The Balvenie 17 Year Old Madeira Cask with Padron 4000 Maduro and Chuao Parchita Bonbon

This month's selection is one of The Balvenie's latest 17 year old limited editions that debuted in the United States this fall.  Malt Master David Stewart presents us with a brilliant spirit that is finished in Madeira wine barrels after aging in traditional American oak ex-whisky casks.

The Balvenie distillery was founded in 1893 and is still owned by William Grant & Sons.  It is one of the few family owned distilleries left in Scotland and is located in the fertile glen of Dufftown, beneath the shadow of the famous Balvenie Castle.  Balvenie still grows its own barley and controls its own malting.  An onsite cooperage ensures the quality of their casks, but the true guardian of the portfolio is their Malt Master David Stewart.  At 47 years in service, he is an undisputed master and has received many industry accolades, the most recent being the Whisky Magazine's 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award and the Independent Spirits Challenge 2009 Distiller of the Year award, won for an unprecedented fourth time in a row.

Madeira is a fortified wine and truly an oddity.  It comes from a tropical island which sits between Portugal and the West African coasts.  The volcanic soil and humid temperatures of this island present quite a challenge to grape growing and the sugar level of the resultant fruit is typically low.  There are four major varietals ranging from doce (sweet) to seco (dry), and the maturation process is most unique in that the wine is exposed to heat and oxygen during the aging process.  The resulting evaporation concentrates the wine to varying degrees and accounts for its trademark caramelized flavor.  This process called "estafugem" also accounts for Madeira flavor stability.  It is one of the longest lasting wines and it is not uncommon to see 100 year old bottles in stores that specialize in rare wines.

Mr. Stewart chose Madeira casks for this sixth in his recent series of 17 year old limited editions as a spicy counterpoint to the previous Rum cask edition's rich sweetness. "Each bottling is its own alchemy of spirit, wood and time, but knowing how well port and Oloroso Sherry cask maturation complements The Balvenie's honeyed sweetness, we were sure that a Madeira cask would produce interesting results" said Mr. Stewart.  He continues, "The 17 year old whisky extracted some wonderful rich spice and distinct raisin flavors from the Madeira cask, which we hope malt enthusiasts will enjoy discovering in the glass."

We found the deep golden liquid to be just as Mr. Stewart described, rich, complex and spicy. On the nose the spice is immediately apparent with cinnamon and nutmeg, followed by fruit - baked apples and raisins. Then softer vanilla and honey notes appear. As many tasters have noted, the palate follows the nose with the initial honey sweetness balanced by fruit and spice. This whisky is full bodied but very smooth with clear flavor notes. A moderately long finish is sweet but with a developing dryness, but not quite as pronounced as the Single Barrel. The integration of the Madeira cask is done well and provides flavors and spices that you don't normally find in a Speysider.  (Click on picture to buy or read additional pairing notes.)

To tease the fruit flavors of The Balvenie out a little more, we have paired the Madeira cask with Chuao's Parchita bonbon.  The depth of flavor in the dark chocolate complements the honey vanilla of the malt, and the tartness of the passion fruit center draws out the raisin note in the whisky.  Dark chocolate is also a better foil for the matching maduro cigar that completes this tri-fecta.  (Click on picture for bonbon collection).

While The Balvenie 17 Year Old Madeira Cask is a fairly new release (2009), we turned to an "old" classic line of cigars to find the distinct flavor and excellent quality that would make this pairing successful. 

Padrón Cigars began in 1964 in Miami, though Jose Padrón's family was growing tobacco in Cuba as early as the 1850's.  After the nationalization of Cuba's tobacco industry left Mr. Padrón with few other choices, he emigrated to the US with the straightforward concept of re-creating the taste and quality of cigars made from the Pinar del Rio region of Cuba where he grew up.

Having grown up in the industry, Mr. Padrón knew that quality, not quantity, is of prime importance in the manufacture of cigars. As one of the few family run businesses in the industry, Padrón's quality control is legendary. Similar to Balvenie's control over their single malts, Padrón is completely integrated from top to bottom, in all aspects of the manufacture of cigars. The family operates their own tobacco plantations and directs all processes from harvest to fermentation, curing, rolling and packaging. As a result, Padrón cigars are well known in the marketplace for excellent quality and great flavor.

