Chengdu - Arrival

I'm a big fan of spicy food and Chengdu, which is the food capital of Szechuan foods, has always been on my bucket list. I was fortunate enough to go there with my Chinese friend. I've heard few locals speaks English, so that this was a "must have" requirement for visiting Chengdu.

I arrived at the Chengdu airport late evening and transferred to the local subway to meet my friend at the hotel in the city center. The subway was very modern and clean. The only problem is that everything about Google is banned in China.... I was going to cache a detailed city map at the airport but I realized I can't use Google Maps (I have an Android phone..). Because I remembered the closest subway station and the hotel is close to the station, I decided to give it a shot without a detailed map.

After I arrived at the station, I started to walk around hoping I could easily find the hotel. I was wrong.... I wandered for about 20 minutes without any luck. I thought about asking the locals but I realized I didn't bring the Chinese name of the hotel, only the English name.... All the signs in the city seem to be in Chinese... I opened Google Maps and found the saved starred location of the hotel and my location with GPS. I moved towards the starred location and luckily found the hotel. Later, I found that the hotel is right outside the exit of the subway station, if I had chosen the right exit (there are 5-6 exits).

When I united with my friend at the hotel, it was pretty late. Besides, I wasn't really hungry because of the time difference. However, I didn't want to miss any opportunity to try local Szechuan foods since my time here is limited. So, we went outside the hotel and tried a street vendor.

I wasn't totally sure of the hygiene of street food in Chengdu. But it was a chilly day and each dish is made to order on the hot iron plate. So, I thought it should be safe. This street vendor serves fried rice and fried noodle with a few side dishes. The customer before me ordered fried rice and was customizing all the additions. I had my friend order fried rice noodle. My friend explained I love spicy food and I saw the vendor double the chili and szechuan pepper corn (compared to the previous local customer...). I was a bit scared because I'm in Chengdu after all...

I also found an aromatic root vegetable, that I have never seen. Its scientific name is houttuynia cordia, which is also called chameleon plant, fishwort, bishop's weed, etc. Normally the leaf is consumed but the root is eaten in some regions. The flavor is very distinctive, medicinal and weedy. I liked it so I asked him to add it to my noodle. But I believe this is an acquired taste.

Here's the fried noodle. It wasn't as spicy as I thought. Just a comfortable (for me) spice level. Nice numbness from the szechuan pepper corn.

This is additionally ordered stir fried squid. The squid was skewered by the vendor so I thought it would be served with the skewer. But the skewers were removed and the squid was cut into smaller pieces. Then why was it skewered?? Anyway, the squid was cooked with aromatics and tons of fresh chili / chili paste. It's spicier than the noodles but still had an edible level of spiciness. Since it's a bit on the salty side, I wanted to have this with steamed rice. Nonetheless, very tasty!

It was less than US$2... Amazing deal.


I have 3 more full days to spend in Chengdu. Let's see how much food I can try...

Dublin - 2nd day

Today is virtually the last day of the trip because I'm returning to California tomorrow morning. The whole day is in Dublin, with no appointments made. I decided to play it by ear in Dublin today. As a result, it turned out to be another packed day. It'll be another long entry again....

As I mentioned before, most Irish whiskies are made by 4 major distilleries. Due to the increasing demand in whiskies, more distilleries were built recently, however most of them are too young to sell their whiskies yet. Whiskeys usually needs 3 years to mature at least.

Among these newer distilleries, I found one that's already selling their whiskies, called Teeling Distilleries, which is the first new distillery in Dublin in 125 years.

Irish whiskey in general is triple distilled, which makes them different from most Scotch whisky. It is said triple distillation makes it smoother. Since this is a new distillery, they had only 3 pot stills, which can make only 1 batch at a time.

