Latest News
Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
The Chinese celebrate the Chinese New Year (CNY) or Lunar New Year in February this year. As it is with all major festivals, there are some whiskies which are launched or released in limited edition bottles just for the celebration. In 2018, there are various whiskies launched for the CNY, such as The Macallan Double Cask with a CNY theme gift pack.
Our purpose is not to showcase every whisky bottle out there, but to highlight some of these bottles which we think are well-worth the dough that you need to spend to get these bottles. Some of them are even hard to come by, but we can always try!
In our opinions, these are the five whiskies/bottles which we think are perfect for the CNY celebration!
Johnnie Walker has been in the news recently, for their somewhat controversial decision to take a trademark for Jane Walker. We have discussed that previously, so we will not dwell on it anymore. What is more interesting is their annual zodiac bottle design for the Blue Label. This year, it is the year of the dog, and the bottle reflects it well.
As you can see from the picture, Diageo artistically covered the bottle on three sides with amazing images that symbolised both CNY and the Year of the Dog. There is even the striding man rolling a cask of whisky with a dog by his side. The pictures are exquisite and meaningful all at the same time. It is already in major retail stores and online stores, so if you are in the mood for a Blue Label, this is a bottle that you should buy!
These are two different mid-tier whisky blends from Suntory, but we decided to put them together because their bottles are too beautiful to separate. Suntory releases special bottlings every year to commemorate the CNY since 1982, so it is no surprise that they came up with something exotic in 2018.
The new bottles pay tributes to the dog and showcase the loyal, yet playful nature of man’s best pal. Suntory housed The Royal in a ceramic container shaped like a dog, playing with a beautifully-designed ball. For the Suntory Old, the standard bottle shape applies, but the label showcases the same playful dog with the ball.
It is hard to buy either bottle due to their limit release in Japan only, but you can try Amazon or eBay if you love these bottles. If you have a friend in Japan, you can seek his or her help to search for the bottles too!
These couple of bottles are part of a twin set that launched in Taiwan recently. While it is not part of a CNY packaging, it took inspiration from a favourite Chinese video game. Known in Mandarin as 仙劍奇俠傳 (The Legend of Sword and Fairy), it is a perfect gift for the CNY.
The duo came with two different pictures of the Chinese video game main characters. The story links Chinese martial arts (wuxia), mythical creatures (shenmo), fantasy and love. It has an exciting plot and a somewhat controversial ending, but it is a beautiful game for those who are into role-playing games. For those of us who are only into whisky, the graphics on the bottles are appealing. They came in a beautifully-designed box, and the set includes the two bottles, two Glencairn glasses and two ceramic coasters!
We ordered this set from Taiwan, and it is not easy to buy it here in Singapore or elsewhere in the world. Due to its nature as an independent bottling, these bottles are all limited edition. If you are interested in obtaining a set, get in touch with us, and we will link you up accordingly!
Finally, let us end the post with a familiar bottle. The Macallan Rare Cask Red launched a few years ago to much fanfare. As the entry level to the prestigious 1824 Master Series, it is one of the most popular bottles for Macallan fans. For those who are new to the whisky scene, the 1824 Master Series showcased some of the rarest and most expensive modern Macallan bottles. You can find more information here.
The price reduces somewhat recently, so it is a good time for those who have finished their previous bottle to buy another one for the upcoming CNY!
More bottles celebrate the CNY, but these are five bottles which we feel are some of the most festive ones! Regarding affordability, we would suggest either the Johnnie Walker Blue Label or the Macallan Rare Cask, as both are not as difficult to obtain when compared to the others. You have to buy the Suntory bottles in Japan, so unless you have a friend in Japan, it is going to expensive if you buy them on Amazon or eBay! Similarly, for the TWA Glenrothes, you need to order the set from Taiwan, so shipping costs make the bottles more expensive then they should be.
Is there such a thing as drinking too much whisky? It was a question that I asked myself when I felt a distaste for whisky towards the end of last year. It was a “horrors of the horrors” when I found myself craving for a glass of Bailey’s instead of a glass of whisky as my New Years’ dram.
“What have I done?” I asked myself. Nonetheless, the thought of drinking yet another glass of whisky put me off, and so I poured myself the Baileys.
I am going to call what I experience as “whisky fatigue” as it does seem like the most appropriate name for it. I had a lot of whiskies to drink during a short period of 1.5 months. From Whisky Live Singapore 2017 to Whisky Fair TAKAO 2017, it was two weekends of indulgence. In between the two events, we also visited Nantou Distillery and drank Omar for breakfast! Following that, I attended various tasting events and finally ended all activities on 30 December 2017.
With all the whiskies in the blood, I suspected that the body had more than it could take, and automatically reject the idea of more. However, I think there could be more reasons, and so I asked around.
I chatted with a few friends in our community and received many different feedbacks. Many claimed that a dram or two each night before bed calms the nerves and help them sleep better, while others claimed that they have drunk whisky all their lives and never get tired of it. Some even suggested that I am perhaps, falling sick!?
Finally, I found someone who agreed with me. He is a good friend of mine, and he agreed that he, too, has issues with drinking too much whisky within a short time. However, he feels that it could be related to stress. His point of view is valid – too much pressure during the whisky tasting sessions resulted in a psychological rejection of enjoyment and reduced the joy of drinking whisky. When the brain associated unpleasant stress for a prolonged period, the brain linked whisky with stress. Therefore, whisky fatigue set in.
