A Whisky Game for Christmas

World whisky Drinking Games

Celebrated scribe Graham Green liked whiskey. He reputedly also liked opium. And Jesus. But it was the regular mention of alcohol through his most righteous reads we chose to focus on. Like many prodigious writing talents from history, he enjoyed whiskey, both Scotch and American. Others, such as Tennessee Williams, Hemingway or William Faulkner, famously sipped as they scribbled, Faulkner saying: “I usually write at night. I always keep my whiskey within reach.” But in Greene’s case some biographers suggest he was able to put his habit on hold when turning to a typewriter. Greene made it to a ripe old 86 having mixed drinking and writing for 60 years, surviving a stint in Sierra Leone for MI6, a baltte with a bi-polar condition and riding his luck through ‘games’ of Russian Roulette with his brother on Berkhamsted common. That is to say, actual Russian roulette. With a real gun. “I was beginning to pull the trigger about as casually as I might take an aspirin tablet,” he reputedly said. With all this in mind we’d argue the liquor can’t have done him a great disservice.

So to honour the sipping scribe we re-imagine the draughts game he describes in Our Man in Havana. The satirical spy story serves up a litany of literary drinks references, from hefty daiquiris at the Havana Club, to pilots paid with whisky, but the drinking game played out by protagonist Jim Wormwold and Cuban copper Captain Segura is particularly germane for our thinking drinker journey.

Amongst the quirks of the feckless Wormwold is a collection of 100 whisky miniatures, and early in the novel the ill-fated Dr Hasslebacher suggests he should adopt them as pieces on a draughts board. “When you take a piece you drink it,” suggested the doctor, thus creating a natural handicap as the better player is encouraged to drink more, presumably weakening his strategic senses. It’s a top banana idea and can provide a tasty treat while simultaneously educating you on drinking boundaries, determining the fine line between a drink inspiring confidence and creativity, before over indulgence instigates arrogance and ineptitude.

Draughts is a funny name for a game isn’t it?  To play you’ll need 12 pieces for each team and a board. Line the pieces up over three rows, one of you white squares, the opposition on the black, and then move them forward taking alternate goes, keeping to your coloured squares. You take your opponent’s piece by jumping it when a vacant space presents itself diagonally and keep, but more importantly you drink the piece you take. The winner is the last man standing.

Crucially Wormwold uses whiskey miniatures in the book, so we urge you to steer clear of 70cl bottles here, although finding the miniatures for each of our recommendations will be challenging. Meanwhile the book pitches Scotch against bourbon, this being long before the whisky globe expanded, but we thought we’d play American whiskey v Rest of the World.

American Whiskey

Makers Mark – with whiskey traditions dating back to 1780 there’s heritage in them thar hills and the Maker’s mashbill of corn with higer levels of wheat than many others delivers a soft and super sweet, laid-back bourbon.

Woodford Reserve Distillers Select –  a distillery where white coated boffin and bourbon distiller James Crow made his name and one that sports its own cooperage (see pg). Skills. The flagship Kentucky Straight Bourbon ramps up the rye in the mash bill for a beautiful balance of spice and sweet, one of our own go-to bourbons at this price.

E.H. Taylor Small Batch – Wormwold played with Old Taylor in the book and this is a more recent incarnation paying homage to Col. Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr, a pioneering 19th century distiller. The bourbon is aged in warehouses Taylor built and is a lovely lick of butterscotch and pepper with tobacco finish.

Four Roses Yellow Label – yeast matters in American whiskey and there are five strains here to complimnet two mash bills. It’s a modern mellow yellow marvel of a whiskey and excellent value for money, a smooth and creamy sip.

Rittenhouse Rye – for the first stateside spirits, keen quaffers farmed the abundant American rye, corn wouldn’t become popular until settlers moved south and west. This straight rye is a fine exponent of the original historic style. Big, boslhy and bitter with the poke of pepper and a long rye spicy finish.

Knob Creek 9YO – while we love a Knob gag, we’ll put the guns away for this luscious liquor, full of big rich, sweet qualities it emerges from the Jim Beam distillery set up in 1795 by Jacob Boehm (becoming Beam).

Wild Turkey 101 – The choice of Hunter S Thompson (see pg) this rich but rustic bourbon is Old school free from new-fangled fripperies. Rocking it’s chair to a rhythm of rye, it takes a walking stick whack at the tongue with spicy clove before, forgetting why its cranky, makes up for its behaviour with soft maple syrups and treacled toffee nut.

