In praise of blends

I have a confession to make, one that could see me expelled from the Irish Whiskey Society. Because, you see, this week I sampled what might be regarded as the Holy Grail of Irish Whiskey: a single cask, cask strength, pure pot still whiskey from Midleton distillery. The Quintessence. It was the runaway favourite at the most recent Irish Whiskey tasting. But it did nothing for me. That admission will no doubt appall the hardcore whiskey nuts I (used to) hang with.

Last year, we were treated to a masterclass on whiskey-making at Midleton by the head distiller, Barry Crockett. We were given 12-year old samples straight from ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, side-by-side with some of the finished products derived by vatting such casks together (ie Redbreast and Green Spot). What struck me most on that occasion was how relatively unattractive the cask samples were. The ex-bourbon sample was drinkable but unremarkable. The ex-sherry was overwhelmed by the influence of the European oak.

A proportion of sherry sharpness added to the bourbon fogginess, however, and you get that familiar Jameson family brightness, something that is more that the sum of its parts.

I had the chance to repeat the cask sampling experience last year in a warehouse in Midleton (bourbon, sherry and port this time) and was again struck by the master blender's art. Some rather strident or hazily-defined whiskeys are combined to give a product of enormous subtlety.

Single cask whiskeys can be great, don't get me wrong. Cooley, for example, seems to pull them off effortlessly. But at Midleton, my impression is that their casks are a palette from which they create wonderful spirits. I think I understand why their flagship Midleton brand is a blend and why their remaining pure pot still brands are not all-sherry as they must once have been. It's all about balance.

But the high-end market demands single casks and so Irish Distillers has released two of them recently under the Midleton brand. One exclusively for The Irish Whiskey Collection at Dublin Airport, the other exclusively for the Celtic Whiskey Shop in Dublin. I'll quote the press release:

Just 200 bottles of the Terminal 2 release were yielded from cask No 48709. This 19-year-old single pot still whiskey was laid down in November 1991 in a first-fill American bourbon barrel and has, in a new departure for the Midleton brand, been bottled at cask strength (53.7% ABV). The cask strength affords the whiskey connoisseur the rare opportunity to experience a Midleton whiskey as it emerges directly from the cask. The whiskey reveals a dark, fleshy fruit character in perfect balance with the underlying pot still spiciness. The impressive presentation box includes a portion of stave from the barrel in which the whiskey spent its life maturing. Each bottle is individually numbered and retails at €260.

The Celtic Whiskey Shop release was laid down in December 1996, also in a first-fill American bourbon barrel, and has been bottled at 46% ABV. This slightly lighter style offers green apples and banana on the palate. Just 270 individually numbered bottles have been made available, retailing at €225 each.

I've only tried the Terminal 2 release and, to be fair, it's not bad. I rated it 7/10, which means I'd be happy to drink it, but not to buy it. It's hard to describe what's not in a whiskey but there was just nothing there to hang your hat on. I hardly noticed drinking it.

Perhaps I'd like the CWS one more. I'm happier for the wizards in Midleton to practise their blending and vatting magic though. I reckon the results are far finer.

Bulk or bottled?

Something else caught my eye in the report on The Local's new whiskey that I discussed yesterday: the whiskey will be shipped in bulk to the United States and bottled locally.

Another new Irish whiskey for the US, Barton's Irish Whiskey, is also being bottled in that country. It's a budget whiskey intended for bars, for use when the customer doesn't specify a brand in his mixed drink.

For both The Local's 2 Gingers and Barton's Irish whiskey, the motivation is to save costs. Not shipping glass and air across the ocean must help. A few grams of carbon less per bottle too, no doubt.

The efficiency of this appeals to me but not to all distillers. Jameson is only bottled in Ireland, for example. I'm sure this is a desire to keep quality control entirely in house but even within that limitation Irish Distillers has been trimming shipping costs. For example, they export their bottles of Jameson wrapped so tightly together that there is no need for padding between the bottles.

If I was shipping a million cases a year to the US though, I'd be tempted to partner with a trustworthy local bottler, or even to set up my own bottling line over there. How long can a multinational resist leaving that extra profit margin on the table?

The Local and Jameson agree to be friends

Every year, The Local bar in Minneapolis wins the prize for serving more Jameson than any other boozer in the world - about 25 bottles a day. This is largely thanks to its signature drink, The Big Ginger, a mix of Jameson and ginger ale.

Now the owners have spotted a chance to improve their margins by swapping out the Jameson and replacing it with a private label Irish whiskey they will source from Cooley distillery.

Cooley's whiskey is, deliberately, quite different to Jameson. It's malt, rather than pure pot still; it's matured entirely in bourbon barrels, rather than a mix of bourbon and sherry; it's distilled twice, rather than three times. So it does not smell or taste the same neat. Honestly though, that matters a lot less when you throw a glass of ginger ale into it. Even a poor whiskey can make a nice drink when mixed. No doubt The Local has done some blind taste testing to ensure the change is marginal.

What I'd be less sure about is the perception of change. Jameson, the brand, has a lot of cachet. It is displayed prominently in the bar and the customers knew exactly what they were getting when they ordered a Big Ginger. The gloss might go off the experience if an unknown Irish whiskey takes its place.

On the other hand, consider the experience of the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco. Renowned for its Irish Coffee, it had for years a special whiskey blended for it by Irish Distillers, and later one made by Cooley. A few years ago it gave up the custom approach and bought in standard Tullamore Dew. There was a bit of a fuss in the local press about the loss of individuality. It probably didn't matter to the Irish Coffee but people like the idea that what they are getting can't be had anywhere else.

So maybe The Local has the right idea. A Jameson and ginger ale can be mixed anywhere. The one true Big Ginger, however, will only be served at The Local where they will include the magic ingredient, "2 Gingers" Irish whiskey.