Scotchology

San Francisco Mariott
October 10, 2008

Never since eating at French Laundry have our bellies become so expensive.

As novice scotch drinkers, we were incredibly excited to discover and attend the 2nd annual WhiskyFest event in San Francisco.  One glance at the list of whiskies being offered and we were instantly sold.  With our camera and audio recorder in hand, we were able to conduct several on the spot interviews with several of the distilleries and bottlers which we are still transcribing and will be posting them as we finish.

We are pretty confident that we’ve tasted scotches and other whiskies that we would never have considered ordering at a bar, so it was an incredible experience to have access to all of the spirits being poured.  Though a bit pricey, especially for a VIP ticket ($150), we think we broke even in pure dollar value about 35 minutes into the event.

Of course this wasn’t just about “getting your money’s worth” in the literal sense.  To have a ballroom full of master distillers, distillery representatives/experts narrating each pour, and connoisseurs ready and willing to answer any question was far beyond the now seemingly immaterial entrance fee.

The distillers (or their representatives) were all very friendly and talkative, so we learned quite a bit from each one.  They spent a good amount of time answering our questions while constantly pouring drams non-stop for everyone.

Tips
- Hydrate before, during and after.  Start drinking the morning of the event and right on through.  You’re going to be putting a lot of alcohol in your system and your body will need water.

- Don’t try to drink everything.  Although you are only supposed to get small tastes, everything is hand poured so expect quite a few generous pours.  On average, we would say you’ll be getting 0.5-0.75 oz pours.  We ended up sampling over 55 spirits.  With 0.5 oz pours, that would be the equivalent of 18 shots of hard liquor in a 4.5 hour time frame.

- Pace yourself and eat food.  Drinking this much alcohol, you’ll notice that your tongue is the first thing to go.  The Mariott had food stations setup everywhere and our plan was the sample spirits for 45 mins, then take 15 minute food and water breaks.  This can also help give you taste buds a mini-break.  James favored the saltine crackers to help clear his palate between tastings.

- Plan ahead.  With over 100 distilleries, bottlers and distributors on the floor, you simply won’t have enough time to visit each one.  We would highly recommend visiting some of the distilleries you enjoy and sampling their entire line, as well as picking a handful you’ve never tried before.

- VIP hour.  Our goal was to sample all the available VIP hour spirits (there were 11 total), and though we accomplished that, the hour went by a lot faster than we thought.  We would recommend to hit the rarest of the VIP’s first, as there’s a chance you might not get to them all.

- Take notes.  With so much alcohol in your system, it will become more and more difficult to remember what you drank.  We recommend a voice recorder if you have one.

Notables
Suntory 18 – Very complex and fruity.  Finish is sharp and biting on the tongue.

Ilse of Jura 21 yr – Strong vanilla on the nose and palate and a finish that is just “happiness” with hints of almond and toffee.

Glenmorangie Original – Our first time tasting the Glenmoragnie and were quite impressed!  Very smooth for a 10 year with hints of vanilla.

Glenfarclas 35 Cask Strength – Wow.

Highland Park 30 yr Cask Strength – Very smooth and complex with a slight peatiness in the finish with a little toffee.  Very long and comfortable finish.  A drop of water really helps to open up the flavors.

Balvenie 21 yr. Portwood – Very sweet fruity port nose, creamy on the palate and very smooth, soft finish.   Almost a dessert scotch.

Strathmill 31yr  – Bottled at 48.1% cask strength from refill bourbon casks.  Only 120 bottles in America.  Very rich and complex and surprisingly smooth for a cask strength.

Final Thoughts
Overall, it was an incredible experience, especially for the novice scotch drinker.  We highly recommend the VIP hour for an extra $40, as you’ll make up for the price difference after the first two samples.  On a very rough estimate, we’d say that walking into a bar and getting the same drinks would have easily been over $500, so definitely a fantastic value. We can’t wait till next years WhiskyFest!  Hope to see you there!

- Find out more about WhiskyFest at maltadvocate.com.
- WhiskyFest San Francisco 2008 Picture Gallery

Below is a comprehensive list of all the spirits we were able to sample:

Ardbeg
- 10 yr.
- Uigeadail

Balvenie
- 12 yr. Doublewood
- 15 yr. Single Barrel
- 17 yr. Rum Cask
- 21 yr. Portwood

Bowmore
- 12 yr.
- 15 yr.
- 18 yr. (VIP hour only)

Buchanan’s
- Red Seal (VIP hour only)

Bushmill’s
- 1608 (VIP hour only)

Cragganmore Distiller’s Edition (VIP hour only)

Duncan Taylor
- ROR 1982 Linlithgow 21 yr.
- 1970 Glen Grant 37 yr.
- 1969 Tamdhu 34 yr.

Famous Grouse
- 18 yr.

Glenfiddich
- 18 yr.
- 21 yr.

Glenfarclas
- 12 yr.
- 17 yr.
- 21 yr.
- 25 yr.
- 105 Cask Proof

The Glenlivet
- 21 yr.
- 25 yr. (VIP hour only)

Glenmorangie
- Original
- Port Wood Finish
- Sherry Wood Finish

The Glenrothes
- Select Reserve
- 1985

Glenspy 31

Gordon & MacPhail
- Caol Ila 25 yr.

Greenore 15 yr. (VIP hour only)

Highland Park
- 12 yr.
- 15 yr.
- 18 yr.
- 19 yr. Cask Strength
- 25 yr.
- 30 yr.
- 35 yr. Cask Strength

Isle of Jura
- 10 yr.
- 16 yr.
- 21 yr.
- Superstition

Jack Daniel’s
- Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
-
Jameson
- Rare Vintage Reserve (VIP hour only)

Johnnie Walker
- Blue (VIP hour only)

Laphroaig
- 15 yr.

The Macallan
- Sherry Oak 18 yr.

Strathmill 31 yr. (VIP hour only)
Stronachie 31 yr. (VIP hour only)

Suntory Yamazaki
- 12 yr.
- 18 yr.

Wild Turkey
- Kentucky Spirit (VIP hour only)