My Posts on the Use of Shelf-Talkers for Wine Sales

On my primary blog, I’ve written several posts about the use of shelf-talkers and ratings to help sell wine. In the limited shopping and browsing that I’ve done for whisky, I haven’t seen anywhere near as much use of shelf-talkers as in wine sales, but I have seen some, including references to ratings from publications like Whisky Advocate.  Thus, I thought that it was worth posting links to my wine shelf-talker articles here.

Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? (posted February 28, 2010)

Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? (update) (posted March 1, 2010)

Wine Shelf-Talkers: Consumer Aid or Consumer Fraud? (update 2) (posted yesterday) 

What is your experience with shelf-talkers for whisky? Do you pay attention to ratings? If so, which publications do you trust (and why)?

Highland Park — Tasting 2

After spending a long weekend in Atlanta for a cheerleading competition (no, I’m not a cheerleader…), I finally had a chance last night to pour myself a bit more of the Highland Park 12-year-old. Last week, while searching for a Valentine gift for my wife, I happened upon some cool stainless steel “ice cubes” in Brookstone (n’ICE Cubes Stainless Steel Drink Chillers). These seemed to make more sense than the stone cubes that I’d used previously. Thus, recalling that I’d preferred the whisky cold on my first tasting, I decided to use these cubes. And, unlike my first taste, I added a bit of water (tap water … is that a problem?) to the glass. Overall, I’d have to say that I found the whisky much more enjoyable this time around. The medicinal quality that I found the first time seemed to have been eliminated almost entirely by the addition of some water and the alcohol’s attack on the back of my mouth was decidedly lessened. I’m still not sure that I can identify particular flavors or aromas, but I certainly did find more to taste than just alcohol. I also discovered that I really enjoyed just slowly swirling the whisky around my mouth, allowing the different tastes to reveal themselves as the whisky came in contact with different parts of my tongue and mouth.

So I guess that I can safely say that I’ve made two observations about my own tastes: I prefer the whisky cold and I find it more flavorful with a bit of water (of course, discovering just the right amount of water will be the next challenge).

It may be time now to try another whisky so that I have something with which to compare the Highland Park and begin the process of learning different styles. Any suggestions? And does it matter if I use tap water (ours is surprisingly good tap water…) or should I use bottled water?

Tasting: Highland Park 12-year

Saturday night (late Saturday night) I finally had the chance to break the seal on my bottle of Highland Park 12-year-old. I made sure to have a clean palate (I even ate a bland cracker). I used the Riedel stemware that I’d purchased. I was ready. And so I poured.

Now, as a wine guy, I’ve gotten very used to smelling (or “nosing”) my wine before I drink. Based on some of the reading that I’ve been doing, it appears that step is also important with whisky. But one caution that I read was that unlike wine, it was usually best not to start by just shoving your nose down into the whisky glass as the difference in alcohol levels between a 15% wine (at the high end) and a 46% whisky is dramatic. As one of the books suggested, I “approached with caution.” And boy was that good advice.

I didn’t have to get too close to the glass before the smell of the alcohol was upon me. Not so strong as to send me running for the hills, but certainly strong enough to say, “Caution! Strong spirits ahead!” Once I’d managed to adjust to the strength of the alcohol, I allowed my nose to get a bit closer and take a bigger whiff. Well, one thing I can say for sure: Whisky and wine do not share many similarities on the nose.

As I smelled the whisky I came to the realization that I had two problems: First, it was hard to separate the alcohol from the other components of the whisky. Second, as I tried to make out other aromas, I found that I didn’t have the words to describe them. My vocabulary for describing wines is still relatively small (though I feel as if I’m growing, albeit slowly). But with the whisky, I am starting over at the ground floor. At to that the fact that some of the aromas that my reading has suggested that I look for are not aromas that I would necessarily recognize. I could certainly detect a smokiness in the glass. Was that the peat smell that is so often made reference to? There was also a bit of something that I associated with either a medicine or maybe a cleaning product (though not in a bad way). Lots of the other tasting notes that I’ve read have made mention of heather, but I wouldn’t know the smell of heather unless I was walking through a field of it (and even then, someone would have to tell me that the grasses I was traipsing through were heather…). But overall, it was the smoke and alcohol that seemed to dominate.

Well, enough of that. It was time for a taste. Yes, I’d had a sip of this whisky shortly before I started this blog, but that was after trying another whisky first and with a whole lot of distractions. This time, it was just me, the darkness of my basement, and the whisky.

And so I sipped.

I’ll admit that my first taste did not make me jump up and down with excitement and glee. Nor did it make me want to just down shot after shot. Perhaps it was the strength of the alcohol that continued to dominate my palate. While the whisky seemed relatively light in the front of my mouth, the back of my mouth felt as if it was under assault. I took several sips, swirling the whisky around in my mouth, allowing it to touch all of the different parts of my tongue, trying to tease out all of the flavors. Perhaps my senses are too dull or perhaps the flavors were just too subtle, but I couldn’t really detect any sort of fruit or flower. Rather, I tasted alcohol and smokiness and … something else.

