Whisky and Chocolate Tasting

A number of times I have stopped in front of Paul A Young’s characterful chocolate shop in Camden Passage, Islington, and admired the beautiful chocolates in the window display.

When I heard Paul had been teaming up with Milroy’s of Soho for tastings, I was extremely excited to get a space. This would be an opportunity to learn more about how these artisan chocolates are made, and taste them alongside a range of whiskies from Milroy’s of Soho.

On the evening of the tasting, i entered the Milroy’s of Soho shop,  and was greeted by Angus who promptly directed me downstairs into the cellars. The atmosphere within the cellars was light and fun, I knew it was going to be an enjoyable and informative evening.  My thoughts were realised when I was given an introductory cocktail of Milroy’s of Soho Blended Malt, Vermouth, and chocolate bitters –a chocolaty twist on the classic Rob Roy cocktail, and it was a very good start to the evening!

I looked around the room.  All the tables were laid with whisky glasses and every place setting also had a series of eye-catching chocolates lined up, with a small space left for a mystery guest chocolate, very intriguing.

Paul A Young was standing in front of a wonderful display of smartly, packaged chocolates tied with pretty ribbons, in all shapes and sizes.  I was pleased to hear these were available for us to buy after the tasting. 

I was taken aback at how young Paul looked, and thought his surname quite appropriate. He runs a successful business, with three shops across London but the stresses of running these shops obviously hadn’t aged him. 

Angus introduced the first whisky, a 20 year old grain whisky from the North British Distillery, packed with beautiful caramel butter notes.  It was great to try such a different style of whisky.  We tried this with a simple milk chocolate, 40% cocoa: pretty nice and light and made with no vegetable fat – which would normally leave confectionary chocolate with a film and a heaviness.  Together, the whisky accentuated the wonderful creamy notes of the chocolate and the caramel notes from the whisky. A velvety combination. 

One of the combinations that stood out for me was the Springbank 15 years old  from Campbeltown, paired with a goat’s cheese, lemon and thyme filled chocolate.  The whisky has beautiful fresh, salty notes, and very vibrant, almost green flavours on the palate.  Perfect with a piece of the delicious chocolate.  Angus mentioned that many old whiskies from Springbank are worth lots of money, as the distillery closed for a while. Check your cellars!

The Cigar Leaf caramel which followed tasted of chili, quite unexpected, but it worked really well. This was paired with Dalmore Cigar Malt, a malt specifically designed to be enjoyed while smoking cigars. Obviously, we cannot smoke prime Havanas in the Milroy’s cellar, so we had to go for one of Paul’s powerful and seductive caramels. I found the tobacco in the chocolate really brought out some mature, woody flavours in the whisky and likewise the whisky tempered some of the sweetness of the caramel. A very grown-up combination indeed!

Last of all, was the Salt and Pepper Brownie matched with Caol lla Distiller’s Edition. This was one of my favourite whiskies, a rich yet soft, peaty Islay malt finished in Muscat barrels. This worked incredibly well with the gorgeous brownie from Paul. When tried together the result was an amazing combination of deep, pure chocolate flavours sprinkled with little hits from the salt and crunchy bites of pepper.  It was then finished off with a long, sweet, smoky trail that was never-ending. A truly seductive combination and one that will stay in my memory for a long time to come!

I was intrigued to hear about the hot chocolate and Bowmore 15yr old Darkest combo, and will certainly drop by Milroy’s of Soho to pick up a bottle for a late night indulgent hot chocolate.

Thanks Milroy’s of Soho for a great evening.

Compass Box Blending School

Back in mid-April I was lucky enough to go along to Compass Box’s London offices in Chiswick.  Not only would whisky maker John Glazer talk us through the blending process but first he would present us with his whiskies thoughtfully paired with food.

On the occasion we were greeted with a delicious Great King Street Cocktail, a masterful blend of Great King Street, Cognac, a dash of bitters, soda water, served packed with ice in a highball with a slice of lemon.

A perfect sunny afternoon cocktail, but as it turns out equally good as an aperitif on a horrible rainy day too.

