While most whisk(e)y* is, in my opinion, best consumed neat – that doesn’t mean that whisk(e)y cocktails are, in any way, a bad thing. Quite the opposite is true, in fact! There are literally tonnes of fantastic whisk(e)y cocktail recipes out there and I would certainly recommend that you try a few, should you be the type of person who generally enjoys a cocktail or two every once in a while.
That’s why I’ve decided to post a cocktail recipe every now and again – starting with the absolute classics and later venturing in to less well known territory. This being the first recipe I’m posting (not including the Old Fashioned recipe which I included as a part of my Benchmark Bourbon review), I’ve spent quite a while deliberating which cocktail to go for. In the end, I decided that it had to: be well known, delicious, only include common ingredients and, finally, be easy to make.
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Here’s a post that will be slightly different to most others; I’m not actually going to be reviewing a whisky that I’ve tried. Instead, I’m going to share with you what I’ve found out about a very young new player on the market; Port Askaig. Never heard of it? Neither had I, until quite recently. What you probably will have heard of, though, is The Whisky Exchange, the massive whisky retailer. Well they’ve also got a sister company called Speciality Drinks who sell a wider range of spirits, and they are the company behind Port Askaig.
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Rather than a review, this is just a short article on a piece of news you may find interesting.
Only a few weeks ago, the world’s oldest single malt whisky was released by Gordon & MacPhail – established as a grocer and spirit merchant in 1895, G&M have ever since bought handpicked casks from distillers and created their own blends, as well as bottled single malts under licence for world famous distilleries.
One such single malt bottling is the 70 year old Mortlach, which was released earlier this month (March, 2010). Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be reviewing it – at just under £10,000 or $15,000, it is slightly beyond my budget. That doesn’t mean it will be for some of you, though, but I would recommend acting quickly if you’re interested in purchasing a bottle, as only 1 cask has and will be released! If you do get a chance to try it, feel free to drop a comment!
Read more about G&M and Mortlach 70 here:
Gordon & MacPhail Official Website
The Whisky Exchange (has tasting notes)
”Det här, Skotten, det är whisky!” (This, Scotsman, this is Whisky!) she said, producing a stylish looking bottle. The label was covered in foreign scribbling, the content a very light golden. “That,” I replied, “remains to be seen”.
What my Swedish relative had brought over, a year or so ago, was a bottle of Mackmyra – The First Edition. For weeks before her visit she’d made various attempts to convince me that it was, hands down, the best Whisky ever made – needless to say, I was sceptical. Perhaps equally needless to say, I turned out to be right. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying I’m always right or that the world’s finest Whisky couldn’t be Swedish, but Mackmyra is a very young distillery indeed.
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Since I’ve mainly been drinking foreign whiskeys lately, I guess I’ve been trying to widen my horizons, I felt an uncontrollable urge just now to return to the hills of home; the highlands of Scotland. And what better way to do so than to have a dram of (proper) whiskey? The question, then, was which one to go for. I wanted something nice and creamy, with a body as voluptuous as that of Miss Monroe and a scent as potent as can only be found lingering in Auld Reekie. As the names of potential candidates flew by in my mind’s eye, one stood – Glenmorangie.
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As I sat down at my local pub (which I will reveal the name of later on in this article; no stalkers, I do beg) the other day, I came to think of all the whiskey enthusiasts who come to this beautiful city of mine hoping to enjoy our seemingly endless choice of pubs and whiskey, but with no clue as to where to best do so. Many of them end up paying too much in mediocre, but central, pubs. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to help you steer clear of the tourist traps, should you be planning a visit.
Now, most tourists will end up strolling aimlessly back and forth along the Royal Mile, which is home to a host of pubs. Nothing wrong with that, in fact a lot of the pubs there are decent, but it is a shame that some of the true gems Edinburgh has to offer remain unseen. So where should you be going? Let me introduce you to three of my favourite pubs, one to the North, one Central and one South.
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