Do you ever just come across that thing and you are suddenly like "oh my gosh! Where has this been all my life?" Kind of like how Baby Yoda has taken the world by storm because it just brings us all so much joy and we didn't even know we needed it. Yeah, it's like that. Now I am a Baby Yoda fan as much as everyone else well, except maybe as much as my friend Christy (watching the joy it brings her is beyond words) but, that’s another story. Here is something I never knew I needed in my life until it happened.
Let me preface with I'm a member of the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society American chapter and this past weekend I was so very thankful that I was. What is a Burns Night you may ask? It is the night people all around the globe host dinner parties to celebrate Robert Burns and his poetry. These typically include traditional Scottish fare, scotch, and readings of his various works. Ours was hosted by the Society at The Pub in Orlando (fabulous place, great staff, wonderful whiskey bar). So we arrived early, per my usual and we dove into exploring the non-menu whiskeys they had. The Pub has a large selection of whiskeys that are not on the menu and they also have what they affectionately call "the graveyard" which is bottles that are at their end. If you are inquisitive, which I am, then start here (oh and if you are here for dinner get the Fish and Chips!).
So, let's talk about some of the pre-dinner bottles we sampled and I'll tell you which one I bought.
Glenmorangie Lasanta 12yr - very soft and watery on the tip of the tongue then it slides to the back and catches you off guard with lots of orange peel and tingles all the way down. This was a great opener and definitely something that I would taste again.
Glenfiddich India Pale Ale - smells like fresh tea and freshly cracked barley. It is glorious on the nose and the taste is sublime! It is like taking a piece of barley right off the stalk and giving it a chew while being completely smooth, unpretentious and so inviting. Yes, folks, I bought a bottle and may have had a second dram while I was there. It is just that good.
Royal Brackla - This is not one I have seen before so we had to give it a try. I figured, why not? It was very refreshing, brings your taste buds back to life. It is very low in acidity, soft in spice and brings a lot of moisture to your mouth. It is a good after-dinner drink to awaken your palate before something decadent enters the picture.
Now, onto the dinner. Let's just say that at moments like this being a person who loves vegetables comes in handy. The meal course went in this order (each being perfectly paired with a scotch); cheese board, leek & potato soup, "haggis" with neeps & tatties, and lastly tipsy laird dessert shooters. The meal was everything I expected given the restaurant and their superb understanding of British/Scottish food. What impressed me was how well they paired each scotch to the course. It was brilliant!
So while I cannot tell you the names or the distilleries, I can say that we bought two bottles through the society and I will share photos of those below along with my notes on tasting these particular bottles. Mind you the names are fun and can be a bit distracting.
We bought:
Cask 9.169
Enthralling and Enticing - It is listed in the deep, rich, & dried fruits category, aged 23 years and from the Speyside region. It is a deep, and I mean deep amber color. It is spicy and tingles on the tongue yet playful when rolled around on the tongue. It invokes currants bobbing wildly in the wind or children playing in the wheat fields. The flavors are of marmalade, currants and cracked wheat. This one was paired with the "haggis", neeps & tatties. Their description harkens to a summer's evening in Scotland with lime bushes, dark waters of the loch lapping at the shore and reading. How appropriate it is for the release to be on Burns Night! It is perfection and such a delight to have in our home that we will take our time sipping this precious nectar.
Cask 93.118
Aladdin's Cave - It is listed in the sweet, fruity, & mellow category, aged 11 years and from the Campbelltown region. It is smoky, woodsy, wet soil and transports me to the wet, mossy forest of the pacific northwest. It is beautiful and intoxicatingly aromatic. This one I closed my eyes and just drifted with. This was paired with the leek & potato soup but, it was so much better on its own. Their description is akin to a tobacco shop mingled with a confectionery that parlays into "apricot jam on buttered burnt toast" and comes back around to the sweet cigar aromas.
While we did not buy this bottle, I would be remiss in not telling you about it.
Cask 94.6
Making hay while the sun shines - It is listed in the young and spritely category, aged 8 years and from the Highland Eastern region. For me, it was similar in profile to the Glenfiddich India Pale Ale with a soft tea on the tip and warming in the back of the throat. It was paired with the cheese board (I'm a sucker for cheese and kept sampling each scotch with the cheese). Their description is of a grassy aroma followed by sweet, nutty notes that speak of the seashore, old fashioned chocolates with a bit of orange leather mixed in. I think I enjoy reading their descriptions as much as I enjoy drinking the scotch.
Evenings like this where you get to enjoy a meal, beautifully read poetry and meet others who share a love of scotch are well spent. It is what I enjoy most about the society. They bring people together from different places and spark a connection, even if only for a little while. I really, really hope they do more events like this in the future.
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