George Bernard Shaw - 'Whisky is liquid sunshine.'
We never had whisky in our household when I was growing up. It's been later in life that I've come to like it. I owe a lot to Gordon Matheson. Gordon was an organist at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Hamilton. Pouring of a glass of whiskey for him was a ritual, carried out silently and solemnly, followed by leaning back in the chair, relaxation and conversation. Through watching Gordon, I learned to serve the glasses of whisky with a small glass jug of water. A little water 'broke the surface', Gordon explained, and let loose the various aromas of peat, rain on granite rock, the sea air and so on.
My wife Gill once ordered a replica bottle of the whisky - Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt - discovered in 2007 beneath Ernest Shackleton's hut at Antarctica, from the 'Nimrod' expedition. The whisky came in a box lined with straw, with British Antarctic Expedition 1907 written on the outside.
I invited Gordon and Alistair McBride around to our home. We drank the whisky and watched a documentary on Shackleton. A few weeks later Gordon fell ill and after some months, he died. That memorable 'Shackleton' evening was the last time I had a whisky with him.
I'm not an expert in the whisky making process, let alone the 'double maturation' process, but I know this Balvenie whisky is aged in two types of barrel, in one for ten years, and then in another. However they do it, the result is excellent.
It was a pleasure to share Tamdhu with Phil King at our place on 29 July 2017, while watching on TV the tackling Crusaders overcome the sparky Chiefs. I bought the Speyside single malt Tamdhu recently on the recommendation of the staff at Hamilton Wine & Beer Company. They really know what they're talking about there. The Tamdhu in the black cylinder, which I prefer, is 43%.
There's also this one, in a white cylinder, which is 58.5% vol.
Finlaggan - peaty & sweet. The bottle didn't last long. November, 2018.
Glengoyne - ten years
Fresh green apples, toffee and a hint of nuttiness. Kept me going after daylight saving ended and Autumn began, 2019, including a lovely long weekend at Taupo, with chilly air, running and hot pools.
Johnnie Walker Black Label
A go to. A favourite of writer, Christopher 'The Hitch' Hitchens (1949-2011)
