Can a whisky be corked? Is corked whisky a thing? Can you smell or taste cork taint in a high alcohol spirit like whisky? The answer is, unequivocally, yes. Let’s dig in….
Category: Wisdom & Opinions
Bakery Hill – the view from the top
There’s a lot of noise and activity in the Australian whisky scene at the moment – most of it to do with new distilleries being established or newer distilleries releasing their first matured spirit. Or, frequently, you’ll hear about some Aussie whisky collecting an award at an international spirits competition. Meanwhile, some distilleries are simply getting on with making good whisky. Bakery Hill is one such distillery. Not the most vocal brand on social media, Bakery Hill is happy to let its whiskies do the talking. And talk, they do. Continue reading “Bakery Hill – the view from the top”
Craigellachie – the whisky and the distillery
Craigellachie is – or perhaps was – one of Speyside’s great little secrets. A wonderful distillery that sits unabashedly beside the main road running through the Craigellachie village, its whiskies have been well known and admired by whisky connoisseurs for many years. However, it seems it’s time for Craigellachie’s malt to be appreciated by a bigger and wider fan club.
Craigellachie is making a bit of noise right now with the global release of its 51yo – a whisky that will be far more accessible than you might at first think, but more about that in a moment. In the meantime, let’s set the scene… Continue reading “Craigellachie – the whisky and the distillery”
Is diversity bringing down the quality of whisky?
Whisky consumers right now are spoiled for choice. Most of the distilleries that bottle their own malt now offer a vast selection of different bottlings at a range of prices so that there’s something for everyone. Most brands now offer one or more No Age Statement expressions in their portfolio, together with, say, a 10yo or 12yo, a 15yo, 18yo, 21yo, and so on. Other brands just come out with a myriad of different bottlings under different names to pad out a broad – and, it must be said, complicated – portfolio….Highland Park and Macallan being two good examples. But is all this diversity actually good for the consumer? More critically, what does it mean for quality? Is the quality of whisky suffering as a result? Continue reading “Is diversity bringing down the quality of whisky?”
Whisky and music – the final frontier?
Whisky and music. Can it work? Whisky – as I’m sure you’ve discovered by now – is a very versatile drink. It can be enjoyed any number of ways (neat, over ice, with a mixer, etc); it’s a key ingredient in many cocktails; and it can be paired beautifully with a large number of foods and other beverages. Such culinary matchings are now the norm, and whisky dinners – featuring malts that are specifically matched to the food courses – are almost passe.
But it wasn’t always this way. Attitudes to and experiences with whisky were once fairly narrow in their vision. In fact, it was only as recently as 20 years ago that matching whisky to food became a “thing”. Internationally, it was probably the work by Martine Nouet through Whisky Magazine that brought attention to the craft and skill of matching whisky to food.
Over time, whisky came to be paired with many different things. I’ve hosted my fair share of Whisky & Cheese events over the years, and this also grew to incorporate many events that showcased Whisky & Chocolate, Whisky & Beer, Whisky & Coffee, and Whisky & Ice Cream. And, whilst it’s a practice I don’t personally endorse, Whisky & Cigars is also a popular pursuit.
About the only pairing I’ve struggled with is the concept of Whisky & Music. It’s admittedly a far less tangible concept than pairing whisky to food and beverages, not to mention a more subjective pursuit. After all, people’s tastes and preferences in music cover a far more diverse (and sensitive) spectrum, and it’s difficult to assign objectivity to the applicability or success of any match. For example, who’s to say a 10 year old Talisker is lifted or enhanced by drinking it to Beethoven’s Third Symphony any better than it would if paired with ‘Uprising’ by Muse? Does a malt with a long finish work well with a song that has a long ending?
Australian whisky – a frank discussion
Earlier this year, Whisky & Wisdom published an article titled “Trouble brewing for the Australian whisky industry”. It was an extremely comprehensive and honest account of the challenges facing the Australian industry and raised a number of issues that continue to lurk beneath the surface. The article generated significant discussion amongst the whisky community and W&W received overwhelming responses and support from those within the industry. You can read the original article here.
