It's that time of year again...when the leaves start to turn, a chill wind blows through the air...

Wait. No. Not here. It's still summer (or at least it feels like it)! But even though we live in a warm little bubble here in the Bay Area at this time of year, technically autumn has arrived. And with it, an event that I always look forward to: WhiskyFest!

This year, just in time for my birthday and my husband's birthday (ahem, good planning!), Malt Advocate magazine is putting on their second annual celebration of all things whisky. I first checked it out last year, and was very impressed. Where else are you going to have the opportunity to try the entire fleet of Highland Park whiskies, from their delicious 12-year-old to the more elusive 30-year-old, along with hundreds of other whiskies from all over the world.

Tickets are going fast, and I believe the event often sells out. It's not cheap, but when you think about it, how often are you going to be able to try all those whiskies side by side? I tried no less than 30 whiskies last year (emphasis on tried, I did not go with the intention of getting schnockered).

Malt Advocate magazine's 2nd annual WhiskyFest
October 10, 2008
San Francisco Marriott
6:30 to 10 p.m.
Map
Tickets available online or by calling 1-800-610-MALT.

The 9th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo takes place in San Francisco on March 28th and 29th. Recently, I spoke with Riannon Walsh, the engaging and energetic founder and organizer of this popular Bay Area event.

So this year marks the 9th annual Whiskies of the World expo. It must be very exciting to still be going strong after 9 years.
Yeah, it's amazing to me to realize it's been nine years because when I first started to do it I said I'm going to do this for like 5 to 7 years, that's it. I do it all myself and it's a big show and you know here we are going into the 9th year.

You put it on all by yourself?
I do, yeah. I'm a consultant primarily so I don't really have any need to have any staff. Like a lot of the shows are put on by magazines, who've got these armies behind them. I think that's part of the glow of this show, people feel, even though it's such a big show, for most of the attendees now it's personal. Sometimes during the show people will come up to me, and it blows my mind, because they just paid $100+ dollars for tickets and they'll say to me, "Thanks for inviting me to your party!"

Well, it does have the feeling of a party because you have food and bands...
We try to make it feel really different than other spirits shows, which can, you know, tend to dissolve into drunk-fests because there's not much else going on but drinking. And I personally think that's a damaging platform for the brands. This year we are really trying to raise the bar, and I'm really into cooking with whisky, pairing with whisky, I do menus for restaurants...

So this year we're bringing in about 12 artisanal food purveyors to the show all who know that their stuff is there to be paired with the various whiskies.

Are these local Bay Area artisans?
All but one are local, Northern Calfornian [artisans]. One of them comes in from Texas, called Caledonian Kitchens which is geared toward mail-order supply of whisky cakes and haggis, and stuff like that. The woman at the Cheese Shop of Healdsburg is coming down and I mean her stuff is drop dead amazing. And then Scharffen Berger Chocolate, they've come every year and they'll be back with their chocolates this year.

We're also having a chef come in, named Alan Stern, he's a San Franciscan, and he has a catering business, and he has a specific interest in cooking with spirits, so he's doing four different dishes each hour and each has cocktails that he's created to pair with each dish.

All the food booths give out samples so people can bring their whiskies over and pair them, mix and match and really learn how conducive a beverage whisky can be with food.

Oh that sounds delicious...
And this year we have more music too. We're doing the big night tasting on the boat again, and on the top deck at 8pm, the Bushmill's International Pipe and Drum Corp will be with us doing a full 40-minute concert out over the bay, where you can really let the sound out.

Nice. So basically on Friday you're doing the seminars and the Whisky University, which is also new, and then on Saturday there's tasting and the big event on the boat.
Yes, exactly. You know, we've got a lot of people who come to the show who are interested in the seminars, and a good supply of people who are really super into this and they want more of a learning experience so that's why I decided to do the Whisky University this year.

The other thing is that we are the only whisky show that doesn’t charge our speakers so we can pick and choose from the smallest to the biggest companies, hands-on artisanal spirits producers... you know at the other shows it's [very expensive] and we don't charge them because I don't want to be bound to only having speakers because they're rich.

So over the years this has allowed us to have speakers at our show that have never been able to speak anywhere else. It's really great. And it kicks me in the pocketbook, but it's really worth it.

This year we've got a couple of independent bottlers, one of them is doing our Whisky University, and that's John Glaser from Compass Box, and people just line up for him.

Oh yeah, I know his whisky. It's really good.
Yeah, I've been a part of his development of the company since like the day he started it, and been really involved. He's a very close friend and we do a lot of business together. I’m so proud of Compass Box, I think it's amazing stuff.

