Indholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2018 i Whisky Advocate

Matthew McConaughey remembers the first time he enjoyed bourbon, conjuring up the details as though it happened yesterday. “I was duck hunting with my dad in Arkansas and I was in high school,” he says. “It was about eleven degrees and there was a hole in my wader, and I was wet and cold. Real cold. But we’d only been out there an hour or so and we weren’t going back soon. So my dad pulled out a flask with some bourbon in it and said, ‘Sip on this. It’ll warm you up.’ And it saved the day for me.” These days, McConaughey prefers warmer environs, with the only chill provided by an occasional single ice cube (and only if the weather is really warm). “Really, I take it neat.”…

Depending on who you ask, crisp air and leaves turning to shades of yellow, orange, and red mean either apple season or whisky season. But why not both? “Apples are a lovely natural pairing for whisky,” says New York City bartender Jonah Dill-D’Ascoli. “The natural honey, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and other sweeter barrel notes play beautifully with the flavor of apples—grandma’s apple pie or state fair caramel apples, anyone?” Whether you prefer scotch, bourbon, or even Japanese whisky, the sweet-tart flavors of autumn apples make a perfect companion. Autumn’s Fire Created by New York City bartender Jonah Dill-D’Ascoli “The apple and the scotch are front and center but delicate in this light yet bold cocktail,” says Dill-D’Ascoli, who describes the drink as a mix of smoke, heat, spice, floral acidity, soft…

Casamigos 40%, $60 With pronounced fruit (peach, grape, and banana), toffee, and slight cocoa, this is George Clooney and Rande Gerber’s entry in the mezcal category. Creyente 40%, $60 Barbecue smoke mixes with orchard fruits, pepper, and anise. Blended from two regions, its name means “believer.” Del Maguey Chichicapa 46%, $70 Ron Cooper, an early mezcal promoter, imports single-village examples. This one, made at an altitude of 7,000 feet, tastes of mint, citrus, salt, and oak. El Buho 43%, $38 A single-estate mezcal, this complex joven tastes of savory caramel and vanilla, as well as cocoa, lemon, and hot spice. Ilegal Añejo 40%, $110 Another early champion of mezcal, John Rexer also believes in high-altitude production. His complex aged mezcal smacks of toast, chocolate, sweet fruits, and leather. Kimo Sabe…

These companies deliver peat that will supply the smoldering scent of an Islay single malt, like Bowmore 12, or Connemara, a peated Irish single malt, as it burns. Choose air-dried, hand-cut peat for a traditional rustic look, or equally aromatic peat briquettes, which are artificially dried and compressed to offer less smoke and a longer burn time of up to 12 hours. Caledonia’s Best Sold in bags of small coal-like hunks ($15), you only need a pinch of these pieces of Scottish earth in your fireplace to fill an entire room with peaty aromas. caledoniasbest.com Bord na Móna A community-minded and sustainability-focused energy company known for power generation, waste recovery, and a range of fuel and horticultural products, including peat briquettes (starting at $15, amazon.com). bordnamona.ie Glynn Brothers Located just…

Deni Handheld Food Smoker $55 Comes with 2-ounce bags of hickory and maple chips. qvc.com Super-Aladin Handheld Smoker $225 This so-called “Ferrari of handheld smokers” is heavy duty and fit for commercial use. Runs on four AA batteries. koerner-co.com Breville/PolyScience The Smoking Gun Smoke Infuser $100 An easy handheld that runs on four AA batteries. brevilleusa.com Gourmia Portable Infusion Smoker $60 This compact infusion smoker uses cool smoke to add flavor to food and drink. You can use it with or without a box or smoke chamber. gourmia.com Crafthouse by Fortessa Cocktail Smoking Box $250 Joly helped design this model, which has two doors and includes a PolyScience smoking gun, as well as hickory and applewood chips. williams-sonoma.com…

