This past March 27 was a day filled with both solemnity and mirth, as well as no small amount of whisky.
For those not in the know, March 27 was the 9th annual International Whisk(e)y Day, celebrated the world over, wherever whisk(e)y is to be found.
That mysterious (e) in the name is to ensure that no country feels left out, whether they make Irish Whiskey or Scottish Whisky, or any other spelling.
Longtime boozers may recall the works of Michael Jackson (the booze writer, not the funky pop star).
Michael Jackson came to prominence in 1977, when he published The World Guide To Beer, which is still considered to be required reading for any student of the craft. He later published The Malt Whisky Companion in 1989, which shortly became the authoritative tome on the subject.
Tragically, Michael Jackson passed away from Parkinson’s Disease in 2007, a loss felt by the entirety of the beer and whisky industries that he was integral in shaping over the decades.
To recognize his contributions to the world of whisky, the industry honored him with the creation of International Whisk(e)y Day, held on his birthday every year, with fans being encouraged to donate to a charity performing Parkinson’s research.
Your humble narrator, in accordance with the gravitas of the occasion, made a donation to the Parkinson Alberta Society, before retiring to a new whisky bar in Calgary’s hip Kensington neighbourhood with a few drinking companions.
While the late and great Michael Jackson was from the UK, his writings were of the whiskies of the world, so your intrepid liquor reporter made it his goal to sample whiskeys from around the world, hitting as many continents as possible. I could not find any whiskies from South America or Antarctica, but all the others were represented.
Starting in the land down under, I sampled the Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Whisky, winner of the 2014 World Whiskies Awards. A single malt produced from local barley with the traditional Scottish method of double distillation, followed by aging in used Bourbon barrels.
With hints of vanilla and hazelnut, the Sullivans Cove was a drink that would calm down the Tasmanian Devil himself, just so he could have another sip.
Moving to the mountainous island of Hokkaido in northern Japan, I sampled the Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky, named after the Coffey still that revolutionized whisky distillation in 1830.
The Nikka distillery was founded by a maker of Japanese Sake (rice wine), who decided to branch out into the whisky business. As the first Japanese student at the University of Glasgow to complete studies in chemistry and distillation, Masataka Taketsuru returned to Japan in 1920, with a Scottish wife in tow, and founded the Nikka distillery.
Unsurprisingly, the Nikka distillery uses Scottish methods of malting and distilling, with perhaps a few influences from the long family history of Sake production.
Nearly a century has passed since that pioneering trip from Japan to Scotland, and the Nikka distillery is still going strong.
The whisky bar I was spending the day in was sold out of the Japanese single malts, but I sampled a blend made from mostly corn, much like a Bourbon. There were notes of spice and freshly cut hay on the nose, followed by a bit of toasted grain finish. All in all, an easy to drink whisky, even for novices.
Moving west to the Indian subcontinent, I sampled the Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky, made from 25% Scottish peated barley and 75% Indian unpeated barley.
Because of the intense heat, Indian whiskies tend to mature faster than their European or North American counterparts. It is typical for Indian whiskies to be bottled after no more than 4 years in the barrel, while Scottish whiskies often age in the barrel for 10-15 years.
Amrut Fusion has notes of marmalade and smoky peat, with just a hint of citrus, and was the favourite of my drinking companions for the evening.
So, even if your whisky tastes do not stray far from Johnnie Walker or Crown Royal, consider International Whisk(e)y Day as a chance to broaden your horizons, and perhaps even pay homage to the late and great Michael Jackson, booze author and reviewer extraordinaire, by raising a wee dram in his honor.
