We were very sad to lose 3 participants to the flu that’s going around, but 9 brave souls ventured out to one of our new favourite haunts, the Mexican restaurant Los Colibris to have some fun with this concept. 3 bourbons, 11 single malts and Johnnie Walker Gold were the alcoholic contributions, plus a couple extra things. Chef Elia and restaurant manager Marissa treated us to 7 wonderful courses. What I did was put the first 2 courses with the bourbon flight, the next 3 courses with the two JW Gold flights and the last 2 courses with the “Olden Goldies” flight. I was actually thrilled and excited to see how Mexican cuisine would fare with bourbon and whisky.
My impressions from memory, alas—don’t know what I did with my menu and dance card. I am cross-posting Tran’s link to the food contributions here
BOURBON FLIGHT
Buffalo Trace Bourbon
The standard bottling. Right from the outset, this was very harsh and woody to me, with only trace amounts of sweetness. Others got a wholly different impression. What surprised me no end was the effect the Cod Tamarind and mango ceviche had on this bourbon, smoothed it out completely and turned it 180 degrees into a pleasant drink.
Eagle Rare 17 Year
This, on the other hand, was smooth as silk in nose and mouth from the get-go. It showed layers and sophistication—not Pappy’s 23 sophistication, but it was darned good. I think I liked it a little better with the red beet, radiccio and baby romaine salad than with the ceviche, where it stayed on its flavour profile but didn’t add anything due to the dish. Gave some of the whiskies a run for their money which, for me, is saying something.
George T. Stagg 142 proof
Yes, you read that correctly. 71.4% alcohol. For that, this is also plenty smooth and doesn’t hit you over the head at all. I think I get a slight smokiness from this, and the salad seems to accentuate that a little. But it has its toffee elements too and really does go down much more gently than one would imagine from this alcohol level. There might be a hint of chocolate at the end.
JW GOLD–FLIGHT 1
OK, this has been a long-coveted opportunity I wanted to test out. I had JW Gold. I also had managed to identify (I think), 8 of the single malts that do or have gone into the blend. So what I wanted to do was try all these singles and see if we could identify the single within the blend, and then make our OWN blends and compare those to the JW Gold.
The general impressions I had— 1) the JW Gold is so much smoother and more velvety, but that comes at the sacrifice of a good deal of character and individuality—in other words, as we discussed at table, what a blend should be—and what it has to be in terms of consistency to its marketplace. To be frank, the only single I feel I’d be able to identify for sure would have been the Cardhu—maybe the Clynelish if pushed. 2) The most fun were the homemade blends. a) there was a pretty broad spectrum of difference in everyone’s glass, and b) there were some blends that got incredibly close. Jay’s might have been closest and he really experimented—by adding a little of the George T. Stagg to his blend!
When you combine that with going back and forth with the whiskies and the food, this was a terrific experiment that catalyzed no small amount of conversation.
For the whiskies, I had a couple books with me, so everyone read the entry for their contributed whisky.
Glenkinchie 12 year
It had been some time since I last tasted this malt. heather and flowery, a slight maltiness about it. This didn’t jump out at me for any of the 3 dishes, maybe got a little enhanced by the black bean soup. Nothing wrong with it, but not something I seek out—I just need more character. 5
Dun Bheagan 1996 11 year old Linkwood Tokay finish
I guess it’s been a while since I tried this too, or maybe it was the lead-up, because the Tokay is really in evidence here, a mouthful of sweetness, I’d say citrus, tropical and butterscotch. Aromatics are sugared too. This was fairly good with the beef brisket tostada and a mess with the soup, the flavour profiles working against each other there. 7
Gordon & MacPhail Mortlach 15 year
I think this was a 1998 bottling, but don’t quote me. The spiciness that is sometimes in Mortlach appears to be here–cumin and ticks of mustard maybe—along with heather and I get a very small anise hit perhaps. I like how it engages the mouth—authoritative without being overbearing, though not as uniformly smooth and deep as some others. A good whisky for me 7+ This was excellent with the soup and also with the pulled pork quesadilla which I had left some in the glass for. (a correction to Tran’s notes, this wasn’t the Wemyss bottling, which had to get substituted for at the last minute due to friends’ illness and inability to attend–I didn’t have time to make that change on the menu).
