Enjoy whiskey. That was Dave Broom’s message – and happily taken by a crowd that gathered on a rainy Saturday afternoon to try out some whiskies in cocktail from one of the pre-eminent whisky authors. “Ask questions,” he told us. “Otherwise it’s just one boring, long Scottish rant.” Like that’s a bad thing when it comes to whisky. I showed up for a Scottish rant. Dave Broom – author of my ultimate whisky guide, The World Atlas of Whisky – was at Char No. 4 to tell us to mix our whisky. You heard that correctly – to put mixers and ice in our whisky. He said forget the rules. It’s not just for men (yep – got that message!). It’s not just for people of a certain age (around 20 seems a good time to start drinking it…). It’s not just for after dinner (do people eat dinner at noon? Is that supper?) It doesn’t have to be drunken in a tumbler (whew! Because I use jars sometimes). And it can be mixed. Also, it’s not serious. It should make you smile. Dave put forth the idea that drinking whisky and enjoying whisky are two different things. With his newest book, Whisky: The Manual, he is looking at how to enjoy whisky by mixing it up. If your only vision of Japanese whisky involves Bill Murray drinking Suntory, it is not your fault. The range of Japanese whiskies available in the US has been limited and expensive. But in the last couple of years, Japanese whisky’s popularity—and thankfully, availability—has soared, allowing in some younger and more affordable whiskies. Japanese whisky traditionally follows in the Scotch tradition, but with its own distinct flavor absorbed from the Japanese environment. To learn more, I spent a Saturday afternoon at Char No. 4 at a Japanese tasting class led by their whiskey expert, Allan Roth. |
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November 2017
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