It is a great time to be a peat-freak. The popularity of the bold and smokey malts has lead producers to create an ever increasing variety of expressions for us to enjoy. We're seeing new heavily peated, some say over-peated expressions from many distilleries that are coming to us very young. That coupled with new peaty blends and blended malts and there is a flood of new tastes to explore.

The latest Islay to cross my desk is Smokehead. This one, from Ian Macleod Distillers has just barely made it to US shores and apparently is flying off store shelves. It bills itself as an Islay single malt Scotch whisky without an age statement or distiller, but don't let that fool you, this is a bottle worth having. I finally got a taste of this new immigrant this week, and you can too at Whiskies of the World on March 27th.

It's hard to find the right gift for a man with his own still. This year, I'm giving David Perkins of High West Distillery a cocktail to match his latest product. This latest spin on the Old Fashioned is inspired by its primary ingredient, High West Bourye. We'll do a formal review of Bourye later, but for the moment, and as a gift to the creator, we'll build an Antelabbit Old Fashioned. 

Bourye is a blend of straight bourbon and straight rye. That makes it no longer straight itself, but it is wonderful to drink that way. There's quite a bit going on already so I went with a mind bender triple bitter recipe.

I am way behind the news cycle. I just learned that Conellia Marie captian Phil Harris has passed. If I have any regular readers, they will know that I'm a fan of the Discovery Channel show, "The Deadliest Catch" due to my relationship to crab fishing here on the coast.  Phil had been battling deep vein thrombosis (DVT/ economy class syndrome) and suffered a stroke while offloading.

Tonight my wife and I raised a Duck Fart for Phil.

I've fallen a bit behind on the news recently, but I couldn't let this one pass by without comment. I can't wait to taste this one. It looks poised to fit well with the peat heavy monsters that have been coming out of Islay recently. It also took gold in its debut. More details below

NEW WHISKY BRAND LAUNCHES IN USA 

 

December 2009; Ian Macleod Distillers is officially launching a brand new Scotch whisky into the USA aimed at the modern consumer.   

SMOKEHEAD is a contemporary, individual and exciting whisky, already available in premium bars and retailers across the UK and worldwide. 

Not so long ago a friend of mine picked up a bottle at the whisky shop in heathrow airport. Litle did I know that it would become my absolute favorite whisky and cement Caol Ila as my favorite distillery. Talisker and Caol Ila are responsible for my appreciation of peated Scotch.

2009 looks to be a great year for Scotch in America. Diageo has announced their line of 2009 Rare Edtions to be released world wide and there are some beauties in there (which we will talk about as soon as we get some).

Here is what the official releases say about this wonderful whisky:

With its abundant fresh sea air and robust, yet easy going disposition, Islay is birthplace to a unique malt Scotch whisky named Caol Ila (pronounced “Cul-Ela”).

The Caol Ila Distillers Edition finished in Moscatel casks creates an extraordinarily stylish and complex expression of Caol Ila; the Moscatel cask wood not over-evident; richly flavoured yet also drying and finely balanced.

UPDATE:  "sources in Scotland" have confirmed that the list below is accurate, but no concrete details on which malts will make it to us here in the states. Also Caol Ila DE is coming to the states in October. Here's hoping we get to sample some of these newsmakers at WhiskyFest SF 2009!

A couple of days ago John Hansel clued us all into something special coming from Diageo regarding their malt whiskys on the 4th of September. This always leads to rampant specuation and more than a few google searches. I don't know exactly what is coming, but at least it has a name now;

The Manager's Choice Single Cask Selection.

Every year in San Francisco there are two events that no serious whisky drinker could possibly miss. In October we have Malt Advocate's WhiskeyFest and in March Whiskies Of The World.

I have been wracking my brain on this one for a while now. Not too long ago, Mike and I spent some quality time messing with cocktails and Crown Royal Reserve. We're still working on a couple of ideas, but one early test was to replace the Vodka in a White Russian.

Looking back at it now, it seems like a no-brainer and obvious, but it seems that nobody has named this cocktail. The combination of rich and smooth Canadian whiskey with sweet Café con leche just works.

Last year I wrote:

Messing with anything besides a vanilla vodka in this context will probably constitute alcohol abuse.

Well, I was wrong. I can admit that, happily.

• 5.0 cl (5 parts) Crown Royal Reserve
• 2.0 cl (2 parts) Coffee liqueur
• 3.0 cl (3 parts) Fresh cream or Half and Half

Pour coffee liqueur and whiskey over ice into an old fashioned glass. Float fresh cream on the top and stir in slowly.