And we're launching a couple of artisanals this year at the show, which will be really exciting. Tuthilltown, a distillery in upstate New York, which is doing beautiful stuff.

Also, High West, which is something again that I've been very involved with and am very excited about. It's in Park City, Utah. Right smack in the middle of Mormon country they started a distillery (laughs) and they're proud of that. They have extraordinary rye whisky called Rendezvous.

Actually the distillery was started by a Californian called Dave Perkins who was with [a big silicon valley corporation]. Young guy...he's a chemist by training. He'd always wanted to do a distillery, and he came to me—he's just a guy who used to come to the expo and he decided he loved this whole thing to death one year and said "You know I really want to make whisky, I really want to open a distillery, and I've got the money, I can do it, what do you think, will you help me?" And I said to him, here's all the reasons why you shouldn't do it, and which I'm dead serious about because it's a killer business to start up. And I said if you still want to do this after you've considered this, come back to me in 6 months and damn if he didn't come back to me ready, totally prepared to go. He bought these great historic buildings right on the main street of Park City, and he launched everything this year at Sundance. And he's up and running. And it's really cool, cause if you're in the chair lift line and the line gets backed up into town, you're standing right in front of the windows and watching the distillery operate. And he's doing a little saloon too.

There's also Copper Fox Distillery and Eades Malts who are launching.

So, I'm curious why you chose San Francisco for this event and what inspired you to first organize it?
I was spending a lot of time in the silicon valley back in '95-'96 raising money for a distillery project I was doing in the west of Ireland. And I was doing a lot of little tastings to investor groups, anywhere from 8 to 50 people as I was trying to talk them into writing big checks. And people were saying, "We have so many wine things and there's nothing for whisky out here." And I was turning them onto how fascinating and complex whisky is, and they'd never talked to anyone who could teach them how to nose it and appreciate it, the way winemakers do. There was a whisky show that had just started in NY that year, and there were a couple in Europe that I'd been to, and I just thought it would be a great thing to do and I love San Francisco, and wanted to spend more time out there. And I was literally sitting on my porch, looking out over the pond, and I remember just saying, "You know, I'm just going to do a whisky show in San Francisco next spring. And that was it."

And that was it. That's where it started...

Whiskies of the World Expo
Friday March 28
Le Meridien Hotel
3-8:30pm

Saturday March 29
San Francisico Belle, Pier 3
5:30-10pm

Haggis. For some reason, that word seems to conjure looks of extreme disgust on the faces of most Americans. "Do you even know what it is?" I ask. Or, better yet, in between the "icks" and "ews" I question "Have you ever even tasted it?" Not surprisingly, most people answer with a sheepish "No."

Granted, haggis, which is essentially a spiced lamb and oatmeal sausage, gets a bum rap in the U.S. primarily because much of what you find in this country is canned and more closely resembles a mushy, livery blob. Authentic, fresh Scottish haggis cannot be imported into the United States due to strict regulations.

But haggis really can be delicious. So I decided to prove it to my friends. Luckily for me, and my Scottish husband, Friday night January 25th just so happens to be Burns Night, a Scottish holiday celebrating the birthday of Scotland's beloved poet, Robert Burns. A night when the homely little haggis is properly revered.

A key element of Burns Night--whether a grande formal affair or just a few friends getting together--is haggis, traditionally served with neeps (turnips; although I believe what they use in Scotland is actually what we know as rutabagas in the U.S.) and tatties (mashed potatoes) and a wee lick of whisky.

My first order of business was finding an edible haggis in the Bay Area. Either that or make my own, which I was willing to do if it came down to it. Fortunately, there are enough people in the Bay Area who like it that I found a few excellent referrals to a little shop called The Scottish Meat Pie Co., who actually make their own fresh haggis. Granted, I still had to work for it as they aren't officially in the Bay Area, but in a little town called Dixon near Sacramento. But I love my Scottish husband and I wanted to celebrate his Scottishness properly. As well as prove to my friends that haggis is delicious.

Therefore, on Monday, I made the drive out to Dixon (and sat in a massive traffic jam for 2 hours) to pick up my previously reserved haggis. The very friendly folks at the Scottish Meat Pie Co. definitely recommended reserving one at this "wild haggis time of the year." In fact, they had just finished making a big batch of haggis--lucky me!

So with my fresher-than-fresh haggis I made my way home, and tomorrow night I'll be serving up a platter of haggis, neeps and tatties, and shots of Scotch whisky, while reciting Robert Burns' poem To a Haggis.

A few asides:
• There are lots of Burns Nights happening all over the Bay Area, such as the one at the Edinburgh Castle Pub on Saturday January 26th, of you want to get your Scottish on.

