Whiskey Wednesday: WhistlePig and Covert Canadians

Because of our porous northern border and common popular culture, Canadians often come to seek fame and fortune in the United States. Once here, unlike many other immigrants, they tend to assimilate quickly to such an extent that the American public doesn't realize that they hail from the nation to the north. They remain here, indistinguishable from US citizens, until they utter the stray "aboat" or drop a reference to a "bag of milk." Who are these covert Canadians? Well, there are too many to name, but they include Peter Jennings, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson, Jim Carrey, Alanis Morissette, Dan Aykroyd, the late Leslie Nielsen, Dr. Whisky and many others.

Add to this list another covert Canadian: WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey. It looks American, is bottled in Vermont, uses the American spelling of whiskey and has the American designation of "straight rye," but this seemingly US whiskey is actually Canadian.

WhistlePig is the brainchild of Dave Pickerell, formerly the Master Distiller of Maker's Mark. Pickerell started the WhistlePig Distillery in Vermont, but like many craft distillers, he chose to bottle a sourced whiskey as his first product. He found one in Canada. I should note that while there has been some confusion about WhistlePig, Dave is open about its sourcing and the back label states, albeit in small type, that it is imported from Canada.

WhistlePig is a 100% rye whiskey, and it really is a straight rye, albeit one with an unusual high rye content in the mashbill, as opposed to a typical, blended Canadian whisky. Even Canadian whiskies that are 100% rye are often blends of a "flavor whisky" and a higher proof, more neutrally flavored whiskey used as a blending agent. WhistlePig is solely composed of the flavor whiskey without any of the blending whiskey. That is what differentiates WhistlePig from other Canadian whiskies bottled by US companies, such as Pendleton or Snake River Stampede. Now, let's taste it.


WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey, 10 years old, 50% abv ($72).

There is a fabulous nose on this with, unsurprisingly, a big kick of rye spice. I also get some briny notes, like pickle juice. The flavor starts sweet, then you get the rye kick, much more in the traditional rye fashion, followed by some herbal and medicinal notes, and then the brine, which fades into the finish. This is a very nice rye, and very unique tasting due to the briny notes, which I enjoyed. If I had to compare it to anything it would be some of the High West whiskeys with very high rye contents. I love these high rye mashbills because they really come out swinging with plenty of big, spicy rye.

This Canadian has fully assimilated into the American style. There is no question that it is much closer to straight rye than any Canadian whisky. I guess that's why they spell it with an "e".

Juanita's at the Hollywood Farmer's Market

There are a number of great food options at the Sunday Hollywood Farmers Market (Ivar Street between Sunset and Hollywood), but lately I've been enjoying the Mexican home cooking at Juanita's. It's fairly straight forward Mexican food, cooked fresh. The enchiladas go right into the pan as you wait. I'm always a big fan of a plate of chilaquiles for breakfast and the Juanita's version is piled high with chile sauce with egg and a sprinkling of cheese; it's not the most sophisticated version, more like someone's grandmother made it for you. There's a little table right alongside to sit and eat and it all washes down well with an ensalada from Delmy's pupusas, a few doors down.

Whiskey Wednesday: Tasting and Talking at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society Extravaganza

Last Thursday was the annual Scotch Malt Whisky Society Extravaganza in Santa Monica. As always, there were some good whiskies poured, particularly the Society's private label bottlings. I especially enjoyed their offerings of Glen Scotia and Rosebank, and I never miss a chance to sample some Highland Park 30 when it's on offer.

Most notable this year, however, was a panel discussion among brand representatives prior to the tasting. Hosted by the Society US President Alan Shayne, the panel featured Martin Daraz from Highland Park, Neyah White from Suntory, Robin Goupar from Skyy, Simon Brooking from Beam Global, Nicholas Pollacchi from Balvenie, Ricky Crawford from Glenlivet and Steve Beal and Ed Adams from Diageo. The hour long discussion was in Q&A format with questions from the 50 or so people in the audience. The discussion ran from basic tips to serious issues in the industry to more light hearted moments.

