To be or not to be... terroir is definitely the question!

I will start by saying this: My educational background is a scientific one and marketing bullshit never sat well with me. I've debated with people in the past about things like the following: "You'll find a briny flavour in our whisky because the barrels age in the warehouse next to the sea". In that case my argument is that many whiskies should taste like cow dung and dirt since their warehouses sit near farmlands?? I hope you get my point.
We hear all sorts of statistics and statements from whisky people like: The wood is where most of the flavour comes from. I've seen percentages such as 60, 75 and even 80%. "Where" are they getting that statistical information? Mmmmmmm….. I have good reason to believe that it is pretty much based on one person's quote back in 1998 and everyone else sort of ran with it because I have yet to find "scientific" evidence to actually show that this was measured?


Hold on tight Alice because I'm about to bring you down the rabbit hole, Ready!?? 


Let's fast forward to my visit to Waterford Distillery in Ireland - October 2019. I arrived at 10:00am and spent the next six hours experiencing something I called (and tweeted) as: MIND FUCKERY. I'm going to out the elephant in the room and likely ruffle feathers, raise hair, you name it but until you have gone there and done the Waterford Experience for yourself I truly don't care what anyone says/thinks about my blog or their opinion on what Mark Reynier and his team are doing at this distillery.

TERROIR... there, I SAID IT!


Now everything I knew about distillation and what happens during that process is from my own university texts books. Basically and I'm really simplifying it: Distillation "strips" most of the flavours from any grain (and I did say most) because malted barley taste different than rye, corn, sugar cane juice and/or fruit distillate (pear, apple, grapes). So obviously the origin of the material used has to remain otherwise alcohol would simply taste like... well rubbing alcohol? The argument was/is ALL barley yields the same type of spirit. I'm going to take a moment to paraphrase the response from an industry person in a Facebook thread (To which the originator - a whisky author, was making fun of the possibility of the existence of terroir, tsk tsk… closed minded in my opinion). The industry person added something like: "At our distillery, we buy various varietal malted barley from different geographical locations from a number of suppliers and yet we maintain a consistent new make from crop to crop". In other words - terroir does not and cannot exists.


How about we consider the following:


Mark Reynier and his team at Waterford have embarked on a journey. It's called the whisky terroir project. It's in conjunction with many partners including Dr. Dustin Herb, PhD Plant breeding and genetics out of Oregon State University. How about you click on a few links and actually read, watch, with interests what they are actually doing at this distillery before you so happily discount any/all of it.
https://waterfordwhisky.com/element/the-whisky-terroir-project/

So is Johanne McInnis, aka Whiskylassie a believer in the possibility of "Terroir" in whisky. My answer is yes. Hold on now, don't go all out crazy on me just yet. I do, honestly believe after seeing, watching, nosing, tasting when I was there in person that it is possible.  Am I the only one? You might be really gobsmacked to know others also feel there is something very interesting and quite unique going on at the Waterford Distillery in Ireland. Serge Valentin, someone I have never had the pleasure to meet but who is known worldwide as one of the most honest Malt Maniacs recently reviewed two of their products:  http://www.whiskyfun.com/#020120


So back to Mr. Reynier. His background is wine and everyone knows there is definitely terroir there. Terroir (btw) is climate, soil type and geomorphology (natural landscape). Wine is not distilled, it's fermented - hence terroir is accepted and proven. This term is not just used in the wine industry. It's being studied in coffee, tobacco, chocolate, hops, maple syrup and cannabis just to name a few. So why are so many whisky people up in arms about this? Why is this so preposterous and unimaginable that it might just be studied and discovered in barley?


Might I remind people that most are inclined, as humans, to simply be sheep and follow whatever gospel (no religion overtones when I use this word) we hear. More now than ever because you know, if it was on Facebook - it must be true!? At one point it was believed that planet earth was flat. Pythagoras stated in 500BC that it was round. For almost two hundred years people refused to fully believe that statement and it wasn't until Aristotle (300BC) gave scientific evidence that it was indeed round, that people slowly began to shift their way of thinking (mind you there are people in this world who still think it is???)For those of us old enough to remember, in 1982, a couple of virologists from Australia stated they had proven that a bacteria caused most stomach ulcers and that antibiotics would cure the issue. Again - cries from the scientific community that these two were absolutely nuts!? Yet... they were right and might I add won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2005 for it.

So here is a thought... why don't we all give Waterford Distillery the benefit of the doubt and actually let them do their thing. Is "terroir" the right word to describe what they are trying to accomplish and prove, maybe not... but who are we to judge? I mean seriously...  and what if there is scientific proof at the end of the project that clearly demonstrates there are differences in where/how barley is grown in climate/soil/landscapes - wouldn't that mean that there is even more reason to celebrate the fact that innovative experiments might be possible (because lord only knows a new beer cask or quadruple casking is NOT INNOVATIVE)!!!!

I firmly believe something amazing is about to hit the market when it comes to Waterford, so much so that we invited them to come to Cornwall Ontario Canada - Wonderful World of Whisky Show and let me tell you, everyone who is going to be at that show is not only happy but excited to be some of the first to attend the "Waterford Distillery Experience Road Show".

Whether you believe or not in Terroir is none of my business however, don't go off half cocked or full out bat shit crazy mode...  just yet.... Trust me on this one, you might be a little more than surprised when the evidence comes to light and there is proof that something exists in the way that barley is grown that we simply don't know about...  just yet...

Madman or genius??? Who knows... all I can tell you is that years ago when the industry tried to bury Mark Reynier, they didn't realize all they did was plant a stronger seed. He is a man on a mission, and ladies in gentlemen of the whisky world - let's hope it takes way less than previously mentioned examples for the rest of the us to open our eyes to the possibilities that lie ahead. To Mark, Ned and Ian - Keep up the hard work!

