The Bottled Dog

Man’s Best Friend in Liquid State

Springbank 15 – Drops

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If you like cars, you must have heard of the Nissan GTR.  The Nissan GTR is the heir of Skyline, a super-sporty Japanese car although produced by the Prince Motor Company.  In 2009, the GTR entered the Guinness Book of Records for having the fastest acceleration from 0-60mph for a four-seater.  This however, isn’t so important.  What is, is that the GTR (and its parent, the Skyline) is one of the most sought-after and talked-about cars by any auto-geek.

It might be because the car has starred in some video game, or gained fame by outdoing much more expensive cars when it comes to performance.  If you dare speak badly about the GTR to an enthusiast, you’ll be in dire straits.  The GTR is the automotive version of that joke about a lonely guy in the desert that starts to prepare a Dry Martini.  Out of the blue, someone would appear to tell him he used too much – or too little – vermouth.  If, one day, you’re feeling terribly lonely, just start proclaiming, ‘the Porsche Carrera is better than the GTR’.  I’m pretty sure someone will just pop out of a drain or your closet to tell you otherwise.

In the world of whisky, Springbank is the Nissan GTR.  A very good single malt, whose fame makes it more than impeccable.  Springbank has cult status among enthusiasts and its limited editions practically make shelves almost immediately after being released.

This kind of success rarely has one single reason.  This Dog, however, believes that it is down to two.  The first, the indisputable quality and regularity of the new releases.  Although not all of them are extraordinary, it is practically impossible to find a bad one.  Secondly, Springbank is one of the only independent distilleries in the whole of Scotland, as well as being one of the few that runs the entire production process – from malting to bottling – entirely on-site.  There is something romantic about knowing that the malt is produced in an artisanal way, in an increasingly automated world dominated by large conglomerates.

Springbank is one of the only distilleries in Campbeltown, a city that had long been considered the whisky capital of the world.  The region, which had thirty-four distilleries during the fifties, now only has three.  The other two are Glengyle and Glen Scotia.

Campbeltown

Despite its artisanal appearance, the distillery has a good variety of whiskies.  There are three distinct lines.  The first homonymous – Springbank, the subject of this post – is lightly peated.  The second, Hazelburn, is triple distilled and also unpeated, producing to a light, sweet whisky.  The third – called Longrow – is the opposite of the second.  It is a substantially peated, and relatively oily whisky.

Sprinkbank 15 is, above all, extremely balanced.  It is a complex, oily, fruity and slightly peated whisky with a chocolate and woody finish.  It is unquestionably good.  However, in this canine’s opinion, it’s nothing that will change alcoholic paradigms forever or spoil the experience of drinking anything that does not come from the same distillery.  It is a fair malt, above average and produced with great care.  Yet, just like the GTR, it is far from imposing on other excellent malts.

Be that as it may, Sprinkbank 15 years, or, to tell the truth, any Springbank, is a necessary tipple for any whisky enthusiast.  It is wonderful proof of how traditional production methods of a secular drink such as whisky still have their place in today’s market.  In short, it is a malt that emanates admiration and respect, even if most days you prefer Porsches.

SPRINGBANK 15 YEARS

Type: Single Malt 15 years old

Distillery: Springbank

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 46%

Tasting notes:

Aroma: Slightly smoked.  Fruity with raisins and nuts.

Flavour:  Dried fruits, prunes.  A lightly smoked and long finish.  Oily and quite complex.

Available: only international shops.

 

Macallan Edition No. 3 – Exclusive Aroma

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Queen of the Night smells like a broken tooth. Not to everyone but it does to me.  Whenever I smell the scent of the flower, I discretely run my tongue over my teeth as I feel a mismatched sense of relief.  Phew!  It’s just the flower, nothing fell out this time.  At the age of eight, I broke a tooth.  I was running in my Grandmother’s garden near some pots of Queen of the Night one evening.  I clearly remember the twilight, the smell of jasmine, tripping and falling, passing out and the taste of rust in my mouth.  To this day, if I smell Queen of the Night I am unwillingly taken back to that specific memory.

Olfactory memory is a powerful thing.  Theis clarity has a name: The Proustian Phenomenon.  It is a tribute to the French writer, Marcel Proust, who described in his ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ (In Search of Lost Time) that the smell of tea-dipped biscuits took him back to his aunt’s house.  Even Science has seriously considered this phenomenon.  According to English researchers, the vividness of memories brought by smells is caused by conformation of the brain.  The part of the brain that processes odours is in the limbic system, linked to our emotions.

