A Wee DramMy first taste of single malt scotch whisky was in the mid-80s(I think it was 16 year-old Lagavulin) and it left me with a number of odd impressions:
smoke, earth, seawater, gym socks. It was bizzare, but not altogether bad, and I knew that there was more to it than meets the tongue. As a long afterthought I was surprised that I
hadn't tried it or learned more about it in culinary school, but single malt hadn't yet become trendy, and most scotch drinkers preferred blends. Before long I found that I owned
several bottles of the stuff. I had quickly discovered that different whiskies have different flavors, and the their range was broad. By the time I moved to Portland I had the meager
beginnings of my collection with me. Once I'd been at Reed College for a while, I started getting together with Ben Bradley and Jon Rivenburg to sample different whiskies we
each owned. Eventually those get-togethers turned into full-on whisky tasting evenings, with up to 12 people attending! My own collection had grown and was displayed on the mantlepiece
in my living room. Once the tastings really got going, folks would often leave the mostly-full bottles they had brought at my house, to be added to my display. That helped to swell the
collection to its largest size.
Currently I have about 16 bottles in storage, waiting until I'm ready to stay in one place long enough to build up a decent collection again. At its height in Portland, I had 42 bottles above the fireplace, and here they are: |
 | I lost a nearly full bottle of this in the Feb. 2001 earthquake centered near Olympia Washington. The bottles rattling together caused my Aberlour to crack and release it's contents all over the fireplace. |
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 | This was a gift from my friends in Computer User Services at Reed |
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 | A lowland. |
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 | This is actually my favorite of the Balvenies |
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 | One of my all-time favorites |
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 | Another of my all-time favorites |
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 | Rhymes with "orange-y" |
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 | Isn't "Orkadian" a fun word? |
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 | Along with Laphroaig, the king of Islay
(pronounced "eye-lah") |
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 | The more assertive (no, most assertive) neighbor of Lagavulin |
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 | A bit more refined, but still a kicker for the uninitiated |
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 | The only web page I could find about this odd whisky is in French, so have fun! |
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 | I couldn't find a picture of the 1979, so here's one
of the 1926, bottled at 60 years old. The going
price is £20,000 for a bottle.
Want to get me one for Christmas? |
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 | Some say Macallan is the reigning emporer.
I find it very very good, but overpriced
and over marketed |
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 | Here's a surprise - an Oregon single malt! Made by Reed alumnus and trustee, Steve McCarthy.
At 3 yrs its a bit young and edgy still, but a great start
I want a bottle when its 12. |
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 | Ah McClelland's - the poor man's single malt. These are actually very young bottling's from better knowns distilleries.The highland is drinkable, good for an every-day scotch. |
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 | I'm not too fond of the Islay. |
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 | Very hard to find now. Mine was donated by my friend Jon, and alas, its gone now. |
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 | Wow, I get to use the word Orkadian again! |
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 | Actually made by a distillery called "Auchroisk" they sell their single malt by this name, probably because it's easier to pronounce. |
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 | The only Campbelltown whisky being produced these days. |
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 | Mmmm... big, complex... inner hebridian. |
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 | One of the lightest of single malts. Its not sold at 10 any more. |
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 | A tiny bit more character, still very subtle. |
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 | The other non-scotch single malt in my collection. This wonderful Japanese whisky was given to me by my friend Hyong Rhew. |
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