WORLD WHISKY DAY
| May 1, 2012 | HOSPO | Posted by Jayne Copeland |
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Well it’s been a little while since the inaugural International World Whisky Day has wrapped up but better it’s late than never to bring you our coverage of the event from our favourite little whisky haunt. 18,592 official tipplers at 177 official events worldwide partook in individually crafted flights through gorgeous ranges of whiskies all across the world in an homage to this wondrous tipple.
The inaugural World Whisky Day celebration at Chez Regine started as most all of their Single Malt Collectives do, a grateful after-work gathering of an assemblage of folks from all walks of life. This little bar (if you’re unaware of its legacy) is a gorgeous little nook found on the top end of Russell Street. Its shelves are bordered with whisky boxes, showing the fine pedigree of previous consumption to take place within these walls. The intimate reading room feel provides the perfect backdrop to nurture your ills, gather with friends and raise a glass to this hallowed day.
World Whisky Day was started by Blair Bowman, a University of Aberdeen student who was miraculously the first of all the world to realize that there is no actual day on which we celebrate God’s true drop, whisky!
And so it began. At Chez Regine we began this holy day with a fine drop of “the single malts of the blended whiskies” Johnnie Walker Green (43%). This, we were informed, is now a “rare offering from a closed bottling plant”, for the Kilmarnoc bottling plant closed a few Fridays ago, leaving this here bottle as one of the last Johnny Greens in the world (they’re available for $69.9 at Dan Murphys, get in quick before it disappears).
Our brilliant host, Julian, was propped high upon the bar and delivered our guided tasting in the true SMC style. Peppering our WWD with humorous asides and delightful whisky gaffs from the start gave new life to the sport of enjoying whisky. We were then offered the AnCnoc from Knockdhu, a 16 year old from Speyside (46%), aged in American oak and quite a delight to sip on.
For the next, the offering from the English Whisky Co. bottled in honor of the Royal Wedding (46%), a marriage of two casks and made from all English ingredients, of which one can find out nothing about their origins. Unlike the marriage of the royal couple, hints of the lack of depth did shine through. With distinctive hints of Malibu on the pallet, this little number provides further evidence of why the English should stick to warm ales and sticky ciders.
Next in the flight was a nip for those wanting to “get their Fitzrovian on,” because according to our host American Rye is what all the trendy kids are drinking these days. And with good reason too, this syrupy, smooth Templeton Rye (40%) from Iowa is one with quite a story behind it. Claimed to be a prohibition recipe from the deep south, the bottling of which was signified by the family tying their white horse “Babe” at the front of their property. Al Capone was rumored to be one of their best Rye runners, making this all the more sexy a story to compliment this sensuous whisky.
And sensuous indeed was the next offering too, apparently the fist French single malt Jules has ever tasted, Kornog Peated expression from the Glen Ar Mor distillery in Brittany (46%). This “Distillery by the sea” produced an easy drinking and quite delightful wee dram, with a salty finish from the lick of ocean air off the Celtic sea.
The grand finale was a special bottling, the “Master of Malt World Whisky Day whisky (40%)”, a celebration of a day when the whole world drinks whisky. Their creamy nosed, toffee brown dram was the perfect note to finish on, a very long one.
So now the preparations begin for next year, the whiskies are under nose and the panel is being selected. The southern states of Australia have recently become one of the newest “world whisky regions” so it is only fitting that we be represented on the judging panel for next years spectacular. And there are none better qualified for the role than the wonderfully candid and knowledgeable proprietors of Chez Regine. How about it Blair?
Words J.M Copeland
Video and Images Tatu Kaarlas; www.refinedvices.com
