The Salt Exchange

For the tasting on Wednesday night (11/24, 5 - 7 p.m.), we're doing four really outstanding Scotches for $12.

One of the Scotches, Ardmore, is a Highland Scotch. Typically Highland Scotches that are less peaty, which I like as I am a bourbon drinker. However, this is the only fully petted Highland Scotch, so I am interested to try this. It's a single malt. It's double cask-matured, which gives it longer exposure to the oak, which is going to give it deeper notes and flavors.

The other three Scotches that we're doing are all from the Laphroaig series.

The first of the series is the Laphroaig Cask Strength, which was voted the best Scotch Whiskey by Whiskey Magazine. The thing about cask-strength Scotches is that it's a smaller wooden barrel in a cask, so the Scotch is getting more surface area to the wood and you're going to get a mellowing out of that peaty-ness. It ties all of the flavors together. You're going to get deeper woody notes, which is also why we're doing the Laphroaig Quarter Cask.

With the smaller cask, you get smaller amounts of this Scotch Whiskey being exposed to this larger volume of wood and those are all being poured back together after they spend time in these quarter casks. Again, you're getting more wood notes and flavors from the oak in the quarter cask than you would in the full cask. Laphroaig is really really peaty Scotch. The first time I had it it was too much for me. Though just because it is not in the direction I personally go - as I said, I am not as much a Scotch drinker as I am a bourbon drinker - people absolutely love this. If you like a peaty Scotch, this is well crafted and peaty. This is something that is really important to me at the restaurant. It's not just about exercising my own tastes, but also considering the tastes of everyone coming in. It's about quality.

The last one we're doing is the Laphroaig 10 Year. It's a ten-year-old classic Laphroaig. This is the one that's typically poured, everyone knows it, but it's nice exposure for this one. This one, like the other Laphroaigs, is going to be an Islay, which typically have more of that peat quality.

As always, the kitchen will be putting out some lightly passed h'orderves. It will be the day before Thanksgiving, so I am sure you can expect some cranberry in there. It should be a lot of fun. The day before Thanksgiving is a big drinking night; everyone goes out. It's drink, eat, shop, drink. I'm expecting to see it have a good turnout. Since we're starting from 5 and going until 7, I think this is a great place to start. Come down for the tasting here, maybe stay for some dinner or food at the bar, and then work your way along Commercial Street by hitting Three Dollar Dewey's and Havana and the Farmer's Table on your way down and go caterwauling, as it were.