Burns Night 2015

"There's a lot you can do with a haggis." This was to become the motif of the evening, as quoted on numerous occasions by our new friend Martin - true Scot, Robbie Burns fanatic and Master of Ceremonies for the night.

Regular visitors to the page will know that we tend to enjoy the whisky tastings held at the Broadfield, and for January they'd decided to do something a bit different. In celebration of Burns Night, a four course meal with traditional Scottish fayre (and whiskies to accompany of course) was on offer. We arrived to an absolutely packed dining room, with the sound of bagpipes blaring and a proper party atmosphere.

A poetry reading from Martin's well-thumbed, 40-year old collection of Burns' works, finished off setting the tone for the evening, before the food started to arrive. The first course was black and white pudding in blankets, rich and hearty with the bacon being a great addition.

The fish course was next, and our favourite dish of the night - the Broadfield's take on an Arbroath smokie, served atop a tattie scone with a perfectly poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.

At this point, Martin returned on top form to read "Address to the Haggis" whilst our main course was brought out... haggis, neeps and tatties, of course, with crispy fried leeks. To toast, we were presented with a dram of Auchentoshan Three Wood, which was powerful enough to stand up to the hearty flavours of the meat with just enough sweetness from the Pedro Ximinez casks to cut through for balance. Martin's monologue on the versatility of haggis provoked a healthy discussion amongst our table on just exactly what could be done with this little mountain of offal-y joy... haggis ice cream, anyone?!


Before pudding was brought out, Martin read out his own Address to the Lassies, as we raised a dram of Arran's Robert Burns Single Malt - light and fruity, with a sumptuous orchardy undertone. Dessert was a beautifully flaky Ecclefechan tart, stuffed full of sweet dried fruits, nuts and cherries, with a generous dollop of whisky cream to serve.

The night overall was an ideal warm-up to Burns Night itself, with top-quality traditional food and classic whiskies to accompany. We'll definitely be raising a few more drams tonight.

Cheers,

J&L

Great Balls of Fire: Whisky Tasting at the Broadfield

Is there anything as good as a drink and a curry? Well, we don't think so, and neither did the night's host - and when it comes to whisky tastings Ed (@whiskycurator) is an ace MC.

So for this event, the five whiskies and accompanying snacks were all selected with a bit of a kick in mind, whether it be from the spice of the food or the strength of the whisky. And so with a slight warning from Ed that we may need to "fight through the small pain barrier to enjoy the flavours beneath" we launched straight into the first cask strength whisky.

Benrinnes 16 Year Signatory Release (51.2%) is a beautiful sherry hogshead finished dram from a distillery that almost exclusively produces whisky for blends such as J&B. Opening with an aroma of grass and toffee with orchard fruit, the sweetness gave way to a punch of savoury heat on the palate, with a salty character tucked in there too. With a little drop of water, the initial sweetness really popped out as the whisky opened up to a wonderful almost fresh finish. This whisky overall demonstrates the finesse we've discovered in all of the Signatory bottlings we've been lucky enough to try.

Food pairing: Tarka Dhal and poppadoms

The second and strongest whisky of the evening at 60% came in the form of an award winning dram from Glenfarclas: Their 105 Cask Strength is highly regarded for its excellent value - priced at around £40. If the first whisky was a slap in the face this is outright hockey brawl... a heat that builds from the initial spark and continually grows for around 5-7 seconds. When the fire dies down a great molasses stickiness is left behind. Also on the palate we found sweet dark fruit, layered with a complex mixed spice. A splash of water again added great depth and enhanced the sherry character of the whisky.

