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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
Have you heard of the cradle glass? If you bought the VIP tickets for Whisky Live Singapore 2017, you are the proud owner of one of these cradle glasses. Do you know where the cradle glass come from and the story behind the glass? WhiskyGeeks seeks out Sandie, the lady behind the cradle glass for a chat.
The story started in Tasmania, Australia. Back in 1997, the owners of the Cradle Mountain Whisky Distillery decided to mothball the distillery due to insufficient funds. At the same time, they continued to sell existing stocks. By 2015, the whisky barrels were dwindling. Joe and Sandie love the whisky so much that they brought the Cradle Mountain Whisky Distillery to prevent it from shutting down! In their capable hands, the distillery began production again.
As a small craft distillery entirely owned by Joe and Sandie, they have the opportunities to explore and experiment with different wood types. They developed their special “Sol’Lahra” Barrels (which are barrels with different stave combinations) and used these barrels on top of the standard American Oak Barrels. They also explore different charred levels and even different formula for their new make! With all these variants, they have about 45 types of new make resting in their specialised barrels.
As distillers, one of the joys on the job is to nose the new make. Cradle Mountain Whisky started with a new make of 65% abv and the alcohol fumes can be quite a challenge when the other aromas are still in their infancy stages. Using a standard Glencairn glass, it is difficult for Joe and Sandie to make out the developing aromas underneath the alcohol fumes. The high number of variants in the distillery makes the job even more difficult. Joe and Sandie know that they had to do something to make the job easier – they need a new glass.
The owners of Cradle Mountain Whisky needed a glass that can eliminate the alcohol fumes in order to get access to the evolving aromas and subtle changes in their 45 new variants. The need to chart the development and tweak the environment (when necessary) of the maturing casks are vital for making good whiskies. With their needs clearly mapped out, the couple set to work. Creating the cradle glass was more challenging than they thought. Taking inspiration from Cradle Mountain and the nearby Dove Lake, they take movement, surface area and air pressure into consideration while creating a glass that is shaped like a natural cradle.
It took them seven attempts before they feel that what they have is a perfectly shaped glass that can radiate, move, aerate, accelerate, expel and emote.
The Cradle Glass is easy to use – just pour your whisky of choice and cradle the glass in your palms. The radiant heat from your hands agitates the phenols in the whisky to release the aromas. The shape of the glass allows the whisky to move easily and aerates it to “open up”. As the air pressure increases within the glass, the aromas and alcohol fumes rise upwards to the narrowing neck. The smaller opening drops the air pressure as the vapours rise. When the vapours reach the widened lip of the glass, the alcohol fumes, being lighter than the organic compounds of the whisky, moves over the lips of the glass. That leaves the aromas of the whisky in the middle, right where you will nose it. The glass allows you to experience the fruity, floral aromas without getting the nasal burn from the alcohol fumes.
The glass has another function. With its rounded and weighted bottom, the glass extended the movement of the whisky within to release the aroma in between each sip, helping you to catch all the aromas as intended by the whisky maker. Of course, it also serves a practical function – the glass does not fall over or spill the precious liquid inside.
Here’s a summary for you:
Studies suggested that we used up to 80% of our sense of smell to work out the taste. The process is somewhat scientific – molecules of a substance stimulate nerve cells in our nose, mouth and throat and transfer the information to our brain, allowing us to judge whether the substance is pleasing or not. While it is natural for everyone to have a different preference when drinking whisky, Joe and Sandie want to share the cradle glass with the rest of the world as they believe removing the alcohol fumes help them to enjoy the whisky more.
Aromas can be overshadowed by alcohol fumes and make it more difficult for the whisky drinker to discern the subtle flavours beneath the burning sensation. The cradle glass removes the alcohol fumes to help the whisky drinker discover the flavours and aromas to better appreciate a good whisky.
WhiskyGeeks tested the two cradle glasses that we received at Whisky Live Singapore 2017 for about two months before reaching out to Sandie. We need to know if the cradle glass works as it intended. We tried it with many different whiskies, even comparing the same whisky using a Glencairn glass and the cradle glass. What we found was a fuller flavour, a better nose and more aromas when using the cradle glass.
One of the most significant examples was Zerlina’s experiment with The Macallan Gold. We had a sample from Master of Malt and decided to use it as a test because there are simply too many people who think badly about it.
We split the liquid between a Glencairn glass and the cradle glass, and nose them. The aromas arising out of the Glencairn glass are more subtle and less prominent as compared with the cradle glass. The spiced ginger was more in tune with the citrus lemon zest in the cradle glass than the Glencairn glass. We were impressed indeed!
