The Intelligent Hand sponsored by The Balvenie

At the beginning of this month we were invited along to our first film premier. Oh it sounds all very show biz for two country bumpkins from Bedfordshire! And when we found out the event was held at the BAFTAs, well I was thinking ‘Should I prepare a speech? It mustn't be like Gwyneth Paltrow.’

No we didn’t go home with a BAFTA. What we did see was a moving documentary celebrating craftsmanship from around the world. The film was produced by James Rogan and was directed by Oliver Cheetham. 

Their journey and inspiration for this film grew from their initial short film that was commissioned by The Balvenie to honour David Stewart, Balvenie Malt Master, marking his half century involvement with William Grants & Sons Ltd, and for the launch of the Balvenie Fifty Year Old whisky in honour of this occasion. You can see this short film here: David Stewart 

I can see why they were inspired, for me it is great to see a big company like Balvenie choosing to employ and use as part of their operations, in-house coopers and copper-smiths, keeping these traditional skills alive. They don’t have to do this but by choosing to do so they are making a statement that says they care more about quality than quantity. For anyone that knows about the The Balvenie, you will know that craftsmanship runs through the core of their brand. From my interactions with various people from The Balvenie over the years, this value does seem to be more than skin deep. Additionally the Balvenie Double Wood is one of my favourite drams because it was the first dram that made me fall in love with it instantly, and still does.

James Rogen then had an idea about capturing stories of other craftspeople from around the world. Backed by The Balvenie he discovered these master craftspeople who are the focus of the film:

• Biren Vaidya Jeweller, Mumbai, India

• Isabella Wen  Fashion designer, Taipei, Taiwan

• Rick Kelly  Luthier, New York, USA

• Maxim Sharov  Handbag maker, Moscow, Russia

• Paul Bergamo  Bell-founder, Normandy, France

The name of film was taken from French bell founder Paul Bergamo's description of craft. He said: “What’s really powerful and beautiful about craft is that these are professions that require a great theoretical knowledge, because we work with very technical things. But also what I call ‘the intelligence of the hand’ – things and know-how that you cannot write about, things that are handed down from worker to worker, from person to person.”

Not one of Rick Kelly’s but by a London base luthier

What I took from the film is the joy that each craft person gets from gaining as much knowledge as possible about their chosen craft, perfecting their skill until it becomes automatic; almost effortless and the importance of quality. For example, in the film the luthier, Rick Kelly talks about why he uses reclaimed wood from timbers that are over 100 years old, he said it’s because you can’t get the same sound from newer wood that’s been dried in a kiln. The way that these old timbers have been dried out naturally over decades, gives it special qualities, knots and all. With the skills he’s mastered, he incorporates the knots into the design of each guitar, making each piece completely unique. The uniformity of things made my machines doesn't have the same quality.

Another example is the bell foundry still using the same techniques that they did hundreds of years ago because it still offers the highest quality end product, however with a modern twist. He had the clever idea to cast the bells upside down as it was more efficient. Same idea that ship builders had during WWII to build ships upside down.

The two things that I found very moving, was how emotional Rick Kelly got when he talked about a bit of woodland that is very special to him, as he describe how magical this place is to him, tears formed in his eyes, choking him with emotion. Being among the trees, some very old big trees, surrounded by wood in its living form really connected with something deep within him. The second is Paul Bergamo being ecstatic about already reaching the pinnacle of his career by casting the bell at Notre Dame, and the first time that the bell was chimed, some 4,000 people turned up and were there waiting in silence to hear it. I can only imagine how electric the atmosphere would have been as he looked down on the crowd from the bell tower. 

From left: Award winning film maker Roger Graef OBE, Director Oliver Cheetham, Balvenie Brand Ambassador Sam Simmons, Jeweller Biren Vaidya, and Producer James Rogan.

Making good whisky is a craft as not only do you have to know the science, you’ve got to have that knack of knowing when its ready, that’s the magical part that Malt Masters, like David Stewart, learn through years of experience and trusting his intuition. 

A trailer of the film can be found here: The Intelligent Hand , and if you do get a chance to see the documentary in full it is well worth watching. 

On the night there were no new whisky discoveries. We did enjoy tasting the Doublewood 17 year old and the Caribbean Cask again, although checking the blog we haven't actually posted our thoughts on these yet

I would like to say thank you to The Balvenie for inviting us along to this Warehouse 24 event. 

