Minutes of the Meeting
of the

Old Scotch Nosing or Tasting Society

(Old SNOTS)
April 24, 2010

 

Members Present:                                                      Single Malts Present:

Bruce Card                                                                  Ardmore Traditional Cask
Gary Machovina                                                          Glengrant 10 yr old
Tim Robinson                                                              Mortlach 16 yr old
Jim Dice                                                                       Pittyvaich 12 yr old
Bobby Fowler                                                              Craigellachie 14 yr old
Teri Newman                                                               Hazelburn 8 yr old
Dan Eckstrom                                                             
Steve McAllister                                                         
Alicia McAllister                                                         
Mike Russel
Mark Caslen
Mo Verling
Mark Richardson
Stan Skavdal
Jim Sabella
John Arsenault

1.  This addition of the Old SNOTS was scheduled to occur at the Belleville residence of Steve McAllister.  However, when the City of Belleville decided to dig up the streets around his home it was decided to move the event, and events they are, to the O’Fallon home of Jim Dice; thus preventing the guests from walking two blocks from their cars to the event.  Since our esteemed Old SNOT from Glen Carbon, (not you Halpin) Gail Wojtowicz was still recuperating, it was decided to not drink her Scotch in her absence (we do have scruples).  Instead we feasted on Steve McAllister’s recent purchase from Loch Fyne Whiskies in his native land of Scotland (and you thought he was from Carlinville).  Seems that the gentleman from Loch Fyne was able to teach Steve a lesson or two about whiskies on his recent visit, as the selection was heavily weighted to the Speyside region.  Perhaps an old dog can learn a new trick….naaa, not this dog.  

2.  Following a grilling of bovine and a modest selection of salad and spud (back to our roots) the cast of characters settled down to a hearty meal capped off with delicious Key Lime pie from Teri.  Since virtually none of us had yet sampled these selections, we decided to make this a tasting straight out of the bottle rather than a blind tasting.  At least there was no electioneering for the local Islay.  On to the tasting notes:

a.  Ardmore Traditional Cask

“I smell peat”-Jim; “I smell it too”-Stan;  “Actually smells nice”-Steve;  “There is peat in this”-Stan; (editors note: So do ya think it’s peaty?); “Oily aftertaste, almost like a CaoLila”-Bobby;  “A before bed whiskey”-Steve;  “Chlorine taste”-Mark R. (What’s he been drinking?)

b.  Glengrant

“That has a Speyside nose”-Jim;  “Like red licorice”-Steve;  “I can’t stand licorice”-Stan;  “No bite at all”-Steve;  “No finish”-Gary;  “Light color”-Steve;  “Like a port cask rather than a sherry cask”-Teri

c. Mortlach

“Same Speyside nose”-Jim;  “Less sherry nose than Glengrant”-Stan;  “I taste soap”-Steve (apparently Steve had his mouth washed out a lot during his formative years);  “Alkaline, slippery”-Gary;  “That taste good!”-Jim;  “I like it”-Stan;  “Bacon in a glass”-Steve;  “But one that’s good for you”-Bobby

d.  Pittyvaich

“Dark color”-Jim;  “It’s located right across the road from Mortlach”-Steve;  “Not much nose”-Steve;  “Smells like a pear”-Gary;  “Fruity taste”-Steve;  “Oily”-Mike R.;  “Hint of peat”-Stan

e.  Craigellachie

“Butterscotch nose, I like that”-Stan;  “Light flavor”-Jim;  “Dirty sock smell”-Dan (where’s his nose been?);  “No bite to it”-Gary;  “No finish”-Steve

f.  Hazelburn

“Similar to first one”-Stan;  “A little iodine; we’ve got the sea now”-Mo;  “A little salt there”-Bobby;  “No pears”-Gary;  “A man’s whiskey”-Steve (who was he talking about?);  “Not a scribe’s whiskey”-Dan (scribe’s note to self…have neighbor kid cut Dan’s valve stems on next visit);  “Doesn’t settle…drinkable”-Mark R.; 

3.  Since the Scotch was provided from only one person for this event, there was no real reason to pontificate for one’s own selection over another as we have seen at previous gatherings.  On the other hand, Steve was having split personality issues trying to decide which of his Scotches to vote for.  I think he was hallucinating at one point over a mythical bottle of Talisker, but then we won’t discuss Steve’s “hallucinations.”  A simple vote was taken, the Ardmore won with 6 votes and the Hazelburn was a close second with 5 votes.  Truth is, there wasn’t a dog in the group (unless you count Dan) and the nice folks at Loch Fyne Whiskies did an outstanding job of selecting whiskies for us…Thank You!