• The next time someone offers you haggis, rather than scrunching up your face into a grimace, perhaps take a bite.

• Yes, haggis contains offal, typically lamb meat, liver, and heart, but remember that eating the whole beast is a sustainable, responsible way of eating!

The Scottish Meat Pie Co.
245 N. 1st Street
Dixon, CA 95620
view map
707.678.5354

In case you missed it, last week I shared some general musings on the first annual San Francisco WhiskyFest hosted by Malt Advocate. And as you can see from my first post, we tried quite a few whiskies.

Throughout the evening, there were numerous seminars offered to attendees, beyond the tastings on the main floor--from discussions on bourbon to the art of Japanese distilling. So, in the middle of drinking all that whisky (remember, these are very small tastes, and I generally only took a sip or two), we ventured upstairs to attend probably the most popular seminar of the evening, the Chocolate and Whisky Tasting. Fortunately, we snagged two seats before they started turning people away.

Laid out in front of us, on long rows of tables, were 5 glasses of whisky and 4 pieces of Scharffen Berger chocolate. After a rather tedious and far too detailed history of how chocolate is made (word of advice: know your audience) by the Scharffen Berger representative (not John Scharffenberger who was listed to appear) and a rousing, get-up-and-dance show put on by the highly entertaining whisky ambassador to The Dalmore and Laphroaig, we were finally able to get down and do some tasting.

First things first, we were introduced to each whisky and each paired piece of chocolate, and then asked to take a bite of the chocolate, and with it still in our mouths, to take a sip of whisky. Um. Yes. Mmmmmmm. Heaven.

Here's what we tasted, along with some tasting notes:

1) The Dalmore Cigar Malt + 82% extra dark chocolate
This whisky from The Dalmore distillery, located in the northern highlands of Scotland, is aged in sherry casks, and pairs beautifully with the darkest of Scharffen Berger's chocolate offerings. The chocolate was earthy, peppery, and fruity with hints of cherry.

2) The Dalmore 12 year + 70% bittersweet chocolate
This Dalmore whisky was aged in bourbon casks and was rich with vanilla and caramel, which paired nicely with the ripe fruity flavors in the bittersweet chocolate.

3) Laphroaig Quarter Cask + 62% semisweet chocolate
This whisky, from the Laphroaig distillery located on the island of Islay off the southwest coast of Scotland, is knows for it's bold peaty flavors. The quarter cask whisky is interesting because it is aged in bourbon casks, then finished in smaller quarter-sized casks, which gives it deeply woody flavors. The soft, citrusy notes in the chocolate were complemented by the tropical flavors in the whisky.

4) Laphroaig 10 year + 41% extra rich milk chocolate
This pairing came as a big surprise. We would never have thought to pair such a big, peaty whisky with a milk chocolate, but it works. The caramel flavors and smoothness of the chocolate balanced perfectly with the sweet smoke of the whisky.

5) Laphroaig 30 year + Cacao Antilles chocolate
This was the fifth glass of whisky on the table and was unaccompanied by a piece of chocolate. The chocolate was actually passed around the room so that participants could snap off a piece. This was the big special extra taste of the night, a 30-year-old Laphroaig which is supposedly only available here in the US, and has a very limited stock. Meaning it's pricey. It was paired with one of Scharffen Berger's new limited series chocolates, a 75% bittersweet chocolate using cacao from the Antilles region. The sweet, dry whisky, aged in sherry casks, was an excellent complement to the rich bitter chocolate.

All in all, even in my whisky haze, I learned quite a bit about whisky and it's love affair with chocolate. I hope next year they offer this again, and perhaps have a few sessions so everyone can enjoy it.

One more note...WhiskyFest is coming back to San Francisco next year and they've already announced the date: October 10, 2008. Lucky me, it's the night before my birthday. I guess I know what I'm getting for my birthday next year. About 50 sips of whisky. A word of advice though, buy tickets early because they did sell out this year.

First of all, let me just say that I am not a whisky expert. In fact, I've only just begun my whisky journey. But I'm learning fast, and I'm taking notes. And I am very enthusiastic about it.

Recently, for my husband's birthday, I bought tickets to Malt Advocate's WhiskyFest. Now, my husband is part of my inspiration for not only learning about whisky, but also enjoying it. Not only is he a great lover of the amber liquid, but it kind of runs in his blood (he's Scottish, so what can I say?).

After making sure we had a good foundation (cheeseburgers from Taylor's Refresher), we headed over to the First Annual WhiskyFest at the Hyatt in downtown San Francisco. The doors hadn't quite opened, but already there was a buzz in the air. We positioned ourselves near the main entrance to the floor, where there were over 70 booths sampling approximately 240 whiskies (at least that's what I counted in the booklet, there were likely more that weren't listed).