Slàinte! Kat

Burns Night 2014

Last week, the Monkey called, that’s Monkey Shoulder to you, and asked me to come along to an alternative Burns Supper at The Caledonian Club. I thought we would be celebrating Scottish poet Robert Burns. As I've never celebrated Burns night before, I didn't know what to expect, but knew that I was in for an eventful night. 

Not being able to leave work early meant I arrived an hour after the start time, at this point completely oblivious to the mayhem that happened shortly before my arrival. Being a polite guest, I donned a white hazmat suit with no questions asked the got rushed to the upstairs of the club. I only had a split second to wonder my suit had a radioactive badge on, and why the man rushing me had a face mask hung around his neck. 

Walking into the room I've abruptly left normality behind as I walked into a surreal alternate reality. Within a few minutes of sitting down, I was greeted by an excitable lady who introduced herself to me as Carolyn Cumhardy and asked ‘Oh you got through the nuclear fallout OK?’. Then I was told that the suspicious white substance on her face was just nuclear fallout cream, and was nothing to do with how she got her family name. Hmmm, I thought, this is pretty freaking surreal as I stared at the bowl of three eyed fish soup, and a glass of Rob Roy.

RIP Binky, you were bloody tasty 

Scanning the room trying to find anything familiar, anything at all, anything that I can use to make sense of this madness. My eyes fell on a life size taxidermy polar bear, metal fencing, what looks like a stack of oscilloscopes, then I saw the framed picture of Mr Monty Burns from the Simpsons…..the penny dropped. 

The night was to celebrate Charles Montgomery Burns, you know that lovely old man from t’ Simpsons. 

Oh well, I thought, there’s no point trying to understand, just accept, relax and drink your Rob Roy. 

If you want to make the Rob Roy at home here is the recipe:

It certainly hit the spot
after being plunged into an alternate reality

INGREDIENTS

50ml Monkey Shoulder

25ml Sweet Vermouth

3 Dashes Angostura bitters

METHOD

Add all ingredients to mixing glass, add ice and stir. Once desired dilution is reached strain into chilled glass and garnish with twist of orange peel.

GLASS

Stemmed cocktail glass

Next I tucked into my Three Eyed fish soup, followed by some Radioactive Haggis with orange coloured neeps and green tatties, and of course we had to have Lardy Lad Donuts for desert. It was a bit strange eating green mash; I kept on expecting that it would taste like peas. 

Mmmmmmm donuts….. 

After dinner we had another cocktail, a Mammie Taylor, very refreshing after the richness of the haggis. Then I finally got to meet in person Jake Mountain from Master of Malt, and I also got to meet Graeme Gardiner from The Edinburgh Whisky Blog. These two lovely chaps kept me company as I was at the event on my own. 

Graeme in particular had me in stitches when he didn't realise he was sporting some major carpet burns after winning the hound racing. 

I take full credit for sharing the pics on twitter. Sorry Graeme.

Mammie Taylor

I love my Mammie

INGREDIENTS

30ml Monkey Shoulder

10ml Fresh Lime juice

80ml Ginger ale

Lime wedges

METHOD

Add all ingredients to glass, add cold dry ice and stir.

GLASS

Long

I won’t go into detail about party games some of us played, I recommend reading the blog post by the boys as there’s simply nothing more I can add to this part of the story that hasn't already been said. You can find their posts about the event here The Edinburgh Whisky Blog - Burns Night and here Master of Malt blog - Burns Night In retrospect I got away lightly by missing the caricaturist!

We finished the night with music from Third Degree Burns, a good old sing song and dance. We all left with sparklers in hand and grinning like kids as we made our way back to reality. 

It was a fantastic and the most fun I've had at a whisky event! All I have to say is the next Burns supper I attend has a lot to live up to.

