Mordecai's Macallan
Which whisky wins the bookish prize? Self's Laphroaig, Black's Glenfiddich 18 ...or Michael Jackson's Bellow Bourbon?
What do you like to read with your bedtime whisk(e)y? Or do you choose the whisky to suit the author? It has been a while since I had a Bellowâs Bourbon with its namesake Saul. On the other hand, Philip Roth and a risqué whiskey is always a pleasure. A shot of wry, so to speak, with Mordecai Richler? His writing was described as âgorgeously funnyâ by the bibulous Anthony Burgess, who dubbed mine âpoetry.â
As I namedrop my literary tastes, I wonder about the writers and their favourite whiskies. Richler is from Montreal, and I always imagined him settling down with Sam Bronfmanâs creation Crown Royal. Or perhaps the writer of St Urbainâs Horsemen would like a Kilbeggan, named after a nag? Apparently not.
While looking for something completely different, I chanced upon a newspaper clipping of an interview with Richler. It had appeared in 1994, when he was publicising his novel Solomon Gursky Was Here. The interview was in the format of a questionnaire. You know the sort of thing: silly questions posed in the hope of epigrammatic answers. Why, I wondered, had I filed it five years ago?
Perhaps it was the interviewerâs question: what do you consider the most overrated virtue? âAbstemiousnessâ, Richler had responded. No, it was: What is your favourite smell? (I told you the questions were silly). Once again, though, Richler had a good answer: âMacallanâs single malt.â He did not say at what age. Having recently nosed, and tasted 40-odd Macallans for m.....
To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue
or subscribe to Whisky Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.
You can unlock and read this entire article with 1 of your community tokens by clicking here.
By Michael Jackson
Section : The gospel according to Michael Jackson
Page number : 7
