WINTER 2010

grill’s Fine Spirit

Tasting

2 spIRIT TasTE

Rum is the hot spirit right now – and not just as a classic mixer in

the most fashionable cocktails of the moment. There are there two rums listed amongst the world’s top drinks brands for the first time and the spirit has also become an option for gour-mands selecting what to drink at the end of an evening of fine dining – the classic postprandial.

Cognac, with some mild competi-tion in a few quarters from Armag-nac, its rustic, Gascon compatriot, dominated postprandial fine dining for generations. This was part driven by the English aristocracy’s taste for it, and in particular their propensity to drink anything that avoided excise, as cognac was for centuries a popular cargo for smugglers running across the English Channel, along with Norman-dy lace and Provençal perfume.

Not paying English customs duty was one thing but trading with High-land rebels was another, and for all its romantic origins in the Scottish north, whisky took at least 200 years to gain credence amongst Sassenachs. Single malt whisky’s rise as an after-dinner

snifter is very much a feature of the late 20th Century, towards the end of which it has challenged cognac as the most prestigious of spirits.

But, now there is another challenger, and this from a far more radical source than Cornish smugglers or Highland bandits – Caribbean pirates. Fine rum, known to Caribbean locals as “sipp’n’ rum” has had a following throughout the Central American islands for as long as rum has been distilled from cane sugar. However, only lately, espe-cially under the leadership of Apple-ton, has rum really staked a claim to fine dining’s conclusion.

The problem is that being a late starter in satisfying international demand for fine spirits, rum producers are struggling to keep up with demand. The more barrel-aged rum they sell, the harder it becomes to age enough stock for the future. Anything over 10 years old is, by definition, genuinely rare.

THE TASTINGI conducted the tasting in Auckland at the Jervois Steak House on Jervois Road, Herne Bay, a venue suited to the

atmosphere of simple but fine dining, imbued with the slightly testosterone-tinged air provided by red meat and dark wine, in which the finest of spirits show off their best.

Rather than preordain what would be tasted, the spirits available were no more than a selection of what the sommelier at Jervois Steak House provides, given that it probably represents the best of its style in the city. Unsurprisingly it did, being one of those very rare establishments that takes itself seriously enough to offer the finest of all cognacs, Delamain Pale and Dry XO, as well as some excellent single malts, age-blended whiskies, Armagnac and a selection of aged Appleton rums.

Served burnished on the beaten copper surface of the JSH bar, the spirits were all nosed where they lay in champagne flûtes, glasses of just the right proportions for a top class spirit, after which equal parts of water were added for the subsequent tasting, as well as the chance to revisit the nose “on the rise” as water releases its more subtle characteristics.

As always for grill, each was allo-cated a mark out of 10 as an indication of its quality, with notes as follows:

8RUMAPPLETON ESTATE 12 YEAR OLD

43% abvRipe and plump on the nose with a tinge of ripe citrus and some sweet shadows emerging

from the mellow oak and warm spirit. Palate is soft and very charming, giving extra vigour with a dash of alcohol warmth that lingers at the finish. The palate is light and sweet, which the spirit never detracts from, yet with some lovely subtleties. Classy and fine, this is impressive stuff that is a long way ahead of where rum was not so long ago.

By Keith stewart

Fine rum – Move over Cornish smugglers and Highland

bandits, the pirates of the Caribbean are here.

Hard to find spirit

grill would like to thank Jervois steak House

on Jervois Road, Herne Bay for the use of

their fine premises and fine spirits.

WWW.gRIll.Co.Nz

3spIRIT TasTE

9

RUMAPPLETON ESTATE 21 YEAR OLD

43% abvAgain a nose that is ripe with soft, measured sweet-ness and a hint of aromatic fruit about

it. More subtlety and detail than on the 12 YO, and a greater influence from the oak, but with the same perfect balance between spirit and flavour that keeps the whole very fine. Flavours are well spread with momentum, although the numerous details make it impossible to isolate just what fruits are to be seen amongst the oak nuances that 21 years have delivered.

Superb! A quite remarkable per-formance of the type that will see rum becoming a more regular performer at the end of great meals.

5ARMAGNACPRINCE D’ARINAC V.S.40% abv

A powerful, braw nose with vigour and a coarse edge, with plenty of strong grapey aromas and flavour,

well shot with oak. Mellow flavours are energised by the slightly volatile spirit, the sort of stuff that comes in handy when getting ones courage up.

7BOURBONWILD TURKEY RARE BREEDBarrel proof

53% abv Mellow, ripely clas-sic Bourbon nose is sweet and pungent with a strong oak quality and just an

edge of extra fire about it. Fluid, fine, sweet, very mellow spirit is effortlessly powerful and smooth, rather like a

throaty V8 such as would power an AC Cobra. Plenty of scale and vigour, big, buxom and rich with sensual charm.

8

SCOTCH WHISKYCHIVAS REGAL 18 YEAR OLD

40% abvSuave nose is all subtle oak and detailed melodies from deep in the Highlands – fra-

grant, fine and filled with grain flavours edged in gentle smoke. An elegant palate delivers the consummate Scotch, sophisticated and very refined with a long, lingering finish and lovely textures that meld the spirit and grain together. Superb!

8SCOTCH MALT WHISKYGLENFIDDICH

15 YEAR OLD40% abv Subtle fragrance off a strongly aromatic nose that is filled with Highland

flowers, grain and sherry-like oak. A fine, high toned spirit that is flavour-some, mellow and showing remarkable nuances of flavour in one so young. Its full, smoky, mealy palate draws on and on to a lingering, satisfying finish. Very smart indeed.

6

SCOTCH MALT WHISKYGLENFIDDICH

18 YEAR OLD40% abv Strong nose has plenty of aromatic muscle as well as a dash of unusual

notes that make it slightly edgy. Palate has subtlety, but a certain lack of depth

of flavour that is atypical for single malt in general, and Glenfiddich in particu-lar. Not quite the pure water character one is used to with this spirit. Sweetish front palate is followed by a dry finish and some lingering aspects of warm grain that leave a pleasant memory.

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SCOTCH MALT WHISKYGLENFIDDICH

21 YEAR OLD40% abvA very fine nose of mealy/smoky characters, laced with subtleties that

have elements of sweetness, oak, and flowers. Very complex bouquet is a huge asset and the clarity on the palate is just the pure character that Glenfiddich is famous for. Its fine spirit is never less than vigorous, but delivered with such grace as to be without challenge. A superb whisky that is as finely reassuring as the best invariably is, and the finish, long, detailed, suave.

10COGNACDELAMAIN XO PALE AND DRY • GRANDE

CHAMPAGNE40% abvFrom its fine, fra-grant, whisperingly grape-smeared nose this is the standard

by which cognac gained its famous reputation for “VSOP” = very superior old pale, with the added quality of being bone dry.

It is alive with simply spectacular old oak character, investing a filigree of lacy flavour details across the nose and palate like some collection of crown jewels. Most particularly the spirit is subtle and very, very fine, no jarring notes, no dirty little asides. Simply magnificent – supple, firm and precise, but with poetry to move you.

…. supple, firm and precise, but with poetry to move you.

Jervois steak House on Jervois

Road, Herne Bay, fine dining,

fine wines and a fine bar.