Actually we were making a zombie apocalypse B movie 

For more information about Monkey Shoulder and to join the Monkey Shoulder Social Club at their next event, visit their website here Monkey Shoulder 

Slàinte! Kat

Whisky Discovery #305

Bally Delicious 23 Year Old Master of Malt (54% abv D:10/03/1989)
Speyside Single Cask Malt Whisky
£59.95 70cl (only available from Master of Malt)

A 23 Year Old, mostly from The Balvenie distillery

Bally Delicious? This is a twenty three year old single cask blended malt whisky from Master of Malt's Single Cask series. It was distilled on the 10th March 1989 and comes almost entirely from one very famous Speyside distillery, though it was "spooned" with a small portion of whisky from a nearby distillery and thus cannot be called single malt.

The Balvenie distillery is owned by William Grant & Sons Ltd and is one of the few remaining independent distilleries in Scotland today. However, William Grant & Sons also own the Glenfiddich Distillery and the lessor known Kininvie distillery, all three are neighbours and 'spooning' prevents single casks being sold as single malts for independent releases. You'll have to search very hard to find independent single cask releases from any of these distilleries

There are just 288 bottles of the stuff, drawn from refill hogshead on the 26th November 2012.

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Plums, drifting wood smoke and apple and pear crumble, becoming more floral with time in the glass, or with water.

Palate: A soft silky mouth-feel with notes of chocolate mousse and a development of caramelised pears.

Finish: An oaky finish with a little salt and notes of black coffee.

So What Did We Think?

The nose immediately invites you in with sweet and creamy aromas, baked apples and pears with Demerara sugar melting on the top, there's some fresh oak and spice and a light malty biscuit note. A lovely floral bouquet develops after a little time in the glass. Fabulous stuff!

The baked pears come through on the palate too, wonderfully smooth and soft mouthfeel which develops a light peppery spice which complements the pears nicely.

It finishes with some spicy wood giving a little chili pepper heat which fades quickly leaving a light salty note. This one does exactly what it says on the tin, while remaining tactful and without the use of 'common' language, it is indeed bloody delicious!

Want one? Best be quick as there was just 288 bottles filled. check out Master of Malt 23 Year Old Bally Delicious

Skype Tasting #2

Tasting #2

A little while ago fellow whisky tweeter @WhiskyRepublic and I 

swapped five different whiskies from our shelves with each other and held a tasting session using Skype. 

We managed to run through five drams on our first meeting, so scheduled a second session last week to finish of the remaining five whiskies.

The five drams received from @WhiskyRepublic

With three peated whiskies left, alongside two Speysiders, and three of the five were also at cask strength, some careful planning was needed to get the balance right and make this session as enjoyable as the first one.

We started off with two from my shelf, The Balvenie 21 PortWood which although a rich Port finished Speysider it is bottled at 40% abv and the honeyed sweetness that is synonymous with the Balvenie range could be enjoyed and savoured without any other influences from either cask strength alcohol or heavily peated whiskies. The PortWood is one of my favourites from Balvenie.

We followed The Balvenie with an 18 Year Old Glenfarclas from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.  SMWS 1.162 is bottled at 58.8% abv, and was from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead and was one of 234 bottles. It seemed to follow The Balvenie perfectly.

The drams I sent to @WhiskyRepublic in front of their parents

With three peated whiskies left, two at cask strength, the Irish Connemara Peated Whiskey was next and what a surprising nose this had! This was my first experience of Connemara, and I have smelt a little rubber in whiskies previously, but nothing compared to what hit me here. It was unbelievable! It reminded us of changing tyres and we were both laughing that we were drinking whisky that smelt like rubber! The phrase 'caramelised inner tube' was coined to describe the nose we were 'enjoying' during this tasting.

We followed the Connemara with a Heavily Peated 13 Year Old Bunnahabhain from Signatory's Cask Strength Collection. This is a smashing drop of whisky that I've been nursing for a year now!

The final dram of the evening was the one I had been really looking forward to since receiving the sample; Ardbeg Uigeadail. Another heavily peated whisky, but a total contrast to the Bunnahabhain. Both Islay single malts, both cask strength, but the Bunnahabhain had been matured in two ex-bourbon hogsheads and the Ardbeg Uigeadail (pronounced 'oog-a-dal) is a vatting that marries traditional smokey Ardbeg with spirit matured in old ex-sherry casks.

Another very successful and hugely entertaining Skype tasting. Overall, five new whiskies were introduced to each of us, and we had two great evenings from the comfort of our own computers! There's not much of a whisky scene in the Bedford area yet, but I'm looking to start something in the near future. If you are interested in either a whisky club in the Bedford area or Skype tasting, please contact me and check out my shelf for Skype sample swaps - it is always changing as I drink from it almost daily, and add at least one bottle to it every month!

