Single Malts - Kilchoman and More

 I got introduced to the class of Whisky called Single Malts, around twenty years ago when I lived in Bangalore, and Prabhakar, a friend, ran his own company. He travelled to the U.K. and elsewhere frequently, and brought back a couple of Malts from there. We experimented, not knowing the right way to drink it. After some failed experiments, we finally got it. Neat, or with a bit of water is best. I think we started with a Glenfiddich (pronounced with a 'k' at the end, as I discovered much later!)

After that, till today, it has been a lot of Single Malts over the years, and each is distinctive. I have found friends- women too, who enjoy Single Malts, and have had some great get-togethers over a drink or two. India now has a decent range of Malts too.

Some malts I have tried- 

The ABC of Single Malts

This is an educational post, about a class of drinks that has no parallel. These are called Single Malt whiskys, or sometimes, just Malts.

My limited experience with them, about ten years now, has led me to the following conclusions (though influenced by writers or friends, mostly mine)-

There are a variety of single malts, and you may become a devotee of one or more over time. Once you are a Malt worshipper, it's hard to go back to the blends (see below for definition).

There are areas of Scotland (like Islay, Highlands, and others) which have somewhat distinct Malts. Ageing and the casks used for these (previously used for carrying Sherry or Bourbon sometimes) add to the flavours of a Malt. So does the use of peat (a sort of coal) for the roasting of Barley used in its making.

The Single Malt is so named because it does not get mixed with whiskys from other distillers. Blends (like Johnnie Walker or Ballantines) are usually a mix of several whiskys blended together. Just like Brooke Bond Red Label (a blend of teas) and tea from a single estate (equivalent to a Single Malt). Consistency of blends is maintained by tasters who do taste-tests.

My own favourites are Ardbeg, Laphroaig, The Glenlivet, and Glenfiddich, and I have also tried The Balvenie, Glenmorangie, Talisker, Jura, Macallan, Dalmore. My favourites tend to be the smoky or peaty ones.

Amrut, an Indian Single Malt, is available in a few variants and I like its peaty variant the best, out of the three I have tried.

Not So Secret Service

A joke that I had not heard about 9-11 times.

The Prime Minister of China called President Bush to console him after the attack on the Pentagon: "I'm sorry to hear about the attack. It is a very big tragedy. But in case you are missing any documents from the Pentagon, we have copies of everything."

I also had a chance to taste the single malt whiskey that India is famous for-yes, it's called Amrut, and it's made in Bangalore. But it is hard to find, apparently. So I am glad I got that item on the bucket list out of the way. It tastes pretty good, incidentally. I would put it in the top ten, after Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin- the Islay malts with a peaty, smoky flavour.