Eagle Rare 10YO Single Barrel – from the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery, home to the oldest continuously working still in America, this whiskey swoops across the tongue with warm cherry notes, flights of orange peel and droppings of thick rich burnt sugar before it claws at the finish with crisp, dry oak.

Old Forrester Kentucky Straight Bourbon – featured in Greene’s novel and conceived by the bourbon brain-box George Garvin Brown in the 1870s, this historic hero finds some pepper and allspice from the high rye, blending with warm orange and soft vanillas. Ticks all the tastebud ultimatums.

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel – The rock ‘n’ roll rascal of the back bar steps down an octave with this bassier, rich and sweeter varient. Careful selection of the barrels results in big banana notes on the nose converting to a sweet then spicy treat on the tongue.

Hudsons Baby Bourbon –  the crafty bunch of whiskey worshipers at Tuthilltown distillery challenged laws in 2006 to deliver the first legal pot-still whiskey in New York since prohibition. Worth the wait this creation is made with 100% New York corn and is soft, sweet and sultry with a touch of spice from the wood. They play low frequency bass to the barrels as it ages and end up making music for the mouth.

George Dickel Old No.12 – A lesser-spotted Tennessee whisky that employs differing chill filtering method to its neighbour Jack Daniels and so presents a smoother proposition with light herbal notes, and warm cooked spicy fruits.

Old Fitzgerald 12 Year Old – a behemoth city boy of a bourbon, bounding out of the glass with fat-cat smoky cigar and leather-bound scents that launch an aggressive management buyout on the more prentice proboscis. The finish is all about the oak, but the beautiful balance of honey, chocolate and vanilla would satisfy the most ruthless banker.

World

Lark Single Malt Single Cask – a Tasmanian devil of a drink that smacks itself hysterically around your cheeks with some hot pepper before running out of steam and slow pacing with rich toffee and fruit cake flavours.

Canadian Club Reserve 10YO – Hiram Walker features in the original game and his role in whisky making is honoured here with a typically spicy Canadian style with plenty of rye offset by some toffee and a touch of fresh mint.

Penderyn Sherrywood – by picking a pronounceable name, complete with valuable vowels, the Welsh Whisky company ensures this is a safe order at the bar and since the sherry barrels didn’t leek, they’ve unearthed a lighter, floral style of whisky with plenty of sweetness on the finish.

Cotswolds Bourbon Cas – While English whisky is a relic of the 19th century, Cotswolds has certainly given it a modern boost. The bourbon casks twist a fresh whisky into something softer, with a hint of oak and will take on the Americans pound for pound.

Bushmills 16YO – the blarney stone reads distilling started in 1608, which is kind of true, this is hwne they got the licence, but opening officially in 1784. The only dates that matter will be found in the taste though as a mix bourbon, port and sherry cask maturation develop warm, spicy fruit and sweet raisin quality.

Redbreast 15YO – from the Middlteon distillery in Cork, home to Jameson, this is a massive mouthful of a whisky. Leviathan length that will keep anyone with a leather fetish happy, it delivers a deliriously happy finish of spice, fruit and some post coital wood.

Solist Port Cask Finish – Something that’s made in Taiwan and might not break after you’ve played with it a few times. An unusual port to call at for your whisky but we’ve cast our nets wide and the tropical conditions aid the aging and help them dock a super sweet whisky with rich oak and berry nice fruit.

Amrut Fusion – India has been thanking the whisky industry please for many decades with a deep affection for whisky, so it’s no surprise they make their own. Amrut has enjoyed international acclima, it’s a slightly smokey offering with a touch of orange marmalade.

Bain’s Cape Mountain whisky – Oscar Pistorious proved to the world that getting legless and doing shots is inappropriate, but other South Africans have developed a more discerning whisky sipping vibe bru. Now creating their own, this is sweet and sexy single grain whisky, which has whisky fans jumping hurdles to sample.

Macmyra Brukswhisky – a sexy Swede of a spirit and we’re not referring to the vegetable. Use of bourbon barrels, sherry and Swedish oak casks as well as some smoked malt makes for an interesting addition to your draughts board.

Millstone 8YO – from the experienced crew at Zuidam, the Dutch once again prove they can take a concept apparently alien, twist it with some Netherlands knowhow and raise an eyebrow. Mixing innovative wood experimenting and ancient windmill techniques sees this Dutch master distiller deliver something with winter fruits a touch of warm citrus and cinnamon spice.

Hibiki 17YO – explore Japanese whisky and you’ll find plenty to enjoy, this blend is a fine example of their efforts though sending honey, sherry chocolate and woody notes up the nose and taking them right through the tongue.