New Rules for Japanese Whisky – 2021

Portugal and Japan have a much deeper connection than you might think. The Portuguese were the first western culture to have contact and trade with the Japanese. And like any contact, there were curious influences on both sides. The Portuguese inherited some words from the Japanese vocabulary, such as “catana” and “biombo”.

The Japanese started to use a series of words of Portuguese origin, adapted to the sound of their language. For example, pan, koppu, tabako and arkoru – that their etymological deduction power must have already indicated that they are respectively bread, glass, tobacco and alcohol. In fact, a combination of words that showed that there was also a certain affinity between cultures when it came to setting priorities and having fun.

In fact, Japanese culture has a beautiful characteristic. To incorporate elements from other cultures, and transmute them into something essentially Japanese. Tempura – yes, frying – is an example. The Japanese did not know the technique until the arrival of the Portuguese. And whisky, too. Whisky in Japan is approximately a century old. The technique was learned from the Scots, but the Japanese liquid already has an identity of its own. So much so that it became a huge fever in the world.

A fever without laws. So far. Because in February 2021 the Japan Spirits & Liqueur Makers Association (JSLMA) announced new identification standards for Japanese Whisky. A measure that, let’s face it, was needed for a long time. Before we get into the legal details, however, I think a basic recap on the Japanese whisky scene is important.

Until today, there were almost no laws in Japan regarding the production and marketing of whisky. And, because of this, it was allowed – or rather, it was not illegal – for a whisky distilled and matured in another country and bottled in Japan to be labeled as Japanese whisky. In other words, a certain producer could buy 100 percent of Scotch whisky, ship it to Japan, bottle it there and call it Japanese whisky.

California Roll – more Japanese than a lot of Japanese whisky


This practice may seem absurd, but historically it made sense. First because, in the past, Japanese whisky was not the fever it is today. The country had few distilleries at the dawn of its production. And, importing the product in bulk, ready, and mixing it with Japanese whisky made in Japan (no, that’s not a pleonasm) helped to lower costs and increase sensory richness.

It so happens that, over time, the scenario has changed. Japanese whisky has become unbelievably coveted. As a result, the stock of truly mature Japanese whiskies nearly ran out. And what remained were sold at astronomical prices. Furthermore, the lack of market regulation – previously beneficial as it allows for sensory wealth – has given way to opportunism. Certain companies started to take advantage of this historical permissiveness to deceive the consumer. Buy cheap whiskies and bottle them in Japan, labeling them as Japanese whisky.

With the rise to fame of Japanese whisky, the old rules became obsolete. or rather, they became nothing, because there were no rules in this eastern western that was Japanese whisky. So far. Because, starting from the suggestive date of April 1, 2021, the Japan Spirits & Liqueur Makers Association (JSLMA) – a kind of Japanese SWA – finally announced new guidelines for whisky labeling in Japan.

JSLMA’S POINT

Perhaps, at this point in the post, this goes without saying. But we decided to translate part of the statement that introduces the regulation of the Japan Spirits & Liqueur Makers Association, and which clarifies the reasons behind this much-desired rule.

It is regrettable that in recent years there have been cases of brands using only imported whiskies and selling them as “Japanese whisky”, and cases of products that do not even qualify as “whisky” under Japanese tax laws, but which are sold as such in other countries, sowing confusion among consumers

Looking back at the history of whisky production in Japan, it is important to note that our journey began by learning the arts and crafts of Scotch whisky producers, as our predecessors began to create a distinct type of whisky, establishing a uniquely Japanese technique over the years.

It goes without saying that these developments are part of the history, tradition and culture of whisky production in Japan. The products created through this process have enriched whisky culture in Japan and are supported by many people around the world. JSLMA members are grateful for the efforts of our ancestors.

(…) by clearly defining what ‘Japanese Whisky’ is, and making this information available to the public in Japan and abroad, we seek to clarify the confusing situation for consumers. “

Yamazaki – 100% Japanese


JSLMA’S NEW WHISKY LABELING RULES


Let’s get to a prior clarification. The Japan Spirits & Liqueur Makers Association (JSLMA) is not a Japanese government body. But a private association, approved by the Japanese government. It is a kind of self-regulatory entity, similar to what would SEC be in the US, or ANBIMA in the Brazilian Capital Market. Yeah, you didn’t expect that, right Gordon Gekko?

According to JSLMA, the new standards are intended (…) to contribute to the proper selection of whiskies by consumers in Japan and abroad, and to protect the interests of consumers as well as ensure fair competition and improve quality“. and continues “these standards apply to whiskies sold in Japan, or sold from Japan abroad, by business operators (ie companies)”

The JSLMA regulation provides a table with the rules to be followed by whisky producers in Japan, so that they can label their products as “japanese whisky” or “Japanese whisky”. The first is that raw materials must be limited to malted grains, or other cereals, and water must be extracted from Japan. Malted grains must always be used.

The second determination concerns the production itself. The saccharification, fermentation and distillation must be done by a distillery in Japan. Here, there is an important point. Malting is a kind of saccharification. Which means that here there is a divergence between Scotland and Japan. And that the new Japanese rules are even more restrictive than the SWA’s Scottish ones. In the oriental version, malting must be done in Japan. It is not allowed to buy malted barley from other countries. Additionally, the alcoholic strength after distillation must not exceed 95% – so that afterwards it is obviously cut with water.

The third refers to maturation, and is almost a mirror of the Scottish rule. Almost. The new-make spirit must be placed in wooden barrels of no more than 700 liters for at least three years. If you read it fast, you might have missed a detail. Or maybe we’re just lost in translation, like Bill Murray. But the use of the word “wood” is curious – it is not clear whether oak is the only barrel allowed. We should wait for news.

Lost in this too

Finally, bottling must take place in Japan, and the alcoholic strength must be at least 40%. This rule is also more restrictive than the Scottish one, which allows blended scotch whiskies to be bottled outside of Scotland. Under the Scotch Whisky Association rule, only single malts must be bottled in their country of origin. Additionally, only plain caramel coloring can be used in Japanese Whiskies.

The rule also states that there should not be any expressions or terms between the words “japanese” and “whisky”, except to indicate the type of whisky – for example, single malt or blended. And for the smart ones, synonyms are also covered by the rule. So, no Japanese whisky, for example. The regulation goes further, and also says that it is not worth making a whisky that looks like a Japanese, with ideograms, names and expressions that are clearly Japanese. No “Hokusai Whisky” or “Mount Fuji“.

All these guidelines, however, have an adaptation period. As of April 1st, new products (launched after that date) must follow the published rules. However, whiskies that didn’t follow the rule before may remain rebellious until March 31, 2024, as is – surprisingly – the case with Nikka From the Barrel. In other words, until then, not all Japanese whisky will be real Japanese.

It is important to point out that, unlike Scotland and its Scotch Whisky Association, the JSLMA rules do not have the force of law. But, they are valid for the members of the association. Which, in practice, does not mean the end of non-Japanese Japanese whisky. But it is an important step in the transparency of a market that has been lacking in some transparency for years. And more transparency and equality bring more security to the consumer – and help maintain the good name of japanese whisky in the world. Kampai to that.

