Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Holiday Preview Tasting 2022

Tonight, Liz and I ventured out again to a SMWSA event at the Franklin Room. There were a lot of bottles available (due to it being the release right before the holidays)… which meant there were a lot of things to sample.

We ended up sitting at the big tabletops, and fell into some good conversations with those around us.

Bill, talking with Peter Kim, the Beverage Director and Partner at the Franklin Room.

We learned that Bill was a member, and came a really long way to attend this event in Chicago. We got to hear a bit about his discovery of the SMWS in Edinburgh… and found out he just chanced across the Kaleidoscope Bar and popped in because they were offering a paired tasting. What luck!

Funny that we also “discovered” the Kaleidoscope Bar, and all happened to meet again in Chicago. Small world.

Bill brought his brother-in-law Luke with him, and we also had a fun time chatting with these two gents.

Fast forward a bit: towards the end of the night, we also struck up some conversations with the men sitting at the table next to us. Tomek was a graduate student, studying Biochemistry… and he was apparently out with some of his professors/mentors. Also at the table: Dave (an ER doctor) and Tony (a dean of Biochemistry, I think)? I also talked to another scientist who had a Lit background, and we got into a brief discussion about James Joyce.

One new tidbit I learned: I was familiar with the term “the angels’ share,” a reference to the loss of alcohol in a barrel due to evaporation. But I hadn’t heard “the devil’s cut” until tonight, which apparently refers to the amount of alcohol that remains absorbed and trapped in the barrel.

Like last time, Liz and I lingered around at the end… and were among the last to leave. We chatted some more with the event host, Elhan Orhon, and as we were departing… were gifted two of the bottles that we were tasting from the evening.

Of course, they weren’t full bottles. But they weren’t empty either. A very lovely gesture and gift, to cap off a very lovely evening.

Related:
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society Tasting
Scotland, Day 16: Hiding Out in the Hotel Room, Soup at Union of Genius, Cocktails at Panda and Sons, Kaleidoscope Bar at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Dinner at the Scran and Scallie