These emotions are so strong that they can lead lives, like that of British perfumer Roja Dove.  “At some specific long-lost moment, a fragrant molecule entered my being and I was forever changed, my destiny was forged, its path galvanised. There was no other path to tread than that of perfumery, and along its colourful brick-road I have encountered the work of mighty geniuses who allow their creativity to become part of our core, our being, our ‘id’ – as it stops us dead in our tracks, brings tears to our eyes or smiles to our faces. How can anyone not love perfumery?”

This scent… reminds me of whisky!

It is undeniable that smell also plays a crucial role in the appreciation of whisky.  It is through smell that we can perceive most of its sensory characteristics, that is, almost all of them.  The rest is sweet-bitter-salty-sour-umami.  It would therefore make perfect sense to invite a famous international perfumer – Roja, mentioned above – to assist in the process of creating a whisky.  This is precisely what the prestigious The Macallan did with its Macallan Edition No. 3, which was recently launched in Brazil, and available in limited quantities.

In the words of The Macallan: “Roja brought his skill to the distillery, nosing a range of whisky samples and providing his thoughts and interpretation of the character and aromas he encountered.  Roja’s articulation of aromas to select dominant notes to help shape the final character of Edition No.3.”

The variety of barrels used to produce Macallan Edition No. 3 shows the perfumer’s zeal.  They are casks from the Spanish cooperage Hudosa, first-fill American oak barrels, European and American oak refill barrels, first-fill barrels made by Tevasa coopers; European oak barrels, first-fill American oak hogsheads that formerly contained bourbon and first-fill bourbon barrels.  That is, without proper names, formats and sizes: first-fill and refill barrels made of European and American oak. Let’s keep it simple.

Thinking carefully about the sensory characteristics of each barrel, the impression is that the Macallan Edition No. 3 is a variation of our well-known Fine Oak.  Sensorially, however, they are relatively different expressions.  Starting with the perfume: Unsurprisingly, one of the highlights of Macallan Edition No. 3 is its aroma.  For this Dog, it might even be one of the most interesting recent releases from The Macallan.  To the nose, the whisky brings the traditional scent of sherry with more vanilla and caramel.  Its flavour, in turn, is citric and floral with orange, more vanilla and caramel.  The finish is long and sweet.

The numbered editions of The Macallan, known simply as “The Edition Series” are limited annual releases, which explore Macallan’s vision of whisky production and bring out details of its creation.  Many of them rely on the participation of specialists from other industries, like Edition No. 2 and the brothers, and chefs, behind the world-famous restaurant El Celler de Can Roca.  According to the distillery itself, “At the heart of The Edition Series is our desire to innovate; to push the boundaries and challenge expectations in the creation, experience and enjoyment of The Macallan.”

Edition Series (source: Highestspirits)

On its international website, The Macallan, writes, “Continuing the story of our oak casks and obsession with wood that is fundamental in the creation of all Macallan single malt, The Edition Series provides the freedom to look beyond the traditional cask styles used in other Macallan whiskies…Collaborating with partners from different fields of expertise, each release in the series is an individual – a true marriage of Macallan mastery and the unique influence from diverse backgrounds to the whisky making process.”

If you’re looking for an oily, vinous, but still extremely well-balanced whisky with a fantastic perfume, Macallan Edition No. 3 is quite a find.  But hurry – according to Maurício Leme, brand manager in Brazil – only very few bottles are disembarking here.  It would be a pity to miss out on trying it.  After all, this is a single malt that will stay in your olfactory memory for a very, very long time.

THE MACALLAN EDITION NO. 3

Type: Single Malt (no age statement)

Distillery: Macallan

Region: Speyside

ABV: 48,3% (here is an Easter egg for you.  Edition No. 1 contained 48,1%, the second 48,2%.  What will happen to the 10th?)

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: sherry, vanilla, caramel.  A little coconut.  The balance is incredible – you can easily fragment the aroma, just by paying attention to each one.

Flavour: Caramel, black pepper.  Fortified wine.  Vanilla.  The finish is sweet and long with a certain spiciness.

Availability: Brazilian shops (average price R$ 600,00 – six hundred reais)

Tasting with Robin Coupar – Wild Turkey Global Brand Ambassador

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Thursday, 2:30 p.m. Three whiskey glasses set in front of me. In the adjoining room, bartenders prepare cocktails with whiskey for guests – among them, a variation of a mash, created by Paulo Freitas, Brazilian ambassador for Wild Turkey and Campari. Given the ome of the day and the ethylic assemblage, this is not a normal day of work.

But there’s a reason. Robin Coupar, the global ambassador of Wild Turkey, arrived in Brazil to guide a series of tastings, and this Dog had the pleasure of participating in one of them. During the presentation, Robin – who is Scottish and passionate about everything related to whiskey – told some details about the history and production of Wild Turkey.

