So, it's time for the second part of the experiment. Since the subject is familiar and everyone remembers the first part - Obi-Wan died, the Death Star was destroyed and stuff - let's get directly to the business without any longer prologues.
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| First 0,5 cl of whiskey to each Glencairn... |
Second beer to be messed around with happened to be Õllenaut Must Eksport. Yes, it's a Baltic Porter like Koff Porter was, too. The honest reason for this is that I just had one bottle of this fine Estonian brew lying around, so an idle beer became Ölmönger's plaything. Well, have to admit that it gave me a chance to compare the experiment with the first one.
The whiskies chosen for this round were Maker's Mark from the first part and Auchentoshan Heartwood and Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban. Maker's Mark still is a quality American bourbon, OK? Auchentoshan Heartwood is a travel retail, NAS (no age statement) Lowland whisky matured in sherry and bourbon casks. Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban is a partly port-cask matured, altogether 12-year old single-malt Speyside whisky.
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| ...which is not much... |
The test
The arrangements were the same as in the first test, so let's not repeat the unnecessary crap here. Only change was that I poured half of the first test's whisky - 0,5 centiliter - to the glass. Otherwise mixing whisky with beer isn't any kind of magic.
The volumes and the abv's of the whisky, the beer and the mixture are presented in this table:
| Must Eksport | |||||
| Whisky | Whiskey volume (l) | Whisky abv (/1) | Beer volume (l) | Beer abv (/1) | Total abv (%) |
| Auchentoschan Heartwood | 0,005 | 0,43 | 0,11 | 0,083 | 9,81 |
| Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban | 0,005 | 0,46 | 0,11 | 0,083 | 9,94 |
| Maker's Mark | 0,005 | 0,45 | 0,11 | 0,083 | 9,90 |
About the cost of each mixture I can say that a bottle of Must Eksport
cost around 3,70 euros in Hops United (R.I.P. & Thanks!). Half centiliter of Quinta Ruban costs around 50 cents and the same amount of Maker's Mark around 30 cents in Alko. Auchentoschan Heartwood was bought from tax-free in a cruise ship, and this dose cost 27 cents. When thinking bottlewise - 33 cl beer and 1,5 cl
whisky - the cost would be 4,50 - 5,20 euros per set. Less whisky than last time, so a little cheaper - and so what?
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| ... then filled 'em up with Must Eksport. |
The tasting notes
Every mix is black in colour and because of the slow pouring, there's no visible head.
Must Eksport vs. Auchentoshan Heartwood
Aroma has mild roasted malts, coffee and booze. Taste starts with fruity boozy bite. Gently roasted malts and oaky-spicy whisky takes over with some sweet fruity flavours. Towards the end spicy dark fruits or berries come through with sweet boozy bitterness. Aftertaste has pepper-spicy coffee, bitter dark chocolate and oaky-fruity alcohol.
Heartwood is mostly on the driver's seat with sherry and bourbon cask originating fruity, spicy and oaky flavours. However, the porter's roast is present in the start and the the finish lifts up coffee and chocolate. I'd judge this as a rather successful experiment.
Must Eksport vs. Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban
Aroma has berries, grapes and hints of chocolate. Taste starts with sweet fruity chocolate. Bitter roast and dark fruits take over with dark chocolate. Towards the end fruity booze, dark chocolate and bitter roast get on top. Aftertaste has boozy dark fruits, pepper spice and bitter dark chocolate.
Wow. Didn't expect that spicy port wine characteristics of Quinta Ruban would get the chocolate flavours rise from the porter so deliciously. Absolutely beautiful combo.
Must Eksport vs. Maker's Mark
Aroma has vanilla, sweet berries and bourbon oak. Taste begins with vanillaish boozy roast. Bitter roast, bourbon vanilla and sweet boozy chocolate take over. Towards the end oaky bitterness and spiced booze step in front with sweet fruity flavours. Aftertaste has wood-roasted dryness, oaky chocolate bitterness and bourbon warmth.
In this case Maker's Mark vanilla, oak and booze clearly drive over the porter. Both roast and chocolate are mostly covered with the bourbon presence. Slightly surprised, since with Koff Porter - another Baltic Porter - a larger volume of whisky had a more pleasant effect. Not bad, but the booze strikes a bit too hard.
Conclusions
The result hit me with a surprise: this Baltic Porter matched worst with Maker's Mark, the clear winner of the previous experiment. The bourbon just kicked too much and hindered the brew almost completely. Auchentoschan Heartwood takes the silver, since spicy and oaky fruits actually get along with the porter's flavours rather nicely. The gold goes to Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban for getting the spicy and fruity chocolate to the taste for a delicious mixture.
For the next experiment, the beer style changes, for sure. Otherwise, there will be one minor change in the whiskies tested. But that's next time.
Ölbeat
Running on the promised track, here's a newer version of the song. Any guesses on the soundtrack of the last part of the trilogy?
Metallica: Whiskey in the Jar (YouTube)
From the 1998 album Garage Inc., the song is a traditional Irish song.
