Whisky needs time. A great blender might be able to create magic by incorporating some younger components, but in general, nothing replaces time. It doesn’t have to be decades, but this is not overnight stuff. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of chairman, John Grant, first joining the industry, Glenfarclas have released a very special, limited edition 50-Year-Old Highland single malt.
Champagne is a lot more robust than people think. While reds and even whites get a fairly rough hand on occasion, there is a feeling that champagne must always be handled with the proverbial kid gloves. When discussing or presenting champagne, Ken Gargett is often asked how long it can be kept. And the answer is far longer than we sometimes suspect. Here he explains why. Cheers!
At a blind wine tasting many years ago that included a superb Petrus, for many of the tasters, including Ken Gargett, the superstar on the night, was something called Masseto, an Italian Merlot from the 1993 vintage. At the time, none of them had even heard of Masseto, let alone had any idea that an Italian Merlot might top one of the most famous wines on the planet. It was an obscure Italian Merlot back then, but all that would soon change.
Tequila is a subset of Mezcal, even if it is better known and more widely enjoyed. Ken Gargett takes a look at Patron Tequila, the world’s largest high quality tequila producer and one of the very best.
The importance of the water source for distilleries is well-known and crucial for style and quality. How special, then, for a distillery to have access to the melted snow from Mt Fuji, but only after those waters have spent fifty years filtering their way down to an aquifer 100 meters below the Distillery, for its sole use.
The Piper Heidsieck Hors-Serie 1982 champagne is a superb champagne. There is no rush to drink it. The wine should continue to age well over the next decade, but that said, there is no reason not to enjoy it now. For Ken Gargett it rates, 96/100.
Heidsieck Monopole Gout American 1907 is the world’s most expensive champagne. This is the famous “shipwreck champagne” and it has a truly extraordinary story to tell, much more interesting than simply the prices it has achieved.
The style of Gosset champagnes tends to complex, richly flavored wines. Powerful Pinot components and the steel and elegance of fine Chardonnay. Ken Garett shares his thoughts on the 2088 vintage.
The first description Ken Gargett ever heard of the durian fruit was that it was like “eating custard over an open sewer”. He never forgot that . . . but it made him curious. He he reveals why despite its obnoxious odor, durian is considered by many as ‘The King of Fruits.’
Ken Gargett takes a deep dive into vermouth and tasted the gin and vermouths of Italian producer Elena Penna.