The tastings are part of the Behind The Barrel competition, which gathered 30 Brazilian participants. The competition is an invitation from Wild Turkey Bourbon, owned by Campari Group, for bartenders to create a “Cocktail that Represents your Personality” using Wild Turkey 101.

Not your average work day

Coupar presented us with some very intersting facts about Wild Turkey, such as their low dillution. The product of the distillation – the white dog – fills the barrels almost “still strength”. This makes the flavor brought by the whiskey mashbill more evident, even after it has fully matured.

During the event, we had the opportunity to sample three whiskeys from the brand’s portfolio. The Wild Turkey Bourbon (formerly known as Wild Turkey 81), the Wild Turkey 101 and the Wild Turkey Rye. The latter, a version with reduced alcoholic strength of the well-known 101 Rye.

Robin explained that the mashbill of the Wild Turkey Bourbon and his brother 101 is the same. Like all bourbon, there is predominance of corn. The difference between the two is in the alcoholic graduation and in the average maturation, which is longer in the more alcoholic version. In the case of 101 Rye, of course, the mashbill changes, and the predominant grain becomes rye.

Robin, thinking about whiskey

The ambassador also showed how the entire process of manufacturing Wild Turkey is handcrafted and supervised by Eddie and Jimmy Russell, Wild Turkey managers and master distillers, who have over 90 years of experience in the bourbon manufacturing process.

Finally, a surprise. We were presented with a dram of Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel, a whiskey bourbon produced by Wild Turkey in limited quantities, with a 55% alcohol content, and coming from casks specially selected for their quality and maturation.

Really, that was far from a normal day’s work.

Smokin’ Bob Negroni

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Photo: Tales Hideki

On a winter night in Oakland 1905, an eleven-year-old boy named Frank Epperson accidentally left a glass of water, soft drink powder and a stick he had used to mix the two outside his house.  At that moment, he had no idea what he had just created.

The next day, the boy found his frozen drink with a stick conveniently standing upright in the middle – perfect for picking it up.  The world’s first ice lolly was born.  Some years later, Epperson himself set about patenting his serendipity.

A century later, Epperson’s creation can be found all over the world.  Despite some wrong turns – Mexican Popsicles and that long round frozen yoghurty thing, for example – it has never gone out of fashion.  It’s like Negroni: Almost a century old and in perfect shape.

A turn to the worse

 

In fact, Negroni was also created in a very unpretentious way. Its story is told in the book Sulle Tracce del Conte: La Vera Storia del Cocktail Negroni, by Lucca Picchi, bartender at Caffe Rivoire, in Florence, Italy.

According to the book, the cocktail was created in 1919 at Bar Casoni, which is also in Florence, when the Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender Forsco Scarselli to make him an American with gin instead of water. The Count never imagined he had just created one of the greatest classic cocktails ever, but it’s exactly what had happened.

Today, the cocktail is so famous that there is an entire week dedicated to it: Negroni Week, presented by Campari and Imbibe Magazine.  The week was launched in 2013 and is occurs annually.  In 2018, in Brazil Negroni Week was from 4th to 10th June.  During those days, participating bars created different versions of Negroni’s recipe and part of the sales of these drinks was given to charities.

Inspired by this week and at the Dog’s request, teacher and bartender Rodolfo Bob, of Axado Bar and owner of the website O Bar Virtual, has created a version of this cocktail: the Smokin’ Bob Negroni.  So, dear readers, take outi tuoi quaderni and make notes.  It’s a negroni that contains the only ingredient capable of improving this legendary cocktail.  Of course, I’m talking about whisky and the best type, peated, obviously.

SMOKIN’ BOB NEGRONI

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 dose of gin
  • 1 part of vermouth (Bob used Antica Formula)
  • 1 part of Campari
  • 1/2 part of elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)
  • 1/2 part of Laphroaig Select (you can try substituting with another pleated whisky, but bear in mind that something smokier will dominate the taste of the cocktail, so use less).
  • Salt flower
  • Dehydrated flower petals (I’ll put this is in as an option…)
  • All the paraphernalia used for making a cocktail (cocktail spoon, mixing glass etc)
  • Tumbler
  • Ice

PREPARATION

  1. Mix the liquid ingredients (gin, vermouth, Campari, St. Germain and Laphroaig) in a mixing glass with plenty of ice.
  2. Pour the mixture into a tumbler with ice (preferably ice cubes).
  3. Sprinkle the salt and flower petals (if you decide to use them) onto the ice.  Go easy on the salt, champ, remember it’ll melt the ice.

 

Ancnoc Blas – Private Relationship

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We form sentimental relationships with a lot of things: with the car that we drove on an incredible trip, the film we watched that time with someone special and the song that helped us overcome a challenge.  It’s not necessarily good or bad, but it’s a feeling that something is special to you, however trivial it may seem to others.  They are things that are part of a moment of epiphany, or that mark some sort of change in our lives.

