I’m not sure of National Scotch Day’s origin, but that doesn’t bother me much.  Any holiday that promotes the sweet ambrosia that is whisky is a day worth celebrating.  To commemorate the occasion, I’m uncorking my bottle of The Balvenie Madeira Cask, a limited edition 17-year-old offering from The Balvenie that’s finished in barrels that once held fortified Madeira wine.

With a deep nose of warm spices and dried fruit, plus the taste of sweet vanilla and raisin, it’s a nice way to spend the day.

The Drambuie: Revisited, Revived & Remixed event at the  Roosevelt Hotel featured the classic Rusty Nail cocktail, plus four modern variations, live jazz and glitzy cocktail servers with big feather hats.  The four Rusty Nail cocktails were created by bartenders from Portland to Milwaukee to New York City, and each took the Rusty Nail base (Scotch and Drambuie) and added ingredients and flavors to form innovative variations, detailed below:

Encrusted Nail – Chad Doll, Milwaukee

Drambuie
Dewar’s Scotch
Fresh lemon juice
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Peychaud’s bitters

Rusty Compass – Meaghan Dorman, NYC

Drambuie
Compass Box Peat Monster Scotch
Heering Cherry Liqueur
Orange twist

Southern Nail – Lance Mayhew, Portland

Drambuie
Dewar’s Scotch
Fresh-brewed iced tea
Fresh-squeezed lemon

New York Nail – Duane Fernandez, NYC

Drambuie
Dewar’s Scotch
Fresh-squeezed lemon
Ginger syrup
Fresh basil

To combat this lack of public knowledge, Chivas Brothers—whose portfolio includes Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, and Royal Salute brands—launched a campaign called The Age Matters.  Started July 1, 2010, consumers are encouraged to look for age statements on their whisky bottles and to understand the significance of guaranteeing the product’s age.

By law, all Scotch whisky must be aged for at least three years. Age is important, as much of a whisky’s flavor is due to its time spent maturing in oak casks.  But with many Scotch brands producing expressions differentiated as cask strength, quarter cask, Sherry/Madeira/Rum casks and more, there’s a lot more to a bottle of Scotch than just its age. Plus, older whiskies aren’t necessarily better, a point neglected in the campaign. But that said, I’m all for education when it comes to demystifying spirits for consumers.

Here’s a video of the Age Matters campaign.

This heavily-peated single malt is bottled without chill filtration, which preserves more of the original spirit’s texture and character. Chill filtering removes some residue from whisky, mostly for cosmetic reasons, so Jura Prophecy retains some haze in its appearance.

On the nose, the rich amber whisky smells of subtle peat smoke, which gives way to soft fruit and sherry notes, plus some baking spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.  Drink some down and you’ll taste sweet smoke, more spice notes and a bit of salt.  Jura Prophecy finishes long and dry, with some mouth-gripping bonfire smokiness.

Overall, Jura Prophecy is a quality whisky and a great introduction to peated single malts. It’s less intense than its Islay counterparts, but still bursting with flavor.  The contrast between sweet, smoke and spice creates a complexity worth exploring frequently.

Stats:
- 46% Alcohol by Volume
- $50 – $60

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The Rusty Nail
1 1/2 oz. Scotch whisky
1/2 oz. Drambuie
1 twist lemon peel

Pour the Scotch and Drambuie over ice in an old-fashioned glass. Stir well, and garnish with a lemon twist.

The Rusty Nail is a classic, and it’s a fairly benign start for the first-timer’s foray into Scotch cocktails. The sweet Drambuie tempers some of the bite of its counterpart.

The Forty-Five
½ part Drambuie
½ part sweet vermouth
½ part bourbon
dash of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and stir until cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with dried cherry macerated in Maraschino liqueur.

This cocktail was actually quite good, though I preferred mine with a dash of aromatic bitters and no vanilla. Bourbon gives a hint of vanilla on its own, so I thought the concentrated vanilla extract was as bit too much for this drink.

The Highland Fizz
¾ part Drambuie
¾ part Bacardi Gold Rum
dash of fresh lime juice
dash of Angostura bitters
1½ parts ginger beer

Combine all ingredients in a tall glass and stir. Garnish with a wedge of fresh lime.

I used Don Q Gold Rum in place of Bacardi. Not bad. I’ll probably make this cocktail again with a more flavorful rum, like Barbancourt or Appleton V/X.

The Chevalier
½ part Drambuie
¾ part Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka
¼ part dry vermouth
dash of fresh lemon juice
¼ part of simple syrup
dash of lemon bitters (optional)

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

There’s too much going on in this drink, and I’m not sure Drambuie and flavored vodka should ever go together. Not terrible, but not for me.

Bowmore’s 12-Year-Old Scotch Whisky is the youngest of the age specified Bowmore lineup, which also includes 15- 18- and 25-year old expressions.

On the nose, the amber spirit is distinctively smoky, with hints of citrus and honeyed sweetness. The body is light, almost watery.  On the palate, the peat smoke is very noticeable, and there’s a warm, subtle chocolate undertone.  It finishes with more peat smoke, plus a hint of saltiness that’s more subdued than many Islay whiskies.

