Scotchie...scotch...scotch

Will Ferrel (Ron Burgundy) professes his love for scotch.
I too love scotch - though I must profess my love for scotch is shared by my love for vodka. But getting back to the scotch - I am a scotch snob - single malts only for me. So I am going to try to keep a log of the scotches as I taste them. Friday night - I had the opportunity to go back to one of the basics of single malt scotch - the 10 year Balvenie. For those of you who know the Balvenie distillery this is basically the youngest that comes. From my limited understanding of scotch - each year the distillery needs to decide what percentage of the casks that they have they are going to open and sell and what percentage they are going to keep. Scotch matures only in the cask - so a 15 year old bottle that you have had in your basement for 15 years - is still only a 15 year old bottle - not a thirty year old bottle. So anyway - I can't recall seeing a single malt scotch less than 10 years old - but I am sure that there are.

Anyway - I prefer the smooother, non-peaty, non-smokey scotches so Balvenie is usually a good choice for me. I had Friday night dinner with some friends and enjoyed about 3 fingers of the 10 year Balvenie with some chicken and noodle pudding. It was good - a little harsher than I remembered it - but it was generally smooth. A slightly woody taste - don't I sound sophistimicated now - otherwise I didn't taste any flavors that jumped out at me. Not nearly as good as the 21 year Balvenie that I have sitting in my apartment. For those who don't drink single malts often - apparently the proper way to drink it is to let it sit for a few moments (like a glass of wine - "to open it") and then swirl it in your glass. Then sniff the scotch to please your olfactory buds and then take a small sip - single malts should not be downed. Anyway - I still prefer the 12 year double wood - but in lieu of it the 10 year will suffice, especially since I didn't pay for the bottle :).

Enough scotch for now. Until later this is kivster with your scotch update for the week.