Whisk(e)y

Glenfarclas17I was first introduced to Single Malt Scotch whisky when I was a pastry chef at the Hanover Inn , shortly after graduating from the New England Culinary Institute . My first sip of Lagavulin was soon followed by my first bottle of Edradour 10yr, in 1987. Ever since then, I've come to enjoy a wide vareity of whisk(e)y, but always had a special fondness for the earthy wholesomeness of Single Malt.

Even though I loved it from the start, I've never considered single malt to be an everyday drink. As such, I ended up buying  faster than I consumed it, and before I knew it I had a small collection. The five bottles that I took with me when I moved to Portland in 1991  eventually peaked at forty-two when I decided to leave in 2002. My old original website had a page about the full collection of 42 scotches , which I've preserved. A few well-spent evenings with friends and we whittled  that number down to 16 which I stored while I was roaming around on a bicycle for a couple of years.

For all the scotch that I have around, some might find it odd that my preferred day-to-day whiskey is actually a fairly humble bourbon - Evan Williams. I find it very drinkable, smooth and sweet but not cloying, great on the rocks, and perfect for an everyday dram. The scotches I save for evenings when I'm in the right mood, or for sharing with good friends or for special occasions - thats how I can afford to have so many of them!

My current collection stands at 20 scotches, 5 bourbons, and one irish, which I'll soon have listed in the sidebar.  Below you'll find musings, tasting notes, and other thoughts about the whiskies in my life.


Talisker 25yr

Submitted by chris on Mon, 02/12/2007 - 20:31.
Talisker25

I helped my friend Ben out with a server admin. issue recently and in return, I recieved a ThankYou of a bottle of 25 yr old Talisker single malt, from the only distillery on the isle of Skye.  I haven't opened it yet, but plan to on my Birthday in a few days. I'll report back about it, and give some background of my experiences with Talisker.


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Birthday & Bread

Submitted by chris on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 21:14.

John, Elise and Dan
This past Thursday was my birthday.
Rather than having anything big and formal or I invited a bunch of
friends over after work for beer and pizza and whisky.  It worked out
great and a fun time was had by all. Pixar folks and non-pixar folks
alike.  We managed to kick the keg of Sunny Day IPA (it was only 1/2
full to start with) and put a good dent in the other beers.  I recieved
some wonderful gifts, including hand-made cards from the kids next
door, and now my alcohol collection is even larger than before!

We finally opened the 25 yr old Talisker that I got
from Ben as a thank-you for some work I did on his mail server. YUM! 
its actually much more subtle than its very complex younger version- it
definitely benefits from a drop of water, which helps to round out its
edges and bring out its full character. Sweeter than most single malts,
peaty without being over powering, big but not brawling like some
Islay's. Excellent after dinner, esp. on one's birthday

Oh, here are a couple of pictures of a loaf of bread I made today (click them to see larger versions):

No-Knead bread

Crust & Crumb

Based on the no-knead method published in the NY Times in Nov. 06,
you too can make a loaf like this using about 20 minutes of your time
spread over 24 hours. A 6yr old could do it. This method was first
introduced to me by my friend Andrew in Vermont, and he was right- its
really amazing. If you want the recipe, ask me, or just google it, its
been all over the net for a couple months now.   If you make it, let me
know how it works for you!

 


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Whisk(e)y page is on line.

Submitted by chris on Mon, 02/12/2007 - 21:35.

I just got a page up about my whisk(e)y collection.
It's linked up top, next to  the Beer link. The page will display any
posts made to the site related to whisky (of which there's now ...
one!)

On there you'll also find a link to my old pages about my collection at
its peak just before I left Portland in 2002.  Comments and tasting
notes are welcome, so please register and post if you so desire!


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