Whisky Business

WHISKY BUSINESS

I consider myself extremely lucky. Not only do I now possess ownership of two top-tier Finnish whiskies but what makes this really interesting is the fact that the other one is no longer produced. A distiller's choice that is. 693 bottles and not a single one more.

Äes and Kaski, respectively

On the left, Äes (harrow), which continues the Finland series Kaski (slash-and-burn) first started. Äes is a whisky first matured seven years in bourbon casks after which it is put into small rum casks for another 1½ years. Kaski on the other hand is quite the different whisky having been matured in 100% sherry casks the whole time.

Lucky owner #476

The thing with Äes is that since it's not made anymore, I will not open the content at all. One could say I will safe-keep it for years to come, keep it in mint condition in my cabinet. Perhaps in a decade-or-two, who knows...(wow Cele, spending money on alcohol never being drunk!)

Kaski

With the Kaski I remember the first time I tried it. Being matured in sherry casks only, the taste was (is) very cognac-like! I kid you not; if one tries this without knowing it's a whisky, they can easily imagine this being an excellent quality cognac. It's a whisky I even got my oldest brother for Christmas last year. This bottle I might open up when appropriate but I think I'll keep it unopened as well for at least a while.

What makes things really interesting is the fact that these two products are Finnish made. One wouldn't think the Finns could distill such products.

If being honest, I can't wait for the next whisky in the series. This is my opportunity of being part of something very special.

Kicking ass and sampling whiskies...and I'm all out of whisky.

Kicking ass and sampling whiskies...and I'm all out of whisky.

Hello again! It's been quite a while since my last post and there's an excellent reason for it; personal laziness. For some reason I haven't found the inner inspiration for creating cocktails. May it be my new "life rhythm" (read: night shift) or something else but the art of cocktail mixing has been more of a "plan B" in my current life situation.

Nonetheless, my New Year's Resolution is going as intended. Yesterday I met a good friend of mine, with whom I went to sample some whiskies. Truth to be told, this activity is way more fun doing with someone rather than alone. Our samples were:

• Ballantines (blend)
• Ballantines 12yo (blend)
• Jameson (blend)
• Jameson 12yo (blend)

Without going too much into the details and one's preference with using water, I must say that I've never experienced a whisky turning worse after adding water to it! Now I have. The Jameson (blend), which in its essence was (is) a poor quality product. I do understand its use in the (in)famous Irish Coffee but as a whiskey it tanked, horribly. I must say the Jameson 12yo was quite the pleasant surprise!

Moving on forward! After our nice tasting we headed to the billiards/bowling alley. We first played a couple of friendly matches but then my bro suggested we should play a tournament:

"Best out of three in a game of billiards, bowling and air hockey."

"Challenge accepted."

(what the fudge should I hit next?)

How lucky skillfully I played and beat my friend 2-1 in billiards! (actually he lost 1-2, both games due to horrible fouls [1st one he touched the 8-ball and pocketed it (!) making my end-game an easy win] and the second game he pocketed the 8-ball and the cue ball both (in the wrong pocket as well)). The look on his face when facing defeat...priceless.

Second game, bowling. He beat the first game 108-89 (yeah we're not pros who knock out 300's as we please :D), I won the second game 83-121 and in the third and decisive game after the 10th frame he was leading me 100 to 91. I managed to knock down 8 pins on my first. Two pins left, one point behind. If I get both, I get a spare, an extra round and (likely) win. I didn't; I only managed to get one so the game was a tie, 100-100! So we played one extra round and I reigned supreme, winning the bowling game 100-123 and ultimately 1-2!

Finally, some air hockey. This is the game where the master would be decided. My friend won the first 9-8. I won the second game...something-9.

Final game. No space for any mistakes. He was leading 8-7 when I got to tie up the game. 8-8 and I had the puck. I could see him move his mallet left and right vigorously right in front of his goal. A well-timed and aimed diagonal shot, which ricochet straight in! Game-set-match!  

(Air hockey is serious business, I managed to get a burn (?) wound...??)

I beat my friend 3-0 in the tournament, leaving no questions who is the champion! (I am)

All in all, I had a great evening. Tasted some whiskies and got my mind off in a relaxing competitive great tournament playing with my friend.

Lifelong (200 page) project; Alcohol tasting notes

Lifelong (200 page) project; Alcohol tasting notes

The cover

Every single page looks (simply put; literally) the same. 200 pages = 200 notes

Well met again! What I'm about to discuss here has some similarities with my New Year's Resolution but is much broader in its essence. My 2014 project has only to do with the products at the bar work in. This is a lifelong (read: 200 page) project I'm about to engage in. But let's roll back a few months, shall we?

