different backgrounds, different interests and different opinions all lead to more interesting conversations.<br />
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5) Charge dues annually to fund the buying.<br />
Some clubs have members simply bring the bottles, but this leads to most of the evening's tasting being from one or, at the most, two bottles. We enjoy tasting a range drawn from the stocks we've built up. Having a single buyer also allows for a better overview of the balance in the stocks. Moreover, the pooled fund allows The Cabinet to buy much more expensive bottles than any one member would likely bring on their own. And it prevents anyone from being accused of being cheap by always just bringing discount blends when it's their turn.<br />
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6) Disparage snobbery.<br />
Scotch whisky is a convivial drink meant to be enjoyed rather than described to within an inch of its life. By all means, identify the aromas and flavours, but don't make a cult of it.<br />
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7) Don't meet too often.<br />
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It does. Every two months is perfect. There's such a thing as too much absence as well.<br />
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8) Lock up the stocks.<br />
Keep the stocks in a locked cabinet that is only opened at meetings. This requires no explanation.<br />
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And that is more or less it.<br />
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To mark this occasion we sampled our ten year old scotches, the Scapa 10, the Ledaig 10 and the Arbeg 10. The Scapa was dark cherry coloured 59% cask strength assault on the mouth, but a friendly assault full of dense malt and caramel, balancing the burn to a surprising extent. The Ledaig was much lighter in alcohol, colour, body and mouthfeel, with the principle distinguishing features being smoke and sweetness, but not to excess in either. And the Arbeg needs no description. I can scarcely imagine a reader who cannot immediately bring to mind those delectable old bandages and burnt tires. Mmm.<br />
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We were pleased to be joined by James and Ron as guests and thank the former for his sketch of us and the latter for the marvelous snacks.<br />
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Here's to the next ten years! Slainte!<br />
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Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-35451427387284332582019-12-19T08:14:00.004-06:002019-12-19T08:14:55.936-06:00Member's Choice Night, 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As is The Cabinet's long-standing tradition, the last meeting of the year is given over to the democratic concept of "member's choice", wherein three or four members in rotation each select a bottle to sample, typically an old favourite. This also provides The Cabinet Secretary with a small respite from his duties designing the tasting programs. These are, incidentally, often among the most successful of the meetings, so perhaps there is a lesson there...<br />
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The photo above is of our current stock list. From this, the members selected the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition, the Laphroaig Lore and the Ardbeg Uigeadail, for an all Islay evening. There are, it must be said, far worse ways to spend an evening. Far far worse ways. We also had an excellent guest who chose the Springbank 10, departing from the theme on the strength of our recommendation of it as being perhaps the best value scotch in our collection.<br />
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I will also take a respite from my blog writing duties, citing pre-Christmas demands on my time, and wrap this post up quickly. Suffice it to say that all four whiskies are excellent and that each had it's supporter that night. There was no consensus as to a favourite. Nor should there have been, for taste is the most subjective of our subjective senses.<br />
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In closing, thank you to our members for another brilliant year of The Cabinet! Thank you for your stories, thank you for your snacks and, above all, thank you for your fellowship.<br />
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Slainte!</div>
Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-6205660071272947252019-10-03T10:41:00.000-05:002019-10-03T10:41:17.023-05:00Comfort<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yes, it is safe to keep reading. The Cabinet did not take a hard right turn last time with the bourbons and decide to further devolve to an evening of Southern Comfort. That syrupy horror, that hangover expressway, that Angel of Death for Janis Joplin, will never see the interior of The Cabinet Chambers. No, instead, the post title refers to the concept of comfort food translated into comfort drink. September was apparently the second rainiest in Manitoba history. October has begun wet as well. Not only wet but chilly and grey. This is weather that inspires a craving for starch and slow-cooked meats and heavy rich sauces. What then is the drink equivalent? Scotch, of course (duh), but which scotch? Here things become rather subjective. Some might feel drawn the smokiest and peatiest and some might crave the deep wood character of an aged whisky. I am more practical and straight-forward. To me, "comfort" means guaranteed goodness and pleasure. No risks, no challenges. For The Cabinet then the choice was simple. We have about a dozen solid favourites, so we selected three of these to represent the various preferred styles among those favourites.<br />
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First was the Springbank 10, the only Campbeltown in our collection. Fiery and sharp with a marvelous long finish.<br />
