Mario recommends…
UK trumpeter Matt Halsall with Mario from Mario’s bar
Another tale of European travel.
I was in Genoa in the northern part of Italy a week or so back, and as is my way, I decided to go looking for a single malt. To my delight, it seemed that every bar in town had a genuine Scottish single malt whisky.
To my dismay, they all carried the same single malt whisky, it was cheap, abundant, a mere 5 years old – and not one I’d encountered in Britain.
I was a little surprised to find it somewhat unremarkable. I thought it’d be downright awful. Still – it was 2am, I was hanging out with musicians, I didn’t know the Italian for “no ice, please”, and they were pouring generous measures. I was delighted to find a single malt at all – not least of which one that was perfectly palatable.
And when I say generous measures, we’re talking easily 150ml. With a handful of icecubes on top of that, we were more or less filling the tumbler.
As the reviews mention – it’s fairly insubstantial. Not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination – but a quaffable malt.
And for some reason, you can be pretty much assured that you’ll find it in any bar you walk into in Northern Italy. But personally – I recommend Mario’s Bar.
Apart from the big, prominent TV, the bar is incredibly relaxing. Mario himself is friendly and generous – and will recognise you and talk to you at length whenever you go back there.
He’ll only talk to you at lenght in Italian of course, so I’d just smile and nod whenever he did that – but it’s all enthusiasm, beaming smiles and welcoming gestures from him, so that’s good enough for me.
I’m sure that bottle in the picture was full when we arrived…
Frysk Hynder
I’ve been doing a little travel lately, and have found myself in some interesting places. And while the travel itself wasn’t whisky-related specifically, I did take it upon myself to at least inject a bit of a whisky theme into the proceedings.
I was in the North of Holland doing some (un)consultancy and was taken out to dinner in Leeuwarden by my hosts. I thought I’d check the wine list to see if there were any interesting drams to be found – and sure enough, Frysk Hynder was on the list.
It’s the only Frisian single malt there is, and production numbers are small – as low as 77 bottles a day. The lid has a distinctive horse statuette sticking out of it, so it’s hard to miss if you do ever encounter it – and there is glassware specifically made for it.
Frysk Hynder is young – so young, in fact, that it can only just legally be called whisky. It’s 3 years and one month old, judging by the hand-written information on the label.
And yet it was really smooth. Heathery, a little honey – and a very light body. Sounds like I was lucky. The general consensus seems to be that it’s usually pretty awful – but the variation on that is enormous.
Personally, I liked it – and next time I’m in Groningen I’ll pick up a bottle. I was pleasantly surprised, and more or less delighted that (at that age) it wasn’t downright paint-strippery.
Happy Father’s Day! Now, Who’d Like To Go To Jura?
So, the paternal readership of this will probably be curled up on the sofa with the Sunday papers and a dram in their hand… Doesn’t get much better than that really, eh?
But wait…. Yes it does!
We’ve just been alerted by the lovely people at Jura Distillery, that they’re offering a trip for two to Jura Lodge.
Yes, you too can re-enact the shambolic happenings that we forced the patient locals to endure – or, perhaps you can behave in an altogether more civilized fashion, and restore their faith in humanity…?
Regardless of your course of action, we guarantee that you’ll have a wonderful time amidst some of the most bewitching scenery Scotland has to offer.
There will also be some pretty spectacular whisky involved.
To enter, all you need to do is check out the official blurb:
“Stories, myths and folklore abound on Jura. To sample its idiosyncratic delights first hand we’d like to hear one about you and your father. In 300 words or less weave a tale that involves the pair of you, a little luck and perhaps some Jura. That done and you could be the very fortunate recipient of a stay in the eclectic and unforgettable Jura Lodge on the island itself. It’s a place like no other on an island like no other.”
So get typing, entitle your email “Father’s Day Tale”, and send it to info@isleofjura.com before the 1st August 2009, and if you win, you have to take me. That’s in the rules.*
*It’s not actually in the rules…
Richard Paterson, Master Blender for Whyte & Mackay to join Twhisky tasting
In some circles, known as simply ‘The Nose’. Richard Paterson will bring a wealth of experience to tomorrow night’s proceedings.
Richard’s worked with Bruichladdich, Tamnavulin, Tullibardine and Tomintoul, and now heads up the selection process for what goes into the finest blends in the Whyte & Mackay portfolio, and also cask selection for the single malts of Isle of Jura, Dalmore and Old Fettercairn.
This is a great chance to ask someone with true industry expertise any burning questions you have about the blending or cask selection process.
Richard Paterson will be joining us from 8:30pm GMT online, so make sure you’re there…
You’ll find all the action under the usual hashtag, #twhisky.
Twhisky Fri 12th June 8:30pm GMT: Revenge Of The Blends Et Al
Join us in an epic battle, which will basically consist of trying to get though this colossal list of whiskies…
We’ve all done it; thinking we know best and turning our noses up at the proffered dram from a bottle that says BLEND on it. But there’s more to it than that.
Vatted, Malt, Blend, Grain – the distinctions will be made, compared and contrasted, and hopefully explained. We’re out to investigate these fickle beasties properly this time, without the aid of cola or Canada Dry, and I already know that there are some that would give even the pricier single malts a run for their money.
As ever, we’ll be tweeting live, going through the tried and tested format of nose/palate/finish under the #twhisky hashtag, so spread the word (and the cost – if you rope a couple of mates in…) and get your weekend off to a sociable start, with a wee bit of knowledge and a couple of opinions thrown in for good measure…
Here are the candidates (you’re bound to be able to lay your hands on at least one of these!):
Whyte & Mackay Old Luxury 19 Year Old
Whyte & Mackay Supreme 22 Year Old
Monkey Shoulder
Pig’s Nose
Sheep Dip
Compass Box Peat Monster
Compass Box Peat Monster Reserve
Compass Box Flaming Heart
Compass Box Asyla
Compass Box Hedonism
Compass Box Oak Cross
Black Bottle
There may be more. There may be special guests.
Look forward to seeing you on the internets.