My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff
I don't recall seeing very many 15 - 20 year old Canadian whiskies so I was intrigued when I saw the 20 and 15 year old expressions of Mt Logan in the Liquor Depot in Alberta on a recent business trip. The Mt. Logan brand is exclusive to the Liquor Depot retailer and the juice is made at the Highwood Distillery in Alberta and bottled as Canadian Rye whisky at 40% ABV. The nose is sweet with vanilla, Werthers Candy and lemon peel. The taste is very smooth and creamy with coffee, cocoa powder, butterscotch, vanilla toffee and Scottish tablet. The finish shows some sign of 20 years in a cask with pepper and oak notes and black tea. A little water thins out the creamy mouthfeel and the sweetness goes down (which some might find more balanced) but overall I would avoid water with this as it doesn't handle it very well, for my palate anyway, and would be easy to over dilute. Of the two expressions of Mt. Logan Canadian Rye that I tried (15 year old and 20 year old) I preferred the 20 years old (neat) but both were good.
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Location: Pearson International Airport, Terminal 1, Toronto
Date: May 2018
Price: $10.50 CAD ($8.08 USD)
Recipe: Described as "Rye whiskey balanced out with sweet vermouth and a few dashes of Angosturo bitters"
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: A very solid offering at a great price made with Crown Royal (*what else in Canada)
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India
Date: April 2018
Price: 700 Indian Rupee ($10.73 USD)
Recipe: Listed as "American whiskey, Martini Rosso and Angosturo bitter"
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Interesting twist which I liked a lot was glass rim was dipped in Bitters. Key to Manhattan is balancing sweetness and punch of bitters and the "rimming" helped with that.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India
Date: April 2018
Price: 900 Indian Rupee ($13.80 USD)
Recipe: Listed as Perfect Manhattan with "whisky, bitters and vermouth"
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: As Perfect Manhattan it would be a mix of sweet and dry vermouths and it lacked sweetness I look for. May appeal to others. Could have been bigger.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Oak Bar, Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date: March 2018
Price: $ 250 Argentine Pesos ($12.36 USD)
Recipe: No recipe but saw Bulliett Bourbon being poured
Garnish: Lemon peel
Served: Rocks
Comments: Was told it was best Manhattan in Buenos Aires but lacked punch (maybe to little bitters?) for me. A little too washed out on the rocks.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Oak Room, Fairmont Palliser, Calgary, Canada
Date: July 2017
Price: $ 18 CAD ($14.22 USD)
Recipe: Woodford Reserve, sweet vermouth, bitters
Garnish: Black cherry
Served: Up
Comments: I also had a Manhatttan here in April 2016 (MPE#13) but the recipe had changed, though the price was the same. Still very good.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, Alaska, USA
Date: July 2017
Price: $10.00
Recipe: As per menu "High West Double Rye, Sweet Vermouth and a dash of bitters"
Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: It was fine and a reasonable price. Good but not memorable.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Fred Meyer, Soldotna, USA
Date: July 2017
Price: $2.97 (yes $2.97)
Recipe: Came in a can called "Club Manhattan" which described it as a premium blended whiskey and sweet vermouth.
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Fairly bad example of the genre from a range of Club cocktails in a can, but the price is right....
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
I don't need to introduce Martine Nouet to anyone who reads this obscure and occasional blog. But I am going to. Martine is a well respected French whisky writer with a penchant for whisky and food pariings and to best of my knowledge she makes her home on Islay (unless some Beexiteers have chased her off by now). However after reading the attached article (link below) I might worry about the pitchforks and burning torches of the "Cask Strength Brigade" who may upon march upon her cottage chanting their mantra "you can put water in but you can't take it out" and demanding she be burnt in a wicker whisky bottle (a whisker bottle perhaps?) for her herecy. Why I hear you ask? What crime against high ABV whisky did she commit? Well she actually wrote the words "Why I dislike cask strength whisky" on the scotchwhisky.com blog earlier this year.
And of course she is 100% proof right.
https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/the-way-i-see-it/12917/why-i-dislike-cask-strength-whisky/
I wish I could write (indeed spell) as well her but I did express almost all the same feelings in my blog in March 2013 .... and I have pasted relevent extract below.
"Occasionally I have 'humbly' suggested that bottling whiskies at 60%+ ABV doesn’t help the product and I end up having to dilute anyway. Someone will often try and argue that is a good thing because I can “dilute to my personal taste”. I can hear them now chanting the mantra of the ABV obsessed “you can put water in but you can’t take it out, you can put water in but you can’t take it out”. But it is a silly argument. This is whisky, usually expensive whisky, not orange squash. I don’t want to buy concentrate of whisky that I can easily screw up. I want to buy the product presented to me by the people who created it at the ABV they feel best showcases their product. Many chefs don’t have salt on their restaurant tables because they want the diner to enjoy the food as they think it is best seasoned. They want the food to be judged that way and I feel whisky should be the same. I am not saying a few drops of water to open up a dram aren’t necessary, they often are, but presenting me with 60% ABV spirit (often at cost of $100 or more a bottle) and then expecting me to guess the right water content to add to their whisky is a little asinine. I dont care what the ABV of a whisky is.... I just want it to taste good. if it does, then I am happy."
Location: Quinto la Huella, EAST Hotel, Miami, USA
Date: June 2017
Price: $19.05 (Listed at $15.00 then came tax, service charge etc)
Recipe: Did not see but they asked which Bourbon.... I chose Makers Mark
Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Did not stand out for such an expensive version. Maybe not the best choice of bourbon for a Manhattan (no rye content).
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Club at Sea Lounge, Seattle Airport, USA
Date: June 2017
Price: Free ($0.00 USD)
Recipe: Jack Daniels, sweet vermouth, orange, blood orange bitters
Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Not sure what the "orange" listed in the recipe was but it was a solid cocktail and the price was right!
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Skyview, La Cigale Hotel, Doha, Qatar
Date: April 2017
Price: 65 QAR ($17.85 USD)
Recipe: Np recipe
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Not bad. Well balanced with the biiters coming through to balance out the sweetness.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii