Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
Fire and Ice NOSEABLES RICHARD CARLETON HACKER INSPIRED BY CIGARS AND POLAR EXPLORATION, TWO WINNING WHISKIES RETURN I n 1998, The Dalmore introduced the first single malt for cigar smokers. Unfortunately, some thought Cigar Malt couldn't be enjoyed by non-smokers, or was aged in tobacco (which causes Whyte & MacKay Master Blender Richard Paterson to roll his eyes). Consequently, the whisky was disconMaster Blender Richard Paterson. tinued and a few years ago a replacement, Gran Reserva, briefly came out. But last year, Paterson created The Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve ($125), inspired by today's full-flavored cigars. Comprised of 70% oloroso matusalem sherry butts, 20% American white oak, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, this vatting of 10- to 14-year-old single malts is packed with citrus, plump red fruit and vanilla-soaked spices. An older style spirit is found in Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky ($180), the blended scotch Sir Ernest Shackleton selected to fortify his 1907–1909 British Antarctic Expedition. A century later, the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust found a small number of bottles literally frozen in time underneath the expedition's hut. Three bottles were flown to Scotland, where Paterson duplicated the blend, and 50,000 bottles were produced. Whyte & Mackay donated a portion of their sales, totaling over $350,000, to the Trust. Recently the Trust asked Paterson to create one more run of this new/old whisky to raise one million dollars for a second Shackleton expedition. Subtitled "The Journey," 100,000 bottles have been produced, with most going to America to satisfy collectors who missed out on the first bottles, which mainly went overseas. Ten dollars for each bottle sold will be donated to the Trust. —Richard Carleton Hacker april 2013 / the tasting panel / 73