I got lucky and ended up at a Balvenie tasting meetup held at Mi Piace. It must have been a wonderful chance for anyone who loves Balvenie, and I got to learn a lot about Balvenie myself.
Hot toddy
The whisky brand ambassador, a lovely woman, said it was cold out and mixed us a cup. It’s a warm drink with whisky, honey, lemon and cloves in it. Apparently it’s the cup that chases off a cold, and it really did perk me up.
Balvenie explained
She explained what kind of whisky Balvenie is: it was created with the aim of being a smooth, cognac-like premium whisky. Maybe that’s why every expression goes down so easily. It’s a whisky everyone loves. When they dry the malt they do something called floor malting, and that’s where the whisky called Monkey Shoulder came from. It’s a whisky I had meant to buy in Japan, so I’ll have to bring one back next time.
Four whiskies + one more
Thankfully it wasn’t a blind tasting like the Glenfiddich one. I’m no good at picking out flavours ^_^ The two on the far left were the Macallan 12 and the Balvenie 12, and to their right the 15, the 17 and the 21. We tasted the Macallan 12 and the Balvenie 12 first, and the Balvenie 12 was a bit more powerful. Tasting it side by side with another distillery’s whisky is fun too. The 15 is a single barrel aged in American bourbon casks, and the cask style of the 17 changes every year. This year it’s a peated cask and last year it was a Madeira cask, and she said the Madeira one had the better reputation. On the far right is the 21 year old. Unlike Glenfiddich, there wasn’t much difference in character between the ages. Only the 17, with its peat, felt very heavy for a Balvenie. The 12 is great value and the 21 is smooth with a lovely nose, but to my palate the 15 was the easiest to drink and its vanilla aroma stayed with me. Since the 15 is single barrel, the taste apparently differs from cask to cask. Maybe the particular 15 I drank just happened to suit my taste..
Echire butter
Someone who had come over from Europe brought it. It’s the very top grade of butter even among the AOC ones. I got curious and looked up the butters registered as AOC, and there turned out to be about ten of them. So being AOC doesn’t automatically make it the finest. Of course, plain AOC butter is plenty delicious too. These days, though, some department store food halls do carry Echire butter. It must cost several times more, but it might be worth buying once.
Jamon
That was enough whisky tasting, and the Mi Piace course menu came right out. Mi Piace’s food is always satisfying.
The gift
This is the gift we got at the tasting. Whisky and a glass, and since the glass alone is pretty pricey and has the mark on it, I was thrilled.
Octopus terrine
What a fun dish. The octopus was so good.
Soup
Something like a minestrone, I think, but I had already drunk a lot of whisky so I can’t remember the details. Anyway, every single dish was delicious.
Fritter
There’s something chewy like rice cake inside, and the texture is fun. It goes well with the tomato sauce and it’s so good.
Forgot the name..
It was a really tasty dish with sea urchin in it too, but it’s off on the far side of memory now.. Balvenie tasted so good this time that I think I’ll go on loving it.
Pasta
The pasta was great too.
Braised oxtail
Gently cooked in tomato sauce so the flavour of the ingredients comes right through.. It’s so good there’s nothing more to say.
Lamb chops
The grilled lamb chops were full of juice too.
Whole-octopus senbei
A souvenir handed out by someone who had just been to Japan. It looks pretty unusual, doesn’t it.
Kuromame glace
I’ve had marron glace before, but glaced black soybeans are a first. Soft, with the sweetness soaked nicely through them, and a fun texture. It was the most popular of the day’s desserts.
Nougat
A dessert brought over from Europe.
Tiramisu
We cleansed our palates with ice cream.
Dessert
Finishing off with something high-calorie..
A Mi Piace meetup is always satisfying, and this day was a jackpot too. I wonder whether a chance like this will ever come around again in my life.. I’m really looking forward to the next meetup~