One of the whiskies that holds a special place in my memory is AnCnoc.  AnCnoc was my favourite in the most important tasting I went to on my first trip to Scotland.  I was so impressed that the last thing I did before boarding my flight back to Brazil was run to the duty free shop and buy a bottle to take home – AnCnoc 16 years old.

Naturally, I thought that with time and after trying other malts, the feeling would fade.  In fact, it didn’t at all.  After that 16-year-old, I had another four different bottles. And I liked them all.  They all had the same suave characteristic, the smooth, melted butteriness that fascinated me.  My favourite, however, is AnCnoc Blas – whose name means “flavour” in Gaelic.

Blas is a souped up version – to use a more technical expression ‘Cask Strength’- of the classic tasting profile of its distillery. Which, incidentally, is not called AnCnoc, but Knockdhu.  The unusual difference between the name of the whisky and the distillery has a very clear reason.  It is to keep drunken whisky lovers from confusing it with Knockando, another distillery, whose whiskies are also called Knockando.

Knockdhu is in Aberdeenshire, in the Scottish Highlands, and boasts an impressive and varied range.  There are no age statement whiskies – like Blas – and other more matured offerings like the incredible 25-year-old.  There are also special peaty editions, which are peated to different degrees.  The distillery is extremely versatile and in the partial opinion of this dog – and sorry for the canine reference – a hell of an underdog, along with Ben Nevis.

AnCnoc Blas is a special edition of Knockdhu, in collaboration with the Scottish designer Patrick Grant.  If you think it’s strange that a designer was involved in producing a single malt, let me explain: Grant was responsible for illustrating the packaging and whisky label.  In the words of the designer, “I spent a lot of time at Knockdhu not only taking in the landscape and the surrounding areas but getting to know the people that work there and the methods that they use. Everything in the print is from the hill, the village of Knock or from within the distillery itself and tells the story of the making of Blas.  I’ve tried to interpret AnCnoc’s history and tradition in a modern way, and hope this is translated through the aesthetic of the bottle.”

Patrick and Blas

It’s not the first time that Knockdhu has worked with a well-known personality in an unlikely collaboration.  Other limited editions produced by the distillery featured illustrations by Peter Arkle, a Scottish artist.  If you think all this drawing talk is silly, calm down – AnCnoc Blas doesn’t only dress differently.  As mentioned above, it is bottled at cask strength and has 54% alcohol content – something quite unusual for AnCnoc.

Perhaps I am exaggerating.  Maybe AnCnoc Blas is just another good whisky, among so many good whiskies.  Or perhaps it just benefitted from the moment – after all it is easier to fall in love in Scotland than in your living room!  Yet it is precisely this uncertainty, the feeling that I think it’s better than others might do, that makes it even more special.

ANCNOC BLAS

Type: No age statment single malt whisky

Distillery: Knockdhu

Region: Highlands

ABV: 54%

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: Honey, vanilla, caramelised nuts.

Flavour: Fruity, slightly citric, with honey, vanilla and lemon grass. Sweet and smooth finish.

Wild Turkey 81 – About Poultry

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It’s no secret to anyone that I hate chicken.  It’s not that I don’t eat chicken because I eat almost anything.  Seriously, if you serve me something really disgusting, like, I don’t know, goats’ eyes those Chinese green eggs, maybe I’ll think about it for a few moments.  After that, however, there’s a pretty big chance I’ll try it.  Then I might say that it’s awful or absolutely disgusting and it goes onto the list of things that I’ll probably eat again, because I’m stubborn, but I definitely don’t like.

Chicken is there.  I eat chicken very reluctantly.  It’s not prejudice – it would be prejudice if I’d never tasted it – it’s ‘post-judice’.  I’ve already eaten chicken many times in infinite places and it’s always bad.  I hate chicken so much that I once went to a farm in the countryside and saw a chicken run.  A chicken perhaps smelling (do chicken’s smell?) hatred in the air didn’t think twice about attacking me in flight, which was as aggressive as it was ridiculous. Then I started hating live chickens too.

Nevertheless, the beauty of the world lies in its diversity.  On the other side of the chicken despising spectrum is Matteo Tranchellini.  Matteo is an Italian photographer who adores poultry – so much so that in one of his projects (which is a bit of a joke, if you ask me) he photographed over a hundred hens and roosters, highlighting their (debatable) beauty.  There are birds in every possible position, some bent out of shape and some with big legs and others with huge crests.  There is even a really ridiculous one that looks like Chewbacca.

Wookie or chicken?