Caol Ila 12 year
Boy, this is a no-question Islay. Fierce peat, the proverbial essence of baseball mitt. This gets after it on the tongue too, hits hard going in and on the way back on the breathe-back, but I love how focused it is. Lots of the table also liked, a sign I’m in good company. This was good with the brisket and, perhaps no surprise, splendid with the black bean soup, the flavours sparkling and dancing in the mouth. 9
JW GOLD—2ND FLIGHT
Rloc 11 year
A blend of 99% Royal Lochnagar and 1% Glen Breton. I liked it tonight better than I have in the past, when I’ve found it slightly dull. Tonight it seemed to have picked up some spice-and-nougat things going on, with a backbone of sweet herbs. It was all over the place with the food, though, and my recollection is that the soup and pulled pork Queso sort of drowned it out at times. Will be interested in Tran’s and Jay’s thoughts here. 7
Cardhu 12 year
Who can’t like Cardhu? The smooth base and clear expression for the Gold, light spices, vanilla, an in-its-place maltiness and toffee all weave together quite harmoniously. This was not a great match with the soup, but superb with the pulled pork, enhancing both the dish and its own flavour significantly. 8
1993 Connoisseur’s Choice Clynelish 14 year
I love Clynelish. Love everything about it. the sure, identifying mustard elements. The salty side. The tremendous class and smoothness going down the throat. The balanced heather and light sweet, with dash of smoke. Just yum. Like the Eagle Rare, this didn’t necessarily react with any of the food dishes, kind of keeping itself to itself. It’s still a 9 for me.
Talisker 10 year
It was interesting to compare this to the Caol Ila for me, because in comparison, the Talisker, which I’ve always classified as a smoky, was quite tame. Tame enough that I could maybe see its contribution into the Gold. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a smoky side, but it seems enveloped tonight in some of the sweet fruit and herbs elements. I almost would have liked to have the beet salad back to try it with this. Regardless, it was almost demure. 7
OLDEN GOLDIES
I provided all 3 of these, whiskies of 30 years or more.
1975 Douglas Laing Old and Rare Convalmore 32 year “gentle and reserved” is the descriptor that comes to mind. I think the descriptor in the book was “like walking in a meadow after a summer’s rain” and, you know, maybe that’s not far off the mark. Nothing stands out, but as a whole, it is standout stuff. The meatballs had a very nice pas-de-deux with this malt, and the Convalmore accented the delicate flavours of the meatballs. It was fine with the dessert too. Last of this was consumed tonight, goodbye old friend, 8+
1978 Connoisseur’s Choice Benrinnes 34 year
I usually swoon for Benrinnes, but I haven’t loved this bottling as much as some others. It does have a sherried feel about the taste, with plenty of herbs, grassiness and spice, and a wee bit of smoke, but somehow is just that touch too aggressive for me. In this respect the meatballs and especially the dessert calm the malt down and it does interact well with both. 7+, I’m not spitting it out, but…
1975 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Highland Park 30 year Cask Strength
I have husbanded this for 3 years and this was the last of it—I left the remainder for the crew at the restaurant. And this is still, after all this time open, all about that Enya song (well, her version is the one I know), How Can I Keep from Singing? I can’t. I have so much adoration for this, which carries its 55% alcohol beautifully. Waves upon waves of feel and flavour in a combination that is really only Highland Park. I will confess that the turkey meatballs and the rompope gelato didn’t have much of an impact or were much impacted by this dram. Don’t care. Parting is such sorrowful sweetness. 10
I will make a brief comment on the SLYRS Bavarian single malt that my friend Ian brought for those who wished to try. It’s about 4 years old and you wouldn’t know—for that age, it is really good.
As Tran has done, I cannot render enough thanks to Chef Elia Herrera and to Marissa, Lia, Duncan, Candace and the rest of the staff at Los Colibris for an awesome experience. Absolutely top-flight service, it was an absolute pleasure to have them work with us to make it such a special evening for us all. When Marissa told me this was the first kind of thing like this that they’ve done in their front room, I was astonished at how smooth it all was, especially on the first night of Winterlicious happening at the same time. With all of that, Chef Elia was still able to find some time to come and visit for a short time. Bravo!
Slainte,
Mike