Augustiner-Bräu

Over the summer holiday I had the good fortune to visit Munich for the first time.  What a wonderful and friendly city it is!  The highlight of the trip were of course the beer gardens and Augustiner in particular.  According to the locals Augustiner is their favorite brew and by the looks of it I would say so as well.

My wife and I had a delicious pigs’ knuckle lunch in the beer garden and enjoyed a glass or two of their awesome beer.  (Will dedicate a separate post to my tasting notes.)  As you can see the beer garden was packed full of people.  The other astounding thing was the size of the pretzels!  Eat your heart out Hermes Handbag!

 

My case of Augustiner Beers should be arriving sometime tomorrow <BIG GRIN>.  Cheers!

Caol Ila 1996 Distiller’s Edition @ 001

Met up with a good friend for drinks the other night at 001 in Central Hong Kong.  It’s an amazing speak-easy tucked away in the middle of a wet market.  The entrance is unmarked with the exception of a brass door bell.  The place is known for its cocktails and grill cheeses but we were there for the single malts.

As usual we started out with the less pricey whiskys and at HKD 140 a dram the Caol Ila 1996 DE piqued my interest.  The other two flights were the Balvenie Portwood 21 and the Lagavulin 1994 Distiller’s Edition.  Both of them were pricier but the Caol Ila was the best.  Maybe it was the mood we were in that night but the Caol Ila was more well balanced than the others.  It also opened up more nicely with a drop of water or two.  In comparison the Lagavulin had too much kick and the Balvenie was too smooth.  The Caol Ila was very distinguished and easy to drink with a character of its own.

 

 

The “iLounge” Journey Part 2 – Edradour

The first building you encounter at the Edradour Distillery is the Welcome Center and Gift Shop. The large wood panelled hall neatly displays their multi-colored whisky along it’s three sides. After a brief wait we were ushered into a smaller building by the tour guide. Here we watched a video about the distillery and had our first taste of their whisky. One of the visitors was quite adamant that water should not be added to good whisky – to each his own I suppose.

Once the intro video was complete we were brought around to the rest of the buildings that housed the various functions of a working distillery. Even though this was my first distillery visit and not having any other experiences to compare with, the Edradour Distillery had a distinct artisanal feel about it. Clearly their product was not being mass produced here at all! Having said that, the shop manager later informed me that the first container of product was already on it’s way destined for the China market. Talk about a drop in the ocean.

The tour ended at the gift shop where we were allowed to browse their whiskies to our heart’s content. I picked up a whisky finished in Chateauneuf Du Pape Cask aged 13 years for my wife whose favorite color is pink – honest to God. Despite the fact that it had started to rain, I decided to walk back down the hill towards the town as I had noticed a foot path along the adjacent fields on my way to the distillery. The rain started coming down hard half way and I found myself in more terroir then I had bargained for. But the simple natural beauty of everything around me made it all worthwhile.

The “iLounge” Journey

This series is about how I combined my passion for technology with my new found passion for whisky. The culmination of which is a mobile app called iLounge. A little more than a year ago, I travelled to Scotland to learn more about whisky. The selection of single malts in Hong Kong is quite limited and variety can only be found in higher end F&B establishments. It was a mind opening trip not only in terms of the exposure to the myriad of single malt expressions but also seeing first hand the care and pride that goes into creating a good dram.

World’s largest whisky collection at the Scotch Whisky Experience

My trip began in Edinburgh at the Scotch Whisky Experience. It’s a good place to start as it gives n00bs like myself a general introduction to how whisky is made. The experience entails a mechanized ride that takes you through the various stages of whisky production. You also get to see the world’s largest collection of whisky bottles. And of course the all important whisky tasting where you learn about the whisky producing regions and their taste characteristics. After the experience you can stop by their store and buy a bottle or two.

Edinburgh Castle – talk about taking the high ground!

After the overview from the SWE I was ready the next day for my first distillery tour. Time was a limiting factor so I wasn’t able to go too far up north. So I finally settled on visiting the very picturesque Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry. The distillery is a 1-2 hours train ride from central Edinburgh and short cab ride from Pitlochry Station to the distillery doors. The moment I laid eyes on Edradour’s quaint white washed buildings surrounded by picturesque countryside I knew I had picked the right one. Stay tuned for more in the next post about the Edradour Distillery.

Macallan 18 Years Old (1992)

Is the most widely available single malt at the grocer that I frequent.  Have heard many good things about The Macallan from friends and read good reviews in various whisky books.

Nose: Herbal and cinnamon scents with a hint of floral

Taste: Spicy walnuts with a light oily texture

Finish: Sweet toffee, lavender and hoppy pretzels

Old Fashioned

This is how I make mine:
1. Place a Cube of Sugar in your Old Fashioned glass (as pictured)
2. Saturate Cube of Sugar with Angostura Aromatic Bitters
3. Crush the Cube of Sugar until granular
4. Add a Teaspoon of Water (don’t use Club Soda unless you want it watered down)
5. Stir until sugar is partially diluted
6. Add 2 Oz. Whiskey
7. Stir until sugar is fully diluted
8. Add a rectangle of Orange Zest (skin of orange without the white fiber)
9. Add Large Ice Cubes
10. Enjoy!

Please share your recipes as well.

Life is full of choices

And some choices are more pleasurable than others.  If you enjoy drinking whisky there are many delicious decisions to be made.  My earliest recollection of whisky consists of pungent straight shots of Canadian Club stealthily removed from adults’ bottles.  The Canadian Club and Maker’s Mark continued into adulthood by way of the very occasional old fashioned cocktail.

I recently decided to explore the world of Scotch whisky to see how it would compare to my favored cocktails.  I now enjoy my whisky straight with some water and savor the smell, taste and finish – finally appreciating whisky for the great drink that it is.

This blog is a humble documentation of my journey into the world of whisky.  It will record tasting notes and travels around the world in search for new whisky flavors.  I hope to also capture the environment and people dedicated to bringing the drink to the masses.

So sit back, pour yourself a glass and enjoy!