Whiskey & Watches with Haute Time

ELEGANT COMPLEXITY

Jaeger-LeCoultre is no stranger to creating complicated timepieces. But, what Jaeger-LeCoultre strives for is complexity and elegance, and these two traits are more than noticeable in the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar wristwatch. Jaeger-LeCoultre has united its endeavors in creating an extremely slim mechanism equipped with a complete calendar, with an arrangement that is simplistic and elegant, yet still legible.

The Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar features the same pure design, which combines classical elements with the aesthetic inspiration of the Grande Maison. The clear and distinctive layout makes reading the new design easy, and avoids any confusion. In addition to the hour, minute and central seconds hands, it comprises three counters dedicated to the perpetual calendar displays: the first at 9 o’clock for the day of the week; the second at 3 o’clock for the date and the third at 6 o’clock for the month. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s distinctive signature appears below the moon phase. In addition to this comprehensive range of information, a perpetual calendar function must also indicate the current year, and on the Master Ultra- Thin Perpetual Calendar, a full four-digit display appears through a small aperture at 7 o’clock.

Beating away at the heart of the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar is the newly, in-house-designed caliber 868, which boasts 38 hours of power reserve, and measures a mere 4.72 millimeters in thickness, which enables the timepiece to be so thin. Measuring just 39 millimeters in diameter and 9.2 millimeters thick, the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar comes in three variations distinguished by material. The first features an 18-karat pink gold case framing an eggshell-white dial, while the 18-karat white gold version comes with a grained silver-toned dial. Finally, the steel model available exclusively from Jaeger-LeCoultre boutiques is graced with a sunburst, silver- toned dial. Whatever metal the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar comes in, one thing is for sure—its elegance and complexity are simply unmatched.

ROYAL BRACKLA & OMEGA GLOBEMASTER

HERITAGE:

Standing on the fertile farmland of the Cawdor Estate, the Royal Brackla Distillery was established in 1812 by the fiery Captain William Fraser, who returned to the family farm after military service and took advantage of the fine barley it grew. Within 25 years, his distillery’s reputation for spirit of sterling taste received its crowning moment when King William IV bestowed ‘Royal’ status to Brackla, in 1835. Thus, it became the first-ever Scotch to garner a royal warrant, a revelation that led to its nickname: ‘The King’s Own Whisky.’

Traditional production techniques help protect a distilling heritage that spans more than two centuries and preserves the unparalleled quality of a rather special spirit. To allow for the development of intriguing complexity and fruitiness, extra time is taken at the fermentation stage, which acts for up to 80 hours; far longer than most Scottish distilleries. Due to tall stills that run at a slow pace, the spirit has a long contact time with the copper, imparting delicate and lightly-perfumed notes of grass and green foliage alongside inviting, fruity aromas. Royal Brackla is finished in premium first-fill sherry casks, enriching it with notes of muscovado sweetness and dates, alongside opulent walnuts.

TASTING NOTES:

On the nose: Welcoming, sweet notes of pineapple, followed by roasted oats, barley and toffee apple are multisensory. Notes of a zesty nature, as well as butterscotch, cinnamon and anise closely follow. There is a lovely, floral, herbaceous note wafting around in there, alongside apricots, raisins and a light, waxy note.

On the palate: There is a lovely initial taste of crème brûlée, followed by toffee, pineapple and those toasted oats. That butterscotch note is ever-present, alongside flavors of vanilla, nutmeg, a hint of almonds and a welcome salty note, which is nicely finished with the slightest meaty note.

The finish: It is medium, zesty, with lingering toffee and light spices.

THE VERDICT:

The 16-year-old Royal Brackla is a delightful dram, and has plenty of lovely notes, but it does require a bit of time before these become apparent. It is an impressive Scotch, but it is a lot lighter on the palate than I anticipated—I was still pleasantly surprised. In my honest opinion, at 16 years, this scotch really doesn’t require any water, but just time to breathe so you can fully enjoy the notes offered.

INFO:

ABV 40 percent in a 70-centiliter bottle.

SHOWCASING OMEGA’S HERITAGE

Omega introduced quite a few impressive timepieces this year at Baselworld, but not many of us would have seen the coming of new timepiece, the Globemaster, which takes design cues from the Constellation range. I am a massive fan of the Omega Constellation from the ‘50s and ‘60s, and the Globemaster has a perfect balance of historical elements in a contemporary package. And, to add to that, the Globemaster is the first timepiece from Omega to feature a METAS-certified movement.

The first things you’ll notice about the new Globemaster are two design features that define its character: its dial, which is created in a style that collectors refer to as a ‘pie-pan dial,’ and the fluted bezel, which may seem like an unusual design element for Omega, but it is adorned on several famous Constellation watches from the late ‘60s. The 39-millimeter case is brushed, which is a nice touch, and downplays the Globemaster luxurious appearance. The lugs feature two polished bevels, which tie the finish of the bezel to the case.

Inside is the Co-Axial Master Chronometer caliber 8900/8901. On the case is a decorative medallion made of the same material as the case, which has been set into the glass before the glass is fastened to the caseback with four screws. The medallion is stamped with an image of an observatory surrounded by a polished sky marked with eight symbolic stars, similar to those seen on early Constellation models giving a subtle nod to Omega’s heritage.