Review: Hotel du Vin

This month’s hotel review is slightly different. As opposed to our usual hotel stay, with dinner, bed and breakfast, this month we look at Hotel du Vin and cover an intimate networking event with a difference. 

I was contacted by James Dempster, who you will know as Managing Director of Cobb Digital and a regular contributor to SBT. He asked if I liked steak and whiskey and would I like to attend an event that he and Hotel du Vin manager Ben Haynes were hosting. Being two of my most favourite things how could I decline? 

Hotel du Vin boasts some fantastic rooms for private dining. They vary in size and style with no two rooms the same but all creating it’s own ambience and setting. For this particular event, we were obviously located in the Scottish Malt Whiskey Snug. 

This bright, airy room, located on the ground floor of the hotel, has double doors leading out on to the court yard and gives the best of best worlds with a little alfresco space for its guests. 

On arrival all 14 guests were seated at the long table. Welcomed by James and Ben, we were introduced to our main host for the evening, head barman and whiskey connoisseur Lee Standen. As the platters of amazing chateaubriand were served, Lee then took us on a journey of of various whiskeys. 

Whiskey comes from the Gaelic uisge beatha,  or water of life, and, surprisingly for most people, its origins are in Ireland. The Scots were mostly making Aqua vitea as the monks called it for medicinal use until around 300 years later.

So we started with one of the most well-known Irish whiskeys and a good palette opener, Jameson – ironically founded by John Jameson, a Scot from Alloa, and now arguably one of the most prominent whiskeys in the world. It has very subtle oak tones and the use of malted and unmalted barley gives it a good balance of spice and buttery honey notes. This all making it a good starter.

We then moved on to our first scotch. Glengoyne, a single malt From Ian Macleod – a really good example of a well-balanced highland in all its incarnations. We chose the 10-year (although the barrel strength is my favourite, it’s not for the faint of heart) made with the water from the stream of Dumgoyne Hill and distilled slower than any other highland. The air-dried barley makes for a classic, clean, green apple tasting whiskey, balanced with nuts and a slight herbal tone. A great first highland. They used to sell to other stillers for blending only, this is one brand I’m really glad has been made available to the public. I strongly urge you to try it, along with its sister Tamdhu and its wonderful Spey side saltiness (also from Ian Macleod).

We moved right along to the opposite end of the scale with Lagavulin 16YR, an Islay (pronounced eye-La) whiskey from Islays south coast. Here, the barley is dried in peat-fired kilns, imparting it with the characteristic scent of iodine and smoky taste that attracts and repels people in equal measure. Lagavulin is one of the oldest stilleries on islay. The 16 is well-adored for its smokey phenols and its sherry-tasting notes. It leaves a creamy feel in the mouth which lingers on the palette for what seems like eternity. This is a great nightcap. But we did something different that evening in replacing the Mezcal in a Paloma Cocktail with Islay peated scotch, just to show it’s so much more than a night cap. Anyone who likes their whiskey really peaty should move on to octomore from Bruichladdich, the 10-year is my favourite and is the world’s peatiest whiskey, racking in at a whopping 167PPM (phenols per million, it’s how they measure the smokiness) a lot of big peat whisky’s come in around 50-100 PPM.

From there we moved to the much-adored Japanese whiskey. Coming late to the whiskey game in the late 1920s, Japanese whisky has had a meteoric rise of late. Founded by Shinjiro Torii, the Suntory group is now the world’s biggest drinks company and their whiskey the most well-known. However, I chose a nikka barrel strength from Japan’s second oldest stiller and here’s why…

shinjiro hired a man, arguably the only man in Japan that could make whiskey, Masataka Taketsuru. He moved to Scotland in 1918 and learned to make it first-hand. Originally moving there for a chemistry degree in Glasgow, he discovered a passion for whiskey. He and his wife, Rita, moved back to Japan and help found Suntory, but after a difference of opinion, he abandoned Shinjiro. In 1934 Masataka moved north to open Japan’s second oldest stillery, Nikka. Staying true to his Scottish teachings, he tried to replicate the climate and processes as closely as possible. To this day they make incredible whiskey and lesser-known than its counterpart, it’s easier to obtain as demand is less heated (I’ve seen some crazy prices for Japanese whiskey). And to me, Masataka will always be my founding father of Japanese whiskey . The straight from the barrel is a great example of a modern Japanese whisky despite the higher ABV which gives it its peppery zing the whiskey is bourbon cask aged which rounds it with a wonderful soft vanilla note and leaves a candied orange or clove sting to the aftertaste worth a go for any Japanese whiskey fan.

To finish, we segwayed into Bourbon Territory as it’s the most suitable (Pudding) whiskey. Inspired by the use of single barrel products from the scots and Japanese, Elmer T Lee, the first appointed master Stiller in America, following the repeal of prohibition (google him the mans a legend), started makings Blanton’s single barrel.  For this reason, I chose arguably its best incarnation. Blanton’s gold. Old Elmer started knocking this out of buffalo trace (formerly George T Stagg stilleries) around 1984. The reason this is so special is that most Stiller’s blend the whiskey for consistent flavour, single barrel whiskey is all down to the skill of the master, albert Blanton one of the early founders whom this is named for, commissioned the metal rick (warehouse) in which the whiskey is chosen from. As metal heats and cool faster than wood this accelerates the aging process (most ricks are still wood). The gold is 6-8 years old on average and Has the highest ABV of the bunch, giving it a characteristic spicy smack and that lovely Kentucky Hug as it creeps down the gullet. It has plenty of rich dried dark fruit tones and a great toffee finish which lingers as long as the hug, a perfect after dinner treat.

The Paloma

Created by Legend Don Javier Delgado corona, owner of Capilla in Tequila Mexico, is, as one might expect, a refreshing zingy cocktail great on a hot day, which it was. To most, the idea of a whiskey cocktail on a hot day is most unappealing so give this twist on a classic a try you won’t regret it!  Originally with Patron tequila , I always preferred mine with a good dirty smoky mezcal. Instead of Mezcal choose a lightly peated scotch (or not) and do this: shake together a double measure of Islay whiskey with about 30ml of pink grapefruit juice, the juice of half a fat ripe lime and a tablespoon of agave syrup until it’s frosty. Pour into a tall salt (or Tajin) rimmed glass and top with grapefruit soda. I made my own, but a pinch of san pelegrino or even Ting will do. Just, for Jebus’ sake, don’t use Lilt.

This was a truly fantastic event and evening, and one I am hoping becomes a regular. The room was absolutely perfect for a small intimate networking event such as this. The chateaubriand was cooked to perfection. Throughout the evening Lee was engaging, extremely knowledgeable and his passion for whiskey was a joy to behold. I could have listened to him for hours. With staff of this calibre at Hotel du Vin and rooms to cater for such a variety of needs, whether you are hosting a private personal function or business event, Hotel du Vin has it covered.  

Contact Ben Haynes – ben.haynes@hotelduvin.com