Whisky of the Week

Pairing Snickers and Bourbon

On 09/21/2016

Snickers & Bourbon whisky pairing Jim Beam Black pairing snickers with bourbon
Continuing with the Bourbon Heritage month theme, I looked around for a few interesting bourbon food pairing ideas when I came across an article that recommends pairing Snickers and bourbon.

Wait… What? A super sweet Snicker bar paired with sweet bourbon. Would this not be an overly sweet affair? I was unsure if this pairing would make a blue Monday better or worse.Snickers hold the top spot for the bestselling chocolate bar in the world.

Made by Mars, Incorporated, Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion. It consists of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts covered in milk chocolate. It was named after the Mars family’s favourite horse. Snickers have been a crowd pleaser since the 1930s.

Snickers & Bourbon whisky pairing Bulleit bourbon pairing snickers with bourbon
As if I needed an excuse to experiment. I have a sweet tooth and just had to try this combination. I paired the Snicker bar with a few different bourbons, and the results were consistently the same.

The Results

Snickers & Bourbon whisky pairing Wild Turkey 101
Bourbon pairs wonderfully with the Snickers! The bourbon balanced out the sugary sweetness of the chocolate and enhanced the peanuts and caramel notes. The caramel enhanced the bourbon vanilla and softened the alcohol notes. A wonderful balance, with each bringing out the best in the other.

It created a match made in chocolate heaven. I tried it with the Jim Beam Black Bourbon, the Wild Turkey 101, the Bulleit Frontier Bourbon and some Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight BourbonIt all worked amazingly well.

Also Read: Bourbon Coffee

Snickers & Bourbon whisky pairing Buffalo Trace pairing snickers with bourbon

I paired the Snickers bar with a Gentleman Jack, which is a Tennessee whisky, to see if the results would be the same. I am happy to report that even a Tennessee whisky pair wonderfully with some Snickers.

Snickers & Bourbon whisky pairing Jim Beam Black
Blue Monday; your boss was on your case the whole day, Microsoft gobbled up the report you needed to work on, your car is running on fumes, and all you want to do is crawl into bed and watch Netflix.

Stop at the filling station on the way home. While they fill up your car, grab a Snicker Bar at the Convenience store. Grab that bottle of bourbon from the weekend and pour yourself a glass. Open the Snickers and enjoy.

No day can stay blue with this pairing.

Also Read: Whisky of the Year 2018

Balblair 2000 Vintage Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/12/2016

In Single Malt whisky

A month or so ago, I got invited to join a few fellow tweeters for a Balblair whisky Twitter tasting. The range we tried included the Balblair 90, Balblair 03 and the one I liked the most, the Balblair 1999 Vintage whisky. The Balblair 1999 whisky was a real “sit down and think of life” dram.

Rich, fruity sweet, full-bodied. Delicious! It made me realize that, although I have made quite a dent in my own bottle of Balblair whisky and photographed it extensively, I have never captured the tasting notes or written about it. It is the Balblair 2000 Vintage single malt Scotch whisky release, so hopefully it follows in the 1999’s footsteps.

John Ross founded the first Balblair distillery in 1790. After his death, the distillery passed down to his son and in 1872 the distillery was rebuilt on a site higher up on the hills. The Balblair distillery lies in Edderton in the Northern Scottish Highlands, surrounded by mountains, from where the Allt Dearg – Balblair’s water source – springs.

Balblair was forced to close during World War I and did not reopen until 1949. In 1948 Keith-based lawyer, Robert ‘Bertie’ Cumming, bought it. Cumming ran the distillery until his retirement in 1970.

In 1996, Allied Domecq sold the distillery to its current owners, Inver House Distillers. Old Pulteney, anCnoc and Speyburn single malts, as well as Hankey Bannister and Catto’s blended whisky, are part of their portfolio.

The bottle is beautiful and stands out among the other more standard bottle shapes. According to some research, the design is inspired by the nearly Pictish stone Clach Biorach. The raised edging design on the bottle is gorgeous! It makes for an unusual photo opportunity as you can see above.

The Balblair 2000 Vintage single malt Scotch whisky was aged in first fill American oak casks.

Balblair 2000 Vintage Whisky

REGION: Highland

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: This is a very light whisky in colour. It has hints of golden-yellow and green.

NOSE: There are hints of fresh-cut flowers, malt, sweet tropical fruit with bits of spiciness floating about. Once you let the whisky breathe, more of the sweet notes come through.

