Whisk(e)y & Life

  (photo by author)  We’re nearing the end of October, which means it’s time for the “warmer” whiskies to be moved toward the front of our shelves. Today, I’ll introduce to you the first peated whisky I ever tried. And I’ll be honest with you. When I first took a sip of the Kilchoman Machir Bay, I was just confused… I never knew a beverage could taste like this! I suppose this is the initial effect that Islay Scotch has on people. The Isle of Islay is home to some of the peatiest, smokiest Scotch whiskies you are likely to find in the wild. Peat smoke in whisky is very polarizing. When you taste it for the first time, you either hate it, or you can’t get enough of it. One thing’s for sure, you won’t get far into your Scotch whisky journey before trying an Islay Single Malt. For me, it happened last winter. I had been meaning to dive into smoky whiskies for a while. So, after doing some research on what was available in my market, I came across Kilchoman. Kilchoman is a brand-n...

  (photo by author) Ah, Speyside… When it comes to Scotch whisky, the Speyside region is like Disneyland. Within an area the size of Luxembourg, you will find more than 50 active distilleries, responsible for over half of the whisky produced in Scotland each year! The region is home to renowned names such as The Macallan, The Glenlivet, Aberlour and, of course, the star of this article- Glenfiddich. Even if you’re nowhere near an avid whisky buff, you have undoubtedly seen that famous green bottle with the little golden stag and the number 12 under it. After all, how could you miss the most often sold single malt in the world?! So, today, I present to you the quintessential Speyside “starter” single malt - the original Glenfiddich 12. But first, let’s find out a bit more about the people responsible for this ambery goodness. *** The Glenfiddich Distillery was founded in 1886 by William Grant in the valley (or “glen”) of the river Fiddich, near Dufftown. Legend has it that the first...

  Capturing Memories with Flavour: Ballantine’s Finest Review (photo by author) What I enjoy most in collecting and tasting whisky are the memories you build along the way. There is nothing quite like the visceral memory associated with smell and taste. Even if you haven’t experienced this with whisky, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve surely had a moment where a familiar smell has taken you back to a particular time in your life. You remember who you were with that day, how you were feeling, what the weather was like… You could probably even describe in detail the interior of the room you were in. All that it takes is a whiff of that familiar smell and you immediately get transported through time and space right to that very moment. I recently had an experience like this with the whisky I am going to be sharing with you today. A couple of weeks ago, I took a trip to my home town for a family project that I’d been meaning to do for a while. The plan was to sit down and have a...

  How I Started in Whiskey: Jack Daniel’s Old №7 Review I never was a hard liquor kind of guy in my younger years. I might’ve had the occasional drink but hadn’t found anything I really enjoyed. My go-to at the bar was always a beer. So, how did I end up getting into whiskey and starting this blog? Well, one evening when I was out with friends, I decided to try something different. Maybe it was because I’d seen it in a film and thought it was cool. Maybe it was some other subconscious reason, but when I went to the bar that evening, I ordered a “Jack”, neat. I tasted it then and to my surprise, it wasn’t the burn-fest I was expecting. It was “smooth” (the most overused word to describe whisky, by the way), warm, and sweet. It was actually good! I can’t say it was an instant revelation. That drink didn’t turn me into the whiskey nerd I am today. But from then on Jack Daniel’s Old №7 became my drink of choice. Over the next few years, I started learning a bit more about the different...