The inaugural whisky releases from new distilleries make tantalizing prospects for collectors as they represent a significant milestone. To the distillery owner, it is proof that all the years traveling along the bumpy road have paid off. For whisky drinkers, it is the first opportunity to judge the quality of the whisky. In addition, there are many instances of inaugural releases performing well as investments. Take, for example, England’s The Lakes Distillery’s first single malt whisky release, named Lakes Genesis, it sold for a median hammer price of $1,028 with bottle #001 selling for close to $10,500. But are inaugural releases worth rushing in and purchasing at any price? All the hype generates a heightened sense of anticipation. And, flippers often target these bottles to capitalize on the surge in…

Earlier this year, I found myself drinking beer in Barcelona. More to the point, I was in the Catalonian capital and surrounding region for the express purpose of drinking ales, lagers, and a few mixed-fermentation beers produced in an area recognized far more for its vivacious nightlife, extraordinary cuisine, and the sparkling wine known as cava. If this strikes you as a bit strange, well, it should. Ask most people about Spanish beer and they might come up with a name from the dark recesses of their memory, like the Catalan heavyweight Estrella Damm or more international Mahou San Miguel or maybe, just maybe, Cruzcampo. Ask about beer styles and you’ll likely hear quite a bit about pale lagers, lots and lots of pale lagers. A decade or so ago,…

Peat may be the most popular combustible used to flavor whisky, but these distillers are adding smoky notes derived from other fuels and flavoring sources. SEAWEED Fifty Stone Single Malt 45%, $45 Maine Craft Distilling produces this single malt with barley that is floor malted by burning both local Maine peat and seaweed gathered by hand and dried in the distillery. SHEEP DUNG Flóki Young Malt Sheep Dung Smoked Reserve 47%, €65 Iceland is home to around 800,000 sheep, about 2.5 times the number of human residents. Eimverk Distillery, located in Reykjavík, smoked the barley for this 3 year old whisky using an abundant and renewable resource that’s also burned for heat. MANUKA BUSH Thomson Manuka Smoke Single Malt 46%, NZ$98 After initial experiments smoking malt in a Weber grill…

Until the mid-20th century, it was taken for granted that all scotch included some peat. After all, peat was the country’s main fuel source for thousands of years, and the flavor became entwined and admired in many styles of Scotch whisky. Perhaps surprisingly, Scotland has only 0.3% of all the peat on earth—and yet the flavor and success of peated Scotch whisky has spawned admirers around the world who are eager to give their own whiskies the pungent, powerful character of Scottish peat. These distillers introduce peat in a variety of ways: by blending peated spirit from Scotland with their own whisky, distilling with imported barley that was malted and peated in Scotland, or finishing local whisky in casks that previously held peated scotch. A few, like Paul John Distillery…

You might notice some changes in the look of our Buying Guide, starting with the page of Whisky Advocate Selections. We previously highlighted just one “Editor’s Choice” and one “Value Pick” in each issue. We’re upping our number of highlighted whiskies and redefining the parameters to consider price and availability, to better serve readers. Rare and expensive whiskies may appear as “Collectibles,” whiskies likely to gain in value. These selections continue to be editorial decisions, and there is no financial transaction with the producers whose whiskies we choose to highlight and picture. In addition, our reviewers are tackling popular whiskies that may have missed previous review. These include standards like Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig 10, both of which received a laudable 92 points (reinforcing what many already knew.) And, we take…

This well-loved blended whisky has been around for over 120 years. It has been owned by the Edrington Group for nearly 20 years. Edrington also owns Macallan, Highland Park, and Glenturret Distilleries, which contribute to the taste of Famous Grouse. Glenturret, in particular, has been at the heart of the blend, but in June 2018, the Edrington Group announced that the Glenturret Distillery was up for sale. 89 The Famous Grouse, 40%, $30 Matthew Gloag introduced this classic blend in 1896, and now Kirsteen Campbell, master blender of Grouse since 2016, is taking it to new heights. Rich toffee, boundless baked orange notes, wood spices, dried banana chips, and some sweet floral top notes. Very smooth drinking, with citrus flavors, toffee and caramel, vanilla, ground ginger, star anise, and lemon…

