Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Readers of the blog will know that I dabble in spirits and wine in addition to my favorite beer. They will also know that I am an avid reader. So, when I saw that a book has been written about the history of that fancy dressed speed walker by the name of Johnnie. I knew that I had to post about it right after I looked to purchase it.
One day, there will be histories written of long lived beer brands and I hope they get handsome books detailing their histories.
No, I am not moving from beer to whiskey. But I am intrigued by it for many of the same reasons that I am amazed by beer. So I concocted a tasting (while the wife was out of town) of four random airplane/mini-bar sized whiskey bottles.
1/2 soda and 1/2 whiskey. Here are the results: (in order of my preference)
1. Bulleit
Sawdust. Caramel. Coconut. Barrel. Bit of burn.
2. Canadian
Fruity and perfumey. Mild. Smoothest.
3. Bushmills
Medium peat. Slight burn. Light.
4. Woodford
Smells hotter and thinner. Not much flavor.
I don’t think I will ever become a fan of peat smokiness. But it defeats the Woodford which was very thin to me and had nothing else to add. Canadian Club had by far the smoothest and least burn with some floral hints but was also kinda light to me. The winner by far was the Frontier Whiskey from Bulleit. Loads of wood character and some sweetness as well. Now I can explore that territory since it seems to be my initial flavor preference.
My thought while reading this fine book was that I wished I had bought the physical version instead of the e-book. Because Tasting Whiskey by Lew Bryson is a great resource and a great read.
From the start and the simple explanation of why it can be spelled “whisky” and/or “whiskey” to the theory of The Wall, I knew that I would be taking a lot of screenshots of pages.
And that was the start of my learning. Next up was “reflux” and how that affects the spirit. Then the differences between the major styles of Canadian, Scotch, Bourbon, Japanese, Irish and craft distillers. With helpful charts to show the whiskey curious which bottle might be best to for their particular taste.
There is a smattering of history, distillation science and myths. Talk of the Angel’s Share along with recipes and whiskey auctions. The pace doesn’t lag in any of these sections.
But the best part of the book is the tone. Intelligent but down to earth. Helpful and not elitist. Definitely geek and not snob. The overall message is simply to try whiskey and have fun doing so. A tone that I wish I could master.
I could pull quote after quote to illustrate my point but it is probably best that you get your own copy and dog ear the pages that are most relevant to you.
Whether you are a whiskey aficionado or a novice. This book will make you look at the drink with more world wisdom than before.