We started with Hedonism, a blend of very old and very young grain whiskies, the average age being around 18-20 years. This was splendidly paired with Foie Gras, the slight sweetness of Hedonism cut through the fatty Foie Gras.

Next up was Peat Monster paired with hot smoked salmon and blue cheese.  Despite its name this is a sophisticated whisky with rich smoke and toasty oak notes and just a hint of sea breeze. The salmon was a little overwhelmed by the whisky but the blue cheese was a faultless match.

Oak Cross followed and was served with two cheeses, a Gruyere-esq cheese, which matched very well and slightly lighter softer cheese that didn’t quite stand up.

The final pièce de résistance was Orangerie paired with Millionaires’ Shortbread (homemade by Chris Maybin’s wife). A wonderful match.  However, on returning to the glass of Hedonism it became clear that this was the true partner to the shortbread.

Several helpings of the incredible Millionaires’ Shortbread later (thank you Mrs Maybin), John Glazer began our blending crash course.

John’s belief is that blends can be every bit as good, if not better, than a Single Malt.  Large blending companies are able to draw on the resource of various distilleries with similar characteristics to keep their whiskies consistent year after year.  Compass Box rarely uses more than three different whiskies for each blend, this makes it particularly difficult for the team to reproduce batch after batch. 

I found tasting Oak Cross and Spice Tree most interesting. These two whiskies demonstrated the powerful effects of seemingly small variances in oak maturation.

Oak Cross and Spice Tree are blends of the same base whiskies, in the same quantities (60% fruity Northern Highland Malt, 20% perfumed Highland Malt and 20% meaty Speyside Malt).  

The difference – and it is a striking one – between the two whiskies is all down to cask maturation: Oak Cross, aged in 60% First Fill American Oak and 40% New French Oak, has a delicious vanilla character with a touch of spice in the background.  Spice Tree on the other hand is aged in just 20% First Fill American Oak and 80% New French Oak, converting it into an overtly spicy whisky with notes of vanilla and mocha.

We finished by creating our own blend, John Glazer gave us five very different whiskies but just two words of wisdom: Who? and When?

Who the creation was for was easy: me – although I might let the rest of the Milroy’s ofSohoteam sample it too.

The ‘When’ was a little tougher.  Did I want an evening dram: rich and maybe even smoky?   Or a lighter, delicate whisky made for pre-dinner drinks?  I went for a whisky that demanded concentration, something intense and interesting…

Inspired by the wonderful Last Vatted Malt and sticking to the Compass Box philosophy I went for a blend of just three whiskies: 40% French Oak matured Highland, 48% Sherry Cask matured Highland, 12% of 14 year Old Islay.

I haven’t named my blend yet. Any suggestions?

Lee Tomlinson.

To meet John Glaser and taste new releases from Compass Box book your Compass Box Masterclass now.

Bowmore Darkest Evening

‘Magic happens on the darkest night’ was the tag line.

 In fact it was a miserably wet and unseasonably cold April night when we arrived at our mystery location, a rather dishevelled looking building in East London. We were promptly handed a delicious cocktail made with the ‘Darkest’ whisky and some homemade fig and raisin syrup stirred in the ‘old fashioned’ way.  We were gathered to celebrate Bowmore’s 15 year old ‘Darkest’.

The room moodily lit by candlelight, was already bustling with a mixed crowd of whisky industry professionals, enthusiasts, media and a sense of great  anticipation. There were also a few characters mingling around the room telling stories of their childhood spent in the creaky old house, they then took us on a tour of the rooms. The first was small and cosy, a log fire was roaring while a young gentleman recounted a myth from days gone by on Islay.

Next we went to the Whisky and Chocolate room hosted by Paul A Young of Soho.  He handed us a delicate china cup of steaming hot chocolate made from pure cocoa, muscavado sugar and water.  I thought things could not get any better but we were then handed a plate of truffles, we were told to try and refrain from eating but instead stir one into our hot chocolate and let them melt and combine. It was the single best hot chocolate I have ever had. Rich cocoa and chocolate finished off with a smoky trail of Bowmore.  It was an absolute thing of beauty.  I am looking forward to our next Whisky and Chocolate matching with Paul A Young.

