2nd not-quite-annual whisky and food tasting, Jan 30, Los Colibris

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

THanks again for arranging everything, Mike. Here’s my general thoughts on the overall amazing assortment of whiskies:

Buffalo Trace Bourbon

For myself, being used to the Elijah Craig 12, Eagle Rare 17 and George T. Stagg, this was far, far too simplistic of a bourbon. I thought it was bland and near flavorless in comparison. Which is why it was good to get another perspective because a number of people listed it as their favorite due to its overall mellowness.

The ceviche also vastly improved this as Mike points out but then again it also did the same for the Eagle Rare and the Stagg so there’s no comparison for me still.

Eagle Rare 17 Year

The most underrated of the BTAC bourbons is to me by far the best bourbon I have ever tasted only matched by the Jefferson Reserve 18. Smooth and full of flavor, concentrated but not over the top. Amazing with the ceviche. I found that the salad made it and the other bourbons a lot sharper.

George T. Stagg 142 proof

When I first opened and tasted this when first acquired, it was like rocket fuel going down. While it is still quite heady, it’s a lot smoother than it used to be. Very flavorful which is to be expected at undiluted strength but still beaten out by the Eagle Rare overall.

JW GOLD–FLIGHT 1

For the blending experiment… let’s just say that I should stick with cooking because I really managed to botch this one up. I was utterly shocked at just how close Jay actually came.

I am torn, I mean COMPLETELY TORN on the Johnny Walker Gold. on the one hand, the mellowness and velvety smoothness Mike refers to is an utterly spectacular achievement. No single malt I have ever had can match the texture and mouthfeel of this. No heat at all on this, just pure mellowness. I can only imagine how much better the Black, Platinum and Blue must be.

On the other hand, this comes at the expense of the individual character of each single malt. Once I got past the marvel of the texture, the actual flavor and taste seemed odd. I could detect a whole bunch of different whisky notes but rather than complement each other they seemed to actually cancel each other out. Yes, the heat of all the young whiskies was taken out but so was a lot of their flavor.

This said, it did have a very unique flavor on its own. If I had never tried single malts ever before, I could see myself enjoying this a lot due to its mellowness and sweetness. I’d even go so far as to say that Johnny Walker seems to be trying to emulate BOURBON with its blend which is kind of interesting and may also explain why Jay’s mix was so darn close. In fact, when I rated my 3 top whiskies of the night I was shocked to find myself placing this with the Glenkichie and the Cardhu. An excellent food match as well.

I think I would definitely invest in a single bottle of the Platinum but probably no more than that. I’d also consider another bottle that was of the same quality but from a different maker – Chivas Regal 18 or Ballantine’s 17 maybe? – but likely no more than that as I much prefer my Sherry monsters and Port monsters more.

Glenkinchie 12 year

I enjoyed this a lot more than Mike did. Had the smoothness and sweetness of a Speyside that I enjoy a lot. My second favorite of the young 'uns after the Cardhu.

Dun Bheagan 1996 11 year old Linkwood Tokay finish

Surprisingly, I didn’t rate this very butterscotchy whisky as high as the Glenkichie. The Tokay finish definitely made it stand out but I think it was also covering a lot up. Reminded me of the Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or in that respect.

Gordon & MacPhail Mortlach 15 year

The Mortlach was pretty spicy for what I believe is a non-peater. Definitely had the best texture beside the Cardhu. Other than this, didn’t stand out too much for me.

Caol Ila 12 year

I normally despite peat, especially in a young whisky, but this was great. Well-balanced and flavorful, the peat served as a spice to the whisky the way cinnamon and nutmeg serve in an eggnog or hot chocolate. Extremely well done and for me way, way better than the Talisker.

JW GOLD—2ND FLIGHT

Rloc 11 year

While I’m not as harsh on this as Mike is, I do have to agree that it really doesn’t stand out in any way at all. Honestly, it’s ridiculously non-descript for a whisky. I’m also really puzzled at the 1% Glen Breton in the mix. Why bother even blending in 1%? It certainly didn’t add anything special to the mix, yet is featured prominently on the bottle.

