There’s been positive reaction to the challenge between myself and The Ritz’s Colin Field over how to drink whisky – YouTube links below to the final video (Whisky Party also has a nice write-up) and a few people think I’ve gone a bit soft on Colin, but let’s go through the videos first – including one last look at the trailer with the Rocky music that’s divided people (my thoughts? I wouldn’t box you, I’d just slap you and kill you for disrespecting the whisky) – before chatting about them.
And then on to the three-part, 15-minute video:
I remember when we were setting up and Colin had more items on his side of the table than you would see on the shelves of a Tesco, Adsa, Wal-Mart or Morrisons and I couldn’t help but wonder “He thinks he’s going to put all this bloody stuff in my whisky?” and then also wonder what size of glass he had for it.
Now I’ve made no secret of the fact that when this idea was first suggested I was terrified we were going to get someone like this:
I’ve also made no secret of my loathing for some of these guys – fancy-dan frilly yahoos – all show with their juggling and tons of crushed ice, just making everything taste like sweeties. And then when you look at Colin’s pedigree, you think that, working at The Ritz, winning the awards, he’s just going to be the most ya of the yahoos, the fanciest of the dans.
But he totally surprised me. He came in, treated the whisky with respect. He took his time to look at what works and what doesn’t and he said something that proved to me he is a man who cares about his craft: “Every drink I make, I can see the person I’m making it for, I can tailor a drink based on each person, making it the perfect drink for them.” That’s a sign of someone treating the drinker with respect and I can appreciate that. It wasn’t about the juggling or setting things on fire, it was about making some nice drinks for a wider audience. As Colin put it, he wasn’t transforming the drinks, he was translating them, taking them to wider markets and audiences.
That’s not to say I was expecting it go smoothly. He still used bloody ice – but it was ice made from Jura water – and then he also pulled out some stones from Jura – chilled to minus 18.3 degress – and used them instead of ice. Now that was a nice move because by using the stones he’s not reducing the flavour, but he still keeps the drink cold and makes it more visual – a genuine scotch on the rocks (that’s where the name comes from).
And the cocktails he made were of simplicity themselves, but they did give the whisky a fresh taste. I also liked his line of “The best cocktails have three ingredients,” and I really should have said to him that while Jura counted as one, if we had used Whyte and Mackay would that have counted as two?
But I came away impressed. Colin was a good guy, he treated the whisky with respect.
Doesn’t mean I like the rest of them though. I’m sure there’s still a few slaps that can be handed out.
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