Andrew Acomb

Last night was the first Angel’s Share at 9 Maple Ave for this year. The one in January usually doesn’t happen because of the holidays.

First for sampling was the Tyrconnell Single Malt. It’s an Irish Whiskey from the Watts Distillery named after a successful racehorse owned by the Watt family. This particular whiskey has been kept alive by the Cooley Distillery, the only independent distillery in Ireland. Tyrconnell has won many awards. Most recently it took a silver medal at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in 2006.

Next up was the Glengoyne 10 Year Old Single Malt, nicknamed “The Unpeated Whisky“. It is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky from the Highland region. Usually once germination has taken place, the malt is dried using the smoke from peat fires which imparts an aromatic smoky flavor. However, the Glengoyne distillery is different as it uses only barley that has been dried using warm air thus earning its nickname. Glengoyne is also one of only two distilleries in Scotland that use the “Golden Promise” barley. The other is Macallan. This particular barley was highly favored by distilleries for its delicious, rich nutty flavor. However, as the whisky industry grew distillers started to look for varieties of barley that gave a higher yield of fermentable sugars rather than varieties that gave the best
flavor.

The Bourbon Whiskey for the night was the Sam Houston Very Small Batch from the McLain and Kyne Distillery. Named after a Texan, Sam Houston was instrumental in the fight for the state’s independence from Mexico.

The final drink for the evening was the “The Mad Moyinhan Manhattan“. It is a blend of Irish Whiskey and Atholl Brose. It is stirred and strained straight up in a chilled Martini glass garnished with a twist. Out of the last few drink demonstrations, this was definitely my favorite.

The Atholl Brose has a cool story of it’s own: “In 1475, under a sentence of death, John the last Lord of the Isles fled to the hills.
The Earls of Atholl and Crawford rapidly set off in pursuit. Upon discovering where the fugitive was drawing water, the Earl of Atholl ordered that the well be filled with a mixture of whiskey, honey, herbs and oatmeal so as to encourage him to stay put while the reinforcements were brought. Alas the Lord of the Isles was beguiled and ‘Atholl Brose’ was created.“