Food pairing: Harissa straws

The third whisky came courtesy of a lesser known distillery - Dailuaine 15 Year - bottled by the fantastic folks at Master of Malt. Dailuaine again produce the majority of their whisky for blends (almost exclusively Johnny Walker). This use of whisky for blends means there is often far less money spent on the acquisition of casks, as in the long run it is less important than those producing single malt releases. So this bottling is somewhat of a rarity, and a frankly incredible find on the part of the guys over at Master of Malt, to happen upon this barrel in the right warehouse at the right time before it could be shipped off to what would have been a sorrowful end for this excellent cask. The 55.7% sherry-finished dram oozed with maple syrup and nutty earthiness in a far more smooth fashion than the previous few, with a gentle stickiness that allowed the spirit to glide down as you swallow. There was a lovely hint of lightly smoked sweet cured bacon, accompanied by an oily, rich finish.

Food: Goats and Chilli Arancini

After a short break, we returned to sample the Bowmore 10 Year Tempest Batch 3 - the only peated offering of the evening. This was a truly lovely, rounded whisky that did not solely punch of peat. The nose of tobacco sweetness prickled with a sweet, smoky, dried beef jerky that gave way into a burnt lavender. The palate held the classic Bowmore smoke and saltiness, with the expected savoury notes coupled with a fruity undertone of dried pineapple and fresh passion fruit that lingered with just a tickle of black pepper.

Food: Prawn tempura with soy and ginger dressing

Balcones Texas #1, the first single malt whisky to be made in Texas, rounded off the evening. This is also the first yard aged whisky, which happens to be as simple as it sounds. The crowd sourced tasting note for the initial nose got it bang on - the smell of opening a tin of Quality Street: heady notes of chocolate, toffee and light floral notes combined with an oddly appetising metallic character. The whisky had a silky, lightly oiled mouth feel, with a toasty malt sweetness and elements of overripe fruits. The finish left behind a soft sugar note with a great depth from the fresh American oak cask. Completely unique.

Food: Chilli jam (with a hint of Pedro Ximenez) and crispbreads

Another firecracker of an evening (see what we did there) was had by all - we'll be back in two short weeks for whisky and desserts!

Cheers,

J & L

American Whiskey Tasting at the Broadfield

Well, well, well... here we are again. We originally hadn't thought to book onto the American night at the Broadfield, not thinking it was quite our tipple. However, after only a little bit of liquid persuasion (the Japanese whisky night!) and talk of classic American cocktails with a twist as the pairings for this night, we had our spaces reserved and our Boardwalk Empire DVD on repeat.

The evening opened with Old Fitzgerald: an 8 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon. This was a good entry level whiskey, if you are after a typical bourbon. Vanilla on the nose and sticky sweet across the palate, this whiskey is bottled at 45% but is much smoother than it's Scotch counterpart. Available at around £20 per bottle, it's a dram which is completely accessible and really quite delicious.

This was accompanied by an Old Fashioned cocktail, with sugar syrup, orange peel and a dash of bitters added to the Old Fitzgerald. This was then transformed into a smoked Old Fashioned, using applewood chips and a smoke generator. The cocktail was fantastically orangey and a great twist on a classic, as well as the slightly bonkers methodology being a sign of the magic to come!

Whisky Curator at work!

We moved on to a Woodford Reserve, a bourbon with a high rye content and a heady nose full of honey, vanilla and woodiness. This literally tasted as American as apple pie - fruity, with hints of cinnamon and cereal sweetness. The toasted wood notes returned in the lingering finish.

With this was served a Manhattan, but not just any Manhattan: this one was barrel aged in a mini Kentucky toasted oak cask. For two weeks, the barrel held a Spanish sweet vermouth, before the Woodford Reserve and dry vermouth were aged in the same barrel for a further 6 weeks. The drink was completed with a splash of cognac added to the aged ingredients along with Benedictine and homemade orange bitters. Pure class. The barrel aged cocktail isn't something we've seen very often, but after sampling this one we're thinking Ed could be quite the trendsetter.

The third dram of the night was the Blanton's Special Reserve. This caught Laura's eye due to having possibly the best bottle stopper ever - it has a racehorse on it, in honour of the Kentucky Derby. Bottled at 40%, this smelled more like a Scotch than the previous two offerings of the night, with prominent spiced notes. It had a nutty flavour with a bit of a bite from citrus peel flavours and more spiciness.


