We chat with the whisky whiz on whisky-making, the wonder of Scotch, as well as how you should drink your whisky and what foods to pair it with
No one loves their whisky more than Dr. Bill Lumsden, the director of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie. In town recently to promote the whisky distillery’s latest Legends malt whisky range, the good doctor shared with us his go-to whisky bars in Asia, which spanned the continent from Taipei to Osaka. But when you’re in the presence of a whisky whiz like him, you’d wanna dig out more from his wealth of wisdom – and that’s exactly what we did in this edition of Bar Banter. Presenting his tips on whisky drinking and food pairing, what makes Scotch stand out, and how he concocts his Glenmorangie gems – the doctor is in the house.
First off, how would you introduce someone to Glenmorangie whiskies?
Always, I’d ask people to start off with a 10 Year Old – that was the very first malt whisky I had back in 1984. A Glenmorangie is so complex yet soft, and relatively easy to drink, that it’s the perfect one to start people off with.
So what would you say makes Scotch whisky stand out from its counterparts all around the world?
I think the one thing in particular that distinguishes Scotch whisky from most other whiskies in the world is a result of the maturation that we have in our very cool, damp conditions. Our friends in Kentucky and Tennessee – whom we have very close links with because we source a lot of our barrels from them – are looking to dry the flavour by heating the warehouse; we’re doing the opposite. When you have conditions like ours, it really develops the fragrance and complexity that Scotch whisky is known for.
However, there is one Japanese whisky that I’ll go as far as to say that it’s almost as good as Scotch. In the world of Japanese whisky, Yamazaki and Karuizawa are the ones that get all the press coverage, but in my opinion, heads and shoulders above them all is Yoichi from Hokkaido. I think the whisky there is better than the others because it’s matured in much cooler, damper conditions.
When you create or experiment with new whiskies, what goes through your head? What steps do you take?
I’m a yeast physiologist, that’s what I did my PhD in, so there’s lots of exciting things being examined in terms of barrel varieties, malting techniques, fermentation techniques, and stuff that’s primarily in production stage. And if you’re experimenting at the primary production stage, then you’re obviously having to wait at least five to 10 years before a product’s ready to bring to market. So sadly, I might’ve already retired before some of the products reach market. I’ve got to lay down a legacy for the future.
I’m a terribly random, unstructured sorta guy, which is quite unusual for a scientist. I’m actually a bit of an insomniac; I don’t sleep particularly well. But I dream vividly every single night, and I keep a notebook by the side of my bed where I often jot down some of my musings when I wake up. I get ideas from that, as much as how I can get ideas sparked off by just a single conversation. My team and I will have get-togethers and jot down a hundred ideas, of which 25 of them might actually move into production. They won’t all see the light of day; some of them might actually be slightly illegal in terms of Scotch whisky regulations [laughs], but you gotta try these things!
Are no-age whiskies here to stay?
I am massively positive about it. I’ve been making no-age whisky for about 15 years now. Most companies have finite stocks of very old whiskies, so no-age is the way forward. It also gives the distiller or blender much more flexibility in terms of the recipes they’re using. I feel like we’ve got a bit of a job to do to sell this idea to consumers who’ve been brought up thinking the older whisky is the better, which, incidentally, I almost violently disagree with. Very old whisky, to me, is actually not that exciting.
How do you like drinking your whisky?
I would say, for people trying it for the first time, original on the rocks is a nice way to enjoy it; try it neat with a splash of water. I often enjoy mine with one or two rocks of ice, a big measure of original Glenmorangie, ginger ale and a squeeze of lime juice. At the end of the day, we can’t be too prescriptive about how people should drink it. But stuff like Coca Cola is not going to enhance the flavour, so if you want a mixer, choose one that will be sympathetic to the range of flavours in there. Highballs are a real nice way of doing it.
What, in your opinion, foods pair well with Glenmorangie?
It’s very specific depending on the whisky you’re talking about. Our big brand is very difficult to pair with food because it’s so intensely flavoured. Otherwise, our 10 Year Old goes well with parmigiano-reggiano cheese. For The Original Glenmorangie, foie gras goes well with it, or white fish, scallops, and shrimp. The Lasanta goes very well with spicy Asian cuisine. And for the Signet, it’s hard to see it past chocolate and coffee.
And lastly, how have you been finding Singapore so far?
I’ve been to Singapore five times before, and it strikes me as being like Hong Kong, amongst the more cosmopolitan and Westernised cities in Asia. And for that reason, it’s possibly not my favourite city in Asia – my two favourite cities are Tokyo and Seoul, because they’ve got their own culture. But I’ve always had fun in Singapore; it’s quite relaxed.
For more on Glenmorangie and the Legends collection, see here.
This article is sponsored by Glenmorangie.