Whisky Myths and Legends – Part II

Monday, eleven o’clock at night. My daughter sneaks into the dark room in her socks, where she surprises me putting the finishing touches on a bucket of whiskey and Angostura that I dared to call an Old Fashioned. Daddy, I can’t sleep.” I think, quickly “like me” – i think. But that this problem would be solved as soon as I finished the glass in my hand. Why sugar? I ask, in a tone that is both affectionate and uncomfortable. What follows was a dialogue that I tried to reproduce as truthfully as possible below.

Because there is a monster under my bed but baby girl, your bed is a trundle bed, no monster can fit under there, only if it’s a planarian. Awkward silence. Dad, what is a planarian?forget it baby, there’s no monster under your bed, look, come on, I’ll show you. I rest the glass on the piano. She hesitates. But daddy, aren’t you afraid of the monster?no, little girl, i’m notbut daddy, aren’t you afraid of anything?actually, darling, I’m afraid of a lot of things, but not monsters, because they don’t exist. She turns her head to the side, like a puppy that doesn’t quite understand what one is saying – and what is there that you’re afraid of?

I think a little. I’m afraid of a lot of things. But I immediately answered an obvious one. Bills. She looks at me with interest. Is a Bill a monster? No, little girl, but a bill exists. She squints her eyes and sharpens her gaze. But – how – do – you – know – that – monster – doesn’t – exist? I give up. I don’t know, maybe monsters exist and they just ignore me because I’m as primal a life form as the planarian abovementioned. I believe in so many things that don’t exist, too.

And the world of whisky is like that too. Full of beliefs. Myths, legends, stories that are perpetrated from drinker to drinker, and that have no real basis. Some of them are as follows.

BLUE LABEL IS 21 YEARS OLD

Okay, that’s easy. It’s not, and Red Label isn’t seven or eight years old either. Both are, in fact, what is known as NAS – No Age Statement.

According to the rules of the Scotch Whisky Association, for a Scotch whisky to be called “scotch whisky” it must – among other rules – spend three years in oak barrels of no more than seven hundred liters. But, normally, the age is higher than this. When whiskies from different casks are blended, the producer must put the age of the youngest whisky on the label. So if you mix a ten year with a twenty year, the label will say ten year. Or not.

Or not because the producer has the option of not declaring age. In this case, we do not know exactly how old the youngest component is. But we know that, as a rule, it must be more than three years. And both Blue Label and Red Label fall under this rule. But it’s obvious that they’re not the same age. Sensorially, Blue indicates that it has much more mature whiskies. Including grain whiskies that must have spent a long time in oak barrels – that’s why it doesn’t have those sharp edges, which we find in some other blends.

Whether the price is worth it or not is up to each drinker to decide. However, it is worth remembering that the “no age statement” is a market trend, and that there are fantastic whiskies that do not have any number printed on the label, such as Macallan Reflexion, Dalmore King Alexander III and Bruichladdich Classic Laddie.

CORN IN WHISKEY IS BAD

This is a complicated legend. Because, to be honest, we don’t really know where it came from. We suspect this is a prejudice borrowed from the world of pure malt beer – that is, made from 100% malted barley. Many of the beers we know and that are widely consumed in Brazil contain a large proportion of corn in their recipes – up to 45%. Others, however, use only malted barley. The latter tend to be fuller-bodied and, due to production costs, also significantly more expensive.

Over time, and because of this market positioning, the brewer who went through pseudo-enlightenment starts to despise corn beer – for him, it is synonymous with a cheap drink, simply smooth and without any complexity or flavor. In fact, not just pure malt. Wheat is also valid, rye, triticale, buckwheat, oats, rice, anything. It just can’t be corn. And then, as whiskey is basically a distilled beer, one thing leads to another, and, out of nowhere, corn in whiskey is bad.

The fallacy is actually blaming the corn. There are incredible beers made from corn – although the cereal is well used for simpler beers – as well as whiskies. Pappy Van Winkle bourbon whiskey, the most desired in the United States, with bottles that can easily reach thousands of dollars in price, has a predominance of corn in its mashbill (recipe). Just like Woodford Reserve, a bourbon well loved by enthusiasts. So here, the summary is – there is no point in simplifying. It’s not the corn’s fault, but of whoever manufactures the whisky. There are also dreadful single malts, too.

THE OLDER THE BETTER

This is a myth that, in large part, was fostered by the scotch whisky industry itself. And that, later – due to enormous demand and scarcity of highly matured stock – had to be denied.

Maturation is a very important stage in whiskey production. Some sensory characteristics only emerge over time. And a lot of time – especially those characteristics brought about by oxidation. Oxygen, present in the air, reacts with certain components of the drink. It is the esters, thiols and phenols that provide some of those pleasant aromas in their preferred dose, and which lose or gain strength with oxidation, depending on their nature.

Whiskies, while maturing in barrels, oxidize. They are in constant contact with the air, due to a gap in the barrels. And this element directly influences its flavor. Even though other tricks to accelerate maturation are employed – such as, for example, the use of quarter casks – the flavor profile provided by decades in a barrel cannot be simulated in any other way.

Time softens some characteristics, too. Peated whiskies, for example, are sensorially more peated when they are young. Over time, a process of degradation of phenols occurs. Which is a physical-chemical process, and can happen through oxidation, absorption, extraction, etc. Furthermore, with the increase in the influence of wood, the phenols become more discreet.

Finally, there is a matter of balance. A whisky that uses a very strong cask – a first fill of sherry, for example – reaches its break-even point very quickly. The balance point is where, sensorially, the new-make spirit can be felt as much as the barrel. Nothing overlaps.

So, in short, age does not equal quality. It depends on the subject. If you want an extremely peated and alcoholic whisky, for example, it’s best to bottle it young. If you use a very powerful barrel, too. This is the case of Port Charlotte Scottish Barley (for the first example) and Aberlour A’Bunadh, for the second.

I HAVE KEPT A BOTTLE FOR 30 YEARS, IT MUST BE WORTH A FORTUNE

Sorry if I’m aggressive. If you keep an ordinary thing for thirty years, it will not become extraordinary because of time. It will continue to be an ordinary thing. Old and ordinary. So, here, the answer is quite simple – only extraordinary whiskies, with real collectible value, really rare and desired, tend to increase in value. Simpler whiskies, which were widely sold, have no collecting value. It’s a simple matter of economics, considering supply and demand. A whisky will only appreciate in value if the supply is lower than the demand for it.

Not worth much.

A parallel can easily be drawn with automobiles. Some old cars are extremely desired and sought after. They are those who broke paradigms, or who marked an era with innovative design or creative engineering solutions. The Mercedes-Benz Gullwing, for example, the Hemi-Cuda or the Corvette Stingray. They were rare cars that became even rarer, each for their own reasons. The Marea Turbo, however, will remain just a Marea Turbo. Until it catches fire.

Likewise, a Ballantine’s Finest or a Pinwinnie Royale haven’t changed much in price. A Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition or a Brora – whose distillery closed in the 80s, however – increased in value incredibly. There are a few exceptions, such as White Horse from the sixties, but they only confirm the rule.

Whisky Myths and Legends – Part I

This is the first part of a two-part post about myths and legends in the world of whiskey. Get ready, dear readers. Time to get nervous.