Our next cocktail was a hot variation on the Mint Julep, which came poured from a proper antique teapot into a little china teacup. Just darling. Peppermint tea was delicately brewed before adding brown sugar syrup, fresh mint and bitters, along with the Blanton's. It's fair to say that this was not a favourite in the room, having a somewhat medicinal quality, but Laura loved it, and the Prohibition-style presentation was a great touch.

Up next was FEW distillery (ironically named after initials of Frances Elizabeth Willard, one of the leading figures of the temperance movement in the distillery's home city of Evanston) with their Rye Whiskey, bottled at 46.5%. The rye was prominent on the nose, along with aromas of lemongrass, ginger nuts and a hint of lavender. On the palate, you can taste that it's a young whiskey, but this is no detriment - it's a very nice tipple with a lightly herbal note. 

The cocktail pairing this time was an original take on a whiskey sour, which began simply with FEW rye whiskey, fresh lemon and sugar syrup. All straightforward so far. It was then shaken (with added flair from Ed). A honey, rosemary and elderflower foam was added to the glass before the cocktail was poured through, to produce a delicate and sweet-yet-sour delight.

Finally, we were treated to the High West Campfire. This had a more familiar seaweedy nose, with inspiration coming from a master distiller who fell in love with Islay, and so decided to create a whiskey which paid homage to the beautiful island. The whiskey is formed of 70% bourbon, 20% rye, and 10% Islay whisky, and it was an outstanding drink. Sticky sweetness and dried fruits provided the undertones to the palate, with heat and spice playing a part too. The peated whisky element made itself apparent in the finish.

A Rob Roy cocktail completed the line-up for the evening. High West was stirred down with barrel aged vermouth sugar syrup and bitters. Added to this were Martini Rosso sweet vermouth caviar pearls (yes, really!). These little jewels were created with a sweet vermouth sodium alginate, which was painstakingly dripped into a calcium bath (ooo technical). A vacuum and an Aerolatte were also used in there somewhere. We lost track a tad, but trust us when we say there was real chemistry in the room! 

The night as a whole was probably our favourite tasting so far. Whilst the whiskeys weren't quite as much to our taste as usual (we've not been converted away from our Scotch!), they were none-the-less great easy-drinking drams and very enjoyable. However, the highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the cocktails - all five were absolutely spectacular and totally unique.

Cheers,

Laura & Jim

You can find out more about the cocktails at whiskycurator.tumblr.com. Thanks to Ed for another great evening!

Single Cask Whisky Tasting at the Broadfield

As you may have read, we have been to a few of Ed's (@WhiskyCurator) whisky tastings at the Broadfield. This time, it was the turn of the cask strength whisky, all of which were bottlings from Master of Malt (although this was more coincidental than intentional). The theme of the evening was delightfully titled "Single cask treats and homemade sweets", with lovingly prepared sweeties to accompany the drams.

Glentauchers 15 year kicked off the evening, the weakest of the night at a mere 55.1% ABV. On both the nose and the palate it was zesty and fresh, yet gaining body as the flavour developed, invoking the chew of apricot and peach with custard. This was paired with a soft, chocolate coated pistachio nougat.

The second dram was a Miltonduff 18 year old sherry cask whisky, with an ABV of 59.6%. The woody scent of this whisky flowed through, and onto the palate were pear drops and fruity hints, meaning it tasted a bit like Christmas. This was quite possibly the most exciting drink of the evening, with intriguing nuances of flavour true to it's single cask nature, which makes it such a shame that most of this makes its way into blends. Ed's invention for this one - Irn Bru gummy worms. Improbable, slippery, and fantastically weird. We loved them.

Glen Garioch 20 year, at 58.8%, came next. This highland malt had a delightfully soft, toffee vanilla-ness with a background of brewery malt on the nose, then somewhere between the smell and actually drinking it, it's as though some secretive soul has surreptitiously swapped the contents of the Glencairn for a peppery and altogether more oaky drink. The palate continued to expand with a porridgy apple that lingered, and ended with a custardy finish that took the dram full circle. An apple candy brought the first half of the tasting to an end. 

