Whisky opinions, articles, feature pieces, info and reviews.
If you listen to enough drinkers who’ve been around a while, or read the writings of many in the whisky community, you might be led to believe that Scotch whisky being produced and released today is not as good as it used to be. Is whisky better or worse today than it was a decade or two ago?
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Glendronach versus Glenfarclas versus Macallan. Immediately, you’ve already chosen your winner. You’ve no doubt got your own favourite, and you’re probably even wondering how this could possibly even be a close race worth discussing! Is there a rivalry between these three heavyweights? Let’s dig a little deeper…
Back in 2007, a very special whisky event was held in Sydney, Australia. Held at Sydney’s iconic Claude’s restaurant, it was billed as “The Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner” and it featured an unbelievable line up of the rarest Ardbeg bottlings ever assembled, including the 1965. That particular event had been preceded a year earlier by an incredible Macallan tasting (featuring the full ESC range, as well as rare bottlings from the 1980’s). And, only a short time prior to that, there was the unbelievable Springbank tasting, which featured the entire Millennium range of Springbanks. These were the glory days of tasting and appreciating the uber rare, special, and expensive releases amongst Scotland’s elite single malt bottlings and distilleries. In terms of the rarity of the whiskies at the Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner, many thought such an event could never be equalled. We may finally have found a successor…
What follows is a full and detailed profile of the Glenfarclas distillery. I’ve prepared and written up similar distillery profiles and feature pieces for many different publications and outlets in the past, and this feature piece will be no different. But, in the interests of full disclosure, let’s declare all interests: Glenfarclas is my favourite distillery. There. I’ve said it…
{Update: The article below was first written in 2014 and has been superseded/replaced with a more up-to-date article. You should read the updated article here.}
Need a whisky for Christmas? Once upon a time, whisky was whisky, and Santa wasn’t too discerning when it came to what special dram you left out for him on Christmas Eve. In decades gone by, there was also less distinction – by both marketers and consumers – about the significance of sherried versus non-sherried whisky. Of course, with the huge decline in sherry consumption and the corresponding rise in the cost of sherried single malts, the distinction and noise around sherried whisky is now more stark and louder than ever. (And that’s before we even mention words like European oak or sulphur candles!)
When I first started hosting whisky tasting events in 2001, I did a fair bit of freelance work for Macallan. This was back when the core range was simply the 12yo, 15yo, 18yo, and 25yo – all of them made with Golden Promise barley, and all matured exclusively in sherry casks. I used to describe the flavour of these sherried whiskies as being like “Christmas pudding in a glass”. The really great sherried whiskies showcased all of the dried fruits you’d find in Christmas pudding (e.g. raisins, sultanas, dates, cherries, apricots, etc); as well as the butterscotch and toffee notes you’d associate with the brandy butter or Christmas sauce. Some of them also exhibited a bit of the spice that we commonly associate with European oak, and occasionally there was also the pleasant bitterness of cloves and Christmas mince pies, or the sweetness of cinnamon.
As such, for me, if I’m going to drink a single malt at Christmas time, it’s got to be a sherried whisky. And, certainly, when it comes time on the 24th to put out a dram for Santa, it’s been a Glenfarclas for jolly Saint Nick every year since my kids arrived on the scene.
“How to drink whisky?” is a common question asked by many, but enjoying whisky goes way beyond the actual drinking of the spirit. From the most recent whisky-newbie to the more seasoned long-term malt enthusiast, we all fall for the same traps and mistakes – repeatedly. Here are the Top Five things that whisky drinkers are doing wrong…
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