Boitatá, curupira, headless mule. Satyr, faun, centaur. Werewolf, vampire. Every culture has their mythical creatures. They were born from the need to explain what was previously inexplicable. Or simply ensuring that people behaved correctly and didn’t do anything barbaric. After all, it’s easier to explain that a winged demon will suck your blood at night than to rationally explain why you shouldn’t satisfy your lust with your best friend’s partner.

The world of whiskey, too, is full of beliefs and folklore. Myths, which no one really knows where they came from. And, in a world of post-truths, fueled by immediacy and the enormous flow of (mis)information, these beliefs multiply and perpetuate. Some are based on purism. Others, in rather strange analogies. And others, still, must have sprouted from the ground out of the blue, because they don’t make any sense – like the talk about the abovementioned demon.

Here we identify some of them, and explain why they are not true. Rationally.

SINGLE MALTS ARE BETTER THAN BLENDS

This is probably one of the most popular legends, it’s like the headless (and brainless) mule of the whisky world. The reality, however, is that single malts and blends are just different. Due to the different production process, blends tend to be lighter, more accessible – sensorially speaking – and with a more balanced flavor profile. The idea of ​​blends is precisely this. Create standardization and reach the largest consumer base possible, creating a pleasant and accessible product. Blends benefit from having hundreds of different whiskies at your disposal to generate sensorial richness.

Single malts, on the other hand, are the most profound experience you will have within a given sensory profile. Because they are produced in a single distillery, using only malted barley, and are necessarily distilled in pot stills, the range that a given single malt can have, sensorially speaking, is more limited. In other words, perhaps obvious: it is easier to produce diametrically opposed blends under the same brand than very different single malts under the same roof. On the other hand, what single malts lose in balance, they gain in depth and intensity. As a general rule – and there are several exceptions here – single malts are more intense and deeper.

This Dog’s opinion is that there is learning curve here. When we start to like whiskies, we gravitate towards single malts. It is a process of rupture and return. We must break with what we already know (blends) to discover the new (single malts). As we progress, however, the story changes, and we slowly describe an arc and understand why the Chivas Regal 18 Year Old is absolutely incredible, for example.

BAD QUALITY WHISKY CAUSES A HANGOVER

The keyword is hidden. Quality can be both sensorial (synonymous with complexity) and of production. If it is the first, the statement is a lie. Just because whisky is simple, “bland”, dull or whatever adjective you use, that doesn’t mean it will give you a hangover. In fact, if you’ve had a hangover drinking a dull whisky, it’s anything but dull, because you probably drank too much. One of the most common reasons for a hangover is, precisely, dehydration and consequent loss of water-soluble vitamins and electrolytes, due to excessive alcohol consumption (note that excessive alcohol consumption here is not discretionary).

Production quality, however, is a more delicate matter. If the production quality is low, then perhaps we will have a hangover. It can also be caused by ingesting methanol. Methanol is present, in small quantities, in almost all alcoholic drinks, as it is a product derived from fermentation. Our body transforms methanol into formaldehyde and formic acid. These substances are responsible, in part, for the unpleasant symptoms of a hangover.

So thirsty

Some drinks have higher levels of methanol than others. This, in large part, has to do with particularities of the production of each type – tequilas have more methanol than vodkas, for example – but also with some choices made by the producer. Most methanol is produced at the beginning of the distillation process, when the “foreshots” of the spirit is extracted. A wider foreshot cut – with a lower alcohol content, leaving part of the foreshots to run with the heart – can bring more methanol, for example. The curious thing here is that this has nothing to do with the price of the drink. There are incredible single malts that have more methanol in their new-makes than entry-level blends.

What is the solution to all this? Drink moderately.

COUNTERFEIT WHISKY CHANGES COLOR IN BREAD

This is a new legend, which was perpetrated by internet misinformation. Some fake whiskies, depending on how they are counterfeited, can even change color when in contact with bread. This happens in very – but very – rudimentary fakes, where the forger uses iodine to color the spirit, so that it acquires a tone more similar to the original whisky.

The problem is that the most common form of counterfeiting is not putting a spirit distilled in the backyard, or vodka, or cachaça, and coloring it with iodine. But rather, putting a cheaper whisky inside a bottle of more expensive whisky. In this case, no method works, because what is inside the bottle is whisky. In other words, it’s whisky inside a whisky bottle. But a liquid worth 30 reais inside an empty bottle of whisky worth 200 reais.

Because of this, there is no point in shaking the bottle or tapping it with the pen. The best way to ensure that a whisky is original is to buy from a reputable place.

YOU CANNOT PUT ICE IN WHISKY

This is another myth that probably arose from the need to explain something very quickly or prevent something imminent from happening, like, well, someone putting a bunch of ice in a whiskey glass. In fact, as always, one must behave in accordance the moment. In fact, guys, this is a rule for life. Always behave in accordance the moment, do not embarrass yourself in public. But anyway, I digress.

There are two distinct consumption situations. Analytical tasting and drinking for pleasure. At the first case, it’s really not a good idea to add ice. Ice reduces the temperature of the drink and can alter its sensory balance. The bitters are more intense and the sweets are softer. Furthermore, the low temperature makes your taste buds less sensitive, which makes it a bit difficult for you to feel the more delicate flavors. In analytical tasting, therefore, the ideal is to drink it pure, or with a little good quality still water – this reduces the alcoholic impression of the whisky, and binds together some congeners responsible for the flavors and aromas.

If you want to drink for pleasure, however, anything goes. You can drink it with ice, with coconut water, mix it in a cocktail, put an ice cap inside your glass and just a little whisky. Or a floating mini-ice like a sailor adrift on the ocean in an abysmal cesspool of booze. The watchword here is fun. Whisky is a supporting factor. You just want to drink something delicious, be happy and have a good time. It’s like they say, you don’t need alcohol to have fun, but you don’t need sneakers to run either, it just helps a lot.

Finally, there is the issue of ice quality. Large ices made with neutral, quality water are best if your idea is to better preserve the aromas and flavors of the whisky. They have less dilution, and fewer impurities, which can bring flavors that interfere with the drink.

MAKING A COCKTAIL WITH WHISKY IS ABSURD

Well, cocktail history practically began with a whisky cocktail. The Old Fashioned. That’s why today it’s called Old Fashioned. Furthermore, many of the most classic cocktails in the world contain whisky. Manhattan, Highball (Haiboru), Boulevardier, Rusty Nail, Godfather, Whisky Sour and Penicillin are just some of them. So, I think it’s pretty clear that you can mix whisky to make a cocktail, and if you disagree, the ghost of Jerry Thomas dressed as a satyr will pull your leg at night.

To be honest, we are very purists. The phrase “the whisky spent years maturing in a warehouse for someone to come and mix something with it” demonstrates a certain hypocrisy. The sausage spent months maturing. The cheese spent weeks curing. That doesn’t stop you from mixing everything together on ordinary toast, adding an ocean worth of ketchup and mustard and – worst of all – drinking coke to wash everything down your throat.

Subchapter – you cannot make cocktails with single malt. Here, the prohibition is more specific. Single malts tend to be more expensive, and because of their high price, it can seem like a waste. It is said that if you are going to mix it, the whisky doesn’t make any difference. But this is untrue. Firstly, because the sensorial characteristics of your base drink will have a huge impact on the cocktail. In the same way as, for example, the type of cheese you put on your sandwich. If the base you are using for your cocktail doesn’t make a difference sensorially, in the end, you are making your cocktail wrong.

