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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
Taiwan is slowly but surely getting the limelight in the world of whisky. With Kalavan winning awards and Omar growing in popularity, more people outside of the country are starting to notice Taiwanese whiskies. WhiskyGeeks is, therefore, not surprised that whisky events are also beginning to pop up in Taiwan.
WhiskyFair Takao 2017 is taking place in Kaohsiung this year on 2nd and 3rd December. Held at 85 Sky Tower, it promises to awe visitors with premier whiskies, masterclasses and a good view of the harbour. This event is interesting because of its focus on independent and cask strength bottlings. Imagine a world where you can sample independent bottlings of whiskies from lost distilleries and those that are not easily attainable.
In this event, visitors can expect to taste drams from official bottlings (OB), independent bottlers (IB) and even rare vintages collections from private collectors. There is no better way to get your thirst cured!
The exhibitors’ list for Whisky Fair Takao is impressive. Besides the 39 distilleries and IB exhibitors, there are also 13 bars and whisky shops. Famous IB such as Cadenhead’s, Douglas Laing and Gordon & MacPhail will be there. Even a whisky distillery from Switzerland will be exhibiting! With such an extensive list of exhibitors, visitors to the Whisky Fair Takao are not going to be disappointed. WhiskyGeeks is definitely excited to attend this event.
Whisky Fair Takao is also offering visitors the chance to buy annual bottlings. A restriction of one bottle per customer is imposed so you can be sure that it is good stuff. There will be bottles from Cadenhead’s, The Whisky Agency, and special bottlings from Whisky Fair Takao. For interest sake, there is a Littlemill to be snatched!
Masterclasses may be overrated, but there is one that we should go at Whisky Fair Takao. The exploration of Old and Rare Whiskies by Angus MacRaild should not be missed considering the offer on hand. A tasting of 6 rare bottles from the 1970s is on the line! At a cost of 4800 NTD (estimated SGD$223), you get 6 drams of rare vintage whiskies. Is that worthwhile? You decide. For us, we have decided to go!
Event date: 2nd & 3rd December 2017
Time: 10 am to 6 pm
Venue: 85 Sky Tower, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
If you are heading to Whisky Fair Takao, you may want to consider staying directly at 85 Sky Tower as it is convenient. You don’t have to worry about getting drunk too! Besides, room prices are surprisingly reasonable for this 5-stars hotel! We got a great deal at SGD$129/night for a deluxe room, so why not indulge yourself and treat it as a well-deserved year-end vacation?
WhiskyGeeks will love to meet fellow Singaporeans at Whisky Fair Takao. If you are heading there, give us a shout out and we can meet at the show for a few drams and photographs together!
Whisky Live Singapore is happening in about a month’s time! Have you bought your tickets yet?
Organised by La Maison du Whisky (LMDW), it is a yearly sold-out event where whisky aficionados get to taste and appreciate premier whiskies at a relatively low cost. This year, Whisky Live is trying out something different with an immersive and expansive experience for all.
What we love about Whisky Live is not just the passion for good whisky, but also the dedication that goes behind the event every year. “We are constantly looking into ways to alleviate the experience (of Whisky Live)”, said Mr Mathieu Musnier, General Manager at LMDW. “Whisky and spirits appreciation is an art.”
In line with his vision, Whisky Live Singapore 2017 has a theme of “Rare, Share, Pair”. The different approach is refreshing as the event brings not just whisky but also the taste of other fine spirits such as gin, tequila, rum and much more in the form of cocktails. There are also different cuisines available at the event.
In addition, there will be an art gallery that showcases whisky and spirit art through the years. Expect to be awed by label designs, marketing art and bottle craft. The exhibition is featuring art pieces from well-known artists such as Stranger & Strangers, Neisson and Velier.
The tickets for Whisky Live are almost sold out, so for those who have yet to buy the tickets, hurry over to Peatix to purchase your tickets! For those who have gotten the tickets, congratulations! You are going to enjoy yourselves!
Expect premier whiskies from various distilleries such as Old Pulteney, Balbair and Bruichladdich and for those with VIP tickets, hit up the rare whiskies in the VIP room. We heard that there are going to be some vintage whiskies from Old Pulteney (hint: a 25 years old), so be sure to visit their booth! If you have bought your tickets to the Masterclasses, expect the unexpected as you are going to be blown away by both the information as well as the spirits prepared just for you.
Oh, and do check out the Nikka Masterclass. The Nikka Coffey Malt has just won the Best Japanese Whisky in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2018. We understand that Nikka is now experimenting with a Coffey Gin and Coffey Vodka and will explain more in their Masterclass.
Dates: 25th and 26th November 2017.
Time: Doors open from 1.30pm. VIP ticket holders can enter one hour earlier to explore the tasting area.
