There are myths that one hears and wishes were true: fairies, unicorns and gods among them. But for me, there has always been the hope that two of the most wonderful things on this planet would, in some amazing way, become united.
But how? How can we get hedgehogs and whisky into the same thing? We cannot make whisky from hedgehogs (can we? I should have a chat with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) and while I have heard rumours of hedgehogs drunk on beer-trap slugs I have not heard of anyone seeing a hedgehog consuming whisky. Though I now remember a tale from the 19th Century of a family in Britain with a pet hedgehog that was once got drunk at the dinner table, but I think that was on posset.
And then, while researching my now slightly late book for Reaktion (winter has thrown sickness at our household like a drunken student walking home reconsidering the wisdom of the kebab, hence the lateness), on the iconography of hedgehogs I came across a little miracle.
But first, a digression. Germany has a town called Igel, France has a town called Herisson – yet England, a country that prides itself in a profound love of the hedgehog has not the decency to have a town named after the animal. There are plenty of references to otters – Ottery St Mary for example. And there is Wolverhampton, Derby (deer village) and many many others – in fact that would be a fun exercise for anyone, find me more – and I will probably find that Wolverhampton is nothing to do with wolves …
So – is it time to launch a campaign – to get a town named as hedgehog? And if so, do we re-name a current town (if so, which one – which town can claim great hedgehog-connections?) or do we start a new town? A community run on hedgehog principles? One where we spend the winter hidden away, asleep?
But that is all by the by – the main thrust of this blog is my discovery of a wonderful thing – Herisson, the town in central France named after the hedgehog, has a distillery, run by Monsieur Balthazar. And he has the good grace to anglicise the name of his whisky; Hedgehog Whisky is a reality.
With trembling fingers I followed the links through and found that it would be easier to have it delivered within the country of France – and by good fortune a most delightful friend lives there a great deal of the time (thank you Stokely) and at the end of last week I visited her in London and took ownership of my dream …
The excitement … obviously, but there was also the fear of disappointment … what if it was rank? So it was not without trepidation that the first drops of this golden liquid were poured …
Now there is a language of flavour that I have yet to master – my experience with wine has been rather binary, I like it or I don’t. And with whisky, similarly. So what can I say?
The familiar burning sensation on the tongue was reassuring – maybe that is too strong a word, but there is that spirited tingle that prepares you for more. Lacking the smokiness of western Isles peat based drinks, lacking the occasionally floral lightness of some of the Speysides … what did it have?
There was a harshness, there was a sense that this might not be part of a long lineage of whisky makers, but it was definitely not unpleasant … just not quite what I am used to … which has been refined over many years and topped by a Whisky Society bottling of something called the Eriskay …
I will persevere. It might grow on me. And maybe a touch of water would help … so, if you are around Oxford in the next few weeks and want to come and experience a little hedgehog-nectar, drop me a line and we will see if we can link up!
Ah, that’s a lovely bit of synchronicity Hedgehog Hugh! Prickles up and happy whiskmas. Nicola
A lovely friend of mine, blessed with the capacity to read French, tells me that there is something unusual in the ingredients, this drink (I am becoming reluctant to call it whisky) is, according to Elli, “65% corn… well at least it’s organic! The funniest part is that Mr Balthazar proudly tells us that he “refuses” to use the commonly used method – why? It seems to work well enough for other whiskys!”
As I am not so blessed as Elli, I relied on Google to translate a few bits … the front page states:
“It is a whiskey of the countryside. He was born in the shade of oaks the country trunk. He wisely ages between deer and Charolais.”
and a little later,
“he opted instead for the fermentation of boiled flour full of corn, malt and rye to release the full range of flavors rich and dense Hedgehog,”
I am not sure which is more worrying, the fact that this drink is flavoured like a dense hedgehog, or that Google translate might actually be accurate!
[…] I have been somewhere very similar before. Have a look at my piece on hedgehog whisky to see why … and you might understand why. In fact in the blog entry I was a little polite to the drink. On […]
I’ve seen your post quoted on TV today (first two paragraphs). That was amazing… and very funny!
There are hedgehogs in the area where I live and I always enjoy seeing them getting on with their lives 🙂 They’re lovely. I don’t care for whisky, though.
Hello, I really want to get hold of a bottle of this for my Granddad for Christmas (his nickname is Hedgehog!). I have no idea how to get hold of a bottle. Is there any chance you could help? How much did you end up spending in the end, what with delivery etc?
Fingers crossed.
Ryan
The best I can offer you is
http://www.whisky-hedgehog.fr/
The cost for postage made it too much for me – but I had a friend in France at the time who picked up a bottle. Good luck!