Boisdale Mayfair whisky and cheese

Funny meeting with acquaintances at the Boisdale whisky and cigar club. Tasting whisky and talking Brexit. They are mostly obsessed with sovereignty, national sovereignty that is. I try to make the point that there is such a thing as European sovereignty, as for example in terms of money. Printing money is a prime demonstration of sovereignty and the Euro is the second most used in the world after the US dollar. That kind of European sovereignty could be extended to other areas of government. 

No one really follows me on that one. One or two Londoners however do say that remaining would have been better as it would have allowed the UK to join the EU in facing big multinationals. Whatever.

1. Lancashire cheese, smooth soft, paired with Glenlivets Speyside founders reserve, fruity, added a few drops of water. American oak.

Illegal production in XVIII century, moved distillery to highlands away from taxman, got away with it for a while.

2. Speyside 15yrs old French oak reserve
darker sweet spicy
Devon cow and goat milk cheese smooth soft

3. Speyside cask strength 1822 1st time UK king visited Scotland George IV. liked women drink esp French wine. Wanted to try illegal whisky
first they denied then a local judge agreed because it was the king. George IV lowered taxes to encourage distillery to go legal.

Many distillery called themselves glenlivets until 1980 s

4. cheese pecorino, soft
oloroso sherry cask glenlivets whisky
very rich smooth dark amber color
800 USD for a cask, expensive
whisky companies pay coopers and bodegas in Spain to make sherry even if little demand for sherry. so sherry now so cheap because made to produce casks and to age whisky in

5. glenlivets madura cask strength, glenlivet does not peat barley since 1950s smoky out of fashion these days


These days average consumers drink fruity speyside 

Expert fanatics prefer Islay smoky peaty

Glenlivet company
Chivas régal 25 yo
first every luxury scotch whisky
created for America early Xx century
favorite of Frank sinatra made it famous
dark amber
Paired with Cornish cheese, sweet smooth soft