Hven-ly Malt Whisky

We just found a posting over at The Scotch Blog about a new Swedish malt whisky distillery, that goes by the name of Hven. Sounds interesting - we've had whisk(e)ys from all over the world, but never from the land of Vikings. We wonder if a dram will make us want to pillage?

The state-of-the-art distillery, which will thrive on local cultivated barley and water, is built on a small island in the middle of the strait which separate Denmark from Sweden. The island is the former home of the medieval Scandinavian astronomer Tycho Brahe, but was also a stronghold for Vikings.

New Scotch Rules on the Horizon

For a long time, Scotch was a mythical and confusing beast to us. It seemed like something that was only drunk by railroad barons and other people who wore monocles. After putting some effort into it, and the tutelage of some friends, we were slowly able to piece things together, recognize flavors by region, and lose the intimidation factor that had kept us away from the drink in the first place.

We just received an email press release saying our comfort zone could change, due to some new rules being cooked up by the British government and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). We're drinking generalists here, not Scotch specialists, but even we can see a lot of the new rules could confuse issues and make it even harder for neophytes to understand what they're buying and ensure the high quality they might expect.

...some feel it's a smokescreen to further enhance the commercial interests of a self-regulated industry. "New rules are to strengthen existing laws, protecting whisky regions, targeting counterfeiters, and protecting consumers" says Bruichladdich's MD Mark Reynier. "Some are good rules, others more disingenuous; consumers are to be protected from counterfeiters only so they can be ripped off by the industry instead.

(Under the new rules) Cardhu 'blended malt' could look exactly the same as the highly successful Cardhu 'Single Malt' (400,000 cases) and yet it could theoretically be 99% of unknown, lesser, single malts of a completely different even inferior style or flavour.

Continue reading: "New Scotch Rules on the Horizon"

I Love Whisky Mug

But most of all, we love that it holds 11 ounces, which breaks down to 8 ounces for coffee and 3 ounces for whisky (though we don't much like scotch in our coffee...we suggest bourbon or Irish whiskey. We're pretty sure that wouldn't make you a liar - you can still love whisky but drink whiskey in your coffee, private eye style).

I Love Whisky Mug

Sippin On The Rocks Granite Cubes

There's something about drinking whiskey (and whisky for that matter) that really - pardon the expression - gets our rocks off. The taste, the smell, the experience...it adds up to greatness. We often like to drink ours on the rocks, but we've never heard of anything like this. They're pieces of Scottish granite designed to be chilled in your freezer and added to your drink without diluting it like ice.

Sippin' On the Rocks [via Luxist]

The 12 Days of Scotchmas

Well, apparently they're finally here...the 12 Days of Scotchmas. If you're anything like us, we know what you're all thinking - you can't believe it was just Scotchgiving, and today's the last day of Scotchnukkah. Well, prepare for the big day itself with The Scotch Blog's 12 day gift guide countdown.

Day 1 - A lead on picking up a bottle the ever-elusive PC5 for the nice folks on your list
Day 2 - 2008 Scotch Blog T-Shirts

We'll do our best to keep this updated, but don't trust us...visit The Scotch Blog.

The Macallan 55 Year Old Scotch

The Macallan has released a 55 year old scotch this year, one of the older bottlings we've heard of to hit the streets. You might like it because of the distinctive, perfume-inspired bottle. Or, you might be into it because the Macallan makes such fine scotch. Us? We're just pumped that we can finally live out our dream of drinking scotch that's as old as our parents.

Who wants to chip into some of the $12K we'll need to buy it? Let us know soon because they're only making 420 of these puppies.

men.style.com [via Luxist]

Boob Scotch

We could go on and on about legendary one-man-band Bob Log III and how you should buy his albums, but the name of this video says it all. [Caution: This video contains actual boobs being dunked into actual scotch.]

PC5 Scotch is Coming to America

We just realized we haven't talked Scotch in quite some time, so let's get right to it. We just saw a story on The Scotch Blog about Bruichladdich's PC5 (Port Charlotte 5YO) coming to America. We're interested not only because it sounds like good stuff we'd love to drink a dram of, but also because of who is the importer. Wyatt-Zier, the folks who introduced us to Liquor Snob favorites Compass Box and Zygo, snagged the rights to this one. Good on ya, boys!

More at The Scotch Blog

Making Your Single Malts...Sassy?

