That’s where this fun flavour map comes in. Building up a framework is important in helping you enjoy anything, scotch included.

What do you think about it?

Speaking of that distinct spicy bite, I also discovered this educational article on Popular Science where they made use of a rotary evaporator to pull out the various components of scotch, specifically Glenlivet scotches, to investigate individually. They started with “white dog” unoaked/unaged Glenlivet whisky (aka “new make” or “cleric”), then continued with the 12-year, and then the 15 and 18. With each, they put it through the rotary evaporator to separate the whisky.

Running a liter of Glenlivet 12 through the machine, Dave pulls off the first 600ml into one vessel and the remainder into a different one. We taste the two.

The elements drawn from the oak, including all of the brown color, are less volatile, so they remain in the 400ml batch. The 600ml batch Dave calls “gray dog,” since it is a re-approximation of the white dog: a startling “deconstructed whisky” that’s been aged for 12 years in oak and then had many of the effects of the oak removed. It also has the bulk of the alcohol, concentrated to 120 proof from the original Glenlivet’s 80 proof. Its flavor is mellower than the white dog’s, but that youthful papery flavor, which was imperceptible in the non-evaporated Scotch, is back in evidence. The vanilla tones that the oak contributed are deeply muted, leaving a soft, ill-balanced, cloying clear spirit that reminds me of souring milk.

The article is fantastically entertaining to read.

Fast forward a few years and I do everything except use soap and scrub with a brush, I just rub my fingers in it. I also usually wash it as soon as possible after using it, before the faint residue of scotch has dried at the bottom of the glass. For those cases where I don’t wash it immediately, using hot water flushes the residue out pretty easily.

Why did I skip using soap? When you use soap, there’s a small chance you leave some soap residue behind. When you do, that soap can change how you enjoy scotch because it can bind to the aromas and throw things off. The chance is small but when you figure that soap is unnecessary, it becomes a no brainer.

I haven’t used soap to wash a scotch glass (or a wine glass) in years and have suffered no ill effects.

So, imagine my surprise when I saw that Bruichladdich makes a gin called The Botanist, a small batch artisanal Islay gin.

… we use nine of the classic gin aromatics – orris root, cassia bark, coriander seed, etc – and augment these with a heady harvest of 22 wild, native island botanicals, hand-picked by our expert foraging team from the windswept hills, peat bogs and atlantic shores of this Hebridean island of Islay.

I’ll have to keep an eye out for it and give it a whirl.

It only has limited US distribution but you can find out more about the whole story here. The Whisky Exchange has a great little piece on the whole thing too.

If you have a minute, this little video sums it up nicely too:

So, in celebration of Shackleton’s intrepid nature, and well preparedness, I hope you’ll raise up a dram with me this Wednesday!

“Johnnie Walker is kind of a working man’s drink,” defensive end Dave Tollefson told the Post. “Johnnie Walker and some Coke. It just speaks to the attitude of our team and the type of guy he is.”

Mixing Johnnie Blue with some coke makes me want to cry.

Essentially you pressurize a bottle, one that has a bit of whisky at the bottom, with a hand pump and then rapidly depressurize it. That vaporizes some of the whisky, which you then inhale. I’m not sure how safe it is but it’s remarkably clever. And the patrons seem to love it!

Dalmore 18 has a very rich amber color that isn’t as dark as a Macallan 18 but pretty close. It’s matured in American white oak for 14 years followed by three years in Matusalem Spanish sherry butts for three years. It’s final year is spent in “upstanding sherry butts,” which I’m not really sure what “upstanding” means (very well behaved barrels?) Either way, what comes out is quite remarkable.

My nose is a little under the weather so I can’t really tell too much outside of a slight scent of almonds and toffee. On the palate, the first note that rings out is that of citrus, one of my favorites when it comes to scotch. There’s a slight hint of sweetness, accentuated by the orange peel citrusy flavor (think the smell a few seconds after you zest an orange, the smell that lingers in the air), but it’s by no means “sweet.” It’s got a bit of a spiciness, similar to but much less in prominence as is in Glenlivet 12, but the finish is mostly caramel and marzipan.

For my next trip to the store, I’m probably going to pick up one of these.

Hopefully he got to enjoy a little of the Chivas Royal Salute… since he won’t be getting the opportunity to do so for a long long while.

Earlier this month, Glenfiddich auctioned off a 55 year old Scotch that fetched £46,850 (approximately $72,632 USD) and set a European record. It was one of the 15 bottles of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve (the first to be sold), named after the oldest living Scot. Put into cask 1955 and bottled last month, it was estimated that the bottles would go for 30,000 and 35,000 pounds – it exceeded that price (fortunately for Water Aid, who gets the proceeds).