The cradle glass delivers as promised and we know that we need to share this after conducting various other experiments with similar results.
First, a disclaimer – We are not here to sell the cradle glass and Sandie is not sending us with a crate of Cradle Mountain Whisky to get us to write the article. We are here to introduce the cradle glass mainly because we believe that it works! While we still use our Glencairn glasses for drinking whisky, we find ourselves favouring the cradle glass when we want to write tasting notes. It helps us to discern the subtle flavours and make the work easier for us in general.
For those of you who own a cradle glass of your own, why not try it if you have not? For those who have tried, how about sharing your experience with us? Did you get a positive experience too?
Joe and Sandie are owners of the Cradle Mountain Whisky Distillery in Tasmania, Australia. They developed the cradle glass out of necessity for their whisky making process and is today, sharing the glass with the rest of the world. You can find out more at www.cradleglass.com.
Bruichladdich held a media tasting for the upcoming Octomore 8 Series launch at The Writing Club on 1 February 2018. Chloe Wood, the Asia-Pacific Brand Ambassador, was the presenter for the session. Bruichladdich invited me to represent WhiskyGeeks, and I cannot express my gleefulness to have the chance to drink the Octomore Series 8 again!
I arrived early, and our Bruichladdich host treated me to a generous pour of Port Charlotte Scottish Barley! The Bruichladdich team is top-notched in their hospitality, as always! As we waited for the rest of the media to arrive, I chatted with the team, took pictures and enjoyed my dram!
Chloe started the ball rolling shortly after 2.30pm when everyone had arrived. She warned me that the presentation was largely similar to what she did for the previous Bruichladdich tasting event, but I still found the presentation enjoyable. I also managed to pick up information about Bruichladdich which I missed out the last time.
One of the juicy bits of information which I had left untouched in my previous article was the barley malting process. A malting house at Inverness malts all of Bruichladdich’s barley. They have a dedicated area cornered off just for Bruichladdich and malted the barley with a commitment that is distinctly Bruichladdich! The facility even added the peat to Port Charlotte and Octomore malting manually to control the ppm of the barley.
Another interesting fact is the quality casks that Bruichladdich uses for all their maturing whiskies. Chloe mentioned that they are not cheap to come by and that is part of the reason why the distillery needs a lot of funds to maintain production. Of course, I missed out entirely on Octomore Farm where it grows the Octomore barley for some of the expressions as well as the water source. Bruichladdich draws water from a spring on Islay itself. The distillery used this water source for distilling and watering down of the whisky (when needed).
The Octomore 8 Masterclass is Bruichladdich’s Head distiller, Adam Hannett’s first set of Octomore. Crafted entirely by him, the Eights is the first series to be launched together. The Eights are all eight years old whiskies except for one, which you will understand why once we reveal the reason.
Before we dive straight into the Octomore 8 one by one, please allow us to show you a video of the Octomore Brand.
The Octomore 8.1 is the forerunner in the Eight series. Distilled in 2008 using the 2007 barley harvest, the distillery peated it at 167ppm. 100% matured in first fill ex-bourbon American oak casks for its full term, this eight years old stayed on Islay all its life before getting bottled at 59.3%. The distillery released 42,000 bottles globally.
On the nose, I found sweet, floral, gentle peat. There are hints of pineapples and pears. The palate is oily with warm spice (black pepper), vanilla cream and fruity sweetness! The finish is long with vanilla lingering to the end. With water, the peat appears stronger on the nose and pushes the sweetness to the background. Nonetheless, the palate remains, with vanilla cream and sweet fruits leading the way. The water shortens the finish slightly, but the vanilla stays.
Octomore 8.2 is an interesting one. Intended for the Global Travel Retail, this bottle is the hardest to come by unless you travel during the release period. Distilled in 2008 from the 2007 barley harvest, the distillery peated it at 167ppm as well. Adam vatted six years old liquids from second-fill ex-Sauternes casks, French Mourvedres and Austrian sweet wine casks before putting the vatted liquid into first-filled Italian ex-Amarone casks for two more years. This eight years old expression also stayed on Islay on its life before getting bottled it at 58.4% abv. The distillery released 36,000 bottles globally.
On the nose, I get sweet candy, red wine, dates and cinnamon spice. The rich, robust whisky is oily on the palate that is reminiscent of sweet dessert wine and cinnamon. The mixture is pleasantly exotic and balanced. The finish is long and spicy. The Octomore 8.2 eludes all the sweetness from the wine casks and is fantastic to drink.
