The Scots are a practical and direct people. They spell whisky without an “e.” The “e” takes up ink and space and is quite simply unnecessary.
I was the designated driver for my friends all through high school and college. A total teetotaler, I started to sip Scotch in honor of my father and grandmother on Robert Burns’ birthday. It has been a wonderful learning journey for my taste buds.
Single malt Scotch thrives because of its uniqueness. To earn the coveted title of Scotch it must adhere to strict rules of creation that include: 1) made in Scotland; and 2) aged at least three years in oak casks, though most are aged longer.
The ingredients include barley (bourbon uses corn), water and yeast distilled at a single distillery using a pot still. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended with whisky from other distilleries.
The five Scotch producing regions: Highlands, Lowlands, Islays, Cambeltowns and Speysides, all produce uniquely different experiences in aroma and flavor. That diversity is the fun of single malt scotch tasting. Blended Scotch is very good, but it doesn’t offer the wildly different tastes.
Where to begin? Rookies should start with a mild Highland or Speyside rather than a heavily peated Islay (ey-luh). A 15-year-old Dalwhinnie is a good first choice. The highest altitude distillery in Scotland, Dalwhinnie produces a wonderful clean taste because of its mountain spring water filtering through the heather. The tasting at the Dalwhinnie distillery is paired with chocolate.
Both are my spouse’s favorites. An Islay, from the Isle of Islay, produces heavily peated, smoky whiskies because of the peat used in the fires often built below the malting floor. Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Ardbeg are three of the nine distilled on Islay. Work your way up to these.
How to have your Scotch? I’m biased but “neat” is the proper way. That means room temperature without ice or water added. The way you drink your Scotch is highly personal and there is no wrong way, but neat allows for full aroma and flavor without outside influences. Ice can freeze the taste and dilute the Scotch as the ice melts.
“On the rocks?” is a question you’ll never hear in Scotland. Scots don’t hate ice – they hate that it takes up space in their glass (practical and direct).
Adding a few drops of water from a pipette is completely acceptable and actually opens up new flavors, especially with the stronger, peatier brands. Always begin with the aroma by nosing the Scotch preferably in a whisky snifter glass, which has a bell shaped bottom tapering to the top to channel aroma to your nose. I even have one Ardbeg glass with a removable lid that allows the aroma to build for nosing. Next, sip your Scotch and let it linger on and throughout your tongue before swallowing. Note the taste on your palate as well as the aftertaste of swallowing.
Aging in wooden casks is critical and greatly impacts the taste. Some are fired to add charcoal to the aging process. Because oak is porous, 2% to 5% of the volume is lost to evaporation each year, which can add up. This is called the “angel’s share.” In contrast, the “devil’s cut” is the amount of bourbon lost to cask absorption. FYI, Beyoncé wears Angels’ Share perfume.
I distinctly remember my Scottish-born father trying to give me whisky when I was ill as a young boy. He absolutely felt it was medicinal. My Illinois-born mother was appalled. Her fix was a spoonful of castor oil every day.
Whisky will not cure the common cold, but it fails more agreeably than most other things.
The traditional Scottish gaelic toast is “Slainte Mhath” (pronounced Slanj-a-va) meaning “good health.”
Have a wee dram and Slainte Mhath to ye.
Jim Cross is a retired Fort Lewis College professor and basketball coach living in Durango. Reach him at cross_j@fortlewis.edu.