Until next week, I remain...

Whiskylassie

So you think you are an whisky expert do you??? Really...

THAT DOES IT!!!!!!! 

Monday May 11th 2015 at 7:35am, the Lassie reads a tweet and feels a HUGE snap in the sagittal plane where her cerebral cortex sits (that's for you Ken!) that caused a plethora of blasphemous French words to fall out of her mouth like the notes of an angry opera!? Just so happens I was home alone and like the proverbial tree in the forest, nobody heard me... but that doesn't mean I won't say something about it now... Gotta love when Lassie decides to lose her shit.

Expert... Defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: "Having, involving, displaying special skills or knowledge derived from training or experience."

Wow that is a loose definition. I mean really anyone could be considered an expert with that vague description. I have several years experience using a bathtub, almost 48 for that matter, I guess that makes me a bathtub expert! 

So, I asked all day what people thought a whisky expert was. Many, MANY great answers which I appreciated because dialogue and input means everything to me sometimes. It gives me perspective and ideas. 

Well in my perfectly warped world here is how one becomes an expert.

1. Curiosity: It usually starts with an introduction, realization and then a desire to learn more about a subject that one finds interesting. It's a lifelong insatiable curiosity that fuels them passionately for decades, if not their entire lifetime.

2. The learning phase: You must first be a pupil in order to become the master! Thus begins the journey of amassing loads of knowledge, information and a deep understanding of the subject. Their mind is a sponge due to memorization and the love they are developing. Just like the curiosity phase, the learning phase is a constantly evolving one because they see the importance of seeking new approaches and directions. A true expert is willing to have an open mind and realizes that there is no "one way" to do things.

3. Experience: Once this person has begun to accumulate the loads of information about their valued subject matter, it's usually combined with getting experience. The application of everything they have learned, making mistakes with the ability to accept and learn from them, constantly learning more and continuing to apply themselves. The example I love to give is Jiro dreams of Sushi 

Jiro, 86 years old, is widely considered to be the greatest sushi chef in the world. To apprentice with him you must first be able to properly hand squeeze a towel. Only once the student demonstrates the right technique can they be allowed to touch fish, then it's 10 years or so learning to cut and prepare fish before they are allowed to cook the eggs and so on. 

4. Communication: This phase is also never ending and morphs as the individual becomes comfortable with the subject matter. The more knowledge and experience they gain, the better they become at communicating. 

5. Teaching, mentoring, and reaching expert level: Although many of you may have started sharing your level of knowledge for quite some time, in my books you are still classified as being at a certain level of proficiency on said subject matter. 

Once a person is widely recognized AND called upon on a regular basis AND  has begun to pass along their knowledge, skills and experience to others have they reached the stage of "expert". A good teacher elevates their students with the hopes that someday they will surpass them. And again, I will stress that an open mind and willingness to learn from others is still part of the process. 

All these things combined form a life long investment, learning process, and in the end, legacy of a subject an expert holds dear to their heart.

Examples of some of the people I consider experts in one or more fields of whisky (alphabetical order): 

Helen Arthur, Parker Beam, Dave Broom, Lew Bryson
Chuck Cowdery, John Glaser, Davin de Kergommeaux, John Hall, Michael Jackson, Martine Nouet, Charles MacLean, Jim McEwan, Jimmy Russell, Masataka Taketsuru, Michael Urquhart, Serge Valentin, Bessie Williamson.

You will note that the average age of some of the people mentioned is about 65 years old. THAT should tell you something. 

So to the guy on twitter since 2013 who bought 16,000 followers, has "whisky expert" as part of his written blurb and constantly sends messages to distilleries stating their whisky is the best because he, the Canadian Whisky Expert, said so...  Please -> You are not even close to being an expert.

To the creepy guy in the fedora with the fancy whisky book -> I WILL NEVER CONSIDER YOU AN EXPERT for way too many reasons!!

To the multitude of people flooding Amazon with their mediocre e-books and/or whisky books written in their 20's or 30's based on "research" they did and reviewed by their friends -> Don't call yourself a whisky expert, yet...

To the hundreds of whisky bloggers who can't even take the time to spell correctly, simply cut/paste information from marketing emails or distillery websites and pump out reviews daily -> You are NOT experts.

To the thousands of people who go to whisky festivals to stand for 20 minutes and argue with EVERY ambassador and whisky maker because you took the weekend whisky making course in Colorado -> You are not EXPERTS!

And lastly, the biggest of my pet peeves: 

To the useless people who spend the majority of their entire existence on the Malt Maniacs Facebook page, twitter or on whisky forums doing nothing better than being judgmental, putting down everyone else, bullying ambassadors & reps, having close minded attitudes and refusing to learn anything further than the end of their own noses -> YOU ARE NOT EXPERTS!!! 

This is really not up for debate with me. I truly feel becoming an expert takes a combination of time, patience, mistakes and lots of experience. The rest of us, ME INCLUDED, rank somewhere between complete amateurs, enthusiasts, geeks or very proficient.  AND... that's ok, I would even say that's awesome. But feel free to let me know what you think...

As always I'm on my own journey, forever learning and morphing into something different as time goes by. I can only aspire to some day down the road, being considered an expert by my peers BUT for time being if you or anyone else calls me that, I will correct you immediately. I am no more and no less a whisky student constantly learning, still...

At this rate I still have about 20 years in my apprenticeship and I have wonderful mentors helping me along the way. It will be long while yet before you see me agree to the term "whisky expert" and never will you see it on my business card!

Thanks for listening...  

Signed,

A slightly less perturbed Lassie.