Laurel signed us up to attend a class on whiskey at a
Total Wine store in a nearby town. I thought
the class was fantastic. Roughly two hours long, they took us through
several varietals: Irish Whiskey, Bourbon, Rye, Tennessee Whiskey, Scotch,
and Japanese Whisky.
The lecturer also explained various terms we often
see, like "straight", "blended", "barrel proof," and "single barrel."
Perhaps the most interesting part of the class was when they took us
through various Scotches from four different regions of Scotland: the
Highlands, Speyside, Islay and the Islands, and the Lowlands. Throughout
the evening they told us about how important the environment can be on
the finished whiskey;
McCallan 12 yr. Double Cask, Glenlivet 12 yr. First Fill, and
Shieldaig Speyside 12 yr. Single Malt were all amazing examples of exactly
that. Most notably, Shieldaig, of the Speyside region, was horrible.
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