The tour guide was very nice and the tour was very informative. But she was trying to emphasize that Irish were the first to make whiskey and not the Scottish. I wonder whether the Irish have some rivalry with Scottish when it comes to whiskey... I was always curious what makes Irish whiskies creamy in note. It is the unmalted barley. In Scotland all the barley used in their malt whisky is malted, whereas some Irish distilleries started mixing malted and unmalted barley to compete against Scotch whiskies for the price (the Scottish do make "grain whisky" as well, which can include unmalted barley and other grains but it's not as common as Irish'). Thus, the Irish approach for cost reduction created the distinctive flavor of Irish whiskey. Unfortunately, I'm not crazy for the creamy note in my whiskey. I wonder if the Irish also make a version with all malted barley...

Also, it seems the Irish are more into blended whiskey. The whiskey tasting included two blended (barley and corn) whiskeys and one single malt (barley). Because corn has higher starch content, any whiskies containing corn will be sweeter. One of the two blended whiskies is called "Small Batch" which wasn't too sweet and very smooth. But I still liked single malt better (maybe I don't like too sweet whiskey...)

After the tour at Teeling, I went to Vintage Kitchen for lunch, which was recommended by the bartender at Mulligan's yesterday. It is a very cozy restaurant. When I arrived at the restaurant at 12:30, it was pretty empty... The menu is like a mixture of French bistro and contemporary casual Californian restaurant.

This is risotto of chili chorizo. The risotto is in the small cup, which seems like a measuring cup. And it's on top of a small skillet. Interesting presentation. The flavor and seasoning is on the stronger side. It's not a risotto in Italian style (al dente) by any means. But it was good otherwise.

The next dish, Cod brandade & samphire, is very unique dish. Cod is shredded finely and mixed with bechamel-like sauce and baked until the top is browned. A unique vegetable, called samphire is on top of it. The samphire is a succulent that grows around the British isles. It could be blanched in salt water. Not much flavor but it has a nice crunchy texture. It's served with chicory leaves.

With this upclose photo, it may be difficult to tell what this is, but it's fish pie. The fish seems to be cod or a similarly mild whitefish. It was a good portion and I couldn't finish it. The potato on top was very filling (it looks like strangely shaped cloud...). Compared to the first two appetizers, it was seasoned lightly and the sauce at the bottom was very thin. Lots of fish pieces inside the sauce. This dish and the previous cod dish were both served on top of wooden cutting board. I did see something like this last night too. Probably some trend in Dublin??

This lamb shank is cooked to perfection. Very tender and moist. I've had a few dry lamb shanks before because they're cooked at too high a temperature. The sauce is a more tomatoey but less tangy BBQ-like sauce. The presentation is very fancy, all the ingredients were placed directly on the flat stone.

Very good food, I'm glad the bartender of Mulligan's recommended this restaurant. By the time I left around 2:00pm, the restaurant was full. I guess their lunch time is late??



After lunch, I headed to the old Jameson distillery. Although they offer a tour, their whiskey is not made there anymore. Jameson whiskey is now made at Middleton distillery, which is one of the major distilleries in Ireland. Middleton is located 30min east of Cork. I had originally planed to visit Cork and Middleton but I thought it's too much time for moving (it takes 3 hours to Cork from Dublin). Besides, I found this tasting room with tour in the city of Dublin.

Since it's not a production facility, I was expecting something touristy. It is indeed touristy. The tour is conducted every 20 minutes, yet each group is more than 20 people. According to the guide, Jameson just remodeled the building and tour facility. This building is the original location where Jameson whiskey was first made. They used the original building material efficiently and added all modern features. By now, I've been to several distilleries and I thought I knew quite a bit about the whiskey making. However, their animated video explaining how whiskey is made was impressive. Since I can't see inside all of the processing equipment, I had to count on the guide's explanation and my guess. But this video cleared all of my uncertainty.

Moreover, there are some samples that help to understand the video even more by smelling, touching and eating. It was very well thought-out and organized presentation. There are two kinds of whiskey in the spray containers, along with small pieces of paper. It's like testing perfume. 3 flasks with differently aged whiskey are linearly getting darker, showing the color difference. The two kinds of barley are malted and unmalted.

