Arrrgghh beg

 

I recently went to visit the birthplace of Jim Romdall‘s favorite whisky.  This world famous distillery was first built on the Ardbeg farm in 1798 by the McDougall brothers and some local farmers.  Ardbeg is located on the jagged coast of the south eastern side of Islay not far from Port Ellen.  This distillery once having been at the peak of their game in 1886 employing more than 60 people sadly went on to later close their doors in 1989.  Luckily for Jim in 1997 this distillery was brought back to life with a big thanks to Glenmorangie and 1.4 million dollars.  Ardbeg now employs ten people and are yet again producing some of the island’s peatiest whisky.  The bottle I have on my shelf at home is called Airigh Nam Beist (Gaelic for place of the beast).  This 16 year old whisky is named in honor of the beast that once haunted the village and was the primary cause for missing cattle and sheep.   Apparently this foul creature was met by two mashmen in the dark of night as they were heading up to the water source, after the water had run dry preventing their mash.  The beast was found stuck waist deep in the peat bog unable to free itself.  The men, at the risk of their lives and being the good natured people that Ileach tend to be, managed to help free the beast up and out of the bog.  Once standing the creature was over 10 feet tall with a hard scaly fur, reeking of the smell of death itself.  The beast stared at the men scouling and with one quick swing of the arm, the men were knocked back right off their feet and back about ten.  The beast then cast an ear piercing howl and fled away into the dark.  These two mashmen were reported never to be the same again.  It’s said that one of the men died mysteriously not even 3 weeks later. Naturally, I went in search for this deathly beast only to find these little monsters running around instead.

After my unsuccessful hunt for “beasty” at the water source I trekked back down the hill to the distillery for a wee look around.  The distillery is now run by Islay native Mickey Heads, formerly of Jura Distillery.  While I was unable to locate Mickey (must be out with Beasty) for an interview, I was convienently sidetracked after tasting through six of the whiskies and stumbling upon the Ardbeg Cafe boasting some of the best “local fare” on Islay.  Since this last and tragic sighting of “Beasty” Ardbeg no longer runs a night shift.

 

Published in: on April 30, 2011 at 9:55 pm  Leave a Comment  

A little starstruck, I must say: Jim McEwan and Bowmore

Jim McEwan, master distiller at Bruichladdich, arrived yesterday and immediately set me up with visits to Bowmore and Bunnahabhain. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience this will be: Islay, curated by one of the most talented distillers in the world (who also just happens to be a true-blood Ileach).

We started at Bowmore, and I was amazed to see that despite being so big, despite foreign ownership, Bowmore remembers its roots. Of course, roots run deep on this island. Bowmore was first established in 1779 making it one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland!   Bowmore uses three warehouses for maturation, two of which are near Port Ellen. The oldest is still on site, and you can see it on your tour along with tools from the last cooper who retired in 1974.  

The highlight, though, is the malting floor.  Three malting floors are used, with two great kilns peating a vast room full of moisture-packed barley to consistent phenol ratings of 25-26 ppm.  This accounts for 25% of their malting needs.   

A few years back Bowmore donated an entire warehouse to the construction of a swimming pool and fitness center for the communities of Islay.  The pool is heated using the waste water from the distillation process.  This is also used to heat some of the other buildings on site.  I didn’t bring a swim suit so I have yet to go to the pool.  And it is not confirmed whether or not Bowmore whisky is available pool side.

Published in: on April 20, 2011 at 1:43 am  Comments (1)  

A Walk with Mark Reynier

I was lucky enough to get a moment of Mark’s time today.  I managed to keep up my end of the conversation, or at least enough to let him go on about what makes him tick.  He’s an Islay transplant and was and still is a wine merchant from London.  Pretty great story on how he acquired the distillery and his change from wine to whisky.

Mark is an innovator.  I could see his passion and hear it in his voice. He approaches whisky with a wine sensibility and a belief in the power of terroir.  Most distilleries look for good quality barley (a lot of times not even from Scotland) and distill it.  The flavor they want comes from time and maturation. But Mark
now sources barley from up to 28 different farms (increasingly organic/biodynamic) on the island, because he’s convinced that each farm’s location, soil, and weather can be expressed in a distillate.  This meets up to 50 percent of their barley needs, the rest come from surrounding Scottish isles or the mainland. One reason that these guys source barley locally and mature casks on Islay is that it gives them the opportunity to try and express characteristics from an individual farm or a certain part of Islay. Bruichladdich also ages and bottles all of its whisky on the island (the only one on Islay that does both)– are you sure there’s no salty Islay air that gets in through that wood and into your glass?
If you’re not yet persuaded that whisky can have terroir, stop reading…   I was fortunate enough to try some of theses new makes, and they are different!  He has them labeled by date, farm, farmer, etc.   They are all distilled the same way and new make is not influenced by wood as it has yet to age.  You can tell that the barley from different farms creates different distillates.  Some are fruity, softer, sharper, spicier.  They were all notably different.  At one point, Mark got all the farmers together and let them taste and share the new makes.  The farmers were then able to have a discussion about their own barley and why it might be different.  Of course this was a chance for them to give the other farms a little shite or defend themselves by saying “well mine has more rock or….”
And that brings me back to the island. I like the idea that the barley used for this product put food on the table for a family living on Islay.
There are so many things about Bruichladdich that impress me.  There’s the Botanist gin, which was really just an experiment or being British, Mark wanted some gin.  Either way it turned out to be great stuff.  Botanist is made with 23 different Islay-specific botanicals along with english juniper, and it’s combined in a Lamond still, the only one left in existence.  The still (dubbed Ugly Betty) is sort of a hybrid, and it maintained its temperature so well that they were able to reduce the heat to a really low temperature, so that the gin was able to simmer for 17 hours (the majority of distillations take 3-4)!  It’s really, really special.
Then there’s the biodynamically farmed barley, reusable waste from the distillery converted into energy, stimulation of the local economy, and a product that is the true spirit of Islay.  Add all that up and combine it with the best barrels for aging (I’ve seen Latour, Petrus, Amarone, Buffalo Trace) and you have Bruichladdich.
 I’m lucky to be here.
 