Secondly, because sometimes using a specific single malt is the only way to achieve a desired flavor profile. Peat, for example. When looking to create a drink that has a predominantly smoked characteristic, using a single malt may be the only option. Here, the important thing is to – as in life – know what you are doing.

Johnnie Walker Celebratory Blend – Sleepwalking

Tiredness really is a surreal condition, I thought, as I pulled the cork and poured a generous dose into a low glass. Two-twelve in the morning. The last couple and a half hours have slipped by me totally unnoticed. And now, frozen at the exact moment that the first drop fell from the mouth of the bottle, I reflected on how I had arrived at that moment.

I have a few flashes of recent memory. After going to bed at two and waking up at five the day before, I decided that a morning jog would be a good idea. I came back, showered, made a bathtub worth of coffee, and slipped through three consecutive meetings, which ended up in something that could be considered dinner – a chicken curiously raw on one side and charred on the other.

Then my body – which had clearly already been abandoned by my mind – decided it would be a good idea to start a post for this blog. Nine-thirty at night, give or take. I went catatonic, staring at the blank screen for an hour and a half, before I finally gave up, turned off the computer and went to bed. And then, the most curious thing happened.

(It’s not J.C., it’s Hugh Jackman)


I passed in front of my whisky cabinet and, sideways, noticed a curious bottle. John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend. An item just added to my timid liquid library and released in December 2020 in our country. Still fully sealed, waiting for the perfect moment to try this blog. The perfect moment like, for example, just that.

Fade out, fade in. Sitting at the breakfast room table, tumbler in hand, my neurons took a last breath. So. Tired. Ok, just a wee dram – fifteen minutes and then bed – I silently promised as the whiskey went down. I felt the first aromas. Sweet, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla. Very aromatic, and somewhat reminiscent of the late Gold Label 18. I remember reading that Jim Beveridge, the master blender behind the creation, once stated that “the Celebratory Blend is inspired by flavours found in the stocktaking books from Walker’s store, which were housed in Diageo’s archive. We wanted to use only whiskies that would have been available to the family in the 1860s and to create a sense of the aromas and flavours of the shop.

Before taking the first sip, I gazed at the bottle with interest. The Johnnie Walker Celebratory Blend package is inspired by the Old Highland Whiskey, originally released in the 1960s of the nineteenth century. It was the first Johnnie Walker whisky to be created for export, and the first to feature the iconic square bottle with a diagonal label. The case also pays homage to that whisky, and contains the only known photo of the Walkers emporium in Kilmarnock.

The place

I took my first sip. Sweet at the beginning, but winey and fruity at the end. Dried fruits, raisins, plums. The finish reminds of discreet smoke, dry pepper and ginger. Very good, just what I needed, I mumbled to myself as I felt a strange heaviness over my eyebrows. It was like my forehead was going to collapse over my eyes. I took a deep breath, took another sip and noticed an incredible detail. 51% alcoholic strength! That’s bold.

I remembered that the Johnnie Walker Celebratory Blend is part of a trio of Diageo releases to commemorate 200 years of Johnnie Walker. In addition to this, two luxury blended scotch whiskeys were also produced, the John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend and the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight. Both, with the participation of silent stills belonging to the constellation of Diageo distilleries. One more sip, that’s it.

As soon as I finished the dram, I went back to the room and turned on the computer again. And I turned off myself. I must have spent a good half hour – or more – like this. Napping, in peace, in front of the machine. Opening my eyes, I looked at the text I had just produced. Or not. I looked at the bottle again in front of me. Not this time, my dear Johnnie Walker Celebratory Blend. Time to go to bed. Goodnight.

JOHNNIE WALKER CELEBRATORY BLEND


Type: Blended Whiskey with no defined age (NAS)

Brand: Johnnie Walker

Region: N/A

ABV: 51%

TASTING NOTES

Aroma: Sweet, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla

Flavor: Sweet at the beginning, but winey and fruity at the end. Dried fruits, raisins, plums. A discreet smoke that ends and a dry pepper of ginger.

Chivas Extra 13 – Allotriophagy

I’m going to tell you a bit of a disconcerting thing, which I’m not sure how it happened. My dog ​​ate my earphones. It took me a while to figure it out. I missed it on Sunday, but I thought I had left it in some improbable place, and that I would soon find it. But over the next few days, I began to find clues to his real whereabouts – my pet’s digestive system. First, one of those little balls that gets in your ear. Then a piece of black cable. And the definitive and incriminating evidence – a P2 plug, all destroyed on the porch of the house.

I don’t know what made Sazerac eat earphones. It didn’t surprise me at all – he had already eaten weird things, like a slipper and a piece of the wall. But, the earphones struck me as especially weird. Because of its length and texture, it takes a lot of effort to eat earphones. I decided to search the internet. And I discovered something even more surprising: there are a lot of people with a similar compulsion.

I learned that the syndrome has the curious name of pica. But, to avoid any jokes with the make reproductive organ in Portuguese, I will call you by the more technical names. Allotriophagy or allotriogeusia. Defined, perhaps in wonderful simplicity, as “the habit of eating substances with no nutritional value”. There are even well-known cases, such as a woman who gorged herself on dirty baby diapers, a lady who ate an entire room and a madman who consumed five thousand filament lamps throughout his gastrically painful existence. There’s even a movie about it – Swallow, starring Haley Bennett.

Chico – allotriophagy master


I wondered, afterwards, if we whisky enthusiasts aren’t a bit like that. There is a strange compulsion to try something we’ve never tasted. It’s unnatural, even, because as animals, we’re supposed to preserve our health and there are few things riskier than ingesting something we don’t know about. And there’s also the business of playing it safe. If something is already tasty and known, this force that makes us leave the comfort zone just to have a slightly (or quite) different experience is somewhat inexplicable.

But it was precisely in this tune that I tried Chivas Extra 13 years, recently launched by the brand in Brazil. Once a NAS blended whisky, the label has been re-launched on world markets now with an age statment and new composition. Something that gave me the proverbial chills. I’ve always had a special affection for Chivas Extra – partly for an emotional reason, and partly because I really like whisky. For me, any change was unjustifiable. However, when I tried the new version, I felt safe again.

Even more so because the tasting was done in a virtual tasting, conducted by none other than Sandy Hyslop, master blender of the Chivas Regal group, and by ambassadors Rhys Wilson and Ken Lindsay. During the event, Hyslop explained that the 13 year old Chivas Extra takes a generous portion of single malts aged in European oak barrels that previously contained Oloroso sherry wine – especially Longmorn. This gives a peppery note, of ginger, and a certain dry fruitiness, which sometimes resembles figs, sometimes raisins.

When asked about the origin of the sherry wine, Hyslop stated, “We don’t buy any empty sherry casks and sent it to Scotland. We go way beyond that. We buy Spanish oak, which is seasoned for eighteen months in Spain. The casks are then assembled and we specify the exact oloroso that will go into the casks for another year. And then they are emptied and shipped to Scotland. Everything has to be fast – they have to arrive in Scotland in 7 days and be filled with whisky in 10 days. And all of this happens in winter. We don’t do it in the summer to prevent the sherry from spoiling” and continues “we are investing at the very beginning of the process to guarantee the quality of our sherry casks“.

