www.vegard.net

Everything went according to plan on Friday: We had that greasy burger at Beach Club before we headed for the Oslo Whisky Festival where we sampled both familiar and exotic brands. Like every year the attendance is roughly 99% male, with the odd female scattered around. Most of the people working on the conference floor, on the other hand, were female, and some of them quite good looking, too. I can imagine that the job can potentially get a little bit frustrating as the blood alcohol level of the crowd increases and the middle aged men start to flirt the only way they know: Ass-grabbing.

I really enjoyed the festival this year, and focused on quantity rather than quality when nosing. Ola has always laughed at me for trying weird whiskies, but this year I think it really paid off. Amongst the many different brands available I found Buffalo Trace, a mild, but complex, American whisky. It’s quite possible that I enjoyed this one the most because it was the first one I tried, and drinking whisky for an entire evening can be quite the ordeal for an tastebuds.

We also tried the whisky bar, where they use whisky in drinks. This is considered sacrilegious by the most hard core whisky drinkers, so the bar is hidden in a corner of the conference floor. Going there is frowned upon, but we took our chances and came back happy. I don’t remember the names of any of the drinks, but but if you’re ever offered a drink that contains whisky, fear not – it’s a good chance you’ll like it, even if you’re not a whisky drinker.

Some of the distillers and importers can be quite pretentious when describing their goods, and here’s the most over-the-top description I found this year (translation by me):

Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10YO has a dark bronze color. Early in the scent picture one can find grain, toasted wheat bread, honey and tobacco leaves. The scent then goes on to become ripe banana, charcoal, almonds, butter, melon. Eagle Rare has an incredibly complex taste picture and you quickly feel that there is a lot to be found. You will discover the taste of raisins, grape fruit, charred oak and candid almonds. The closing is long, sweet, moderately flaming and pleasantly oily.

Moderately flaming and pleasantly oily. All righty, then.

Tomorrow it’s the annual Oslo Whisky Festival, organized by the very enthusiastic Chris Maile. When it came to brown liquor, I used to be a cognac drinker, but after a visit to the festival a few years ago, whisky became an excellent alternative. Since then I’ve been there with good friends every year, except for last year, when I accidentally went to London with Anniken and her family instead. I tend to enjoy the milder whisky brands, without that intense smell, taste and aftertaste of smoke that some of the brands have. But I’m still open to give them a second (or maybe even third) try, though. That’s the great thing about the Oslo Whisky Festival, it gives you the opportunity to try brands that you’d never had to chance sample anywhere else. Japanese whisky, for instance. Interesting stuff.

Even though I enjoy the odd glass, I really don’t know anything about whisky, which is a bit quite embarrassing. To top it off, I’ve only bought a single bottle of it all my life, a The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky, which sits half full in my liquor cabinet. I can hear Kristoffer¹⁾ laughing all the way from the other side of the country. So, to actually be a little prepared for tomorrow, I decided to read up on some basic whisky knowledge. Here’s my quick “Whisky for Newbie Nosers” (which is mostly ripped off Wikipedia):

First, let’s start off easy with a video. It’s a few minutes long – and a commercial for Johnnie Walker – but it’s very well done. And it’s got bag pipes. I love bag pipes.

Continue reading "Brownies." →