Wharf Pubs & Great Scotch, Newport RI

For my first night in Newport Rhode Island, the Wharf Pub and Restaurant provided me with exactly what I needed; a relaxed setting, good music, friendly staff and some great fish and chips. The food here was very good but not overthought with large (for me) portions and attractive plating’s that really make you want to dig right in. The beer list was massive, loaded with local beers from RI, MA and VT, and left me feeling a bit lost. However our waitress was more than ready to make a suggestion that proved enjoyable throughout the evening.

I started with a simple salad, while picking at a well laid out cheese and charcuterie platter, but what really stood out was a plate of tater tots (yes-tater tots) with anchovy butter. The Wharf pub has a list of different tater tot combinations that you can choose from and they all looked very appealing. As for the entrée, the fish and chips really caught my eye. Fresh cod battered and fried, over a mountain of potatoes (that would have taken me two meals to finish) and the house made tartar sauce. It was excellent and exactly what I needed on my first night in this seaside town. Along with a glass of Sam Adams “Grumpy Monk”, a Belgium inspired IPA, I was all set for a night on the wharf.

Another dish of considerable note was the pork shoulder mac and cheese. You can’t eat like this often, but when on vacation (or for once in a blue moon), you must treat yourself to a dish like this. As if the pork shoulder and mac and cheese weren’t enough, a pile of batter-fried onions resided on top, to truly cap off your hedonistic wet dreams. It was plated beautifully in a cast iron pan, giving it the perfect rustic appeal. As a lover of an occasional Cassoulet, this dish rang all the right bells.

Moving on with our evening, we found ourselves at a bar, grill and lounge named, The Fifth Element. Having just finished with the satiating cuisine at The Wharf Pub, I wasn’t in a mood to eat. However, what I did find at the Fifth Element, were a number of great whiskies to choose from.

For a few months now, I’ve had my eye on a bottle of the Glenmorangie Signet (having come highly recommended by a friend), yet I never pulled the trigger. Imagine how happy I was to see a bottle residing at the bar in the Fifth Element. It was a beautiful glass of Scotch: undeniably rich and spicy, with smooth warm wood tones, espresso, a hint of citrus and dark chocolate. It literally danced on the palate, with a finish that seemed to go on and on. I will be buying a bottle. From there I moved on to a glass of the 15-year Yoichi, again a whisky that I’ve heard a lot of about but haven’t tasted. It was gorgeous, holding it’s own, but hard to follow the Signet. There was a big part of me that loved it, for being “correct”, but not unique or inspiriting. I found myself using the word soulless, which was truly too harsh. The fact is, I enjoyed it and would never turn down glass—I guess I just wanted my first Japanese whisky to be an ah-ha moment.

So ended my first night in Newport, I can’t imagine a better way to have spent it.

An Eye-Opening Experience: The Glenlivet

By Eric Guido

In the world of wine, I find that searching for the obscure and impossible-to-find bottles often results in much more satisfaction than tasting through large production, easier-to-find wines. I suppose this has affected me in much of what I do, especially with one of my recent explorations in life, Single Malt Scotch. Of course, like most new intrigues in life, I’ve spent a good amount of time listening in on conversations and picking the brains of other Scotch drinkers in an attempt to find the best bottles—the must-try bottles. However, the results had been a mixed bag of satisfactions and disappointments. In reaction to this, I began to withdraw a little and found myself relying on a small number of bottles that I knew I liked. Oh, what a mistake that was.

Why? For starters, I had skipped the biggest brands of Single Malt Scotch. Imagine if you decided to taste through Bruno Giacosa’s Rabaja Riserva without ever tasting Produttori del Barbareco’s Rabaja Riserva. In essence, you’d taste an amazing $200 bottle before tasting a $50 bottle that’s 99% as good. Do the math; is the $200 bottle really worth the price? Well, maybe if you have money to burn.

All of this brings me to The Glenlivet. The fact is that, up until recently, I Ignored The Glenlivet because it was so widely recognized as the Scotch of choice. The chances of seeing a bottle of 12-year Glenlivet at your favorite bar are pretty high. In my old way of thinking, this meant that I should skip over it and move on to the more obscure—big mistake. What’s more, with the 12-year being their flagship bottle, when you start to delve into the 15- and 18-year, you find an amazing mix of single malt expressions.

At this point I take a pause—“Am I really enjoying this?,” I ask myself.

“Yes, I am,” the little voice inside my head replies.

I believe I’ve had something of a revelation. I’m sipping the 12-year, and it speaks to me about satisfying the craving of a larger audience. It’s soft and sultry with all the sexy spice you want, yet without the hard edges you fear. It’s that introduction Scotch—the one that tells you if your guest wants a one-night stand or a life long commitment. If they like it, great… If they love it, take the next step.

As I move on to the 15-year, I find sweet vanilla on the nose as it lulls me into a state of satisfaction, yet there’s something more lurking beneath that nose of pure hedonism. It’s something rich and deep with woodsy, spice notes and a slight bitterness and kick that reminds you that this is a glass of 15-year-old scotch. It’s in its adolescence and it wants to explore; all it needs from you is a willing invitation.

But then the 18-year hits your table. You just graduated, high school is over, and it’s time to play with the big boys. The 18-year takes the sexy, sweet notes of the 12-year and marries it with the wisdom and depth of a life full of experiences. It’s richer, darker, spicier, and sweeter on the nose with citrus notes, tropical fruits, dark chocolate and cherry. It’s a scotch that challenges you by asking “are you ready to taste me?,” and when you take the plunge, it goes down like silk—you can’t quite prepare yourself for an 18-year until the moment you experience that first sip. For me, a well-seasoned, medium rare steak makes for the ultimate companion to such a spirit.

But wait! I somehow found myself so wrapped up in years that I forgot to mention The Glenlivet Nadurra. The Nadurra is a cask-strength single malt, meaning that The Glenlivet hasn’t watered down this whiskey at all before bottling it. The result is a scotch that allows you to dictate your own experience by the amount of water you choose to add. I found myself obsessing over this scotch for a great deal of time. For one reason, the nose continued to open up and change with how much water I added. At first I found apple pie and spicy floral tones, but the more I explored, the more I found as spicy orange, exotic spice, vanilla and rich pear came to the front. On the palate, it was smooth with just a prefect kick that grounded it in reality. This is a scotch that I couldn’t be left alone with—because it might be all gone when you return. It was a revelation. It was a bottle that I knew I had to own so I could continue to experiment and share it with others.

In the end, my closed-minded methods had made me blind to one of the most enjoyable single-malt scotches that I could hope to enjoy. The Glenlivet will certainly find a place in my home collection, and I can’t wait to start pouring it for guests.