Yes, you can have whiskey with your lunch
MANILA, Philippines – Lunch has always been the heart of Filipino daily meals. But did you know that lunching didn’t really gain popularity until the 1750s, when the English word “luncheon” was first coined? And it might raise eyebrows among ladies who lunch to discover that our most-loved meal was first defined simply as having “as much food as one’s hand can hold.”
So it was rather clever for one of the world’s foremost whiskey distillers, Glenlivet, to sit down and take notice. “I had a very interesting lunch here,” says Darren Hoise, the international brand manager of Chivas Brothers Limited, parent company of the 190-year-old Scotch label. He meant it was a lunch full of interesting topics and intrigue, everything from Star Wars to next year’s presidential elections, accompanied by salad, salmon tartare and steak.
“But back to whiskey,” Hoise said. “What I’d like to do is debunk the many misconceptions that come with Scotch whiskey. One of them is that you only drink whiskey after dinner. You can actually drink whiskey after two in the afternoon. You can drink it after lunch, before dinner, or during dinner. You can actually drink it anytime you like,” he assures us, before we sample Glenlivet’s four benchmark whiskeys. As for me, I didn’t need much coaxing.
The Glenlivet distillery lays claim to being “the single malt that started it all.” The oldest distillery in the Scottish parish of Glenlivet — if we discount the plentiful bootleggers — its founder, George Smith, decided to name it after the land itself. And rightly so, as its location at the heart of the Speyside region has plenty of access to natural spring water, particularly from Josie’s Well, as well as premium Scottish malt cropped from Crisp Maltings, making the distillery capable of yielding up to six million bottles annually. This prolific output has made Glenlivet the largest selling single malt whisky in the United States and the second biggest selling single malt brand in the world.
“For whiskey, you want to get as much flavor, aroma, texture and pleasure as you possibly can,” Hoise says as we take leisurely sips — neat — and just let the different flavor profiles of his Glenlivet range take hold. Treated like a heady dessert or a teasing appetizer to an even more decadent dinner to come, a glass of single malt is all you need, it seems, to liven up the lull during lunchtime.
Power lunch: Chivas Brothers Limited international brand manager Darren Hoise meets us over lunch at the Bahia Ballroom of the Hotel Intercontinental Manila to acquaint us with the finer points of single malt whiskey, and just how it could be an excellent addition to a power lunch.
The first we sampled was the Glenlivet 12-year, the “dirty dozen” with a clean, crisp taste of floral and fruit. The once-proverbial “single malt for the masses” due to its affordability will dispel any Scotch snob’s assumptions with its aftertaste of warm vanilla, aged in bourbon casks to give it a refreshing grassy nose and a pale gold glitter. “This is your easy-going party guy,” Hoise says. I could sense the amiability, the approachable appeal, of this one: something akin to a grown-up happy hour, a bit reserved at first, never too far from loosening up.
Next up, the middle child: the Glenlivet 15-year old expression. Preceded by a sliver of dark French truffle, a quick swill of the Glenlivet 15 offers a sense of its dark and brooding nature; a swig immediately confirms it. The French oak reserve lends it a palate of toasted clove, wild honey and licorice; a hint of mystery and danger that its bouquet of dusky rose and smoky cedar will further invoke. “This has a serious quality to it, a more reserved personality,” Hoise notes.
Then we embrace the elder soul: the Glenlivet 18-year old. “The color of the whiskey isn’t determined by its age; it’s told by the cask it was aged in,” Hoise clarifies. The vibrant amber of the French oak-aged Glenlivet debutante couldn’t be more telling of the blooming notes of apple blossoms, spicy sherry and mouthwatering fudge that follow. “This is your Sean Connery, your more mature gentleman. The very suave, very gentlemanly debonair,” says Hoise. He need not mention wiser, more experienced, and well-versed in all things classic about old-fashioned Scotch; its soothing taste of honey, walnut and orange peel already made sure of that. This could spark an afternoon of intellectual conversation.
And finally, as though to save the best for last, Hoise introduces us to the Glenlivet 16-year old Nàdurra. “This is like your old friends whom you haven’t seen in a long time, but will always be there,” Hoise quips with his indelible Glasgow brogue, not without a hint of nostalgia. Nàdurra comes from the Gaelic term for “natural,” and this captures the essence of the gilded bottle. The old, comforting flavors of marmalade and toffee resonate well above its distinct peaty smokiness, a reviving hint of the familiar and the unknown, encouraging you to reacquaint yourself with every passing sip. Its measure of complexity keeps you guessing; this is a bottle you’ll want to reserve for special occasions, like a warm afternoon reunion.
“All we do is build a story, and we want to make it as perfectly as we possibly can. When it comes to Glenlivet, it’s not something you stumble upon. You have to be introduced to it. And this is how we make a legacy in terms of whiskey past and whiskey future,” Hoise notes. Just like an old friend that livens up your lunchtime.