PALATE: The flavour development on the Balblair 2000 is both interesting and complex. It starts with oak and then slowly transforming into sweetness with some coffee. It transforms into a fruity sweet note with bits of cinnamon spice. On the second sip, I get loads of oak spice, hints of bitter citrus and floating in the background, candied raisins.

The addition of water certainly makes the whisky a lot more easy drinking, but it does seem to take away some of the fresh-cut flowers from the nose as well as some of the citrus notes from the palette.

FINISH: The Balblair 2000 Scotch whisky has a medium length finish and end in notes of fruity sweetness and dried wood.

RATING: EXCELLENT

I finished the first tasting glass without adding water and had to get a second glass for reference purposes. It is better without water. Water takes away the complexity.

From what I can see, both the Balblair 2000 and 1999 vintages are sold out. But you can still get your hands on the Balblair 03 and 1990 release. Both smashing drams!

This 2000 Vintage has made it onto my Top 5 Single Malt whiskies under R500 list. During 2019 Balblair revamped their Vintage ranges and started releasing age statements starting with the Balblair 12 yo and going up to a 25 yo whisky. The range also includes a Balblair 17 yo whisky that is only available in Travel Retail.

Also Read: Also Read: Belgian Owl Passion Whisky

Bourbon and Coffee

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/07/2016

In Cocktails

Bourbon Coffee Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon
Coffee – the magic beans that get me going in the morning. I love coffee. What smells nicer than opening a bag of freshly ground coffee beans and inhaling deeply? No wonder it is one of the most popular drinks in the world. Coffee has been the magic bean getting people going for a long, long time. There is evidence of coffee drinking around the middle of the 15^th century in Yemen.

Small artisanal coffee roasters have sprung up everywhere, offering their special blend of the roasted magic bean. According to some research, there are more than 150 independent coffee roasters in South Africa. That is a lot of magic.

Just give me a nice hot double caffè macchiato in the morning. Serve it in my beautiful red Le Creuset Espresso cup with one of my Dutch silver spoons and my day starts perfectly.

My coffee machine has been in for maintenance for the last week, and getting up in the morning without my double shot of espresso has been difficult. But it is coming back today! Let’s make a Bourbon and Coffee to celebrate.

Also Read: Cuba Libre Cocktail

Bourbon Coffee Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon
Hot coffee in winter is great. It warms me up while I relax and watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory on the Series Channel. But in summer, hot coffee is not ideal. How to get all the comfort without the heat?

I decided to play around with coffee and bourbon to see if I can find the perfect cold coffee with a kick. And after a bit of testing and re-testing, this was my favourite recipe – bourbon coffee.

Also Read: Mint Julep Recipe

Bourbon Coffee Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon
Using a traditional Kentucky coffee idea where you add bourbon and cream to a hot coffee, I kept the coffee cold. It is summer in the Southern hemisphere after all. I added some cacao powder to enrich the coffee and bring out the sweeter notes in the whiskey. Hot or cold, bourbon and coffee is always a winning combination.

Bourbon Coffee Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon

Bourbon and Coffee Recipe

Ingredients

10 ml brown sugar
15 ml hot water
2,5 ml cacao powder
60 ml bourbon (I used the Evan Williams bourbon)
90 ml strong coffee
50 ml heavy cream

Method

For Cold Coffee (Perfect for hot summers day)

Put serving glasses in the freezer an hour before the time.
Dissolve the sugar in the hot water. Allow to cool.
Brew the coffee and allow to cool down.
Add all the ingredients except the cream to a shaker with some ice and give it a good shake.
Pour into the iced glass and top with heavy cream.
Sprinkle the cacao powder over and enjoy.

For Hot Coffee (If you need something warmer to heat you up)

Brew the coffee and dissolve the sugar directly in the coffee.
Add the bourbon and stir.
Top with the cream and sprinkle with the cacao powder.

Also Read: Slate blended bourbon

Slate Blended Bourbon Whiskey

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/05/2016

In Bourbon whiskey

To kick of Bourbon Heritage month, I try a Slate blended bourbon whiskey. This one is a budget bourbon again. And after my last two budget bourbon experiments, I attempt this one with some level of trepidation.

I tried both the Heaven Hill Old Style and the Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon and needless to say, they will be part of our collection for a long time to come. Finishing the bottles will be difficult unless I start making bourbon-based cocktails in bulk.