The original line of cigars produced by Padrón, that is still in production, is called the Padrón Series or Classic Series. This line has evolved since the early days to incorporate a range of fifteen medium to full bodied, long filler cigars ranging from Panetelas to the large Magnum.  All tobacco used in this line is sun-grown and aged for a minimum of two-and-a-half years. We selected the vitola 4000 for this particular pairing. The Padrón 4000 was added in the year 2000 in response to customer requests for larger ring gauge cigars. And although the Nicaraguan blend is the same in each cigar of this line, the different sizes and shapes impart differences in the flavor and character of each cigar.

The Padrón 4000, like all cigars in the classic line, is available in a Natural and a Maduro wrapper. Again, we selected the Maduro for the particular flavors we were looking for. Both cigars are very tasty, and just as a warning, they are a larger vitola, weighing in at 6-1/2" and a 54 ring gauge, but we felt this matchup required more than just a quick smoke to enjoy the complexities of both malt and cigar. (Click on picture to buy or read additional tasting notes.)

After lighting up the Padrón 4000 Maduro we noticed the intial flavors of earthy pepper were fleeting, and the cigar moved quickly into its primary flavors of a woody base with notes of cocoa, coffee and raisins. This flavor profile carries through the middle of the cigar, and it is this combination with the malt that is most enjoyable. The darker flavors of cocoa and coffee really offset the honey sweetness of The Balvenie and that raisin, or dried fruit, note really connects the two. The finish on The Balvenie is moderate enough to not overpower the Padrón, and similarly the cigar is in the medium-full range balancing the malt.  Spice notes are similar between the two and also help to complement the other.  Even as the cigar transitions into stronger, earthier flavors near the final third, the balance between malt and cigar remained enjoyable.

As stated earlier, plan to spend a little more time with this pairing if you are a cigar lover. The larger Padrón 4000 Maduro is well worth the time investment in complexity, smoothness, flavor and quality.  The Balvenie 17 Year Old Madeira cask also offers a lot of flavor complexity worth exploring.  So find a comfy chair, gather your bottle, cigar and chocolates around you and lose yourself on that tropical island known as Madeira for a couple of hours. Send us a postcard when you get back!

Mortlach 15 Year Old Gordon & MacPhail with Tatuaje Havana VI Angeles Cigar and Dark Grigottine  Bonbon

This month our lightly spicy selection comes from Whisky Specialist Gordon & MacPhail.  They are classed as an "Independent Bottler", a group of twenty plus companies that play an important role in delivering variety to the marketplace of scotch.  Independent bottlers buy new make spirit from distilleries then choose their own method of finish maturation.  They warehouse the spirit, and bottle these malts under their own label.  Independent Bottlers are not expected by the public to deliver a consistent "house style" like big brand distilleries.  They are lauded for their experimentation and risk taking.  This often results in an exciting alternative flavor profile from the parent distillery bottling.  They are also know to deliver extremely rare expressions.  This may be due to age, or because a particular spirit was in short supply.  Independent Bottlers have been critical in rescuing cask stocks from closed distilleries whose legacy would have been lost too soon.

Our scotch selection this month is Mortlach 15 year old from Gordon & MacPhail.  In their 115th year in business they are recognized as one of the most prestigious and award winning Independent Bottlers.  Gordon & MacPhail has released hundreds of expressions in its lifetime and currently holds substantial stock including rare and extremely old casks.  This Elgin based company exports 60% of all its bottled product.