(Accidentally ate most of the nougat pre-photo!)

Ledaig 7 year was next - an absolute stonker of a dram at 61.9%. Rather poetically, this whisky is made on the island of Mull in the beautiful stills of Tobermory, before being transferred the 35 miles to Islay where the barrels are stored for a deliciously short time. The peated lightly coloured liquid swims with a saltiness that comes only with ageing in the middle of the North Atlantic. This nasal saltiness is then beaten to submission by what tastes like the Honey Monster smoking a pipe. With a finish that sticks to the tongue for a remarkable length of time, this could easily be mistaken for a much older whisky. This came matched with a wonderful pairing of cinder toffee.

Glenburgie 21 year old, from Speyside, was the final dram of the night and it was simply spectacular: a veritable delight of fruits and sweet spice that just glowed across the tongue and up the nose, and even at 56.9% was still beautifully quaffable without the heat that one may expect. The rich and demerara sugary palate glistened with cinnamon and bundles of vanilla ice cream, and overall the rounded flavour was exceptional. To go with this, we were presented with what soon became our favourite sweet of the night, a delicately flavoured and sumptuously squishy earl grey marshmallow.

Another great night in what is becoming quite a tradition for the team at Mashtun and Meow - we will be back on June 3rd for a night of American whiskeys and cocktails!

Slainte,

J&L

Japanese Whisky Tasting at the Broadfield

So, we return once again to the lovely upstairs room of the Broadfield for another whisky tasting: this time, the focus is on the east and the produce of the Japanese.

As you may have seen previously, these events, run by Ed Daly (@whiskycurator), consist of five fine whiskies. Tonight's proceedings open with the Hibiki 12. This is a Suntory whisky of great character, and with an attention to detail unsurpassed by most of the blends on the market. It is constructed by at least 35 different whiskies, all of which are exclusive to the Hibiki 12 year. It is this commitment to great balance that is reflected in the overall sweet vanilla flavour, which gives way to a peppery spiced finish.

This dram is followed closely by the Hakushu Bourbon Barrel; a whisky that comes to the UK in relatively small batches. It has a honey nose with a slight raisiny edge. As the whisky flows across the palate, a new flavour, more homely yet sophisticated like banoffee pie emerges. The warmth of the 48.2% spirit lingers pleasantly towards a fruity end.

Nikka 'from the Barrel' is next, with easily the cutest bottle of the night, reminiscent of a traditional yet oversized pill bottle. This is a delicious whisky that sings of spiced oak, and not in the least bit medicinal. As tonight's whiskies go it is one that I have drunk before and would do so again (and again) - it's spiced nature is held strong with sweeter, creamier flavours, which work along to a lovely oak spice across the palate and into the finish.

Between the third and fourth whiskies we were given opportunity to get another pint and go for a cigarette, with the reassurance from our host that the whiskies will power through any dulling that 10 minutes smoking can do to the taste buds. So down to the bar for a pint of Summer Wine Barista - an espresso stout of monumental coffee-osity - before returning to the upstairs parlour.

As promised these two were bold, punchy and above all delicious. The Karuizawa, a whisky with 'no age statement' (a dirty phrase between the more traditional whisky drinkers), is a demerara sweet sherried whisky. The whisky is compiled from 77 different sherry casks to create this dark in colour and vibrant in flavour dram of light ginger spice, while at the same time possessing the body of a good red wine that stays on the tongue sweetly and luxuriously.

As with most tastings the night ends on lofty heights with the multi award winning Yamazaki 18 year, a Pedro Ximinez aged gorgeously balanced fruity number. The nose tingles with apples and hints of pear. Its depth and complexity build as you hold it in the mouth and let it wash over the tongue and down the throat, as in the last movement of Beethoven's glorious Symphony No. 9, where the entire spectacle comes to an end with a chorus of a thousand. The long yet dainty fruit-filled finish stays in the mouth long after sending the delightful spirit to the stomach. Divine.

