This Saturday there was a work shop hosted by the Nihoncha (or Japanese tea) instructor association. But it was not a work shop for Japanese tea. It was for whisky. Tea and alcohol have a common aspect, which they are not essential to human life, but they are drank to be enjoyed.
I learned the mariage of chocolat and whisky. We have tasted five different whiskies (three Scotch and two Japanese) and chocolates. The whiskies are all single malt whisky and 12 years aged.
Glenfiddich: fruity and smooth
Hakushu: little smoky and sweet
Yamazaki: nice and profound, aroma like vanilla and taste like coconuts
Bowmore: Dry and smoky
The Macallan: Mellow and full body
I don’t drink whisky much. I usually have reasonable whiskies. This is my first time to try these good ones. They are all good. I loved Glenfiddich with the wonderful aroma. I also loved The Macallan and Yamazaki. I did not so much like smoky whisky. The theory for the marriage is to try the whisky and chocolate that have the common taste in the flavor. We enjoyed smoky flavor whisky with bitter chocolate, fruity whisky with fruity chocolate, or full body whisky with profound framboise chocolate. I thought the theory made sense. I think the same theory can be applied to Japanese tea and sweets or snacks.
I learned the mariage of chocolat and whisky. We have tasted five different whiskies (three Scotch and two Japanese) and chocolates. The whiskies are all single malt whisky and 12 years aged.
Glenfiddich: fruity and smooth
Hakushu: little smoky and sweet
Yamazaki: nice and profound, aroma like vanilla and taste like coconuts
Bowmore: Dry and smoky
The Macallan: Mellow and full body
I don’t drink whisky much. I usually have reasonable whiskies. This is my first time to try these good ones. They are all good. I loved Glenfiddich with the wonderful aroma. I also loved The Macallan and Yamazaki. I did not so much like smoky whisky. The theory for the marriage is to try the whisky and chocolate that have the common taste in the flavor. We enjoyed smoky flavor whisky with bitter chocolate, fruity whisky with fruity chocolate, or full body whisky with profound framboise chocolate. I thought the theory made sense. I think the same theory can be applied to Japanese tea and sweets or snacks.
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If you like fruity whisky, I would strongly recommend The Balvenie Doublewood 12 Years. It's filled with a strong taste of fruit and oak barrel.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like some extremely fruity whisky, try Bowmore 18 years old. It has a strong taste of dried fruit with a very long aftertaste.
Btw, I must once again thank you for your blog, which I have as a start page in my web browser. I love all your wonderful pictures and elaborate thoughts about tea. Keep it going!
ReplyDeleteThank you Senchaholic-san,
ReplyDeleteYou know about whisky, don’t you? The Bowmore 12 I was tried had sure had fruity aroma, but also had rich smoky flavor. I did not like the smoky flavor much. The 18 years might be different, isn’t it? I want to try The Balvenie Doublewood 12 Years (^-^)
I know a bit, but I'm quite a newcomer to the whisky field, but now that I've found it, I treat my tea just like I do with whisky. Savour it in small amounts. Tea a quite more often though of course (^-^)
ReplyDeleteHmm...I don't remember if there was a hint of smokiness in Bowmore 18, and I can't try the little I have left due to a cold (^o^) But I remember it as less smoky, if not no smoke, than the 12 year old.
The Balvenie Doublewood 12 Years is however not smoky at all, so you should definitely try that one.