The most interesting part of the interactive exhibit was the comparison of different casks: sherry and bourbon. The caps are made with corresponding woods and the same whiskies are placed inside. By opening the cap and smelling both the whiskey and the bottom of the cap, I could clearly tell the difference. Now I see why sherry casks are used for higher grade whiskey in both Scotland and Ireland. The one in the sherry cask smelled very "whiskey" but the one in bourbon cask smelled like some furniture.

After the tour, the tasting came with 3 samples. Jameson's Whiskey is only one of them. This is the comparison tasting with Johnny Walker and Jack Daniel's. Johnny Walker represents peaty (smokey) Scotch whisky and Jack Daniel's shows the example of corn-made sweet whiskey. Jameson's was blended whiskey too. These were very good representations of different type of whiskies.

The admission ticket comes with one free drink coupon at the bar. Very touristy but I'm not complaining.. I could have their blend whiskey as is but I chose a cocktail since I haven't had any whiskey cocktails since I started the trip. The cocktail was called "Jameson, ginger & lime" and contained whiskey, ginger ale, and a lime wedge. Very refreshing.

More alcohol!!! It's Guinness! I was going to skip this because it seems very touristy. But because the Jameson's tour was very good despite the "touristiness", I decided to give a try (besides I had enough time). But when I arrived, I kind of regretted it. VERY touristy with a long line of waiting people. They control the number of visitors per 30 minute period. However, when I got inside, it was still very packed.

Like Jameson, the admission ticket include one free drink (or three tastings). Of course I chose three samples. There are more tasting rooms (it seems there's an additional charge). But these rooms looked super packed. Because the entire facility is so packed with tourists, it was also very hot and humid. I just decided to leave. Although the building is adjacent to the production facility, they don't offer any production tours.... I guess this is not a "foodie" destination. At least I can say I've been to the Guinness plant!

This is the last meal in Dublin because I'm leaving tomorrow morning. This is a brew pub, called Porterhouse. They make their own beer and serve it with food. It seems the Irish meal time is on the later side; I arrived at this restaurant around 6:00 and got a table but soon after that, all the tables were taken.

This is their house IPA, Porterhouse IPA. I think this is the closest to the US single IPA. I've tried quite a few beers since I came to Scotland and Ireland. Although everywhere I went to had IPA, I never saw double or triple IPA (even in the US, I don't see triple IPA that often anymore. Probably because of the increase in the price of hops?). Also, the highest alcohol ABV is 6.5% or something similar. I guess some of the high alcohol beers sold in the US could be considered as crazy ones outside the US. I usually drink beer with 8-9% beers (sometimes 11%) so I never got drunk during this trip...

Since this is the last supper, I decided to order more traditional Irish dishes (although I saw more interesting dishes in the menu). The first dish is bacon and cabbage. But when I saw the dish coming to the table, it looked different from what I was expecting. But I thought this is this restaurant's original version or something.

In reality, I was getting it mixed up in my mind with corned beef and cabbage which, I discovered upon researching later, is an Irish-American dish. In fact, it's the American version of bacon and cabbage. I guess it's like pizza, chow mein or teriyaki chicken in that respect. Very much a "comfort food".

The second entree is bangers and mash, which I had in Belfast also. Unlike the one I had in Belfast, the sausage is one long piece and the sausage seemed not to have filler. The texture was more familiar to me. Slightly on the dry side but very "meaty"and delicious.

Since I'm leaving in the morning tomorrow, this is the last entry of the trip. I'm sure this is the trip where I consumed the largest amount of alcohol. Yet, I never felt drunk or sick!

