Whisky opinions, articles, feature pieces, info and reviews.
Ripples shot across the pond of the Australian distilling industry this week when the PC brigade flexed its outraged muscles and seemingly strong-armed a distillery’s marketing department into an awkward about-face.
Continue reading “Distillery a victim of political correctness”
The 2019 Annual Brands Report by Drinks International has just been released, and it makes for fascinating reading. For those that consider themselves a whisky connoisseur or, perhaps more accurately, a hardcore enthusiast, it also suggests you’re possibly out of step with what’s happening on the on-premise scene…
When did you realise your fondness for whisky went next level? At what point did you graduate from being someone who merely liked whisky to someone who was interested in whisky?
Was it the day you went into a bar and ordered a neat single malt rather than a JW & coke? The day you joined a Facebook whisky group? Or was it the day you corrected someone for mispronouncing Islay?
Once your relationship with whisky transitions from merely liking to exploring, you join an enlightened group of comrades. You learn and speak a new language; you make new acquaintances; you form new strong friendships; you grow a collection; and you devour all the information you can about whisky. And, importantly, for the purposes of this piece, you find yourself part of a very small minority. For it turns out that the rest of the world – even those that like and drink whisky – are marching to the beat of a different drum. There is a huge disconnect between the priorities and purchasing habits of a whisky enthusiast and the common imbiber. And this becomes very apparent when you look at what’s going on in the bar scene…
Pour yourself a big dram of your favourite Australian whisky and get comfortable. It’s a long read…
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Believe it or not, Australian whisky existed prior to 2014. Australia enjoyed a rich history of whisky distillation from the 19th century into the 1980’s before resting for a few years of silence. But it was in that fateful year of 2014 that a single cask release of Sullivans Cove won the accolade of World’s Best Single Malt, and Australian whisky suddenly lit up on everyone’s radar. But whilst Sullivans Cove’s success that year told a story for 2014, it also told a story – for those that cared – about the Australian whisky industry’s previous 20 years. And, as both producers and consumers jumped on the bandwagon, it also played a role in contributing to a brewing storm and some concerning issues now looming…
Continue reading “Trouble brewing for the Australian whisky industry?”
Dalmunach is one of Scotland’s newest, largest, and more innovative distilleries. But before we delve in too deeply, let’s set the scene and appreciate the contrast…
If you’ve been fortunate enough to visit one of Scotland’s older distilleries – say the likes of Strathisla, Glenkinchie, Ardbeg, Cragganmore, or Cardhu – then you’ve caught a classic glimpse of the Scotch whisky industry’s traditional distillery. With their old, romantic 19th century buildings and quaint (but dormant) kilns and pagodas, these are the distilleries that are typically captured and displayed in whisky’s current literature and promoted by the brand ambassadors.
The common thread that weaves through these distilleries is that they have been renovated, refurbished, and re-worked over the years to accommodate production capacity expansions, and also to keep up with modern distillation techniques and – in many cases – to be brought into line with current work, health, and safety standards! As such, they can be a hotch-potch of disjointed buildings and re-purposed structures. Strathisla and Dalmore are both two good examples.
In stark comparison then, what of the all-new, purpose built, modern and state-of-the-art super distillery? Diageo started the ball rolling with Roseisle in 2009, and Pernod Ricard have followed suit with their own jewel in the crown: Dalmunach.
If you’ve been somewhat overwhelmed by all the new whisky distilleries to appear in recent years, you’re not alone! The Scottish whisky distillery construction business is in a true boom cycle at present, with the building pursuit effectively splitting itself into four vastly different endeavours.
The first is the raft of new, relatively small distilleries being built. Of course, this got its start a little over 10 years ago or so with the likes of Daftmill and Abhainn Dearg, but has exploded more recently with the likes of Kingsbarns, Ballindalloch, Ardnamurchan, Wolfburn, Glasgow…and well, the list goes on, right down to the tiny operations of, say, Strathearn and Dornoch. If you haven’t kept up, it’s almost alarming to discover that over 30 new distilleries have recently started up or are currently under construction from the Lowlands to the Islands and everywhere in between.
Continue reading “The Scotch whisky distillery building boom”
Whisky is like Sudoku. Or, depending on which pursuit you got involved with first, Sudoku is just like whisky. Sound a bit far-fetched? The two have more in common than you think…
Contrary to its appearance, Sudoko is not a maths puzzle or an exercise in arithmetic. Despite the array of numbers and a crossword-like pattern, it’s merely a logic puzzle based on nothing more than elimination. The puzzle is solved by eliminating incorrect possibilities as you fill in the blanks. Sudoku’s similarity with whisky becomes apparent when you look at the journey an individual goes on as they transition from novice to expert.
The local Australian whisky scene continues to expand and self-cultivate. Between the many new distilleries starting up and the older distilleries bringing new and matured stock to market (plus a couple of larger enterprises starting to flex their muscles), there’s plenty to taste and get excited about. It also seems that the scene can now sustain the one last gap that remained to be filled: The Australian independent bottler. And TIB – Tasmanian Independent Bottlers – is going the whole hog.
Tasmanian Independent Bottlers is not the first Australian independent bottler (Trappers Hut possibly took that honour over 10 years ago) and there are certainly other labels around – Dark Valley and Heartwood being obvious examples. But it’s no accident that we mention Heartwood here, for TIB is Heartwood’s younger cousin.
I was at a social gathering recently and found myself amongst a circle of newly-made acquaintances whom I was introduced to just five minutes earlier. In the course of our social dialogue and etiquette-driven pleasantries (relax, this isn’t a Jane Austen novel), the fact that I was an avid whisky enthusiast and involved in its industry came up. “Oh, what’s your favourite whisky?” was the question immediately thrown at me. I’ve been asked that more times than I can possibly remember, and I have my standard answer always queued at the ready, but I reflected on the way home later that evening that it’s an increasingly irrelevant question.
[Updated April, 2024] Visiting Scotland soon? Are you planning a trip to Scotland to visit your favourite whisky distilleries? Yes, for every whisky lover, it’s the ultimate pilgrimage: After listening jealously to other people’s travels and dreaming of making it to the promised land, you’ve FINALLY saved up for and planned your first whisky trip to Scotland. Exciting times!
Of course, every first-timer always asks the same questions in the early stages of planning: Where’s the best place to stay? Which distilleries should I visit? Should I hire a car? Do I have time to get to Islay? How many days should I spend in Speyside? Is the trip up to Orkney worth it?
Naturally, the answers to these are highly subjective and individual. They’ll depend on your budget, the amount of time you can spare, which distilleries are your favourites, and what transport options are at your disposal. But there are a few things to appreciate about visiting distilleries that you won’t read in the guide books or find online. Here are ten things you ought to know before heading off to Scotland…
Continue reading “10 things every whisky lover should know before visiting Scotland”
When was the last time you poured yourself a healthy dram of Braeval? Or had a good swig of Miltonduff? How about a Glenburgie? Or an Allt-a-Bhainne? An Auchroisk? Dufftown perhaps? Have you even heard of these whisky distilleries, let alone seen a bottle of their whisky at your local liquor retailer?
What about Ardbeg? Oban? Bruichladdich? These names are more familiar, yes? And, chances are, you’ve had a dram of their product more than once or twice on your malt journey.
The irony here is that the first group listed above are some of the biggest distilleries in Scotland. And the second group are amongst the smallest. There’s a cliched conclusion here that you might have heard before: Size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it that counts!