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Then the Oban 14, a coastal Highland malt and another longtime favourite. This was, curiously, a disappointment. At least at first. In the first sampling, we finished the dregs of a bottle first opened three years prior. It was a bit flat and smooth. Too smooth in fact, with much of the complexity we remembered before absent. There was also an odd oily mouthfeel. Hmm. Later we opened a fresh bottle and it was an entirely different whisky - bright and lively, really a delight. Expect an in-depth exploration of the topic of oxygenation next year. This could be alarming as we have dozens of half-full bottles in our stores...<br />
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And third was the brand new (to us) Talisker Distiller's Edition, distilled in 2008, bottled in 2018. This was perfect. Smoky, but not overwhelmingly. Sweet, but in a malty way, not in a nasty way. And a great long finish. It was also the least fiery of the three and was enjoyed straight without any drops of water added.<br />
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All of this was complemented by a sharp cheddar and conversation that ranged from homelessness to Mt Everest to the glory of The Sonics.<br />
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Slainte!</div>
Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8008829891789429039.post-50750855698328833152019-08-08T07:39:00.000-05:002019-08-08T09:47:29.275-05:00Backporch Bourbons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every now and again. for reasons both obscure and irrational, The Cabinet feels compelled to reaffirm its allegiance to scotch whisky. It does so by spending an evening sampling some other sort of whisky, such as Irish or Canadian rye or, as in this case, American bourbon. Now, don't misunderstand me, bourbon is a fine drink, but don't misunderstand The Cabinet either - it is not, in fact, a drinking club. Were it a drinking club, bourbon would be a more welcome regular visitor to our glasses. No, The Cabinet is not a drinking club, but rather it is a contemplation club where the focus of the contemplation is scotch whisky. This works so well because scotch whisky invites contemplation with its complexity and diversity. Bourbon, on the other hand, invites coca-cola or ice or barbecued pork ribs, or preferably all three. It is, as I have already said, a fine drink, but a drink that quickly fades into the background, like an uninteresting party guest who has little to say. To be fair, I should clarify I am talking about the "average bourbon" compared to the "average scotch". The best bourbons apparently exceed the worst scotches. This like a Venn diagram with a region of overlap. Some Cabinet members even reported having personally tasted these superior bourbons, and as their testimony can be taken as reliable, such a beast can longer be considered a unicorn. It is, however, a rare animal, like a white rhino, so the innocent scotch drinker needs to accept a significant degree of risk when pulling a random bourbon bottle off the shelf at the liquor store.<br />
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That rambling preamble out of the way then, I will briefly describe the meeting itself. The Cabinet traditionally holds its August meeting outside of its chambers in a gazebo on the banks of the Assiniboine River. This year we decided on the back porch instead, that being felt to be more in keeping with the bourbon spirit. It was a very fine warm evening for us to sip bourbon and listen to Delta blues and distant sirens. I will simply list the bourbons tasted from most favourite to least:<br />
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Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 year old - Here is a bourbon that competes with the lesser single malt scotches. It actually has balance and it has a lingering finish, which is absent among most other bourbons. Given that it is cheaper than many of the lesser single malt scotches, it might be worth a look.<br />
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Sazerac Rye - This is certainly a bold one, launching an unrestrained rye assault on your palate. If you like that sort of thing, look no further. I do, on occasion, in limited doses. A bit of a one-trick pony though, to use an American metaphor.<br />
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Basil Hayden's Kentucky Bourbon - There are a few things going on here, including some notable rye again, but it is a confused jumble that quickly dissipates and is just as quickly forgotten. Nice looking bottle though.<br />
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Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select - I made Cabinet history by actually dumping this one. After two sips the horror was simply too much for me. Fire and sugar and nothing else. However, it must be said that this bottle had been sitting 80% empty for nine years since the last bourbon night, so it may have oxidized considerably.<br />
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I called The Cabinet a contemplation club, but that is misleading. It implies that we sit around silently, each deep in private thought, only offering carefully considered commentary. It is quite the opposite. The Cabinet is a contemplation and conversation club, and the conversation ranges far from whisky to Morgellons and storm chasing to the Oakland buddha and the advisability of driving a Lambourghini in Winnipeg in the winter.<br />
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Thank you to Trevor and Cory for the splendid snacks, and thank you to all the members for making The Cabinet what it is.<br />
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Philipp Schotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03308988842276050743noreply@blogger.com0