As to whisky (or whiskey depending on which country I'm in), I still like single malt Scotch whisky. As I mentioned, I'm not a big fan of creamy/dairy notes in my drink (not only whisky but also wine). I still don't like too peaty (smoky) scotch whisky either because it tastes like a band aid. But I think a hint of smokiness could give a unique characteristic. As usual for me, I like longer aged foods (cheese, balsamic vinegar, miso, etc.). At most distilleries, I liked the longer aged whiskies. The only problem is the price....  Anyway, this is another successful foodie (or drinkie) trip!

Dublin

I'm in Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland. Now, I have to use Euros, instead of British Pounds. I took the train from Belfast to Dublin. Despite it being around noon, the train was full.

As soon as I arrived at Dublin, I went to a historical pub, called Mulligans, to which John F Kennedy has been. It wasn't crowded because I arrived there around 2:00pm. Of course, I had to order a Guinness. I'm not an expert in Guinness and I don't remember when the last time was that I had Guinness, so I don't really notice any difference in taste. However, the nostalgic atmosphere of the pub makes the taste better.

I was a bit hungry then, but Mulligans doesn't serve food. Instead, the bartender (possibly the owner) recommended the small restaurant next door. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a table,  so I made a reservation for lunch tomorrow. Hope it's good.




After spending the afternoon in the city, I went to a gastropub, the Exchequer. Gastropubs started from London as pubs that serve restaurant food. However, most gastropubs in the U.S. are considered to be upscale, hip and contemporary pubs. Although they're supposed to be pubs, some gastropubs in the U.S. don't focus on beers, but on wine and cocktails. So, I was curious to see what the gastropubs in Ireland are like.

The first dish was an appetizer platter, with chicken wings, falafel, croquettes and grilled shrimp. Unlike the U.S. gastropubs, the flavors were pretty straightforward. They were all pretty good.

The first entree was Hake, which is in the same order as cod and haddock. The skin was very crispy and the portion is pretty generous. When the plate was brought over to the table, I smelled some fishiness. However, when I had a bite, I didn't smell anything bad and the texture was showing the freshness. Throughout the trip, I found that much seafood from the coast of the British Isles has a strong smell of "sea" but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not fresh. I'm guessing that's because of the seaweed that grows in the area. This was a very good dish.

Next was a lamb steak with celery root puree. European meat's "done-ness" is usually different from the U.S. standard. European (Italy and Spain, as far as I know) medium rare is more like rare in the U.S. However, I asked for medium and this steak looks medium in the US standard. I don't know whether it's just this restaurant or an Irish thing? Nevertheless, it was very juicy and had almost no gaminess.

Because I didn't find anything interesting on the dessert menu, I went for the Irish cheese plate (as dessert). I was a bit surprised at the generous portion. This cheese plate was listed in the dessert section, though..... Taste-wise, everything is mild and there aren't many characteristics to talk about.

The Exchequer is definitely more upscale than a regular pub, but not as fancy as the U.S. gastropubs. The decor was like modern restaurant, though.

Belfast - Bushmills

Belfast, Northern Ireland, does not seem like the typical tourist destination. However, I like to include non-touristy areas in my trips to see something more local. Also, I found there's a Bushmills distillery, which is one of the major Irish distilleries, located 1.5 hours northwest of Belfast.

Unlike Scotland, most major Irish whiskies belong to 4 major distilleries. Because of different factors, such as alcohol prohibition, decline in demand, etc. smaller Irish distilleries were forced to close and bigger distilleries acquired them. One of the major distilleries is Bushmills. I was less interested in Irish whiskey because it felt more "manufactured" than Scotch whisky, so I signed up for a tour mainly to Giant's Causeway with a short stop at Bushmills,

Before I got to the meeting point for the tour, I stopped by at Harlem for breakfast. My purpose was the full Irish breakfast! Irish breakfast is known for the substantial portions. It comes with pancakes, black pudding, fried egg, bacon, sausage, mushroom and tomato. Flavor-wise, there's nothing special. I just wanted to experience an "Irish breakfast." Again, the sausage seemed to have some filler.  

The first stop of the tour is Giant's Causeway. These hexagon shaped columns were formed naturally. It's amazing!

