He says…So, it used to be the summer was our busy time of
the year. The usual house work, yard maintenance, vacations stuff coupled with
our passion for racing sailboats that has us on the water two to three nights a
week and many weekends. Now busy is an understatement! So mixed into this busy
schedule we have added whisky (rum is our traditional summer drink).
Maintaining a blog, organizing tastings, travel, etc…we often let one thing or
another slip and it’s usually the fun parts! In this case we have let our
tastings slide…desperately! With the amount of bloggers in the world constantly
putting out a stream of tasting notes, reviews and great information and being
instantly promoted around the globe with tools like twitter it is easy to fall
behind and start to feel like a slacker!
My Grandmother used to say “what does any of this have to do
with the price of tea in China?” Well, when you have a super busy lifestyle and
a growing abundance of samples you tend to get a backlog! I can think of worse
problems to have…”Oh no! We have too much whisky!” As some of you may have
guessed by the disproportionate amount of “She” posts relative to “He” posts at
The Perfect Whisky Match the Whisky
Lassie likes to keep things moving!
So, given that the "Lassie" is out of province visiting Daughter I
thought I would take the opportunity to drink all those samples! (Yeah
right…the words of a man about to meet his doom within 24 hours…nice knowing
you all!). Actually what I am proposing is a “Sample, Speed Tasting/Blogging Extravaganza!”
The premise is simple: Take three to five samples, a stopwatch and a
laptop. You have 5 minutes per
sample to nose, taste and make notes and 15 minutes at the end to finish
up…blog and all! The idea is actually a little more constructive then just
trying to blast through a pile of samples to make room for more. One of my
personal, constant goals is to improve and hone my nosing/tasting abilities.
Being given a time limit forces me to focus and dig for those aromas and
flavors with out getting hung up. I know faster isn’t always better (I’m not
going there…) but expanding my ability to pick up a glass and immediately
identify what is on the nose has its merits, if for no other reason than it
gives me more time to dig for the quiet second and third layer notes in the
background.
Anyone else out there have a small abundance of samples that
they want to try taking part with us? I’m aiming for Thursday evening 7 pm AST.
See you Thursday!
I'm so excited to taste (and potentially blog) with you, Graham, and your intense fireplug of a wife, Johanne. However I'm not down with the idea of speed tasting at all. In fact, I'm a partisan for exactly the opposite: what has come to be known as "The Slow Whisky Movement". The term is not my own. It was coined by wildly successful, sensitive and creative Canadian whisky blogger Jason Debly:
ReplyDelete"Slow Whisky Movement?" Where he concludes: "Follow these main tenets [i.e. drink slowly, meditate and pay attention] and drinking any whisky will be a much more immediate and special experience. You will experience a greater range of flavors..."
http://jason-scotchreviews.blogspot.com/2012/03/slow-whisky-movement.html
I was moved by this post, consciously adopted its aesthetics and then publicly wrote about it and amplified its themes in my guest writer post on Whisky For Girls called:
"Whisky Is a Time Traveler" which begins thus:
"When I drink whisky I try to slow down and focus very clearly and intensely on what is going on in the glass – as the dram interacts with time and air and water and my shifting and evolving human palate."
http://www.whiskyforgirls.com/tag/guest-writer-post/
This need to slow down to experience the deeper and more subtle aspects is particularly important with samples in my opinion where 1) the whisky is new and unfamiliar, 2) you have a limited amount and must maximize your experience with it, and 3) it's for review - so you'll want to accrue wisdom and verbalizable experience out of the experience...
It's kind of a diametric opposite thing for me.
Coopertot…I completely respect this opinion and agree with everything you’ve said. In fact, pretty much everything I do follows this approach…I am slow, analytical, completely open and move in a contemplative way…aka Slow! We won’t even ask for the Whisky Lassie’s opinion on this…she tends to exaggerate about how slow I really am (truth be told it did take me two years to buy a pair of Bluntstone boots so she might have a point!!) Whisky is the same way…I take my time, dialing in on particular hits and aromas. This is one of the reasons I hate public tastings (unless I’m leading them). They are too fast and distracting!
ReplyDeleteI guess that is the whole purpose of this little exercise for me. Take what I have been learning and put it to the test. If we compare my whisky journey to the slow methodical learning and practice of a martial art…this is a little bit of sparing. How has my journey thus far honed my skills and abilities? Plus it is a good bit of fun and the samples we have are big enough that there will be plenty left over to put under the microscope and occupy a blog page all their own!
Thanks for the reply Josh…Looking forward to the things to come!
Well, power to you. I think sparring is best done via blind tastings - but I'm willing to allow the concept of speed tastings - but don't want to put my precious review samples up to it. We could craft a special set of surplus drams. Maybe do it blind AND fast. That would be some challenge.
DeleteDrinking whisky is like going on a blind date: you pretty much know what you are looking at with your evening from the first few moments. Now, if what you're looking at is positive, the longer the evening goes and the more time you have to linger over conversation, long glances, laughs etc., the more depth you're able to attach to the date. But, it doesn't really alter what happens upon that first impression. And, if that first impression is not so positive, there's pretty much no way the evening is going to recover.
ReplyDeleteI believe you can accurately and effectively discover, learn about and discuss a whisky in quick order. Certainly enough to blog about. I've done tasting reviews for magazines & been privy to nosings/tastings at competitions, both with some of the most well-known names in whisky reviewing/writing. You'd be surprised to see how quickly they move through samples and can accurately describe what they've experienced.
There's a place for both speed and for slowness. I love lingering over a whisky to experience it evolve over time. But, I don't think doing a speed-tasting and blogging takes away from "slow whisky." I think it's just another way to experience it and look at it in different light. If we wanted uniformity in our alcohol -- ways to drink it, same taste, etc. -- we'd be blogging about vodka. In Russian. We all love whisky for the endless possibilities. That's the beauty of it.
I wish I could join in the speed sampling, but won't be available. I look forward to reading your experiences with it!
Rob...thanks for the great analogies...I agree that every process has its place, fast or slow. For me the biggest thing is enjoyment, be it through quiet contemplation, reflection and discovery or through fast paced fun with a new group of like minded enthusiasts and friends. Thanks! -G
DeleteI am hip ;) my 7 pm is a bit early for you... ;) but i will do that in my time
ReplyDeleteOK Graham. I'm in too. I'm going to do Johanne ("She said"'s) set of drams: Uigedail, Alligator, PC6, Brimstone &... (forgetting the last one - but I'll be there). I realize that 7pm Atlantic time is 6pm USA EST - so I'll be in transit. I'll be late, but I'll abide by the rules with a stop watch. My post will be an hour behind yours but will be the same game.
ReplyDeleteJosh! Sorry I didn't comment about this sooner...been a heck of a week! You made my day, looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDelete