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On the 31st last, my brother Byron, friend and author Dave Saari, and I joined 47 other alleged Scotch snobs at the second annual Scotch Tasting Fundraiser. It benefits the Cook County Community Fund (“CCCF”) and was a most pleasant way to celebrate Byron’s advancing years.
The event was limited to 50 people, so if you think your Scotch snobbery deserves a place at a table, mark your calendars to find it near the end of March.
“Scotch Snob”—a person who drinks only single malt Scotches, preferably costing $64 to $120 a bottle and would not dream of insulting the water of life with an ice cube. Rather, a medicine dropper of water is used to make the flavors jump out at us. Who’d’ have thunk there would be 50 such souls in our county of 5,600 people.
Each place had a mat with a map of the Isle of Islay (pronounced “Eye-lah”) lying at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides near the west coast of Scotland. On the place mat were six circles, each identifying a brand of single malt to be tasted later in the evening.
First, though, we dined on a classic Scotch pub meal featuring Haggis, fish, mashed potatoes, nieps and tatties (?), and Scotch eggs. The latter were my favorites—a hard boiled egg inside a ball of alleged sausage. (I confess to nabbing a second one after everyone else had been served.) Food was topped off by a special Scottish cranachan desert prepared by the chefs at Birch Terrace. (It resembled a parfait.)
After dinner, we were treated to a program, complete with slides, telling us how Scotch gets made as well as details about each of the distilleries located on or near Islay from which the six tastes came. The program was presented by David Coleman (aka Dr. Scotch), Hugh Magill, CCCF treasurer, and Chris LaVigne, manager of the local Muni liquor store. The most important facts are these: (1) if it’s not made in Scotland, it may not be called Scotch whisky; and (2) the components are barley, yeast, and water. Variety of tastes comes from the waters, the sea salt sprays, the particular barley, the nature of the casks used to age the drink, and peat fumes added in several ways. Some of the casks once held bourbon, others sherry, and still others were virginal. The single strongest taste factor is how peaty it is. That “peaty” flavor comes from the malting process, where the dried barley absorbs the smoke odor from the burning peat used in the drying.”
We should not be surprised about that peaty flavor—about 23% of the Scottish land surface is peat; it has been used for heating for centuries around the world. (Will climate change force changes in the burning of peat? Peat could be a ‘carbon bomb’ or a climate change solution – The Washington Post.)
We drank from six tasting glasses. Here are the single malts in order: Tobermory 12 (years old, from the nearby Isle of Mull); Bunnahabhain 12; Bruichladdich Island Barley 2013; Port Charlotte Heavily Peated 2013; Kilchoman Sanaig; and Ardbeg Ulgeadall. (If you couldn’t pronounce them, you weren’t trying hard enough.)
As each single malt was introduced, someone rose to offer a classic Scotch toast. My favorite? “Here’s to stealing, cheating, and lying: may you steal someone’s heart, cheat death, and lie with your love.” The most moving toast was an impromptu Saari tribute to Bob Carter who left us recently. A good citizen and a good man.
A not-at-all-silent auction capped the evening. Bottles and partial bottles of scotch, special gifts and baskets, and limited purchase glasses all commanded prices above retail. My guess is that the whole event raised about $10,000 for the Fund.
The members of the Board of the CCCF, are Virginia Detrick Palmer – Chair, Leah Ekstrom – Secretary, Hugh Magill – Treasurer, Don Grant, Lori Ericson, David Coleman, Claire Smith, MaryLou Sorensen, Chris Lavigne, Kathi Polley, and Molly Larson. Three staff members of the partner Duluth-Superior Area Community Fund attended and were appreciated. Our thanks to them, the Board, and the Larsen brothers of Birch Terrace for this service to the community.
Steve Aldrich is a retired Hennepin County lawyer, mediator, and Judge, serving from 1997-2010. He and his wife moved here in 2016. He likes to remember that he was a Minnesota Super Lawyer before being elected to the bench. Steve really enjoys doing weddings, the one thing a retired judge can do without appointment by the Chief Justice. He writes this column to learn about his new home area–and to indulge his curiosities. Copyright Stephen C. Aldrich and News-Herald, 2021.
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