Today is World Whisky Day (celebrated on the third Saturday of May) and it’s the perfect time to go on a flavour journey across Scotland’s array of whiskies. We spoke to Donald Colville, the Global Scotch Whisky Ambassador — Malts for Diageo on the finer nuances of single malts. Diageo as a company may be only 20 years old but it has under its umbrella some of the most iconic whisky brands and distilleries that can trace their lineage well into the 1800s — from Johnnie Walker, the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, to exquisite single malts like Lagavulin, Talisker, Oban, and many more.
Sip and swirl
We begin with the all-important question — what is the best way of drinking single malts? “There’s this whole perception that you should only drink your whisky neat, never with ice or water, and God forbid, never in a cocktail. The reality is that Scotch whiskies are so incredibly flavoursome that they are brilliant to be drunk in any shape or form”, says Colville. However, he concedes that if you want to truly appreciate and analyse the flavours, then you should drink it neat and at room temperature (16-20ºC). Adding a little water can sometimes help open up the flavours.
Colville has arranged a tasting of five single malts — Singleton of Glen Ord 12-year-old, Oban 14-year-old, Talisker 10-year-old, Lagavulin 16-year-old, and Caol Ila 12-year-old. Before we begin the tasting, Colville offers up a quick lesson. “When it comes to tasting whiskies, the simple thing is what does the flavour remind you of. I always ask people to taste twice — the first time you take a sip, swirl it around your mouth like mouthwash and swallow, and then repeat with the second sip. The first time you do it, you’re cleaning your palate and getting your mouth used to the alcohol, and the second time is when you get the flavour. If you just take a sip and swallow, it hits the middle of your mouth and the back and goes through, which is normally followed by the ‘whisky face’ (he makes a disgusted grimace)”, elaborates Colville.
Taste test
What does he recommend for a novice whisky drinker to begin with? “There are different trains of thought on this. Historically, people would say start with a lighter style like the Singleton because it’s delicate and there’s no influence of the smokiness that Scotch whiskies are known for, but that’s not necessarily the best way to start. Some people have a fairly powerful and developed palate; somebody who is a Shiraz (wine) drinker or enjoys rich coffee or dark chocolate might not necessarily find the light whiskies most appealing and may actually want to go for the bigger bolder flavours straight away”, explains Colville.
We begin with the Singleton, a typical Highland whisky with no smoke and peatiness. Colville offers me honey-roasted nuts, which bring out the light nuttiness and sweetness of the whisky. I find the Singleton too light and delicate, but I perk up with the second whisky. The Oban immediately reminds me of bacon, and Colville nods in agreement. “Oban is another Highland whisky but from the west coast so it has this salty, briny quality, a hint of smoke, and a meaty sweet note. There’s also an overwhelming orange note and a creaminess from the American oak casks that we use”, he elaborates.
We then move to the bigger, bolder flavoured whiskies, beginning with the Talisker, a medium peated whisky typical of the Isle of Skye. “Talisker is the oldest distillery on Skye set up in 1830. The rugged nature of the island is almost a metaphor for the whisky itself, big powerful whisky with a sweet, smoky pepperiness”, explains Colville. The last two whiskies, Lagavulin and Caol Ila, are both from the southern island of Islay, which Colville says is his favourite (whisky-producing) region. “The Islay whiskies are renowned to be big, powerful, and smoky, but the Caol Ila is a paradoxical whisky — big and powerful but also soft and subtle, smoky but sweet, almost like a burnt marshmallow”, he explains. Its more famous brother, Lagavulin is aged in oak casks for at least 16 years, and for Colville, it’s the most complex of all the whiskies on Islay. “There’s so much going on in the glass that you can break down and identify a lot of different flavours like fresh fruit and spices”, he explains. “These five whiskies really help to show the diversity of flavours that makes Scotch the favourite whisky in the world; there’s something there for everybody”, Colville adds.
Blending in
Globally, the Scotch category is growing very fast partly because of blended scotches like Johnnie Walker, but Colville now sees more people wanting to try single malts. “Blends are not inferior to single malts; it’s like trying to compare Champagne and red wine. They are two things of the similar world but they are different in their own right”, Colville explains.
When it comes to Scotch cocktails, Colville is a proponent of the classics. “The cocktail culture is constantly growing, lots of different trends are coming and going, people are trying new whacky cocktails. But if you’re trying a Scotch cocktail for the first time, I suggest you go for the classics”, he asserts. He recommends the Old Fashioned (scotch with muddled sugar and bitters with a citrus rind) or the Rob Roy (a Scotch-based Manhattan). “A single malt Old Fashioned is a thing of beauty; the flavours that you can get from a Lagavulin 16-year-old versus a Singleton 12-year-old Old Fashioned couldn’t be more different”, he emphasises.