4.  The next gather of the Old SNOTS will be held at the Highland, Illinois Republican Headquarters of Teri Newman.  You’ll find her house by looking for the “Elect Newman” signs.  Until next month remember, don’t drink and drive; call a cab and pour another dram. 

“Cab for Bean?!”

Saturday (24 April) the Old SNOTS gathered for another installment of single malt whisky tasting. 

But this was no ordinary evening.   The single malt whiskies being tasted were from distilleries the Old SNOTS had not sampled from before, partly due to the fact that they are a little more difficult to find in this part of the country.  Not impossible, mind you.  Just difficult.  Especially if your range is rather narrow.  

This night, though, we had the pleasure of sampling hard-to-find whiskies chosen for us by the good folks at Loch Fyne Whiskies of Inveraray, Scotland.  I’d visited the shop in March and took a list of the Old SNOTS still-untried distilleries.  Mr. Burns looked at the list and after carefully considering it, started pulling down bottles from the shelves and lining them up in front of me.  Craigellachie, Glen Grant, Ardmore, Hazelburn, Pittyvaich, Mortlach.  He then explained that these would make a good tasting as all were similar in taste but with subtle and interesting characters.  All were Highland whiskies, with one exception, the Hazelburn, a Campbeltown whisky, yet all had differences enough to make for an interesting comparison tasting.  

His analysis was on the mark.  There was unanimous agreement among the Old SNOTS that the sampling from the Loch Fyne selected whiskies was among the more interesting lineups we’d sampled.  In fact, when the evening was over it was proposed that, at some point during the year, the Old SNOTS should place another order with Loch Fyne for whiskies from untried  distilleries. 

I note that in the most recent issue of Whisky Magazine, the Icons of Whisky were announced and the categories of Whisky Retailer of the Year (Single Outlet) and Whisky Online Retailer of the Year, Loch Fyne Whiskies was only mentioned as making the shortlist in the latter category.  This is, in my mind, a travesty.  No one came and asked me.  Obviously, I’m biased, but that, in the end, is what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Issue 86 contains the Whisky Magazine’s 2010 Icons of Whisky Awards.  There are some surprises, some interesting winners and a disappointment or two.  But to the list

Whisky Retailer of the Year (Single Outlet) — Mejiro Tanakaya in Japan
    Shortlist — Whiskies of Scotland and Park Avenue Liquors

Whisky Retailer of the Year (Multiple Outlets) — Royal Mile Whiskies in Scotland
   Shortlist — Shinanoya Shokuhin in Japan and Binny’s in the USA

Whisky Online Retailer of the Year — The Whisky Exchange in England
   Shortlist — Loch Fyne Whiskies (hence, the disappointment)

Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year — Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky
   Shortlist — Auchentoshan Distillery in Scotland

Whisky Brand Innovator of the Year — Woodford Reserve in Kentucky
   Shortlist — Millstone Distillery in Holland and The Edrington Group in Scotland

Whisky Distiller of the Year — Suntory of Japan (hence the surprise)
   Shortlist — Springbank Distillery in Scotland and Heaven Hill Distilleries in Kentucky

On the shores of Loch Fyne on the west coast of Scotland lies a small little village called Inveraray.  The website “Undiscovered Scotland” describes it as “built on the site of an earlier fishing village in the mid 1700s by the 3rd Duke of Argyll, Chief of the powerful Clan Campbell.  He demolished the original village to give his rebuilt castle more space, and rehoused the population in a new town that is one of the most attractive in Scotland.”

