Whisky Thoughts in Coronavirus Times

Downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick

Empty are the elm tree lined streets of Fredericton where the only sound is the wind, at times, shrill like a wartime London air raid siren.  Unlit storefronts, empty mud parking lots, deserted Victorian houses converted into government offices, and a silent Saturday morning market is all that remains of this once bustling college town.

These March gusts portended an enemy invasion of my hometown: COVID-19.  This infectious interloper arrived one, otherwise, ordinary day.  Even here in this tiny township, the coronavirus has breached our defences and attacked two people on the university campus, where red brick Georgian architecture took hold and never let go.

I still have a job, still get paid, but I know so many people around me who have no money coming in because their job is gone, as one business after another is shut down by the insidious onslaught of this horribly virulent intruder.  Everyone needs a job and has financial obligations to meet.  I really feel for the unemployed, and if this goes on too long, I may be joining their ranks.  These are times of fear and economic devastation not seen since the Great Depression.  I now understand my great uncle Arthur's distrust of banks, his avoidance of debt of any kind and paying for everything in cash.  The Great Depression scarred him forever.

We all know the real threat of COVID-19 is more than just economic, it threatens our lives.  It's all to easy to slide into a state of fear and paranoia that brings out the worst in all of us like hoarding and snitching on neighbours.  We may lose our jobs, money and endure calamitous financial hardships, but more important is our health and protecting the lives of loved ones, yours and mine. We must be vigilant in maintaining social isolation from others, washing our hands and all the health recommendations from our government's public health branch.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, May 13th, 1940.

But, most of all, we must remember that we will get through this.  There will be better days ahead.  In this time, I often think about Winston Churchill during WWII and his absolute refusal to surrender to his own fears, but insisted that the heinous pestilence Hitler represented would be defeated.  In WWII there were no winners in terms of human suffering.  All civilian populations of Europe suffered horribly, whether they be German, French, British or whoever.  London was bombed with terrible consequences, but so too were the Germans (e.g. Dresden '45), the Japanese (e.g. Hiroshima & Nagasaki, 1945), and everyone else held in the cruel grip of war.  But, all those nations rebuilt and while many died, many survived and lived to see another day.

On May 13th, 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the wartime House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom:

"We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be."

You and I also have to wage war against COVID-19 by sea, land and air.  Do your best and remember  Churchill persevered because he would never surrender.  You and I must do the same!



Take care,



Jason

Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky - You can never go back

When I first started drinking scotch it was blended scotch whisky that was my drink.  The first introduction was Johnnie Walker Black Label (a great blended scotch that I still enjoy!).  While enjoying that I also started sipping The Famous Grouse.  I used to have big ice cubes in a tumbler and pour in enough Famous Grouse to cover about 50% of the height of the ice cubes.  Let it melt for a minute or two and then sip. 

I drank Famous Grouse, Johnnie Walker Black and Teacher's Highland Cream fairly steady for about a year.  Every once in a while I would try a single malt and simply fail to understand what was the big deal.  Single malts seemed to be rougher, have more bite and burn whereas the aforementioned blends were always smooth, gentle and pleasingly sweet.

Times . . they are a changin'. 

Eventually, after continuing to try many single malts, there was one that intrigued me, I think it was Dalwhinnie at the time.  Thereafter, my blended scotch whiskies faded off into the distance and were replaced by bottles of single malts on the horizon.  Nevertheless, because of this history, I always have a soft spot for blends.

I pride myself on not being a scotch snob.  If you and I are sitting across from eachother in a bar and you declare that in your heart of hearts a preference for blended scotch whisky, I will not think less of you.  That is your inalienable right as a scotch lover.  The fact that you like blended scotch makes us brothers merely by other mothers.  Too many scotch snobs and well meaning enthusiasts dismiss blended scotch as for lesser beings and alley way lushes.  Not I!

So, I turn to this bottle of Famous Grouse in front of me and see if it still holds the fascination it once did for me all those years ago.

Nose (undiluted)

Malty and sherried.  Peppery too.  Not bad.  Nothing to write home to Mom about though.

Palate (undiluted)

Super smooth like 1970's soul singer Lou Rawls crooning "Lady Love."  Sugary, sweet sherry moving to a maltiness that frankly is on the cheap.  Reminiscent of Whyte & Mackay (not a good thing). 

Finish (undiluted)

Super short flavors of cloves and pepper.

Tasted neat, it's not sparking much passion.  Let's try it the way I did years ago.  That is with ice.