Fast forward six months later, and the article triggered a fantastic discussion/interview with James Atkinson at Drinks Adventures. W&W recently sat down with Drinks Adventures for a frank discussion about what’s happening in the Australian whisky industry; the learning curve that distillers need to put themselves through; and the issues that consumers are now raising.
If you’re interested in Australian whisky and the Aussie whisky scene, it’s a fantastic podcast to listen to. The link to the Drinks Adventures episode is here.
A rant: Is this whisky worth it?
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Is this whisky worth it?” Drinkers today have many tools and resources at their disposal to both share and advance their knowledge of whisky. Social media has its many pros and cons, but one of the pros is that, courtesy of Twitter or Facebook, you can ask a question about a whisky and, within minutes, you’ll have people from around the globe giving answers and opinions.
Many such questions and forums are productive. For example, for those needing to confirm a piece of trivia, you can ask “How many distilleries still use traditional wormtubs?” and the whisky community will come to your rescue with the necessary answer. Or you can ask, “What are the dates for next year’s Feis Ile?” and your diary will quickly know the score. However, not all questions and discussions advance the cause….
Pulteney Distillery
When you think of the great coastal distilleries that play on their maritime location, the usual suspects typically include the likes of Talisker, Lagavulin, Bunnahabhain, even Highland Park. One distillery that particularly plays on its maritime theme somehow manages to continue sailing under the radar: Pulteney Distillery. It’s well known to those who know it well.
Pulteney is located in the town of Wick, right up in the north-east corner of Scotland’s mainland – in fact, John O’Groats is just a further 22km north. Wick was a major herring port in the 19th century and Pulteney Distillery was established in 1826 to cash in on the thousands of sailors, fishermen, and associated trades that descended on the town each season. (At its peak, the town played host to over 500 coopers who worked feverishly to produce the barrels for the herring’s storage and transportation.) The distillery experienced mixed fortunes and changes in ownership, particularly once the herring had been fished out and the industry died away. It is one of the few Scottish distilleries to suffer the ignominy of being closed due to the temperance movement – Wick was a “dry town” from 1922 until 1947 and the distillery was closed from 1926 until 1951.
Six historical whiskies you MUST try
You’ve probably been at a whisky event amongst a bunch of people and you were tasting a whisky from a particular distillery when someone near you remarked, “Ah, it’s not as good as it used to be…their whisky was so much better 20 years ago!” Or words to that effect. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard a lot lately. Mostly because I’m the old fart repeatedly saying it. We all look back on the rare and special whiskies we’ve tried in the past, and it’s hard not to wish that current incarnations were the same.
But I know I’m not alone – it’s an observation shared by many, and particularly amongst some of the pals I’ve been dramming with for 15-20 years. We’re often accused of wearing rose-coloured glasses or getting caught up in sepia-toned memories. That being said, we can be objective about this, and you should perhaps read our feature article, Is whisky better or worse today than it was 20 years ago?
To be clear, I’m not referring to all whisky per se … it would be folly and a blatant mistruth to suggest all whisky was generally better in the past. However, there are some distilleries that, on the whole, are releasing whiskies today that are a far cry from the bottlings they released in years gone by. I hesitate to suggest that their quality has gone downhill, since quality or flavour preference can be a subjective thing.
But, having said that, if you’ve been enjoying single malt whisky for over 20 years, there are a few benchmark drams that some of us hang our hats on. You may have heard of these drams in the past and wondered what all the fuss is about? Why are they so revered?
Age is just a number: The truth about young whisky
You’ve probably heard the saying, “You’re only as old as you feel.” It’s often accompanied by its well-worn colleague, “Age is just a number”. And when it comes to whisky, never a truer word was said!
In the context of whisky, your perspective on a bottling’s age is probably a function of when you started drinking the stuff. If you got into whisky more than 30 years ago, then a whisky’s age statement wasn’t much of a big deal to you. The vast majority of whisky available and being consumed was blends without age statements, and for the enlightened few who had discovered and preferred single malts, the small number of distilleries available showcased their whiskies with humble age statements typically between 8 to 12 years.
Continue reading “Age is just a number: The truth about young whisky”