Published in: on April 15, 2011 at 4:38 am  Comments (5)  

Knee High Stocking Company

Dear Tommy,

I found myself in Seattle this weekend, and I needed a drink.  I heard that Knee High Stocking Company was supposed to be pretty good, so I told my friends we should grab a drink there!  They said, “Great, Mabel.  We’ll hit it up after dinner.”

Me:”Um, when will that be?

Them:  “Um, whenever we’re finished.”

Me:  “Well, I mean, when do you think-”

Them: “Chill out!  I know Portland’s a bustling metropolis and all, but you’re in Seattle now!  Relax!”

Me:  “Well, I need to know what time to make the reservation.”

Them (flabbergasted): *clears throat.  low, menacing voice*  “You need a reservation to a BAR?”

Me:  “Well, it’s kind of this speakeasy thing”

Them:  “What?!?”

Me: *mumbling* “You have to text them, and then you go to this buzzer thing, and you say the secret word, and–”

Them:  “Oh, no.  Oh, no no no.  You are NOT dragging me to some snotty pretentious $*&!?………”  The conversation degenerated from there.

Long story short:  We went to Knee High Stocking Company.  They had something called Mansinthe. (It’s Marilyn Manson’s Absinthe, which due to my Toby Keith post I shouldn’t touch, but god I want to).
The cocktail waitresses were gorgeous and extraordinarily friendly (They even called me “friend” instead of “ma’am”).  The bartender was really aiming to please.   Oh, and it was lovely, mellow, calm, urbane– we all had a seat— and it was 10:00 on Saturday night on Capitol Hill.  Something tells me that this speakeasy trend might have a little something going for it.

Love,

Mabel

Published in: on April 14, 2011 at 5:07 am  Leave a Comment  

Working day at Bruichladdich

Dear Mabel,

Working day today.  Early this morning we drove empty french wine casks up to Bunnahabhain.  We delivered just shy of about 70 french oak barrels.  The road to Bunnahaiban is a narrow and windy one, and it was raining pretty hard all morning.  The truck we were driving had a lot of character, meaning it’s a bloody piece of shit.  But it’s a tough old truck and handled the job just fine.  We only had to stop just after one of the wee hills to add water to the radiator.

Once we were back, I got to spend some time with Duncan MacGillivray, distillery manager at Bruichladdich.  I’d love to say I learned all there was to distilling– but what I learned was that a distillery manager isn’t just running stills and blending barrels.  He’s everywhere, all the time, doing everything.  Today all we wanted to do was build a railing in the new but old warehouse.  (The Bruichladdich warehouse is an original warehouse built in 1881, same year as the distillery, but it’s just recently undergone some updating.  We were building a railing for the fire exit, more or less a hand rail).    We ended up in the workshop trying to figure out why the pump from the heat exchanger in the still house kept seizing up.  While working on the pump, Duncan was called upon at least 4 times, sometimes needed elsewhere for an hour at a time.  Thomas the electrician and I did what we could on the pump– but we ended up having to leave the pump, and the railing, for morning as we were already an hour past quitting time.
The whisky tonight was Bruichladdich “Waves,”  a lightly peated whisky aged in both bourbon and madeira casks.  On the nose it’s subtle floral and spice but it finishes with toffee, cocoa, and a touch of peat.  A great way to end the day.  It’s the “Rock’s” you want to start your day with.
Love,
Tommy
Published in: on April 13, 2011 at 4:08 am  Leave a Comment  

Thank God. I hate sunshine.

Dear Tommy,

I hope Islay sucks.

Love, Mabel

Published in: on April 9, 2011 at 5:31 am  Leave a Comment  

Life On Islay

I started my internship at Bruichladdich this week, and so far I’ve had a bit of work and plenty of scenery.

It’s quaint and quiet.  I’m staying just across the road from the distillery at the Bruichladdich “Academy House.”  Mary, that evil one, is making it her mission to fatten me up.  She makes me breakfast every morning– a strong farmer’s breakfast, for a slight young barman.  Every morning there’s a large plate of fried eggs, bacon, sausages, blood pudding, toast, yogurt, fruit, coffee, and orange juice.   I about fell back asleep after that first one.

There’s an old bike in the garage that I can take into the nearest town– Port Charlotte.  It’s about a two mile ride, and entirely along the coast.  You see peat bogs, a war memorial, rocks, sheep, some wooly-looking Islay cows, more sheep, there’s an old church, and what seem to be barley fields.  Though it’s not nearly harvest so I can’t be certain.

After work I read about whisky, and there’s whisky on hand whenever I need a sip for reference.  Last night, for instance, I learned that not all Islay whisky is peated– and Bruichladdich “Rocks” served as an example of a fine whisky that’s expressive of unpeated malt.
Islay life is at a slow pace.  So far I have learned there are four seasons to a day, and there is no rush– which helps me understand that good whisky takes patience.

 

Published in: on April 7, 2011 at 3:54 am  Comments (3)