However, I think I am the strange one because people like poultry – so much, so that one of the world’s most famous and best-selling whiskies is named after one of our feathered friends: Wild Turkey.  Its distillery is one of the most important in the United States and its two best-known bourbons are 101 – already reviewed here – and 81, the subject of this tasting.

You may be wondering why the Wild Turkey brand decided to name their whiskies after numbers.  Well, the numbers refer to the alcoholic strength of the bourbon.  Instead of using the ABV measuring system (Alcohol By Volume, currently used in the UK) the brand has opted for proof – simply double the ABV measurement. Wild Turkey 101 is 50.5% alcohol and 81, 40.5%.

In fact, to change the subject from chickens a little bit, maybe this is a good opportunity to tell the story of “proof”.  The term was coined in the 16th century in England when drinks were taxed according to their alcohol content.  Distillates were tested by dripping them onto a little gunpowder.  If the gunpowder still ignited, the drink was taxed more heavily for being “proof”.  At that time, the proof referred to 1.75 times the alcoholic strength.  When the concept was exported to the land of fried chicken – we can’t seem to get away from chickens – it happened to be doubled, exactly.

Back to Bourbon: Wild Turkey 81 was launched in 2011 to commemorate the thirtieth birthday of Eddie Russell – son of the master distiller Jimmy Russell and manager of the distillery – at Wild Turkey.  Four years later, Jimmy joined his father in the role of master distiller, to create a team with over ninety years’ experience in producing bourbon.  In 2016, the whisky reviewed its visual identity and 81 was renamed Wild Turkey Bourbon – a name as good as it is vague.

New Identity

As in all bourbon whisky, the main cereal in the mashbill of Wild Turkey 81 is corn – a firm favourite of the hateful poultry whose name I won’t mention again.  The recipe is that same as that of its brother bourbon, 101: 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley.  Maturation takes place in new, charred American oak barrels.  They are charred as much as possible, known as the “alligator char” because resembles reptile skin after the process.  The whisky is removed from the barrels with an average alcohol content of 54.5% and subsequently diluted with water to reach 40.5%.

Wild Turkey 81 is a very sweet, smooth whisky with a clear caramel, brown sugar and vanilla flavour.  Due to the taste and low alcohol content, it isn’t a very ‘challenging’ drink.  Even those who aren’t used to drinking straight whisky won’t have any difficulty trying it this way.  So, if you’re just getting started in the world of American whiskies, or if you’re simply looking for something to sip without too much worry or trouble, Wild Turkey 81 is for you.

Oh, if only all chickens were like this.

WILD TURKEY 81 BOURBON

Type: Bourbon Whiskey

Brand: Wild Turkey

Region: N/A

ABV: 40.5%

Comments on taste:

Aroma: Caramel, brown sugar, vanilla.

Flavour: Caramel and honey, brown sugar, vanilla. A medium after taste with more vanilla and sweet caramel.

With Water: Water makes the bourbon a little less sweet and emphasises the vanilla.

 

Royal Salute Eternal Reserve – Drops

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Mine is ten.  Ah, but mine is fifteen.  Poor you, mine here is twenty-one.  Wow, only twenty-one? Mine is infinite.  It might seem like kids bickering, but in fact, we’re talking about one of the latest releases from Royal Salute – a super premium brand of blended Scotch whisky – Royal Salute Eternal Reserve. Its age, despite suggestively being titled “eternal”, is actually 21 years old.  However, it uses increasingly matured whiskies in its blend.

The idea behind Royal Salute Eternal Reserve is actually quite simple.  In Royal Salute’s own words, “The very first creation of Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve began with the preparation of 88 casks of incredibly rare and precious whiskies, all aged in their casks for over 21 years.

These whiskies were carefully selected using two criteria: firstly, that each whisky possessed an exceptionally long finish that could be further extended through blending and marrying process and secondly, that the whiskies chosen could be beautifully harmonised in each new batch, while keeping the original signature style forever.

Once selected, the precious whiskies were blended together and then further married in 88 casks in the Royal Salute Vault for a period of six months. This original blend is then blended with other 88 casks worth of precious whisky of exceptionally aged whiskies to complete the first batch.

Before bottling this first batch, our expert blending team holds some of the blend back, returning it to the original 88 casks, so they can form the basis of the next batch. These 88 casks are always safeguarded in the Royal Salute Vault in Strathisla distillery. Each time a new batch is blended, the same process – circulation of 88 casks – is repeated; the whiskies of the 88 casks from the previous batch are added to the new blend of the next batch.”

It really exists!

If you exclude certain adjectives and hyperboles, such as exceptionally, exceptional, wonderfully and precious, you will see that the method is very similar to that of solera, widely used by some sherries.  Part of the blend from a previous batch is mixed with the next batch.  The idea is that a small fraction of the original lot is always present in future batches, due to successive blending.

