Whisky Girls

For the past *coughcough* years, my awesome girls' group has met for dinner at least once a month to connect, snack and laugh. For our December gathering, Shawn had volunteered to host, and I'd pitched her the idea of a whisky tasting. When the date rolled around, she asked if I'd like to co-host with her and turn the dinner into a an evening of whisky! And so we were off!

I agreed to host the gathering at my house, arrange for the whisky/tasting notes and pull together an appetizer. Shawn took responsibility for the rest of the food. It was such fun, and we learned so much!

We chose to taste four Scottish whiskies, and the two lovely gentlemen at the liquor store helped me pick them out. (They also volunteered to join us at the whisky tasting! I almost took them up on it!)

I did online research on each whisky and printed out on a one-page summary that rested in front of each bottle. That way, folks could learn more about the provenance of each spirit - the distillery, its history, etc. I also wrote out some traditional Scottish toasts on heavy card stock so we could salute appropriately as we tried the different liquors.

Just for fun, I purchased a set of eight Glencairn glasses, which are beautiful to look at and well-suited to whisky tasting. The distinct shape of the glass allows for a wonderful nose on the liquor, and I found half the pleasure in inhaling the scent of a liquor before sipping it.

Shawn brought tons of food - a charcuterie board, cheeses and olives, a lovely fruited sliced bread with fig jam. I pitched in with an assortment of nuts and a smoked salmon spread with dippers.

It was fun to taste, compare, pair the different whiskies with the different foods, toast one another and just generally enjoy the evening. Here are my tasting notes:

Balvenie Carribbean Cask - This liquor is aged for 14 years in a traditional oak whisky cask, then finished in a cask that previously held Carribbean rum. I loved the sweet nose, vanilla taste, and warm, soft finish on this whisky. It was my favorite of the night!

Macallan Gold Double Cask - This whisky was drier and more citrusy than the Balvenie. It's very warm going down, and I bet it would be great to use in top-shelf cocktails. If you were coming in from the cold, this would be the perfect whisky to drink neat.

Naked Grouse - This is a blended malt matured in first-fill sherry oak casks. (Hence the "naked" moniker.) This was was probably my second favorite of the night. Cherry, raspberry, with a slightly spicy finish. Since the tasting, we've been making delicious old fashioneds with this.

Laphroaig - Imagine that you are walking along a cold, wet beach. Washed ashore, you find the old, worn leather boot of a chimney sweep. You take the boot home and fill it up with Listerine. After letting it sit for a few days, you take a dram. That is Laphroaig. I have a whole new appreciation for those who actually buy and drink this stuff. I'm aware that the good people at Laphraoig work very hard to make this liquor taste the way it does, but this bottle is not for me. Lawdhavemercy!

Here were some of my favorite toasts from the evening:

"To our husbands and our boyfriends - may they never meet!"
"Whisky - over all the ills of life victorious!"
"May we be happy - and our enemies know it!"

I've already been thinking about our *next* tasting. Maybe Irish whiskey? Or rums? So much fun to taste, try and learn!