Mortlach 15 year old reminds one of a spicy well made Christmas fruitcake.  This flavor profile is evidenced in both aroma and palate.  Candied orange and golden raisins provide a delicately sweet balance to the sherry edge.  There is a hint of vanilla and a lightly spicy finish.  Overall the first fill and refill sherry cask maturation does not dominate the character, but is beautifully integrated with the other flavors in this dram.  We find it to be a superbly drinkable malt with a palate considered somewhat delicate, but still complex and satisfying. Mortlach was the first of seven distilleries to be built around Dufftown and is owned by Diageo.  Through a unique process the spirit is distilled two and one half times and the unique worm tubes used to condense the spirit are thought to be responsible for delivering the subtle complexity of its flavor. 

(Click on picture to buy or read additional pairing notes.)

We have paired the Mortlach 15 with the Dark Grignottine bonbon from Chuao.  The crunchiness of the carmelized almonds and pistachios serve as a great textural counterpart to the subtleness of this dram.  The candied orange peel of the confection mimics the orange sherriness of this malt.  Dark chocolate brings out the hint of chocolate in this whisky that was not at first apparent.  (Click on picture for bonbon collection).

Independents are not only a phenomenon of the whisky industry. Since debuting in 2003, Pete Johnson's Tatuaje cigars have been receiving great acclaim from the cigar community, the critics and the customers alike. Rolled in Jose Pepin Garcia's El Rey de los Habanos factory in Miami, the cigars are Nicaraguan puros, but utilize a creative mix of tobaccos to re-create the flavors and properties of an archetypal Cuban cigar. 

Pete Johnson is not your ordinary cigar manufacturer though, actually he is not a manufacturer at all. He is a cigar designer, by his own account. Similar to an independent bottler in the whisky industry, Pete develops flavor concepts, and then works with the factories to select the tobacco, fabricate, roll and produce the final product. Pete chose well when he developed his relationship with Tabacalera Tropical, as lately anything Pepin touches turns to gold, especially his own tobacco blends. And by utilizing only the best torcedors, the best tobacco, and limiting production, the cigars Pepin's group is producing for Tatuaje maintain high quality and impeccable construction standards.

This is what independents can do best for the industry. While the larger manufacturers focus their energies on developing their mainstay brands, dealing with all the myriad details of tobacco growing, harvesting, processing, and cigar fabrication; the Pete Johnsons of the world come in with different concepts, tweak the status quo, find the edge, and set new standards, and brands, along the way.  Lucky for us, as we the consumer get the benefit of the creativity of guys like him.

Released in 2006, the Tatuaje Havana VI uses the Nicaraguan Corojo 99 wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and filler, but some volado leaf in used in the filler, instead of ligero, making this blend different. The Havana VI name comes from the concept of six classic Cuban vitolas which make up the line.  Creatively, the first letter of each vitola spells out "Havana", the name of the cigar line, and the name of Pete Johnson's dog.

The Angeles size has received rave reviews since its inception, and is notably peppery and spicy, while maintaining a sweetness at the same time. In classic Cuban tradition, it begins with a medium strength and then builds towards the end. It is the complex flavor profile that really makes the Havana VI a treat, and the vanilla and gingerbread sweetness that matches the Mortlach single malt so well.   (Click on picture to buy or read additional tasting notes.)

Resurrection Dram 2001 with Candela Bonbon and Illusione No. 2 Cigar

 As we are about to embark on a New Year and the end of a tumultuous decade, it seems appropriate that this month's featured pairing would focus on a story of rebirth and renewal.  It is well known that Scotland has lost over 250 distilleries in the last 150 years. The Islay region has been one of the hardest hit with only seven survivors from an original 20 distilleries.  Having recently had the pleasure of sampling Bruichladdich's Resurrection Dram, we wanted to share the inspiring back story of the rebirth of this mothballed facility and celebrate the men whose dreams and risks were responsible for its renewal.