In practice, this technique brings a certain consistency to whisky, avoiding sensitive differences between one batch and another.  Additionally, there is an emotional appeal.  Imagine that in two decades a small number of the whiskies in the existing blend will have rested by that time in the eighty-eight casks.  This means that part of it will consist of whiskies of over forty years old.

Royal Salute Eternal Reserve is a very light and slightly oily whisky, rather fruity with honey, caramel and vanilla.  The alcohol is perfectly integrated and hardly aggressive.  If you like light and fruity whiskies or completely in love with Royal Salute, you should try Royal Salute Eternal Reserve. You’ll be eternally in love.

ROYAL SALUTE ETERNAL RESERVE

Type: Blended Whisky – 21 years old  (it’s not eternal after all)

Brand: Royal Salute

Region: N/A

ABV: 40%

Tasting Notes:

Aroma: Fruity, with vanilla and caramel.

Flavour: Like its 21-year-old brother, it is a sweet whisky, with notes of honey, dried and fresh fruit.  It has a medium finish, with a taste of vanilla and liquorice. The alcohol is extremely subtle. It’s pretty good!

Price: around US$ 180 (one hundred and eighty) dollars.

Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary Edition

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If you watched the movie Magnolia, you may be familiar with the Darwin Award. But if you’re not, I’ll explain.  The Darwin Award is a sort of posthumous Oscar, which rewards individuals who have managed, though total lack of intelligence, to remove themselves from the hereditary human chain in a spectacularly idiotic way.  That is, they killed themselves in stupid ways.

Like the American, for example, who, bothered by the sound his pickup was making, decided he would try to find out where the noise was coming from under the vehicle – while driving at 40 miles per hour.  Or the Texas teenager who played Russian roulette with a semi-automatic pistol.  Or Brazil’s own contender for this prestigious award, the ‘priest of the balloon’ – a Brazilian Catholic priest, who died during an attempt at cluster ballooning on April 20, 2008.  There is even an expression “as crazy as the ballon priest” which meaning explains itself.

Almost a Coen Brothers film (source: Folha)

What most people don’t know is that there is a very famous person who could also well have received such a prize – Mr. Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel, the illustrious creator of the most consumed American whisky in the world.  According to history, Jasper had a safe in his office.  One fine day in his frustration at forgetting the combination he kicked it hard.  His nail broke, toe became infected and gangrenous, and the lovely gentleman ended up dying of septicaemia at the age of 61.

Despite his simultaneously tragic and prosaic death, Jasper’s legacy continued and Jack Daniel’s has become the best known American whisky brand in the world.  Currently owned by giant Brown-Forman, the distillery celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2016 and to mark the date released a special edition Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary.

There is, however, a detail here: Although Jack Daniel’s celebrated 150 years, the distillery’s operation has not been continuous.  In 1909 Tennessee became a dry state and the distillery only reopened in 1933.  In spite of this twenty-four-year hiatus, Jack Daniel’s has been produced for one and a half centuries on its original site.

Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary is produced in a similar way to its brother Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7.  It’s mash bill is the same, 80% corn, 12% barley and 8% rye.  The charcoal filtration – known as the Lincoln County Process – is also the same.  However, Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary has a higher alcoholic content of 50%.  Additionally, according to the brand, the whisky undergoes a significantly different maturation process.

The distillate is placed in slowly charred virgin American Oak barrels – whatever that may mean – that were especially developed for this expression.  The whisky matures in one of the oldest warehouses in the distillery.  In Jack Daniel’s own words: “After being filled, the barrels are placed on the top shelves (known as the Angel’s Roost) in one of the oldest rooms, where whisky has been matured for generations in an elevated position with exactly the right exposure to the sun that creates the perfect climate for one of the best whisky-cask interactions.”

Angel’s Roost

The result is a sweet and smooth whisky with much more pronounced vanilla and caramel than in the standard version.  The alcohol content also helps, adding a welcome potency and a very spicy, but not too aggressive ending.  It’s a well-finished whisky and undeniably carries the genetic essence of Jack Daniel’s.

In Brazil, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary costs around R$ 520,00 (five hundred and twenty Brazilian reais).  That makes it the most or second-most expensive whisky available here, along with the Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select – also a limited edition.  Compared to the later, Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary is not only more alcoholic and spicy, but also in the Dog’s opinion, a more interesting option.

Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel could well have died in an unexpectedly stupid way, but his distillery on the other hand, seems strong and healthy after a century and a half and fit to survive for longer.   So, let’s make a toast to these and the next hundred and fifty years of Jack Daniel’s.