So "back in the days" a colleague of mine gave me the booklet seen above. She didn't use/need it and when I told her about the 2014-project she wanted to give it to me to take notes of whiskies I sample.

Alas, I had already borrowed taken a notebook for my New Years Resolution so I didn't want to use two different notebooks for one task. Also, I wanted to have my old notebook for one project only so when I'm old and tired I can look back at it with great joy.

Then it struck me. A genius plan. A plan so cunning, you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel! (hah Black Adder! :D) Only a mastermind could come up with this. Instead of using this booklet for whisky notes only (the people at Highland Park will now facepalm) I will use it for any alcoholic product. Ciders, beers, whiskies, cognacs, gins, wines, the world is your (and my) oyster!

The beauty of this, now check this out: I plan on taking this booklet with me when going abroad. The world is full with local (alcoholic)products and it would be a shame not to have written down at least a few words of each! I'd also rate this with the common 1-5 stars, for fun.

Not only do I find it interesting to take notes aka micromanaging with these kinds of products, I want to learn. I consider myself quite the novice when trying to assess say...whiskies or wines. Some have the talent, I might (not), but at least I'll try real hard.

As I write this, I already have two aged rums, two whiskies and one cider in the book. On a side note, my 2014 New Years Resolution is going just fine. I've tasted quite many samples now and I'm pretty sure I'll get it done before the 31st of December.

The Great Cognac Tasting

The Great Cognac Tasting

Show me how you drink and I will tell you who you are. 

~Emile Peynaud

This is it! The moment I've (we've) been waiting for such a long time now! You might remember me discussing this matter in the middle of December when I explained how I would have a known brand tasting with cognacs. So yesterday I had people come over to discuss, taste and assess four different products.

I did do some proper settings before the event. I reserved plain crackers and water (to cleanse the palate between different cognacs), a small cup of coffee beans to neutralize the nose buds and some tasting note papers for people to write their experiences on.

I believed this was going to be a rather difficult tasting I've ever conducted. I don't possess the experience and wisdom of analyzing different subtleties, especially regarding cognac. I won't vouch for my friends' previous knowledge of the matter in hand, but I believe it wasn't an easy tasting for them either.

In addition, I gathered the official tasting notes from the different producers so we could later discuss and compare our observations. Because Courvoisier didn't have a website that actually worked (for me) failed to help me via Facebook, of all the VSOP cognacs I had I dropped it out for the final tasting. A special thanks to Rémy Martin for sharing the notes via Facebook!

The cognacs we reviewed were as followed:

1. Rémy Martin VSOP
2. Meukow VSOP
3. Baron Otard VSOP
4. Hennessy VSOP

Before we could start though, I carefully poured 1.5 cl of each cognac into proper nosing glasses I received from work.

The master of Ceremonies at work

THE COGNACS

(the tasting notes I will just straightforward copy+paste and I'll discuss the results afterwards but do enjoy the picture gallery of this event before the actual reviews)

_________________________________________________________________________________

RÉMY MARTIN

Blend: Cognac Fine Champagne, 55% Grande Champagne, 45% Petite Champagne

Color: Vibrant gold

Aromas and Flavors:

Fruity notes - the roundness of summer fruits, especially ripe apricots and peaches

Floral notes - the impertinence of wild flowers, particularly violets

Oaky notes - predominantly vanilla, with a hint of liquorice

Texture: Silky

Finish: A perfectly balanced blend of ripeness

MEUKOW VSOP

Nose: Fruity with raisins, candied orange and white peach.

Palate: Walnut and hazelnut aromas with vanilla.

Finish: Harmonious and mellow tannins with spicy nuances.

BARON OTARD VSOP

This elegant cognac comes with full-bodied flavor, great finesse and a good finish. The nose is rich in floral notes, backed by touches of linden tree leaves, pear, tobacco and a hint of vanilla. On the palate, it is round and mellow, with subtle, fruity sweet flavors enhanced by a hint of spices. It has an opulent deep golden colour.

HENNESSY VSOP

Nose: On the nose, the first fragrances perceived are soft spices such as vanilla, clove and cinnamon. Then delicate toasted notes follow

Palate: On the palate, the natural balance of strength and smoothness creates a harmonious blend in which maturity combines with vigor. The structure is softened by a suggestion of fresh grape character.

Finish: The highlight of tasting Hennessy V.S.O.P is the long-lasting finish, revealing the natural balance of the blend – testament to a superior cognac.