The Bruichladdich (pronounced "brook-laddie") distillery was founded in 1881 on the wild western coast of Islay at Loch Indaal.  It operated for decades until, after a series of ownership changes it was deemed by multi-national Fortune Brands to be in excess of requirements and the plant was shut down.  Mark Reynier was literally run off the shuttered property in 1989 when he first tried to visit, having been impressed with the quality and style of this scotch.  Surprise at the plant closing turned into fascination with the idea of personally launching a fledgling whisky company.  This sparked a number of attempts over the next ten years to acquire Bruichladdich.  Perseverance resulted in opportunity when Fortune Brands finally agreed to proceed with the sale.  Mark, a former fine wine retailer and founder of Murray McDavid Ltd., an independent whisky bottler, was then challenged to raise the millions of capital required to conclude the deal.  On December 19, 2000 the acquisition was completed as the last funds reached the Fortune Brand's bank account with only one minute to spare before transaction deadline.  The first part of his dream was fulfilled.  Bruichladdich was now under private ownership with Reynier as Managing Director.  

But it wasn't just capital that was needed for a successful revival of such a legend.  Bruichladdich owes much of its new found success to Jim McEwan, who sacrificed the security of 40+ years of employment at rival Bowmore, to become a founding shareholder and Production Director for the new company.  Starting his career at the tender age of fifteen as a cooper at Bowmore, this Islay native has worked in all aspects of distilling.  His reputation for quality and innovation has been publicly acknowledged with awards of the coveted title of Distiller of the Year, not once but three times in years 1998, 2000 and 2003.  He quickly put Bruichladdich "back on the map" with malts such as the Octomore and an aggressive release of new expressions.  It has clearly become one of the fastest growing brands.

The revival of Bruichladdich was also an operational challenge as more than a decade of rust and dust needed to be swept away and fallowed Victorian machinery restored.  The task was fulfilled with relish by Duncan McGillivray, a long time Bruichladdich employee and mechanic extraordinaire.  In less than six months following acquisition, the first new spirit was trickling through those refurbished stills to be bottled and await its fate in the seaside warehouse, along with the other thousands of casks gained in the sale that now make up "Laddie's" future liquid gold. 

Resurrection 2001 Dram was named to commemorate this new start.  The first spirit to be distilled (in 2001) was bottled and released in November 2008, where it finally made it to the U. S. late in 2009.  It is surprisingly rich and smooth for such a young malt.  The aroma begins with a rather distinct smell of wet and farmy fur that quicky dissipates and does not carry over to the palate.  This is replaced by oak, conspicuous peat and a rather honey sweet yet slightly herbal or medicinal aroma.  McEwan used an experimental 10 parts per million malted barley for this expression, making it quite rare.  Peat is immediately evident on the palate giving way to both a fruity and herbal sweetness with a slight maritime feature.  It has a wonderfully spicy and lightly smoky tobacco finish.  (Click on picture to buy or read additional chocolate & cigar pairing notes.)

We have paired this fine young whisky with one of our favorite Chuao bonbon's, the smoky Candela.  The gristy texture of its macadamia nut praline filling delivers a wonderful contrasting mouth feel to this silky liquid.  The nuttiness plays well with the oak, but it is the subtle smoky flavor of Candela's chipotle chili that enhances the wonderful peatiness of this dram.  (Click on picture to go to bonbon collection).

Even while the cigar industry was in the midst of boom times, a similar rebirth story occurred in the tobacco fields of Nicaragua.  Before the Sandinistas took over Nicaragua in 1979, that country was growing some of the best tobaccos in the world. Prized fields in the Jalapa Valley and Esteli region produced cigars that were strong, bold and clean. After years of neglect under the Sandinistas, those old Somoza fields have been re-cultivated by the legendary master grower Arcenio Ramos of Cuba, along with Fernando Chandito and famed agronomist Jacinto. They have re-grown these fields to yield their fullest potential again. Thus Illusione, a new brand, is born from those revitalized plantations. Owner Dion Giolito masterminded the creation of the blend that utilizes first generation Corojo '99 and Criollo '98 seed tobacco, wrapped with a grade one Cafe Colorado wrapper, and finished Cuban style with a triple cap in the Raices Cubanans factory.  All of the cigars are made in small-batch quantities to maintain quality and consistency and deliver a taste and quality of smoke rarely found in today's market. (Excerpted from the Illusione website.)

