Whisked away

South Florida CEO, August, 2005 by Rochelle Broder-Singer

Jan Jorgensen unlocks a display cabinet and removes a bottle, cradling it gently in his arms as he shows it to us. "It's a beautiful bottle of whiskey," he says.

The bottle is one of the nearly 200 varieties of whiskey in Jorgensen's collection at his Two Chefs restaurant in South Miami. Jorgensen collects, savors and drinks whiskey as many others do wine, and he spent a couple of hours introducing us to some of his favorites.

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Near the top of his list is Auchentoshan ($16 a glass on Two Chefs' menu). The single malt Scotch Whisky is made in the lowlands of Scotland. It is aged 10 years and triple distilled, making a smooth drink that loses none of its bitterness and wood flavor.

The Auchentoshan, like any single malt whiskey, Jorgensen says, should never be drunk over ice. It should be poured into a cordial-type glass (one you might use for brandy or sherry) and diluted with a few drops of water--3 percent to 5 percent--"in order to open it up," he says.

Jorgensen recommends it before or with a meal. Rather than the heaviness of the food, it is the seasoning that should determine whether a single malt will complement the fare. He recommends pairing this spirit with salty foods, such as prosciutto, cheeses and anything cured.

Another of Jorgensen's favorite single malt Scotch whiskies is the 1972 Ardbeg ($21 dollars a glass), made on the Isle of Islay at the Ardbeg Distillery in Argyll. "This is a very peaty [Scotch], meaning that it's very smoky," he says. Indeed, the 17-year-aged drink does taste of peat moss with a strong Maplewood smell as you first imbibe it. Sliding smoothly down the throat, it tastes almost like honey-smoked bacon.

Jorgensen's favorite whiskeys are not limited to those from Scotland. He also shared with us two favorite Irish whiskeys, both of which have a sweeter taste than the Scotch whiskies. The 1951 Knappogue Castle ($89 a glass) has a deep, smooth sweetness to it, and tastes of caramel, cinnamon and honey, with a hint of cherry-wood and smoke. The single malt reserve, which was distilled in 1951 ("An old bottle of whiskey," according to Jorgensen) and bottled in 1987, leaves you warm after drinking it. "It comes across much as a cognac," Jorgensen says.

Blended malts can be as spectacular as single malts, says Jorgensen, citing Midleton ($33 a glass), an Irish whiskey blend bottled in 2002. The very rare spirit has a limited production run at the Midleton Distillery in County Cork, Ireland, where it is triple distilled. The result is a lighter liquid that tastes of pears and herbs, and lingers more on your tongue than on your throat.

Restaurant patrons can order nearly all of the whiskies in Jorgensen's Two Chefs collection. However, opening some of the rarer bottles, even for a customer who truly appreciates them, would be bitter-sweet. "I have bottles that I would be devastated if anyone ordered them," Jorgensen says.