FOR CHARLES Maclean, appreciating whisky is a labour of love. It involves the senses, and it requires a whole lot of dedication. It?s also a quality that has seen him spending much of his time travelling across the globe, spreading the good word about the alcoholic beverage.
The 63-year-old whisky expert, who was recently in New Delhi at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, as part of a promotional tour, is especially known for ?the sensory evaluation of potable spirits?, something which comes naturally to him. ?The first thing we do when we go for a sensory evaluation of whisky is to use our eyes to look at the colour. We also look at the ?legs?, the little dribbles that come down along the sides of the glass after we swirl the liquid. Thick, slow-running legs imply a good texture, fast-running legs mean a light texture. In the olden days, people used to prefer thicker legs, although that has technically nothing to do with the quality of the whisky. The next thing is the aroma at bottling strength. We swirl it and nose it to find out what physical effect it can have on you. We then add water to remove that alcoholic prickle and burning sensation, and to open up the aroma,? says the Scottish national, who lives in Edinburgh.
Scotch whisky, at the moment, is going through a boom time, something which hasn?t happened since the 1890s, says Maclean. ?Around the 1900s, there was a crash period, but after World War II, there was a steep climb because there were enough grains, and a lot of expansion was happening, besides the opening of new distilleries. However, things got a bit rocky by the late Seventies and went into a steep decline in the early Eighties. That was when more blended whiskies began to come up. It?s only in the past four to five years that Scotch whisky is seen to be making a comeback,? he adds.
Industry knowledge imparted, Maclean offers to take this writer on a sensory evaluation experience. With an expert on single malt, one needs an award-winning whisky to truly bring such a session alive. So Maclean picks up a 12-year-old The Singleton of Glen Ord from Diageo. He has bottles of the 15-year-old and 18-year-old too, but he chooses the 12-year-old because that?s the one product available in India currently, he explains. Launched in 2011, The Singleton of Glen Ord comes from a distillery founded in the 19th century that keeps with the traditional methods of production with in-house malting, a very long fermentation combined with slow distillation. All these elements combine to produce a very unique single malt.
?The first thing I always say is make a fine distinction between enjoying whisky and appreciating it. For enjoyment, drink it the way you like it?whether it?s with coconut water, soda, green tea or ice. But for appreciation, it is essential to keep a few things in mind like choosing the right glass to display the aroma and adding a bit of water, but not ice, for it to open up,? Maclean explains.
When the father of three ?grown-up? boys is not tasting whisky, he?s busy writing books. Having published 13 titles on the subject, Maclean is currently in the process of wrapping up another two. ?One is called Water of Life. The other, which is close to finishing, is a history of Matthew Gloag & Son, the first producer of The Famous Grouse brand of blended Scotch whisky,? he adds. So popular are his books and so big is his reputation as the world?s leading authority on Scotch whisky that his Malt Whisky: The Complete Guide (2011) has been translated into 12 languages so far, including Hindi.
Interestingly, Maclean swerved into the literary world after studying law in the 1970s. He did his first copywriting job in 1981 for Bell?s Whisky (now owned by Diageo) and then worked for several companies such as Macallan, Glenmorangie and Highland Distillers. Along the way, he learned enough about whisky to come up with a proposal for a book. It was accepted by British book publisher Mitchell Beazley and, in 1992, his first work, The Pocket Guide To Scotch Whisky, appeared. It was followed by Malt Whisky?and even before he could realise, a new career was born.
This is Maclean?s fifth visit to the country. Although his travels have mostly been confined to the metropolitan cities and focused purely on business, he is in love with India, particularly its people. ?I admire their intelligence and their spoken English. The way newspapers write English is wonderful. The language used may be slightly archaic, but very elegant nevertheless,? he adds.
When asked about what drives Indians, especially when it comes to their choice of ?poison?, Maclean says the country is eternally in love with whisky. ?India?s appetite for whisky is phenomenal. It consumes five times more whisky than any other nation in the world. But over 90% of that would be Indian whisky, especially the cheaper brands, some of which are not technically whisky owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation and the use of flavourings,? he says, adding: ?But frankly, some of them are not bad at all. In a short while, they have got recognition and made good money. This can happen only when the government lowers taxes and makes liquor more accessible to the common man. Look at Gujarat: it is officially a dry state, but people there drink more alcohol than most other states in India.?
When it comes to drinking, the glass always looks pretty when it?s half-full rather than when it?s half-empty.
Nose? your whisky
Choose the right glass. A spirits-measuring glass is good because you can smell the aroma, but a white wine glass is ideal
Say no to ice, for the simple reason that it closes down
the aroma
Add a few drops of water because that tends to open
up the aroma and makes it easier to hold the whisky in the mouth and taste it
?Sensory evaluation? revolves around the moments when the aroma and taste come together in a wonderful bloom of flavour
in the mouth
For blended whisky, the impact is more important in the mouth than on the nose
With malt whisky, it is even more important to nose it first. Once you have enjoyed the aroma, the taste should follow
?Charles Maclean