 We finished off our tour with an amazing demonstration from Gary Fieldes founder of the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland. He did a magnificent job explaining the darkest of nights with the aid of an incredible 3D flythrough of a Hubble telescope image.  It left us fairly breathless at the true extent of our universe.

Naturally by this point the romance of Bowmore had built sky high and we were yet to get our hands on our first dram!  Luckily down in the cellar we tried Bowmore 12 and Bowmore 15 Darkest and received a great talk on the production process of the whisky.  I loved the 12 year old, it had power and all sorts of salty smokiness.  Bowmore Darkest 15 was, sweeter and richer due to its three years spent in Oloroso sherry casks. We identified notes of cocoa and roasted coffee and a good hit of Christmas Cake too.

The Bowmore Darkest evening was a great innovative way to paint the wonderful history, stories and romance of Islay and Bowmore.  It’s not just a nice dram.

Paul Shipman.

Whisky and Cheese Tasting

Here at Milroy’s of Soho we like to think of ourselves as pioneers of sorts. After bottling our rather excellent Single Cask Single Rye Whisky we thought we should continue with our whisky exploration: time for a  Whisky and Cheese adventure.  Of course the Jeroboams affineurs on Holland Park Avenue always supply the extraordinary cheeses that accompany our How To Taste sessions, but our focus at these events is very much on the whisky rather than the cheese and we thought this situation needed urgent remedying.

Now cheese and whisky has been matched before, indeed way back in 2007 we experimented extensively and took the results of our research to eager enthusiasts at the British Cheese Festival, but then we moved on to other things: Whisky and Chocolate, Whisky and Food, Whisky and more Whisky… and we noticed there weren’t a whole lot of whisky and cheese tastings happening today. So that’s where we began the tedious task of tasting lots of very fine cheeses alongside our wide selection of Drams.  After long days of tasting, re-tasting, hot debate and even a minor scuffle, we finally had our pairings.

Up first was the floral Yamazaki 10 year old against the salty and creamy Gruyere en Compte. This proved to be a promising start, our tasters thought that the whisky provided a good background to the forward flavours of the cheese. The pairing seemed to create a multi-dimensional quality and an increased depth of flavour.

Next we matched the Hazelburn 12 year old (a Lowland-style Campbeltown malt) with the Parmigiano Reggiano. We found that the whisky flavour dampened while a new nutty flavour became apparent in the Parmesan.

Number three was the sublime Glenmorangie Nectar D’or with the intensely creamy Valencay. The honey character given to the whisky through the use of Sauternes casks melted into the softness of the goats’ cheese. I would be interested to match this whisky to a sharper goats’ cheese like the Ragstone, where the acidity might cut through the syrupy whisky.

After a short break we cracked on with the final three pairings. The Irish Redbreast 12 year old with Cropwell Bishop Shropshire Blue was a great combination, the tang of the blue cheese sliced through the sweetness of the pot still whiskey, allowing the two elements to work in harmony. Hailing from Shropshire myself, I was disappointed to discover Shropshire Blue actually originates fromInverness, but still a great cheese. 

Our penultimate pairing was the oily Springbank 12 year old cask-strength with the smoked Irish cheese – Knockanore. The whisky gave the cheese a more interesting coastal flavour without diminishing the delicious smoky power of the cheese.  Contrary to what I expected, we found that a highly peated whisky didn’t match this cheese particularly well.

Last was the classic pairing of Lagavulin 12 year old with the superb and famous Rocquefort.  Lagavulin is a big whisky boasting lots of peat and strength, this and the full-flavoured blue saltiness of the cheese created a perfect crescendo to our evening.

There was plenty of great feedback, some of the pairings were quite magical, some prompted intense discussions.  We will certainly continue our research so look out for six new pairings at our next Whisky and Cheese Match.

Or drop by and let us know about other good whisky and cheese pairings you’ve discovered.

Angus Martin.

Finest Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

A unique expression of selected malts. An elegant,
malty blend selected from distinguished Highland and Speyside distilleries.
Aged in high grade refill “hogshead” casks to achieve a perfect balance that is
seductively rich and mellow.