Hyslop explained that Chivas Extra 13 follows a very unusual production process. “The influence of sherry comes from thirteen years of maturation in Spanish oak sherry casks. We created a special thirteen year old blend, then took some first-fill casks of European Oak Longomorn Single Malt and incorporated it into the blend. The idea is to elevate the flavor of this thirteen years“. According to the master blender, creating balance is a fine adjustment – ​​the Extra must maintain the credentials of the Chivas house.

I succumbed to the temptation to ask about the old Chivas Extra and its label changes. First “oloroso”, then sherry, and finally “oloroso” again. “All expressions use oloroso sherry. The description in the new expression comes from the consumers’ desire to know more about the product. The change in label was just our marketing playing with things. The formula remains exactly the same, I can assure you of the guy who makes the whisky

Former NAS expression

Sensorially, the new Chivas Rega Extra 13 years has important similarities with its predecessor. But it’s also remarkably different. The old whisky was more aggressive and intense. The new one, with age, looks sweeter and more polished. The influence of the oloroso sherry wine is also more evident – ​​let the two doses rest in the glass for a few minutes and this difference will be even clearer. Chivas Regal Extra 13 years evolves into a pleasantly sweet and winey whisky.

Perhaps, indeed, we have a share of allotriophagy. A very mild version of the habit, in which we deprive ourselves of drinking what we know just for the thrill of tasting something new. It may seem a little inexplicable, but it’s actually crystal clear. It is products like the new Chivas Regal Extra 13 years that justify this impulse. I feel that, more and more, I understand my beloved canine.

CHIVAS REGAL EXTRA 13 YEARS


Type: Blended Whisky (13 years old)

Brand: Chivas Regal

Region: N/A

ABV: 40%

TASTING NOTES

Aroma: floral aroma, marzipan and candied fruit.

Palate: candied fruit and plum, with marzipan, ginger and milk chocolate. Long and sweet finish, more winey and smooth than the NAS expression.

What is a Ghost Distillery

Apologies. Once again, I will talk about cinema. And I know sometimes it feels like this is a movie blog rather than whisky. But the analogy is too good to be wasted on the allegation of exhaustion. I fear, by the way, that the apologies should be doubled – because the relationship is also so direct that it is even obvious. The movie Angel’s Share, by Ken Loach.

Angel’s Share tells the story of a group of marginalized young people, who discover the pleasure of tasting the water of life. And from there, due to a series of coincidences, they learn about a very rare cask of whisky, from a distillery that has been demolished a long time ago. Malt Mill. Knowing how valuable rare whiskies are, the team devises a plan to steal a few bottles and sell them on the parallel market.

Loach’s film, in this respect, is incredibly subtle. Real characters from the whisky world, such as Charles MacLean, are perfectly incorporated into the story to the point of appearing fictional. And so does the object of desire and the pivot of everything. The Malt Mill.

Ken Loach’s entire work, by the way, has a curious parallel with the theme presented here. The UK-born filmmaker presents in almost all of his films an unromanticized image of what his country is all about. From The Wind That Shakes The Barley (perhaps his best-known film) to Me, Daniel Blake, Loach shows the disgrace of civil wars to the failure of social policies in an unpleasantly realistic approach. Something that also impacted the scotch whisky industry. After all, distilleries, like any business, are prone to the socioeconomic conditions of their country.

It’s hard for us to imagine, in the current scenario, a good reason for a distillery to close down. After all, nowadays, Scotch whisky is one of the best known and best-loved drinks in the world. But the rise to success was not linear. Scotch whisky has had a hard time during its history. And, in several situations, for a certain group or company to survive, it was necessary to sacrifice one or more distilleries. It is these, deactivated, demolished or (rarely) blown up that we give the name of Ghost Distilleries, or Silent Stills (silent stills). Let’s tell the story of some of them and the reasons behind their downfall here.

Starting with the Malt Mill, object of Ken Loach’s film. The distillery was founded in 1908 by Peter Mackie, who also owned the now-desired Lagavulin. At that time, it was his company, Mackie & Co., which distributed the malts of one of its neighbors, Laphroaig, through a commercial partnership. A partnership that collapsed when in 1907 – a year before the foundation of Malt Mill – Laphroaig decided to sell its products on its own.

Enraged, Mackie tried to sabotage his neighbor in endless ways – he even blocked the supply of water to Laphroaig. Finally, in a fit of rage as stupid as it was lavish, he built an entire distillery just like Laphroaig, just to try to get it off the market. This distillery was the Malt Mill. The idea – obviously – backfired, and in 1962 Malt Mill was demolished and its equipment incorporated into Lagavulin.

Malt Mill


Only a small bottle of new-make remains, which is currently proudly displayed at Lagavulin’s visitor center. Until recently, there was no record of a Malt Mill bottling – except for its use in the company’s blends, with White Horse and Mackie’s Ancient Scotch. Because of this, in fact, that the international market values ​​White Horses from the sixties and seventies. For the possibility of containing Malt Mill. No casks have been preserved – and the fictional discovery of one that serves as the backdrop for Loach’s film.

But there were (and are) a multitude of reasons why an absolutely healthy distillery stopped production and became just part of the story. One of them was Pattinson’s Crash of 1896. In the late nineteenth century, the whisky scene looked like it was today. Investing in expensive and rare whisky bottles had become a trend, and several companies were opened to explore this market niche.

Among them was Pattison, Elder & Company. According to a story by whisky historian Gavin D. Smith, they used various unhonest subterfuges to inflate the value of their stocks and their company. However, in 1896, the company began to default – and the practices came to the fore. Upon declaring bankruptcy, more than a dozen other companies in the industry went with it – partly because they were creditors of the latter, and partly because of the market’s loss of confidence in scotch whisky.

More drama followed. Some of them, external historical factors, like the Volstead Act, which decimated the distilleries of Campbelltown, for example. Or the two great wars. Focus on World War II, when dozens of distilleries stopped production to assist in the manufacture of fuel and supplies for the war. Laphroaig was one of those hit, for example. The distillery only exists today because of the genius of its owner at the time, Bessie Williamson.

Other times, the downfall of a future Ghost Distillery took place due to elements inherent to the industry and the consumer market. As, for example, the fall in popularity of scotch whisky in favor of vodka in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, combined with the industry’s excess production. This, incidentally, was the phenomenon responsible for silencing distilleries that are now objects of desire of every enthusiast – Port Ellen, Brora and Rosebank. Each with a different story. But, in common, excess in a time of retraction.

Port Ellen was closed in 1985, and converted into a malting floor by its owner, Diageo. At the time, the consumption of whisky in the world was far from what it is today. And Diageo had three distilleries on Islay alone – Port Ellen, Lagavulin and Caol Ila. There was no reason to keep the three, even because production was almost entirely geared towards the production of blends. The choice was natural. It may seem absurd these days, but Port Ellen was the smallest – by production volume – and the least known and least loved of the three.

Brora also had a similar history, being consequently replaced – including in his logo – by dear Clynelish. And Rosebank, considered the queen of Lowland distilleries, was passed over in favor of Glenknichiewhich had a visitor center on a green hill just like the home of Teletubbies. Finally, Glenury was also another victim of the response to the 1985 market downturn.