I found the Slate bourbon in one of the smaller bottle stores that I visit. The amount of information on this brand, distillery, age and origin is so limited that I needed to scroll to the 4^th page on Google before finding anything worthwhile; let’s just say, I have a few antacid ready next to my tasting glass, just for in case.

But before I get to the tasting, here is a bit of the info that I found on Slate blended bourbon. According to the marketing spiel:

“… Slate is known as one of the smoothest bourbons on the market. Silky, smoky and sweet it is great neat over ice or if you would rather, mixed with cola.”

My research indicated that Slate blended bourbon is a Diageo new style product launched in Australia (and South Africa) to test the market before launching globally.

Slate Blended bourbon is blended in Chicago from various bourbons to create a smoother mouthfeel. There is also a Slate ’20 version, which is a ‘ready to drink’ alcopop blend of Slate bourbon, lime and ginger. (Only available in the UK as far as I can see)

Slate ‘20 takes its name from the blended bourbon used in the recipe, which is sourced from the Four Roses distillery in the US. The ’20 refers to 1920 when bourbon was first distilled in Chicago.

In SA, the Slate blended bourbon retails for around R200 ($14). After all of that, let’s try this blended bourbon and see.

Also Read: Bourbon Coffee

Slate Blended Bourbon Whiskey Review

COUNTRY: USA

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: A dark golden colour.

NOSE: Subtle with cereal and caramel, oak and vanilla notes.

PALATE: Smooth, spicy vanilla, honey sweetness and oak. Medium body bourbon that is not very complex. Easy drinking. Adding water enhances the sweetness and it becomes almost too sweet.

FINISH: Medium length finish which ends in sweet caramel notes.

RATING: VERY GOOD

It does not give me heartburn, and it is undoubtedly better than the Heaven Hill Old Style and the Evan Williams bourbon. Having said that, it will not win any major prizes.

It is supposed to taste like “real old Chicago bourbon”… I am not sure if there is anyone who still knows what “Real Old Chicago bourbon” tasted like, so I take their word for it.

Has anyone tried this bourbon before?

Also Read: Koval Bourbon Single Barrel

Peach Bourbon Smash

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 09/01/2016

In Cocktails

nectarine bourbon smash cocktail header 2
What do you get when you combine Spring in the Southern hemisphere with bourbon heritage month in the Northern hemisphere? Lots of bourbon cocktails!

Cocktails to celebrate Spring with and bourbon food pairings to try. What an amazing month! Let’s start Spring off with a delicious Peach Bourbon Smash. A fresh, easy way to start celebrating.

September – Spring in the Southern hemisphere. My favourite season! There might still be a few cold days ahead, but the days are becoming longer and warmer.

New green leaves are coming out everywhere, and the birds are returning to the garden. After a grey, blustery winter, new life is growing everywhere and slowly turning the dry garden green.

Nectarine Bourbon Smash Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon
Another benefit of September is bourbon heritage month. What better way to celebrate the turning of the season with some bourbon-based cocktails? The U.S. Senate created bourbon heritage month in 2007. It designates September as the month to celebrate the “distinctive product of the United States” –bourbon. Not that I need an excuse to drink bourbon.

Also Read: Manhattan Cocktail

Over the last year, I have expanded my whisky collection to include many more bourbons. I fell in love with the sweeter, softer vanilla notes offered by bourbon. Bourbon is versatile, and there have been a few exciting and affordable releases into the South African market.

Nectarine Bourbon Smash Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon

So, in celebration of Spring and #BourbonHeritageMonth, I start with a wonderful cocktail made with fresh seasonal ingredients. Later in the month, I have a delightful whiskey chocolate pairing, as well as a delicious take on a bourbon coffee, lined up.

Peach Bourbon Smash Recipe

Nectarine Bourbon Smash Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon

The recipe is adapted from The Little Epicurean and slightly modified.

Ingredients

1/2 peach (cut into bite size pieces)
4 mint leave
5 ml lemon juice
60 ml bourbon (I used Heaven Hill bourbon)
30 ml water
15 ml grenadine syrup
Ice

Method

Add the ice in the cocktail shaker or a large glass.
Add all the ingredients into the shaker / glass and give it a good muddle with a muddle stick (lightly bash the ingredients together to release the flavour of the nectarine and mint leaves).
Pour into a glass and decorate with a mint sprig and a nectarine slice.
Makes 1 cocktail.

Also Read:How to make Sangria