Sorry to disapoint you, Mike, but I really have no tasting notes or thoughts to because as a whisky it’s so non-descript that I am honestly having a hard time recalling any flavor profile for it! I mean, litreally nothing. Not peaty, not Speyside sweet, no heat, no Sherry or Port influence that I can taste or detect. It’s just… there. May as well use it as a cooking ingredient becuase it’s sure not there as a drink to me.

Cardhu 12 year

I absolutely knew with just one taste of the Johnny Walker and this that the Cardhu was the biggest component of the JW Gold. This didn’t stop me from screwing up my own blend by adding in way too much peaty Caol Ila, mind you, but I’d love a second crack at it with all the bottles open at once.

As usual, an incredibly smooth and mellow texture with little to no heat that defies the fact that it is a 12 year old. The floral sweet flavor is so unique too. This is just so good. I must try an older expression of Cardhu before I leave this mortal plane. This was an amazing food matching whisky at the first whisky get-together Mike invited me to way back when at Fat Cat and just as good now though I agree it didn’t go well with the soup and was much better with the meat dishes. By far my favorite of the single malts and second only to the JW itself.

1993 Connoisseur’s Choice Clynelish 14 year

Very nice whisky with a large sea salt accent. Was this aged in Portugal? Because if not, it sure tasted like it. Quite different from the other whiskies. Not my favorite by any means, but lots of respect to it for what it has accomplished with a very different flavor profile.

Talisker 10 year

I have the complete opposite reaction to this that Mike had. I found the peat way over the top compared to the smoother Caol Ila and thought it was somewhat unbalanced with peat and heat. May as well have been a Sirracha sauce in the bottle for all it accomplished. If not for the Rloc this would’ve been my least favorite of the night.

OLDEN GOLDIES

1975 Douglas Laing Old and Rare Convalmore 32 year

Who says parting is such sweet sorrow? A pleasure to help Mike finish off this smooth dessert whisky. Lots of mellow toffee and malted milk chocolate flavor, went great with the Rompope panna cotta dessert and its chocolate ganache and crumbled cookie accents.

1978 Connoisseur’s Choice Benrinnes 34 year

I enjoyed the sweetness and herbs on this whisky but as Mike rightly points out, it’s surprisingly hot and rough for a whisky that is 34 years old and is the first to disprove to me that older always equals smoother in a whisky. Quite surprised at that but still very flavorful and I enjoyed it more than Mike did but itdefinitely pales next to the Convalmore above and the Highland Park below.

1975 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Highland Park 30 year Cask Strength

This was 55%? No way I could ever tell with how smooth this was. Te Highland Park 18 is one of the few peaty whiskies I’ve enjoyed so I was expecting a lot from this and I wasn’t disappointed in the least. Liquid heaven. If only it wasn’t in plain view of everyone, I would’ve swiped the bottle for myself! Not sure what Mike was thinking leaving the rest for the unworthy staff, he shoud’ve given it to ME! Far and away the best whisky of the night.

Thanks much for your counterpoint notes, Tran—I would say you were probably harsher on the Rloc than I was :wink:

And so the Cardhu and the Highland Park were your favourites of the night? [grin.gif]

I don’t think the Clynelish was done in a sherry cask. I believe I have a port casking sitting around at home, though. I was pleased you were able to be a part of this night and to have so much fun.

Mike

just opened this year’s stagg, tasted like rocket fuel going down like Tran said. I tasted the Jr on NYE and I thought I was going to cough fire. Hopefully some oxidization will do the trick!

Thanks again for the invite. Hmmm… I was harsh on the RLoc, wasn’t I? [tease.gif]

To clarify, the Highland park was my favorite whisky of the olden goldies; the Cardhu was my favorite of the young 'uns.

By Dionysus, how could I have forgotten to tack on the WHISKY PORN in this thread? Enjoy everyone:
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And more whisky porn:
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very nice pics, Tran–do I foresee some use of parts of these for the “numbers” project in photo club?

I have something very nice to share for this Saturday/Sunday from my Florida trip.

Mike