Category: News

The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2016

{This is an older post from the 2016 Championship.  See our newer post following the 2022 event}

The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship is a bit like the internet.  It’s something you might think is a relatively “new” thing, when the reality is that it’s been around for decades longer than you gave it credit for.

In actual fact, the Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship has been around since 1989!  As the name suggests, it is a tasting competition, and had its origins in Adelaide, South Australia.  The competition’s principal format and structure has remained largely unchanged over the years: Competitors are presented with eight whiskies pre-poured before them, and supplied with a list of nine possible whiskies – in other words, the eight whiskies that are on the table, plus one red herring.   Competitors are then given 30 minutes to identify which whisky is which and to write their answers on the answer sheet.  Of course, having a list with all of the possible contenders in front of you makes the exercise seem a little easier, but the challenge is also in establishing which whisky of the nine on the list is not on the table!

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Lagavulin 8yo and the 200th Anniversary release

This article looks in detail at the Lagavulin 8yo expression, which is quite the story.  Over the years, I’ve had countless discussions with whisky enthusiasts from all backgrounds about that magic moment in their life:  When did they first try a single malt, and which one was it?   It astounds me how often people tell me their first single malt was Lagavulin.   And, for the record, it was my first single malt, too.

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Ardbeg Dark Cove

If you’re here just to read the review on the Dark Cove release, scroll further down.

Ardbeg Day is just around the corner again, which means it’s time to shake off the Autumn blues (or dust off your Spring hat if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and gear up for all the fun and excitement of Ardbeggian delights.

I’ve written much about Ardbeg’s history, the Ardbeg Committee and Ardbeg Day in the past.  So rather than fill up space by repeating it all on this page, you can re-visit those pieces here (Ardbeg Day 2015 report), here (Perpetuum review) and here (Ardbeg Day 2014 & Auriverdes review) if you need to fill in any blanks.   For the purposes of a concise read, let’s cut straight to the chase and get stuck into Ardbeg Day and the annual release for 2016.

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Glenmorangie Milsean

Glenmorangie Milsean.  If there’s one thing you can say about the whisky scene right now, it’s never dull or boring. Each week there is a new release, or a new launch, or another event, or another tasting, or yet another whisky being sold for an outrageous price.   So, regardless of where you fit into the whisky audience, there’s always something to keep an eye out for.

In the rapid-fire and seemingly peak randomness of the above happenings, it’s nice to know that we can at least look forward to some annual constants.  Things like an annual whisky show.  (Whisky Show, Whisky Fair, Whisky Live, etc).   Things like a brand’s big annual celebration.  (Ardbeg Day).  And, for our tastebuds, things like an annual release – such as Glenmorangie’s annual release of their latest Private Edition offering.

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Kininvie – The distillery emerges…

Like so many other aspects of the whiskysphere in recent years, there are entities or processes that have been around for a long time, but simply weren’t well known. The internet, combined with a booming market, have resulted in many industry secrets or hidden jewels coming to light.  Distilleries are one such example – if there wasn’t a commercial release available (or widely distributed) on the market, consumers simply didn’t know it existed.  Ailsa Bay, Inchgower, Allt-a-bhaine, etc, are all examples of distilleries that most whisky drinkers simply haven’t heard of, despite the fact they’ve been around for many years.   Kininvie is another example, although that’s now all changing, courtesy of its whiskies suddenly being thrust into the limelight.

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Wild Turkey and Russell’s Reserve

One of the problems with being heavily involved and associated with the Scotch whisky industry is that people assume you’re less inclined to entertain a glass of bourbon in your hand.  Far from it, I’ve long enjoyed a good bourbon.  And, whilst it doesn’t feature prominently on my CV, I have in fact worked as a brand ambassador for Jim Beam and hosted my fair share of bourbon or American whiskey appreciation nights and tasting events.