I knew that visiting Bushmills distillery was not the main event of the tour. But it was too brief a stop, unfortunately. The departure of the tour was a little delayed and it seems the driver shortened the time we stayed at the distillery. Besides, this was the lunch spot too. After finishing lunch at a very crowded cafe in the distillery, all I had was 20 minutes or so. I knew I didn't have time for a tour but I managed to try their tasting and buy a bottle.

One of the three samples I tasted was a 12yr single malt. They said it was sold only at the distillery, so I bought one bottle.



After I came back from the tour, I went to another pub, called Robinson's, which is close to the drop off location. I was trying to get into the restaurant section, which is on the second floor. It was a touch late and the group in front of me took the last table... The restaurant staff told me that I could still have food at the pub downstairs, although the menu is limited.

But I enjoyed the real "Pub" feel with the not-so-elaborate foods. The Shepherd's Pie was excellent. It was pretty big. The meat underneath was not too salty but packed with flavor. I tasted more tomato in the meat sauce, probably tomato paste (not ketchupy). Although it was 3/4 potatoes, the balance was working out.

This is an obviously Irish dish, which is called Irish Stew...  It's made with lamb, carrot and potato. The potato was half pureed. The pureed potato gave the stew some thickness. Again, very flavorful, but the portion was much smaller compared to the Shepherd's Pie.

I'm taking a train to the last destination, Dublin, tomorrow. I'll spend 2 more nights there.

Belfast

Today is a moving day, just flying from Aberdeen to Belfast (Northern Ireland). After such a super packed day yesterday, I guess I needed a one day break to rest.  Before I planned this trip, I didn't know about UK/Ireland history. Northern Ireland is a different country from "Ireland" and it belongs to the UK so that the currency is British pounds. Although Northern Ireland is not a part of "Ireland" politically, this is still Ireland.

For dinner, I went to a historical pub, called Morning Star. This pub was built in 1810. A very nice rustic pub. It's pretty big inside, though. When I got in there, it wasn't too crowded. And I chose a table close to a window. Here is a sign displaying a joke. I thought it's a good one....

The first beer I ordered in Ireland, Hop House 13. I didn't know when I ordered, but this is made by Guinness. It's light & nicely hoppy, summery beer. Very easy to drink.

Our waitress was a very upright grandma type. Initially, I ordered raw oysters and pork belly. She told me bluntly that oysters are not good today and that the pork belly is too fatty. I appreciated her honesty...



So, here's the first appetizer, seafood chowder. It had a little strong "sea" smell. Despite the smell, the seafood tasted fresh. It was a very flavorful chowder. Interestingly, a wedge of lemon was "in" the chowder. I'm not sure if that's the way it's supposed be or whether it just dropped and sank in the chowder? I found it at the bottom of the bowl....

The second appetizer is beef croquet. Very smooth texture inside.

Today's special mussel that the waitress recommended. I liked this a lot more than the one I had in Edinburgh a couple of days ago. The broth is the right amount compared to the number of mussels. So, the broth was packed with shellfish flavor. Plus, a good amount of diced chorizo and chili. Very complex and rich broth.

Bangers and mash is also called sausage and mash, a traditional dish of British Isles. The sausage is home made. From the texture, it seems there's some filler in the sausage. Nonetheless, a very good flavor with the rich gravy, which is almost like demi glace. The fried onion on top is a nice accent.

All of the dishes contain potatoes in different forms. I guess I'm really in Ireland...

Aberdeen - Speyside

Today's post will be the longest ever. I didn't want to pack so many thing in one day but there wasn't other option because of the rest of the schedule.

I left Edinburgh very early in order to catch the train to Aberdeen. The Speyside area is located between Aberdeen and Inverness, and it takes 1.5 hrs from either location. Like most wineries, distilleries are very difficult to reach by public transportation. So I booked a taxi for the day and planned to visit a few distilleries in Speyside. That could have been enough for the day, but I also found that the Brewdog Brewery is located north of Aberdeen in a town called Ellon. Anyway, I had only 5 hours to actually spend in Speyside but I was planning to visit 3 distilleries, so I knew I couldn't afford any delay....