Accompanying each of the whiskies was a simply stunning handmade piece of sushi (one of Ed's hidden talents) - it tasted as good as it looked. See for yourself just how good!

We may have "accidentally" booked ourselves onto another two future tastings, and we can't wait to see what the next one will bring.

Kanpai!

Jim

The Curator's Collection

So we are for the second time sat in the upstairs room of the Broadfield, confronted by 5 delicious and truly special single malts, with the smell of smoke and warmth of spice drifting nosewards. This collection was put together and led by the charismatic whisky curator at the pub, Ed (you can read his blog here), and was a fine showcase of delightfully selected contrasting and exclusive whiskies, all of which were from the home shelf of the presenter.


Yet again this was a wonderful evening of tasting leading to a potential new favourite, although I think buying a bottle may set me back a few pennies...

With five whiskies on the cards, it was set to be a delectable night of malted peaty goodness.
The evening opened with a Glenkeith 1983, a dram with a light delicate nose and a stroke of liquorice on the finish that slips neatly down the palate, despite the dry nature of the oak.

Next was a Canadian Club 1975 - a 6 year aged bottle that was well kept from the ages of yore before the name meant cheap American 'liquor store' blend. Instead we are confronted by woody smells, a sligthly chalky nose, but backed up with the delightful taste of almost rum-spiced quality.

The third dram of the evening was a Tormore 28 year, bottled by the incredible whisky fanatics at WhiskyBroker. It has a depth of flavour like an apple crumble, sweet and lightly spiced with hints of cinnamon, which comes with a helping of warm vanilla custard. On the exceptionally long finish across the tongue were hedgerow fruits and hints of nutmeg all levelled with a flavour of oak wood. This is a very well rounded whisky with great warmth and sweetness. 

Komagatake 1989, is a spiced dram from a far lesser seen Japanese distillery, compared with Nikka or Yamazaki. It is a delicate whisky with a strong black pepper character, which dissolves to a toffee sweetness on the tongue. The long finish sums up the previous spice with a slightly smoked oak character. This was Laura's favourite of the night.

Some people save the best till last, and this for me could be the best ever. Ardbeg 1977 is an incredibly complex mix of powerful peat, with subtle overtones that constantly dance around the palate, up the nose and down the throat. It holds a magisterial concoction of flavour reminiscent of cocoa and coffees, that become creamy in texture across the tongue: a texture that brings with it a real depth and the phenols of peat smoke with fruit after citrus fruit. Really there are for too many levels of flavour into which I could plunge as far as this whisky is concerned, but I can comfortably say this is the greatest whisky I have ever tasted and that I am probably ever likely to drink. This would sell in a bar for upwards of £80 per dram, and due to its small run and now limited supply, will only increase in cost sip by delicious sip. 

But at the same time this is not the one I would recommend anyone purchasing. Instead I would opt for the Tormore 28 (now succeeded by the Tormore 29 year on whiskybroker) - it is well worth the money at £65. 

With the addition of christmas crackers containing miniature festive treats from Master of Malt in the form of single serve drams akin to our advent calendars, this was a smashing evening.

We are already looking forward to what the next series of whisky tasting nights will bring!

Slainte,

Jim

Lost Distilleries

As the first whisky post for our blog, we thought it best to start with throwing lots at you at once.

Laura: To begin... a little bit of back story. We both LOVE whisky, to the extent that we went to Islay, the home of many a quality malt, on our honeymoon. So when a "Lost Distilleries" night was organised at one of our locals, three days after Jim's birthday, it seemed the perfect gift.

We began by a delicious Mexican meal out - food pairings had been advertised to go with the whiskies, but were described as "nibbles", so we thought it best to line our stomachs with something a little more substantial. The taco sharing tray we chose certainly sufficed!