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The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve

Before discussing what The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve is all about, it’s important to understand some background:

In the good old days of looking at a whisky brand’s portfolio, it used to be an easy affair to identify and speak about the brand’s “flagship” expression. This was the main expression; its biggest seller; the one that was a constant in all markets and carried the brand. Each of the other expressions in the portfolio were usually older, rarer, and less-often seen.   If you can think back 15 years ago, it was an era where most brands had their ubiquitous 10yo or 12yo flagship expression, and then some brands had an 18yo or a 25yo to offer the connoisseurs some choice.

As the single malt market started to truly boom (and bloom) during 2000-2007, many brands’ portfolios started to widely diversify. Finishes or Extra Matured expressions became more prevalent; a wider and more populated range of age statements appeared; and in the last few years, many brands added one or more NAS expressions to the range. More recently, for some brands, the flagship expression you see may depend on what market you’re in.

Most of this activity is due to marketing and sales opportunities; and some of it is simply cask and stock management: Either dealing with what stocks are currently available, or taking steps to ensure that supply will meet demand in future years.

If you read enough whisky literature, opinions and noise, you’ll be aware that some brands are already having to make hard decisions to ensure supply keeps up with demand. Cutting various product lines or removing an expression from a particular market. Many whisky folks assume this is a new phenomenon, but no, it’s been happening for a while. For example, it was back in 2004/05 that Macallan discontinued its 15yo in order to keep stock back for its more lucrative (and popular) 18yo. More recently, we’re seeing an increasing number of NAS expressions being put forward and marketed, in an attempt to take pressure off the 10yo or 12yo aged statements.   Enter Glenlivet.

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Balvenie Tun 1509

The Balvenie continues to go from strength to strength as owners, William Grant & Sons, continue to showcase their wares.     As someone who’s both watched and even participated in the growth of their brands in Australia over the last 15 years or so (in a former life, I presented a couple of Glenfiddich & Balvenie tasting events for the local distributor at the time), it’s been fascinating to see the brands take on even more depth and gain traction in the local market, now that WG&S have their own Australian operation.  The recent launch of the Balvenie Tun 1509 raise the bar further…

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Glenmorangie “The Taghta”

The latest (and very special) release from Glenmorangie had its first Australian outing on 17th October when Glenmorangie Taghta was showcased as the Welcome Dram at the Spring Tasting of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Sydney.

As attendees entered the room for the tasting evening, they were handed a dram of this deliciously-amber looking whisky, but were not told what it was. A short while later during the official welcome and introduction for the night, a quick straw poll was taken with the question, “Who liked this whisky?”   Every hand in the room went up, and it was then that its identity and story was told.

Glenmorangie Taghta (pronounced too-tah) is being billed as a crowd-sourced whisky.   It’s not all too dissimilar to what Glenlivet did with their Guardian’s release late last year.  The difference on this occasion is that the crowd (the so-called “Cask Masters”) came from 30 different countries and participated in every part of the process: The bottle design, the labelling, the photography, and – most importantly of all – the selection of the whisky.

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An afternoon with Colin Scott (Master Blender for Chivas Bros)

It’s not every day you get the chance to meet with and listen to a Master Blender, so when the good folks at Pernod Ricard Australia hosted an afternoon with Colin Scott recently, I was happy to accept their kind invitation.

I’ve actually spent a bit of time with some other Master Blenders: Richard Patterson of Whyte & Mackay; Tom Smith of Johnnie Walker; Robert Hicks of Teachers/Laphroaig/ Ardmore/Glendronach; Iain McCallum of Morrison Bowmore; Brian Kinsman of William Grant & Sons; and then other whisky creators like Jim McEwan (Bowmore/Bruichladdich) and Bill Lumsden (Glenmorangie/Ardbeg).   I’ve also had a few decent attempts at blending myself, having undertaken some formal blending sessions both in Scotland and here in Australia.  (And whilst my “attempts” have been decent, my results have been very indecent!)

What I’ve learned from these people and experiences is that (a) blending is incredibly difficult, and (b) the people who do it commit to a lifetime of learning and application. Colin Scott is no different.

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