Cece's Single Malt Sweet Tooth

May 16, 2013

Cece's Single Malt Sweet Tooth

Glenmorangie Lasanta, Scapa 14-Year

Cece's Sweet Tooth for Single Malts

This week we were fortunate enough to sit down for a special tasting with Cece Smith-MacKenzie of Walker's in TriBeCa.  Cece has been a waitress at Walker's for 17 years, always with a smile and a lovely dram to brighten your day.  While not a smoke head like your trusty authors, Cece is something of an expert when it comes to rich, honeyed, Highland malts.  

"I first discovered whisky, like most young kids, when I stole some from my grandfather’s liquor cabinet. I did not enjoy my first encounters with Scotch. He had a taste for really smoky whisky. Then in my twenties there were many hapless meetings with blended whisky. Which, I barely survived, or at least that is how it felt.

It wasn’t until 16 years ago, Leonard, who is still a bartender at Walker’s, talked me into trying Balvenie 12. My love affair with single malt had officially begun. It is still one of my favorites today.

I tend to like Highland Whisky the best, but I love The Orkney Isles. Scapa is now one of my all time favorites and I also love Highland Park, both from Orkney. Glenmorangie is my favorite Highland and they have so many to choose from. Right now I am very partial to the Lasanta. I like Single Malts that are complex, with a peaty earthy flavour and very little to no smoke, with a vanilla, plum finish and a hint of spice. I don’t add ice. I do however add a splash of water to open the flavour. Old school. My grandfather would be proud!"

A Gem of a Pub

While the tourists are across the street gawking at the Ghostbuster's firehouse, locals flock to Walker's for the best happy hour in TriBeCa.  Walker's is one of our all-time favorite pubs. They sport a great, well-poured draught beer list (amongst our favorites are: Lagunitas IPA, Southampton White, Bluepoint, & Palm), a hand-picked selection of malts and whiskies, and very solid pub food at prices that won't make you weep like most TriBeCa restaurants these days.

Most importantly the staff is awesome and deeply authentic.  Walker's could be the Cheers of New York, if Cheers was a real place and not the most awful tourist trap in Boston. 

Contestant #1: Scapa 14-Year

From the Orkney Islands, north of the northern Scottish Highlands, comes Scapa.  Self-described as "sweet and velvety with flavours of sweet clementine and heather honey, a tang of ginger, and sweet baked apples," Scapa is a sweet treat that's off-the-beaten-path and was a very pleasant surprise.

SmokyBeast's notes:  "On the nose: A bouquet of flowers and fruits - dandelions, spring meadow, apples, and dew.  The body opens up with sweeter fruits: heavy apricot, peaches, white wine.  The finish is lightning fast, just a pop of fruit with absolutely no burn."

Cece's notes:  "On the nose: Salty, Floral, Oak, Ocean Brine.  Body: A hint of spice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate.  Finish: Very short, vanilla."

Scapa was delightful.  We could see this as a perfect after-lunch scotch, or to be paired with salads, fish, or fruit.


Contestant #2: Glenmorangie Lasanta


The Oloroso Sherry barrel version of the 12-Year Glenmorangie is noted as "Smooth chocolate covered raisins, honeycomb, and caramel toffee.  Deliciously sweet sherry flavoured sultanas, orange segments, walnuts, & butterscotch."

Cece's notes: "Nose: Spice, vanilla, caramel, banana fruitiness.  Body: sweet & spicy with peat coming through followed by a long finish of peat and spice.

SmokyBeast's Notes: "Nose: overripe bananas, caramel, Nutella.  There's a little funk on the nose here, maybe those bananas have gone a bit brown.  It opens up with herb garden and a hint of smoke.  Body: Sweet start, then little hints of lemongrass and thyme.  Herby and medicinal behind the sweetness.  Finish: Much longer finish when compared with the Scapa.  The finish is probably its best feature, the smoke is apparent along with a heavy dose of leather (saddle oil) and fresh oak.

Conclusions

While we remain dedicated to the beastly smoky delights, Cece introduced a new favorite.  The Scapa is truly unique.  It leaves you craving another pour, the stone fruits and honey still rolling on your tongue.  Think about a romantic evening with Scapa and chocolate-covered strawberries.  Think about a delicious malt that wouldn't ruin your palate for a light summer meal.

Thanks to everyone at Walker's for a great time.  Stop by next time you're in TriBeCa around happy hour (it's on the corner of N. Moore & Varick) and ask for Cece!

Cheers/SmokyBeast

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban Port Cask - A Wine Lover's Beast

November 11, 2012

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban Port Cask - A Wine Lover's Beast

Who are The Sixteen Men of Tain?

