Whisky. What is it to you? Nectar of the Gods? Something ghastly you wouldn’t touch with a barge pole? Maybe you’re not sure, you’ve had it in cocktails but never in its native form and you’re scared to take the plunge into those intimidating bar menus laden with Scottish, Irish or more far flung sounding names? To me, whisky is a new love. I began drinking it years ago when I was working on cocktail bars and first began learning about it. Time has passed and I’m still continuing my journey, exploring this old and complex spirit.
Places like The Whisky Lounge at the Hilton London Metropole make this a whole lot easier. This is a custom built lounge and whisky emporium, its walls lined with over 70 different whiskies from around the world and available for sampling. It is overseen by mixologist and whisky subject matter expert Eszter Gyory whom as well as being incredibly glamorous is also insanely knowledgeable and passionate. The lounge exists to educate aficionados and novices alike through custom tastings. Whilst attendees can customise their tastings by letting the Lounge know in advance their interests, the standard tastings come in two themes: Scottish or International, priced at £26-61.
I went down to a special press tasting event there to understand what all the hype was about. The Lounge itself is luxurious and intimate, with dimmed lighting, plush armchairs and a striking pendant light over the tasting table of suspended whisky decanters. Sitting around an oval table, all eyes on Eszter we kicked off the tasting.
I went down to a special press tasting event there to understand what all the hype was about. The Lounge itself is luxurious and intimate, with dimmed lighting, plush armchairs and a striking pendant light over the tasting table of suspended whisky decanters. Sitting around an oval table, all eyes on Eszter we kicked off the tasting.
The first on the list came with the award winning Singleton of Dufftown 12 year old single malt. Funnily enough this turned out to be my favourite whisky of the evening with warm nutty notes, slight sweetness, fruit and balanced smoothness. With the Singleton, Eszter taught us how to properly taste whisky. First, reading the profile through the colour and consistency of the whisky; how thick it is, evidenced by how it drips down the inside of the glass when swirled. Not that you should ever swirl a whisky (apparently) like you would a wine. Its high alcohol content means that it evaporates enough by itself; swirling it just means you get an eyeful of whisky fumes! She also spoke on pairing food with whisky with chocolate being the ideal match for the Singleton.
Next came a 16 year old Lagavulin from Islay; a heavy hitting, peaty malt which was very dry, spicy and smoky. For me this whisky packed so much of a punch that pairing it with food would be redundant. You might as well square up to Mike Tyson.
We headed East next with a the pioneering single malt Japanese whisky Suntory Yamazaki 12 years old. This 12 year old sip was a peculiar blend of complexity yet delicacy. It was super smooth, slightly floral and with residual smokiness. It contrasted well with the Lagavulin in that unlike its predecessor, it developed slowly and took a while for the flavours to be fully drawn out. I liked it.
The final whisky of the tasting came as an unexpected and peculiar entry: a Taiwanese one called Kavalan. The Taiwanese are apparently extremely proud of this product, having developed it to compete with the Scottish market. This is clear in the name which translates roughly as ‘sincerity, honesty and the spirit of step by step cultivation’. Interestingly, the King Car Distillery that produce it do not publish the age of it; because of the tropical climate it ages a lot quicker and they prefer not to allow pre-conceptions to taint consumers’ impressions of it. It tasted and smelt of tropical fruit, with a lingering creaminess and tickles of caramel, mango and oaked spiciness. Whilst for me it lacked the smoothness and sweetness of some of the other whiskies, it has undeniably seen a lot of critical success since its launch, winning a Gold Medal at the 2011 International Wine and Spirits Competition. An interesting drink to try and one I felt privileged to get my hands on.
Next came a 16 year old Lagavulin from Islay; a heavy hitting, peaty malt which was very dry, spicy and smoky. For me this whisky packed so much of a punch that pairing it with food would be redundant. You might as well square up to Mike Tyson.
We headed East next with a the pioneering single malt Japanese whisky Suntory Yamazaki 12 years old. This 12 year old sip was a peculiar blend of complexity yet delicacy. It was super smooth, slightly floral and with residual smokiness. It contrasted well with the Lagavulin in that unlike its predecessor, it developed slowly and took a while for the flavours to be fully drawn out. I liked it.
The final whisky of the tasting came as an unexpected and peculiar entry: a Taiwanese one called Kavalan. The Taiwanese are apparently extremely proud of this product, having developed it to compete with the Scottish market. This is clear in the name which translates roughly as ‘sincerity, honesty and the spirit of step by step cultivation’. Interestingly, the King Car Distillery that produce it do not publish the age of it; because of the tropical climate it ages a lot quicker and they prefer not to allow pre-conceptions to taint consumers’ impressions of it. It tasted and smelt of tropical fruit, with a lingering creaminess and tickles of caramel, mango and oaked spiciness. Whilst for me it lacked the smoothness and sweetness of some of the other whiskies, it has undeniably seen a lot of critical success since its launch, winning a Gold Medal at the 2011 International Wine and Spirits Competition. An interesting drink to try and one I felt privileged to get my hands on.
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I left The Whisky Lounge a little further along on my journey into whisky. I appreciated it before and thought I knew about it but Eszter taught me a lot of new things and introduced me some wonderful, really quite exciting products. What is whisky to you? Here’s a place to go and find out.
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-metropole-LONMETW/dining/whisky-lounge.html
225 Edgware Road, London W2 1JU
020 7402 4141
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-metropole-LONMETW/dining/whisky-lounge.html
225 Edgware Road, London W2 1JU
020 7402 4141
