A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF

Drinks giant Diageo has set out to disprove the assumption that whisky is an old man’s drink. Cue a series of live whisky tastings throughout the UK and a chance for club managers to fire up their members with some decent single malts.

Is whisky an old man’s drink with an image problem? Well, yes and no. If I’m brutally honest, my main memories of whisky involve my father drinking his Johnnie Walker Red Label in the days before it was mysteriously withdrawn for the shelves of UK off licences. It’s back now, but I can’t look at the label without thinking of dad and his nightly ‘whisky and water’. His father drank it before him and whenever, as a young child, I visited my grandparents over in Wandsworth - old clocks ticking and the smell or roast lamb cooking in the oven - out would come the whisky.

So, is whisky an old man’s drink? Is it suffering from an image problem and is that image justified or not?

In short, it’s not justified, but there is still good reason for Diageo to get a posse of ‘ambassadors’ together and ride off around the UK setting the record straight and providing whoever cares to listen with sound advice on the subject of single malts, their widely differing taste profiles, and where they come from.

And let’s be fair, it’s not just because whisky might be suffering from an image problem that Diageo has decided to hit the road. The company’s intentions are honourable inasmuch as this consumer-facing initiative gives the man and woman in the street an opportunity to brush up on their knowledge of Scotch whisky and enjoy a few highend single malts in the process.

Diageo’s hired guns are Andy McConkey, Neil Ridley and Joel Harrison, three young guys with two things in common: one is music - Neil and Joel were A&R men for major record labels and Andy is a session musician - and two is a mutual appreciation of decent whisky.

The plan is to target sporting or dining clubs and offer a light-hearted evening discussing and tasting four very different single malt whiskies and noting their distinct characteristics.

Stop one was London’s Fox Club in Clarges Street, a swish venue in Mayfair with 300 individual and 10 corporate members. The club runs a variety of interactive events for its members, such as wine and Champagne tastings and even a ‘Lara Croft’ night featuring a motivational talk by Suzy Madge, a record-breaking ski mountaineer and adventurer, not forgetting a Fox & Vixen night.

Louise Comrie of T&LC Events and Fox Club manager Bethan Seaton work closely together on administering the events and were approached by Diageo to run the whisky tasting. Louise approached members and non-members in London with a view to them attending the event and the stage was set for a rainy Thursday night at the end of March.

Diageo has developed a ‘flavour map’ of Scotland that pinpoints the whisky producing regions of the country and their various distilleries and then takes four key products from those regions - the Lowlands, the Highlands, Speyside and the Islands - to the general public for tasting.

According to Neil Ridley, single malts account for eight per cent of total whisky sales globally and the market is growing, as consumers become more discerning. However, consumer awareness of single malts is still very much in its infancy, according to bass player Andy McConkey.

McConkey and Ridley, however, are both spectators on this occasion. The man in the driver’s seat is Joel Harrison who, along with Neil Ridley, runs a whisky blog (http://caskstrength.blogspot.com). In total there are 10 whisky ambassadors dotted around the country.

Harrison kicks off with a bit of history, his personable style winning over the small audience who laugh appreciably at his jokes and listen intently to what he has to say about whisky. We hear about its medicinal qualities, how it can only be called whisky if it is matured for three years and one day (or more) and that its alcohol content must be 40 per cent or above. Some cask strength whiskies, said Harrison, range between 55 and 60 per cent.

He dismissed any ideas of ‘whisky snobbery’ by stating that whisky can be taken neat or with water or ice; it really doesn’t matter. In Japan they drink it with ice, topped with water in a high ball glass.

And talking of Japan, next to Scotland it is a formidable whisky producing country in its own right, followed closely by Ireland, according to Ridley, who told me that even England is now producing decent, bona fide whisky these days ( check out www.englishwhisky.co.uk).

Joel discussed how whisky gets its brown colour from the barrels and how American bourbon is matured in barrels that are used only once before being sold on to the Scots who also buy barrels from European Sherry, Cognac and Port producers.

“The fresh spirit interacts with the previous incumbent and influences the flavour of the whisky inside,” said Joel. Joel had a four-three-two-one approach to the evening: four regions (Lowland, Highland, Speyside, Islands); three elements of whisky tasting (nose, pallet, finish); two kinds of whisky barrel (from the USA and Europe); and the individual taster - although there were around 20 of us.

The whiskies
There were four whiskies to taste, one from each of the four whisky producing regions of Scotland.

Whisky One: Glenkinchie 12 year old.
A Lowland malt known as the Edinburgh Malt because of its location near to the city, offers a sweet, soft start and a light, flowery nature with light honeyed notes. Expect to pay £28 per bottle.

Whisky Two: Dalwhinnie 15 year old.
A Speyside malt offering the mellow, soft and lasting flavours of heather, a honey-sweetness and vanilla followed by deeper citrus fruit and hints of malted bread. This product is from Scotland’s highest and most remote distillery and costs £29 per bottle.

Whisky Three: The Singleton of Dufftown
A Highland whisky matured in both American and European oak casks for a rich and smooth taste and an ideal match for spicy foods. A bottle costs £28.

Whisky Four: Talisker 10 year old
Talisker is made by the sea on the shores of the Isle of Skye. It offers warm fruits with clouds of smoke on the nose and an intense explosion of pepper at the back of the mouth. It was the evening’s favourite and a bottle costs £29.

We swilled the whiskies around in their glasses, breathed in their aroma to get the ‘nose’ and then rolled a mouthful around in our mouths - a second for every year of maturation - before knocking it back to get the ‘finish’ at the back of the throat.

Whisky tastings are great fun and they provide those involved with a little knowledge of single malt whiskies. From a club perspective, they offer members another reason to visit their club. Interested? Call your local single malt whisky ambassador 0161-484 2469 or email maltwhiskytastings@tro-group.co.uk