“YAY! I love that you have a young woman on the cover of your latest magazine.”—Maureen Smullen COVER CONTROVERSY Dear Whisky Advocate, Photoshopping a glass of whiskey into the cover really degrades the sincerity of your commitment to whiskey drinkers. Plus, if you are going to do it, make sure the glass is not 180 [degrees in] the wrong direction so the light refraction is on the wrong side of a sunset photo. Take a little more pride in your work, if you are going to represent a whiskey drinker, please. Paul Welch Dear Whisky Advocate, Your choice of a cover photo for the Summer 2018 issue was tone-deaf at best, and frankly at odds with some of the thoughtful commentary in that very issue. In his welcome “Plea for…

It's simple physics. Moist air meets a cold glass, presumably chilled by an icy Manhattan or whisky on the rocks, and condensation forms. Eventually, gravity goes to work, and there's a puddle on your prized Stickley. Fortunately, there is a low-tech solution in the humble table coaster. Given their important job, why should glasses get all the love? These coasters are a functional, and beautiful, stage for any whisky.…

The combination of fruits in this recipe is historically accurate, based on extensive research. The Claey’s candy is the “rock” and provides a less bitter horehound flavor than the dried herb itself. 750 ml 80-proof rye whiskey4-5 Claey’s horehound drops2-3 Tbsp. honey2 orange quarters, peel on2 lemon quarters, peel on⅛ peeled pineapple, chunked6 cloves2 cinnamon sticks Add all ingredients to large jar and let sit, unrefrigerated. After about a week, based on personal preference, remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks. Adjust sweetness, if desired, by adding additional honey or simple syrup. Fruit can remain until you are ready to decant the concoction. Sediment forms from the fruits/spices and needs to be removed in order for the rock and rye to remain clear and visually appealing. You will want to decant…

Just like their distilled cousins, smoked beers can be bold, complex, and, at times, aggressive. “It’s like a slap of flavor in the face,” says Goose Island Brewing head of research and development Mike Siegel. “They can pretty much overpower everything else.” Fans of campfires and leaf piles, however, light up at the possibilities of smoked brews. Thanks to a diverse foundation of flavors and various methods of imparting smoke character—smoked malts, scotch barrels, spices, and so on—there’s a beer to please every type of smoke fan. Your guide to entering the smoke show starts here. IF YOU LOVE PEATED SCOTCH WHISKY… Pour some Goose Island Islay Scotch Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout 13.4%, $14-$18/four-pack To make this heavy hitter, Goose Island takes their potent Bourbon County Stout and ages it in casks…

Cedar Joly has used cedar smoke to enhance a variety of scotch cocktails, especially when using peated whisky; it lends aromas reminiscent of a cigar box. Try smoking a Rob Roy or a Penicillin with cedar. Infused Wood For even more flavor, soak wood in aromatic oils or bourbon. Used bourbon barrels make an ideal wood for use with your favorite smoker. Liquids To smoke liquid ingredients, like simple syrup for a Mint Julep or tomato juice for a Bloody Mary, just pour your liquid into a small mason jar with a lid until it’s two-thirds full, add a very small amount of smoke, seal it, then shake it up. After the smoke disappears, open it and taste. Add more smoke as needed. Store the liquid as you would normally…

Browse the American whiskey section in almost any liquor store and scores of brands are on display. New ones appear weekly: new expressions, limited editions, and commemorative bottlings. It can be difficult to navigate, especially for someone just discovering bourbon. However, American whiskey production is more concentrated than it appears. Virtually all of it is distilled by 18 companies at 25 distilleries. About 70 percent is made by just four companies: Brown-Forman, Beam Suntory, Sazerac, and Heaven Hill. Although they sell many different bourbons, these giants make only a few recipes. I deal with it by building a mental road map of the bourbon landscape. It starts with who makes what. Then I pick favorites from each producer. From my road map, I know Beam Suntory makes three bourbon recipes:…

