Local whiskey club hosts bourbon tasting

Attendees — all bourbon connoisseurs — tasted Jefferson’s Reserve, Old Bardstown, Weller, Elmer T. Lee and Stagg Jr. at Pilars, in downtown Winter Garden.

By Amy Quesinberry Price
| 11:26 a.m. October 16, 2019

Art McIntosh, left, Michelle Morneault and Todd Nichols are three of the five leaders of the Central Florida Malt Whisky Cabinet.

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The local whiskey club was in Winter Garden Saturday, Oct. 12, to share its enthusiasm for and appreciation of bourbon and to show drinkers the best way to partake in the spirits.

At the Central Florida Malt Whisky Cabinet’s bourbon tasting at Pilars Martini, the hosts gave participants a lesson in bourbon history and shared the benefits of sniffing and swirling.

WHISKEY/BOURBON 101

• Whiskey is the general term to categorize scotch, bourbon and whiskey. There are five main whiskey types, broken down by region: scotch, from Scotland; bourbon, from the United States; Irish whiskey, from Ireland; Canadian whisky, from Canada; and Japanese whisky, from Japan. They also are categorized by the distillation processes and the grains used.

• Whiskey and whisky are both spelled correctly, as different regions have different spellings. The word typically includes the “e” in the U.S. and Ireland.

• They are distilled from various or specific grains (corn, wheat, rye, oats and barley) and aged in barrels. Whiskey basically is distilled, hopless beer.

• There are stipulations on what can be called a bourbon. It must be made in the U.S.; it does not have to be made in Kentucky, although most of the distilleries are in the South. It must be made from at least 51% corn but no more than 80%. It must be aged in charred, new oak barrels. It must not have any additives, such as coloring, caramel and flavoring, but water is allowed.

• Bourbon has a caramel-like sweetness and vanilla tones and is the sweetest of the whiskey family. It has a bit of smokiness from being barreled in charred oak.

SOURCE: whiteonricecouple.com

Sniffing a poured glass of bourbon allows drinkers to fully appreciate the flavors and aromas in the libation. Swirling allows some of the alcohol to dissipate and the oxygen to further open the aromas.

Five friends make up the Malt Whisky Cabinet: Art McIntosh, Karen Boyden, William Rivers and Todd Nichols, all of Winter Garden; and Michelle Morneault, of Mount Dora. The 8-year-old club annually hosts four quarterly scotch tastings and one or two bourbon tastings, usually at Pilars, as well as a special party for members. It also hosts the scotch tastings at the Central Florida Scottish Highlands Games.

The purpose of the club is to provide folks with “new and exciting whiskeys in the never-ending and enjoyable pursuit of your favorite whiskey.”

Annual membership fees are $25, but anyone 21 and older can attend, whether or not they are members. The variety of brands at the tastings is supported by friends and members who help the club locate special whiskeys — the unique, limited, rare and sometimes last offerings — from around the world.

Nichols said the group doesn’t make much money off the tastings.

“Our purpose is to help everyone appreciate whiskey and find out more about it,” Nichols said. “We don’t normally offer the stuff you can go to bars and get. … We want people to see that there is good whiskey out there.”

Scotch tastings are held more often than bourbon events because of the club’s Scottish heritage, Nichols said. The next one is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, at Pilars. More information is available at maltwhiskycabinet.com.

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Amy Quesinberry Price

Community Editor Amy Quesinberry Price was born at the old West Orange Memorial Hospital and raised in Winter Garden. Aside from earning her journalism degree from the University of Georgia, she hasn’t strayed too far from her hometown and her three-mile bubble. She grew up reading The Winter Garden Times and knew in the eighth grade she wanted to write for her community newspaper. She has been part of the writing and editing team since 1990.