After several sips, I decided that I wanted to see what the whisky tasted like colder. Not wanting to dilute it with water or ice (that will be reserved for my second tasting), I decided to use one of those frozen rocks that I’d bought on a whim several years back and which have mostly been taking up room in my freezer. After letting the whisky chill around the rock for a few minutes, I began sipping again. While I still didn’t find my palate shouting out the names of fruits or flowers or other sorts of familiar tastes, I did sense the whisky had softened in my mouth a bit, which really makes me interested to see the difference that cutting it with a bit of water will make.

But after one tasting, right now I’d still have to say that I’d prefer a glass of Port or a dessert wine to a glass of whisky. Yet I still find myself very curious and interested in further exploration. It may just be that my palate has become sensitized in a particular way and I now have to learn to smell and taste other things in other ways. We shall see.

Below is the actual tasting note that I wrote as I sipped the whisky Saturday night:

Light on the front palate, assaults the back of the mouth; hot, but stays short of being too much so. More harsh than pleasant, though softened up a bit with a rock cube. Need to try again cut with some water.

Slow Start & Filling in a Few Blanks

Sheesh. Sometimes the world around us just doesn’t want to cooperate with our plans for relaxation and exploration. I’ve got all kinds of ideas for things I want to do and write about on this blog … but I keep having to postpone those plans to deal with things like wife and kids. Now tell me, is that fair? Really?

Anyway, I did want to take a minute to fill in a few blanks from an earlier post. In A Wine Guy’s Exploration of Whisky (Part 2) I mentioned the “whisky guy” at Vine & Table and identified him as “Dennis”. Well, I’ve since learned that I added an extra “n” (sorry, Denis) and that his surname is Lynch (his card says that he’s the beverage manager). I’m not going to include his email here in order to spare him the spam that would likely be generated by the flood of traffic to this blog (does Spam pair well with whisky?).

More importantly, I was also able to go back to the store to find out which whisky Denis had first poured for me (the one I identified as all alcohol heat). It was Wild Scotsman 15-Year:

Is this a whisky that you’ve tried? If so, let me know what you thought of it. And besides the bottle of Highland Park that I purchased, what else would you recommend … and why?

Update February 13, 2012 (formatting and typo corrections).

Query #1: Whisky After Wine?

I’m hoping that one of the whisky drinkers reading this blog (there are some, I hope) can help me with a question. I remember a long time ago always hearing the admonition never to mix alcohols. So last night, I had some wine with dinner (a Cheverny with quite a bit of mineral on the mid-palate). I did have several glasses (maybe a half-bottle?). Later in the evening I was thinking about going ahead and trying some whisky but I was concerned that the wine early in the evening followed by whisky late would lead to … bad results. Headache or upset stomach or … I don't know. So I held off.

So what do you think? Would it matter? Is some whisky a bad mix if I had wine 2 or 3 hours earlier? Let me know what you think.

Oh, and while I know that the Super Bowl is a beer sort of event … I must stay that a little Tawny Port during the 4th quarter wasn't too bad.

Update February 13, 2012 (formatting and typo corrections).

It’s a Good Thing I Didn't Open That Bottle

Knowing that Friday was going to be a relatively easy day (we closed our office to give our staff some relief from Super Bowl traffic and to allow them to take the day and go partake of some of the Super Bowl-related activities), I had planned to sit down fairly late last night, open my bottle of Highland Park, and … um … taste it.

But as it turns out, that didn’t happen … and it’s a good thing.

Thursday nights are occasionally hectic in our household due to the kids’ activities. My wife wound up asking me to carry in some Panda Express for dinner. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as you’ll see in a moment), the food tasted good … but stayed with me all evening. I decided that sitting down for my first careful taste of a not-inexpensive single malt whisky while I still had the taste of spicy Chinese food in my mouth (and some rumbling in the tummy to paraphrase a particular Pooh bear) was probably a bad idea. So the bottle stayed tightly sealed.

So why was that fortunate? About 10 minutes (literally) after I would have poured that first drink, my wife became very ill. Details aren’t really important, other to say that both she and I were up all night long. Again, I’m speaking literally. She has a rare disease and for a while it was touch and go as to whether I was going to be calling 911 for an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Thankfully, we made it through the night. By morning, I was able to recall, quite vividly, how the first 6 months of being a parent to twins felt. And my sneaking suspicion is that as totally horrible and miserable as my night was … with a belly full of whisky it would have been that much worse.

Ah, well. there are many more nights. Um, like tonight, maybe?

Update February 12, 2012 (formatting and typo corrections).

Creating a Sense of Community

One thing that I didn’t make clear and should have: I would love to hear from others with a passion for single malt whisky. Tell me what you like (or don’t). Do you have a favorite bottle? Let me know what it is and, more importantly, why you like it so much. Help me learn about whisky by telling me what you like and give me ideas for directions for my explorations.

If you live in the Indianapolis area, let me know if you have a particular store that you think has a very good selection (or good prices) or a good proprietor with an understanding of customer’s palates.

If you know of a good book that will help me learn more about single malt, send me a link.

And if you disagree with something that I said or if I made a mistake that should be corrected, by all means let me know!

It's hard to create a sense of community on a blog … but I’d like to try.

Update February 12, 2012 (formatting corrections)