Brora, currently part of Diageo Special Releases

And there were also a few cases where the fall of that ghost distillery was due to sheer bad luck. As is the case with Banff, founded in 1824. Which caught fire in 1877. Whose owners went bankrupt in 1932. And which was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1941 (by the way, there is a curious episode about drunken cows ). And that exploded again in 1959, until it finally began to be demolished – voluntarily – in 1983, only to, during the demolition, catch fire and explode into a magnificent ball of fire a third time.

All of these distilleries, now ghost distilleries, were victims of their time – or bad luck, in the case of the unfortunate Banff. And perhaps his disgrace has become his greatest glory. Because, over time, they became sorts of industry martyrs. Of legacy, in most cases, his barrels remain. The maturing stock, patiently waiting to be bottled. And today, the traffic jams of precisely these stocks that are disputed by collectors as – and sorry for the cliché metaphor – liquid gold.

The reason for the search is not unique, either. First of all, there is a certain romance to tasting a liquid that will never be replaced. Even more for someone in love with that drink. Second, there is curiosity. Curiosity to know what that liquid tasted like. For the most aficionados, draw comparisons and finally satiate curiosity. Prove, in the tongue, that Port Ellen is as good as Lagavulin. That Clynelish is superior to Brora. Or not.

Will we have more silent distilleries in the future? I do not know. Probably – history shows that the movement is pendular. But if we do, I hope that excellent films will also be produced about them.

Aultmore 21 – Optimism

When I was five years old, I remember a visit I made to the pediatrician. He measured my foot, then the circumference of my head. With the smile of a child who has just discovered a confidence, he said resolutely that I would be six feet tall and strong as a pit bull. And then, thirty years later, I remembered this story, from the top of my disproportionate head, fixed on a body that is more like a dachshund, four feet off the ground.

But I wasn’t the only one to be lulled into prophecies of gigantism by pediatricians. It’s kind of a rule – you’ll always stay six feet tall, play basketball with the agility of a marmoset and have the bone mass of a brachiosaurus. But decades later, you end up puny, with mediocre stature, feet that look like two rackets, and bones pushing the skin in the wrong places. Pediatricians are naturally optimistic.

me on the beach, according to my pediatrician


I think it’s a matter of human nature’s expectation. You expect the future to be extraordinary. It’s like, for example, when I open a whisky that I’ve never had in my life – Aultmore 21 years old, for example, which has just officially arrived in Brazil. The unopened bottle promises an incredible, poignant, distinct experience. Totally out of the curve. Even more so for very exclusive and mature whiskies. But, unfortunately, this expectation is not always met.

I’ll start by contextualizing. While Aultmore’s story is a survival story – it lived on through the Pattinson crisis, the Volstead Act, the Great Depression and the two world wars – it never really shone on its own, as did some of its celebrated neighbors. Instead. His role has always been backstage – Aultmore is an important ingredient for blended scotches, especially the Dewar’s range.

Aultmore is located in the Moray Mountains, north of Keith, next to a road called Buckie Road – locally, they ask for a “a wee dram of the Buckie Road”. It is difficult to access and sparsely populated. Next to the distillery is an area known as the Foggie Moss, which at the time of Aultmore’s founding was quite rich in peat. These conditions, together with the ease of obtaining water, made the Aultmore region quite famous among illicit distillers in the mid-nineteenth century.

Aultmore’s supporting role changed when Bacardi, its owner, decided to launch in 2014 a series of bottlings of its distilleries – the well-known and modestly named “The Last Great Malts of Scotland” – highlighting Aberfeldy and the delicious Royal Brackla. Among them was also the Aultmore 21 years. Originally designed for the duty-free market, this expression is now also sold in selected domestic markets around the world – I suspect, due to COVID. Including Brazil.

Aultmore 21 years is a premium single malt, with a profile that refers to a blended luxury whisky. It’s quite complex – there’s honey, caramel, vanilla, creme brulee and a vegetable, herbaceous note. But it’s also a delicate and balanced whisky. The time – the ages in the cask – here brought softness, not intensity. There are no sharp edges or any aggressiveness. And that’s where the maturation, which happens in refill hogsheads, becomes apparent.

Aultmore


The smoothness of maturation also finds balance in its spirit, which has a medium body. Aultmore stills are low, which prevents reflux. However, the distillation is slow and encourages reflux, making the drink more aromatic and less oily. The distillate does not undergo cold filtration, and there is no added caramel coloring – the color is totally natural.

With that description, the 21 year old Aultmore sounds like an extraordinary liquid. And, as a matter of fact, he really is. But maybe it takes some experience to understand its greatness. It is a single malt with more than two decades of maturation, but whose sensory profile is close to an ultra-luxury blended scotch whisey. A delicate and complex whisky, balanced, without peat and herbal.

And maybe I was the one who was wrong in the expectation, and the problem is there, not in the liquid. Because in Brazil, a bottle of Aultmore 21 years costs a little more than a thousand reais. It’s a great price for a 21 year old single malt (that’s what it is!). However, it is perhaps an adequate price at the most considering a whisky which flavour profile is close to an ultra-luxury blend. Whose objective, by the way, is exactly the same – to bring complexity and smooth.

So my recommendation here will be twofold. Whether you’re passionate about smooth and delicate whiskies, or ultra-luxury blended scotch whiskies that combine complexity and smoothness, like the 25-year-old Dewar’s, the Aultmore 21 will be a perfect single malt for your taste buds. But, align your expectations – except, of course, if you’re a pediatrician.

AULTMORE 21

Type: Single malt

Distillery: Aultmore

Region: Speyside

ABV: 46%

TASTING NOTES

Aroma: Floral, citrus, herbs (as always, the legal ones…).

Taste: Herbaceous. grassy, slightly citrus. Honey, caramel, creme brulee. Medium and sweet finish.

*the bottle of the whisky subject of this tasting was provided by third parties involved in its production. This Dog, however, maintained complete editorial freedom over the content of the post.

Macallan Triple Cask 15 – Names

I once read an article about how automakers choose the names of their cars. It’s very interesting. and also complicated. What seems natural is actually a complex creative process. First, companies consult their marketing departments to determine words that reflect the vehicle’s profile. Literally hundreds of ideas are conceived.

Then, specialists from different areas choose the names based on the most different criteria. For example, it cannot be a registered trademark of another company. It can’t be slang, it can’t be a curse word in another language and it has to sound good. This all means that behind every Ford Pinto (the vulgar for “penis”), Kia Besta (even more vulgar for “stupid”), Mazda Laputa (vulgar for “prostitute”), Lancia Marica (ah, forget about explaining this one…) and Fiat Punto there is a team of dozens of people who failed miserably.

Recently, one of the most famous single malt brands in the world took the same risk. The Macallan, when launching its Quest collection. The old 1824 line was replaced by one of products with, shall we say, more creative names – Quest, Lumina, Terra and Enigma. And that’s okay, because the names sound good and, in a way, convey the sense of sophistication that the brand intends to. However – and in my simple opinion – there is a small problem. As in the case of Fiat Linea, Hyundai Azera and Honda Accord, the names mean nothing. After all, is light less or more sophisticated than earth and enigma?

