Well its that time of year again. time for all the ghouls and goblins to come to the door and collect their prizes, just to turn around and run back into the night. I am just about done with my kids going out to trick or treat. My youngest is ten, and he will be going as a bucket of slime, and my 15 year old will be going out for the last time this year and he will be a pimp! Makes a father proud…
Back in my younger days I would go out too, and really enjoyed myself. It is a fun holiday for the kids and marks the official start to the holiday season. I used to go out as Dracula every year. See I made the mistake of having my mother make me a Dracula cape one year for Halloween (she was and still is quite the seamstress) and having that cape established my costume for the rest of my years of trick or treating! It was ok, hey I still got the CANDY! and on Halloween candy is King.
As a kid I would watch the endless parade of Dracula movies that would play on the Friday Night Frights on WGN in Chicago. One night in particular I watched a modern version of the storyline and Dracula bit a wino, and then got drunk off of his blood. He turned into a bat and flew into walls, and woke up the next night with a terrible hangover. I remember feeling a little sorry for him because you see he had no choice, he had to drink that wino’s blood or die. The wino was the only one out that night. Kinda sad. But we all have choices in our lives and one choice has sparked a little debate in the whiskey community…
The choice we have is called Vatting. It is the practice of mixing different whiskeys with different flavor profiles to “create” something new and better than the sum of its parts. Some call this notion crazy, almost blasphemous, to mix whiskeys, because after all the Master Distiller has a part of his soul in those whiskeys, mixing them up is akin to creating Frankenstein’s Monster! Others say that the practice is a great way to take mediocre whiskey flavors and potentially create something very unique and special.
I look at it this way, we mix things all the time in our everyday life. Take for example Italian food, one of my favorites, well ten years ago you could choose between creamy sauce for you pasta or a nice marinara. One day someone said, what if we mix them? TaDah, Creamy Marinara. Genious, not my favorite, but clearly a popular combination. I mix my cereal, a little corn flakes, a little raisin bran, a little shredded wheat…Amazing! Sweet and sour, caramel and apples, PB&J, so why not mix Whiskey, or beer for that matter.
Is it better to have a low proof very sweet whiskey, and a high proof very hot whiskey that you almost are never in the mood for, or is it better to mix the two and create something that is sweet and hot and delicious? What about beer? Is it better to have something that is so hoppy it makes your nose hairs curl, and something that is so marzen that is puts you and your taste buds to sleep, or perhaps you could mix em up and see what happens.
We get so confined in our boxes and never take a step outside to try something new and refreshing and different! I say enough! Mix it up America! You never know what you might create!!!…and have a happy, fun, and safe Halloween.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Johnny Walker’s been “vatting” for years. Granted, the whole is not particularly stellar at its low levels… I’ve done this with plenty of beers though. I found that by doing this with a lambic and a high AC scotch ale you can really make something interesting and truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Beer offers you a lot of opportunities to incorporate vastly different flavors (ie farmhouse or sour ale type) without compromising the characteristic ale flavors.
I like that you’re thinking outside the box.
Hey Brian, good to see you here again! Its interesting to hear you have mixed beer before. I know its done, but it is kind of hush hush. I think, particularly if you bought a four pack or a six and you don’t really care for its flavor, why not mix it? You bought it, maybe you can make something complex and good!
I’m a bit of a purest when it comes to this type of stuff. I think one ought to at least try the normal versions before a vatting occurs. That being said, I had a heinous notion one time that work very nicely. I used to live about 40 minutes from Jim Beam and Buffalo Trace. Occasionally, I would buy a Bourbon Barrel from Jim Beam and they would always have close to half a gallon of uncut Bourbon in them. Not a bad deal for ten bucks, which I would re-coop once I sold the barrel. I took about 3 barrels worth and put it in a Buffalo Trace 13 year (uncut also) Rye barrel and had a terrific Bourbon. So, on a personal level I’ve done it. I guess one can’t be too picky sometimes.
That sounds Awesome Mike! I guess that is one reason to live in Kentucky! Another might be Basketball, and a third might be No Dentists!
Don – after drinking a wide spectrum of bourbons, I’m now focusing some of my attention on vatting. Last night I shared with a friend a vatting of 50/50 Charter 101 and AAA 10 year. It’s a good mix and I look forward to doing a little mad chemist with my bourbon in the next number of months.
Hey Greg. I loved your last post! Truth is I think if you review anything that you taste, you struggle to describe flavors with words! It definitely is more art than science, and some of it is downright funny! I still haven’t vatted anything, but I’m thinking about a Fighting cock with a Beam or an Evan Williams or an Old Crow. I think those flavors might complement nicely. Problem is I have so much new stuff to drink and blog about I haven’t had an opportunity to do a lot of experimentation. I have a guys weekend coming up. That might be the opportunity.
-Don