Please note that as our blended malt whisky is bottled in very
small batches you may notice minor variations in colour.
This does not affect the flavour.

Sacred Gin & Fever Tree Tonic Water

 

Sacred Gin is produced in the smallest commercial micro-distillery we’ve ever encountered! Each of the gin’s botanicals are distilled by Ian Hart at his home in Highgate, in north London. He distills the botanicals separately in glassware under vacuum (the vacuum pump is in a former Wendy House in the garden) at a very low temperature to give the gin a distinctly fresh character. 

Fever Tree Tonic Water replaces cloying saccharin sweeteners and artificial preservatives with high quality ingredients.  It has subtle citrus and fruit notes and bitterness of natural quinine.  The clean finish allows Sacred’s aromatics to shine through.

 For the perfect Gin & Tonic we have created a limited bundle offer:
Sacred Gin 70cl & Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water 4 x 20cl.

£29.95

Offer ends 30^th April.

Tasting Review: Patrick Van Zuidam Whisky Masterclass

It had been billed as the chance to meet Patrick Van Zuidam’s and hear him tell of his constant search for perfection, to hear the results of his experiments and hear how these experiments had led to the creation of an extraordinary range of exquisite Dutch whiskies.  Catnip for whisky enthusiasts – the entire Milroy’s team had volunteered to be on hand to help pour.

On the night Patrick arrived early, struggled down the stairs with a suitcase full of cask samples and an entourage of groupies.  There was just enough time for strong coffees all round before the 180 samples were poured, tasting sheets printed and cheese platters prepared.

One by one our nervous guests descended into the hidden cellar below Milroy’s of Soho. As their eyes adjusted to the historic room and their nostrils adjusted to cask strength aromas they were each handed a most peculiar dram: a three year old Genever bottled at 38% ABV with attractive spicy fruity flavours.  A bit like a whisky, a bit like a gin, a bit like the sort of thing one could get used to.

Some of our guests complained that it was “too good”, and poured themselves another glass. Fearing for the rest of the evening and indeed for the rest of the bottle we decided it was time to get to work on the whiskies.

First up was a four year old Triple Distilled 100% Rye Whisky.  The three distillations had certainly softened the spiciness of the rye and this became even more evident once we compared a sample from an identical batch: a Double Distilled five year old 100% Rye, fewer distillations and higher alcoholic strength helped retain much more punchy rye character.

Unusually for a European Distiller Patrick prefers “virgin” (or previously unused) casks as they allow his whiskies to mature rapidly.  He compared the Scottish practice of re-using casks to the Dutch practice of re-using tea bags – both, he thought, were inexcusable abominations.  At the same time he warned us would be distillers of dire consequences of leaving a whisky to age for too long in a virgin cask, which he likened to allowing a teabag to stew too long in a cup.

On we tasted.  Here were three malt whiskies made from locally wind-milled barley. Two had been aged for eight years.  The first one we tasted was aged in casks made from French Oak (quercus petraea), I had tasted this whisky in the past and found the flavours to be rather austere and joyless but perhaps my palate had matured…now I was enjoying the delightfully delicate fruity flavours. In comparison the second of the three malts was aged in casks made from American Oak (quercus alba), and was fondly reminiscent of the confectioner’s boudoir.
The last of the three malts had been aged for 12 years in a hogshead that had previously been used for aging sherry – not in a large sherry butt as there wouldn’t be enough surface contact, but in a smaller hogshead made from the converted staves of a sherry butt.  This attention to detail did not go to waste the whisky was densely caramel-flavoured with a punchy orangey aroma.  An extremely well constructed whisky and the star of the tasting.

Next was the Millstone Peated 5 Year Old.  Patrick immediately explained that he hated his subtly peated creation but that unfortunately it was his best selling whisky and it kept winning awards, so he had to keep making it.

Returning to where it all began, but now as relative experts, we were treated to a particularly tasteful Genever, this time it had been aged eight years in new oak.  Deeply attractive aromas of coconut and cinnamon filled every nostril in the room – all except one pair of nostrils in the room.

Finally, with the Honey Whisky Liqueur came the platters of cheese and charcuterie and the lively debate continued a good while longer.

Isabel Graham-Yooll.