Tag: Michael Jackson

Eight ways that whisky tells you you’re getting older

In many of life’s pursuits, there are often tell-tale signs along the way that you’re getting older.   For example, that radio station you used to love listening to in your teens no longer does it for you.  Certain drinks you used to enjoy no longer agree with you.  Or you discover your favourite bands that you grew up with are now referred to as vintage or classic rock.  Or that 5km jog you used to do in 25 minutes now takes you 40 minutes to complete.   You get the idea.

Whisky is another such medium that delivers the not-so-subtle message to you that – just like a perfectly balanced Glenfarclas – you’ve been maturing for quite a few years now.   Whilst the whisky industry seems to be hurtling you down a steep path towards a No Age Statement retirement, there are…particularly if you’re older than 40 and have been drinking whisky since the 1990’s…plenty of signs that you, personally, are carrying an age statement.

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The three stages of your attitude to Glenfiddich: Like – Hate – Love

Catchy article title, eh? Not sure my former editor would approve of it – it’s hardly a flowing headline.  But there’s not really a more succinct way to say it.  I’ll elaborate:  It’s my opinion that whisky drinkers all go through three very distinct stages in their appreciation of Glenfiddich.   And, depending on what stage you’re up to, this tremendously impacts your attitude to Glenfiddich.   Curious?  Let’s look into this…

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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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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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