All of the brand representatives seemed to speak honestly and openly without a lot of salesmanship. I've seen Martin Daraz speak before; he's probably the funniest brand rep. I've ever heard, and if you have the chance to attend a class with him, you should.

On a more serious note, I was very impressed with Suntory's Neyah White, who showed an impressive grasp of Japanese history and its relation to that nation's whisky industry and made very thoughtful comments throughout the night. When asked about judging whiskies, for instance, he spoke of "emotional terroir," which I thought was a great way of describing the way in which environment, mood and other external factors affect the appreciation of whisky.

As regular readers know, one of my top whisky wishes is to get more Japanese whisky imported to the US. I've often asked Suntory representatives if they will ever send us whisky from their Hakushu distillery, and I usually get an ambiguous maybe, at best. When I submitted the question to the panel, White was straight forward, saying there simply isn't enough Hakushu to export, though he wished there was. I appreciate getting an honest answer on that one (and since I'm lucky enough to have some sources in Japan, I'm planning on reviewing the Hakushu 18 in the near future).

Another interesting tidbit that I'd never heard came out when someone asked about chill filtering, the controversial process that distilleries use to prevent whiskey from appearing cloudy at cooler temperatures which some claim inhibits flavor by filtering out oils containing flavor elements. Diageo's Steve Beal explained that prior to World War II, there was almost no chill filtering. After the war, Scotch became popular with Americans, but unlike the Scots, the Americans tended to drink it on the rocks which caused clouding. It was only then that the distilleries began large-scale chill filtering. Now, I haven't verified the story, but it would be interesting if all of this filtering was our fault. Perhaps we owe the world of whisky a collective apology (at least they can't blame us for caramel coloring).

The panel was a great way to begin the night, and I hope the Society will continue to sponsor it at its future Extravaganzas.

The Next Pop Up: Your House

The morning started like any other weekday morning. I awoke to my alarm at 5:30, put on a robe and headed quietly toward the kitchen, trying not to wake the rest of my family. Once I turned the corner from the hallway, I noticed there was someone in the kitchen. My first thought was that it was a burglar, but then I saw that this intruder was cooking, and as he turned around, I recognized the face of a well known, local celebrity chef.

"What are you doing here?", I asked, perplexed.

"Zis is pop up!" the chef responded.

"A what?"

"Ze traditional restaurant is dying. Soon there will be only food trucks and pop ups. Zis is your pop up breakfast."

"But I thought pop ups were just where you cook at someone else's restaurant..."

"Wrong! A pop up can happen anytime, anywhere to anyone."

"How did you get in here?" With that, the chef shoved a plate in my face, "Zis is an amuse bouche: a cured baby scallop in a puff pastry shell with an uni-fennel foam." I popped it in my mouth. It was very good, but I did have to get ready for work.

"You know," I said, "I usually just have coffee and toast for breakfast, and..." The chef pushed another plate toward me, "First course, a deconstructed fingerling potato and cheddar zoup inspired by potatoes au gratin topped with caviar scented truffles, paired with a German Riesling."

"I don't usually drink this early either, I just..."

"Nonzense! Now where do you keep your liquid nitrogen?"

And so it went, a tour de force of a menu, a breakfast unlike any I'd ever had. It consisted of nine courses plus wine pairings. The chef cooked furiously, only stopping for the occasional tweet. Just as the rest of my family was getting up and wondering what was happening, the chef disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. My wife looked around quizzically and asked, "Have you been drinking wine?" I sighed, "It's a long story."

So don't be surprised if sometime, somewhere, someplace when you least expect it, someone steps up to you and says, "Zis is a pop up!"

Help Me Figure this Out: Bright Kitchen Article

So I'm wondering if any of you can help me identify this implement. I received it as a gift from my mother-in-law, who bought it in Japan. It's a steel utensil about the size of a kitchen knife. It is slightly bulb shaped on one end and stretches into a long tear drop shape on the other. It looks a little bit like a long, flat metal Q-tip or maybe a cuticle pusher.

There is very little English on the package. The company appears to be "Stylish Cutlery," and the product seems to be called "Bright Kitchen Article." It also notes "stainless steel," and "Made in Japan." That's it for the English.

