EXTRAVAGANZA

Thanks to a kind industry sponsor, I was able to attend the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Single Malt and Scotch Whisky Extravaganza at the Fairmont Hotel after all.

The event was to have food but they didn't really specify if it would be hors d'oeuvres or a real meal. With 60 different Scotches to taste at the event I wasn't going to take any chances on having an empty stomach, so I ate a meal in advance at home. My companion for the evening, Amy, did not.

I found they did have a lovely buffet at the event, and there were a good number of vegetarian options as well. (That's the other problem with hors d'oeuvres events- they're mostly meaty.) So I ate again along with Amy. With the amount of liquor we were about to consume, there was no such thing as being too full.

With tasting tables spread about the edges of the room, the event looked manageable. I thought I'd be able to try everything. I was wrong, but I got pretty close. But that doesn't matter so much, because the notes I took in the program become cryptic to indecipherable at some point and won't be of much use to me to help me remember the taste.

Here are the notes that I can still read:

• Aberlour 15 year old- I only have scrawled "It burns!" I remember I tried this one was near the end of the evening, which would explain that.
  
• Aberlour a'bunadh- This was also overwhelming to me. I kept adding water to it and enjoyed the sherry component of the whisky, but it was too tough for me. It almost tastes like a whisky you'd brag about drinking rather than one you enjoy drinking.
  
• The Balvenie- The Balvenie whiskies were the highlight of my evening. Not surprisingly, they got better with the age of the whisky. (Note: this isn't always the case. Age is by no means the sole determinant of quality.) I tried the 15 year single barrel and enjoyed it greatly, but not even close to how much as I enjoyed the 25 year old single cask. Unlike whiskies that wow you with their subtlety, this one presents itself to your mouth for inspection. I felt like I could almost taste the grain in the wood of the barrel in which it was stored. Amazing. I then had the 30 year old, which was also phenomenal. It differed from the 25 in that the aftertaste lasts forever, flickering on your tongue like a flip-book of flavor. I'm going to have to savor the memory of this whisky, because at about $550 a bottle, I'm probably never going to have it again.
  
• Castle Brands- I didn't love any of these Irish whiskies, which included Clontarf Irish Whiskey (Note: it's "whiskey" in Ireland and "whisky" in Scotland.) Clontarf Reserve, Clontarf Single Malt, and Knappogue Castle. My companion Amy really liked them, so there's that.
  
• Talisker 175th Anniversary- there was so much smoke my mouth said, "Where's the fire?"
  
• The Dalmore 21 year old- my notes say "really good but obscure," which I take to mean the flavor was different to the point of being inaccessible. (And "inaccessible" to me means I don't really get it. Like cilantro- I don't get it!)
• The Glenlivet- I liked the bottles I tried in reverse age order. I tried a 21 year old, an 18 year old, and a 15 year old, and liked the youngest the best. (That sentence will pretty much guarantee that pedophiles will stumble across this website.) The 15 year old French Oak was not only my favorite, but at $40 a bottle, I could actually afford it!
• Highland Park- The 18 year was terrific, and so was the 25. Highland Park is always a winner.
  
• Laphroaig- Quarter Cask- this is supposed to be more woody and sherry flavored, as more whisky is in contact with the wood. It was fine. I really liked the 15 year though- creamy goodness.
  
• The Macallan- I finally had a chance to sample their Fine Oak line. This line is designed to introduce new drinkers and women to whisky, with a lighter flavor profile due to aging in different casks. It did taste like oak. Unfortunately I learned that I don't like the flavor of oak (in this and other brands as well), so I'm not a fan of this line. I also tried the Cask Strength bottle. I thought it was too sharp on its own, but much better with added water. Still, I think I'll stick to the regular Macallan line, which is so very good just as it is.
  
• Yamazaki- I tried this Japanese whisky before on my visit to Nihon, the new whisky bar in San Francisco. Japanese whiskies are basically copies of Scotch ones, so the strong smoky peatiness of the 18 year old was no big surprise. The Sherry Wood 1986 was interesting though, with most of the sherry flavor in the finish rather than on the palette.

And that's just the notes I can read. Amy quit sampling with a little less than half an hour left in the evening, but I charged onward trying to sample as many as I could. Needless to say, I was incredibly wasted at the end of the night. I came home and ate yet another meal to try to absorb the alcohol and keep it from hurting the next day.

It hurt anyway.