12 Year Whiskey Review

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's been a great year and I have much to be thankful for. And in the spirit of celebrating, I thought we would imbibe just a bit. I've been doing a tour of a few 12 year whiskeys, with the majority being Scotch. I don't know whether it's the "Mad Men" impact or the correlation between increasing age and increased whiskey consumption, but I like it.

This review focuses on some 12 year Scotch, Irish, and Japanese whiskey, but I'll move on to a separate American whiskey review - in the form of bourbon. I'm especially excited about this because I was able to get my hands on some 12 year Old Rip Van Winkle through black market dealings (I *somehow* missed the 8 minute window for PA Fine Wine & Good Spirits - note the sarcasm).

I still consider myself a bit of a novice, but to put it simply, whiskey is the larger set, the universe, if you will. Of these, you can have different subsets. Scotch whiskey is made in, you guessed it, Scotland - typically made with malt and grains (wheat or rye). Irish whiskey is, yes, made in Ireland, with the principle flavoring being unmalted barley. Canadian whiskey is made by our neighbors up North, with the principle element being rye. Bourbon whiskey is made, by law, in America, and is typically associated with Kentucky. Bourbon is made with at least 51% corn and usually rye, though there are a few wheated bourbons out there, including Pappy.

But enough of the whiskey lesson for now, on to the good stuff. 

Jameson Special Reserve

Jameson 12 year special reserve, formerly known as Jameson 1780, is a blended Scotch whiskey. It's matured for 12 years in a combination of bourbon barrels and Olorosso sherry casks. A decent introduction to what aging can do to bottom shelf Jameson.

Nose: Sweet, emanating caramel and spice. 

Palate: Vanilla, spice, and cinnamon, with notes of sherry and some peat.  

Finish: Smooth, warm, long-lasting, without much smoke. 

Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year

Johnnie Walker Black Label is a 12 year blended Scotch of approximately 40 different whiskeys. This is the what is often described as the quintessential Johnnie Walker tipple. Due to the blending, it's a bit muddled for my taste. 

Nose: Sweet, emanating maple and caramel. 

Palate: Spice, with vanilla notes and some smoke that can overpower a bit.

Finish: Smooth, with a smoke that lingers.

Glenfiddich 12 Year

Glenfiddich 12 year is a single malt Scotch whiskey. Easy drinking, though was a bit bland compared to the others.

Nose: Floral and honey.

Palate: Spice which can be a bit harsh at first, but then the citrus develops a bit, with notes of green apple. 

Finish: Subtly sweet with some vanilla and honey.

Glenlivet 12 Year

The Glenlivet is also a single-malt 12 year and definitely my favorite. It's not surprising that this is one of the top, if not the best, selling whiskeys in the world. 

Nose: Herbal with some sweetness. 

Palate: Light spice and a bit of smoke, with vanilla and brown sugar continuously progressing. 

Finish: Smooth, long, warm, with malt that lingers.

The Macallan 12 Year 

Those of you that watch Lost know about The Macallan. Yes, there's also a "The" in front of this  drink as well. This is a single malt Scotch that coats the tongue and allows the flavors to develop.

Nose: Sweet notes of honey, light maple, and caramel. 

Palate: Hints of spice, with light smokiness and fruit coming through.

Finish: Smooth.

Now whiskey isn't limited to the Old World. Japan actually makes some fine whiskey as well. There are around 10 distilleries in Japan, with Suntory being the most predominant and well-known for its high rating. And Japan's foray into whiskey production came with Suntory's single malt, Yamazaki.

The Yamazaki 12 Year

When I visited the GF's family over Christmas, her dad gifted me this bottle, which was much appreciated. He's just starting to get into whiskey himself, so started his journey off with Glenlivet 12. But back to the Yamazaki. I can definitely see why it had such a high rating and took the world by surprise. 

Nose: Sweet note of cinnamon, apple, and sugar. 

Palate: Medium bodied, honey, and vanilla with apple coming through.

Finish: Pleasant with some more fruit lingering.

In the opinion of this self-professed whiskey ingenue, this quintet of 12 years was a nice introduction to what is possible with aged whiskey. I would say that The Macallan is definitely impressive for a 12 year. But Glenlivet is my favorite due to its great balance of light spice and smoke, which eventually lends itself to a subtle sweetness that continuously develops. Great anyday drinking.

So consider a whiskey to end your Thanksgiving meal - I know that it will be my drink of choice to end the night.

Steve's Prince of Steaks: Center City Review

Steve's Prince of Steaks is one of many cheese steak joints in Philly that profess to be the king. Well, technically in the case of Steve's, they're a bit more modest and only proclaim to be the prince. Still, from the weak Yelp reviews, I wasn't expecting much but felt I had to give it a try. They opened up an outpost in Center City, which seems to be frequented by many working professionals. After trying the actual cheese steak though, perhaps it really is - location, location, location.

The first thing that annoyed me was that there was a different line for cheese steaks only and another for items such as fries, drinks, and the like. You're telling me that I really need to get in a whole other line for extras? I can see why Steve's might think that speeds things along, but really, it just makes me think twice about adding extras to my order and frankly, it's annoying.

They do have toppings like hot peppers out in the open for you to top your cheese steak, but would have liked to have seen closed lids. Perhaps it's all the epidemiology courses I've taken over the years.

But I digress ... let's move on to the food!

Cheesesteak ($12.65)
Double meat, onions, provolone
  

Having read the reviews on Yelp, I knew that getting a regular cheese steak was not the way to go (3 flimsy slices of steak on a sandwich? No thanks). So I went with the double meat, provolone, and onions. While there were nice abundance of steak, this cheese steak was pricey - essentially twice the price of most cheese steaks in the area. The soft roll was nice and the innards caused the sandwich to be greasy - in a good way.

However, the meat was where I found most of the fault in this cheese steak. It should have been much more thinly sliced - while it was beefy, it was so chewy that my jaw had an intense workout while I tried to get through the entire sandwich. The onions and provolone were nicely mixed throughout the sandwich, but did not do much to distract from the dry, chewiness of the beef. Unfortunate.

I can't imagine I would try this cheese steak again nor would I subject any out of town visitors to this particular iteration. I'll stick to Mike's in the Comcast Center or Jake's Sandwich Board, thanks.

 
www.stevesprinceofsteaks.com

Top Tomato Pizza Review

The GF and I have had Top Tomato's regular Neapolitan-style pizzas several times now - they're decent though at times doesn't really stand up to delivery. Thus, the pizza occasionally results in a soggy crust if overladen with toppings. 

So this time around, we decided to see if the heft of a Sicilian pie would stand up to delivery.

Sicilian Pie ($15.99)

This was as solid iteration of the square-shaped pie. As you can see, there's an abundance of cheese that still maintains its gooey-ness and doesn't result in a massive clump. The marinara has some tang to it, but is mostly sweet. But the real measure of a good Sicilian to me? It's all about the dough.

The Sicilian's dough was simply OK. There was too much heft to it as it was not buttery and could have been crispier. Still, it was well-seasoned. 

Delivery might take a bit during the lunch-time rush, but your pizza will most likely come hot. So give Top Tomato a chance and see if it hits the spot for your pizza cravings.

www.toptomatopizzeria.com