The all-white affair was to launch their Gran Reserva Whisky, which adds warmer and richer flavours by uniquely finishing this single malt in first fill bourbon barrels that once contained rum from the Caribbean. The rum-soaked cask infuses the aged whisky with a spicy warmth and indulgent vanilla and toffee sweetness, the character of the Caribbean shining through. This gives the whisky a sumptuous sweet intensity that is both rich and creamy yet still retains the unmistakable character. This all is according to the masters at Glenfiddich.

In our first taste; Its quite evident that the Glenfiddich masters have outdone themselves with this particular offering which boasts a very unique taste that is best enjoyed with sweet foods.  It’s aged for four months in barrels that once contained Cariibbean rum to create a luxuriously rich and indulgent single malt. 

Our evening was rounded off with a live band performance by one of the local bands called African Rhythm Production together with Dj Kenzhero which sure kept the crowd on their feet.

Glenfiddich’s 21 year old Gran Reserva Whisky is for sale at a recommended R3 499 

According to a presser released earlier this week, South African whisky enthusiasts can further explore the Grant’s rich history of stories and craftsmanship, with the exciting debut of the brand’s premium blend with an unmistakable sweet yet rich and peaty flavour. Like no other in its class.

“We believe that Grant’s Select Reserve is a premium, yet accessible offering in the blended whisky category and we hope that this new variant will set a high benchmark in the South African market.“ said Lauren Kuhlmey, Grant’s SA Marketing Manager. Select Reserve features hand-picked whiskies that create a delicious multi-layered whisky with hints of fresh fruits, subtle spices and light peat smoke all enveloped in a vanilla sweetness. The finish is long lasting with a lingering smoky sweetness.

Retailing at R279.95 per 750ml bottle, Grant’s Select Reserve is produced by the award-winning independent family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons, who produce a range of cask finished and aged blended scotch whiskies which include Grant’s Family Reserve and Grant’s Cask Editions (my personal favourite).

This week is no different. This is on a more conservative yet wild side for me. Whisky. For starters, I’ve always reserved my Whisky purchases to my Dad because he knows it too well. He knows exactly which blend (is that what we call it?) to buy for whatever occasion – mind you, the occasion is normally over Christmas or dinner at that uncle we get to see once in 5 years. By now I’m sure you can tell I know nothing about Whisky except for the taste of course.

Fair enough, with the FNB Whisky Live Festival making its way to Johannesburg in November, it was only fitting that we feature a chat with Steve Adams, one of the founders of Wild About Whisky in Dullstroom, to learn more about ‘Extreme Whisky’ in South Africa and abroad. He answered some of Whisky Live’s curious questions about the spirits that add colour and character to the industry.

What is the oldest whisky available on the market?

[quote_simple]The Glenlivet 70 year old and Mortlach 70 year old are the oldest commercially available whiskies I know of. If you can find them, you would have to pay around R300 000 per bottle – and then you’d have to ask yourself if you could bring yourself to drink it. Furthermore, these are bottled at 45.9% alc/vol and 46.1% alc/vol respectively, which would pose the question: After 70 years in oak casks and giving up around 2% per year to the Angels, how is it possible that they have maintained such a high alcohol content?
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What is the rarest whisky around?
[quote_simple]
From time to time, someone finds a whisky that’s been lying in a cask, forgotten in a dark corner of an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Scotland, and they’re bottled and released as rare limited editions… if the marketing speak is to be believed.

However, the rarest known whisky is probably the Mackinlay’s that lies beneath Sir Ernest Shackleton’s hut in the Antarctic. Whyte and Mackay’s Richard Patterson is credited with recreating the whisky after having drawn a sample from that bottle and then returning it to its home under the ice.[/quote_simple]

What is the weirdest whisky you know of?

[quote_simple]The weirdest flavours come from casks that lend unusual aromas and flavours to the whisky. The strangest flavour I’ve encountered is bubble gum, with one Chinese whisky I’ve encountered tasting a lot like jelly beans dissolved in jet fuel… [/quote_simple]

Which blend contains the most individual whiskies?

[quote_simple]The Chivas Regal Century of Malts contains single malts from 100 distilleries.[/quote_simple]

Which is the most expensive whisky you’ve come across?

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[quote_simple]That has to be The Macallan 1946, in a fine Lalique Crystal decanter that sold for US$460,000. The most expensive commercial available whisky in South Africa would be the Glenfiddich 50 year old, which recently sold for R300,000.[/quote_simple]

What is the strangest thing you have heard of mixed with whisky in a cocktail?

[quote_simple]There’s a place in Seattle that offers a peanut butter bourbon milkshake – that pretty much takes it for me! [/quote_simple]

What is the most surprising whisky you have ever come across?

[quote_simple]Although I’ve had whisky from all over the world, the most surprising one was a whisky distilled by two gentlemen from Nelspruit! They came up with an excellent single malt matured for only three years in a brandy cask. They only produced a few bottles, and have no plans to do it again, sadly.[/quote_simple]

Which is the peatiest single malt that you know of?

[quote_simple]That has to be Bruichladdich’s Octomore. There have been several batches to date, peated to as much as 167ppm (parts per million phenols – a measure of the amount of smoke particles) compared with around 50ppm for Laphroaig 10 year old, for example. They’re young malts, a tad over three years, which makes them especially smoky as over time spent in a cask the wood tends to mask and extract the phenols.[/quote_simple]

What is the most unusual use for whisky (apart from drinking it) that you have heard of?

[quote_simple]Driving a racing car on Islay must rank right up there! James May of Top Gear once fuelled a car with Bruichladdich’s quadruple distilled “X4” and drove it around Islay! At around fifty times the price of petrol I’m not sure it was a cheap way to get to see the island…[/quote_simple]

What is the biggest bottle of whisky you have ever seen? And the smallest?

[quote_simple]The biggest bottle I’ve ever seen has to be the 105 litre, 1.44m high bottle of Tomintoul 14 year old that holds the Guinness World Record. It now takes pride of place in the Whisky Castle, a whisky shop in the village of Tomintoul. The smallest bottles are available in most whisky and gift-shops in Scotland, normally sold in packs of three. Each one contains a little under 1.5ml, and has a perfectly recreated label and a sealed cap.[/quote_simple]

What is the most unusual shape whisky bottle you’ve ever seen?

[quote_simple]That has to be Wild Reeds – a South African product, in a bottle the shape of Africa. They have a South African grain whisky, as well as an imported Scotch whisky.
[/quote_simple]
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received about whisky?

[quote_simple]Invest in whisky. If the market ever collapses, at least you can drink it and enjoy it![/quote_simple]

The FNB Whisky Live Johannesburg takes place from 12-14 November 2014 at the Sandton Convention Centre