In addition to the booths on the main floor, there were a series of seminars that took place throughout the night, on such topics as Bourbon vs. Scotch and The Art of Japanese Whisky. We made a decision early on that it might be a good idea to attend one of these and chose quite possibly the most popular talk of the night, the Chocolate and Scotch Pairing, which I'll be covering in my next post.

So, back to the floor, which is where we spent the greater part of the evening. I kept very accurate notes, because I wanted to know exactly what we tasted. It's quite a list. In fact, I'm not sure if I'm impressed or horrified by it. You can make your own judgments.

Springbank, 15 year
The Macallan, 15 year Fine Oak
Highland Park, 12 year
Highland Park, 15 year
Highland Park, 18 year
Highland Park, 25 year
Highland Park, 30 year
Compass Box, Oak Cross
Compass Box, The Peat Monster
Compass Box, Asyla
Compass Box, Flaming Heart
Suntory "Yamazaki" 12 year
Suntory "Yamazaki" 18 year
Suntory, The Cask of Yamazaki 1993
The Glenrothes, 1991
The Glenrothes, 1985
The Glenrothes, 1987
The Glenrothes, 1975
Bruichladdich, 12 year
Bruichladdich, 14 year
Isle of Jura, 10 year
Old Potrero, 18th Century Style Whisky, 100% rye
King's Crest, 25 year
North of Scotland 1964
Edradour 1983 22 year
Ballechin
Signatory Laphroaig 6 year
Signatory Glen Scotia 14 year
Tullibardine 12 year
Tullibardine 1992

My favorite whiskies from this list were:

Highland Park, 12 year
This delicious whisky is distilled on the Orkney Islands northeast of Scotland, and is the world's most northerly located whisky distiller. This particular year was sweet, lightly peaty, and bright. It was my favorite whisky of all the Highland Park whiskies (including the older, more expensive versions they were sampling) and one of my absolute faves of the night.

The Balvenie, 15 year and PortWood 21 year
Located in the northeast of Scotland, The Balvenie is a good example of a Speyside whisky, which tend to be more sherried and less smoky (although the ones we tried were both aged in bourbon casks). Their 15-year single barrel is aged in bourbon casks, and was one of my favorites. It's smooth, slightly sweet, and really delicious. The 21-year was interesting in that it was aged in bourbon casks but then finished in port casks for 4 months (any longer and the port wood would become overpowering).

Edradour 1983 22 year
Granted this was the last one of the night, but it was also the only one I finished, and the guy poured me a healthy nip. This 22-year-old is finished in port wood, and from the smallest distillery in Scotland. It goes for about $300/bottle.

Suntory "Yamazaki" 12 year
This Japanese single malt whisky, which is made in the outskirts of Kyoto, is a Scotch-style whisky. The distillery was actually the first of it's kind outside of Scotland. If you've never tasted Japanese whisky I suggest you give it a go. Aged in American oak, it's delicious and quite interesting in flavor, you know it's not Scotch, but you can't quite place it.

In addition to tasting a whole lot of whisky, I learned quite a few things at WhiskyFest, such as:
1) Older whisky is not always better.
2) I tend to like younger whisky (it's often bright and feisty).
3) Peaty is good, it doesn't necessarily have to knock you upside the head, and it really can be subtle.
4) Chocolate and whisky are a match made in heaven.
5) I can drink a lot of whisky and still remain standing.
6) Not everyone suits tartan. Especially when it's made into a suit.
7) Conventional wisdom is bullshit; the great thing about a whisky tasting or event such as this is to turn things on their head, and discover that you might not necessarily know what you like.
8) Japan makes some damn good whisky.

I also learned how to "nose" whisky two different ways (no no no it's not dirty). The first way is to open your mouth and stick your nose down into the glass (mouth on the outside) and breathe in. With your mouth open. Apparently this allows you to smell the actual aroma of the whisky without breathing in so much alcohol. The other way, which was more about smelling the barley while it was malting (we did this with a 10-year-old Laphraiog) is to cover your glass with your hand, palm down, and shake the glass to get a bit of whisky on your palm. Then rub your hands together vigorously until you create heat and friction. Cup your hands to your nose and breathe. Try it.

The best part of WhiskyFest, however, was having the opportunity to taste things against each other (all different ages). Nowhere can you sample so many whiskies in one place and one night (without seriously falling flat on your face). So if you are at all interested in whisky, or know someone who is, you might consider going next year. I promise, it's worth it.