After our chat, I decided to google whisky fatigue. What I found was disappointing. Most discourses speak of rising whisky prices as whisky fatigue, leading to a switch to other liqueurs. While I do not disagree that prices do have a part to play, it is likely not the only reason.
There is no satisfying answer to my question. The top three reasons are toxic in the body, psychological stress, and whisky prices. Are there more to this whisky fatigue which I experience? I would like to throw the question to our community here and overseas and humbly ask for your opinions. Please share your experiences with us and explore this phenomenal together!
Our recent focus on whisky bars has led us on a discussion regarding the many whiskies that we have drunk in the bars in Singapore. We found that there are a lot of underrated whiskies that went unnoticed by most people because they are just not in the limelight. These whiskies are only put into the spotlight when whisky bars introduced them. Therefore, as a way to further help spread the joy of underrated whiskies, we decided to put forth eight underrated whiskies which we have drunk!
**Some of these whiskies are available in the local bars in Singapore, so you can always pop by for a dram!**
We came across the Mortlach Rare Old during Singbev’s sales at Suntec City late last year and had more than just a taste of it. The oily mouthfeel, sweet and robust flavours and relatively long finish hooked into us, and we ended up buying a bottle. Mortlach Rare Old is an affordable entry-level single malt from Mortlach’s premium range, and it is such a decent dram that we need to tell everyone about it!
It may not be an easy to find this single malt in regular bars, but you can ask whisky bars in Singapore if they carry the bottle. Otherwise, if you know anyone working in Diageo, you can try to wing an invitation to Diageo’s bar! If all else fail, you can still get a bottle at our local whisky shops or online at Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange. The last we heard, Cold Storage is selling the Mortlach Rare Old at $60! It is a steal!
The Single Cask is an independent bottler, and you can find a massive range of whiskies at their bar. One of the underrated ones which we want to share is the TSC Macduff 19 Years Old. We tasted it at an event, and we love it. We got a bottle at home too! The liquid boasts floral and citrus notes. At a higher abv of 53.5%, it is also a robust whisky with a little spice.
If you want to taste this whisky, simply head over to The Single Cask and ask Brendan for a dram of TSC Macduff 19 Years Old!
S Spirit Shop is an independent bottler from Taiwan, and they bottled Scotch whiskies using unique labels that speak volume about the Chinese heritage of S Spirit Shop. The Caol Ila 2006 that we had was one of those whiskies in which you cannot forget after drinking it. Even though it is a young whisky at nine years old, it is so well balanced that we need more and more. It is also a limited release of only 76 bottles. If you love gentle peat, you got to try this one!
It is available at The Wall SG, and you can even taste the whole range of the S Spirit Shop Collection there if you are feeling adventurous!
The Arran distillery is located on the Isle of Arran and is the only distillery on the island. The core range of Arran is probably well-known to you but did you know that they have a variety of special releases too? The Arran Amarone Cask Finish is one of such release. Matured in oak casks and then finished in Amarone wine cask, the distillery bottled the whisky at 50% abv. The liquid boasts the nose of a sweet red wine, honey, pear and cranberries, a soft palate and a long fruity finish.
You can easily find a dram of this at the Quaich Bar. In fact, they have a whole range of Arran for you to try if you are keen!
The Isle of Jura is a little-known distillery in this part of the world, and we hardly heard of them. The eight years old expression is one of their older bottlings and is hard to find now in the current market. We were surprised by this dram to be honest because it has a nose of a typical Tobermory! Perhaps it is due to their shared identity as island whiskies. This was a blind tasting, and we honestly could not guess the distillery! It is, indeed, an underrated whisky.
You can try it at The Swan Song, which is a newly opened bar at Prinsep Street! We will be reviewing the bar soon, so keep your eyes out for it!
Fighting Fish Series is a range by Jack Wiebers, an independent bottler from Germany. The Littlemill 1990 here is an indie bottle of Fighting Fish, and it boasts a beautiful nose of sweet molasses, honey and berries. It is a well-balanced dram that leaves you wanting more. As Littlemill is a closed distillery, it is worth your time and money to try as many expressions of Littlemill before the stock runs out!
Get a taste of this Littlemill 1990 from the Fighting Fish Series from The Writing Club. You can find lots of other special bottles there as well as closed distilleries bottling such as Rosebank and Port Ellen.
We introduced Omar to our readers previously so we will not dwell too much on it. However, we felt the need to remind our readers that it is an underrated whisky. Besides their core range of the NAS single malt, they have a variety of single casks which you should try. One of our favourites is the cask strength bourbon. Aged about four years in ex-bourbon casks, the liquid is fragrant with vanilla and creamy sweetness.
While you can’t buy a dram of Omar Single Malt in Singapore right now, you can get them whenever you travel to Taiwan! They are available at both Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport.
We wrote about Säntis Malt recently, and we hope that you have enjoyed the article. The last underrated whisky that we have for this post is the Säntis Malt Snow White No. 5. The apricot finish makes this whisky a gem as the nose, palate and finish create such a lovely experience! It is a pity that Säntis Malt is not yet readily available in Singapore yet, but I am sure that we will hear something about them soon enough!
While you may find it hard to get hold of this in Singapore, you can try your luck in Taiwan. If you want to try this, let us know, and we will see what we can do about it!
The eight whiskies above are some of the underrated whiskies that we tasted and love. We have five out of the eight bottles at home, so you can imagine how much we love them. How about yours? What are your underrated whiskies?
11311 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas, TX, United States
(555) 389 976
dallas@enfold-restaurant.com