It’s a gorgeous little village and one of my favorite places to go when I visit Scotland for two very simple reasons–on the right side of the picture, in the George Hotel, is my favorite pub in all of Scotland and on the left is my favorite whisky shop in the world–Loch Fyne Whiskies. 

 

I’ve visited many whisky shops, both in and out of Scotland, and I keep returning to Loch Fyne Whiskies as my favorite.  I’ve visited on every one of the 6 trips I’ve made to Scotland and I will continue to visit every time I go back.  It’s certainly not the largest whisky shop I’ve seen, and I’m certain there are shops that have a larger selection of whiskies (though I can’t imagine much larger . . . they have bottles on the ceiling for crying out loud), but I’ve never met a more friendly staff anywhere and that’s the clincher for me.  They’ve never failed to take the time to carefully explain whiskies, help you with your selection and hand you a wee sample of the whiskies they’re recommending.  Shopping with them is like chatting with friends in a warm and inviting environment.  Not too unlike, in some ways, a gathering of the Old SNOTS.

On this occasion though, I had a very special reason for seeing the good folks at LFW.  As I mentioned, I’d made many purchases from LFW, both in person and online.  Recently (February 2009), an Old SNOTS gathering sampled whiskies purchased from LFW and several purchases of whisky from LFW followed.  With my pending trip to Scotland, it was decided that I should deliver to LFW a token of the thanks, admiration and respect from the Old SNOTS.  That token was to take the form of a photograph of the Old SNOTS and some of the much-cherished Old SNOTS coins. 

Due to some unexpected delays, we arrived at LFW with a mere 15 minutes to spare before they closed.  Andrew Smeaton and Andy Burns were minding the shop.  When I introduced myself and mentioned that I was from the Old SNOTS, they knew exactly who the group was.  We then got down to the business at hand and I presented the photograph and coins to both men.  Andy Burns then pulled out a bottle of Springbank Madiera Wood and the photograph below was Andy and I toasting the Old SNOTS.  The whisky was quite lovely.

I then got down to the business of placing an order for whisky the Old SNOTS had not tried and Andy, as usual, was a tremendous help selecting a balanced range of whisky for a future Old SNOTS gathering.  As a farewell, Andy poured us both a wee dram of a Ben Nevis limited edition 25 year old whisky that was simply outstanding. 

We all shook hands, said our farewells and the event was over.  But as I was crossing the street for the evening meal and a pint at the George, Andrew Smeaton called me back to the store where Andy Burns was wrapping a painting of the storefront done on a slab of slate.  He unexpectedly handed me the package and thanked me again for stopping by the shop and he said he hoped to see more of the Old SNOTS in the future.

God, I love that shop.

[All photographs except the last taken by Terri McAllister.]

Visit to Talisker

In: General| News

20 Mar 2010

Many of you know that I recently visited Scotland and among the goals was visiting three distilleries–Edradour, Ben Nevis, and Talisker–the distillery that produced the recently determined Old SNOTS favorite whisky.  I also intended to visit Loch Fyne Whiskies to present them with a signed photograph of the Old SNOTS at a recent gathering and Old SNOTS coins.  More on the visit to Loch Fyne Whiskies in a separate post. 

Unfortunately, the visit to Edradour distillery was a victim of overly ambitious planning and was dropped in favor of arriving at our Glencoe cottage on time.   That left visiting only Talisker and Ben Nevis.

Our original itinerary took us to Culloden battlefield and Loch Ness on the first day of our stay at the Glencoe cottage.  However, my son and daughter-in-law were so in awe of the pass of Glencoe that they wanted to hike on one of the days we were there.  So, we dropped the day trip to Culloden and Loch Ness.  The weather was turning rather wet, as it often does on the west coast of Scotland, so we needed to gauge which day would be best to set aside for them to walk.  The weather report suggested that Tuesday would be about the best chance they would have of going for a walk without getting drenched.  That meant moving the itinerary up a day to make room for their walk on Tuesday.  So, our trip to Skye and Talisker distillery was now on Sunday.

The scenery on the drive to Skye and on the Isle of Skye was stunning, but that’s for another time.  After numerous stops for photographs, we finally arrived at the Talisker distillery.  It was situated in a wee village on a small cove at the bottom of hill. 