The Peat Cutter JOB DESCRIPTION This seasonal position on a remote Hebridean island requires strength and stamina, coupled with a tolerance for dirty, repetitive tasks. Cutting turf from the earth into bricks for drying is accomplished outdoors regardless of weather conditions, often ranging from wet and windy to blazing hot. Competence with highly specialized tools is required. Working conditions may include mud, snakes, and biting insects. As soon as I was strong enough, I was helping my Dad to cut peat, and I hated it!” recalls John Campbell, the distillery manager at Laphroaig. Like generations of families on Islay, the Campbells cut peat as fuel to heat their home. “Many a great summer’s night was ruined by having to go to peats; there were snakes, there were midges, it was…

When man created fire, he didn’t realize the passions he’d inflamed. A few wisps of smoke from a bonfire or whiffs of barbecue on the grill is all it takes to draw a crowd to your backyard. It seems Homo sapiens are hardwired to love the smell of smoke—and perhaps we are. Since cooking with fire made food safer to eat, helped our bodies absorb more nutrients, and preserved food, “The use of fire to cook might have allowed our early ancestors to diverge from other primates and develop into modern humans, as the higher nutrient density allowed the development of our large brains,” explains Helene Hopfer, Ph.D., assistant professor of food science at Pennsylvania State University. Unlike other animals, humans often require cooked meat. And until relatively recently in…

Best Values Whiskies with solid scores, modest prices, and wide availability. IRISH SINGLE MALT 90 The Tyrconnell Original, 43%, $45 Repackaged at a higher strength, the nose is grassy, with lemon zest, hints of apple and pear, vanilla seeds, almonds, and fresh florals. Light honey and summer fruits, barley notes, and vanilla, becoming juicier over time with base notes of whole spice, before serving up a lemon-and-honey lozenge finish. Very assured, this double-distilled single malt is a must for your Irish whiskey shelf.—JM SPEYSIDE SINGLE MALT 87 Glenfiddich 14 year old Bourbon Barrel Reserve, 43%, $54 After 14 years in bourbon wood, this was finished in heavily-charred new American oak barrels, sourced from Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky. Malt, vanilla, and fudge on the nose, with ripe apples and lively…

Silvano Samaroli (1939–2017) was a legend in whisky circles, known for his fabled independently bottled high-strength whiskies, pioneering non-age statement whisky, and for generously providing the detailed information that whisky devotees crave on his distinctively designed labels. The quality of his earlier single malt whisky bottlings continues to command high prices from collectors. Samaroli produces a number of high quality, smoky blended malts that are imported to the U.S. in small quantities. 94 Samaroli Over an Islay Rainbow 2017 Edition, 45%, $471 See Collectibles, page 119. 92 Samaroli Ferry to Islay 2017 Edition, 55.1%, $610 Seashells, brine, warm toffee, peat smoke, chocolate bars, sun-crisped seaweed, and dry aromatic spices, with augmented smoky notes if you leave your glass for ten minutes. Sweet honey, spun sugar, lemon, Edinburgh rock, and shimmering…

Islay whisky, draped in the aromas of burning peat, may be the world’s best known smoky spirit, but smoke in a bottle is also available from a much different terrain and climate on this side of the Atlantic. The mezcals distilled in the mountains of Mexico deliver smoke that comes not from peat, but from wood. Mezcal has long lived in the shadow of tequila, another agave-based spirit, and was once even disparaged as an inferior substitute. But the United States is awakening to what the people of Oaxaca and a number of other Mexican states have long known: mezcal is largely a farm-to-bottle spirit offering complex charms and artisanal aesthetics. In contrast to corporate tequila, mezcal is a cottage industry in which folk distillers use antique equipment to craft…