Nose (with ice)

More muted.  Nevertheless, some malt notes do drift out of the glass.  

Palate (with ice)

I gotta say I prefer this blend with ice.  Once it has melted a bit, the cheap sherry flavor is weakened while the sweet maltiness remains.  Refreshing and simple.  

Finish (with ice)

Pepper, cloves and carmelized onions. 

General Impressions

Well, I am disappointed to say that all the fond memories have not been revisited by this tasting.  Kinda reminds me of the saying that "you can never go back."  You can never go back to that great first love, the best time of your life, a favorite vacation, a hole-in-one or whatever it might be. 

I have moved on it seems.  My tastes have evolved.  I no longer love her, the Famous Grouse.  The embers have gone cold and I can't imagine how I liked her in the first place.  I'm a little saddened.

I used to like Ballantines Finest a lot, but now cannot tolerate it at all.  I think as a novice scotch whisky drinker I was pleased by smoothness, sweetness and a cheap maltiness.  If I continued to drink just blended scotch whisky maybe the affair would have continued.  Probably so.  I kinda admire that guy who can stick with one blend all his life, whether it be Teacher's or Bells.  I'm just not that guy.

Drinking Famous Grouse, Ballantines Finest and other bottom shelf blends is kinda like memories of highschool.  The memories are fond, but if you could go back you wouldn't and if you did it would not be the same.

Cheers!

Jason Debly

P.S.  Not all Famous Grouse offerings are as weak as the standard bottling.  Click here for my comments on the very impressive Famous Grouse 18 years, a blend of only single malts.

Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2012. All rights reserved.

Review: Teacher's Highland Cream

I had heard about Teacher's Highland Cream as being an excellent blended scotch for years. Websites devoted to scotch had many threads with extensive discussions of this blended scotch. Personally, I was always skeptical mainly for two reasons. First, the price. It's not expensive at all. Secondly, its a blend. I would think to myself, "how can a blend be very good?"  So, I bought a bottle. And what a bottle it was.

Serving
Single large ice cube (also very enjoyable with a drop or two of distilled water).

Nose
Scent of dulse, seaweed and salt air wafting up. Impressive!  I visualize standing at a cliff face on a windy, overcast day in Scotland.

Palate
The taste is sea salt, smoke, very faint peat and iodine with a bacon/malt backbone.  This is a heavy scotch in the mouth, and many enjoy rolling it around a bit before swallowing.  Anise, black licorice and lots of malt round this blend out.

Finish
Lingering sea salt, dulse, malt and a faint echo of peat.  Teachers is a complex dram that offers a lot of different flavours to consider.  It will really grow on you as you become more acquainted with it.  If you are new to scotch drinking and enjoy a dram and wanting to avoid peat monsters, well try drinking this with an ice cube or two.  As the ice melts, it mellows out the drink and by the time you finish you will be very satisfied.  Teachers has been around for over 100 yrs and is in the top five best selling blends in the world. I can see why.

Teachers can be distinguished from other scotches because of its unusually high single malt content that runs a minimum of 45% of the content. Scotch blends are a combination of grain and malt whisky.  The latter contributes flavour while the former softens a flavour that otherwise would be very rough and biting on the palate. Accordingly, more flavour if you have more malt content.

Teachers has a rich flavour and grain whiskeys that soften it sufficiently such that it doesnt have the cheap bite that some whiskeys often have.

Great Price Point!
Another great point to consider is price.  I have drank many more expensive blends and single malts that cannot hold a candle to a tumbler of Teachers. So, don't be put off by the low price.  Part of the reason the price is reasonable is because the whisky's core is comprised of two single malts (Ardmore and Glendronach) that by themselves are not particularly popular on their own, (hence most production is for this blend) but when blended in this bottling produce a very popular flavour profile at an affordable price point.

Sometimes, a blend is comprised of expensive single malts and that causes the price of the malt naturally to be expensive. Johnnie Walker Black Label is an example, as one of its key ingredients is Talisker that enjoys high prices and wide spread popularity as a single malt. (If you like some peat and plenty of smoke balanced out with some caramel notes then try Black Label).

Looking for a gift for your father, brother, son, this is the ticket! They wont be disappointed.

Cheers!


Jason Debly

Note:  Since writing this review, the corporate ownership of Teacher's has changed, which has resulted in changes to one of the core single malts used.  I wrote about it here.  Accordingly, the review before you provides tasting notes for Teachers in 2009-2010.  If you can get an old bottle grab it!

© Jason Debly, 2009 - 2014. All rights reserved.