In seven days, The Discovery Channel premieres a new season of The Deadliest Catch. That means it's time to practice layering Duck Farts again.  I have loved this show ever since it first started beaming into my home in 2005. I'm certain that I feel such a connection with these captains and deck hands because I grew up next to the ocean. I spent many afternoons fishing off the docks at Pillar Point  and talking with the guys working the boats. We still get our crab directly off the boats as our harbor is a hub for Dungeness Crab fishing.

When we first moved to California in December of 1980 we lived on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco for about two weeks. 1980 was a record season for Dungeness and we ate a ton of them. Coming from Utah, the freshness and quality of the crab was amazing. We moved to Moss Beach before the year was out and continued feasting on crab.

Every once in a while I get inspired by an ingredient. The world of cocktails and mixology has its own flow of trends. Some have outlasted their inspiration (every-tini, whatever-ita, and every random mojito) to become cliche. Others center on an ingredient such as Vinegar, Chipotle, or Island Malts. This is my little contribution to the world of cocktails and mixology: Ginger

The way this happened is that a couple of years ago, I was tasked with dinner and no plan. I found pork loin chops, asparagus, and a ginger root in the fridge. Seemed like a good opportunity to stir fry. The dish uses a large amount of fresh ginger and it has since become a favorite of the family. Last week, I was preparing this dish and found myself with some extra ginger and a desire for a cocktail.

I'm sure we're not the first, nor will we be the last to put Ginger into a highball glass but here are our first contributions to the world of cocktails.

For those who don't already know, WhiskyFest is a great show put on by John Hansel and Malt Advocate Magazine. They hold 3 shows every year in Chicago, San Francisco and New York.

The focus is squarely on our favorite brown spirit and the products represented are predominantly whiskies. Brandy,  Vodka, liquers and Rum make appearances but are in the extreme minority.

For us, it's a whisky wonderland.

Every one of these shows has its own personality and character. Some of that comes from the format, some from the attendees and a health chunk comes from the sponsors. People like John Hansel and Riannon Walsh work very hard to keep these three forces in alignment and aimed in the right direction.

WhiskyFest is very much an industy showcase. The major players and minor importers are on the same footing here. Everyone has the same space to work with, but that doesn't imply that the presentations are at all equal.

I have written more than a few words about Bulleit Bourbon. When I first started exploring whiskey I shied away from Bourbon, mostly because of my college memories of Wild Turkey in the mountains of southern California. I remembered Bourbon as harsh and fiery and a one-way ticket to a bottle of aspirin.

At WhiskyFest 2007 I snagged a bit of glassware from the Bulleit Bourbon table. I wasn't tasting Bourbons that night so I left with just the glass. The branding stuck with me though because about a month later I was checking prices at Trader Joe's and Bulleit was about $20, so I picked it up. That first bottle was shared with everyone I could hand it to. I was so delighted with this wonderful spirit that I had to share.

Mark and I trace the genesis of our whiskey adventures back to a science fiction convention in March of last year, but perhaps the biggest watershed for us was attending WhiskeyFest San Francisco in 2007. WhiskeyFest is an annual event hosted by Malt Advocate Magazine in Chicago, New York and as of last year, San Francisco. They rent the ballroom of a major hotel and fill it with whiskey exhibitors to the tune of about 250 different bottles from all over the world. I wrote about one of our more colorful experiences there in The Teacher's Pet, but there were many more important moments from that night. Really, we went from drinking almost exclusively Irish whiskey to finding some of the most exceptional Bourbon, Scotch and world whiskies we've seen to this day.

Now that Hockey season is back, and the San Jose Sharks are doing well, I thought it was time to finally publish the recipe for one of my favorite "silly" drinks: The Sharkiekaze. I call this a "silly" cocktail because it is based on a classic, but tweaked for color.

The Sharkiekaze is based on the IBA recipe for the Kami Kaze and turned teal to honor my favorite NHL franchise. 

• 1 part (3cl) Vodka
• 1 part (3cl) Triple Sec
• 1 part (3cl) fresh sqeezed lime juice or Rose's Lime
• Dash of Blue Curacao to desired teal color

Add all ingredients into cocktail glass shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a gummy shark.

Once again proving that no sacrifice is too great, I boldly ventured on to the Jameson Bartenders Ball last night. Oh... what I won't do for my readers :)

This event is hosted By Jameson 3 times a year here in Northern California and last night was the last one for the year.  It's a heck of a party and nothing like what I expected.  I was imagining something with the lights up, music mellow and insiders chatting about products, promotions and other aspects of the spirits industry. This was just a wet tshirt contest short of spring break.

The drink menu was extensive: Jameson neat, Jameson on the rocks, Jameson and soda, Jameson and ginger ale, Jameson and cola, Jameson and American Honey or American Honey. All of the open bars were stocked with cases of Jameson and it was flowing freely.