JACK DANIEL’S 150TH ANNIVERSARY

Type – Tennessee Whiskey

ABV – 50%

Region: N/A

Country: USA

Comments on taste:

Aroma: sweet, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla

Flavour: sweet, fruit syrup, vanilla, honey, spices, lasting aftertaste, with vanilla, black pepper and spices.

With water: the mix with water makes the aftertaste sweeter and shorter.

Price: Approximately R$ 520,00 (five hundred and twenty Brazilian reais).

Blackthorne – Dogstail

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Sometimes we just need to bring something back for it to become a success.  That’s what I thought after watching the film The Disaster Artist, directed by actor James Franco.  The Disaster Artist is based on another film: The Room.  Written and directed by an odd individual called Tommy Wiseau, The Room is widely considered the worst in the entire world. Franco’s film is really cool and genuinely made me want to watch Wiseau’s – and I’m not the only one.  The internet is packed with reports of people who watched one after the other.

I would not dare to ffirm that The Room is the worst film in the entire world, because I haven’t seen all the films in the entire world, but I will say this – it’s pretty bad. The worst part is the script – it makes absolutely no sense.  What I’m about to write will seem a bit random, but at home we have a cat. Sometimes I notice he looks at me weirdly when I’m doing something and he doesn’t understand why, like taking a shower or brushing my teeth.  I think if our cat suddenly became more intelligent and decided to direct a film, he would probably make something like The Room in his efforts to reproduce human behaviour.

In a way, I was expecting a disastrous film, but I also thought there might be some redeeming quality. There isn’t. Everything is terrible and not terrible according to normal standards. The Room is a special type of terrible.  It is so bad that despite box office failure it has gained ‘cult’ status years later. Thanks to the internet, which revels in anything unbelievably bad, and James Franco’s film, The Room has been brought back from oblivion – where, by the way, it should have remained to become a trash icon.

A panda puking a rainbow at a soldier makes more sense than The Room.

Something very similar happened with a cocktail: The Blackthorne.  Its first appearance was in 1900 in Harry Johnson’s Bartender’s Manual.  The drink also featured in Robert Vermeire’s book Cocktails, How to Mix Them published in 1922.  Johnson and Vermeire’s recipe for Blackthorn (at that time written without the elegant “e” at the end) carried equal parts vermouth and Irish whiskey as well as absinthe and bitters.  A boring, unbalanced cocktail doomed to oblivion…

However, in his 2003 book The Joy of Mixology, Gary Regan decided to bring the drink back and with two relatively simple changes, it has transformed into one that deserves to be remembered.  Regan increased the proportion of Irish whiskey, so that the base of the cocktail stood out more and replaced the dashes of absinthe with a wash of the glass.  It became more like something recognisable – a Manhattan – Regan had guaranteed the survival of the outcast Blackthorn, which gained an extra “e” for some added charm.

It’s good, isn’t it, Tommy?

There is a curious phenomenon about the cocktail, which I failed to mention before.  It shares its name with another cocktail made of Sloe Gin, bitters and orange.  This makes a lot of sense, considering the name, as the fruit of the blackthorn tree is used in the production of sloe gin.  However, to avoid confusion, many refer to Blackthorn whisky as Irish Blackthorn(e), while the gin cocktail is referred to as English Blackthorn.

The recipe for Blackthorne also has a number of variations.  Difford’s Guide, for example, changes the proportions of Regan’s recipe, uses Boker’s bitters and two different vermouths – one dry and one red, which in this canine’s opinion is an excellent idea.  This change brings more freshness to the cocktail, distances it from the Manhattan and gives it its own identity.  The Bartender, who introduced me to the cocktail, Paulo Cesar Corghis, even uses only dry vermouth.

So, dear readers, open your mental notebooks to a clean page so that you never forget.  This is Blackthorne, the Manhattan’s Irish cousin, saved from being forgotten to make things a little better and by that, I mean it’s one of those that deserves to be brought back.

BLACKTHORNE

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 parts of Irish Whiskey (the only one available in Brazil is Jameson – you can use it, it works well).
  • 1 part of red vermouth (or 1/2 dose of red vermouth and 1/2 dose of dry vermouth. See preparation notes)
  • 3 dashes of Angostura Bitters
  • Absinthe to coat the glass.
  • All the paraphernalia that you already know (mixing glass, cocktail spoon, cocktail or martini glass and ice, of course, ice)

PREPARATION

  1. Rinse a Martini glass with absinthe. Be careful not to use too much.  Absinthe can easily overpower some of the other cocktail flavours.  Discard the excess (or drink it, I’ve already done this, I know you want to too).
  2. Add the ice, Irish whiskey, vermouth* and angostura in a mixing glass. Stir until chilled and then pour into a glass, draining off the ice.
  3. Ready! Drink watching a good film – and no, drinking it in while watching The Room doesn’t enhance the experience.