All in all, Bowmore 12 is a good whisky and a good introduction to Islay single malts.  Plus, at the $40 price point, it’s a better value for your money, in my estimation, than the $90 Bowmore 18.

Stats:
- Aged 12 Years
- Islay Region
- 40% Alcohol by Volume
- $45

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Premium Awards

Distillery of the Year – Glenmorangie Distillery
Importer of the Year – Moët Hennessy USA
Best in Show, White – Trago Silver Tequila ($40)
Best in Show, Whisky – Isle of Jura Prophecy ($70)
Best in Show, Brandy – Père Magloire 20 Year Old Calvados ($100)
Best in Show, Liqueur – Grand Marnier 100th Anniversary ($135)

“Best of” Awards

Vodka – Chase ($40)
Flavored Vodka – Rain Organics Cucumber Lime ($21)
Gin – Beefeater 24 ($30)
Rum – Vizcaya VXOP Solera  ($38)
Extra-Aged Rum – Pusser’s 15 Year Old ($55)
Cachaça – Leblon ($30)
Reposado Tequila – Trago Reposado ($45)
Añejo Tequila – El Jimador Añejo ($30) and Mujer Bonita Añejo ($25) – TIE
Mescal – El Zacatecano Añejo Mescal ($42)
Bourbon – Elijah Craig Single Barrel ($40)
Canadian Whiskey – Seagrams VO ($23)
Irish Whiskey – Bushmills 1608 ($100)
Blended Scotch – The Grand Bark Equinoxe ($55)
Single Malt Scotch – Ardbed Single Malt ($85)
Armagnac – Comte de Lauvia 21 Year Old ($35)
Pisco – Pisco O Torontel ($35)
Cream Liqueur – Godiva White Chocolate ($30)

More info here – www.sfspiritscomp.com

This isn’t the first Balvenie expression that matures in fortified wine barrels.  The 12-Year DoubleWood matures in sherry casks, while the 21-Year PortWood finishes, as the name implies, in port casks.  Being a fan of the latter, and anticipating a tasty harmony of fruit and spice, I was eager to try The Balvenie Madeira Cask.

Nose
Rich, deep and complex. Warm spice, including cinnamon and nutmeg, with hints of vanilla and soft dried fruit.

Taste
The first sip is oaky, sweet vanilla that gives way to deep spices and raisin, along with more dried fruit flavors.

Finish
Very long, somewhat soft finish that continues the pleasantly balanced trend of fruit and spice with a bit of sweetness.

All in all, The Balvenie 17-Year Madeira Cask is an exceptionally balanced expression rich in spice and dried fruit, with subtle notes of sweet, honeyed vanilla.  You can taste it’s maturation process, moving from American oak (sweet vanilla) to Madeira casks (spice, dried fruit), and neither overpowers the other.  At $120 a bottle, it’s not an everyday whiskey, but you could sure drink it like one.

Stats:
- 43% Alcohol by Volume
- $120

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In more Balvenie news, the newest addition to The Balvenie 17-Year-Old range is finished in casks that once held Madeira Wine.  With “deep, luxurious aromas that translate into an equally rewarding flavor of spice and dried fruit,” The Balvenie 17-Year-Old Madeira Cask received a rating of 90% from Malt Advocate.  I’m eager to try it, as I’m already a fan of The Balvenie’s 21-Year-Old Portwood finish.

When drinking this whiskey or any whiskey, check out The Balvenie’s Warehouse 24.  It’s a members area featuring what they call the “Whiskey Shelf,” in which users can log their entire whiskey collection online and create detailed tasting notes and ratings. You can add any malt you like—not just The Balvenie—and see how other people are rating whiskies.  I’m sure I’m not the only overzealous drinker to thoroughly enjoy a whiskey only to forget everything I tasted the night before.  Warehouse 24 has the potential to solve this surely rampant problem, but still takes some initiative by the imbiber.

Jim Murray described Sazerac’s 18-year-old Rye as “reaching previously unknown heights,” and mentions that by being named the world’s top whiskey, Sazerac 18 has “set the bar for rye whiskey, and it will be fascinating in forthcoming years to see what is bottled to at least match it.”

Regarding Amrut Fusion, Murray said, “It makes no matter where in the world a whisky is made. If it is magnificent, then it stands a chance of being recognized in the Whisky Bible Awards. Amrut has been bottling astonishing whisky for a few years now. But this particular bottling just made my hairs stand on end. It is hard to find a whisky with better balance. India has unquestionably arrived as a whisky nation.”

While many rare, expensive whiskeys comprise the winners, there are several inexpensive, household names representing various categories.  For example, Johnny Walker Black Label was named best blended Scotch aged 5-12 years, and Jim Beam Rye was awarded best rye aged 10 years or younger.

The full list of winners includes Murray’s top-rated whiskeys from a pool of nearly 4,000 bottles.