My first stop was Glenfarclas. Glenfarclas is one of a few family owned distilleries left in Scotland. I booked a tour that would last a little more than an hour (or so they said). I arrived a little early because there wasn't any traffic. But the tour started a bit late.

Since it was Monday, I was hoping that there would be active production, but the guide said she wasn't sure there would be because the previous week was extremely hot and they shut down production for a few days. I think they can do this because this is relatively smaller family owned business. If they had too many employees, they couldn't have just skipped a few days....

The tour started from the barley grinder. Barley is soaked in water to malt (germinate) in order to create sugar and enzyme (for later fermentation). Then, the malted barley (or simply malt) is roasted with peat. The peat makes the smoky flavor and the amount of peat used in the roasting varies between distilleries. Whiskies in Islay are very heavy on peat and Lowland and Highland are light on peat. I would personally believe that Speyside is in between. Unfortunately, most of the distilleries no longer malt the barley at their own site, but rather purchase it from malters. That's why their first step would start from grinding.

The ground malt is mashed in the mash tun with water. The enzyme created during the malting process breaks down the starch in the barley into sugars. Since there is a best temperature for the enzyme to be active, they maintain the appropriate temperature for the best efficiency. As a result the grain/water mixture becomes sweet and is called "wort".

The wort is transferred to another tank for fermentation by adding yeast. The outcome at this point is the same as beer. The only difference is that when creating whisky, they release all the carbon dioxide. The top of the tank is not completely sealed and it can release the gas. The fermentation is continued until the alcohol level reaches around 10%. 

The signature look of traditional distilleries, the copper pot still, is pretty impressive! Most scotch whiskies are distilled twice. The fermented liquid is heated to the temperature at which only alcohol evaporates (since boiling temperature of alcohol is lower than that of water). The evaporated alcohol is condensed to liquid. This process separates alcohol and water & residue. This is repeated once again (for double distillation). 

The box shown below is a "spirit safe" that prevent any of the alcohol from being removed during distillation before it can be taxed (either by dishonest "thirsty" employees). Different shapes of glass bowls, along with a thermometer and hydrometer are installed inside the glass covered box. It allows for adjusting the mixture of different stages of spirit as the liquid exits the pot still. At this point, the liquid has no color; the color is created during maturation in the casks. 

Here are a variety of casks, such as sherry, port and bourbon. As at other distilleries, sherry casks are used at Glenfarclas for high grade single malt whisky. 

After the tour was done, they provided two tastings, 12 yr and 15 yr single malts. Because the tour started a little late, it didn't finish until almost noon, when the next tour at Cardhu starts. So, I didn't have much time to enjoy the tasting. They both tasted great, but obviously the 15 yr is a lot smoother. Neither one was too smoky. As soon as I finish the tasting, I moved to Cardhu, but I was late by 10 minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't make it and the next tour (and only slot for the remainder of the day) started at 1:00 pm. In order to accommodate this change, I had to give up on lunch (there was no restaurant or shops nearby Cardhu). If I had gone somewhere for a lunch/snack, I couldn't have come back by 1:00 pm.

However, I came to Speyside all the way for whisky. I decided to skip the lunch and wait for the next tour. Unfortunately, taking photos was prohibited at the Cardhu distillery for the safety reasons. Because of the extremely flammable nature of the product, they would not take a chance of causing a fire as the result of a camera flash.

Cardhu is a larger distillery than Glenfarclas. Although Glenfarclas skipped the production last week because of the weather, Cardhu did have a production then. Cardhu provides 75 percent of their single malt whisky to Johnny Walker (Johnny Walker blends different single malt whiskies from various distilleries) but Cardhu doesn't know what percentage of Johnny Walker is Cardhu's whisky, only that "there's a little bit of Cardhu in every bottle of Johnny Walker".

