After Hong Kong and the glory of The Pawn, a few of us on the trip went to Macau after our official visits were over.  I didn’t know what to expect from Macau - only that it was going to be an experience to remember and you had to ride a jetfoil to get there.  I was expecting to drop some cash on some seriously rare single malt.  I mean, lots of places in Asia kind of disappointed when it came to single malt, but Macau would have to represent, right?

Well, no.  This will be a short post, because the whisky in Macau is almost non-existent, disappointingly.  But, I figured loyal readers might want to see a few pics and hear some stories.  First things first, the only place to get whisky or whiskey in Macau (at least at The Venetian where we were) is at Duty Free America - yes, a Travel Retail store that’s not really anything except a branded retail store within the mall.  Here is where I picked up a couple of bottles of Dewar’s 12 Year Old Special Reserve for us to share that night (yeah, I know, not my first choice, but I wanted some whisky - WhiskyBoys review here, ForPeatSake here. Drinkhacker here, and John Hansell reviews the 18 Year Founder’s Reserve but throws in a kudos to the 12 year here).

I then brought my whisky up to the ridiculously large and amazing BALLER suite that had been arranged through strange coincidences and luck - think the suite from The Hangover, replete with master bedroom, regular bedroom, huge living room, media room, dual headed shower and infiniti tub, remote controlled curtains, kitchen, big wet bar, 4 flat screen 42 inch tvs, and oh yeah, a massage room (yes, really.  included a massage bed, lotions, and mood lighting).  No tigers, though 12 of us slept comfortably there.  12 people comfortably in one hotel room - for about the price of a Motel 6 back home.  I might have a few slippers from the hotel still, and definitely still have some of the free BVLGARI bathroom products.

I was lucky enough to be given a tour by some higher-ups within the organization and learned some interesting things.  One of the main reasons (apparently) for the lack of whisky is because when Chinese people gamble, they’re not there to drink - they’re there to gamble.  That’s right, there’s a dirth of cocktail waitresses bringing around cocktails because Chinese people don’t want to affect their judgment with alcohol when they gamble (they do smoke like chimneys, though).  And when they gamble, they don’t think it’s a matter of skill (say like poker or blackjack as Americans and Europeans do), they think it’s a matter of destiny.  Like Austin Powers, they might stay on 5 - because it would be their destiny to win on that hand.  And they take it SERIOUSLY - minimum bet on the lowest tables we could find in the EXPANSIVE gambling floor was $35 USD.  And the crowds were huge, which is saying a lot because the folks in Asia are smaller than in the US.

After sharing lots of whisky with friends, the night we were there remains a bit of a blur - but for some it involved crashing in the media room, others went gambling, others had a night out on town at a club and made some new Mongolian friends.  The next day, after visiting the world’s only Moet-Chandon bar/store, we went back to Hong Kong, and then back to the states.  My time in Asia was officially over, at least for two months.

I found this really interesting.

I posted my thoughts in the comments, and I’m really curious what everyone thinks.

It seems that the trend right now is to reach to the extremes - releasing younger and older expressions while potentially squeezing out the middle years. See Laphroaig 15 to Laphroaig 18 and Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Or, the Port Charlotte series as a younger.

I tend to think that I have an inexperienced palate, but I like younger whiskies - so I’d align with Jim Murray on that. However, many of John Hansell’s tasting notes I think are spot on, and I really respect his communication of them.

Pretty cool to read about a discussion of two legends like that.

Springbank is one of the few surviving Campbeltown whiskies, which was once the dominant whisky producing region of Scotland.  The distillery, which does it’s own maltings, puts out three different whiskies - the triple-distilled Hazelburn, the cult favorite Longrow, and the popular Springbank, which Michael Jackson’s Guide to Single Malt Scotch (5th) says is “made from medium-peated malt, with a trajectory that amounts to two-and-a-half times distillation.”  I’m not quite sure how to interpret that.  Not mentioned by Michael Jackson is that Springbank is non-chill filtered.

Michael Jackson scored the Springbank 10 at an 83, calling it an “elegant youngster.”  A bottle will run you about $59 in the states.

Springbank 10

ABV: 46%

Color: Golden

Nose: Spice and raisins.

Taste: More spice. A peatiness that is only faintly smoky.  It’s there in the background, but never dominant like in an Islay whisky, and the longer I drink, the more it fades into the background. The finish is lightly fruity, but not citrusy.  Like pears or honeydew.

Overall: A really nice dram.  I could nitpick and wish the retail price was a little lower, but this is worth the $60 you are going to drop at the liquor store.  Peat freaks will like it for the light smoke and added complexity.  Non-peat freaks might like this as a way to ease into Islay malts.

So here’s a bottle I’ve been meaning to write about for quite some time - the Glenkinchie 10 year.  As I’ve alluded to in previous blog posts, I got married back in March.  The wedding was in New Orleans, and a few days prior to the wedding, myself, my wife, and the whole wedding party went out for drinks and ended up at Cooter Brown’s, a beer bar/oyster joint Uptown along the Mississippi.

Being scotch drinkers, myself and some groomsmen took a look at their whisky selection and started drinking Glenkinchie 12 year.  It was quite surprising - grassy with a nice taste of pears in the middle and on the finish.  Very light, and perfect on a muggy, New Orleans night.

On my honeymoon down in the Caribbean, I was looking at whisky in some duty free shops and came across the younger Glenkinchie 10 year.  After a great experience with it’s slightly older cousin, and at an irresistible price of only $30 for a whole liter, I had to purchase it.  As you can see, it’s been a popular bottle in my house.  In the 4 months since I was married, the Glenkinchie has become my go-to bottle when I have large gatherings at my house, and I only have about 20 - 25% of the bottle left.

Glenkinchie 10

ABV: 43%

Color: dark yellow towards bronze.

Nose: I get that slight, tequila smell that I normally associate with some speysiders like The Glenrothes Select Reserve.  Not much of the herbal or perfume smells associated with other Lowland scotches like Rosebank.

Taste: Taking a sip, I get a lot of herbs and grass but not the cloying perfume of a Rosbank.  There is some maltiness, and a hint of a non-citrus fruit, but nothing as distinct as the pear taste of the 12 year expression.  Not much of a finish, but it’s a refreshing dram.  Very light and drinkable.  A summer scotch.

Overall: Not as developed as it’s 12 year old cousin, which is a bit more complex,  but well worth the $30 I paid for a full liter in a Caribbean duty-free shop. Definitely a session-drinking scotch. This would definitely be a candidate for our 40 Whiskies Under $40 series if not for the fact that I don’t think it is available in the US.