Nikka “The Grain” Whisky is part of Nikka’s Discovery Series, being the 2023 edition in this experimental range. We’ll look at this in more detail in just a moment, but first some commentary on Japanese whisky wouldn’t go astray. As a category of spirit, Japanese whisky has had to ride many waves in the last decade. Prior to the 2010’s, it was (relatively) widely available; it was relatively affordable, and – like every other category of whisky – it would occasionally delight with something spectacular that made whisky drinkers take notice. Founded in 1934, Nikka has always been at the heart of Japanese whisky, but things took a quantum leap for the category in the 2010’s when a series of plaudits and accolades all came at once. Numerous Japanese whisky brands and bottlings won major awards in rapid succession, consistently outpunching and outscoring their more fancied and better-known Scottish competitors.
Category: Wisdom & Opinions
Glenglassaugh – Three new whiskies
Located up in the north-east of Scotland, Glenglassaugh is yet another of the many previously-obscure Scottish whiskies to have received a new lease on life and be thrust into the limelight following a change of ownership. Like so many others in this category, it has a long if not chequered history that has seen numerous changes in ownership, periods of silence, and stuttered reincarnations. Like its stablemate Benriach, Glenglassaugh is now on the happy receiving end of love and investment from Brown Forman, culminating in the recent launch of a new single malt core-range for the brand. The range now incorporates the Glenglassaugh 12yo, the Sandend, and the Portsoy.
Benriach – The Sixteen
The Benriach distillery and its brand is one of several Scottish single malt whiskies that have gone through something of a re-invention and transformation in recent years. Located towards the northern end of Speyside, not far south of Elgin, Benriach has gone from relative obscurity to much-adored in less than two decades. Attention and interest in the brand is set to further grow with the re-introduction of the Benriach 16, styled on the label as Benriach – The Sixteen.
Women in whisky
It’s probably been more than 25 years since the theme or topic of “women in whisky” first got written about in the modern circles of whisky publishing. By which I mean the new wave of books and magazines that started to emerge in the 1990’s, and the endless number of blogs, forums, and social media outlets in more recent times. Indeed, flicking through my old back issues of Whisky Magazine from the early 2000’s, it didn’t take me long to find articles, profiles, and feature pieces that all revolved around women and whisky, or women in whisky.
It is an interesting topic to write about in 2023. In some ways, there is a valid sentiment that holds this shouldn’t be a thing anymore. Afterall, we’ve had several decades now of articles, interviews, and profile pieces highlighting the wonderful work of female distillers, master blenders, brand ambassadors, writers, journalists, bartenders, visitor centre managers, mixologists, and so on. Women are prolific in so many corners and reaches of the whisky industry these days, one could be forgiven for questioning if gender needs to be an issue anymore. And yet…
Whisky Awards – Who really wins?
You don’t have to search or scroll too far through whisky’s marketing landscape these days before you encounter a reference to an award. Gold medals, Double Golds, Trophy winner, Best-in-category…the list goes on. To anyone marketing a whisky – whether it’s the distillery itself or a retailer looking to promote a particular product on their shelf – being able to say that the brand won an award should be a huge accolade and an indicator of quality. But when it comes to the confusing world of whisky awards, there’s an increasing degree of scepticism creeping on to the podium.
Let’s make it clear from the outset that this piece is not intended to belittle or undermine any distillery or brand that recently won a whisky award, nor to cast shade on any specific awards program or award-giving entity. But given that distilleries and brands are using awards as a selling point in their marketing arsenal and playbook, it’s important that consumers have at least some awareness as to what the badges, tokens, and ribbons might actually denote. So let’s look first at some of the issues and criticisms that are causing concern…
The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2024
In the wide and daunting jungle of whisky literature – that is all the books, magazine, blogs, subscriptions, and even video content – there’s really only one definitive resource that every whisky lover should have a copy of on their whisky shelf: The Malt Whisky Yearbook. An annual publication that has been updated and released every year since 2005, the latest edition for 2024 is out now.
Dalmore – The distillery and its whiskies
Dalmore – as a distillery, as a whisky, and as a brand – has had a dynamic, if not enigmatic history. Founded in 1839, almost directly on the shoreline of the Cromarty Firth, it is a Highland whisky that’s obviously north of Inverness and the allure of Speyside, yet seeming not north enough to trade on the geographical x-factor that the likes of Clynelish and Old Pulteney somehow cash in on. It purportedly claims the title of being the first malt whisky to have been commercially exported from Scotland, with cases shipped to Australia way back in 1870. Over the years it has been leased, family owned and operated, joint-ventured, acquired, and absorbed. In more recent times, it’s a brand that has gone down the luxury product road, drawing attention for its old/rare releases and collections that carried eye-wateringly high price tags. But for your average or typical whisky drinker, where does The Dalmore fit in to the current state of play? We’ll answer that in just a moment but, as always, some background might help set the scene…
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Glen Moray – The emerald of Elgin
If you’re relatively new to the whisky scene, you’ll most likely have seen a few different expressions of Glen Moray at your local retailer and perhaps wondered what the brand is all about. Conversely, you may have been into your whiskies for a while now…and also wondered what the brand is all about! That said, what you’ll undoubtedly have noticed in recent times is that the brand is making a bigger splash these days and is more prevalent about the place. That’s no accident or stroke of luck, but as we’ll explore in just a moment, it’s a distillery that’s well and truly grown into its own skin and forged new frontiers. So what’s the Glen Moray story, and why should you be exploring its whiskies?
The Scotch whisky industry goes from boom to…more boom?
The Scotch whisky industry is currently in the middle of an era. Quite what that era will be defined or described as won’t become clear for another decade or so. For it is usually with the experience and benefit of hindsight that we can apply such labels. For example, the period that followed the industry’s catastrophic downturn and distillery closures of the mid 1980’s came to be synonymous with and defined 10 to 15 years later as the era of the so-called “whisky loch”, due to the huge amount of excess, aged stock sitting around unloved. Similarly, the application of the term “whisky boom” to any era (e.g. the late 1800’s was a boom time for whisky sales and distillery construction) usually has relative context because it was followed by a corresponding “bust” a few years later. (Such as the Pattison-triggered crash in 1898 that followed the boom).
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The Neck Pour – myth, fact, or scapegoat?
Of all the terms to rise into common use amongst whisky drinkers these days, the “neck pour” is one of the more interesting concepts. So what is the neck pour? Is it good or bad? Does it even exist? Read on….
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