Friday, March 29, 2024

Foodie Friday: Floki SIngle Malt

Single malts are made from malted barley, most are made in Scotland, Ireland and Japan. The grain is malted barley, barley that has been sprouted and then baked to stop the growth.  The spouting releases sugars, malting or baking stops the changes and leaves the sugars to be converted to alcohol.  Some Scottish and Irish whiskys feature malt baked with peat. Iceland has no peat, this one is malted with dried sheep dung aka, sheep shit.  

The aroma is grain and dried hay.  The flavor is smokey, with moderate wood. It is a novelty item, worth drinking.  On my scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being Jim Beam (I wouldn't wash out a birdcage with that swill) and 10 being unattainable perfect.  I would give this a 7.  It is worth drinking, but not something I will go out of my way to save. 

It is hard to find.  In Iceland wine and distilled spirits are only sold through government stores.  We looked there, nothing.  I found this in the shop at the airport (you can't change planes, enter or exit the airport in Reykjavik without going through duty free) that is where I found it.  Interestingly you can buy duty free in Iceland either when arriving or leaving the country.  I don't recall what I paid, probably over $50 and under $75.  
 

25 comments:

  1. That's expensive sheep shit.

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    1. The novelty is worth something.

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  2. Isn't Jim Beam, I hate it, not really Scottish style whisky? It's made from a different grain, along with Southern Comfort? Both were popular here. Tastings at Scottish distilleries were disappointing for me. The whiskeys were too sweet for my taste.

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    1. Jim Beam, is about a high corn, low rye, and aged far to little, the same distillery makes much better bourbon from the same grain mix, but ages it twice as long. Southern Comfort is a neutral grain spirit (basically vodka from any grain) mixed with flavors, it is not a whiskey, the color is artificial. Scottish Whiskey is primarily malted barley. The differences in grain mixture are the primary difference between a bourbon (corn) and a malt (barley), there is some difference based on how it is distilled, the biggest difference is in how it is aged.

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  3. The taste of any whiskey is always lost on me.

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    1. I am the same way with wine. I was at a dinner where the host was a wine collector, I couldn't tell the difference between the $10 bottle, and the $1,500 bottle.

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  4. The airports I find are a treasure trove of hard-to-find libations. It about the only place to find all of the Hendricks "special editions" they come out with.

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    1. Are the special editions worth buying (I passed on one the last time I was in the store.)

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    2. So far, they have all been incredible tasting. Hendricks Neputnia and Summer Solstice have been my favorites. Hendrick’s Grand Cabaret is the newest....excellent!!!!!

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  5. I have enjoyed single malts on the rare occasion, but I might pass on the sheep shiz variety.

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    1. The source of the smoke does not come though in the taste.

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  6. Mmm... I love the distinctive taste of sheep shit but in my opinion goat shit flavoured whisky is better. Have you tried "Horny"?

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    1. No, and I am not going to ask for that in my local liquor store - the clerk might get the wrong idea.

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  7. I don't drink alcohol but this sounds weird to me. :)

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    1. I think it is marketed based on being weird, but it is not bad.

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  8. Smokey, with moderate wood; a novelty item, worth drinking - like my men

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    1. Stop by for a sample, of the Floki

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  9. I'm glad you like it. It is certainly and interesting process to make it.

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  10. I am not a lover of whiskey, and I don't think I would ever want a sheep shit whiskey!

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    1. I will try anything once, well almost anything.

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  11. I do like rye base, liquor.

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    1. Spicey - I have some Rye from the Mt Vernon distillery - unaged

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  12. I don't drink whiskey anymore though my wife had conditioned me to Canadian whiskey. After years of drinking the "cheap shit", I bought a bottle of slightly more expensive stuff recommended by a liquor store employee. It was great and it's been so long I can't remember the name. And It wasn't Crown Royal, though my lady has put down more than her share of that.

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    1. Aging and finishing can make such a difference.

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