According to an article we just found at the Dallas Morning News, bartenders are taking the "only the finest ingredients" trend in cocktail mixing to its logical conclusion and starting to mix cocktails with single malt Scotches. For those not in the know, single malts are most often drunk neat or with a splash of water by purists, and the idea of mixing one into a cocktail is heresy. Maybe it's just our Scots lineage, but we'd have a little trouble using a $100 bottle as a mixer.

However, if it's your bag, baby, we've included their list of Scotches to use after the jump. We pretty much agree with their taste in Scotch, if not their decisions on what to do with it. Plus, click through to the story at Dallas Morning News for recipes for two cocktails - a Rob Roy and a Highlander's Delight. Our guess is you could find similar enjoyment by mixing these up with some blended Scotch, but what do we know?

Continue reading: "Making Your Single Malts...Sassy?"

Oak Cross Scotch Whisky Review

Compass Box Oak Cross
Malt Scotch Whisky
Imported from Scotland by WyattZier
86 Proof (43% ABV)
Typical Price: About $50 for 750ml
Website

We really and truly have dug all of the Compass Box whiskies we've tried, from the Asyla right down to the Peat Monster. We typically find them to be extremely tasty, and the company doesn't fall into the hoity toity view a lot of people have about Scotch. They seem down to earth, they make a good product, and they like to experiment - how can you go wrong?

Their latest creation we've had a chance to try is Oak Cross, so named because the barrels it's aged in are a cross between American and French oaks. Was the effort of marrying American and French worth it? We think so. Read on to find out why.

Continue reading: "Oak Cross Scotch Whisky Review"

Highland Park Lunar Whisky

So we just found out that the good folks over at Highland Park whisky have released a lunar whisky. At first we hoped that meant it was distilled on the moon, but then we realized that would make for a pretty high price tag - plus it's probably kind of tough to find peat and barley up there. Then we realized the lunar thing referred to the the cycles of the moon, waxing and waning and whatnot, we suppose. All we can tell you is if we drink enough whisky we've been known to howl at that big bright bastard floating in the sky. Pick up a bottle for around $132 if that's your thing, man.

(The) Lunar Bottling was done in honor of the first Lunar Nutation of the 21st century. The moon has two cycles, the monthly was and wane and this larger cycle. The moon will not return to this point again until 2025. The whisky was matured in 40% first fill sherry oak casks and bottled at 45.1% abv. The tasting profile describes it as having a toffee sweetness and a smoky finish.

Compass Box Peat Monster Scotch Review

Peat Monster by Compass Box
Vatted Malt Scotch Whisky
92 Proof (46% ABV)
Typical Price: In the neighborhood of $60 for 750ml - Buy it at Internet Wines & Spirits
Compass Box Website

It's been a while since we were really and truly excited about Scotch. After all, we consider ourselves good old fashioned bourbon drinkers at heart. But after our experience with Asyla and Eleuthera, we've been chomping at the bit to get our lips around the newest Compass Box expression to arrive at our offices - Peat Monster.

With a name like that, we expect it to stomp through our tastebuds like Gojira (that's Japanese for Godzilla) through Tokyo. Will it live up to the high expectations set by its predecessors? Read on to find out.

Continue reading: "Compass Box Peat Monster Scotch Review"

Compass Box Eleuthera Scotch Review

Eleuthera by Compass Box
Vatted Malt Scotch Whisky
92 Proof (46% ABV)
Typical Price: About $50 for 750ml - Buy it at Internet Wines & Spirits
Compass Box

How far would you go to get your hands on two 12 year olds and an 18 year old? Now hold on a second, we're not talking about anything that would earn you a room in the R. Kelly wing of your local prison - we're talking about Scotch here. Specifically, we're talking about Compass Box Eleuthera, a combination of three whiskies aged 12 and 18 years. It will come as no surprise that we like Compass Box Scotch, especially after the fondling we gave our bottle of Asyla. Read on to find out the difference between a blend and a "vatted malt," and see what we thought about this whisky in particular.

Continue reading: "Compass Box Eleuthera Scotch Review"

Two More Bottles of Compass Box Arrive

A week or so ago, we got our hands on a bottle of Compass Box whisky, and proceeded to verbally fellate it. We just got our hands on two more bottles and we're getting our chapstick out just in case. So what are the bottles in question? Eleuthra, a bottle that's reputed to be smokey and peaty, and the Peat Monster, which sounds like it's smokey and peaty squared.

We'll be smacking some down later this week, and you can drink in some knowledge at the Compass Box site.