Can’t get enough smoke in your whisky? Bartender Charles Joly, the 2014 Global Bartending Champion and co-founder of Crafthouse Cocktails, likes to flavor spirits and cocktails using cold-smoke devices that add tantalizing barbecue and smokehouse flavors, but without the meat-searing heat. “Aroma is where the party happens,” he says. “The more senses you can engage, the more you engage the drinker, the more memorable experience they’ll have.” Now it’s easy for at-home bartenders to do likewise, with the arrival of handheld and bartop smokers that turn any dram into a tasty and dramatic event. The key is to add smoke while maintaining balance. “You don’t want to feel like you have your face in a campfire the whole time you’re drinking,” Joly says. “If I was going to smoke an…

To quench the public thirst for visiting the places where whiskies are made, distilleries have transformed from merely production facilities to all-out tourist destinations. Many distilling regions have created dedicated whisky trails to help guide travelers along the way. Check out a few of our favorites and plan your next trip. UNITED STATES Kentucky Bourbon Trail kybourbontrail.com Many new places to eat, drink, and stay have blossomed along this trail since its debut in 1999. For those who want to travel by bicycle, the Bluegrass Cycling Club has mapped the safest routes. BONUS TRAILS The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour features thirteen small distilleries including Willett and Kentucky Peerless, while the Urban Bourbon Trail covers bourbon bars, restaurants, and history in downtown Louisville. RECOMMENDED TOURING TIME Four days. DISTILLERIES Angel’s…

When it comes to tasting whisky, context counts. Following an enchanting distillery tour, King James IV eagerly commissioned Friar John Cor to produce for him aqua vitae from malt, the first documented reference to making Scotch whisky. We bring you the rarely heard tale of what happened next. “Your Majesty, your whisky has arrived,” whispered the master of the household discreetly into the ear of the monarch, not wishing to disturb this evening’s court entertainment. The King of Scots permitted a smile to cross his lips, and with a cursory flick of the hand dismissed the exasperating jester who had been testing his resolve, and began to anticipate the reverie that lay ahead now that his liquor was here. With satisfaction, King James IV recalled his decree in the year…

1 PEAT DIGGING Coarse, fibrous peat is dug from the earth and stacked to dry over several months. 2 GERMINATION Barley is steeped in water and spread over the malting floor to germinate. 3 TURNING Germinating grains, or green malt, are turned by machine or hand every four hours for five to seven days. 4 SMOKING Smoke flavors created by burning low-heat peat fires adhere to the surface of the malt. 5 DRYING With desired peat flavors attained, the malt is dried, without additional peat, to stop germination. 6 MILLING AND MASHING Malt is milled and mixed with warm water to extract fermentable sugars. 7 FERMENTATION Yeast eats the sugar, producing alcohol and CO2. 8 DISTILLATION A copper still concentrates the alcohol. The selected portion of the spirit includes smoke…

Given no other knowledge of a scotch distillery, most whisky lovers would choose to know just one thing: is their whisky smoky or not? The answer isn’t so simple, as more single malt producers play both sides of the fence. Exceptions to the rule are exciting for both fans of a distillery, who get to see a new side of their old favorite, and detractors, who might discover they enjoy a distillery after all. Unpeated versions will offer little to no peat smoke, while peated renditions show obvious smoke. So choose a distillery, then have it your way.…

With the many regions, styles, and variations of Scotch whisky, it’s hard to generalize when it comes to cigar partnership. The qualities that define a delicate Lowlands dram bear little resemblance to those in a smoky Islay whisky. Expect to kiss a few frogs, but once you find a match you’ll be set for life. Predictably, the Lowlands shine brightest with mild-bodied cigars. Speyside scotches are the most versatile. Islay is the conundrum. Their bold peat smoke often clashes with heavy tobacco smoke. Try instead a cigar that delivers sweetness (even chocolate), to complement the salt spray of their island home. ISLAY TRY Lagavulin 16 year old with a sweet, understated Dominican smoke with subtle charms TOP PICK Romeo y Julieta 1875 Deluxe No. 1 ($8) WHY IT WORKS The…

