Making the most of malt
The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews is not what you would expect. The food owes more to the US West Coast than anywhere else, golfing wives wrapped in towelling robes chat in the lobby en route to the adjoining spa, and the famed whisky bar is presided over by a Frenchman.
"Think about an Islay malt," says Regis Lemaitre in his cute Scottish-French twang, to a Pringle-clad guest demanding something peaty and mellow. "I would look at the smoothest of the Islays - Bunnahabhain," he offers, pouring out a measure.
"This is what I call a ‘bridging malt' - if you wanted to move from a Highland to an Islay, you need a bridge to cross over the water, and this is the one I would go for," he tells me, after the guest has returned to his view over the ninth hole of Scotland's most famous golf course and the North Sea beyond.
Complete range
The Road Hole Grill Bar, named after a rather tricky hole out front, offers 146 different whiskies. "I've got them all now," he brags. The new list was up and running at the beginning of April, jumping from 62 distilleries with a total of 122 whiskies to 119 distilleries with 146 different whiskies - 80 of which are currently open. "The others have either been taken over, closed, demolished or turned into a hotel. But if the product is still available, I stock it," says Lemaitre, with a grin.
A vampish woman in her 30s settles on to one of the leather bar stools and says: "I'm a whisky virgin - how about this Lagavulin?" Lemaitre responds: "I think you would find it too powerful - you may be put off whisky for life. How about a Lowland malt like Glenkinchie? It's not as powerful on the aromatics but it's nice and dry. It comes from about 50 miles south of Edinburgh, not too far from here, and it won't frighten you off - that's the worst thing that could happen."
Lemaitre has stored away a taste profile of each whisky in his computer-like brain, which guests delight in testing. "I had a gentleman in recently who asked me how whisky was made," he says. "I went through the whole process, step by step - it took me an hour-and-a-half. The chap was checking he understood everything by asking me questions, so it really hit home. So refreshing."
Although the bar does not sell whisky exclusively, it makes up the major portion of sales, with a turnover last year of £280,000 - this year Lemaitre is going for £300,000. Prices swing between £4.90 for a 50ml measure of eight-year-old Glenburgie to £130 for the same measure of a 1936 Glen Grant.
Whisky sales drop off in the winter months as the predominantly British guests opt for gin and tonic, much to Lemaitre's chagrin. But, come late spring, the tourists are back and, by the middle of summer, whisky is again the top seller. "Americans are my favourite customers," he says. "They are genuinely interested. They take time to ask questions and they listen to what I have to say - they respect the drink."
Lemaitre has two staff assisting him behind the handsome, mirrored, mahogany bar. As well as teaching them the different whisky styles as each bottle is opened, he invites the distillery reps in regularly, "to show us how to sell their products - there is always something new to learn". And twice a year, he sets up distillery visits for his staff.
Stashed behind the bar is his bible, Michael Jackson's Pocket Whisky Companion, well thumbed and ready for quick reference. Armed with Jackson's comprehensive tasting notes, anecdotal snippets and distillery histories, the staff are ready to take on even the most inquisitive American. "Every whisky bar should have one of these," he says.
How do you sell round the list, with 146 different products? "I'm a great believer in recommending a new product, not just letting them drink what they have always had before," he says. "Nine times out of 10, if they order a Glenfiddich they've got a bottle on their shelf at home. So I say, ‘Don't drink that, have something else. You might as well, I've got 146 to choose from!' This way we are providing them with a service they don't get elsewhere.
"Then the fun starts. I ask them what sort of malt they like, what are their preferences? They may not be able to pin down the taste characteristics, but they run off the brands they have at home, which gives me a guide. I offer them something similar, but with a twist - and it works."
Straight up is the only way to serve whisky, for Lemaitre. What if a customer wants ice? "Well, we put the ice bucket on the table and we say, ‘Excuse me, sir, this malt, as you know, is from 1936 and it has spent 56 years in cask, so I think it would be a good idea to try it first without ice - just to see.' They usually get the message."
Twenty-six-year-old Lemaitre has worked at the Old Course for four years. He came initially to London from Vittel in the Lorraine region of north-east France when he was 18 years old, to work in hotels. Going to and fro across the Channel to visit his parents meant frequent stops at the duty-free and a bag full of gifts for home - mostly Scotch. His interest snowballed.
A golfer, minus spikes, slides up for a post-round measure of 10-year-old Glenmorangie (£6.30). The bar is already humming, though the most popular time for whisky drinking is after dinner, with whisky-as-aperitif close on its heels.
What is a good aperitif whisky? "I would go for something relatively dry, with not much pronounced flavour to it, and with some vanilla," says Lemaitre. "Glenmorangie 10-year-old is a good one. So are Tamdhu, Glenmoray and Linkwood 12-year-old. They all have this vanilla character and are relatively smooth, stimulating your tastebuds. When you finish a glass, you want to move on to dinner."
How about a digestif, after a particularly heavy meal? "You want something to push it through," he says bluntly. "You want a sweeter product - sherry maturation sweet. A Glendronach 18-year-old, a limited edition but rich and heavy, with an oily thickness and full bodied - that'll clean you up, but not spoil your tastebuds if you wanted to go on to a finer malt next. Then I'd suggest a dryish, peaty malt, like an Islay… " he concludes, in a masterly piece of up-selling.
Whisky and food is another possibility for the brave-hearted. The Road House Grill's chef, Mark Barker, has a penchant for chilli. "Then you need something not too overpowering - you don't want to overwhelm the food - so a Speyside malt with more aromatics, like the Cragganmore. If the spicing is combined with stronger meats like game, then Bunnahabhain will do the trick - you've got the body there, and the smoothness."