Food: Amigos, London Road, Sheffield

The whisky night itself was based at the Broadfield in Sheffield. This is one of the great pubs owned by Forum Cafe Bars, an independent company that runs some excellent eat- and drinkeries around the city. The evening was hosted by Ed, the delightful in-house whisky connoisseur (follow @WhiskyCurator on twitter), and focused on Scottish distilleries that are now closed, most likely forever, so this night presented itself as the perfect opportunity to try a variety of whiskies more rare and special than anything we could afford a full bottle of.

Jim: I firmly believe that one of the best ways to try whiskies, especially great new ones, is on organised tastings. On the menu were 5 whiskies from around Scotland, each with a suggested food tasting for the separate drams.

We opened with a Caperdonich 1998, a 13 year old whisky bottled by Connoisseurs Choice. It was a florally smooth whisky with a delightful heather nose. This whisky was the weakest of the evening at a mere 46%. It was served with a chunk of shortbread, to complement similar tastes in the dram but also to highlight the warm spiced fruits through the taste.

To follow we moved on to the Imperial 16 year ,which on the nose was a lighter, more fruity whisky than the previous drink, this time bottled by Hunter Laing and Co. This whisky didn't have the burn that those used to cask-strength (50% in this case) whisky may expect, instead a warming smoothness of a vanilla, nutmeg custard, ending in a slight pepper finish. This lightness allowed this whisky to become one of Laura's favourites. We sampled this alongside oatcakes and Mull of Kintyre cheddar, which provided a great contrast.

Next to follow was one of the most notable whiskies for me - a 24 year old dram from Littlemill distillery, again bottled independently: this time by Berrys' Bros & Rudd. Littlemill is one of the most interesting distilleries, with one of the earliest stills in Scotland, and employing the first female master distiller in the UK. With regards to the equipment they were progressive, always searching for the taste of a better whisky, by trying out different shapes of copper still. This kind of experimentation is not often seen in the stills of Scotland, being more usually incorporated into the methods of the Japanese distilleries. But with all this it doesn't help or change the fact that the distillery was mothballed, leaving the occasional batch to be run just to check the machinery. However, from one of these runs came forth the evening's bottle. It was an exciting mix of gingery peach and creamy chocolate (white chocolate being the pairing) on the nose, with a taste of Caribbean fruits, and a punch of spice, almost the hint of an awesome rum but with the finish and flair of a long-lasting single malt.


Our penultimate whisky hailed from a tumultuous distillery; one that produced whisky for fewer consecutive years than the 20 year old dram we had our nose in. With one of the more interesting labels of any bottle on the market and it's turbulent past, this whisky could have gone one of two ways. The tickling heat  at the back of the throat and through to the nose politely informed you what the bottle had continued to say: that this was 57.5%. Pittyvaich certainly packed a punch.




Then came the final whisky.  I feel I should preface this next paragraph with some advice: A massive budget doesn't necessarily guarantee a great whisky. Spending money on whisky (for me) should be considered and thought out. But...

But... then I tasted Glen Mhor 28year. I have never sampled anything that has come close as far as distinction goes (save Bruichladdich Octomore, but that is for another time), with a smell almost of parkin, but with a vague rose water quality. In the mouth, all the flavours of treacle, toffee and liquorice swirled with the sense of tobacco and plums, ending in one of the longest, most pleasant and peppery finishes I have ever experienced. This whisky is divine; subtle and powerful in equal measure, livening the taste buds and awakening the mind with memories of bonfires. The only issue reigning me in from bathing in this divine spirit is none-the-less a big one... £180 a bottle...

...although, I don't need the TV...

Laura: Overall, the night was a great experience. The whiskies were delicious, the food pairings worked well, the knowledge of our host was exceptional and the atmosphere of the private tasting was cosy and made the event feel special. At £30 a head, it wasn't cheap, but this price represented excellent value. We had a fantastic time and will definitely look out for similar events in the future!

Slainte!

L and J xx

For more information about The Broadfield's upcoming events, go to http://www.thebroadfield.co.uk/