They offer different types of tasting tours and I chose the one that comes with six whiskies with tasting instruction, called the Cardhu Collection Tour. Of the six, three are blended whiskies and three are single malts. Also, it included one bonus whisky, which is matured in "mystery" casks, but the guide guessed that might be rum.  Finally, in the tasting room, they allowed photos! My favorite was single malt 18yr. Again, not much smokiness.  

After Cardhu, I didn't have much time left, but I tried to stop by at Strathisla for a drop-in tasting. Unlike most wineries in California, not many distilleries accept walk-ins. I had checked beforehand to confirm that they accepted walk-ins. Just as Cardhu considers itself to be the "heart" of Johnny Walker, Strathisla is the "home" to Chivas Regal. So, I was expecting a large distillery with a fancy tasting room. But I didn't find that much difference from Glenfarclas or Cardhu. I tasted two single malts, the Strathisla 17yr and 26yr. Although there's no doubt that 26 yr is better, the 17yr is richer and more rounded than most whiskys. Besides, the 26yr was 140 British Pounds. So, I purchased the 17yr, which is 40 British Pounds.

I spent only 20min at Strathisla and left back to Aberdeen. My next appointment was at 6:00pm at Brewdog. As soon as I had checked in the hotel, I took a cab and left for more alcohol..... 

I first found Brewdog from a TV show called "Brew Dogs" on the Esquire channel. The two very cocky guys (founders of Brewdog) are the hosts of the show and they visit different breweries in the around world, making unique beers at each stop.

Unlike the tours at the distilleries, this tour at Brew Dogs was very casual. At the beginning of the tour, they serve the first beer to taste. This is also their headquarters and they took us through the offices as well. Their office has a very open layout and looks like an IT startup office. There was a list of their mottoes. I like "We blow shit up" as a food scientist. If they are not happy with the quality, they don't try to save it, but simply discard it and start over. I'm happy to know that quality is very high in their list of priorities. 

Their tanks are painted. Very cocky, in keeping with the attitude of the founders...

We had the second beer tasting during the tour. At the end of the tour, they provided two more tastings. The one on the left (photo below) is a test batch with different combination of hops. 

Out of the four samples I tasted on the tour, my favorite was "5AM Saint", which wasn't very hoppy but well balanced. I purchased an additional glass at the bar after the tour.

I also found out that Brewdog is also "incubating" a sister company called "Lone Wolf" that is trying to get into spirits, such as gin and whisky. It's still in the developmental stages. I'm sure they will make fantastic gin because gins can be creative with different botanicals. However, I hope they don't get too "creative" in whisky because what I love about whisky is the simplicity in the flavor and perfection of creating complexity with only a few ingredients (barley, water and yeast).

 

I don't know how much alcohol I took into my stomach today. But surprisingly, I didn't get drunk. Probably because I had enough time between drinks? Anyway, an extremely "Alcoholic' day....

Edinburgh - Loch Ness

The distilleries in Scotland are divided into five regions. However, three smaller regions with more distinctive characteristics are Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay. Highland and Lowland are rather general geographic areas and there are not many representative characteristics. I used to think that all Scotch whiskys are smoky (band-aidy), but I found the most smoky ones were made in Islay region (and Campbeltown whisky is smoky also), so these weren't my top choice of destinations (in addition, they're very inconvenient locations to visit...). Instead, I found that the Speyside region has the highest concentration of distilleries in Scotland. Although the distilleries in this region use peat to create smokiness, it's at a much lower level than ones made in Islay. Besides, the pioneer of Japanese whisky studied at a distillery in Speyside, first. So, I decided I should focus on Speyside for this trip to Scotland.

The tour I joined today is "Loch Ness (famous lake for Nessie) and Highland Distillery." I wasn't crazy about distilleries in the Highland area. But I thought this could be a good preview for what is coming next (in Speyside).