Well…


Luckily, The Macallan compensated by renaming some of their lines with very concrete names. Like, for example, Fine Oak – which was renamed Triple Cask. And the other lines with minimal maturation stamped on the label, too. Sherry Oak, Double Cask and Triple Cask, accompanied by the minimum age declaration. Everything (almost) that the consumer wants to know is already stated there, in the name – without running the risk of idiomatic puns or too much abstraction. As is the case of Macallan Triple Cask 15 years, subject of this test.

According to The Macallan “Matured in a unique and complex combination of casks, the Macallan Triple Cask Matured range offers an extraordinarily smooth and delicate yet complex character, extracted from oak casks seasoned with European and American sherry and former American oak casks . -bourbon. Formerly known as The Macallan Fine Oak, the line offers the same whisky with a new name and a new bottle; reflecting the quality of our whiskies and revealing the skills and skill of the Macallan Masters.”

At this point, you might have already intuited a thing or two about the Macallan Triple Cask 15 years ago. The first is that, well, the age of the youngest malt in your mix is ​​15 years. And the second is that whisky uses three different types of casks. Here, in this case, American and European oak casks that previously contained sherry wine, and American oak casks that previously matured bourbon whisky. Very objective – no fancy nicknames.

The Triple Cask range – formerly dubbed Fine Oak – was launched in 2004 and brought something new to The Macallan whiskies. The use of ex-bourbon American oak casks. Is that traditionally the distillery used predominantly ex-sherry casks. However, the increase in production, together with the cost and the search for new consumers – who often want more delicate whiskies – made The Macallan diversify its range.

Three ranges


And even though the name is crystal clear, the liquid is of rare sophistication. Macallan Triple Cask 15 Years Old is a single malt with an extremely balanced aroma, with notes of caramel, vanilla, honey, creme brulee, black pepper and a touch of dried fruit. Everything is there exactly where it should be – none of the scents trump the other. The palate, in turn, accompanies the aroma, and brings the characteristic oiliness so known from The Macallan.

The texture of The Macallan Triple Cask 15 years is mainly due to The Macallan stills. They are the lowest in all of Scotland. Its lyne arms face downward to maximize condensation and reduce reflux. All of this makes for a very oily distillate. To counteract a hypothetical aggressiveness, The Macallan’s heart cut is very restrited: Only sixteen percent of the distillate – produced in the middle of the distillation process in the still – turns into single malt.

Within The Macallan’s Triple Cask lineup, the 15 year old is perhaps this Bottled Dog’s favorite – especially given the aforementioned balance of casks and new-make. And also Dave Broom’s favourite! According to the renowned journalist “it takes time to open, but it’s worth the wait. It’s the complete package, and arguably the best. Grade 9 and 1/4 of 10.”

If you are looking for a sophisticated whisky, with a balanced aroma and at the same time personality, the Macallan 15 Triple Cask is your choice. No names full of enigmatic meanings. Just an extremely well made and polished single malt, capable of pleasing both the hardcore enthusiast and the most casual drinker.

MACALLAN TRIPLE CASK 15 YEARS


Type: Single Malt with declared age (15 years)

Distillery: Macallan

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

TASTING NOTES

Aroma: caramel, vanilla, raisins, spices.

Flavor: Caramel, vanilla, creme brulee. Black pepper and dried fruit finish.

Interview with Chris Morris – Woodford Reserve Master Distiller

Tom Freston once said that innovation is taking two things that already exist and putting them together in a new way. But what Freston refrained from saying is that sometimes the story doesn’t work out very well. Like for example a certain flying car, the Ave Mizar. The Mizar was proof that the sum of two bad things always results in something much worse.

On the other hand, the result of bringing together two good things – by a creative mind, combining technique and knowledge – usually becomes greater than the sum of its parts. This is the case, for example, of the hamburger. And, in the bourbon whiskey industry, a range of Woodford Reserve products. The mind behind the hugely renowned brand is Chris Morris.

Chris Morris is not just any master distiller. He is the creator of amazing products like the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and the Woodford Rye. He is also responsible for the Master’s Collection – a series of limited editions from Woodford Reserve that introduce innovations to the world of American whiskey, such as a single malt aged in virgin barrels, a bourbon finished in red wine barrels and a bourbon with smoked barley in its mashbill.

Sonoma


Chris began his career in 1976 at Brown-Forman, the multinational that owns Woodford Reserve. In 1997, he became a student of Lincoln Henderson, Woodford Reserve’s first Master Distiller. In 2003, he became the second – and this is the position he occupies to this day.

Interviewing Morris isn’t exactly easy. The temptation is to ask about all the innovations already produced, and about plans for the future. Even more in an exclusive chat. After all, Woodford Reserve is that kind of brand that sets trends – that makes innovation tangible – and, well, palatable. You can check the result of the interview below.

You are one of the most respected master distillers in the Bourbon industry. How does one become a master distiller? How did you begin?

Chris Morris: Serving as master distiller at Woodford Reserve is a great honor and a great responsibility. My journey began in 1976, when I started my career in our analytical and sensory laboratory at the distillery. From there, I worked in the bottling part, our barrel cooperage, distillery, in the aging and barrel storage warehouses, as well as in sales and marketing.

In other words, I’ve had a wide range of experiences in our industry. During this journey, I was also privileged to work a significant amount of time at scotch, irish whiskey and tequila distilleries. My last role before being named master distiller was “Master Distiller in Training”. This allowed me the opportunity to devote 100% of my time preparing for my current role. It took 28 years of preparation and experience, two postgraduate degrees, and participation in several seminars before my promotion to master distiller in March 2003.

Woodford Reserve is part of Brown-Forman, which also owns Jack Daniel’s. However, Woodford is seen as a “craft” distillery. How do you maintain the “handcrafted” characteristic even though you are part of such a large company?

Chris Morris: Woodford Reserve is able to remain “craft” within a large global company, Brown-Forman, due to the company’s structure. At Brown-Forman, each brand and its distillery operate as an independent business within the larger business. Woodford has its own brand management team, production team and specific local sales and marketing teams around the world. The Global Brand Director and I are partners charged with maintaining the brand’s quality and business performance. This allows us to follow our vocation, which focuses on presenting the flavor of the product.

As a member of a multinational company (Brown-Forman), Woodford Reserve benefits from its (Brown) global distribution network. This allows us to show Woodford to a wider range of consumers around the world. It also helps us make accurate assessments of the volume of market demand by country. This is needed by us as we build our long-term distillation plans and barrel inventory.

What makes Woodford Reserve so special, in your opinion? In other words, how would you convince someone to drink Woodford over another bourbon?

Chris Morris: Woodford Reserve is special and stands out from other great Kentucky bourbons for a number of reasons. Key to its success is our Five Sources of Whiskey Flavor concept and the resulting balance of the Five Areas of Whiskey Flavor. Our distillery is the first in the United States to use triple distillation in copper stills (made in Scotland), ferment twice as long as the others, use the Woodford Reserve yeast strain and mature in custom barrels from our own cooperage . These unique production characteristics allow Woodford Reserve to have a complex balance of sweet aromatic notes, fruits and florals, spices, wood and grains.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA


I even apologize in advance for the statement – ​​but I love mixing Woodford Reserve. I think it’s a great base for cocktails. What do you think of cocktails with Woodford?

