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| Johnnie Walker Red, Black and Gold...
And Single Malts- Glenkinchie, Cardhu, Talisker & Lagavulin By F. Sot Fitzgerald At 6:15 the fun began. I strode
down a broad hall, paintings of ships on the walls. The hall opened
into a very large room. Four men and two women dressed in Tuxedo
shirts, black pants and bow ties stood two per side of the stairs with
trays of scotch. I thought I was in Heaven.
Over the next hour I guzzled a little
Johnnie
Red and a vat of Johnnie Black. I had drank both previously...on
many occasions. It was free, a gift from Johnnie Walker Inc. for
coming to their tasting. Strapped for green at the time, it only
made sense to get as much as I could. There was all the Johnnie I
wanted to drink, and afterward, a promised buffet in the Grand Library
of this venerable men's club in the Financial District of Manhattan.
I never thought much of the Red.
It always struck me as too biting. As my soaked tsting notes read-
"medicinal- has edge, bites tongue tip." (Rating **) Black
is very different, very smooth. The tasting guide provided to us
was correct- it is silky and does hint at vanilla then open into something
more complex. (Rating ***1/2) (click
here to order Johnnie Walker Black)
Already near staggering, we the demographically
promising (read- possessing degrees, employed, living in NYC) were herded
by the Johnnie Walker people up some ancient walnut stairs and into a conference
type room. Over the next hour we were entertained by a kilted old
Scotsman, Evan Cattanach, Brand Ambassador for Johnnie, and supplied with
more scotch. He showed us slides, hyped the brand and told us that
if our old ladies objected to hom much we drank, we could always sneak
belts of scotch by pouring it in the glass of milk one drinks before going
to bed.
As for the other scotches we tasted...Johnnie
Walker not only makes their own scotches (Red, Black, Gold, and the $150
a bottle Blue), they also import single malts.
Things got a bit hazy, so take my
notes for what they are:
Glenkinchie, Lowlands Scotch-
Rather fun, spikes the tongue in an immoral but enjoyable way. Heathery
with a grainy finish. Would go great with chicken. (Rating ***) (Click
here to order Glenkinchie)
Cardhu- a terrific Speyside
scotch, deep smokey and very smooth. Not a thick peat, like Laphraoig.
So smooth...Evean claims he used to run this distillery until 10 years
ago...That means he was making the bottles of Cardhu I nipped at when I
tended bar some 7 years ago in Ohio...So strange we should meet- me the
sot, he the supplier, in New York City, far from either of our hometowns...
(Rating ****) (Click
here to order Cardhu)
Talisker- Full and powerful,
a blast of warmth...very island scotchy- meaning you're sucking on peat.
But it's pleasant, despite its girth. (Rating ***1/2) (Click
here to order Talisker)
Lagavulin- Incredibly mighty,
goes down and just flushes your body with warmth. Not a burning,
but a thick, slow heat. Like Laphroaig- peat maximus. (Rating ****) (Click
here to order Lagavulin 16 Year)
And the Gold? The Johnnie
Gold was unbelievably smooth...You could almost feed it to a baby.
Then again, it was $60 a bottle so it had better be good. I liked
it so much that I put it on my short list for New Year's 2000 bottles...
(Rating ****1/2) (Click
here to order Johnnie Walker Gold)
As for the ride home, I'll say nothing....
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