THE RESULTS

As mentioned before, I wasn't expecting any short stories with the reviews. I was mostly interested with the five-star-rating at the end of each cognac and perhaps some similarities regarding the products. With Rémy Martin, people did pick off fruity notes. It was also considered warm with a strong, stingy aroma. The Meukow had a strong aroma but in the palate regarded very soft. Baron Otard had the longest finish/after taste of them all and Hennessy was told to be soft and lingering. Also, Hennessy was considerably darker than the others. Whereas the first three were rather (deep) gold in color, Hennessy had a more of a copper-ish tone.

Finally, the five guests (and me) gave each cognac a rating from 1-5 stars, so one cognac could achieve the maximum score of 30. (The products were not compared with each other but rated as individuals). The ratings as follows:

• Rémy Martin 20 points
• Meukow 19 points
• Baron Otard 17.5 points
• Hennessy 20 points

So it's a tie between Rémy Martin and Hennessy, 3rd place goes to Meukow!

AFTERMATH

This was a great event, hands down! At this point I must say how promptly on time with no-one having to wait for Johnnies-come-lately we started! I mean, people were even early at this event! In addition, I wanted to implement a set of cognac cocktails for all of my guests with their favorite cognac used.

The list included:

• French Connection
• B&B
• Sidecar
• Brandy Alexander
• Horse's Neck

Brandy Alexander

Sidecar

French Connection

Horse's Neck

The evening continued with other guests arriving and the "official" part ending. I didn't end the cognac-theme at this point though, but instead made a cognac drink for us all; French Coffee! (4 cl cognac, coffee and top it off with loosely whipped cream; I added some grated nutmeg on top)

French Coffee

As a cherry on top of the cake, what is an evening with friends without some proper champagne?

A classic champagne cocktail, ¡Aquí tienes! 

To sum this all up. It was a perfect evening. A big thanks to Marjukka for letting me use her camera and my work place Teerenpeli for the tasting platters used!

Ginger Martini

GINGER MARTINI

Evening everyone! Here's a cocktail I picked up from a food&drink magazine while at the barber shop (I'm so fresh&clean right now). It also traces back (kinda) memories because the main ingredient here is Xanté, a pear-cognac liqueur. The thing is, for a long long time I looked Xanté down for one (vain) reason. It was my...25th (?) birthday and a friend of mine asked what I wanted. I told him to get me a glass of Amaretto (I love that stuff). As the story goes, they didn't have any (!) at the bar so my friend asked the bartender to give something "similar". So what I got was Xanté. Nope, not an overly-sweet (mild) almondy liqueur but a strong pear-cocgnac one. At the time I couldn't drink it.

Ever since that I felt Xanté was a bad product. Yes, I was young and didn't know better (and to be honest the ideology behind my hatred was simply immature) but...last year I found out how horribly wrong I've been all these years. A few days ago I tried Xanté with hot chocolate, it worked! The possibilites are endless but only my stubbornness was getting in the way.

So today I grabbed the bull by the horns and this is what we have; the Ginger Martini (yea it's technically not a martini since it doesn't have vermouth in it. Hey I didn't come up with the name :D)

• 4 cl Xanté
• 2 table spoons of sugar
• juice from ½ a lemon
• ~1 cm piece of fresh ginger

Put everything in a shaker, muddle the ginger properly, add ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a piece of ginger (as seen on the picture).

I got to say, this is one great cocktail! I can taste each ingredient individually, the lemon, spiky ginger and notes of pear! Yummy! This cocktail has that ZING! It's a super fresh cocktail!

All in all, the Ginger Martini has won my heart. It's a good cocktail.

Pink Polar Bear

PINK POLAR BEAR

(to see how the drink looks like under "different" lighting)

Well met again. It's...3am and I'm posting a blog regarding a new cocktail! Given, I made this a few days ago (sober :D), recommended by a member of a gaming community I am currently in. It is called the Pink Polar Bear. As I see it (having tasted it as well), it's a semi-variant of the (in)famous Finnish White Russian:

• 5 cl vodka
• 2.5 cl Tia Maria (coffee liqueur, I used Kahluá)
• 2.5 cl grenadina
• milk

In a high ball glass, fill it with ice, pour in the alcohols, grenadine and top it off with milk! One site even said quote "Tastes like chocolate milkshake looks like strawberry milkshake very nice!" but let's be honest, it didn't quite. In their defence, Tia Maria probably gives a more intense chocolately taste to the cocktail where as the Kahluá is more espresso/coffee bean - flavored. It does look like strawberry milkshake I give you that. I give it 2½ visual points but only 2 taste points. Should I ever have Tia Maria, I would try this again and see if (when) it's different. At the moment I'd rather just make regular White Russians and be satisfied with them.

Rouva Runeberg

ROUVA RUNEBERG

(MRS. RUNEBERG)

Happy national Runeberg's day to you all! In order to celebrate his legacy, I re-created a cocktail Niko Autti from the A21 Cocktail Lounge invented. I don't know when though, probably two years ago. The recipe I have was from a food magazine I cut and today (okay I made this yesterday) I could really try it out:

• 2 table spoons of raspberry jam or 12 raspberries
• 3 cl raspberry vodka
• 1 cl almond liqueur (amaretto)
• 1 cl vanilla syrup

For the sugar rim:

• sugar
• a lemon wedge

First things first, I didn't have raspberry vodka, so I combined some raspberry liqueur with plain vodka. It's not the same but it'll do for now. Also, not having real raspberries (during February it's really hard to come by in Finland) I used the jam. The vanilla syrup I made myself.

First do the sugar rim by coating the side of the glass with the lemon, tapping it on sugar and letting it chill in the fridge. Put the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and stir vigorously. Strain into your glass.

Visually good-looking, this cocktail is overly sweet! Fair enough, I used the raspberry liqueur-vodka mix instead of "pure" raspberry vodka, but the amount of jam with the vanilla syrup made this drink way to sugary. I can't agree that two table spoons of jam equals 12 raspberries and instead, would cut the jam amount to half to the least. Also I would've used a smaller cocktail glass. But that was my problem, not the drink's. Also, the amaretto flavors were barely noticeable. Nonetheless, it was a fun little experiment to do on a specific day in a year.

Also note the Runeberg's torte next to the drink, a pastry made just for this day (I didn't have the sugar coating since I didn't have powdered sugar at home).

Dutch Sunrise

DUTCH SUNRISE

Good evening ladies and gents! Tonight I present you with a cocktail I wanted to try out for a long time now. I found it from here. But before I get to the cocktail, I just want to share a little story how it all went down:

I've been enjoying a few days of vacation. Luckily so, because today was my appointment donating blood (I do it every two months), I met good friends of mine, had coffee with one and with the other I had a whiskey tasting as per my resolution I made. It's always more fun to taste whiskeys with friends than alone.

Nonetheless, I got home and got tipsy enjoyed my time with my wife watching a documentary about Hercule Poirot. I had a beer and afterwards made this cocktail. Sadly, it didn't live up to its standards. To make a Dutch Sunrise, you need:

• 2.5 cl Passoã
• two orange wedges + one rind to decorate
• weizen beer (wheat beer), but only a little

Take a tumbler, fill it with ice, add in the Passoã, squeeze the juice from the oranges and carefully top the drink with your wheat beer (pour it over the ice so it doesn't interfere with the liqueur). Add a few straws and the rind for decoration and voilá!

...And that's about it then. I was rather disappointed with this cocktail. The drink had an intriguing taste to it but the Passoã dominates the drink way too much. At its best, it's only mediocre (as I've said from another cocktail I can't remember quite now).

Visually it is quite nice. You have the "sunrise" effect but as a whole, this cocktail doesn't cut to the big boys' league. I wouldn't recommend it, really.

Horse's Neck

HORSE'S NECK

Hello again! Today I'm introducing you to a cocktail which (after a little bit of research) apparently has two major variations. The classic cocktail Horse's Neck. On one thing we can both agree; you need ginger ale and a long lemon twist. But are you "supposed" to use brandy or whiskey in it? In my dearest opinion, it doesn't quite matter since both work in their favor and both are recognized as a key ingredient. Of course you get a completely different taste profile from those mentioned above so if serving one of these it won't hurt asking "brandy or bourbon?"

• 5 cl brandy or whiskey (bourbon)
• ginger ale
• a long lemon twist
• (angostura bitters)

Using a high ball glass, fill it half-way with ice. Then cut a long strip of lemon twist so part of it will hang from outside the glass. Add your choice of liquor and top it off with ginger ale. Some put a few dashes of angostura bitters on top of the drink; this is purely a matter of opinion/taste. You can also add a straw or two if you please.

In my version I used bourbon. The result was quite delightful indeed! I got a massive amount of citrus - notes and the bourbon totally works with ginger ale. At this point I must say I would have used a better quality mixer instead of Schweppes but in Finland it's hard to get anything else than that. If you do happen to bump into anything more rare, the price for one bottle is beyond outrageous. 

Nonetheless, this is a good cocktail and if you prefer a more of a sweeter version, use brandy instead.

The Forgotten Pearl

THE FORGOTTEN PEARL

"These pearls make you forget the troubles of yesterday."

