pop & pour

With a scant five days left until the last calendar door swings open, we’re setting a new age record today with a whisky whose name is about as hilariously British as they come:  The Antiquary 21 Year Rare Old Blend.  (And Scotland:  you voted to stay in the UK, so you can’t get mad at me when I say “British”.)  The Antiquary is a sub-label of the Tomatin distillery which was featured here back on Day 12 — if you start researching scotch you’ll realize just how much a seeming multiplicity of brands and labels are consolidated under a very limited number of owners.

Did Jane Austen come up with this name?

“Rare Old Blend” is an accurate description for this calendar, as I believe this is is just the 4th blend out of 18 scotch whiskies so far; it’s a single malt world out there in terms of consumer demand, although high-quality blends are probably the place to look for near-equal character and complexity at a way better price.  This 21 year old blend comes in at $115, extremely reasonable for a whisky of that age.  It’s a mixture of whiskies from all over Scotland, primarily Speyside and Highland but with a “splash” of Islay and Lowland scotch thrown in.  Campbeltown apparently failed to make the cut.

I loved the colour on this whisky, a glorious shimmering orange that belied its obvious age.  There was a surprising jolt of heat on the nose, joined by toffee, caramel, tangerine and nutmeg, all smells quite fitting to the current season.  Every time you take a sip, The Antiquary (I can’t get enough of that name…it sounds like a Sherlock Holmes hideout) just unfolds on you in waves, parchment and dust, salt and spice, corn and barley, with a hint of burnt vanilla.  The alcohol was again a bit prominent given that it’s a relatively normal 43%, distracting to the point that I ultimately added a bit of water to smooth it out, which worked like a charm.  If you have this at home, give it a few drops and see what happens.  Till tomorrow!