The tour company's choice of distillery was Deanston. I had never heard of the distillery before. Because that was the first stop of the tour, we arrived around 9:00 am and started the tour of their production facility. Unfortunately, there wasn't any actual production going on, since it was Sunday.

Although there are many types of Scotch whisky, such as single malt, blended malt (blend of two or more single malts), blended grain (two or more different grains, usually wheat or corn), in general single malt is considered as the highest quality among these. This is like single varietal wine versus blended wine. Although single varietal wine is considered as better than blended in the US, blended wine is more common in Europe (rather region-specific). I'm sure it's more cost effective for the whisky makers to produce blended whisky in order to provide consistent quality. However, I prefer single malt in order to highlight each whisky maker's expertise (not the blender's technique). I'll be focusing more on single malt in this trip.


Here are some beautiful pot stills. In Scotland, double distillation is common.

Most single malt whisky is sold at different age levels, such as 12yr, 15yr, 21yr, etc. I thought that these are the same whisky and that the only difference was how long the whisky was aged in the casks. It is, in fact, not only a difference in the number of years the whisky is aged, but also a difference in the choice of casks. Traditionally, sherry or port casks are used to develop the flavor but American bourbon casks are another option also. It seems higher-graded whisky (longer aged) is aged in sherry casks and the other (shorter aged) is often aged in bourbon casks. Distilleries use the same casks several times (up to 3 times in many cases), but the first use will transfer the most flavor from the previous product in the casks (such as sherry, port and bourbon).

After the tour, they provided two versions of 12-year single malt tastings, the right is regular 12yr and the left is also 12yr but aged in new casks (first time used). We completed the tour at 10 minutes before 10:00. However, we had to wait until 10:00 for the tasting, because it is prohibited to serve whisky at distilleries before 10 AM by law.

Obviously the left had more complex flavor. As I expected from whiskies from the Highlands, I didn't find any smokiness. I'm not sure if they used peat at all. Very clean finish and easy to drink.

That was a very good introductory course in Scotch whisky.

After visiting the distillery, we moved on to Loch Ness. Unfortunately, I didn't see Nessie, though....





We got back to Edinburgh pretty late, so I went to a restaurant near the tour drop-off location, called Indigo Yard, a very hip restaurant with a mostly young crowd. The service in Scotland in general is pretty slow. But this restaurant was even slower.... plus the waiter didn't bring the right beer. This is Franciscan Well, a brewer in Ireland. I'm going to Ireland after Scotland but wanted to have Scottish beer, though... This IPA is pretty light despite the color. Like the IPA I had last night, it's less hoppy than I usually have. I guess this is more the standard level of European hoppiness.

Since the starters looked more interesting, I ordered a few dishes. I wanted to have Scottish eggs but they were out..... So, the first dish is a chicken and chorizo terrine. The terrine is made with small chunks of chicken rather than chicken pate. Some terrines smells like cat food, but this one had a very fresh smell.

This is crab and crayfish macaroni. I was expecting something like mac 'n cheese. But the white sauce is much more soupy. Still, the flavor and seasoning were excellent.

Steamed mussels in garlic cream sauce with beer, shallot and mustard. Too much liquid at the bottom and I didn't taste anything but cream. I wonder if they forgot to add the other ingredients....

This is the entree pork dish, spit-roasted porchetta pig. The pork skin was rendered well but very tough (rather than crispy). Like the chicken I had last night, the meat was pretty dry. Probably, it's the Scottish style to cook meat well?? The au jus that came on the side was very tasty. I was happy with the seasoning at this restaurant overall.

Although the service was a bit questionable, the food was pretty good.


Tomorrow is the highlight of this trip. I'm going to the Speyside region to visit 3 distilleries and then go to the Brewdog brewery, which is a leading craft beer in Europe (maybe not "craft" beer anymore because they are pretty big now). Got to get up really early to catch the 5:30am train to Aberdeen...