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Last night, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the company of my friend Dave (originally from the UK but now US-based and on a visit) and his brother, who invited me to spend an evening sharing in the delights of whisky at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of London.
I was a bit apprehensive at first, as I'm not a particular lover of whisky, but this was The Good Stuff. I hadn't realised that the stuff you buy in supermarkets was blended, diluted, processed and generally fiddled with to achieve as much homogeneousness as possible. I suppose I hadn't really thought about it before, even though I did occasionally wonder why they all seemed to sit at about 40% ABV.
Individual casks of Scotch whisky, aged a minimum of three years (a legal requirement, apparently), make up to about 500-600 bottles worth of whisky - each with distinctive flavours and properties (although the location of the distillery from which they originate tends to define some of those properties; those based nearer the coast tend to produce 'saltier' flavours than those in the highlands, for example). Whisky from the cask is a lot stronger than the diluted blends available from supermarkets, in the 60-75% ABV range (the older the whisky, the lower the alcoholic content, as ethanol gas seeps out of the casks over the years). "Neat" whisky has a decidedly different set of properties and flavour to the "diluted" version (where "diluted" is defined as "a single droplet of water added"), so you're practically getting two different whiskies for the for the price of one!
It was a whole new world to me (I just hope I'm getting it right!)
Anyway, I had a great time babbling away, nursing a wee dram or two in good company. But upon sampling the second, I became a veritable "Jilly Goulden", proclaiming "This one reminds me exactly of Bletchley Leisure Centre!".
Bletchley Leisure Centre (for those of you who don't know) is where I learnt to swim when I was 7-8 years old (possibly younger). My mum and her friend took it in turns to take me and my friend John every week for lessons. It also provided an opportunity to spend 10 pence on the Pac Man/Asteroids machines after the lessons had finished whilst we were still drying off, setting me on a course of computer game addiction I'm still battling with to this day. Thanks, Mum. 8)
Anyway, it was a bizarre place, notable for the swimming pool (an irregularly shaped, curved design) being set under a pyramid-like structure, complete with palm trees growing indoors. Memories of the Black Brick (and my failure to retrieve it from the bottom of the pool) still haunt me to this day.
Anyway, I digress; this particular dram contained the essence of Bletchley: Bizarre, chlorinated, with the underlying essence of musty 70's leisure centres. It was eerie. The other whiskies were a lot nicer, but I'm grateful for the excursion down memory lane it afforded me 8).
On a completely different note "Does Doug Know" this week was filmed around the end of Leather Lane this week (the WH Smith end, near Chancery Lane). I really don't watch it, but I couldn't help but notice when I caught a few seconds whilst flicking around the other channels...
I was hoping to find some equally amusing properly of your blog (such as you only being able to spell the two-letter words), but alas I cannot.
That won't stop me from leaving a comment though!
Cask Strength whisky is more likely to run in the 50% - 62% range (if memory serves). The alcohol that evaporates is known as the "angel's share", a much nicer term than 'ethanol gas' and much less likely to be found powering the next generation of automobile.