Are You Happy?

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Distiller: A New Whiskey App!

There's a new app that's all about whiskey! 

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The Baltimore Post-Examiner gives a great review:

"Distiller is a new app designed to help you choose your next bottle of whiskey. 

Other apps give you tasting notes and ratings, but Distiller looks at your personal ratings, as well as expert ratings and flavor profiles, and suggests your next whiskey purchase.

It has some fun features.  When looking for a new bottle, it asks where you will be enjoying it: by the fireplace, poker night, outdoors, etc.  Sadly, there is not an option for “in front of the TV watching House of Cards,” because that’s my real answer (although you can choose the couch on the iPad version).  I haven’t played around with it enough to detect a pattern in how the recommendations change based on location, but it’s still fun.

For each recommendation you request, you can specify a region (American, Scotch, Irish, World), a price range, how adventurous you would like to get, and whether you’re looking for a gift, something new, something for your collection, etc. 

As you rate whiskeys and add your favorites to your “Top Shelf,” Distiller learns your preferences."

I haven't tried it yet--unfortunately I haven't been doing a lot of whiskey drinking since I downloaded it yesterday--but I've heard good things, and I'm excited to see how it works!

Especially the feature that gets to know what you like and makes recommendations. I often stick with my tried and true, and this will be a good incentive to drink outside the box!

Have you tried it? Let us know what you think! 

Women Who Whiskey: Ward III Monday Night Whiskey Tasting

At the beginning of October my friend Samantha and I took a little trip to Ward III to check out their Monday Night Whiskey Tasting, which was a splendid evening.

So last week I planned an official wWw Monday Night Whiskey Tasting at Ward III for the rest of the ladies to come check out the event. 

We got there around 7pm to enjoy the requisite cocktail at the bar before the tasting started at 8pm. 

I had my signature spicy ginger bourbon bespoke cocktail, which is always a delight.  

Amanda had them whip up a bourbon apple cinnamon version, with a twist of orange. 

And Mary wanted something similar to Amanda's, but with a bit more citrus and fruit.

All our bespoke cocktails were quite delicious, and I even indulged in a Maker's Mark Manhattan before we moved on to the tasting.

This time there were two tastings set up--both whisky--each sampling four different kinds, so we were quite spoiled! 

Compass Box Whiskey Co. 

The first was Compass Box Whiskey & Co, a boutique Scotch Whiskeymaker & Craft Blender. 

Compass Box isn't a distiller, so they don't make their own whiskey, but they produce a variety of whisky blends. 

Great King Street Blends: Artists Blend and New York Blend

The first two were the Great King Street Blends: the Artist's Blend and the New York Blend.  Normal blends are about 70/30 grain/malt, but Compass Box uses a 55/45 ratio, which gives the whisky a much smoother more palatable taste. 

Both were extremely drinkable and almost a bit fruity. 

Flaming Heart, Peat Monster, Flaming Heart

Next up were two single malt blends: Peat Monster and Flaming Heart, which won the blend of the year award with a score of 95.5/100.

Neither of these uses caramel coloring or chill filters--steps taken to improve the aesthetic of whisky, often at the cost of taste. 

The result is a clean, smooth, rich taste, both neat and with a bit of water, which is how it's meant to be had. 

Myself and Robin, posing with giant bottles of whisky

Robin Robinson, the Compass Box brand ambassador who curated the tasting, gave us some excellent advice about how to properly savor a good whisky.

You pour it onto the "dead spot" of the tongue, letting it slowly spread over the rest of the tongue, "chewing it," as the Scottish say.

He also explained that to really taste the different layers of flavor, diluting it with a little water is ideal, as the higher the alcohol content, the more the alcohol numbs the tongue to the flavor nuances. 

Bringing it down to 25% alcohol--about half water, half whisky--allows you to perceive the balance and flavor of the malt. 

Lark Tasmanian Whiskey

Lark Tasmanian Whisky--which not being produced in Scotland, can't be called Scotch--is a single malt from Tasmania. 

