Whisky Galore

The Girl and I attended – jointly or severally – two whisky-based events of late that proved to be just the ticket for whiling away the long January nights as we wait for the first signs of spring to appear. And what an excellent way to pass the time!

The first of these was a whisky tasting – one of the events that comprise the Victoria Whisky Festival. I had acquired a wodge of tickets for this evening at an Intrepid Theatre charity event last November, as a result of trying to drive up the bidding (wearing my board of directors hat) and getting caught unexpected with the lot when the music stopped. Not that I was complaining…

As it happened I got caught out this way on several other items, but all of them have (or will) come in most useful. A gift voucher for Orr’s Family Butcher provided us with our Christmas prime rib and a similar token for Fig Deli furnished goodies for our holiday entertaining. I still have some vouchers for Flying Fish Winery (where we make our ‘own’ wine) and I need to head over soon to place an order so that our wine rack continues to overflow.

The whisky festival runs over four nights at the Hotel Grand Pacific by the Inner Harbour and this was the fourteenth incarnation thereof. The tasting that we attended was led by the knowledgeable Mike Brisebois of Distell Malts, which outfit owns the Bunnahabhain, Deanston and Tobermory Distilleries. Seven whiskies were tasted from the range offered by those three concerns – and very good they were too.

Deanston I did not know. It is a lowland distillery, not too far from Stirling. It was established in the mid-sixties in a disused old cotton mill on the banks of the river Teith, and has built a reputation since then. The Tobermory Distillery, the only such on the island of Mull, dates back much further – to 1798 – and is one of the oldest in Scotland. Bunnahabhain is a much loved distillery on Islay that – unlike most of the other distillers on the island – does not foreground the peaty tones for which Islay is known.

We were most impressed by the almost sweet tones of the Palo Cortado cask finished Special Edition, but pretty much everybody present agreed that the Bunnahabhain 18 Year was the whisky of the evening. Now – if only I could afford a bottle!

The second event of the month was the wild celebratory night that we spent this Saturday just passed at the Caledonian Distillery and Twa Dogs Brewery, where we enjoyed a fabulous five course Scottish menu (including, naturally, haggis, neaps and tatties) by Truffles Catering, who are locally based in Brentwood Bay. To accompany this feast we tasted a further five of the Caledonian’s whiskies, particularly enjoying their guest whisky – a blend of Blair Atholl and McDuff single malts. The evening was admirably hosted by the Caledonian’s resident hairy Scot and much reciting of the Great Man’s poetry and accompanying merriment were the order of the day (or night!).

Never let it be said that the Scots do not know how to celebrate!