The Illusione 2 - and crowned of thorns - was released in 2007 and quickly garnered top ratings including #7 for the year from Cigar Aficionado. With the beautiful rosado wrapper and excellent construction the No. 2 is well balanced, very flavorful and nicely aromatic. The flavor development is very interesting as the cigar progresses from leather and coffee, to sweet nuttiness with spice and pepper, then back.

What makes this malt and cigar match work so well, is the complexity of flavors in both, and the interesting flavor profiles that contrast somewhat with each other. The unusual smoky, sweet, peppery flavor in the Illusione interacts well with the peat, medicinal, and herbal flavors in the Resurrection Dram. Both malt and cigar are moderately strong in flavor as well, so neither overpowers the other.  Inject the cayenne pepper flavors of the Candela bonbon into the mix, and the result is over the top. (Click on picture to buy or read additional tasting notes.)

Sample our featured pairing this month and toast the determined men who made their dreams come alive.  If you would like to read more about their venture, check out the novel "Whisky Dream" (click here to go to book review).

Pictures are courtesy of Bruichladdich - all rights reserved

Talisker Ten Year Old with Candela Bonbon and CAO Brazilia Lambada Cigar

As we approach this last month on the calendar, it seems a good time to reflect on the year that was.  While less financially shocking than 2008, the news still seems focused on fiscal uncertainty. Therefore it seems fitting that our pairing for December should offer some respite to those who have denied themselves some of life's luxuries this past year.  With this pairing we suggest that indulgence need not always be expensive and that value will forever remain in fashion.

Our featured single malt is the Talisker Ten Year Old, so revered as to have its own cult following, yet so reasonably priced that one is surprised by the high quality of this young dram.  A medal winner in world wide whisky competitions year after year, this malt at $55.00 retail (USD) is a classic that is affordable for anyone's whisky cabinet.

The Talisker distillery is located on the shores of Loch Harport on the remote Isle of Skye within sight of the breathtaking  Cuillin Mountains.  Perhaps it was those peaks that inspired the name taken from the Norse "Thalas Gair" or sloping rock. 

Soft water flows across the volcanic rock of this island, contributing to Talisker's classic peppery flavor and big finish.  That water comes from the fourteen underground springs that rise from Hawk Hill near the distillery, an area that is home to Peregrines and other birds of prey.  Talisker is double distilled and matured in ex-bourbon American oak barrels to a superb balance of peat, sweetness and spice.  Heavily peated but not as strong as an Islay whisky, this dram is complex and multilayered with ripened fruit, and liquorice yet exhibiting a delicate brineyness.  It is silky and warming with a peppery finish that is the unmistakable house signature.  Talisker ranks at the top of our list of affordable luxuries.  (Click on picture to buy or read additional chocolate & cigar pairing notes.)

Talisker was quite easily paired to several Chuao confections, but our favorite match is with the CANDELA bonbon.  Macadamia nut praline is spiced up with smoky chipotle chilis then enrobed in rich dark chocolate.  The flavors of Candela not only enhance the whisky's characteristic pepper kick, but at the same time they accentuate the subtle sweetness of this elixir. 

(Click on picture to go to bonbon collection).

While there are also numerous cigar matchups with the Talisker, the most interesting and least expensive pairing has to be the CAO Brazilia Lambada.  The exotic Brazilian wrapper is dark and earthy and reveals its flavors almost immediately. Think of a dark, rich Colombian coffee with bittersweet chocolate, and you will have described the essence of this cigar. The rich coffee flavors and creamy, mouth-coating smoke work to subtley mute the pepperiness of the Talisker, allowing the sweeter maltiness and spice notes to come forward. The cigar finishes with a vanilla and chocolate sweetness that is like dessert after a grand meal. So turn off the television, put on your favorite music then pour yourself a larger dram of the Talisker, and gather several Candela bonbons to enjoy with the Brazilia, because for ninety minutes you will be transported away from the daily routine and into a richly rewarding flavor experience that is at once, distracting and captivating.  (Click on picture to buy or read additional tasting notes.)

Sample our featured pairing this month with what is perhaps the finest luxury of all...a quiet moment of enjoyment and reflection as this year comes to an end.