We had to make frequent stops as we descended the hill to keep from hitting sheep that were crossing the road.  A small stream, a “burn” in Scots, ran through the distillery property and into the cove and I imagine was the source of the distillery’s water for distillation.

 

I had the impression from the setting, that Talisker distillery was once a small operation, perhaps even the site of a once illegal distillery, that had grown up.  I couldn’t wait to see inside. 

Eerily, our car was the only car in the parking lot, and while the distillery workforce is usually small (less than a dozen), there was no one to be seen.  Still, we got out of our car and walked to the distillery shop.  Locked.  A sign on the door said that they were in their silent period, a time to let them clean and maintain their equipment, and if the shop is closed go to the business office where someone would gladly open the shop.  We went to the business office.  Locked.  We went back to the shop door.  There was another sign stating that their hours were from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday.  During the high season, essentially April through September, the shop was open on Saturdays.  There were no Sunday opening hours.  It then dawned on me that I was standing, looking at the locked shop door on Sunday. 

I was disappointed beyond words.  I had so wanted to see the operation.  I wanted to hear the history of the distillery back to when it was first established.  I wanted to hear how they achieved their peaty, smokey character.  I wanted to tell someone that of all the whiskies the Old SNOTS had sampled, their 10 year old had been voted the best.  It wasn’t going to happen on Sunday. 

I did get to Ben Nevis distillery, but I believe my disappointment in not touring Talisker tainted my view of Ben Nevis and I’ll leave it at that.

But on the way back from Talisker and Skye to our cottage, I was treated with this scene at Eilean Donan castle . . .

[All photographs except the last taken by Terri McAllister.]

                I have been volunteering as a tax preparer here in Korea, thus thinking often and at length on why I like Scotch.  The quick and the short of it is … I don’t know why, only that I do.  The rest of these paragraphs is just me prattling on for a bit.

                I don’t remember the first Scotch I had.  I’m sure if I went through the meeting minutes I could come up with the answer, or, at the very least narrow it down to a few.  Was it Glen Morangie, or maybe one of Jim’s Balvenie bottles?  Could it have been an Islander, like Talisker or Highland Park?  I don’t remember whose house it was at (and for that I apologize), nor do I remember who was in attendance – almost certainly Lisa, Steve M, Jim D,  and Bobby F, but almost certainly I am missing a few.  In the end, though, it just doesn’t matter very much. 

                The only certainty is that the first single malt I had, I loved.  When I was young(er?), and stole a drink from some relative’s beer left unattended at another relative’s wedding reception, I knew I liked beer (and this was probably Stroh’s or Miller High Life or Busch Lite).  I have been enjoying beer from that moment on (better and more expensive beer as time went on, thank goodness).  The same thing happened with that long since forgotten bottle of single malt Scotch.  I took my taste, and can only imagine a big smile spreading across my face, all the neurons and synapses firing off in my as of yet unkilled brain cells, immediately making Scotch my ‘drug’ of choice.

Some people acquire a taste for wine, starting out with sweeter whites and slowly broadening the pallet until dry, robust reds can be enjoyed.  My own wine drinking followed this pattern.  However, Scotch was an altogether different experience.  So my A-Ha moment took place on some forgotten date, at some forgotten person’s home, with some forgotten bottle of Scotch.  I remember it like it was yesterday.

Bill Webster

An Old SNOTS Cask?

In: General

1 Mar 2010

Here’s an intriguing idea for the Old SNOTS, or anyone else for that matter.  Duncan Taylor, an independent bottler in Scotland, is offering the opportunity to purchase your own quarter cask or octave cask.  More details are HERE

 

A quarter cask is 150 bottles and an octave cask is 70 bottles.  There’s no indication of the price, but I’ll email for the information.  For those of you in the Old SNOTS, this may be something for which we could develop an Old SNOTS label and each member could buy shares (i.e., bottles).  Email me at steve@theoldsnots.com if you’re interested.