Glenmorangie is an impressive beast.  It boasts the title of the best selling single malt in Scotland for the past thirty years.  And needless to say the Scots know their scotch.  Glenmorangie is a highland scotch from - you guessed it - the town of Tain, which is in Rothshire in the Scottish Highlands.  The highlands are beautiful, think Ireland meets New Zealand with copious whisky destinations.

Glenmorangie's Stills

For generations, sixteen masters have been responsible for producing Glenmorangie.  Their tools: sixteen foot whisky stills, the tallest in Scotland.  (Something about the number Sixteen, are you seeing a pattern?)

Marketing hype?  Perhaps.  It's hard to imagine how sixteen dudes, no matter how awesome and Scottish, could produce ten million bottles per year.  But hey, the point is that they keep the process simple and avoid all the high tech innovations that would ruin the quality of the product.

Here is an awesome video that will make you want to quit your job, don a kilt, and practice your Scottish drawl.





For us, Glenmorangie is a mainstay for quality scotch.  It's not the most unique, it's the not smokiest or the most beastly.  It doesn't have the most character.  But you can't go wrong with a bottle of the 'Morange.  Everything from their standard issue 10-Year bottling all the way up to their specialized top shelf editions are worth tasting and one or another of these bottles will almost always earn a spot in our cabinet.

The Review: Quinta Ruban Port Cask - A Wine Lover's Whisky

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban

The Quinta Ruban is a 12-year "extra matured" malt that is aged 10 years in traditional oak casks and then an extra two years in "specially selected ruby port pipes from the Quintas or wine estates of Portugal."

It is available at KLWines.com for $45.99 (Quinta Ruban at KLWines) and Astor Wines for $47.99 (Quinta Ruban at Astor Wines)

Sometimes we drink whisky that's been aged in port, sherry, rum, or all kinds of other types of casks, and it doesn't seem to really impact the taste. Not so for Quinta Ruban.  You can absolutely taste the sweet plummy flavor of port wine on this whisky.  And it's very enjoyable.  If you love rich red wines, you will absolutely love this scotch.  And even if you're not a big red wine fan, it lends a rich and interesting taste to the whisky.

The color of this beast is probably the most impressive and 
compelling quality.  The Men of Tain describe it as "the darkest and most intense" of their special matured lines, and they're not kidding.  It's a beautiful dark amber shade, not unlike a deep stained cherry wood.  You pour a glass and just want to stare at it and make little cooing noises.

In terms of smokiness, we put the whisky well below the heavily peated Islay scotches like Lagavulin and Laphroaig.  However it still boasts a superior smoke content to milder brands like Macallan or Glenlivet.  The lack of smoke however is made up for by the richness of the flavor and the outstanding balance of heat and spice.  It has a very pleasant and delicate smoothness that makes it incredibly drinkable.

This is a scotch you can drink all night.  It calls you back for more and is an absolutely perfect match for a few close friends sitting outside on the deck for many hours as daylight levels fade, alcohol levels increase, and it turns into one of those nights that you never wish to end.  The taste is enduring and the little hints of citrus and caramel increase as you get into your second (or fourth!) glass.  Whisky snobs may roll their eyes at this comment, but I tend to like my smoky beasts with a beer chaser - this whisky is so balanced and drinkable that it doesn't need a chaser at all.  It's perfect neat and all by itself.

Overall this is a seriously enjoyable whisky.  And at under $50 it is a no-brainer.  We just can't stress this enough, it is an amazing value for the money.

Comparisons to other bottlings

Glenmorangie has too many bottlings to list in detail.  We will review many of them in the coming SmokyBeast posts.  The standard variations you'll find at more stores include:

Standard - 10 Year   ~$40
Lasanta (Sherry Cask) 12 Year   ~$46
Nectar D'Or (Sauternes Cask) 12 Year   ~$65
Extremely Rare 18 Year   ~$105
Signet (Blend of various ages from 10 to 35 years)   ~$175-$195

Compared to all these options, we feel that the Quinta Ruban is an outstanding value, a great place to start in experiencing the Glenmorangie line, and one that we'll definitely plan to return to once this bottle is gone.  More detailed reviews will follow, however in a nutshell, the Quinta is absolutely worth the extra $10 on top of the standard bottle.  It's a better scotch for your money than the other 12-year "extra mature" variations - tastier than the Lasanta, and not 50% less tasty than the Nectar D'Or.  The 18 year is great, but a bit overpriced (actually we used to see it for $150 or more and it seems to be coming down - at $90 this would be a great buy).  Now the Signet - that is a conversation for another day, sufficed to say that you must one day treat yourself to a bottle of this enigmatic whisky.

Overall the Quinta Ruban gets an A for this top quality malt at under $50.  It's a win-win, you'll go through it in a heartbeat and you won't feel bad because you'll be able to afford another bottle!