A cheesy-ass quote I just made up starts my newest post! Welcome aboard gents and hold fast, it's going to be a long ride to the unknown...

...just kidding. The story behind this cocktail goes somewhat like this: I go to the grocery store with my wife and her sister I see some passion fruits and I decide I want to make a cocktail using them. In addition, the coaster you see (has a bit of an "earthy" feel to it and fits absolutely perfectly with the kitchen table) was given to me by a good friend of mine. "It has to have rum in it" I thought. Also some exotic fruit of some kind (besides the passion fruit). The Forgotten Pearl was born:

• 2 cl aged rum
• 2 cl gran marnier
• 2 cl martini bianco (sweet clear vermouth)
• 4 cl pineapple juice
• 4 cl orange juice (I used freshly squeezed)
• 1-2 dashes angostura bitters
• 2 passion fruits (for the actual cocktail only 1½ is used, the rest ½ is used for garnish)
• 1 bar spoon D.O.M benedictine "float"

First spoon pearls from the 1½ passion fruit in the shaker. Add the juices and alcohols except for the benedictine. Add ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish by scooping the ½ passion fruit left over. Finally add a bar spoon of your herbal liqueur onto the drink. Enjoy.

Quite the drink I say! It has a velvety smooth texture, it is plenty of notes of citrus, the "roundness" from the rum and the complexity from the vermouth/gran marnier. Especially towards the end I could experience an ocean of herbal-like tastes, which made this cocktail...just wonderful.

The Pegu Club Cocktail

THE PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I actually should've posted this some days ago but laziness got into me so I kind of postponed this until the dark hours some call "midnight". Nonetheless, here is a very interesting cocktail based on gin but tastes just like grapefruit. I introduce you to the Pegu Club Cocktail. I could link all kinds of wiki articles regarding the history of this cocktail, but apparently this is a very traditional/well-known cocktail in...Latin America was it? Moreover, there's one rather "special" ingredient that you might look for in order to make it:

• 5 cl gin
• 2 cl triple sec
• 1 cl fresh lime juice
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 1 dash angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I wanted to use my rather less-used tulip-glass (just for fun's sake) but a small coupe would've done the trick more nicely. As for the garnish, the "traditional" garnish is a peel grapefruit or so (to implement the taste of it) but a lime slice/wedge will do the trick.

But I got to say, it does taste like grapefruit! It's a rather interesting mixture this Pegu Club Cocktail. Also for those not fond of gin, I doubt you would have problems drinking this. I give it a solid +1!

The 2014 New Year's Resolution

THE 2014 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

I know it's...two days late, but I've come up with the single most best and awesomest New Year's resolution for the year 2014. It's not a promise per se, but more of a challenge (accepted).

Today when I was biking to work I realized how I many different whiskies/other alcohol products we have and how few of those I have tasted. 

My 2014 New Year's Resolution as follows:

"In the year 2014 I will/have taste/d every alcohol product (most importantly the whiskies) we sell at our bar."

This means especially the whiskies; today at work I borrowed a notebook and listed every alcohol product available. And I will taste, assess and appreciate each and everyone of those with the exception of:

• flavored liqueurs such as our Volare brand
• seasonal products (such as some wines/beers on tap and so forth)
• (bottled beers/ciders) I'm still on the fence here

Since our bar stands heavily on whiskies, I believe it's important for me to really know what I'm selling. Here's my opportunity.

The rules:

1. Each product will be tasted, assessed and appreciated neat (with whiskies/appropiate I allow a splash of water as well).
2. Either 4 cl (~1.5 fl oz.) or 2 cl (2/3 fl oz.) depending on the product (and price, if a larger measure is too "expensive")
   2.1. If a brand has series of whiskies (e.g. the Bowmore or Laphroaig), the lesser amount is used
3. Products I have at home and are sold in the bar can be included in this.
4. Use this badass mofo glass everytime when applicable.

*Rules' edit*

• I decided to drop the amount to 2 cl (2/3 fl oz) / 1 cl ( 1/3 fl oz) depending on the product. Most liqueurs are hard to drink neat at larger amounts + a series of whiskies is more suitable with a lesser amount. Less is more, they say :)

So what got was:

• 73 different whiskies
• 46 other products (rums, brandies, schnapps and so forth)
• bottled beers/ciders not included (rough estimate from the top of my head: ~25)

So about a hundred and a few more in a year's time. No biggies, right? Also, as I go, I try to write down a few words/comments for each product and then probably rate it from either 1-5 stars or just 0-100 points.

It'll be awesome.