Whisky Discovery #86

The Balvenie/Glenfiddich New Make Spirit (70.8% abv)

Speyside Single Malt

New Make Spirit Sample

Drams 13, 14 and 15 were sampled at The Balvenie stand. We were sipping Balvenie Peated Cask and discussing whisky and blogs with Nicola from the Whisky Boys we got an opportunity to sample a little of the new make spirit from the Balvenie Distillery. I'm not saying that new make spirit should be made available for sale , but I think that everyone on a whisky journey should be allowed to sample the distilled spirit before it is put to sleep in oak to get the full appreciation of what both the distiller has made, and what the oak does. Just another great experience but it would be so much better nosing it at the spirit safe!

I needed a few glasses of water in order to restore senses in my mouth and then followed this with a dram of one of my favourite Balvenies The 21 Year Old Portwood.

Whisky Discovery #32

The Balvenie Craftsman's Reserve No.1 The Cooper 15 Year Old (59.4%, OB, bottled 2012, 10cl)

Speyside Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky

Not currently for sale

The tasting kit sent to the lucky Warehouse 24 members

The wonderful people of Balvenie offered an opportunity to all it's Warehouse 24 UK members  to register for a live on-line tasting event. 1000 bottles were sent out to the lucky recipients. Each 10cl was hand labelled and came packaged in a very well made presentation box, complete with two nosing glasses. The condition was that the whisky should not be tasted until the live on-line event.

I'm not sure how many actually attended, there were circa 250 signed into the website, but there were others on Twitter and Facebook too. The event was beamed live from the Balvenie cooperage was hosted by Balvenie Ambassador Sam Simmons along with their Malt Master David Stewart and Head Cooper Ian McDonald.

The whisky, drawn from a single second fill sherry cask, was distilled 15 years ago and bottled at cask strength of 59.6%

My first dram

Colour: a rich golden amber, typical of a sherry malt.

Nose: definitely the sweet honey Balvenie trademark, with raisins and sultanas, fruit cake,Christmas cake, cherry, toffee and caramel, and vanilla. Lots going on, the nose is just wonderful. I can sniff this all night !

Taste: sweet and smooth, even at cask strength. Rich fruits and sherry, spices

Finish: warming and sweet spiced honey

Just 315 bottles will be released for sale to the Warehouse 24 members and I'll definitely be looking out for this opportunity.

What a great evening this has been!

Whisky Discovery #24

The Balvenie 17 Year Old ‘Peated Cask’ (43% abv, OB, Bottled 2011)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £80

 

One of the other Balvenie malts tasted during the evening at the V&A for The Balvenie 40 Year Old launch.

This cracking peated cask Balvenie was first released in 2010. It was aged traditionally to begin with, before a finish in casks that previously held peated whisky.

In 2001, a heavily peated batch of barley was distilled at The Balvenie Distillery and was allowed to mature until The Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart, decided it was time to rejuvenate the maturation process and so the whisky was transferred to newly prepared traditional casks.

The casks that had originally held the peated liquid had taken on much of its character and so David decided to experiment by filling them with 17 year old Balvenie for a short period. The result was an intensely peaty whisky. Marrying this liquid with 17 year old Balvenie finished in new American oak casks produced The Balvenie Peated Cask, a complex single malt that is rich and spicy with layers of smokiness.

The result is well balanced and not overpowering, and this will certainly be on my wish list.

Whisky Discovery #23

The Balvenie 15 Year Old ‘Single Barrel’ (47.8% abv, OB, Bottled 2011)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £48

One of the other Balvenie malts tasted during the evening at the V&A for The Balvenie 40 Year Old launch.


The Balvenie Single Barrel is a 15 year old single malt which is drawn from a single traditional oak whisky cask of a single distillation. 

Whilst each cask is subtly different, The Balvenie Malt Master selects only those casks which have the essential characteristics of The Balvenie Single Barrel, particularly honey, vanilla and oaky notes. Each bottling forms a limited edition of no more than 350 hand-numbered bottles - so each bottle is unique and unrepeatable.An individual numbered 15 year old from selected single ex-bourbon casks from the Balvenie distillery, this is a single malt both fruity and honeyed with an excellent finish.

