Beer Flight Podcast: Scotland
O Whisky! soul o’ plays and pranks!
Accept a bardie’s gratfu’ thanks!
Robert Burns
Scotland is a beautiful and majestic country and they don’t mind waiting a generation to enjoy a glass of scotch if it means the drink comes out perfect. In these episodes, we take a tour of Scottish whisky to talk different malts and blends, notable distilleries, impact on the local economy, and more.
We invite our friend, Dave Kuhn, to take us on this journey through Scotland and give a primer for those not acquainted with the water of life.
Part 1: The Discussion: we chat about touring Scotland, visiting the different islands, and how to travel with whisky in your luggage. We discuss how scotch fuels the local economy for many communities while generating a lot of tax revenue for the UK. Also, there is a bit of controversy around blending malts and we define exactly what that means.
Part 2: The Tasting: As we continue the discussion, we add in a tasting of a variety of scotches of varying levels of alcohol, peat, and flavor. We talk about different ways to enjoy scotch, the different regions, odd industry terms, and playing golf in Scotland.
If you are planning the pilgrimage to Scotland, there are few distillers that are a must and might be more accessible. And when you get there you will want to have a nose for the whisky you taste. These episodes give a nice introduction to those who do not usually drink scotch but also offer some great advice to those who drink whisky regularly.
A bottle of whisky was recently recovered from the sunken ship the SS Politician. The ship wrecked off the coast of western Scotland en route to Jamaica during WWII. Locals at the time felt it their duty to perform ‘whisky rescues’ for the 20,000 bottles onboard. The government was none too pleased they weren’t collecting taxes and tried to go after the locals.
Read the full story here.
Our Guest
Dave Kuhn
Dave is a graphic designer, musician, whisky collector and enthusiast. You can see some of his work here including the very special logo he designed.
Whisky we drank
Glen Ord 12 year, 43%
Single malt made in the Highlands of Scotland.
Balvenie 12 year, single barrell, 47%
Aged in a first fill, ex-bourbon cask.
Balvenie 14 year, Rum Cask Finished, 43%
Matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years and ‘finished’ in casks that previously held Caribbean rum.
Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2011, 50%
Distilled from barley grown on six western and central Islay farms in 2010.
Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2011, 50%
Port Charlotte takes its name from the 18th century fishing village two miles from the distillery.
Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1, 59.5%, 208ppm
“The world’s most heavily peated series of single malt whiskies.”