Chris Morris: I’m a big fan of using Woodford Reserve at cocktail parties. The best way to make a great cocktail is to use the best foundation in that cocktail. Beginning in 1999, when Woodford Reserve was named the first “Official Bourbon” of the Kentucky Derby, we became perfectionists in Mint Julep. Mint Julep has acquired a rather bad image over the years and was rarely served in bars and restaurants, for very long. Due to Woodford’s efforts, it is now possible to enjoy a Mint Julep in the United States and many other countries.

Woodford also established the Woodford Reserve Manhattan competition 12 years ago. This has become one of the most prestigious whiskey cocktail competitions in the world. Recently, Woodford was named the “Old Fashioned Week ” official bourbon, on a global platform. Thus, it is evident that Woodford Reserve played an important role in the return of “Classic Cocktails” to popularity.

Woodford Reserve has a Single Malt, right? Is it like a Scottish single malt or are there differences in production and palate?

Chris Morris: Woodford Reserve launched Kentucky’s first Single Malt Whiskey (Kentucky Single Malt) in 2009 through our Masters Collection product line. It was offered in two expressions – one aged in barrels previously used to mature another whiskey, like many Scottish single malts and the other aged in new barrels. For me, virgin barrel-aged malt was the more complex of the two.

Since then, the new micro-distillery movement in the US has championed Single Malts. I didn’t want us to look like a follower rather than the pioneers that we are, so we created Kentucky’s first and only single malt. The use of corn and rye in the recipe, as well as a charred virgin barrel, resulted in a flavor profile that I consider unique in the whiskey universe.

I could not agree more! Now, about finishing. Glenmorangie and Balvenie pioneered the technique of “finishing” (transferring a whiskey to a different type of barrel to add sensory complexity). Woodford Reserve is a pioneer in this technique in the United States – with chardonnay cask. How did you come up with this idea? AND…. is still bourbon?

My interest in finishing (barrels, finishing) started with my experience in the Single Malt Scotch industry. I noticed that the use of fortified wine barrels (port, sherry, wood etc.) was quite common. Why was no one using varietal wine barrels, I wondered? This led me to purchase barrels of chardonnay, pinot, cabernet, zinfandel and others to test the finish.

After much trial and error, we put our learning to the test with the release of the Chardonnay Finish from the Masters Collection in 2007 and despite the storm it caused among bourbon aficionados, it was a huge success. Since then, we’ve also pioneered the Pinot Noir finish and, with our established finishing credentials, we’ve moved on to the less controversial fortified wine finishes.

Suntory Hibiki Japanese Harmony – Devotion

I will keep trying to climb until I reach the top, even though no one knows where the top is.” The phrase is from the nonagenarian Jiro Ono, protagonist of a documentary I recently watched on Amazon: Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Jiro is the owner and chef of a restaurant that serves only sushi, called Sukiyasbashi Jiro. The space, with only ten seats, kept from 2007 to 2019 a three star rating by the Michelin Guide – the maximum award. In 2019 Sukiyasbashi Jiro lost its stars. But not by demerit. But because it became so famous that it does not accept reservations to the general public anymore.

The documentary, released in 2012, shows the chef’s crystalline devotion for his occupation. Jiro obsesses about the placement of the mats on his counter and points out where each customer should sit. Jiro massages each octopus for at least forty-five minutes, to make it more juicy. Jiro knows the exact story of each piece consumed in his establishment, and he watches his diners diligently – a longer blink of an eye may be a sign that something has changed. Jiro was born to make sushi. His success is almost a natural extension of him.

What’s up, Barack, is the fish-y tast-ey?

It is something that, in a way, could also be said of Suntory, Japan’s largest whisky producer. Its first label was launched in 1929. Today, its success is undeniable. The brand’s products are so desired that the more mature expressions even had to be discontinued. It could – the attention to detail, from the liquid to the packaging, is so meticulous that it even looks like that of an award-winning sushiman.

And after a long hiatus, two Suntory labels finally arrived in Brazil, to complete the portfolio with Roku Gin, Haku Vodka and The Chita. They are the single malt Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve – part of a future tasting of this Dog – and the Hibiki Japanese Harmony, blended whisky and the object of this article.

According to Suntory, Hibiki Japanese Harmony is considered the cornerstone of the Hibiki blending line, and carries the same base malts and grain whisky as the most mature expressions, Hibiki 17 and 21 years old. There are three. Yamazaki, responsible for a good part of the sweet and candied fruit notes of the blend; Hakushu, which brings a slight impression of smoke and iodine and The Chita, which brings sweetness and balance to the mix – “daishi” as the company itself defines.

The maturation takes part in five different types of barrels, from three different species of oak. The ex-bourbon American serves as a base – with sweetness and vanilla. The European oak previously used for sherry wine brings seasoning, as well as the rare Japanese oak, known as mizunara.

Hibiki Japanese Harmony shows how complex the creation of a blended whisky is, and the level of knowledge of its master blender, Shinji Fukuyo. Its components must be combined in order to bring harmony, drinkability, but, at the same time, personality. To paraphrase Jiro Ono “there is a balance between fish and rice. If it is not in perfect harmony, it will not be good ”. Attention should be paid to balance, in order to avoid that certain whisky does not stand out, but also to let part of the character of each one be noticed. This is actually the biggest challenge for every blender in the world.

Shinji Fukuyo, dreaming of sushi

But in the case of the Japanese, there is yet another setback. The raw material is incredibly scarce, because there is a huge demand for Japanese malts in the world. And the blend must have standardization, consistency – Hibikis Japanese Harmonies must always have the same sensory profile. Achieving this with limited resources is not a trivial job

There is an interesting symbology behind the bottle, too. The name Hibiki means “resonance” or “harmony”. It is as if Japanese Harmony were doubly harmonic. The bottle has twenty-four distinct faces, which symbolize twenty-four seasons of the traditional Japanese calendar.

Sensorially, Hibiki Japanese Harmony is a very balanced, fruity and floral whisky. There are citrus notes, as well as vanilla, cinnamon, black pepper and coconut. The flavor intensity is higher than the average of blended whiskies, but there is almost no aggressiveness. The texture is somewhat reminiscent of its counterpart, Haku Vodka. It is curious how the Hibiki Japanese Harmony is essentially a luxury blend, but it also sensorially appeals to the enthusiast because of its intensity.

In Brazil, a bottle of Hibiki Japanese Harmony costs approximately 700 reais. It is not cheap – but it is a price consistent with other luxury blends. Some of them, also without an age stated on the label.

Hibiki Japanese Harmony is, in a way, the most perfect summary of the Japanese technique and dedication in producing whiskies. Not even his magnificent single malts – with my dear Hakushu – are a better testament to his technique. Look, my dear Jiro, I’m not sure where the top is either – but Hibiki is close to him.

SUNTORY HIBIKI JAPANESE HARMONY


Type: No age statement blended whisky

Brand: Suntory

Region: N / A

ABV: 43%

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: citrus, vanilla. Cinnamon and coconut in the background.

Flavor: Honey, candied fruit, floral, vanilla. Persistent finish, with coconut, cinnamon and a little black pepper.

Where to find: Caledonia Whiskey & Co., in São Paulo, and other selected retailers.