Peat McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt 42.5%, $55 Clear Creek Distillery, Hood River, Oregon Made using Scottish smoked barley and aged for around 3 years. Burnt marshmallow, graham cracker, and toasted grain flavors, with a good amount of smoke. Westland Peated Single Malt 46%, $70 Westland Distillery, Seattle, Washington Made using Scottish smoked barley and aged at least 2 years. A rush of deep vanilla and tapioca on the nose, with cream pie, French vanilla, cotton candy, and subtle smoke on the palate. Balcones Peated Single Malt 63%, $80 Balcones Distilling, Waco, Texas Meaty, with lots of baking spice and a dark, earthy smoke. Very long finish. Special release for the distillery’s tenth anniversary; larger releases coming in the future. Made with Highland-peated barley. Fifty Stone Single Malt 45%, $45 Maine…

Leaf Peeping Tips WHEN TO GO The peak season for fall foliage varies every year, ranging from late September to early November, with mid-to-late October generally the peak. New York State maintains an official fall foliage tracker at iloveny.com/things-to-do/fall/foliage-report/. GETTING THERE Amtrak trains run up and down the Hudson Valley to New York City and Albany. Cheaper MetroNorth trains run from New York City to Poughkeepsie. New York Stewart International Airport is located near Newburgh in the heart of the Hudson Valley. The airport has direct flights to and from major hubs in Detroit, Philadelphia, Orlando, Tampa, and even Edinburgh and Dublin. Albany International Airport and Westchester County Airport also have many direct flight options. GETTING AROUND The best leaf-peeping is in rural areas, so if you didn’t drive, car…

The Buying Guide provides ratings of whiskies from around the world with an emphasis on new releases available for purchase in the U.S. Complete tasting notes are provided for all whiskies scoring 84 points or more (on the Whisky Advocate 100-point scale). Lower scoring whiskies are included at the discretion of the editors, and some may appear exclusively on whiskyadvocate.com. RATINGS AND PRICES Ratings are to provide a relative comparison of quality with reference to both directly competing products and whiskies in general. Price is not a consideration when arriving at ratings. Prices shown reflect the suggested retail price. When none is available, we establish a representative retail price. Actual retail prices may vary. Whiskies sold in the U.S. have prices marked in dollars; any whisky priced in other currency…

Next year, Penderyn will celebrate 15 years of whisky production in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Dr. Jim Swan, who passed away in 2017, was the original Penderyn master blender and helped design the way they make their whisky. The distillery has an unusual pair of Faraday stills and columns, which produce an extremely high alcohol content in the condensed spirit for a single malt whisky. The proud Welsh distillers have created new, higher-strength versions of their Dragon Collection series for the U.S. market. 91 Penderyn Celt, 43%, $60 No prizes for guessing where the peated Islay quarter casks used for finishing came from, but this beautiful whisky has firm, sooty charcoal smoke, impressive maritime characteristics, and aromas of fresh lemon, mandarin, and buttered toast. Sweet citrus with a buttery…

They say the after-party is always the best part of the evening, but then they say so many things you don’t know what to believe. My own experience of after-parties is pretty much nostalgic these days since I’m now inclined to split before the end of the before-party, which is usually after my bedtime, but my aforementioned nostalgia does include some interesting after-memories. Lock-ins occurred, along with the wearing of popcorn bowls on heads (okay, one head), group-crooning was heard, even poetry recitals, including the odd chunk of the prologue to The Canterbury Tales, and even the occasional prayer—the Hail Mary in Old Church Slavonic, which is a long story, but if a Christian Brother forces one to memorize it when one is 14, one hates to have wasted the…