6 regions making quality whisky (aka whiskey)
Scottish
Lowland scotches are (unfortunately) almost extinct. Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan are about all we really have left. Auchentoshan continues to keep things interesting. Auchentoshan Single Malt Scotch Whisky Limited Edition 1988 PX Sherry Cask Finish is a doozy. We’ve all been told that Lowland malts are triple-distilled, gentle, and blah blah – this ain’t that. Bottled at 47.9 percent ABV, it sports a complex nose of walnut, sultana, dark fruit, hard toffee and polished wood. The palate is warm, rich, expansive and intense, with vanilla notes in the long, moderately spicy finish. I’m sold.
I love great food. I love great scotch. So I jumped at the chance to attend an amazing, exclusive dinner rustled up by Toronto wunderkind Chef Grant Van Gameren (who turned out to be a lot more down-to-earth than I expected). It allowed me to sample an equally amazing range of expressions from the Glenmorangie distillery (rhymes with “orangey” – don’t forget it). I’ll come clean; I’m a huge Glenmorangie fan, and I’m not going to go crazy with notes here. Suffice to say, the range tasted – from the Glenmorangie Original through to the blissful Grand Vintage 1989, with things like the seductive Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or thrown in for good measure – made for a memorable night. No poetry. No haggis. Just sayin’.