Though regulations now prohibit many new foreign whiskys from calling themselves Single Malt, Lark, being over 20 years old, was grandfathered in.

Lark is produced in three strengths: 86 proof, 92 proof, and 116 proof. It's aged in Port barrels sourced from the producer of Grange wine.

Scott's Selection

We also tasted three rare single malts from Scott's selection. 

We started with the 1977 Bunnahabhain (right), a 92 proof Single Islay Malt with more of a briny than peaty taste. There are only ten cases of this whiskey left in the world.

Second we had the 1989 Macallan (center), an 104 proof Single Highland Malt, aged in bourbon barrels, of which there are only 3 cases left in the world.

Finally we tried the 1978 Glen Mhor (left), a Single Highland Malt from a "silent distillery," no longer producing Scotch. There are only two cases of this left in the world.

All three has distinct textures and flavors, and among the group we all had different favorites. But as Richard, the brand ambassador, put it, "Whisky is all a matter of taste. Like the company you keep, the music you listen to, even the people you marry."

Well said, Richard. 

***

Ward III

11 Reade St.

(corner West Broadway)

212.240.9194

Monday Night Whiskey Tastings

Mondays 8-10pm

Free with the purchase of a cocktail at the bar

***

Pierre Hotel - Fall 2012 Cocktail Launch

September 25, 2012 was the official launch of the Pierre Hotel Fall 2012 Cocktail Launch, where E Lounge--the hotel bar--debuted it's new line of cocktails for autumn.

I was the lucky recipient of a call from my new friend Christine, asking me to be her plus one to this exclusive PR event. 

When I arrived, fashionably late by 15 minutes, Christine was already there, making the acquaintance of the two other PR girls at our table. They had ordered their drinks but were waiting for me to get mine before trying them and comparing. 

The cocktail menu was crafted to reflect the Taj Hotel's transition from the 19th to the 21st century, with remixes of classics like the Whiskey Sour, the Gimlet, and the Sazerac, as well as original concoctions, such as the My Fair Lady of Cafe Pierre and the Star of Taj (a real showstopper, as you'll later see). 

Star of Taj

The Pierre Sparkle

Rotunda's Whiskey Sour

Cheers! Me and my Whiskey Sour

My Fair Lady

Christine with the Pierre Sparkle

 

With a jazz trip playing in the background and subtle lighting the mood was intimate and friendly as we chatted over our drinks and took notes. 

The entire evening was comped by the hotel as a promotional event, and so the drinks and food were plentiful, in an effort to sweeten our experience and elicit sincere positive reviews. 

They then invited us to view the making of two of the cocktails, the Gimlet and the Star of Taj--a spectacular drink that involved setting fresh Indian herbs on fire and pouring the flaming mixture into a fruity cocktail.

Indian Spices

Making the Gimlet

JP Getty's Gimlet

This was accompanied by a delicious tasting menu spread of tiny versions of their new fall menu.

Infusing the Indian Spices

Mixing the Star of Taj

 

Lighting the herbs on fire

When we'd tried everything on new menu, they brought out their regular bar menu and encouraged us to try some of their regular cocktails and restaurant menu appetizers, in case we were still hungry.

Beef Carpaccio

The Antique Fashioned

 

 

Charles' Sazerac

Christine and I were impressed by the skill and speed with which the bartenders were mixing gorgeous and elaborate cocktails, so we went up to the bar to watch, as they explained what they were making and how. 

Vintage Stolichnaya Lemon Vodka--one of a limited number of bottles

A glass of Balvenie, neat, to finish off the night. Courtesy of a Nigerian business man who insisted on buying.

I have to say, this may have been a night where my eyes were bigger than my stomach, and on the cab ride home we were quite a bit tipsy. But it was more than worth it--the staff were delightful, the cocktails divine, and the food delicious. 

I highly recommend both the E Lounge at the Pierre Hotel for a vintage evening where no detail has been forgotten.