Venue: 7213 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 239007
Whisky Live aims to bring together the finest whiskies and spirits, great food and a range of education and entertainment to the participants around the world. Organised annually, this event offers the rare opportunity to sample whiskies from around the world as well as to discover exciting new spirits and distilleries. At the same time, it is the perfect chance to mingle with the experts in the field – producers, distillers and ambassadors.
La Maison du Whisky is a family-owned company founded in 1956 in the French capital. It is the specialist of rare whiskies, niche spirits, importation and distribution in France. La Maison du Whisky came onboard Singapore in 2006, bringing with them the passion and love for fine spirits and the distribution of rare and collectible products.
We have been telling everyone that something is brewing at Manhatten Bar for a few days now and we are sure many of you are curious about our experiment! Well, let us reveal what’s brewing today!
Whisky Butler embarked on an exciting journey with Manhatten Bar recently to find out how the profile of whisky changes when matured whisky is put back into a cask for an enhanced finish. WhiskyGeeks goes along for the ride as we know that something amazing is going to come out of this experiment!
We discovered that there are 2 different experiments as of now. First, there is the Sazerac whisky, an American Rye whisky that is perfect for making the first American Cocktail – Sazerac Cocktail! Instead of making a cocktail, Manhatten Bar put this in a cask that held port wine for a week! Next, we have an interesting combination of Highwest OMG Pure Rye Whisky, DOM Benedictine and Mancino Rosso Vermouth that was married in a cask. As it is not pure whisky, the Manhatten Bar has named it La Louisiane cocktail.
How did they go? Let’s find out!
Before we go into details about the whisky, let us share a little more about the cask.
The cask is a fresh American oak that was soaked with a 10-year-old port wine for a week to allow the port wine to penetrate and soak the wood properly. Next, the Sazerac rye whisky is poured into the cask and will sit inside for 4 weeks. The cask has a volume of 13.3 litres and is specially made for Manhatten Bar in a small cooperage located in Minnesota, USA.
WhiskyGeeks get to try the whisky after it was in the cask for 6 days. In comparison to the original rye whisky, we discovered subtle changes! The rye whisky was sweet in nature with some acetone on the nose. It has an oily mouthfeel, maple syrup/caramel palate and is slightly spicy. After 6 days, the nose became sweeter, with sherry influence that converts into caramel and takes on a slight wood spice. The palate is more pronounced with the changes. Sherry influence is strong and reduces the original spice to nothing. It becomes herbaceous and slightly grassy instead.
The whisky will stay in the cask for 4 weeks and after that, it will be bottled for Whisky Butler. We will update our members every week on the progress and how the whisky has changed. The whole idea behind this experiment is to find out how a new cask finish can affect a whisky that has already been bottled. This should give everyone some idea of what they can do with their own whisky!
What about this amazing cocktail? Let’s explore!
The cask is a fresh American oak cask of 13.3 litres, charred to #3. That means that the cask can give the liquid put into it a great amount of sweetness in layman terms. It is also made from the same cooperage in Minnesota, USA. This cask is not infused with any liquid before the cocktail is poured into it.
The cocktail is amazing. The nose is full of cane sugar and sweet vermouth, and the palate reflects the same. It almost tasted like a whisky sour, but the different spirits are not yet fully married. The different characteristics of the 3 alcohols came out individually and are not blended with one another. The sweetness can be overwhelming for some as both the rye whisky and the Mancino Rosso Vermouth are sweet.
At this stage, the cocktail takes on deep sherry notes that blends extremely well with the strong cane sugar on the nose. Nonetheless, the sweet vermouth is still evident. The palate is amazing though. The 3 alcohols have blended well together and now the cane sugar mixed beautifully with the vermouth on the tongue. There is no spice at all and the finish is short and refreshing. The overall cocktail is also less sweet.
Ahh…the perfect balance of the cocktail finally surfaced. The nose boasts of a balanced sweetness between sherry and cane sugar. It creates a sweet nose that is not overwhelming anymore. The palate does not change much from the 3 weeks and 6 days version. The only difference is the vermouth giving out some sourish taste that makes the cocktail less sweet. It becomes more like a whisky sour but much more balanced in its flavours.
The La Louisiane cocktail is a completed product but we feel it can be enhanced further with some bitters. We tried it and it tasted even better. We encourage our members to take a trip down to Manhatten Bar to try this cocktail with some bitters! It is amazing!
WhiskyGeeks will continue the coverage of this experiment in the next week and our focus will be on the Sazerac whisky’s progress. There may be other whiskies but we are kept in the dark as well. We love the suspense and the surprise! We may try to arrange for a tasting session at Manhatten Bar further down the road. Let us speak with Whisky Butler and Manhatten Bar and see what we can do to arrange a session for our members. Stay tuned for more!
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