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| DANTAZ - a new spirit by Jim Murray | | | | In co-operation with MAC Y Jim Murray now presents a whole new type spirit - a blend of Danish Akvavit and Tasmanien spirit.
DANTAZ………..Two Lands. One Spirit.
The story of the world’s newest spirit is all about being in the right place at the right time. It is a story that began in October 2003 on the other side of the world.
World-renowned whisky writer and consultant blender Jim Murray had just completed his three month marathon in writing his best-selling Whisky Bible 2004. Now he was on the Australian leg of his world tasting tour.
He had reached Tasmania where he was investigating the three whisky distilleries there. And one night after a whisky tasting in the island’s capital of Hobart, he was told of the recently announced engagement between a young local beauty, Mary Donaldson, and the Crown Prince of Denmark.
Jim recalls what happened clearly: “I was asked by someone where else I had been travelling over the last year or two and I explained that I enjoyed visiting and working in Denmark three or four times a year. It was then I was told how Tasmania and Denmark were about to become linked by a forthcoming royal marriage. To be honest, within 30 seconds I was already plotting a course to create DANTAZ.”
“Anyone who reads my work knows I am an incurable romantic. My current girlfriend is Brazilian. My previous long-term relationship was with a Japanese. So I knew as much as anybody the attraction of the mingling of different cultures. I thought it would be great fun if I could do the same with the spirits of two lands separated by 12,000 miles. And a unique gift for the royal couple.”
Jim immediately earmarked the island’s largest and newest distillery, "Whisky Tasmania", as the source of the bulk of the island spirit. He had already suggested to them that they embark on a limited programme of producing peated whisky and after they did he had some of the immature spirit flown to his blending lab in England along with some two-year-old unpeated malt spirit, which also had not been matured long enough to be called whisky.
There he experimented with different types of Akvavit and finally decided on a recipe.
“Over the years I had learned to appreciate the dexterity of better types of akvavit,” said Jim. “My instincts had told me from the first moments I thought of the idea that a marriage between peated malt and Danish akvavit would, if I could get the balance right, have a wide appeal. What I was looking for was something that tasted neither like akvavit or whisky yet had the subtle and recognisable complexity of both. I really think I have achieved that. What is more, I realised that what had been originally thought of as a one-off had the potential of becoming a fixture in liquor stores. People I was showing it to were loving it.”
In recent years Jim had built up a personal friendship with members of Danish spirit importing company Mac Y. He told them of his new spirit and on his next visit to Denmark showed it to them.
Mac Y´s Managing Director Søren Nørgaard explains: “At first I thought: akvavit and smokey spirit…it just won´t work. I am a big fan of Jim and should have known better: when he poured me a sample I was amazed. What really clinched it was that it appealed to people in the company who didn’t like peaty whisky and those whose who weren’t over keen on akvavit. Jim had created something that appeared to have so many flavours there was something there for anyone.”
“We immediately set up a new company with Jim, him sourcing the spirits and blending them and Mac Y to bottle and distribute. As proud Danes it really is fantastic that we can mark the Royal Wedding in this way. But it is also very exciting for us that we are launching an entirely new spirit as well.”
DANTAZ has been created as a small batch spirit. For the Royal Wedding Jim put together two small batches for a limited edition of 440 bottles, three of each as a gift to the royal couple.
“I wanted both batches to be variations on a theme, very similar but with subtle differences,” explains Jim. “Both contain the unique character of WhiskyTaz spirit yet celebrates amid soft, yielding peat the botanical complexity of fine Danish schnapps. They are almost identical, but in line with its individuality, not quite. The first batch is slightly smokier, the second a little lighter, a little fruitier. The taste of both, however, is as rich, lingering and silky as you can ask for. I have looked for a long, multi-layered finish to the spirit and this, I think, is its most distinctive and attractive feature.”
“As a special touch, because Mary comes from Hobart and is known for taking pride in Tasmanian produce I have included in each batch a tiny fraction of excellent malt spirit from the Lark Distillery which is located in her home town. It was distilled by Kristy Lark the youngest female whisky distiller in the world, so I thought it was rather fitting.”
The blending and bottling took place in Denmark on 9th May 2004. Most of the bottles had been sold to the trade by the time the labels were dry.
As Jim said: “Those people who get one of those 440 bottles will be tasting something unique. And they will be tasting history. It would be great if this is a spirit that the peoples of Denmark and Tasmania can enjoy for many years to come with future bottlings. And, hopefully, the royal couple themselves over many years of a happy marriage.”
JIM MURRAY’S TASTING NOTES
DANTAZ Royal Occasion
Batch A, 46.6% vol., 50 cl.
Nose: freshly cut marmalade is at the centre of a busy fruit and herbal lead. This complex aroma is underpinned by a subtle sub-text of smokey peat and sweetened by barley.
Taste: a silky, malt-sweet mouth arrival is peppered by the most delicate herbs. The middle remains soft, the taste buds caressed by satin-gloved fingers of Demerara sugar and smoke.
Finish: very, very long, with the peat now making itself known with gentle waves of smoke stroking the plate. But this is all tempered by the gentle spices kicking and thrusting in the background.
Balance: a spirit of extraordinary complexity and length. What is so attractive is the soft and subtle nature of the beast and then the weight of the peat lurking in the background. Unique in every sense.
Batch B, 46.7% vol., 50 cl.
Very similar to Batch A except with fractionally less peat allowing the fruitiness and mouth watering qualities of the akvavit to shine a little more brightly. The softness, however, despite some extra spice, is not compromised as neither is the sweetness or length of finish.
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