Welcome 2012 by Frank Seltzer
I hope the holidays found you happy and safe with family and friends. But today it is back to work even though many football bowl games remain to be played. This will be a bit lighter than the usual fare giving you something to enjoy and think about.
Gator Love
Ok this is not about the Florida Gators, but rather about a very unusual scotch. The story on this goes back to the last IPCPR show in Las Vegas last summer. Bobby Holstein of Fuji Pub fame is well known as a scotch connoisseur. Bobby and I have often enjoyed a wee dram together but this summer when he went out to dinner at one of Vegas’s best restaurants, he found a scotch he had never tasted. Ardbeg Alligator. He said he had some ( at an outrageous price of course) and he said it literally brought a tear to his eye. Now that is something.
So what is this scotch? First of all, Ardbeg promotes itself as the smokiest and peatiest scotch on the market. It is an Islay scotch which are known for its smoky flavor but Alligator was a special release. It gets its name from being matured in air dried American white oak barrels which are heavily charred so their insides look like alligator skin. The Alligator was first put in the charred barrels in 2000 and when ready it was mixed with regular Ardbeg 10-year-old to marry for another year. Alligator first came out in June 2011 as a Committee release. (Ardbeg has supporters called the Committee anyone can join at their website.) The general release came out in September. (Reportedly there were about 1,000 bottled of the Committee release in the US and there were more in the general release but it can be tough to find.) Alligator is bottled at 102.4 proof or 51.2% alcohol by volume.
Fast forward to the fall. I was looking for the Alligator but not having much luck. Then one of the guys in our Dallas group found a bottle for me. I bought it sight unseen and untasted. It was a little pricey for a good scotch about $80 but not out of line for something special ( and there are scotches that cost a lot more.)
A buddy and I decided to open this up right away. When we opened the bottle, you are almost knocked over by the peat and smoke but you can also realize there is a lot of complexity.
We paired the scotch with a JR Ultimate and an El Rey del Mundo Robusto Larga. The scotch held up wonderfully to the cigars and would probably go well with any full bodied smoke or even a bit lighter like the Macanudo Cru Royale Robusto. The flavor of the scotch in combination with the smoke from the ERDM and the Ultimate was unbelievable. And the other thing about this Alligator…the finish is exceptionally long in my opinion.
Palate Cleanser
Joe Jackson is quite the musician. He also is on the case of the smoke Nazis having written “Smoking, Lies and the Nanny State”. Jackson is not a smoker, but he does not like government intrusion into our lives. Reason’s Hit and Run blog
http://reason.com/blog/2011/11/10/post-punk-icon-joe-jackson-on-the-nanny
Interviewed Jackson recently and he talked about smoking, the loss of freedom and his music. Enjoy and Happy New Year.
