Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask

It's a bitter-sweet moment waving goodbye to a bottle of whisky. Having a bit of a tendency to horde these things it's great to think I can grab myself another bottle (although I probably already have) to replace it, but also sad to bid farewell to a whisky I've really enjoyed.

Balvenie is a whisky that seems to take really well to the more unusual barrel finishes, I was lucky enough to try the 21 year old Portwood at the Kean's Head a while back and it's sublime, and this is great too.There's almonds and marzipan on the nose, then it's all about that luscious sweetness on the palate, although there's just enough bite to remind you that you are drinking a pretty serious whisky in amongst all the comforting barley sugar. There's a sweet spiciness to the finish - like honeyed ginger if such a thing exists. Much as I love a sherried dram this was great to have just as a bit of a change.

Distillers are rather protective of the wood they use for their precious spirit. Apparently these casks are seasoned with rum they've tankered in to make sure they can keep an eye on what it's doing to the wood, rather than buying wood that has previously had rum contact. The care taken really shows.

Next up for the cupboard is the 17 year old doublewood. Yes, I've already filled the gap. The king is dead and all that.

What makes local beer better?

This is my contribution to The Session #61, as hosted by Hoosier Beer Geek in Indianapolis.

In the interests of doing something different (and since I've got a spirits exam coming up and so it's what I'm reading about at the moment) I though I'd take a bit of a diversion and think about the alternative to having local styles of anything.

I'd like to think that anyone who is serious about getting into beer flavours is broad minded enough to think about flavours other than beer. The exploration's the thing, and without people being resourceful enough to use what they have around them, and having the pride to say 'this is good, this is worth keeping' the world would be a very dull, homogenised place. Think about Jarzebiak Rowan berry vodka, Krupnik - flavoured with wild honey and spices, Wisniowka - flavoured with wild cherries. Whether you, personally, like them or not you have to appreciate that they are part of Polish history and culture, rooted in the Tatras where the raw materials come from.

Similarly without local variation we'd have no intense, aromatic rums from Jamaica sitting on the shelves alongside light Cuban rum. Without geographical origin being important how could you differentiate between row upon row of Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends.

So what makes local beer better? Well, the fact that it is local, and without local beer styles having been (however historically) important we might all have no choices to make as consumers. The fact is, an alternative to local beer being important is just far too boring to contemplate.