62 Whisky Magazine | Issue 167
W
hen I sit down
and write for this
magazine I am
aware that often it
is from a Northern
Hemisphere perspective, which right
now is heating up and becoming Spring.
So I hope you will forgive that bias and
even keep hold of the magazines to refer
back to when the articles sync with your
part of the world.
As I say Mother Nature is warming
things up here, and despite the grip of
this world pandemic, now is the time to
order up some good cuts of meat and
fresh veg and head into the garden to
β
Ǥ
I think there is something elemental
about cooking over hot coals, smoking
things using wood chips and slow
βǤ
But I am not going to give you my
favourite whisky and food combo this
edition as I am going to leave it to Jodi
Feuille, who dropped me a line to share
with you her epicurean delights.
The new whiskey drinker, based in
New Mexico, USA, said that with the
change in how we do things due to the
widespread virus, now was the time to
start a whisky journey.
She added: “With school being
cancelled, like so many others, we’ve
been forced to stay home together and
have been trying to slow down and
enjoy this new chapter in our lives.
“After a long day of trying to be
creative, stay productive, get some
exercise and not pull my hair out with
all the kids’ questions, in the evenings, I
make it a point to pour myself a glass of
whiskey, then head to my patio to watch
β
across the Sandia mountains. My new
motto is keep calm and drink whiskey.”
She says that her current whiskey
of choice is the new accelerated aged
Taylor Garrett whiskey out of New
Mexico, paired with seared steak
followed by S’mores. I don’t think we
really need to detail recipes for these
classic and classy pairings.
Jodi adds that she feels she has a long
way to go on her whiskey journey and
has been enjoying getting suggestions
from friends.
She continues: “So far, if I had a
dream whiskey, I’d have to say it would
be Whistlepig 15 Year Old rye. There’s
just something special about that one.”
I think for Jodi and those setting off
βǡǡ
hopefully music, I would point you all in
the direction of Miles Davis’ album In a
Silent Way.
This is the point where the musical
giant struck out in a different vein and
essentially started fusion jazz.
It wasn’t just Davis himself changing
direction, but it changed the face of
jazz, and popular music too. A seminal
moment for musicians everywhere,
similar to that sublime moment where
you fall in love with a whisky.
While I know it might not be
everyone’s cup of tea, it is haunting,
laidback and perfect for the unnerving
quiet we are all experiencing just now.
Recorded in a three hour session
in New York in February 1969, the
album includes some mesmerising
performances by musicians who
went on to become household names
themselves: on sax, Wayne Shorter,
electric piano saw Chick Corea, Joe
Zawinul and (now educator and
musician supreme) Herbie Hancock.
The rhythm section was no less
glittering in its talent, with the drums
taken by Tony Williams, Davis enlisted
two rising stars from the UK in the
shape of guitarist John McLaughlin and
bass player Dave Holland.
For me this is one of the album you
have to hear, the perfect time would be
with a decent wireless speaker, in the
garden post barbecue, enjoying a plate
of s’mores and wondering where things
are going, just as most music critics did
back in 1969.
- As I said last edition, I would, as
we go along, love to hear from you,
dear reader, too. Your favourite tippling
moments, those pairings you always
go to that just satisfy the soul. I really
think as the world gets faster and more
connected, the mantra here is: ‘Slow
down, tune in and tipple out.’
WORDS ROB ALLANSON
As the seasons turn slowly warmer in the Northern
Hemisphere, it’s time to get outside again
SPRINGING FORWARD
TASTE
62 The Epicurean
66 Tastings
062 - 065 - Epicurean-WM 167 .indd 62 09 / 04 / 2020 11 : 59