Nose: Delicate sweetness one expects from Balvenie. Honey and dried mixed peel.
Palate: Husky sweetness. Barley lies on a bed of juicy ripe fruit.
Finish: Climaxes with barley and bourbon spiciness peaking most spectacularly.

Whisky Discovery #22

The Balvenie 12 Year Old ‘ Signature’ Batch No. 4 (40% abv, OB, Bottled 2011)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £25-30

A November bonus bottle

The ‘Brucie bonus bottle’ from the lovely Balvenie people at the end of our evening in The V&A Museum.

The Balvenie Signature Aged 12 Years is a classic marriage of The Balvenie matured in the three most traditional cask types, first fill bourbon, refill bourbon and sherry. Produced in small, numbered batches, each cask used is hand selected by Malt Master David Stewart to ensure he achieves Signature’s unique character of honey, spice and subtle oak and each batch is allowed time to harmonise in a traditional marrying tun. David Stewart crafted The Balvenie Signature to mark his 45th year in the whisky industry and 2011 saw the release of Batch 4.

NOSE: Rich and complex with honey, citrus fruits and vanilla oak notes.

TASTE: Rich and honeyed with a hint of sherry fruitiness. A spiciness of cinnamon and nutmeg and a subtle oakiness develop with time.

FINISH: Warm and lingering.

Whisky Discovery #21

The Balvenie 40 Year Old Batch No. 2 (48.5%, OB, Bottled 2011)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

£2,500

 

The Balvenie 40 - 2nd release

Those wonderful people at Balvenie called me up to inform me that I had won a pair of tickets to sample their new limited release of a special 40 year single malt.

You don’t turn down opportunities like this, as they don’t come along to often. The event was being held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

I invited friend Colin Johnson to the event, who almost bit my arm off at the opportunity. On arrival we were treated as VIPs as most of the other guests were from the trade.

We were able to sample a good deal of The Balvenie range of single malts, well certainly everything that had been set up for sampling!

We tasted their 12 YO Doublewood, 12 YO Signature, 15 YO Single Cask, 17 YO Peated Cask and of course their 21 YO Port Wood. Then the 40 YO was brought out. Only 150 bottles produced in this limited edition bottling, 80 for the UK market and 70 for the rest of the world. With a retail price set at £2,500 per bottle, two were opened for our pleasure.

And oh what a pleasure it was ! We must have spent a good five minutes exploring the nose, it might have been longer and certainly needed to be – it was awesome ! Then the taste – again out of this world ! I would have to re-evaluate all my previous tastings to get things back into some perspective. So much going on in their and the finish – again spectacular. There was only one glass each (although it was a generous measure) and unless the jackpot comes up, way out of my price range, but it was a wonderful experience. To end the evening we were each presented with a bottle from their entry level malts, Colin came away with a bottle of Doublewood and for me The Signature. Thank you Balvenie !

Whisky Discovery #18

The Balvenie 12 Year Old Double Wood (40% abv, OB, Bottled +/- 2011 70cl)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £25

August's official bottle

With Balvenie being fresh on my mind, and also on my wish list I thought I ought to buy this entry level malt for the collection. 

The Double Wood is their entry level malt, and a delicate Speyside which is first aged in oak and then in sherry wood. With soft notes layered with honey and vanilla for a subtle sweetness. 

Taste it and you’ll notice it’s nuttiness, sherry and even cinnamon.

A smashing dram !

Whisky Discovery #17

The Balvenie 21 Year Old Port Wood (40% abv, OB, Bottled +/- 2011 70cl)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Circa £85

Thank you Balvenie

Oh what a lucky boy I was in July !

A fourth bottle and a gift from The Balvenie ! I joined as many whisky sites as possible in my quest for knowledge, and answered an email from the Balvenie regarding a meeting in London. I was accepted to join their ‘focus group’ and spent an  enjoyable evening discussing The Balvenie, their website, and drinking their whisky. For taking part was given this bottle of 21 year old single malt, a leather bound hip flask and my expenses paid for the train ticket to and from London.

This whisky is created by the hand of a master blender, David Stewart. delicate Port wine flavours, silky and full bodied.