[BITList] A tour of the world - in whisky

[John Feltham]

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/dec/30/tour-of-the-world-in-whisky
A tour of the world - in whisky

It's been a good year for scotch, but Scottish distillers can't rest on their laurels - they have serious competition from some far-flung places


A few scotch whiskies on display at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA
There's never a more fitting time to think about whisky than when the new year is marching up the garden path, and for most people whisky means scotch. But while exports from Scotland have broken records in 2011 (the equivalent of 570m bottles waved a tearful farewell at the docks in the first half of the year alone and there's even been talk of a possible shortage as a result) the industry can't afford to be complacent.

While there's plenty of financial motivation for unscrupulous distillers to attempt to pass off substandard spirits as scotch, it's the whiskies produced around the world in the style of scotch, yet which don't claim to be scotch, that ought to keep the industry on its toes.

Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there's a whole cadre of carefully crafted drams from the furthest reaches of Asia to Scotland's very doorstep that are only too happy to trumpet their true origins. The co-writer of the excellent Whisky for Everyone website Matt Chambers kindly agreed to meet me at The Albannach whisky bar on Trafalgar Square for a taste tour of the whisky distilling world to see how these interlopers match up.

Japan

 Yamazaki distillery Suntory 12 year old whisky from Japan.
The Japanese have a long tradition of enjoying and emulating scotch whisky, and for this reason it was to Osaka that we first ventured. The Yamazaki distillery was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii, following an exhaustive 5 year mission to Scotland to study all facets of whisky-making on the part of his collaborator Masataka Taketsuru. The stills were manufactured in Scotland and shipped out and imported peat lends flavour. The result, in the Suntory 12 year old is a honey-coloured whisky that mimics, even mirrors a fine single malt scotch. I've tasted a few whiskies in my time and reckon this would take me in if someone handed me a glass and said it was scotch.

India

 Amrut distillery Fusion whisky from India.
Next we sampled Amrut's Fusion single malt, an Indian whisky distilled in Bangalore from a mix of Scottish and Indian barley. The desire to echo scotch in the ingredients is repeated in the both the name of the distillery (as "whisky" comes from the Gaelic "uisge beatha" meaning "water of life", so "amrut" in Hindi refers to "eternal life") and its location 3,000 feet above sea level in an area of India held to resemble the Scottish climate. Temperatures as reliably cool as those which grace Scotland are not common here, however, and the speed at which the raw spirit matures (and evaporates through the wooden walls of the barrels) is consequently much greater. This means whiskies are declared finished and bottled after only a few years in the cask and age statements are eschewed.

The results don't appear to suffer unduly for their lack of age - the distillery has been in operation since 1948 and the Fusion doesn't look or taste like a young spirit. Bottled at 50% abv it's heady with an attractive amber colour, plenty of grainy flavour and some peat.

Taiwan

 Kavalan whisky from Taiwan.
Compared with the venerable distilleries of Japan and India the Taiwanese are relative newcomers to whisky production, with a matching youthful zest and enthusiasm. Using equipment made in Scotland the Kavalan distillery was built in just 8 months of 2006 and produces some 6m litres of whisky a year. As in Bangalore the ambient temperature makes for rapid maturation, and given its age bottle we tried had staggering depth of fruity flavours edging towards dark chocolate, and an incredible gem-like amber colour.

This one was really surprising - the thought that only 5 years of distilling and 2 of maturation can produce results like this presents a challenge to the idea that whisky in the scotch style has to be old. Unfortunately for buyers in the UK Kavalan, like many top quality international whiskies, outside its native country it's only really to be found in airport duty free shops (it's certainly not yet available duty-paid in the UK).

Netherlands

 Zuidam distillery Millstone whisky from the Netherlands.
If the Netherlands doesn't leap into your mind as a top-flight whisky-producing nation then you're not alone, but Fred and Patrick van Zuidam started making eau de vie in the late 1970s and have been distilling whisky since 1998. They pride themselves on their small-batch, artisanal approach and only bottle about 20,000 litres each year. The Millstone we tried has a delicate colour and is long on grain flavours followed by herby, slightly medicinal fennel notes.

Wales

 Penderyn Welsh Gold whisky from Wales.
Closer to the inner sanctum of scotch is Penderyn distillery in the Brecon Beacons to the north of Cardiff. Using an innovative Faraday still (which works like this. What could be more straightforward?) the distillery has been producing whisky since 2000. In the cool Welsh climate these spirits are now coming of age; the single malt Welsh Gold is finished in Madeira casks which add a note of sweetness to the grainy nose and grassy flavour, and there's a sherry cask finish too which pits the grain against dried fruit. Their peated expression was the pick of the bunch for me; rather than using peated barley the whisky is finished in old Islay casks and has flavours of stinging nettles, capsicum and Greek honey.

England

 The English Whisky Co.'s Chapter 9 whisky. From England.
The appropriately named English Whisky Company is the first in over a century. Distillation began in 2006 under the eye of Iain Henderson, a former Laphroaig man who was persuaded to help set things in motion. They call each fresh experiment in whisky-making a "chapter", which makes for extra interest as the history of the project is laid out for all to taste. The Chapter 6 we tried was grassy, grainy and fresh; the peated Chapter 9 much more complex with sausagey, barbecuey notes and a honeyed sweetness in the mouth.

What makes an end of year dram for you? Will you go for an old familiar favourite or might you take the opportunity to try something new?
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