Coldsmoke

My favorite Scotch whiskey is 18 year old, single malt, Glenlivet.  A single malt Scotch is produced at a single distillery from malted barley.  Malted barley is barley seed that has been allowed to begin germinating before being dried for use in the distilling process.  Scotch whiskey can be of the following types:

·         Single malt (single distillery and only malted barley)

·         Single grain (single distillery, malted barley, and an additional grain or two)

·         Blended malt (mix of two or more Scotch whiskies from different distilleries)

·         Blended grain (mix of two or more single grain Scotch whiskies)

·         Blended Scotch (mix of malt Scotch whiskey and single grain Scotch whiskey)

Scotch whiskey must be aged in oak barrels for a minimum of 3 years and, obviously enough, must be distilled in Scotland.  The term “single” always means that only one distillery was involved in producing the Scotch.  Finally, Scotch has one of 2 basic pricing categories: expensive and incredibly expensive.  

Age makes a big difference in both price and taste.

An 18 year old Scotch is very pricey and has an earthy aftertaste that tastes similar to the way you feel when you get up from taking a nap.  Nothing else compares to it.

Over the weekend, I held a gathering of friends at my lakefront.  One of my young friends, Randy, brought 4 Coldsmoke Scotch Ale beers.  Coldsmoke is a dark beer produced by a microbrewery in Missoula, Montana.  Randy, by the way, is a drinker of 12 year old, single malt, Doublewood, Balvenie Scotch whiskey.  This gives him much credibility in my way of thinking.  I drank one of the beers on his recommendation.  Heavy.  Earthy.   

A new like!

Those Scotch fellers got it going on!

The term “coldsmoke” is used to describe the puffs of crystalline powder that spray out from skiers as they swoop down through fresh powder snow.  The Coldsmoke cans feature a skier up to his waist in fresh snow and blowing-out a powdery turn.

Yesterday, I went down to the lake to organize everything down at my lakefront pavilion.  When I opened my outdoor refrigerator to make certain that I had not left anything in there, I discovered that Randy had gifted me the remaining 3 beers.  The space was empty save the beers.     

Thanks, Randy!

--Mitchell Hegman