So, what is this thing? Can anyone help me out?

UPDATE: Thanks to Yuki (see the comments) for pointing me in the right direction. Apparently, this is a cocktail stirrer, what we would probably call a bar spoon. Thanks Yuki, time to mix up some cocktails.

Whiskey Wednesday: The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Est Arrivé

Last weekend, the first bottles of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) started appearing on local shelves. It's always an event when the BTAC arrives each fall, but this year, it's reached a level of frenzy that I've never seen before.

David Driscoll, the spirits buyer at K&L recently wrote on his blog that he was getting a huge volume of calls and emails asking about the Collection, and his three stores get only a case or less of each bottle. (By the way, if you aren't reading David's blog, you should be; he's one of the few retailers who writes really honestly about the whiskey retail world without always trying to sell you something). On StraightBourbon.com, there is a frenzy of activity as people try to find bottles so they can add one of each (or a case of each) to their already massive bourbon bunkers.

The excitement is understandable. The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection includes some of the world's best whiskeys at reasonable prices. George T. Stagg is probably the world's most renowned bourbon. William Larue Weller is less popular than Stagg, but the reputation of this wheater is growing fast. Sazerac 18 and Thomas Handy are undoubtedly two of the best rye whiskeys around, and while Eagle Rare 17 may be the runt of the bunch, it's no slouch either. Even more amazing than the quality of this collection is the price. While some retailers have been known to jack it up into the three figures, they still regularly retail for $70-$85. I don't know that there is a better price/quality ratio in existence.

All that said, the frenzy is getting a bit out of hand. These things are becoming like the newest Xbox on Christmas Eve. I would appeal to all of the American whiskey lovers and collectors out there to, as Jon Stewart would say, take it down a notch.

While the BTAC is an annual release, they tend to be quite consistent from year to year, especially in the last four or five years. Do you really need a bottle of each when you have a closet full of the past releases? Can't we leave some for the newbies?

Even if you decide these are must haves, there are lots of stores that get the BTAC, including both the big chains and some much smaller, off the radar stores. There are always a few bottles that languish on shelves and usually some that pop up mid-year. If you live in Southern California and you are willing to put in a little bit of effort (i.e. drive around a bit), you should be able to find a bottle of each without too much effort.

Me? I picked up a Stagg, but I still have some Weller left from last year, and while I'm out of Sazerac and Handy, I have enough good rye on hand to keep my thirst quenched without buying these up.

So let's all take a deep breath. Remember folks, it's just whiskey, and there will probably be enough for everyone.

Pork Pump at Yu Garden

Over the summer, I posted about the pork pump at the Shanghainese restaurant Wok and Noodle. In the comments, Tony C., the inimitable SinoSoul recommended the pork pump at Yu Garden in San Gabriel. It takes me a while to work up to a pork pump, so I took some time, but did manage to head their recently.

For those who don't read Chinese, it can be a little tricky to pick out the pork pump on a menu. At Wok and Noodle, it's "degreased and braised boneless pork leg shank." At Yu Garden, there were two potential items. One was, I think, just labeled braised pork and the other was House Special Braised Pork Shank. I went with the shank, which turned out to be the pork pump.

This was a great pork pump. Occasionally, the meat inside the pump is a bit dry, but in this one, it was moist and fully flavored by the sauce, which had really permeated the thing. The fat was rich and sticky, and after the meat was gone, it was pretty hard not to just eat the fat and skin. On the whole, I liked this pump better than the version at Wok and Noodle, as the whole thing really came together more. I'll have to try it against some of those classic pork pumps that I haven't tried for a while.

While the pork pump was great, and they did a very nice pork fried dumpling, most of the rest of the meal was lackluster. The xiao long bao were dry, with very little broth and the skins were tough. The pickled napa and pork soup was bland, and the scallion pancake was too greasy.

This is a pork pump place, and it would be wise not to wander too far off the menu.


Yu Garden
107 E. Valley Blvd. (just east of Del Mar)
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 569-0855