Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/723381
september 2016 / the tasting panel / 83 Do you fancy yourself The World's Most Experimental Bartender? If you think you fit the bill, go online at www.tastingpanelmag.com/glenfiddich for more details about the competition and information on how to enter, or send an email to Glenfiddich@tastingpanelmag.com with your idea for a collaboration. The deadline is September 14th with 10 selected winners going to the U.S. final in NYC on September 29th, and then, the final three travel to the Glenfiddich distillery on November 7th, so fire up your imagination! E njoying a huge amount of success since its inception in 1887, the lasting growth of the Glenfiddich distillery is due in large part to the many great partnerships it has fostered over the years. One partnership in particular I have grown very fond of has been with Alan Rubin, founder and President of Alec Bradley Cigar Company, and his team. Another family-run business, Alec Bradley Cigar Company was founded in 1996 and was named after Alan's two sons, Alec and Bradley. During the last four to five years, it's been a great experience to become such strong partners and great friends with the Alec Bradley team. Learning about cigars from one of the best in the industry, we've enjoyed a few cigars, traded stories and shared a dram or two along the way, sometimes in unexpected places but always in good company. Alan recalls how the partnership started: "It began in very typical surroundings actually—on a golf course in Vegas with a dram in one hand and a cigar in the other." Five years later, the collaboration continues to flourish, and we work closely with the Alec Bradley "Road Warriors" across the U.S. to educate enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike on Scotch whisky and cigar production. Maybe it's because of this partnership or maybe it's because our products go hand-in-hand, but I could think of no better alliance for The Experimental Bartender competi- tion than the one I have with Alec Bradley. To build my Glendfiddich experience, I worked closely with Alan and his team to create the perfect cigar blend to pair with my favorite Glenfiddich bottling, the 15 Year Old. Cigars and whisky don't just go together; they belong together. It's a beautiful thing to sit down and enjoy a nice dram at the end of the day, but paired with the right cigar takes it to another level. Alan refers to the smoking of a good cigar as "that ultimate vacation without leaving your home. It's about getting away at that moment for an hour or an hour and a half." For me, this beautifully sums up the occasion of pairing cigars and whisky. Alan had very kindly paired our entire range from 12 Year Old to 40 Year Old with various labels of the Alec Bradley cigar range. Alan's dedication to research was unquestion- able. There were many long nights of sampling whisky carefully and purposefully to match each expression with the ideal cigar pairing. I commend his passion and dedication for excellence! If only I had a job like his! The original pairing that Alan landed on for Glenfiddich 15 Year Old through all his trials over the past year was with The Prensado. The Prensado smokes beautifully, but we wanted to take it a step further and actually create some- thing truly tailored to pair with 15 Year Old. "I was looking for a level of fluidity between the cigar and the whisky," Alan told me while down at their office in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. "Sometimes you want that contrast between the two, but with the 15 Year Old having such a balanced profile, I wanted to take the basis of The Prensado and adjust it slightly, add- ing a touch more sweetness to the blend." In addition to the custom cigar pairing, Alan decided to take it an extra step further and deconstruct the cigar into three individual components. If you imagine how an orches- tra is comprised of different sections such as strings, horns and percussion, whisky and cigars both share a similar type of structure. In whisky production the final bottling is a result of expert blending and marrying of many casks combined together to achieve a balance of flavors; similarly with cigar production, many various types and ages of tobacco leaves are blended together! By stripping back the cigar into these individual elements you usually lose some balance and complexity. Although the individual components are something that can be enjoyed in their own right, it's impressive to see the craft of knowing how to blend these components can separate good from great! On that note, I'd say it's a good time for me to pour myself a dram and light this cigar, it's time for another vacation! David and Alan collaborated on a specially designed cigar pairing for David's favorite expression of Glenfiddich, the 15 Year Old.