* If you find the taste of absinthe too strong, or too sweet, try replacing half of the dose with a dry white vermouth such as Noilly Prat.  This will make the Irish whiskey stand out a little more and add a very interesting herbal aroma to Blackthorne.  There is even a variation that uses only dry vermouth published in Larousse Cocktails.

 

 

The Botanist Gin – Spinoff

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When I was a teenager, I watched a lot of television.  In fact, perhaps the only thing I did more than watch TV was eat – after all, I could watch TV and eat at the same time.  I do not suppose sitting in front of the screen with a packet of biscuits and a bucket of Coca-Cola was very healthy at all.  It also probably didn’t help much in forming interpersonal relationship during my informative years. On the other hand, it nurtured mu interest in cinema and indirectly, literature.

One of my favourite series was Friends.  Friends certainly was not an e shining example of high culture, but it was a fad during my teenage years. The show lasted for ten seasons – much longer than is expected of any television series today – and exactly where it should have done.  In the transition from pre-adolescence to adulthood, where comedy, hopes and dreams lose ground to… well, let’s drop it.  Friends, however, has a stain on its reputation: A spin-off, released shortly after the end of the show and simply entitled Joey.

What is beyond my understanding is how anyone thought that would be a good idea.  Follow Joey Tribbiani on his journey to becoming a serious actor.  I mean, as Rolling Stone Magazine once wrote, it would be better to follow Phoebe to Central Perk, or Rachel and Ross in their married life, raising their children. After all, life as a couple with children provides plenty more opportunity for tragicomedy.  Needless to say, the series was a flop.

 

I got an idea, what about if we did the same series only ten years later?

This is the big problem with spin-offs.  The great success of the original doesn’t guarantee the popularity of its derivative.  It’s a risk you take.  Incidentally, I would say it’s an even greater risk because you’re playing with something that already has such a good reputation.  It’s exactly this that Bruichladdich, one of the best-known, respected and innovative whisky distilleries in Scotland did, when it launched a gin.  Botanist.  However, unlike Friends and Joey, Botanist worked.

Distillation of Botanist takes place in an unusual alembic, reclaimed from the Inverleven distillery and known as Lomond.  It is affectionately nicknamed ‘Ugly Betty’ by the distillery employees.  The nickname, which obviously refers to the appearance of the equipment, could not be more appropriate.  The alembic is pretty ugly – so ugly, in fact that the Scottish writer Tom Morton described it in his book “Spirit of Adventure” as “an oversized, upside–down dustbin made of copper.”

Although they are well below the aesthetic standards of heavy equipment, the Lomond are very efficient. They were designed by a Lord named Alastair Cunningham in 1955, as a kind of hybrid between a column distiller and a copper alembic.  Its neck has copper plates, which can be removed or added to simulate a shorter or longer neck of a traditional alembic.  The top section can easily be adjusted to imitate different inclines of the distiller’s arm.  This allows the production of different distillate profiles using only one alembic

Ugly? (source: ?)

Botanist contains 31 different botanics: 22 Re native to the Islay Island.  They are, angelica root, apple mint, birch leaves, bog myrtle leaves, cassia bark, chamomile, cinnamon bark, coriander seed, creeping thistle flowers, elder flowers, gorse flowers, heather flowers, hawthorn flowers, juniper berries, lardy’s bedstraw flowers, lemon balm, lemon peel, liquorice root, meadow sweet, orange peel, oris root, peppermint leaves, mugwort leaves, red clover flowers, tansy, thyme leaves, water mint leaves, white clover, wood sage leaves.

Bruichladdich is one of Scotland’s most inventive distilleries. Maybe that’s why it calls itself “Progressive Hebridean Distillers” – something like “Progressive Heaters of the Hebrides”.  This is clear from a glance at its huge portfolio.  As well as Botanist, the distillery produces three whisky lines.  One is lightly smoked, another not smoked at all and a third strongly smoked – Octomore.

Botanist is a dry gin, with a distinct aroma and herbal flavour.  Despite the myriad of botanists, this dog’s impression is that it highlights the refreshing peppermint and citrus aromas.  In fact, that’s where the balance lies, the strength of the juniper contrasts with the herbal aroma of mint and orange, which – together with other Botanists – gives it incredible complexity.

If you like full-bodied, complex and personality-oriented gins, or are just curious about which gin is made in a whisky distillery, try Botanist. Indeed, a spin-off deserves an audience.

THE BOTANIST ISLAY DRY GIN

Type – Dry Gin

ABV – 46%

Region: Islay

Country: Scotland

Comments on taste:

Aroma: juniper, lemon, lime Orange, and an intense floral aroma

Flavour: Mint, citrus, lemon, with a liquorice, floral after taste.