 

Minutes of the Meeting
of the

 Old Scotch Nosing or Tasting Society

(Old SNOTS)
February 20, 2010

 

Members Present:                                                     Single Malts Present:

Bruce Card                                                                   Glenmorangie Lasanta
Gary Machovina                                                            Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
Tim Robinson                                                                Balvenie 12 Doublewood
Jim Dice                                                                         Balvenie 21 Portwood
Bobby Fowler                                                               Talisker 10
Gail Wojtowicz                                                              Tomatin 12
Dan Eckstrom                                                               Inchgower 14
Steve McAllister                                                             Lagavulin 16
Mike Russel
Mark Caslen
Mo Verling
Don Lustig
Mark Richardson
Stan Skavdal(V)

 1.  Well folks, it’s finally here.  The much anticipated, highly publicized finals of the best Scotches this group has sampled in the past seven years…or at least some think it is.  More appropriately, it’s a collection of favorite Scotches that a bunch of tight wad Air Force dudes can afford.  OK, so much for the lead in.  This Old SNOTS was once again graciously hosted by Gail Wojtowicz at her South Chicago (Glen Carbon) abode.  Being concurrent with the winter Olympics, Gail had the big screen TV on for us as it featured young athletic ladies in their tight little ski suits swishing down the mountain.  Several Old SNOTS were more than momentarily distracted.  

2.  Owing to the forecast for frigid temperatures, we once again dispensed with grilling bovine and kicked in a five spot for barbecue from Bandannas.  Yum Yum!  Following dinner we gathered in Gail’s basement bar area for sampling Scotch.  But then; when what to my wondering eyes did appear, but Don Lustig from Alabama, not so near!  Yes, not even the trek of 402 miles could keep Don from joining us on this mystical evening.  That, or he could smell the barbecue; great to have you back with us Don!  It should also be noted that on this bewitching night we also had a virgin in the group.  Mr. Stan Skavdal, recently unencumbered from employment with the government (no, he didn’t get fired) joined us for the first time.  We look forward to having Stan join us for many more future gatherings. 

3.  Once we all got settled in for Scotch tasting Mr. Jay Hepner, who was visiting Gail, was kind enough to do the decanting and labeling of the evening’s selections.  Thank you Jay for enabling our endeavor.   At this point Steve McAllister began pontificating on what comes next for Old SNOTS, after the grand champion Scotches were sampled; all slept.  Now for the tasting notes: 

a.  Glenmorangie Lasanta
“Oaky nose”-Jim; “Too sweet”-Stan (V); “Vanilla taste”-Bobby; “Very sweet, almost citrus flavor”-Mo; “Acidic nose”-Steve

b.  Tomatin 12
“Dead crustacean smell”-Jim; “Sweet vanilliny nose”-Dan; “Weak flavor”-Jim; “Brings out the cracks in your lips”-Mark R.; “Taste buds vibrating…but in a good way”-Gail; “Vanilla and plums”-Mo; “And chocolate”-Gary

c.  Lagavulin 16
“We’re at the Dr.s office”-Jim; “Ooh, more peat in this one”-Steve; “We walked into a peat bog”-Bobby; “The old tennis shoe smell that I remember”-Mark C.; “Rubber mask smell”-Stan (V)

d. Glenmorangie Quinta Ruben
“Fruity smell”-Jim; “Smokey nose”-Dan; “Awfully sweet”-Steve; “This one’s gonna hurt”-Gail (we think she was referring to the latest ski wipeout at the Olympics)

e. Balvenie 12 Doublewood
“The smell of celery”-Steve (who knew that celery has a smell?); “Light taste”-Jim; “Great mouthwash”-Gail; “This has an aftertaste”-Mark C.; “No taste at all”-Mark R.

f. Talisker 10
“Ooh!”-Jim (NOT in an approving manner); “Musty”-Dan; “We have reached the sea”-Bobby; “Cloudy smell”-Mark R.; “That’s awful, and it burns”- Jim; “This is NOT boutique”-Gary; “I like this one”-Mike. (what the hell does he know?)

g. Balvenie 21 Portwood
“Who pulled this off my wife’s dresser?”-Steve; “The taste is weak, no aftertaste”-Jim; “Kinda flat”-Steve; “A breakfast Scotch”-Bobby (you want an omelet with that?); “Orange juice would taste more powerful”-Steve; “Green apple flavor”-Gail

h. Inchgower 14
“No nose”-Jim; “By this time, there may not be any nose in anything”-Steve (first correct comment all night); “No taste, all burn”-Jim; “Nothing in this; like water”-Mike; “Need to add water, like Scotch on the rocks without the rocks”-Gail; “Buttery”-Stan (all agreed that Stan was now an Old SNOT!)

