My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff
If you had not of heard of this French blended malt you are not alone, because it was new to me as well when I saw it in the Air France Lounge in Paris. A little online research suggests this is a blend of 3 single malts of different regions of France and finished in new French oak casks. It is bottled at 40% ABV but nosed like it was much stronger. Very feisty and malty with barnyard, floral and even perfurmed notes in the nose. Hot and sweet on the palate with some flashes of toffee which were quickly masked by pepper and even a slightly acrid smokey note. The finish has some chilli heat with a hint of lemon peel marmalade. A splash of water improves it greatly, smooths out the grainy mouth feel and brings out some more fruity and sweet flavours. It is not bad but posseses little elegance or sophistication so in that respect it is not a very French French whisky.
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I am very happy to announce that I will returning to Houston Texas this summer after almost 4 years working overseas. Most of that time has been spent in Dubai which has not been a great place to blog about whisky but once I am back in Texas I hope to refresh the website (which is well overdue) and promise to try and post more regular blogs and whisky reviews that everyone out there can then just ignore much more frequently. In summary, everything will be just like it was before....
Not long after I wrote the blog a few weeks ago the news was full, as I once predicted, of news around fake whisky (so actual fake news). An example story from BBC is below but in summary twenty-one out of fifty five bottles of rare Scotch were proven to be outright fakes. In short I felt this required me to update my prior blog to include my new, Fourth Law of Whisky Invesment as follows:
Law 1 Investing: Allocate for investment in Whisky exactly the same amount of money you would be willing throw onto a fire and watch burn
Law 2 Buying: If you are reading on the internet or in a magazine about a great investment, then it isn't. Law 3 now applies.
Law 3 Selling: Appear in a series of magazine articles and internet postings about how great whisky investing is. Then sell your shit.
Law 4 Owning: The "rare" whisky you own is quite possibly a fake and worthless. For that reason do not under any circumtances allow it to be checked. Law 3 still applies.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-46566703
Location: Xian Bar, Bossa Nova Mall, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Date: December 2018
Price: 80 rials ($21.53 USD)
Recipe: Requested Makers Mark
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: For this price it had to be good... and it was. Much better than previous visit to Rio (Experiment #27)
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Chart Room, QE2, Dubai, UAE
Date: December 2018
Price: 75 AED ($20.42 USD)
Recipe: Described as Bourbon whisky (no e) and Martini Rosso
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: As you might expect for the iconic QE2 it was excellent, balanced sweet and woody but perhaps missed the bitters
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Although the image I chose for this blog is of Einsten I don't try to pretend that this is rocket science. In fact I think Whisky investing is really so simple that I have summarized it in my Three Laws of Whisky Investing below. I can condense this further in just two words and in any future publication on the subject I would suggest they take their cue from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and print on the cover, in large friendly letters, the same two words: "Don't Bother".
Law 1 Investing: Allocate for investment in Whisky exactly the same amount of money you would be willing throw onto a fire and watch burn
Law 2 Buying: If you are reading on the internet or in a magazine about a great investment, then it isn't. Law 3 now applies.
Law 3 Selling: Appear in a series of magazine articles and internet postings about how great whisky investing is. Then sell your shit.
Location: Bottled barrel-aged Manhattan at 34% ABV
Date: July 2018
Price: Approx. $40.00 USD a bottle (or +/- $5 a 3 oz measure)
Recipe: Described as Manhattan but a little reseach indicates it is a "Perfect" recipe with both dry and sweet vermouth
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Acceptable and at a good price point but I am not a fan of perfect Manhattans and usually prefer the sweeter versions.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Black Hat Whiskey Room, Terminal E, Houston Intercontintal Airport
Date: July 2018
Price: 2220 United Airmiles (or $14.00 USD)
Recipe: Same online system as #41 but this time with Knob Creek and I paid with United Airmiles.... cool.
Garnish: Black Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Same as experiment #41, overall good but lacked bitters
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Texas Barbeque Q Smokehouse, Terminal E,Houston Intercontinental Airport
Date: July 2018
Price: $15.00 USD
Recipe: Makers Mark, sweet vermouth and a few dashes of Angosturo bitters
Garnish: Black Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Cool online ordering system and a good Manhattn, lacked some bitters for me.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
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