Tag: Jim Murray

The stink about sulphur

Sulphur in whisky?  What does “sulphured whisky” even mean?  And why do people use terms like “dirty cask” or “tainted cask”.   Hmmm…I’m reminded of a quote from a movie:  “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”  The Usual Suspects, 1995

Substitute “whisky industry” for devil and “sulphur” for he and you’ll get a quick snapshot of what’s being discussed here.  Sulphur taint is one of the more confusing and least understood aspects in today’s whisky community, and there are plenty of industry folks trying to convince you it doesn’t exist.  Let’s cut through the taint and kill a few myths and misunderstandings…

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The pioneers of Australia’s whisky appreciation community

Interested in Australian whisky history?  Who were the pioneers of the Australian whisky appreciation scene?  Read on…

“The whisky appreciation scene and the whisky enthusiasts’ community is booming.”

Captain Obvious

For anyone who’s climbed aboard the hurtling whisky juggernaut in the last five years or so, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was always this way.  Here, in Australia, we have brand ambassadors flying around the country and presenting whiskies to established fan bases and new audiences.  We have multiple whisky bars operating in the capital cities and out in the suburbs.  We have countless whisky clubs that meet regularly.  We have online whisky clubs and groups that exist in various Facebook spheres.  We have a selection of 40 to 50 different whiskies to choose from in the supermarket chain retailers.  We have online whisky stores that ship the latest and greatest releases to your doorstep.  We have whisky expos in each of the capital cities.  We have distilleries opening up or establishing all across the country.   Australian whisky history has not seen anything like it. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  We ain’t never had it this good before.

But it wasn’t always this way.   Hard as it might seem to believe, there was a time when life for the Australian whisky enthusiast was the polar opposite.   Imagine being a whisky fan in the mid-1970’s when less than a handful of single malt brands were available.  Imagine going into a bottle shop in the late 1990’s and having a selection of no more than six different bottlings to select from.  Imagine no whisky bars.   Imagine no online whisky resources or communications.  In fact, imagine no internet!

It was in those seemingly primitive times that the first pioneers and members of the whisky enthusiasts’ community of Australia set out trying to (a) source malt whisky, (b) share their enthusiasm with other people, and (c) gather together a community of like-minded souls around them.

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40% ABV whiskies – friend or foe?

I recently read an online review of a whisky that was written by a blogger.   There were a number of comments and references in the review where it was evident the writer was criticising the whisky for being 40% ABV.  Having such a mindset is a slippery slope – reviewers & commentators need to be careful to distinguish between “I would have preferred to have seen this whisky bottled at a higher strength; I believe it would benefit from being at a higher proof” and criticising or faulting the whisky merely for being 40% ABV, as though it were a flaw or fault in production.

It raises a few interesting points.  There is no doubt that many of us prefer whiskies at higher strengths.   Cask-strength whiskies – which only as recently as 20 years ago were still relatively scarce and harder to come by – are now as common as nude shots of Britney Spears, and once you become accustomed to the higher ABV whiskies, I certainly acknowledge and agree that 40% malts have to work a little harder to keep our tastebuds entertained.

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Is whisky better or worse today than it was 20 years ago?

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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The Last Drop – 48yo whisky

The Last Drop Distillers is a brand you may not have heard of, much less seen a bottle of at your local liquor outlet.  If not by design, then this is certainly by necessity – for this is a label that deals with whisky that is both scarce and small scale.

The story of the company itself is a wonderfully rich, dare I say, romantic tale:  Three gentlemen, all long involved in the whisky and drinks trades, had remarkable and successful years and careers in the industry.   Between them, they were behind the creation and development of brands such as J&B Rare, Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, The Classic Malts range, Baileys and Malibu.

And so, despite reaching that time in life when retirement beckons, these gentlemen instead decided to team up in 2008 and form a new force:  A company that focussed on the world’s finest, rarest, and most exclusive spirits.  The Last Drop Distillers Limited is thus not a distillery, nor a single malt, but a brand and label that sources, bottles, and releases exceptionally old and rare spirits.

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An evening with Laphroaig & John Campbell

It’s the bicentenary year for Laphroaig – no mean feat for a little distillery on the coast of Islay to churn out the world’s most “richly flavoured” whisky for 200 years! And that means some special events and ambassadorial work for the distillery team as they mark the occasion.

It was a treat for all Australians then, when the good folks at Beam Suntory elected to send John Campbell, Laphroaig’s Manager, to our shores for a promotional tour. On a two week trip that saw him involved with endless tastings, appearances, interviews and events – including the epic “The Great Whisky Rumble” (read all about that one here), John spent his last night of the trip in Sydney to conduct an intimate Laphroaig tasting at Grain, one of the city’s newest whisky bars. It was a ticketed event, and yours truly wasted no time in shelling out $85.79 to book a seat.

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When Irish eyes are Teeling

Looking for the origin story about Teeling Whiskey?  Below is the piece we wrote at the start of 2015, which still holds up…

Whilst the Scotch whisky industry continues to bubble along and keep everyone moderately happy as long as we’ve all got a filled Glencairn in our hand, the real gossip and excitement in the whisk(e)y community right now seems to be with what’s happening in other countries.

The recent media storm over Jim Murray’s latest edition of his Whisky Bible got everyone talking about Japanese whisky, and similar waves went around the globe when Australia’s Sullivan’s Cove was awarded best whisky in the world by Whisky Magazine last year.  And whisky brands like Kavalan (Taiwan), Mackmyra (Sweden), and Paul John or Amrut (India) continue to make the transition from being a modest curiosity to players with major followings, reach and – more critically – quality product.

And so, with all sectors of the whisky industry in growth and development, it’s no surprise that Irish whiskey is also making waves and changing the landscape.  Consider the following recent events:

  • Irish whiskey has been identified as the fastest growing distilled spirit category in the world. That means its growth is outpacing bourbon, vodka, tequila, Scotch, brandy, and so on.
  • Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only independent distillery (at the time) was sold to Beam Inc. in 2011.
  • Diageo sold Bushmills Distillery to tequila giant Casa Cuervo in 2014.
  • William Grant & Sons purchased the Tullamore Dew brand in 2010, and last year completed the construction of a massive new distillery at Tullamore
  • Former Bruichladdich leader, Mark Reynier, recently announced his next venture would be a new Irish whiskey distillery in Waterford.
  • In 2013, there were just four operating whiskey distilleries in Ireland. The Irish Spirits Association expects this number to grow to 15 in the next few years.

While the decline of the Irish whiskey industry in the 20th century and the reasons for it are well documented, its recent growth and renaissance is truly something worth celebrating.  And all the more so, when both independence and tradition team up and jump out of the page.  And that, ladies and gents, is where Teeling Whiskey fits in.

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Scoring whisky – does it really add up?

If you’re roughly my age and vintage (or older), it’s possible one of the earliest information resources you used to start your whisky journey was Michael Jackson’s “Malt Whisky Companion”.   First published in 1989, it was a book that took whisky writing to new heights for many reasons, but one of the more far-reaching elements it introduced was the concept of scoring whisky.   Each entry in the book would be given a score out of 100 and, suddenly, whisky readers had a point of reference and a measuring stick to judge one whisky over another.  So how do you score whisky ?

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