 4.  After yet another terse discussion on the voting process, it was decided to just elect the winner on the first ballot.  Talisker 10 came away with the most votes (6) with Glenmorangie Lasanta a close second (5).  Glenmorangie Quinta Ruben took third place with 2 votes while Lagavulin 16 collected 1 vote.  That’s 7 votes for Highlands and 7 votes for Islays in case you didn’t notice.  

5.  So what has this really told us?  Is Talisker 10 the best Scotch of everything we’ve tasted since the inception of Old SNOTS?  Is Glenmorangie Lasanta the second best of that time frame?  Probably not on both accounts.  But they have survived the arbitrary taste buds of the diverse groupings that chose to show up at various Old SNOTS gatherings; many no doubt influenced by the highly vocal electioneering of the person who brought a particular bottle.  No, the Scribe thinks that what this tells us is that we have a polarized bunch of hooligans; two factions with very different tastes in Scotch.  Don Lustig summed the process up nicely when he stated, “I think this was peer pressure.” 

 “Cab for Bean?!”

Dan Eckstrom has been touting the Whiskyfest that will be in Chicago in April.  I’ll let Dan tell you about it yourself.

“Here is the link to the Chicago Whisky Fest on 23 April.  Tickets are $110 each and includes a Glencairn tasting glass, Buffet dinner, seminars by master distillers and most importantly, samples of approx 200 whiskies (not all single malts though). The pouring list and seminar schedule are listed on the Whisky Fest website where you can also buy the tickets. The vip passes ($150) appear to be sold out already so if you plan to go I’d buy sooner than later.”

If you’re interested or have more questions, leave a note here and we’ll get it to Dan.

Chicago

The Finals

In: General

21 Feb 2010

It’s now official.  Over the last several months, the Old SNOTS had been sampling whiskies that had been favorites at previous gathering dating back to 2003.  The eventual goal was to winnow the best of the winners from the others.  Over the last several months, we cussed and cursed, gushed and raved, turned our thumbs up and down and ended up with a stable of eight whiskies — Glenmorangie Lasanta, Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Balvenie Doublewood, Balvenie Portwood, Tomatin 12, Inchgower 14, Lagavulin 16 and Talisker 10. 

The room was rife with anticipation of which whisky would end up The Old SNOTS favorite.  Each had their expectations.  Each had their fears.  The evening, in some ways, resembled a night around the poker table with people glancing at each others faces as they tasted trying to anticipate who was going to vote for which whisky.  In the end, we voted and the results were close, but decisive.  The runner up was the Glenmorangie Lasanta and The Old SNOTS Favorite from all the whiskies sampled from 2003 to 2009 was the Talisker 10 year old.

Interestingly, while the Glenmorangie Lasanta was the runner up, the two whiskies that generated the most discussion and brought people back to compare one against the other was the Talisker and the Lagavulin.  Despite everyone believing that the Lagavulin was the more complex of the two whiskies, in the blind taste testing that didn’t seem to hold true. 

So there it is.  Talisker 10 year old became the official Old SNOTS Favorite for 2003 to 2009.  At the end of the evening, we were all looking forward to the new year and finding our way to determining the Old SNOTS Favorite for 2010.

About the Old SNOTS

SNOTS = Scotch Nosing Or Tasting Society

A group of men and women from all walks of life and all parts of the globe who, when the situation permits, warrants or demands, succumb to the reverence of Scotland’s most distinctive product—uisghe beatha, water of life, single malt whisky—and firmly of the conviction that “Whisky may not cure the common cold, but it fails more agreeably than most other things.”


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