Five Spirits of Christmas Present
First published Post-Times Food Monthly, November 2010
The first time I spent New Year in Glasgow I walked into the legendary Star Bar. Thinking I knew a bit about whisky, which I had misspent a fair proportion of my youth studying, I though it best to order a malt by name.
“Glenfarclas please.”
“Single or double?”.
“Um, single please”.
“10, 15, 21 or 40?”,
“Er, sorry…..”.
(deep sigh from bartender) “What age?”
Put firmly in my place I quickly realised that for whisky, like music, a lifetime is not enough.
Spirits make excellent presents, not exclusively for men, but hey girls, here’s a hint – most men will appreciate a bottle rather more than socks or a screwdriver set. But which bottle?
Here’s an arbitrary five from thousands of possibilities.
Bushmills 1608
Buying whisky (or whiskey) as a present is a minefield for the unaware, and near on impossible for those who don’t drink the stuff. So find out the essentials: does the victim prefer island or highland, peat or no peat and most important, malt or blend, Scotch or Irish.
It is a misconception born of both snobbery and ignorance that malt whisky is somehow ‘better’ than blended varieties. Complete nonsense – it’s all a matter of taste. And while I have a massive affection for God’s Own Country, I tend to lean toward Ireland for my preferred whiskey. Bushmills, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of its license to distil, produced this sublime blend in 2008. Bottles of Antrim’s finest are still available at £39.
Patrón Silver Tequila
There are thousands of tequilas out there, many just plain ropey. Tequila is though of as lime, salt and shots, but that’s only scratching the surface of a world just as diverse and fascinating as that of malt whisky – arguably more so.
Hardly an obscure brand, Patrón’s range includes highly rated reposado and anejo tequilas, but the silver is a personal favourite, clean and smooth with a little sweetness it’s the ultimate margarita base. A bottle – a rather beautiful thing in itself – will cost £43.50.
Sipsmith London Dry Gin
Founded in 2008 and distilled in batches of only 200-500 bottles at a time, Sipsmith is an artisan gin created with Lywell Spring water from the source of the Thames. Many gins are just plain rough, but this girl’s got flavour, subtlety and, well, class. If you think that any old gin will do in your G&T try this one, it should change your mind. Sipsmith Sioe Gin is also worth mention. Personally, I think Sloe Gin smells and tastes like cough medicine, but those who know tell me this one is worth actively seeking out a cough. A bottle of Sipsmith Dry will cost you £26.50 while the Sloe variety is a snip at £21.75.
Jack Daniel’s Green Label
American Whiskey is an entirely different drink to the Celtic varieties, and another world to be sampled. Bourbons and Tennessee spirits may be an acquired taste, but it is reasonable to spend an awful lot of time on that acquisition. While drinkers of Scotch would rightly insist that nothing other than a little spring water should be added to the ‘Eau de Vie’, American whiskeys demand to be mixed.
Jack Daniel’s Green Label makes a wonderful sour (add lemon juice and a little sugar over cracked ice then shake and serve with orange peel) but can be enjoyed solo. For a present, £50 a bottle might be thought enough, but for most people over 45 it would wrap nicely with a copy of “Life” by Keith Richards.
Chase Vodka
Tyrrells crisps have featured in this column before now, but it must have crossed the mind while muching that in another life their potatoes would make excellent vodka. No? Well it did to, William Chase, the Herefordshire potato farmer behind Tyrrells.
Herefordshire is not exactly associated with vodka, but this home grown spirit has wowed judges across the globe. Production remains small scale – around 1,000 bottle of Chase are produced each week but it still goes out at only £30 a bottle. Drink it ice cold – like any good vodka.
All of the above are available from good retailers or can be found at www.thewhiskeyexchange.com - one of the best drink sites around.