Sunday, April 02, 2006
WhiskyFest 2006
I'd given my liver a break since St. Patrick's Day and I decided last week it was time to test it again. Being the glutton for punishment that I am, WhiskyFest was the perfect opportunity. (Side note: in my research I found that St. Patrick - besides bringing Christianity to Ireland - also introduced distilling to the isle, which was then brought to Scotland. No wonder I've always felt a fondness for the old cleric.)
WhiskyFest is Malt Advocate's annual celebration of Scotch Whisky, which is from Scotland, and Whiskey, which is from everywhere else. Just like you can't get Champagne from anywhere but the Champagne region of France, you can't get Scotch Whisky from anywhere but Scotland. You can get Whisky from Canada, but you get Whiskey from Ireland and the US. (For simplicity's sake I'm just going to call it whiskey from here on out.) As an example of how highly this beverage is regarded in Scotland, the name comes from the Gaelic word for "Water of Life."
Held in the bowels of the Hyatt Regency, this event had over 250 spirits to sample. Most of them were whiskeys and bourbons (click here for a definition of the two) of course, but there were a few beers, a couple of rums, and a tequila. I chose to limit my tastings to whiskeys and bourbons. I'm a glutton, but I'm not stupid!
One of the first ones I tried was the John McDougall's Selection 14 yr., and I had the pleasure of meeting John McDougall himself. A charming Scotsman (is there any other sort?), he told me how he hand-signs each bottle, and boy does his wrist get tired. He begged his wife once to let him stop, but as a stockholder and investor she said absolutely not. (It may be a stereotype, but I certainly don't want to face the ire of a Scottish lady!)
Old Pogue is a Kentucky Bourbon distillery that's been around since 1876. John Pogue, whose great-great-grandfather was the founder, sat at the table signing glasses. I took a sip of bourbon, smiled at him, and said "Sweet." He grinned at me and told me I'd said the magic word and handed me a glass. Now I don't claim to have an advanced palate when it comes to whiskey and bourbon. I can tell smoky, peaty, vanilla, spicy, honey, and sweet - and that's about it, so I was quite pleased that I'd picked the appropriate adjective to describe his bourbon.
My absolute favorite whiskey of the night was the Scotch Whisky Bowmore 25. I was a big fan of the Auchentoshan Three Wood, so named because it's aged in three different types of woods. I also liked the 17 year. But when I took a sip of the 25...I smiled. The gentleman pouring asked me what I was thinking.
"I don't think I should say it."
"Oh, come on. What do you think?"
"It's like sex in a glass."
(For my newsletter subscribers who guessed that I went to shopCHICago, this is why I went to WhiskyFest. I've never had a piece of clothing give me that kind of feeling! And congrats to Jim Spangler as the only person to correctly guess that I would imbibe instead of shop. Although that's not quite fair since he's known me since I was 15!)
WhiskyFest is Malt Advocate's annual celebration of Scotch Whisky, which is from Scotland, and Whiskey, which is from everywhere else. Just like you can't get Champagne from anywhere but the Champagne region of France, you can't get Scotch Whisky from anywhere but Scotland. You can get Whisky from Canada, but you get Whiskey from Ireland and the US. (For simplicity's sake I'm just going to call it whiskey from here on out.) As an example of how highly this beverage is regarded in Scotland, the name comes from the Gaelic word for "Water of Life."
Held in the bowels of the Hyatt Regency, this event had over 250 spirits to sample. Most of them were whiskeys and bourbons (click here for a definition of the two) of course, but there were a few beers, a couple of rums, and a tequila. I chose to limit my tastings to whiskeys and bourbons. I'm a glutton, but I'm not stupid!
One of the first ones I tried was the John McDougall's Selection 14 yr., and I had the pleasure of meeting John McDougall himself. A charming Scotsman (is there any other sort?), he told me how he hand-signs each bottle, and boy does his wrist get tired. He begged his wife once to let him stop, but as a stockholder and investor she said absolutely not. (It may be a stereotype, but I certainly don't want to face the ire of a Scottish lady!)Old Pogue is a Kentucky Bourbon distillery that's been around since 1876. John Pogue, whose great-great-grandfather was the founder, sat at the table signing glasses. I took a sip of bourbon, smiled at him, and said "Sweet." He grinned at me and told me I'd said the magic word and handed me a glass. Now I don't claim to have an advanced palate when it comes to whiskey and bourbon. I can tell smoky, peaty, vanilla, spicy, honey, and sweet - and that's about it, so I was quite pleased that I'd picked the appropriate adjective to describe his bourbon.My absolute favorite whiskey of the night was the Scotch Whisky Bowmore 25. I was a big fan of the Auchentoshan Three Wood, so named because it's aged in three different types of woods. I also liked the 17 year. But when I took a sip of the 25...I smiled. The gentleman pouring asked me what I was thinking.
"I don't think I should say it."
"Oh, come on. What do you think?"
"It's like sex in a glass."
(For my newsletter subscribers who guessed that I went to shopCHICago, this is why I went to WhiskyFest. I've never had a piece of clothing give me that kind of feeling! And congrats to Jim Spangler as the only person to correctly guess that I would imbibe instead of shop. Although that's not quite fair since he's known me since I was 15!)