Octomore 8.3 is the monster baby of the lot. It is a tribute to Islay and uses only barley from the Octomore Farm’s 2010 harvest. It was a bad harvest that year, and Octomore Farm’s owner, James Brown, faced heavy losses from it. However, the barley produced terrific results during the malting process! A staggering 309.1 ppm reading came back from the malting facility, making the new-make the heaviest-peated whisky in the world! Distilled in 2011, the expression boasts of one farm, one field and one vintage and showcases the barley influence. 56% of the liquid spent five years in ex-bourbon American casks, while the remaining 44% spent five years in ex-Pauillac, Ventoux, Rhone and Burgundy European oak casks. The expression stayed five years on Islay before getting bottled at a whopping 61.2% abv! Due to the small barley harvest, the distillery released only 18,000 bottles globally.
The nose is full of aromatic peat, lemon citrus zest, sweet wine, pears and apples. The palate is oily with full lemony citrus and sweet fruits before the smoke comes in beautifully. The finish is long with light smoke and sea salt towards the end. What an epic dram for sure!
The last bottle of the Eight series is nothing short of amazing. It is the Gamechanger. Distilled in 2009 from the 2008 harvest, the distillery peated it at 170ppm. 20% of the liquid comes from liquid matured in first fill virgin oak casks with medium toast for eight years. The remaining 80% aged in first fill American casks for eight years before getting a finish in second fill virgin oak casks from Tonnellerie Radoux cooperage in France. If you are wondering what is the second fill virgin oak cask, it just means that the distillery used the virgin oak casks for the second time. Virgin oak casks are not easy to come by, and the price is hefty as well! The expression matured fully on Islay before getting bottled at 58.7% abv. The distillery released only 12,000 bottles globally.
On the nose, I get the oak influence immediately. There is an oakiness to the liquid, coupled with a citrus, fruity sweetness and a hint of smoke. The palate is oaky and dry, with sweet pear, apples and some pleasant spice. Hints of smoke linger in the background without overshadowing the sweetness. The finish is long, sweet and peaty!
Chloe ended her presentation after introducing Octomore 8.4 but it was not the end of the session. No, the Bruichladdich team bought cheese from The Cheese Ark and chocolate from Demochoc to share! We get to eat tasty cheese and pair it with our Octomore, as well as satisfy our sweet tooth with hand-made chocolates!
Fans of Octomore are waiting anxiously for the series to launch in Singapore, but unfortunately, we still do not have the launch date yet. It is rumoured to be launched sometime in April but it is not firmed up, and the launch can happen earlier! Rest assured that we will keep everyone updated once we know the launch date!
In the meanwhile, prepare yourself for the mad rush when the series launches! It is going to be massive fun! Stay tuned for more folks!
Have you heard of the Barber Shop? For those working in the downtown area, we are sure that you heard and knew about the Barber Shop. We are apologetic to say that we did not know about the Barber Shop until whiskyman, Fab Arm, invited us for a tour!
Barber Shop opened in the latter part of 2012 with the aim of serving only quality food and drinks. It attracted the working crowd with its fantastic service, good food and better drinks. Now that you know it is not a real barbershop for you to get a haircut, let’s explore its story in more details.
Barber Shop is part of the Timbre Group, a home-grown company that has been serving its multitudes of customers for the past 12 years. As an outlet that aims to please, Barber Shop serves up a menu of quality whiskies, rums, vodka, gin and cocktails. Behind the bar is a team of dedicated bartenders who know their products straight from the heart.
Barber Shop is a low-key bar with extraordinary offerings. As a bar which supports local musicians, you can find live music from local bands every day of the week. These groups are handpicked by the owners and offer great music to go along with the food and drinks. Besides that, there are also good conversations to be had, so feel free to ask the knowledgeable team about anything from the menu!
On every Wednesday, the Lindy Hop Dancers from Timbre Music Academy above Barber Shop will grace the dance floor together with Raw Earth as they performed together. From what we know, the joint-performance has been the highlight every week!
Raw Earth is a blues, rock and soul band from Singapore and they will charm you with music that is both old-school and full of flavour. The band strives to retain the soul and groove into their music to add the soulful of music into their performance! You can find more information about them here.
Timbre and Fab have plans for Barber Shop in 2018, and it is progressing well. While we will not reveal what these projects are for the moment, we urge you to keep an eye out for them. They are exciting for all drinkers and music lovers. So, stay tuned for more!
Location: The Art House
Address: 1 Old Parliament Lane #01-03 (next to Timbre @ The Arts House), Singapore 179429
11311 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas, TX, United States
(555) 389 976
dallas@enfold-restaurant.com